Chapter 182
Cale had Ron and Freesia, who had done a great job in preparing everything, get on the carriage before heading toward the Gyerre territory . The carriage was being driven by one of Freesia's subordinates .
“Explain it in detail . ”
Freesia immediately started to respond .
“There is a baron's household that became a vassal of the Gyerre Duchy about 50 years ago . ”
The name of that household was Chryshi .
“This was before the current Duchess became the ruler of the territory . The other candidates for the position of lord brought the vassal household in in order to expand their own influence .
Antonio's grandmother and the current Duchess, Sonata . This had happened when she was just one of the potential candidates for the Duchess position . The Gyerre territory had accepted multiple vassal households during that time .
The Chryshi household was one of those vassals .
Cale started to speak .
“Isn’t the Chryshi household a household that is famous for being a household of scholars?”
It was the household that had been the instructors of the crown two hundred years ago . That was why the Gyerre Duchy chose to accept such a household without any territories or wealth as a vassal .
“Young master-nim . ”
Ron gently responded to Cale's question .
“The past does not necessarily continue to the present . ”
“I guess that is true . ”
Cale agreed .
Regardless of whether they were a household of scholars in the past, they were a terrible household now .
The fact that they would hire people to kidnap children showed that they were not right in the head .
“Young master-nim, it was two nights ago . ”
Cale looked toward Ron . The fact that Ron had been seriously acting like a benign old man since earlier was making Cale feel iffy . Ron seemed to look healthier after receiving his fake yet strong arm .
“Maybe it is because I am getting older, but I could not fall asleep that night . That was why I decided to talk a light walk through the back alleys of the Gyerre territory . ”
‘…Are the back alleys really a good spot to take a walk?’
Cale wanted to ask that question, but held himself back .
“I happened to see some children pulling a carriage and going toward the corner of the slums . ”
“Children?”
Cale looked toward Ron with confusion after hearing that children were pulling the carriage . Ron clarified his comments .
“They were husky children who seemed to be about 30 years old . ”
‘…When did buff gangsters turn into children?’
Ron continued to speak as Cale sat there in silence .
“Anyway, I found those children interesting and chose to follow them . Of course, I did it stealthily so that they wouldn’t notice me . ”
Cale ignored Freesia, who was looking toward Ron with a gaze of respect .
“When I stealthily followed behind them, I noticed a couple of houses near the bridge that is at the edge of the slums . Many people were being held captive in the basements of those houses . ”
Crack . Crack .
The fingers on his fake left arm cracked as Ron bent his fingers . He then gently continued to speak .
“They were doing terrible things that even assassins would not do . ”
‘Mm . ’
Cale turned his gaze away from the assassin Ron .
“And?”
However, Cale wanted Ron to get to the point . Ron got to the core of the issue .
“I noticed one of the Chryshi household's butlers going into one of those houses last night . Those buildings are regular houses for families in the slums during the day . However, once the sun goes down, those so-called families turn into employees . ”
Freesia added on .
“After tailing the butler until early the next morning, we verified the butler meeting with a merchant . ”
There was a high chance of that merchant being part of a merchant guild that was part of the slave trade .
She quickly continued to speak .
“One of my subordinates is currently tailing that merchant . We will soon receive a first report about the identity of that merchant guild . We will be able to have a good idea about their identity and know for certain after the second report . ”
Tap . Tap .
Cale tapped on the armrest before looking back toward Ron . The old man realized that his young master had realized something .
Cale slowly started to speak .
“A merchant guild illegally purchasing people as slaves…”
Where would those slaves go?
Slaves were illegal in the Roan Kingdom .
Unless the Chryshi household was crazy, they would not sell slaves within the kingdom .
So, who would need slaves?
Furthermore, who would need to use a merchant guild in order to stealthily gather slaves?
Cale had a good idea about the answers to these questions .
“…Those bastards who want to ring the bell to end the lives of others built a bell tower?” [1]
“Excuse me?”
Freesia was confused at Cale's comments, but Cale waved her off and continued to speak .
“The merchant guild is probably from the Empire . ”
“… The Empire?”
Freesia's expression turned serious .
Not only did they sell citizens of the Roan Kingdom as slaves, but they even sold them off to a foreign nation? This was only possible for people who had no fear .
It was not something that a baron would dare to even attempt .
That was why Cale had a question .
“Did the Chryshi household act on their own?”
“… Our investigations indicate that the Gyerre household is not involved . ”
Freesia licked her lips and continued to speak .
“The Chryshi household that was brought in as a vassal without owning much of anything was placed in a state of uncertainty after Sonata Gyerre became the Duchess instead of the candidate they were supporting . That was why they tried everything they could to expand their influence . ”
“They would have needed money to do that . ”
Cale asked one more question .
“Does the Chryshi household seem to know where the merchant is from?”
“… I am not sure about that . ”
Freesia cautiously started to speak to Cale, who seemed certain that the merchant guild was from the Empire .
“Young master-nim, we don't have information on the merchant guild yet . How about we wait for the information before making a decision?”
Cale did not respond in any way . All he did was sigh .
Tap . Tap .
The kittens, On and Hong, continued to pat Cale's thighs with their paws . It was their way of saying, ‘let’s beat those bastards to death . ’
Raon was speaking into Cale's mind .
Raon could not forgive people who would enslave others without reason .
The Chryshi household had done something that the Black Dragon would never accept .
After spending the first four years of his life in the black cave, Raon detested slavery and imprisonment .
“Ron . ”
“Yes, young master-nim . ”
Cale looked toward the Gyerre territory gate and started to speak .
“Change of plans . ”
“Yes sir . ”
Early the next morning .
Cale was laying down on this soft and comfortable bed while enjoying his sleep . However, there was a hand that was patting him on the shoulder .
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It felt like a concerned parent's warm hand-
“Mm!”
Cale’s eyes opened wide .
“Young master-nim, you are up . ”
It was Ron .
Cale was so shocked that he curled up underneath the blanket .
“Meeeeeow!”
“Meeow!”
The kittens were laughing at him .
“Human, wake up! You can't sleep in!”
Raon was urging him to wake up as well . Cale listened to this quartet of experts as he got up . Ron handed him a teacup once he got up .
“They did not have lemon tea . The Gyerre Duchy does not seem to be that great . ”
The corner of Cale's lips was twitching as he picked up the teacup .
All of Cale's group, other than Freesia and the information guild, were currently staying at the Gyerre Estate .
Although they had arrived late last night, they were able to spend a few nights at the Gyerre Estate thanks to Cale sending Vice Captain Hilsman ahead in order to notify them of their impending arrival .
It would be weird if a Duke was unable to let a passing noble spend a few days at their Estate . Furthermore, it was not just any noble, but someone who was the crown prince’s close confidant and had received a medal from the Empire .
“How disappointing that they don't have lemon tea . ”
Cale sounded happy despite the fact that he said that he was disappointed as he took a sip .
“Ugh!”
He then couldn’t help but groan .
Ron gently started to speak .
“The Gyerre territory seems to enjoy bitter tea though, hoho . ”
‘Damn it . ’
Cale started to frown as he started the day off with bitter tea .
He immediately headed out of the room as soon as he finished dressing .
“Young master-nim!”
Vice Captain Hilsman had been waiting outside the door before following behind Cale .
“Hehe, you look very handsome today, young master-nim!”
Hilsman was commenting about how Cale looked like a proper noble today . Although it was not fancy and was just decently luxurious, he still looked the part of a promising young noble .
“Is that so? Good . ”
However, Hilsman flinched after seeing that Cale's smile looked pure .
‘A pure smile?’
It did not suit Cale at all .
‘I thought I heard that he was going to punish the Chryshi household?’
Hilsman found it weird that Cale looked pure and innocent when Ron had told him about Cale’s plans . The Vice Captain did not know about the human trafficking yet .
“Where is it?”
However, he quickly responded to Cale's question .
“He is said to be in the garden at this time . He likes to take a walk after eating an early breakfast . ”
“I guess we can stop by the garden on our way to the main gate . ”
Cale immediately headed toward the garden .
Hilsman followed behind him while looking at Ron . Ron just smiled as he followed behind Cale as well . Hilsman found it even weirder that the kittens were not with Cale, but did not question it for now .
Cale was able to meet with Antonio Gyerre once he arrived at the garden .
Of course, he pretended it was a coincidence .
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“Oh, young master Cale . Did you sleep well?”
“I didn’t expect to see you in the garden, young master Antonio . I slept well thanks to you . ”
Cale and Antonio happily shook hands with each other .
Antonio observed Cale, who was dressed like a noble and did not have anything out of place .
Cale Henituse .
The crown prince's close confidant, the person who prevented the incident in the capital, and the person who did something amazing enough to get a medal from the Empire .
That person had sent his guard in advance to ask whether he could spend a few nights here . He had asked for something else as well .
‘Can we chat?’
Chat .
Cale, who was the crown prince’s close confidant, and Antonio, who was a close confidant of a different prince and maintained the kingdom's southwest territory, had obvious but important things to discuss .
It was bound to be a very greedy conversation .
Antonio felt that Cale was as greedy as the other nobles based on the way he asked for a, ‘chat . ’
That chat would happen in secret tonight .
“Of course we can do it . Have you had breakfast yet?”
Antonio casually brought up peaceful topics of conversation . He could see Cale responding with a noble-like smile .
“I have not . ”
“Oh no, you are taking a walk without having breakfast? You should eat . ”
“I am okay . I plan to eat breakfast soon . ”
The peaceful conversation changed a bit after Cale’s next words .
Cale gracefully added on .
“I heard that there is a famous bar, so I plan to eat breakfast there . ”
“···Excuse me?”
Antonio was shocked .
Cale still said what he wanted to say .
“I happen to like a bit of drinking . Alcohol is best in the morning . Until later then, I plan to go drink some beer as morning soup! Haha!”
Antonio recalled Cale’s original nickname before he was called young master Silver Light .
Trash Cale .
Antonio could see Cale, who was announcing that he was going to act like trash today .
“I have nothing to do today . I plan to drink all day since I am still in recovery . Isn’t it wonderful?”
Cale was currently said to be recovering after using his ancient power in the Empire . He had said the reason he was visiting the Gyerre territory was to stop by on his way to the warmer southern region .
But such a person was drinking?
Antonio started to speak after a while .
“…Will you still be able to chat after that?”
“Do not worry, young master Antonio . Chatting after drinking makes it much easier to chat . Then I will be on my way now . ”
Cale was respectful and proper until the end, even if he was speaking nonsense . A pale Hilsman and a casual Ron followed behind him .
“…I really can’t figure him out . ”
Antonio’s expression turned complicated as watched Cale leave . However, there was a bit of disappointment in his gaze .
Antonio was someone who judged people based on how noble they appeared . Cale seemed to be placed lower on Antonio’s personal nobility scale .
“Will it be okay?”
Hilsman asked with concern, but Cale was not listening . He headed up to the third floor as soon as he got to the bar .
He then sat down at a table by the window and watched the flowing river until he turned his head .
“Would you like to order?”
The waiter cautiously asked after seeing Cale's gaze .
The noble appearance and the person's majestic demeanor made him look like he was at least a Count . That was why the waiter could not help but be cautious .
Cale did not even look at the menu before starting to speak .
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“All of it . ”
It was a powerful statement .
“Excuse me?”
Cale gave his order again to the confused waiter .
“Give me a bottle of every different kind of alcohol you have . Oh, also give me your most expensive snacks . ”
Hilsman blinked while listening to Cale's extravagant order . Cale bluntly asked Hilsman once the waiter left with a shocked expression .
“What are you looking at?”
Hilsman smiled brightly, contrary to Cale's expectations .
“You really haven’t changed, young master-nim! Yes, Choi Han isn’t here! Let's get wasted! Hahahaha!”
Cale shook his head, but Hilsman opened a bottle and started to hum . Cale ignored him and looked outside the window .
He could see the river flowing through the Gyerre territory .
The river that separated the slums from the rest of the territory was right outside this bar . Cale could see the bridge as well .
The slums were just past that bridge .
Cale could see ten shabby houses across the bridge .
Those were the houses where the kidnapped individuals were imprisoned .
…We will break those houses! No, we will destroy them!Cale listened to Raon's vicious comments before picking up the bottle instead of the glass that Hilsman had filled .
“Y, young master-nim . ”
Hilsman became anxious .
Clack!
However, he came back to his senses after hearing the empty bottle being placed back on the table . He could see that Cale's face had turned red . Cale picked up another bottle .
Cale, whose face was red even though he was not drunk, pushed the bottle toward Hilsman who was looking at him . Hilsman flinched after recalling how Cale used to throw bottles in the past, before slowly taking the bottle from him .
Cale truly ate and drank all day without saying anything .
He finally said something as the sun started to go down .
“Hilsman . ”
“Yes, young master-nim . ”
As the guard, Hilsman had stopped drinking after one or two drinks . He was admiring how Cale's experience as trash really was not a lie based on how he could drink all day as he observed Cale .
Cale started to speak again .
“Ron . ”
“Yes sir . ”
Ron, who had been sitting quietly, stood up and responded .
Cale turned to look at the two men who were waiting for him to speak . He caressed an empty bottle as he looked out the window to watch the setting sun .
He could see Freesia on the bridge sending him a signal underneath the sky that looked as if it was burning .
The merchant guild had been from the Empire, just as Cale had expected .
Screeeech .
Cale stood up and started to speak .
“I will be using the shield today . ”
“Excuse me? Why all of a sudden?”
‘Is he drunk?’
Vice Captain Hilsman thought Cale was drunk, but Cale smiled as he added on .
“I need to destroy them . ”
He was talking about the ten houses .
1 . Ringing the bell to end life is apparently a popular saying in Korean . I translated it as is because it only makes sense about them building the bell tower when you have the two instances of, ‘bell . ’