I Became a Sick Nobleman

Knock. Knock.

There was a loud sound as the butler approached and set down a teacup.

—Ugh… I can’t eat anything right now, Leo’s voice didn’t reach Ruel’s ears.

After the butler left, Ruel carefully opened the letter.

—…Ah, are you in pain? Leo hurriedly approached Ruel.

Tears welled up in Ruel’s eyes, flowing involuntarily. 

It wasn’t himself, but Ruel Setiria, who remembered the handwriting.

Ruel Setiria remembered that this letter was written by his own father.

‘… What a mess.’

Ruel wiped away his tears and made eye contact with Ben.

He quickly averted his eyes, feeling flustered. 

Clutching the letter in his hands, Ruel spoke up.

“I showed an embarrassing side of myself.”

“If you wish for me to step aside, I will,” Ben offered.

“It’s alright. I just hope you can give me some time to read the letter,” Ruel replied.

“I can wait as long as you need. Take your time and read it comfortably,” Ben assured him.

Ruel heard through Cassion that there was no one else in the room. Feeling relieved, he began reading the short letter addressed to the king.

[Your Majesty, the Great Man wears a false disguise and treads upon the same land as us. I will provide you with the detailed story in person.]

Ruel hastily folded the letter. He knew he should put it in his pocket, but his hand wouldn’t follow.

‘What is this… What does this mean?’

“Listen carefully, Setiria. He cannot set foot in this world due to constraints, unlike us. That’s why he cannot move.”

‘The Great Man said he cannot come to this world.’

—Ruel, are you alright?

‘Is he saying that someone… someone took over someone else’s body to exist in this world?’

It was crazy.

Ruel felt the hairs all over his body stand up.

The Great Man existing in this world. And that person treading upon the same land as himself.

‘Who is it? Whose body did you occupy?’

—Ruel! Take a breath!

Leo clung to Ruel’s leg.

Only then did Ruel exhale.

Huff. Huff.

Ruel heard his own ragged breathing and then saw Ben approaching right beside him.

“Ar-are you alright? Your breathing sounds too rough,” Ben asked.

Ruel inhaled Breath with his trembling hands.

After catching his breath, he managed to speak.

“…I’m fine. I was just startled, that’s all.”

“As long as you’re okay, it’s alright to take a rest,” Ben reassured him.

Lost in his thoughts, Ruel didn’t realize how breathless he had become. 

His hands were still shaking. 

It was fear. 

The memory of the gaze of the Great Man, consumed by darkness, who had intended to kill him, flashed in his mind.

Ruel closed his eyes briefly and then opened them.

“I’m fine. But there’s one thing I want to confirm with Lord Liobenez.”

Ruel continued speaking after inhaling Breath again.

“Did you say you would pay for your sins?”

“… exactly.”

Though guilt weighed heavily on him, Ben’s eyes remained clear.

“Then shouldn’t Lord Liobenez first prove to me that you are not part of the Red Ash? That would be the opening of our conversation.”

“Many often prove themselves through a Mana Oath. But what I have to offer is this.”

What Ben took out was a piece of paper with nothing written on it.

But it wasn’t a regular paper.

The mana emanating around the paper was strong.

“It’s a magic contract. Unlike Mana’s oath, there is no gap.”

Ben came with strong wording.

“I will write that I will not have anything to do with Red Ash in the past, present, or future.”

If the Kuhn family, the Lumina family, the Prios family, and even the Liobenez family were wiped out, only the Shio family would remain.

‘What Ben saw of the incident was true.’

“I will also write that I have not read the letter left by your father and that I will spare no effort to resolve this matter. If there is anything you wish for, please tell me.”

Although Ben’s clear delineation of this particular incident slightly bothered Ruel, objectively speaking, Ben didn’t do anything to be criticized.

He told the king what he had seen, and he did not accept it, so what could he do?

However, aside from that, Ruel didn’t want to end the grandfather-grandson playtime. With Ben’s vast connections, he could utilize them anywhere.

“Regardless of the means you employ, I hope you will examine the noble families in Liobenez and the underworld to eradicate the Red Ash. That is my request.”

“I understand. I already expected that request. I will definitely resolve it.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ben immediately started writing on the paper.

“And what you said about knowing a good restaurant still holds true?”

Ben grabbed his pen and quietly put it down.

“…Are you serious?”

“I was sincere, but it seems Lord Liobenez regarded it as a passing remark.”

“At that time, I remained silent. You have the right to scold me.”

Ruel smiled innocently.

“But in the end, didn’t you tell me everything? You also protected the letters from being taken away by the enemy.”

“But…”

“Now that the words have been spoken and received, let’s just finalize the magical contract and go eat something delicious together.”

Ben knew about the Red Ash.

Therefore, there was no reason to hide the fact that enemies were surrounding this mansion.

“The enemy is targeting Lord Liobenez and me.”

Ruel lowered his posture and whispered to Ben.

It was a statement that didn’t match his innocent smile.

Soon, Ruel’s eyes grew serious.

“When we leave, I hope you leave as if nothing is happening.”

“… I understand.”

Ben felt goosebumps running up his arms.

He had been so preoccupied with the letter and the events of the past that he had forgotten about the boy in front of him. 

The fact that he was also the head of the family.

* * *

“… Can the fox eat it?”

Ben stared at the fox eating ice cream so desperately that he even licked the bowl.

Of course, the spirit resembled a fox, but it had shorter legs, a tail, and bigger eyes.

“Yes, it’s okay. Because it’s a bit of a special fox. I know this well because my servant was a former hunter. Right, Noah?”

Ruel turned his gaze towards Noah, who was standing next to Cassion.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Noah was slightly surprised, as the words seemed to have come out before he could react.

Ruel chuckled and took another bite of the cake.

“Excuse me.”

Cassion bowed his head to Ben, then approached Ruel and spoke quietly.

“Everything has been taken care of.”

“Okay.”

Ruel answered calmly as usual.

The enemy followed them out of the mansion without realizing that they had turned from predators to prey.

Cassion was away for only 3 minutes.

No one thought anything was done with those three minutes.

‘It’s neat.’

Ruel raised the corners of his mouth as if savoring the taste.

“It tastes very good.”

“That’s a good thing.”

When Ben smiled widely, his missing teeth were visible.

Ruel hesitated for a moment before speaking. “The dessert we’re having now is great, but I also had a fantastic grilled pork neck at a previous restaurant.”

Just the thought of it made his mouth water. The juicy meat and the tantalizing barbecue aroma with each chew were no joke.

Now that it was confirmed that Ben truly knew good restaurants, Ruel was already looking forward to discovering another place.

‘A map of delicious restaurants. I’d like to make one in Setiria as well.’

“Honestly, I was surprised. There’s room for so much in that body.”

“Isn’t this the age when you are growing up?”

“That’s right. It’s really nice to see you enjoying your food. I don’t know if it’s appropriate to say this, but I was a little concerned about your slim figure.”

Behind Ben and Ruel’s laughter, Cassion saw the plates stacked on top of each other.

What he ate must have been dessert.

‘If a child at the age of growing eats this much, all the food supplies would be depleted.’

 

* * *

“Give me just one macaron that you bought from the store.”

—Give this body too.

As soon as he got into the carriage, a short paw was added to Ruel’s hand and he held it out to Cassion.

Cassion looked at Ruel and Leo alternately with a shocked look on his face.

“Haven’t you already eaten a lot at the store? And even though I bought it, what are you going to do if it causes an allergy?”

“You won’t know until you try. That’s why I’m eating it.”

In order to expand the range of food ingredients, Cassion only occasionally fed Ruel in small amounts.

Didn’t Ruel glare at him with resentment every time?

Seeing that Cassion still showed no reaction, Ruel felt disappointed.

“Alright, when we return to the mansion, you can have it.”

The moments of ordinary life were short and then he had to become Ruel Setiria again.

Macaroons were a snack that he used to eat often even when he was Kim Han.

Although they didn’t look exactly the same as back then, he wanted to taste that flavor, even if only for a moment.

“Yes, I will give it to you then.”

Cassion handed the macaroon to Leo only with his answer.

Tap. Tap.

Ruel played with his hair a few times and then tapped his thigh.

‘What should I do? What should I do?’

He hesitated between turning in the direction of the Prostone Guild to find Diagos Shio and shake him up or quietly return to Setiria.

“Ruel-nim, I have something to tell you.”

“I was going to ask you anyway. What happened in the back alley?”

“After confirmation, no one connected to the Red Ash survived.”

This time Ruel did not laugh. A lot of blood was spilled.

“Just in case, check again.”

“Alright.”

Ruel looked outside as he listened to Cassion’s response. He saw the bare, twisted branches with fallen leaves.

“Even if it is only vacant land in Setiria, wouldn’t it be better than the dark and damp back alley? It may be harsher than other lands, but…”

“Are you planning on moving them all to the surface?”

“No, I have to take care of both. Make sure there are no more guys like Plane in the back alleys. And to ensure that the Red Ash cannot approach.”

“I understand. I will examine the land and discuss it with Billo. Then I will inform you of the required funds.”

“Don’t inform the nobles just yet. I will address it in the next meeting.”

Ruel handed over the letter he had kept to Cassion.

—Ah! The one you saw and cried over… Oops!

Ruel was a little late and caught Leo’s tail.

He should have stopped that light mouth from the beginning.

Cassion smirked as if he had found something to tease, but his smile vanished as he read the contents of the letter.

“… didn’t you say that the Great Man couldn’t come to this world?” 

“Yeah, that’s what I heard.”

“I know that the phrase ‘false disguise’ written in the letter is really nonsense, but doesn’t it mean that it can take over someone’s body?”

Cassion’s face crumpled.

“I don’t feel good about going back to square one.”

“But my father knew. He was on his way to tell the king who it was.”

“You mean the king knew about the Red Ash and kept his mouth shut?”

Ruel inhaled Breath and raised one corner of his mouth.

“Yes, because it was Diagos and Huan who stopped my father’s carriage. The king knew about this and pretended not to know. Because he is a person who cares very much for his sons.”

“The marking was done by one of them. According to Nintra, who became the first black-blooded man, the one who planted the mark was the head of a family, so it is highly likely that it was Diagos.”

Cassion glanced at Leo as he spoke.

Leo had somehow ended up lying on Ruel’s lap, wagging his tail.

He didn’t mean to talk about it in front of a light-mouthed animal, but what should he do with what he already brought up.

“I don’t believe what Nintra says, because the information given to him may be false.”

“I will turn the carriage towards Shio. With the evidence we have, if you start poking around the Prostone Guild, Shio will react. Both sides are armed against each other, after all.”

“No, the person I need to meet first now is Adoris.”

Cassion waited for Ruel’s words with a questioning look on his face.

“I was curious why Adoris specifically requested assistance from the Prostone Guild, but now I understand. He deliberately made it known. Because he was present at that scene too.”

“By that, are you referring to the carriage accident five years ago?”

“Yes, he wanted me to realize who caused the accident. That’s why he deliberately chose the Prostone Guild.”

Ruel recalled what Banios had said.

“First of all, the eldest brother left first, and then the second brother moved. That fact is clearly known, but I don’t know where they went.”

Huan moved first and Adoris moved next.

That day, Adoris saw what Huan had done.

He really knew the truth of the accident when he offered to tell Ruel.

“It doesn’t make sense. Adoris is Red Ash.”

Ruel chuckled.

“We were completely fooled. Both you and I, even Banios.”

Soon he erased his smile.

“Adoris is not our enemy. It’s a somewhat ambiguous relationship.”

Ruel kept thinking about what Banios had said.

“That day, my Second Brother had an accident. He almost lost his life after being crushed by a chandelier in a hallway of the Royal palace.”

“Adoris almost died because he witnessed the whole truth of the carriage accident, which involved Huan. But he survived.”

“Could it be… that he received help from the Red Ash?”

“Yes, even before the carriage accident, Huan was already a member of the Red Ash. Adoris must have been approached by them after the accident.”

Ruel pointed to the letter Cassion was holding.

“It all started with that letter.”

Whether the king showed Huan the letter without knowing he was Red Ash, or Huan secretly saw it, he eventually saw the letter.

“Huan saw that letter. And then he learned that my father had obtained an important clue to destroy Red Ash. Which choice would he make? The result is obvious.”

That letter caused the carriage accident.

“And that year, my Eldest Brother suddenly gave up on succeeding the throne.”

“Huan gave up his succession to the throne. It was Adoris who made it that way.”

That fact led to one very simple result.

“In other words, the Red Ash granted Adoris’s request. Being pushed aside by the Second Prince, how devastated must First Prince Huan have been?”

“Unless I’m mistaken, did the Second Prince intentionally join the Red Ash? Otherwise, some of his actions don’t make sense.”

“Perhaps he did. Maybe he had no choice but to join the Red Ash, shedding a few tears as a pretense. His desire to protect Banios was genuine.”

Cassion let out a hollow laugh. 

“I feel like I’m watching a third-rate play.”

“So am I.”

“But that doesn’t mean the collaboration with Carbena disappears.”

“That’s why I said it was a slightly ambiguous relationship.”

What Adoris did did not go away.

After all, didn’t he do what Red Ash asked him to do?

“While it’s true that I survived because of my bloodline, I could never understand why Carbena didn’t kill me for five years.”

Ruel frowned. He felt uneasy.

“Adoris stopped it. I received help unintentionally.”

Perhaps Adoris had come to him, urgently requesting to end Banios’s involvement, because the situation had become dire? Or was it all part of this theatrical performance to make him aware of the circumstances?

Whatever it was, things had changed.

His guess could have been wrong all along.

But what was certain was that Adoris knew about the accident five years ago.

He had to meet Adoris. 

He needed to hear the complete story from five years ago, to clear his mind.

“Contact Rie Kuhn.”

Author's Thoughts

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