Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Stealing What Others Covet (3)
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"But Cain insisted so strongly on recruiting Young Lord Abel."
Bennet shook his head.
"We couldn't beat Cain. Once he digs in his heels, he never backs down."
"Really? But why me?"
I hid my amusement and countered with feigned surprise.
"Rumors are just rumors."
Cain's face was filled with clear conviction and kindness.
"I want to judge for myself after seeing and experiencing who you really are. What you showed at today's meeting was quite impressive."
"......"
"Above all, Young Lord Abel is the son of Lord Diego Kindriel, who guards the western empire. You more than qualify to join our club."
Strength built in Cain's voice.
"I know what kind of reputation follows you, Young Lord Abel."
It was spoken with utter certainty, without a shred of doubt in what he believed and intended to do.
"But if you join our club and see and learn many things, you'll recover from that in no time."
It was exactly the bold demeanor befitting the original story's protagonist.
......And a thoroughly obnoxious one too.
"Hmm."
I rested my chin on my hand and tilted my head, looking deep in thought. Cain gave a faint smile, as if understanding.
"I imagine the unexpected offer came as a shock. It's not something that comes easily......"
"I've decided."
I grinned and snapped my fingers.
"I refuse that offer."
"Go......"
Cain shut his mouth. At the same moment, the air around us turned icy, like cold water had been dumped over everyone.
Bennet and Carlisle's faces hardened like stone. They clearly never dreamed I'd reject Cain's proposal.
"......"
Cain's face sharpened too. The emotion flashing across it screamed 'How dare you?'
It resembled his father, Carlo, strikingly.
"You don't seem to grasp what kind of opportunity this is."
Cain finally spoke, slowly. He looked like he was graciously offering one last chance.
"You'd do well to think it over. Opportunities like this don't come twice."
A refined threat meaning: back off now, or it'll get boring otherwise. Shut up and come under our—precisely, their—wing.
Of course, Cain's pressure didn't faze me in the slightest. I'd brushed off Mikel's overwhelming presence; no way I'd bend to this.
"Who knows?"
I casually scratched my ear.
"I wouldn't call an opportunity that comes around so often a 'good' one."
I pulled my finger from my ear and flicked it with a snap.
"And do I look crazy enough to join that?"
Of course, there wasn't any wax on it. For the record, my ears are spotless.
Cain frowned at my crude behavior, then belatedly processed my words.
"What did you just say?"
"All that good stuff? Bullshit, there's zero benefit for me in joining."
"Bull...... bullshit?"
Cain mumbled dumbly, caught off guard by the vulgar word. Bennet and Carlisle furrowed their brows and muttered.
"Hey, what's 'bullshit'? Like, a bull's horn?"
"Contextually, I doubt it."
I shot a thick sneer their way.
"Grown up too sheltered to know words like that? Typical noble young masters."
They finally realized I'd used profanity, their faces souring.
"What did you just say?"
"You're talking like you're not one yourself."
I kept the smirk on my face and turned my head, mocking Cain who glared fiercely at me.
"Anyway, everything you said bores me. I don't need any of it."
"You don't need it?"
"Yeah. Plus, joining now doesn't look like it'd end well for me."
I stepped up to Cain and gripped his shoulder firmly. I whispered low.
"Next time you make an offer like that, wipe that smug superiority from your eyes."
"......"
"It's obvious, you know."
Cain's profile turned icy cold in an instant. I glanced at it, then turned away.
"Anyway, I'm out. Don't bother me about this again."
I tossed the words out and walked off briskly toward the unfinished foods.
"That, that bastard......!"
Bennet's incredulous voice came from behind.
"Hah."
Carlisle let out a low sigh. The way it trailed off suggested he was grinding his teeth.
"......"
Surprisingly, Cain stayed silent.
But I knew better than anyone that his heart wasn't calm.
❖ ❖ ❖
"What kind of guy is that?"
Bennet vented his frustration.
"Does he think opportunities like this come every day? He should've jumped at it with a 'thank you'—hell, begged for it."
He clutched the back of his neck and sighed.
"'Crazy enough to join'? No, he's the crazy one!"
"And even after Cain personally offered? That attitude."
Carlisle chimed in with clear displeasure.
"It's embarrassing to share the same noble blood. Utterly devoid of grace."
Contempt flickered across his expressionless face.
"The type I despise most. So unnoble."
Cain stared coldly at Abel's retreating back, his face rigid.
"That's why I said from the start."
Carlisle jabbed at him.
"I told you Abel Kindriel was off. All those weird rumors."
Bennet nodded and jumped in.
"If every firstborn qualified just for being firstborn, the club would be full of them."
Pride unique to the storied Seymour Family gleamed on his face.
"There's such a thing as standards. Ovest Territory isn't even on Sud Territory's level."
"Of course, it's public knowledge that his father, Diego Kindriel, is the empire's strongest swordsman."
Carlisle shook his head gravely.
"But that's the father's strength, not his. Don't confuse the two."
Cain stood silent for a moment, cooling the boiling emotion inside.
But his friends awaited his response. So he spoke before it fully subsided.
"......But we saw Young Lord Abel at the meeting."
His voice cracked at the end, mirroring his inner turmoil.
"He was really......"
Cain couldn't continue.
Voicing the thoughts swirling in his mind felt like admitting defeat.
"Cain, Cain. Listen."
Thankfully, Carlisle cut him off.
"Sure, Abel's performance today was impressive. I get why it moved you."
He wagged a finger.
"But that's knowing one thing and ignoring the rest."
Carlisle continued in his signature calm, rational tone.
"I've observed these meetings since I was ten. Today's situation was truly rare."
The eloquence of an academy top graduate was no joke.
"Were there never others who tried leading like that?"
Bennet shook his head vigorously, as if he knew that much.
Cain just listened quietly to Carlisle.
"Of course there were. But they didn't last. Why? They lacked the power to back it up."
"......"
"In my view, that Abel Kindriel is just a flashy empty shell."
Carlisle's eyes were ruthlessly cold as he spoke.
"He talked big today, but that won't work forever. I guarantee it."
Carlisle rarely missed the mark on his assertions.
Cain finally responded slowly.
"You think...... so?"
"Absolutely. So drop the recruitment idea."
Cain nodded slowly. Seeing it, Bennet and Carlisle thought he still hadn't fully accepted it deep down.
"Cain, you're too naive. Don't think you can befriend everyone."
"Yeah. Some people are like water and oil—they just don't mix."
Bennet added to Carlisle's comfort.
"Look at me. We've known each other forever, and I still don't know Carlisle's underwear color."
"Why would you need to?"
"Isn't that what true friends know?"
They started bickering. Their go-to method when Cain looked down.
"Alright, alright."
Cain finally cracked a faint smile.
"I get what you mean. Don't worry."
"Like we can stop worrying. We know your personality."
"Yeah. You even think you can befriend commoners."
Bennet and Carlisle looked at Cain like an incorrigibly pure child.
But they had no idea what Cain was really thinking.
'......Wipe that smug superiority.'
Abel's single line had pierced the depths of his heart, unseen even by himself.
'The reason I wanted Abel in the club.'
He'd spouted noble nonsense in front of friends, but that wasn't the truth.
'What I really wanted......'
For Abel Kindriel to join, realize the gap between them, and ultimately bow to Cain's prestige.
In short, Cain wanted to crush Abel. To see that pretty face twist and finally submit.
The desire to make another kneel at his feet. It was a foreign emotion he'd never felt before.
Cain frowned, confused by this side of himself.
'Why am I like this?'
Abel's appearance today had given Cain several novel experiences.
"Anyway, Abel Kindriel is a no-go. That guy's bad news."
"Don't waste effort. Focus on us instead."
"Better to let my dimwitted little sister join than him."
But his friends still believed Cain's offer stemmed from pure intentions.
'......No need to say this out loud.'
He didn't want to reveal his dark, twisted, insidious inner thoughts. It wasn't like him.
Cain effortlessly erased the thought from memory.
'Right, I did it for the reasons they said.'
As if it had always been that way.
Rationalization came all too easily within him.
"As I said earlier, I won't approach Young Lord Abel again."
Cain smiled and changed the subject, his expression refreshingly clear, as if he'd shaken it all off.
"Yeah, yeah. He'll regret it someday, beating his chest."
"Don't go soft if he grabs your pant leg then."
Bennet and Carlisle responded with relieved faces.
Cain never wanted to shatter the infinite trust on their faces.
Never.
"Got it."
Cain grinned and turned.
"Looks like my father's calling. I'll head out."
"See you at the club later."
"Friday evening this week, right?"
They waved and returned to their seats. Cain approached Carlo, surrounded by a bustling crowd.
"Father."
"Cain."
Carlo wore his usual gentle smile when seeing his son.
"So, what did you decide about Young Lord Abel?"