Off to the Jianghu... No, the Romance Fantasy Manor
The morning they prepared to leave the annex.
Ella, packing her modest belongings, suddenly tilted her head as if struck by a thought and asked Cael, “B-but, young master. How did you know? That the main house had caught on?”
Cael tugged at the strap binding his bundle with leisurely ease and flashed a grin. “Someone showed up the day before yesterday.”
“Someone? You mean besides the messenger from the main house?”
“Yeah. Up on that northern hill ridge, staring right through our annex like they were drilling holes in it. It was so embarrassing I could hardly stand it.”
Ella's eyes widened in shock. The annex was surrounded by dense forest and rugged mountains. The northern hill was so far that no naked eye could possibly make out a human figure.
“Y-you can tell that from here?”
Weger, who had been hauling luggage nearby, gaped in astonishment as well.
“Haha, once you reach a certain realm, that much comes naturally. So you two better train even harder.”
“Yes, sir! I'll give it my all, young master!”
“Me too, Weger! Starting today, I'll swing my sword even if it means cutting back on sleep!”
Cael smiled in satisfaction at their fired-up responses. “Good, that's the spirit.”
After piling all the luggage in the courtyard, Cael paused before stepping out the annex's weathered front gate. He turned to look at Ella and Weger in turn, and even at Oliver wagging his tail.
The soft curve of his smile faded, replaced by a heavy, solemn aura.
“Before we set off, there's one thing we need to get straight.”
As Cael's demeanor shifted in an instant, Ella and Weger dropped their playfulness and stood ramrod straight, faces tense.
“What is it, young master?”
“Speak, sir! I'm always ready to heed your command!!”
Cael swallowed a chuckle inwardly. This guy's starting to look more like Young Il-rang every day. Blindly loyal and utterly clueless, just like him.
He lowered his voice to a grave rumble. “The path I'm about to walk is far more treacherous than anything before.”
Ella and Weger swallowed dryly.
“You can still back out now. Heading back home and living quietly wouldn't be so bad. Forget the headache of a ducal house and just live a normal life. The choice is yours.”
Before Cael could even finish, Weger pounded his chest without a hint of hesitation and bellowed, “I'm ready to die for you anytime, young master! My life belongs to you already!”
Weger's resolute shout rang out. But Cael's expression only grew colder.
“Think it through and answer me, Weger. Do you think I want your death?”
“......Pardon?”
“I want you walking beside me. Climbing high alone, stepping over my subordinates' corpses—what's the view from up there? Just a pool of red blood.”
Cael's eyes flickered with the memory of the Central Plains landscape he'd gazed upon in solitude from the Matheonru Tower atop Shipman Mountain Range. He'd crushed tens of thousands to rise, only to find profound emptiness at the end.
“Even if it's a bit lower ground, I'd rather laugh with you all while sharing the same view.”
Those words were his heartfelt plea: Don't throw your lives away for me. Stay alive by my side.
Realizing Cael's deep intent, tears welled in Weger's reddened eyes, trembling. Ella clasped her hands tightly, gazing up at him with moved eyes brimming with emotion.
Ella stepped forward cautiously first. “I... I'm from a fallen low noble family. You know that, right, young master?”
Cael had no information on Ella in his head. The original novel mentioned Cael's life only in passing, a single indirect line—there was no way it detailed his maid's backstory.
Still, he nodded as if he knew everything. “Yeah, I know.”
“We managed a tiny village at the edge of the duchy. Until that horrific plague wiped out the whole place.”
“I see.”
A deep shadow fell over Ella's face. “There were vicious rumors that... the ducal house spread it on purpose. I know it's nonsense, but after losing my parents and everyone in the territory, I couldn't help leaning into that awful rumor.”
Cael's eyebrow twitched faintly.
“Truth be told, the reason I ended up in the Restis family was to find out if those rumors were true, young master.”
“Revenge?” Cael asked.
Ella waved her hands frantically in denial. “N-no! How could I even dream of revenge against a grand duchy? I just... I just wanted to know why my innocent parents and villagers had to die like that. Why the duchy abandoned us... Just that one answer.”
Deep sorrow clouded her features. “But I learned the hard way—a fallen low noble's daughter could never get close to the truth. No one told me anything; I was completely ignored. So... I decided to give up and die.”
Ella looked at Cael with eyes glistening with tears. They were filled with grief, but beneath burned an unyielding resolve.
“That's when you reached out to me at the edge of my life, young master. First, you covered for my huge mistake. Then, you saved my life when I was lost in despair.”
“Did I? Shamefully, I don't even remember.”
“Hehe, pretending not to know out of embarrassment again. You looked even more fragile than me back then. Maybe rotting inside even worse. But still, you reached out without any strings attached.”
...Looks like this body's original owner was a decent guy after all. Kinda stings hearing the praise.
“So I made up my mind. I want to be someone like that. This one life I was ready to throw away—if I could use it valuably for the one who took me in, maybe I'd have a right to live in this world.”
Ella's eyes were now dry, filled only with unshakable will.
“I want to stay by your side, protecting you until the very end. I've prayed and vowed it every night for a long time.”
Cael closed his eyes briefly, lips curving up. “I've noted your resolve deep in my heart.”
Weger, who had listened silently to the touching confession, suddenly shot his hand up like a bolt.
“I-I thought about it a ton too!”
“All right, speak your piece.”
Weger blew his nose and boomed his reply. “To be honest, I... I dunno! I don't have some sad epic backstory like Ella, and I only ended up serving you 'cause I drew the short straw in the guard lottery!!”
His pure, transparent honesty shattered the heavy mood in an instant.
“Kukuku, lottery, huh? Must've felt so damn unfair.”
“B-but I wanna serve you my whole life! My mom always said it: Treat every person you meet by chance as heaven-sent fate and cherish them! That little mindset will shape the awesome you of the future!! Even if it started with bad-luck lottery, I think there's a deep heavenly reason I ended up with you out of this whole huge territory!”
Crude on the surface, but laced with simple, upright philosophy.
Cael burst into hearty laughter at Weger's bold answer. “Hahaha! You've got a wise and wonderful mother. Good. I've seen your firm resolve with my own eyes, so as your lord, I give you my first command. This is the absolute top priority—more important than any order to come. You must obey it without fail.”
As Cael spoke with feigned solemnity, Ella and Weger gulped and straightened up.
Cael's eyes pierced straight through them. “Neither of you dies before me without my permission. Got it?”
At his weighty command, the frozen faces of Ella and Weger broke into irrepressible radiant smiles. They looked at each other, baring white teeth in broad grins.
“Why are you two just grinning like idiots instead of answering? Didn't hear my order?”
At Cael's playful bark, Ella and Weger bellowed back with all their might, voices shaking the annex.
“Yes!! Understood, young master!!!”
“We won't die!!”
In echo of their spirited replies, Oliver at their feet barked vigorously from his sitting position.
“Woof!!! Woof woof!!”
“Good. Then let's head to the jianghu... no, the main house.”
And so, the bizarre party—the discarded heir, the fallen noble's maid, the lottery-picked guard, and the martial-arts-trained retriever—took their first bold step toward the ducal residence.
A few days later.
Restis Ducal Residence, main estate.
Urgent footsteps echoed through the peaceful corridor outside the family head's office.
Bang—!
“L-Lady Acting Duchess!! You have to come outside right now!!”
A pale-faced servant flung open the office door without knocking and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Silina, reviewing reports, furrowed her brow in irritation. “What is this vulgar racket!?”
“S-sorry! But outside, the eldest young master is...!”
“What? Why would Esler? Isn't he at the academy?”
Hearing her son's name, Silina softened her icy expression and rose.
But the servant flailed his hands, gasping for breath as he corrected her hastily. “N-not Esler. C-Cael...! Cael from the northern annex has arrived at the main gate!”
“What!?”
Silina's eyes shook violently. She'd known the assassin hadn't returned and that he was alive, but she'd never imagined he'd walk right into the main estate on his own two feet.
Clutching her dress skirts roughly, she stormed out of the office.
Crossing the corridor and exiting the grand mansion's front gate, Silina's vision filled with an unbelievable sight.
Before the imposing main gate boasting the ducal prestige stood a young man holding the reins of a horse laden with simple luggage, personally unloading it. Beside him were a maid, a guard in rustic armor, and a large dog.
The pale, skeletal Cael who'd looked on the verge of death was gone.
His skin gleamed with health, his back straight and strong, his eyes sharp and piercing.
“Wh-what the hell do you think you're doing here!?”
Silina shrieked in disbelief. Cael, mid-unload, turned and spotted her.
And in that moment, a bright smile bloomed on Cael's face.
“Oh! Mother! I hope you've been well!”
“What...?”
Cael strode forward briskly and bowed deeply in polite greeting.
“Your unworthy son has finally recovered from his long illness, thanks to your devoted prayers and care, and returns to the main house at last. I truly apologize from the heart for causing you endless worry day and night with my failings, Mother.”
“Wh-what did you...?”
Silina's lips quivered.
Is this bastard mad? Or does he truly know nothing?
Her mind went blank. She couldn't tell if that innocent expression was an act or if, as the messenger reported, he'd lost all past memories. Even Silina, master of schemes, had no way to read Cael's true intentions.
Facing the stunned Silina, Cael beamed brightly while sneering inwardly. You bitch. Don't try fooling me with your sloppy face control. The years I've spent hiding my fangs and deceiving others on Shipman Mountain Range outstrip your entire lifespan by decades, you worn-out relic.