Chapter 37.5

“You are a wolf.” Lock started to recall many past memories. He could see his life in the Blue Wolf Tribe. “Wolves protect their families and put them first, before even themselves. I consider them to be a tribe to be proud of.” Lock could see a smiling face in front of him. “I have heard what you wanted to say.” At that moment, Lock could clearly see this man and everything in this room. On either side of Cale were the cute Cat Tribe kittens, and the sunlight coming into the room made it seem very peaceful. Lock finally remembered the words that he needed to say, and the words he wanted to say. “Thank you very much for your help. And...please help me.” The owner of this peaceful atmosphere started to speak. “Once was enough for the thanks.” The reason Cale was thinking so much about how to act like a trash these days was because of Choi Han and the Black Dragon. The Black Dragon itself was a concern, while Choi Han was a concern because of the things he brought back with him. “I do not wish to help you.” Cale did not want to help Lock. However, he knew the pain the 10 wolf children were feeling after losing their parents and their support. He had experienced it himself. Furthermore, he already had a foot inside this situation. He did not want to be responsible for everything. He planned to do just the bare minimum, so that he would break even. Cale continued to speak toward Lock, who was lowering his head after hearing Cale say that he did not want to help him “However, I do have plans to make a deal with you.” “... A deal?” “Yes.” Cale continued to speak. “What do you need help with? And what can you do for me in return?” Cale had no desire to teach this wolf boy, who was not experienced with anything. That was for Choi Han or Rosalyn to deal with. Cale stood up, as he still had a couple things to take care of before heading to the palace, before speaking once more to the wolf boy. “Come back when you have the answers.” Lock thought for a moment, before getting up from the seat and bowing his head. “I understand. I will come back to see you when I have figured things out.” “Sure.” Cale lightly patted Lock’s head once. The gaze in Lock’s eyes as he looked up was quite satisfactory. * * * Cale grabbed the crown prince’s invitation and got off the carriage. The gathering was to start at 5 pm. Cale looked at the palace, that was incomparable to both the Henituse estate and their residence in the capital combined. The Palace of Joy. The name of the location of the gathering was called the Palace of Joy, and it was built by the king to share his joy of the birth of the crown prince. Of course, the king now favored the third prince. Cale was planning to meet up with Eric, Gilbert, and Amiru outside the palace and enter together. He looked toward the palace and started to think. ‘Is this a cliche too?’ It just so happened that someone else arrived at the palace right when Cale arrived. “Wow, who is this? Isn’t this our famous young master Cale?” ‘Sigh.’ Cale held back his sigh. He could feel the distaste from the person before him just from their tone. The person approaching him was Neo, the successor to Viscount Tolz. ‘Why do I have to run into one of Venion’s minions now?’ Neo Tolz was one of the stereotypical villains. He went around doing Venion’s biddings. The village that the Black Dragon was tortured in belonged to Viscount Tolz. And Viscount Tolz’s people never liked the Henituse family. It was because, although they were separated only by a single mountain, the difference in wealth was drastic. However, in the past, they were once friendly with the Henituse family. That all changed once they went under Marquis Stan’s faction 5 years ago. Of course, they wouldn’t say it out loud, but they would stealthily try to take control of the Northeastern nobles meeting. Neo Tolz smiled brightly as he stood in front of Cale. “You are alone?” They were still a bit away from the palace entrance, and the Vice Captain and Ron were speaking with the guard to get permission to enter. Cale, who brought only the minimal amount of people with him, looked down to Neo. Neo saw that Cale was alone, and thus pushed his subordinates back. “I am going to chat with young master Cale for a bit. Go get permission for us to enter.” Neo sent his subordinates to the guard, and took one step closer to Cale. Once the two of them were standing very close, Neo started to speak. “Young master Cale.” Neo had a warm and friendly smile on his face, as he spoke in a quiet voice that only Cale could hear. “What is a terrible trash like you doing coming to the palace?” ‘Sigh, so childish. Is it like this because it is a world inside a book? Or is it because it is a fantasy world? Is it possible that punks like this exist in the real world too? They must exist since he’s provoking me like this.’ The son of a viscount dares to speak like this to the son of a count? Cale thought it was only happening because it was a novel, but actually dealing with this made Cale extremely frustrated. ‘I’m not even the MC. Can I not deal with cliches like this?’ Cale wanted to just tell Ron to kill these stupid villains who didn’t know their place. Cale just continued to look down at Neo. Neo’s expression brightened even more. To Neo, Cale was a trash who just looked fine on the outside. For someone like Neo, who had to suck up to Venion the entire time he was at the capital, Cale was a good prey to bother. “What? Do you want to throw a bottle at me? Or do you want to hit me? Go ahead and try.” ‘He’s just provoking me. He’s doing it on purpose. He can’t take any magic items into the palace, so he won’t be able to take a magic recording device inside. That is why he’s trying to rile me up out here.’ If Cale caused a ruckus here, it would be seen as a fight between a trash and a dignified noble. It would only be to Neo’s advantage, that was why he was trying to provoke Cale to bring down the Henituse family name. Cale just sat there. He then heard a voice inside his head. It was the dragon speaking through magic. - What a bastard. It reminds me of that bastard Venion. ‘He is Venion’s minion.’ Although Cale could not say that out loud, the dragon continued to speak in Cale’s mind. - Should I kill him? ‘I don’t think there’s a need to do that.’ Cale shook his head to the dragon who was following him while remaining invisible. Seeing Cale shake his head made Neo provoke Cale once again, as it did not look like Cale was going to bite. At that moment, Cale’s gaze turned to a new carriage that just arrived. Bang! The carriage door burst open as soon as the carriage stopped, and Eric Wheelsman got out of the carriage. Gilbert and Amiru were inside the carriage as well. Cale signaled Eric, who was rushing over with his eyes wide open, with his eyes while pointing to Neo with his index finger. “Hyung-nim.” Cale’s sincere voice that called out to him, as well as the cold gaze in Cale’s eyes, told Eric everything he needed to know. ‘Get rid of him.’ The eyes of the calmly standing Cale were giving that message to Eric. If Cale caused a ruckus here, it would be seen as a fight between a trash and a dignified noble. It would only be to Neo’s advantage, that was why he was trying to provoke Cale to bring down the Henituse family name. Cale just sat there. He then heard a voice inside his head. It was the dragon speaking through magic. - What a bastard. It reminds me of that bastard Venion. ‘He is Venion’s minion.’ Although Cale could not say that out loud, the dragon continued to speak in Cale’s mind. - Should I kill him? ‘I don’t think there’s a need to do that.’ Cale shook his head to the dragon who was following him while remaining invisible. Seeing Cale shake his head made Neo provoke Cale once again, as it did not look like Cale was going to bite. At that moment, Cale’s gaze turned to a new carriage that just arrived. Bang! The carriage door burst open as soon as the carriage stopped, and Eric Wheelsman got out of the carriage. Gilbert and Amiru were inside the carriage as well. Cale signaled Eric, who was rushing over with his eyes wide open, with his eyes while pointing to Neo with his index finger. “Hyung-nim.” Cale’s sincere voice that called out to him, as well as the cold gaze in Cale’s eyes, told Eric everything he needed to know. ‘Get rid of him.’ The eyes of the calmly standing Cale were giving that message to Eric.