Chapter Text
Cale looked blankly at the pair sitting across from him.
“Will you repeat that?”
“You're the God of Death's Saint,” the woman repeated, before sarcastically adding in a dry tone, “Congratulations.”
Cale nodded distractedly.
“That's what I thought you said.”
He held himself back from letting out his mental scream of anguish.
Just yesterday Kim Rok Soo awoke in the body of a minor villain of a munchkin novel. He had barely had enough time to wrap his mind around being Cale Henituse before the two in front of him showed up and threw this new info at his feet.
He had barely been able to get a second alone since waking up as Cale. Because apparently when the protagonist of The Birth of a Hero beat the crap out of Cale, he didn't hold back. No, minor villain Cale Henituse was beaten until the brink of death by the hero and Kim Rok Soo had to live with the consequences.
Said consequences included the hovering of a very worried Count.
And apparently Sainthood.
Cale let out a tired sigh. “How did you even get here so fast?”
The woman, who Cale knew to be a terrifyingly powerful curse user from the book, just shrugged nonchalantly as she answered.
“Teleported. The Church can be useful sometimes.”
Cale supposed the Church of Death would be happy to throw money at the idea of a potential Saint.
Cage just continued on, not bothered by Cale's silence.
“Look, I'm being as brutally honest as I can be here,” she said, eyes serious and pained, “Being chosen by the God of Death is not a privilege, it's trouble. The Church can be useful but for the most part they're annoying. The only reason I'm being so candid with you is because this damn god is giving me a migraine with his excitement for you and I personally know that this much attention from him is nothing good.”
Cale looked from Cage to her companion, sitting calmly in his wheelchair with a serene smile on his face and laughing eyes. Taylor Stan, a man who was supposed to die in a few short months, was finding his suffering amusing.
Cale looked back to Cage, face utterly blank, and buried his face in his hands.
Cage watched her new dongsaeng through the window in the luxurious guest room she had been given by the Count.
Cale was sitting on a veranda in one of the numerous gardens on the property that just so happened to be in view of her window. She would think it was coincidence he chose to sit there if not for his staring up at her as he calmly sipped his tea.
“He's an interesting young master, isn't he?” Taylor commented, also looking down on the teenager.
Cage couldn't help her snort.
Interesting indeed.
When the day before Cage had practically collapsed from the God of Death's joy she had been shocked. When he had then ordered her to go to Cale Henituse immediately, she had been completely confused. Reaching out to a member of the Church located in Puzzle City brought with it even more confusion when the man was already expecting her.
Apparently she was not the only one in the Church to receive a 'revelation' from the god.
Everyone in the Church knew there was a new Saint of the God of Death and that Cage was the one chosen to find him.
Lucky her.
A mage was contracted to send her wherever she was ordered to go and with a little wheedling she had been able to ensure that Taylor could come with her.
Even she had heard of Cale Henituse before. The trashy young master who was always drunk and making a fool of himself. For him to suddenly be a Saint was confusing to say the least.
It had been explained to her about his near death and miraculous healing by the Count himself when he had received her.
Everything about this situation was odd.
“He's different from the rumors,” she hummed back, still staring at the teen.
Taylor who had grown up learning the political landscape of the nobility had doubtless heard many more rumors about the eldest Henituse child. He nodded in confirmation as he looked from the teen to Cage and back again.
The pounding in her head was yet to leave as Cage could feel the God of Death's eagerness and anticipation in the back of her head.
This young master was a mystery in many ways and Cage had a feeling things were about to get very interesting.
Billos was standing idly behind the front counter of his teashop, eyes scanning the few patrons of his shop and the view outside of his front windows. The whole city was in a quiet uproar as the Lord's eldest son was beaten black and blue in broad daylight. Even his customers could be heard gossiping about the incident, from the scandalized to the ones who believed the boy had finally got what he deserved. Billos wisely kept his opinions to himself when asked.
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside of his shop.
Well, well, Billos thought, watching a whole fleet of Henituse soldiers surrounding a carriage detailed with a golden turtle stopped outside his shop, isn't this interesting.
Billos could feel a wicked smirk cross his face as the carriage opened to reveal a completely healed young master Cale Henituse, followed by a woman in the garb of a member of the Church of Death and the eldest son of Marquis Stan.
Billos quickly changed his expression to one of professional hospitality and awaited whatever golden opportunity just landed in his lap.