Chapter Text
“Human! Human! It’s snowing! It’s snowing!”
“Nya! Wake up! Nya! Let’s go outside!”
Cale let out a soft groan, feeling the pain in his stomach from the sudden impact.
Cale opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a silver cat whose standing beside him, gracefully licking her paw with her eyes closed.
“It’s nice to see you already awake, young master.”
Cale flinched, turning his sharp eyes at the edge of the bed where Ron entered with a lemon tea, smiling.
Cale swore he felt shivers while staring at the vicious old man.
“Human!!!”
“What?”
The black dragon, Raon, smiled, digging his face into Cale’s stomach. Hong, who was watching his brother, let out a loud meow and decided to jump onto Cale’s shoulders and placed his paws on their guardian’s head, carefully patting his bed hair.
On just let out a sigh, causing Cale to turn to the little girl who hopelessly stared at them.
It was as if she was mocking them with her eyes. Seriously, Cale thinks she had been spending too much time with Eruhaben and Ron lately to pick up their mannerism.
“Human! Human! Smart Rosalyn and Goldie Gramps brought ice shoes for us! It was so cool!”
“So cool! Nya!”
Cale tilted his head. “Ice shoes?”
“I believe it’s Ice skates, young master. Choi Han and Lock found a lake made of black ice during their morning jug.”
Cale hummed in response, nodding his head.
He had a bad feeling about this.
“And?”
Raon and Hong’s eyes sparkled so that Cale feared they stole a night lamp or something while On just stayed silent watching her brothers do the talking, wagging her fluffy tail.
“Can we go?” Hong and Raon exclaimed at the same time.
Cale stared at them with a blank expression, he can also see On waiting for his reply.
He can clearly tell she, too, was looking forward to it as her eyes were shining.
Ron smiled so widely, watching as his puppy young master, decided to save him by serving his favorite drink.
Cale stared at the all-so-familiar lemon tea and silently took the cup without any protest, fearing that the old man might slit his neck off.
Cale cringed at the bitter tea yet remained stoic as he gulped it down in one go, not even minding his butler who looked so delighted in his misery.
“Human, can we?”
“Can we?” Hong echoed his brother, giving the best puppy or should he say- kitten and dragon eyes they could muster while wagging their tail energetically.
He sighed.
“Fine, but make sure to wear warm clothes and be careful not to catch a cold, and bring Choi Han with you.”
Cale nods his head, thinking how many hours is he going to sleep if he sends them away for a while.
He internally celebrated until he heard the little girl’s voice.
“You’re coming right?” On asked, tilting her head innocently.
“Of course, he’s coming!” Hong shouted.
“Let’s skate! Let’s skate! Let’s bring Goldie Gramps! Smart Rosalyn too, Grandpa Ron, and Good Beacrox! Strong Choi Han too!” Raon yelled, jumping on the bed in excitement with Hong.
“How about we bring the whole family?” On suggested, receiving wide smiles from her brothers.
“Oh! Noona is so smart!”
“Very smart indeed!”
On smugly smirked, turning to their guardian who looked so tired, even thou he just woke up before smiling so brightly.
-------------------
Cale remained still in his seat, watching the children play on the ice with their new skating shoes.
Even Choi Han, Lock, Mary, and Hans were skating, guiding the wolves and tiger children, who still haven’t found their balance.
Cale turned his head to see On and Hong in their human form, supporting Raon who had four skates on each paw.
The sight couldn’t help but make him smile when he saw Raon slip and the three of them let out loud giggles. Even Ron and Eruhaben were smiling (secretly) while watching the children.
To his surprise, even Dodori decided to join, chasing after On, Raon, and Hong.
Rosalyn was standing on the ice with Mila to ensure that none of the children got hurt while Rasheel was devouring the bingsu Beacrox made with Gashan and some tigers assisting him at the small canopy they build in the corner of the lake.
Everyone was smiling at the serene sight.
Cale let out a happy sigh, staring at the children who all wore huge smiles on their faces.
After the war against White Star, Cale is so happy to admit that this is the peace he wanted for himself and for his family.
It’s a shame, Sheritt-nim and his hyung-nim could not come with them.
“Human! Human! Look!” Raon yelled, lifting his front paws before balancing himself with just his back paws while smiling so brightly.
He looked funny but Cale couldn’t help but chuckle at the small but great and mighty dragon.
On and Hong merrily giggled as they both held Raon’s every paw and glided with him.
Cale heard a melody echoing throughout the lake and saw Eruhaben playing some music on the recording orb, maybe some of the dragon’s personal collections of music.
Laughter then echoed when Dodori tried to dance only to slip and landed on his butt.
Rasheel shamelessly burst into laughter, clearly mocking the pink dragon who pouted and didn’t hesitate to throw a huge snowball at the gray dragon which caused another wave of argument and amusement for others.
“Aren’t you going to skate, Young master?” Ron suddenly asked.
Everyone, who had sharp hearing senses, which was EVERYONE, turned their attention to Cale who widen his eyes in shock.
“Cale can skate?”
“Young Master-nim can skate?” On and Lock asked at the same time.
Ron smiled so widely and nod his head. “Yes, When Young Master was a little boy, he used to skate a lot. He even performs during the Winter Festival at the Duchy back then.”
“Yes, I remember what they used to call him back then.” Hans interfered, and all attention drifted to the young butler who was standing beside Maes.
“What do they call him?” Eruhaben deadpanned, completely curious yet refuse to show it in his expression.
“They used to call him the Red Ice Prince,” Ron replied with a proud smile. “They said that the young master dances beautifully and majesticly as if he was born to conquer the ice.”
“Whoa!” the children were amazed, turning their heads to the said person whose face was as red as his hair.
‘Red Ice Prince? Who the hell come up with that?!’
Eruhaben clicked his tongue, shaking his head in pity. “Unlucky Bastard.”
Choi Han, who was standing in the corner, knew the truth about Cale Henituse and Kim Rok Soo, and also nod his head in agreement. Remembering one certain memory from Jung Soo.
While the said young master was flabbergasted. He didn’t know the original Cale Henituse, who was now known as Kim Rok Soo, knew how to skate too.
Back when he was Kim Rok Soo, he had learned how to skate when he accidentally joined a skating team during his elementary days. He thought he was joining a book club but he signed up the wrong form which got him to the skating team. Luckily, their instructor was kind enough to pay for his skating shoes when he saw potential in him even thou he usually slack around.
To be honest, Cale thinks that doesn’t make any sense at that time, so he let it be. He was doing it out of curiosity.
But then, one day he began to love skating. It was his salvation throughout his entire life.
When he asked why his instructor refused to accept any payment for his training, he just replied that Rok Soo looked awesome on ice.
He didn’t know what that meant nor why his instructor told him that. Instead, he chose to take a part-time job, cleaning the rift as a payment for each lesson to help his instructor.
This continued until the apocalypse happened. He remembered how he tried to run to save his instructor only to find him being attacked by monsters. Cale remembered his instructor’s voice, screaming for him to run away to survive and he did. This led him to meet Soo Hyuk when he was trapped under the broken debris for days, only a few kilometers away from the skating dome.
“Human!”
Cale snapped his eyes wide, stopping the sudden record as he was greeted by a huge blue eye who was smiling brightly at him.
“Can you dance for us?”
Cale blinked, finally noticing the bright eyes of the children staring at him even Mary was looking at him, though her eyes were covered underneath her hood.
Cale knew she was staring at him with wide begging eyes the same look as Lock and Choi Han were wearing right now.
Even the dragons and his other companions were waiting for him like children waiting for the present.
Cale turned his eyes back to the children once again, opening and closing his mouth without knowing what to say. He hates to disappoint those bright eyes but…
“I can’t.”
Everyone fell into silence, not knowing how to break it as they all stared at Cale with different expressions.
“...It’s alright.”
On smiled, even thou, Cale knew she was also disappointed. The little girl broke the awkward silence, wordlessly assuring her siblings and those who were younger than her with a gentle smile.
“How about we just drink hot chocolate and cookies Uncle Beacrox made for us.”
“I call for ten marshmallows!” Raon raised his paw and instantly caught up with what his sister was doing.
“Me too! Me too!”
“Me three!”
Cale bit his lips, wholly uneasy by the disappointment in their eyes that reminded him of a time when Soo Hyuk and Jung Soo asked to perform but he firmly refused, not knowing that would be the last time they asked for him to dance.
Cale raised his head and stared at the white sky, letting out a loud sigh that made everyone turn to him.
He lowered his gaze and met On’s eyes with firm determination. “How about I perform next month? I still need to get myself ready, if you don’t mind?”
The children’s, not to mention some companions even dragons, eyes shone at his statement and nodded without further due.
They all giggled in excitement, nodding their heads, and made their way towards the canopy where all their drinks were being served.
He heard Ron silently laughing behind him as well as Eruhaben delightedly shook his head before turning his back on the red-haired who glanced at his servant.
“You planned this, didn’t you?” he glared but Ron just gave him a benign smile.
“I don’t know what are you talking about, young master.”
Cale sighed, brushing his now waist-length red hair that fluttered by the wind when Choi Han marched towards him with a bright smile. “Don’t worry, Cale-nim. I think you will do great.”
Cale raised his eyebrows, wondering what Choi Han meant before shrugging it off and making his way to have his-once every blue-moon- chocolate drink.
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On the fourth night, after that promise. Cale stood in front of his room balcony at the Super Rock Villa, admiring the moon in the sky that was visible because of the spell Rosalyn and Eruhaben had developed a few months ago.
He couldn’t sleep after sleeping the entire day when the kids decided to leave him alone to finish the assignments Eruhaben gave them the day before.
He turned his head to his bed, to see the children peacefully sleeping. On and Hong were in their human form while Raon was cuddling with On who also had her hand being held by Hong.
He smiled, silently walking his way to his children before gently pulling the blankets to keep them warm.
He sat on the side, watching the kids breathe in sync, clearly dead tired of playing and studying all day.
Cale brushed Hong’s head before leaning down to place a gentle kiss on each of the children’s heads before going back to the window.
“Should I practice?” he mumbled, glancing at the skates that Eruhaben gave him two days ago on the table.
He contemplated for a moment and nod his head, deciding to sneak out for a few hours before returning back.
Besides he can’t sleep so why not try to be productive?
He grab his skates, placing them in his spatial bag along with some stuff he needed. He stealthily changed his pajamas into warm ones.
Cale glanced at the children one last time before jumping out of the window, using his ancient power to sneak out of Super Rock Villa.
- You’re dead if you got caught.
- Don’t worry. I’ll take us wherever you wanted to go, Cale!
- Hahaha let’s burn some money! Cale!
- Are you going to xxx skate? Xxx go! Go! I want to see it!
- I’m hungry, Cale. Let’s grab some food before we go.
“It’s not like I’m running away. I’ll just practice for an hour or two.”
Cale glided out of the cave before he flew across the Forest of Darkness until he found the frozen lake where they were playing a few days ago.
He gently landed on the snow, his eyes searching around for a big rock or branch he can sit on to wear his skate, completely unaware of the commotion he made back home.
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“Human! Human is missing!” Raon panicked, flying around the room.
Earlier, Raon felt Cale’s aura disappear around the room and woke up.
Eruhaben too felt Cale disappearance, which was why he was standing there inside the room without even changing his elegant creme night ware.
Beacrox and Choi Han clearly just woke up on alert after hearing Raon yelling for Cale.
Rosalyn was also awake, red hair was tied in a braid yet she took the time to change her clothes before meeting them.
“Such unlucky bastard.” Eruhaben sighed, brushing his hands on his cheeks.
“Where would he go at this hour?” Choi Han asked, completely alert with his hands holding his sword, ready to withdraw.
“I might know where he is,”
Everyone turned back to Ron who just sighed. The old butler look as if he had expected it, as he was already wearing his usual uniform.
A wide smile appeared on his wrinkled face. “It looks like habits never die.”
---------------------
“What do you mean by habits never dies, Mr. Ron?” Rosalyn asked.
All of them were currently flying towards on certain location with Eruhaben and Rosalyn’s magic.
Ron, who was leading the group, smiled. “When the young master was young, he tends to sneak out of the mansion. The Count and Former Countess almost faint when they found out the young master was missing, only to find him on the skating field, mindlessly skating in the middle of the night.”
The children’s eyes glimmered under the moonlight, not expecting that their lazy fat- guardian would sneak out just to skate.
“Does he do that all the time?” Eruhaben asked.
“Before, yes, but after the Former Countess died. He rarely sneak out to skate until he totally stopped when he started to drink.”
The others nod their heads in understanding.
Choi Han, who knew Kim Rok Soo in Jung Soo's memories, was no different. Jung Soo once caught Rok Soo staring at the skating center while they were patrolling when he asked if he wanted to enter.
Rok Soo denied it until a few days later, they found him skating on his own.
He can still remember how happy Jung Soo was when he found out that Rok Soo was so good at skating that he asked him to perform for them but Rok Soo said no. Seeing how their dongsaeng was uncomfortable. They didn’t push it, knowing how sensitive Rok Soo could be even thou he doesn’t show it.
“He’s here,” Raon stated, feeling Cale’s aura before casting an invisibility magic on them.
They remained floating in the sky as they see what Cale was doing on the ground. They noticed a thick mat underneath Cale who was stretching his body to warm it up.
Amusement linger as their eyes never left the oblivious red-haired who continued to mind his own business.
Cale levitated a flat rock from the ground before building a small bond fire on the corner, lighting it up with his ancient power to keep him warm.
Cale started to mumble about how to stretch himself on his own while Raon decided to record it with his recording orb since it was a rare chance to see Cale moving up like this.
Cale, who was oblivious as always, stood up before reaching for his ankle from behind before pulling to reach his head, doing a familiar arc.
It seems that Cale’s body has muscle memory, even thou he stopped a few years ago, it wasn’t difficult for him to do his usual warm-ups.
Cale stood straight after almost half an hour of stretching up, bringing his arms to level his chest, fixing his posture before doing the forgotten yet still familiar ballet spin he used to do when he was young.
To say the others were impressed is an understatement.
It is clear that Cale had experience in ballet by his posture which sends a completely different vibe than his usual aura.
Cale looked graceful and gentle by doing that simple spin.
The said red-haired decided it was time to step unto the ice, calmly gliding on the ice as if it was his nature.
The children especially On, couldn’t help but stare at their guardian gracefully gliding on the ice.
As a lady and Cale’s adopted daughter, Duchess Violan made sure she and her brother had proper training as nobles. They may have decided to be the Molan’s successors instead but that doesn’t change the fact that Cale adopted them and gave them his name.
And one of their lessons, she was taught to be graceful like a real lady. Yet her gracefulness doesn’t compare to the gracefulness their guardian was showing on the ice right now.
He felt completely different from his stoic and unapproachable aura. He felt majestic and beautiful.
His red long hair gently sways as he did some spins and jumps on which he may or may not have landed successfully but that isn’t the point.
The point is Cale looked ethereal. It was as if watching a painting coming to life.
“Looks like his former nickname does suit him,” Rosalyn commented, completely impressed by what she was seeing while the others silently agree, still watching the red-haired who cursed when his hands touched the ice when he did a trick.
They watched Cale and saw smiles and frowns on his handsome face when he succeeded in his jump or landed on his butt.
It was clear that the red hair young master was currently enjoying what he was doing and the others, even thou some of them wouldn’t admit it, were completely mesmerized by his movements and glides.
--------------
The “secret” practice continues to be unnoticed, as Cale believes. They just decided to remain silent, not wanting to ruin the young master’s dignity.
It continued every night until a month passed by.
The time has finally come.
Cale sat in front of the mirror after taking a bath and was now waiting for Ron to be done braiding half of his long red hair into a crown before placing the ornaments that On and Hong gave.
It was a golden leaf shaped like a crown, he doesn’t know where his children got them but On, Hong and Raon practically begged for him to wear it tonight. He doesn’t have a choice but to do so.
Not because he is a doting father, definitely not.
“Are the children already there?” he asked, staring at Ron through the mirror.
Ron smiled widely, finishing the final touch. “Yes, young master. Everyone is already there.”
“Everyone?” Cale frowned.
He completely remembered saying that it will only be exclusive within their circle.
“Shall we go?”
Cale turn his head at the sudden voice and saw Eruhaben marching towards them. Cale stood up and stared at his reflection one more time.
He was wearing a silver and elegant suit that made him look like a prince, highlighting his blood-red hair and gold hair ornament.
He doesn’t know where Ron and Eruhaben found this but he liked it. The fabric was soft and flexible, he knew since he already warmed up wearing it earlier.
Covering himself with a thick coat, Cale nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”
The golden dragon nod before casting teleportation magic. Cale closed his eyes and when he opened them, he wanted to close them again after seeing the “small” crowd.
“Human’s here!!” Raon practically broadcast, causing everyone to turn to Cale.
And by everyone. He means everyone.
His hyung-nim, The Roan Empire’s First Emperor, Alberu Crossman. Tasha, The Sun Twins, Mary, The Dragons, the Tiger tribe, the Wolves, Choi Han, Lock, Rosalyn, His children, and even the whales are here.
His siblings, Lily and Basen were here along with Deruth and Violan who were already sitting on a bench for who knows where it came from.
His eyes searched for a lunatic white-haired and thanked the one who called everyone when he saw that said lunatic wasn’t present.
Cale let out a relieved sigh, drifting his eyes around the place.
That was when Cale noticed that the lake was decorated by light colorful orbs, along with the full moon that seemed to be glued on the trees, causing an ethereal look.
“You didn’t glue the moon, right?” He deadpanned.
Alberu let out a majestic laugh. “Dongsaeng, it seems like the moon decides to watch you too.”
“What are you even doing here?”
Alberu smiled. “Disrespectful as always. I cancel all of my appointments for tonight just to see you dance. My lovely niece and nephews seemed to be excited as they personally fetched me at my office.”
‘His niece and nephews?’
Cale turned to the children only to see them smiling so brightly as if they didn’t just bring a bunch of headaches for Cale. He let out a sigh, turning to see everyone who was already in their place.
‘Seriously. What is this? A concert?’
“Fine, but no recording orbs and definitely no Clopeh Sekka or I’ll never dance again.”
Alberu just smiled and didn’t say anything, especially when he, the emperor himself, bought dozen of orbs just to film this moment, not to mention the recordings Raon had sent him every morning for the past month.
They just wordlessly nod and Cale sighed and removed his thick coat, revealing his delicate appearance that caused some people to gasp at his beauty, giving it to Ron before marching his way toward the ice.
They all watched as Cale took the cover off the blades before expertly gliding on the ice.
He glided before turning back at them one more time with a shy expression. “Don’t expect too much. It had been a while.”
“No judgments.” Eruhaben assured him.
Cale took a deep breath and glided himself towards the center.
Raon smiled, waiting for the cue and when Cale gave a small nod, he sent his mana towards the orb before a loud majestic classical music started to play.
At that moment, everyone, EVERYONE, took out their recording orbs secretly.
Tasha and Rosalyn purposely set it on the live broadcast as per Alveru's instruction beforehand, (A very good revenge for his good bastard dongsaeng who never fails to supply his weekly headache) with wide smiles.
Everyone in the capital- no, the whole continent and some allied kingdoms stared at the orb that was playing mid-air. They all saw their hero, Young Master Silver Shield, standing on the ice, looking so beautiful with his long waist-length red hair and silver suit that made every prince look like a bug.
On an instant, Cale’s gaze changed and when he started to move, everyone forgot to breathe.
Everything felt different.
Even Choi Han and others who had seen Cale practices for a month felt different.
It was completely different than what they had seen him do doing practice.
It was as if Cale devoured them, not with his terrifying nor cold aura but something gentle, graceful, and breathtaking.
The way he moved was so graceful that even his slim fingers were pointed. His jumps and spins were precise, wordlessly proving the years of practice and experience.
They watched the way Cale’s red hair bounces and sways in the air.
Unknown to them, the elementals who were around the Forest of Darkness had witnessed Cale from the very first day he started practicing and they happily dances with him, making a breath-taking scene.
The people watching the performance along with those watching the broadcast couldn’t help but hold their breaths when numerous elementals started to reveal themselves in the darkness.
Cale didn’t seem to notice them as he continued to dance gracefully.
They watched as the elementals of every element glided with Cale as if it was natural for them to join the red hair with his dance. From the spins and impressive jumps, the elementals dance with him.
Deruth, who was watching his son with a smile, couldn’t help but cry.
Remembering the time when little Cale danced on the ice without any care, he felt like he found that child again.
The people in the Duchy had their eyes glued to the transparent screen, some were amazed and some were smiling so brightly.
“The Red Ice Prince had returned.” a baker mumbled yet enough for everyone to hear.
They heard about this forgotten nickname before and tonight, their Prince had finally avowed himself in the Ice.
“Oh, the legend! God had descended on the Ice!!” Clopeh Sekka announced hands were clasped in his chest while staring at Cale dancing on the ice.
Cale spun furiously before ending his performance with a gentle slide, lifting one hand and reaching out to the sky.
It was as if he was reaching for the moon as the elementals glided from his toes up to his fingers and flew to the sky before disappearing.
Cale caught his breath, huffing so hard before noticing the silence. He turned his head to his family only to see them frozen with shaky eyes.
Cale tilted his head, sliding closer to them when Raon, in a swift of air, dashed and met his chest. Causing him to let out a groan and fell on the ice.
“Human!”
Cale lifted his head to his chest and saw Choi Han and Ron rush to help him up while Eruhaben was sending a glare at Raon who didn’t even bother to turn at them as his entire focus was now on his human.
His Father.
“D-Dad! That was awesome!!” He cheered.
It was now Cale who froze in his place, staring at Raon with wide eyes. “W-what?”
“It was awesome! You dance so beautifully! It was great and mighty not as great and mighty as me but it was awesome!” Raon furiously babble, earning laughter from the adults who definitely understood what Cale meant and saw his reaction.
“Dad!”
Cale lifted his head and saw On and Hong in their human form smiling so brightly at him.
He heard them right, right?
“Dad, you were so cool!” Hong didn’t care and jumped on him, wrapping his arms around Cale’s neck, squeezing Raon in between them who just giggled.
On smiled, kneeling in front of Cale who still remained frozen in his place.
They may have been with him since the beginning, they already have seen him as their father but they never called him those words. Cale might not say it but they knew the red hair had been waiting for those words for who knew how long.
“Dad,” she gently called, gaining Cale’s attention this time, hearing it loud and clear. “Dad, you were so great and beautiful.”
That’s when, for a rare time, they saw Cale cry in happiness before pulling the three children into his embrace.
While the rest just watch, their hero, their home with warm smiles.
Completely unaware of the chaos Cale had caused the entire continent, while Alberu smiled in triumph. Clearly looking forward to the aftermath of this performance.