Chapter 26: A Little Lesson
His morning had been slightly crazy but interesting, and Kage was still replaying the entire conversation as he paced around his quarters.
He had to scour the Mistral Archipelago for a single worm. That meant traversing thirteen islands—all for a worm. It was treacherous... but not impossible.
In fact, Kage was already strategizing ways to improve his chances of success.
That’s what had him pacing relentlessly.
But as he prowled around his dwelling, stepped into the corridor, and surveyed the yard, Kage noticed something peculiar.
’Where the hell has everyone gone?’
Just last night, the entire place had been swarming with servants. There were about ten domestic staff working in these quarters yesterday evening alone—which made Kage realize how disgracefully he and his mother were being treated.
If they could spare ten staff for him, he could only imagine how many served his elder siblings. And yet only a scrawny boy had been sent to his mother.
His mother, in fact, treated Taro like her own child. She was the one who cooked, she was the one who cleaned. Taro tried to help, but she could be stubborn about it.
Kage clenched his fist, surveying the stark disparity within the main clan.
’Is this how a great clan treats their own?’
Rage boiled in his gut. Then he released his hand and exhaled slowly. He looked around once more at the barren yard of his quarters.
Kage chuckled bitterly and turned to leave. As he was about to enter, someone approached from the gate, making him pivot.
The knight had obsidian hair, pale jade skin, and black, average eyes.
He reached Kage and dropped to his knees.
"Knight Donovan greets the young lord."
Kage regarded him with a defiant stare.
"Speak."
"I have been commanded to escort you to The Apex Tower."
Kage studied the knight intently.
"You... you were the one who drove me yesterday, weren’t you?"
Knight Donovan looked down and bowed deeper.
"Yes, young lord."
"How is your friend doing?"
Donovan swallowed hard, his mind flashing back to yesterday’s savage brutality.
"H—He is in the infirmary, sir... the physician says he may lose some functions permanently, but he will live."
Kage laughed—short and menacing.
"Of course he will live... I need him to live. I can’t be found killing people every time you know?"
Donovan stared at this young master’s innocent smile, but for obvious reasons, it was impossible to accept. All he could see was that frigid, sinister grin that had twisted Kage’s face as he sliced Knight Finn’s mouth with a kitchen knife.
Knight Donovan desperately wanted to be anywhere else. But orders were orders. He was the lowest rung on this clan’s ladder, and he’d been commanded by powerful people—he couldn’t refuse.
Kage descended a step and settled on the platform of his corridor.
"What’s wrong, Knight? You’re drenched in sweat, and it’s morning—the heat hasn’t even arrived."
"I’m a heavy sweater, young lord..."
He wiped his forehead with a sheepish laugh as he responded.
Kage looked at him with mock pity.
"That must be rough. Do you feel like a broken faucet sometimes?"
Donovan wiped another wave of perspiration from his face, nodding frantically.
"Y–yes, young lord."
Kage smiled faintly.
"I can relate. Sometimes, I feel like my brain isn’t wired correctly. You know, just this same yesterday, I killed a child in front of its mother. It was so enraged, nearly killed me—but I killed it too."
Donovan’s eyes bulged, nearly popping from their sockets, his voice quavering.
"Y—You d–did what?"
Knight Donovan was trembling violently.
Anyone else would probably dismiss it as a bluff, but after witnessing yesterday’s carnage, Donovan was convinced that Kage was utterly unhinged. And if someone who had blinded a man with his bare hands and shredded his mouth with a kitchen knife was claiming he’d once murdered a child in front of its mother... there was something about that story and the Kage he’d witnessed yesterday that felt horrifyingly authentic.
Donovan felt his stomach churning—he desperately needed to find a toilet.
Kage smiled, then stood.
"Wait here... I’ll be back in a moment. Let me change and grab my kitchen knife."
Donovan watched Kage disappear inside. He stood frozen for several seconds, his mind racing frantically.
’I can’t do this, I can’t do this... who knows what he’ll do? What if he hacks off my hand? He’s direct bloodline—the best I’ll get is an apology. I have to escape this place... no... I’m dead either way. I’ll just go home. I want to go home.’
He staggered backward, staring at the beautiful villa—and suddenly it looked menacing and dark. Knight Donovan bolted without looking back.
Later, Kage emerged wearing fresh clothes: midnight blue robes with silver bracers. He looked around—Knight Donovan was nowhere to be found.
He examined the knife in his hands and smiled.
"I guess I didn’t need this after all."
He tossed it aside and instead rested his hand gently on the sword fastened to the silver ornate belt that cinched his garment.
He stepped outside moments later and began to stroll.
There were dozens of servants in black-colored robes wielding stick brooms, sweeping fallen leaves from the pathways. Gardeners, groundskeepers—as he walked, Kage counted over thirty workers in just five hundred meters, each absorbed in their tasks.
Kage couldn’t help but notice something intriguing as he moved among them, but kept his observations to himself.
Eventually, he reached his destination: The Blade Courtyards.
Since it was morning, the area swarmed with groundskeepers and cleaners.
There were also numerous trainees conducting their morning routines.
Kage stood at a distance, watching them thunder through vicious squats with dumbbells clutched in their arms.
They moved in perfect coordination despite having no visible leader.
Kage sighed as he observed them. As he turned to leave, someone approached.
He fixed the approaching figure with a cold, indifferent stare.
The young man had steel-grey, spiky hair and sharp, narrow eyes that gleamed like molten silver. His wiry frame rippled with lean muscle beneath porcelain skin. He wore sleeveless training garb cinched at the waist with a silver belt.
Beside him walked another youth in similar attire, but while the grey-haired one wore white and black, his companion was dressed entirely in black.
The young man stopped before Kage and looked him up and down with obvious disdain.
Kage lowered his head slightly in greeting.
"I greet you, senior brother."
The boy clenched his teeth in irritation and shoved Kage from the path.
"Crawl back to whatever hole spawned you."
Kage staggered sideways, staring at his half-brother’s retreating form. He remained silent for a heartbeat, then suddenly called out.
"Wait!"
The grey-haired young master frowned and whirled back toward Kage, stunned by the audacity.
"What?"
Kage strode forward, ignoring his brother’s question entirely. Then he stopped directly in front of the companion.
Everyone stared, bewildered. Bystanders were gawking too.
Then Kage slowly drew his sword, his gaze boring into the young man.
"I see you’ve forgotten your manners."
He roared.
"You’re supposed to greet direct bloodline when you encounter one, you fool!"
His blade flashed with his words. In one fluid motion, the man’s hand went spinning through the air. Blood erupted in a crimson arc, splattering across Kage’s face and his brother’s clothes.
Everyone froze in shock and terror as they watched the severed hand sail through the air and thud onto the ground.
[The Wolf of the North widens his eyes in unbelief, shouts: AGAIN?!!]
[The Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth laughs, says at this point you might have a thing for people’s hands]
[The Weaver of sorrow sobs gently with a smile]