Chapter 9
“W-What kind of preference is that?”
The murmur of curiosity reverberated through the crowd.
People began to gather, drawn in by the spectacle of Kraush’s kick.
The boy’s expression was a mix of embarrassment and confusion. While he had acted aggressively in the heat of the moment, deep down he knew his actions were less than noble.
“I-I was just following Princess Cladia’s orders!”
Realizing he was feeling the pressure of the situation, he blurted out the name of the person who had sent him. At that moment, the murmurs quieted.
The noble heirs started to withdraw with hushed tones.
Kraush mulled over the name, and soon a realization struck him.
‘Cladia Starlon.’
The name of the second princess of the Starlon Kingdom.
What in the world would the princess want with Bianca?
“I received orders from Princess Cladia to bring Miss Bianca to her, but she kept refusing, so I had no choice but to try to take her! It was by royal decree!”
Royal decree, my foot.
A single princess doesn’t wield the power of a royal decree like that.
However, outright rejecting a princess’s command wouldn’t do one’s reputation any favors, especially among the noblewomen.
‘But why Bianca of all people?’
Bianca was indeed the youngest daughter of the fallen Hadenhartz family from the North.
Yet, due to her curse, her standing among the nobility was quite low. There were plenty of disdainful looks cast towards her as well.
So, why would a princess who enjoyed mingling with her loyal subjects want to call someone like her?
It was, frankly, nonsensical.
While Kraush pondered, a fleeting memory from the past crossed his mind.
‘Anicks.’
He recalled Anicks Graizar, the eldest son of the Graizar family, often referred to as the master of the bow.
Kraush’s brows furrowed at the thought of him.
Why? Because he was the object of affection for Princess Cladia.
As time went on, due to Cladia’s fervent affections, they ended up engaged to each other.
However, Anicks had one significant flaw.
‘That jerk was crazy obsessed with my sister.’
At the Star’s Sanctuary, Anicks had faced off against Charlotte, only to be utterly defeated.
Having been praised as a genius while climbing the ranks in the Graizar family, he had accomplished nothing before Charlotte and was left utterly crushed.
His pride, now in shambles, had taken a wrong turn.
Anicks had come to hate and rage against Charlotte.
It made sense, as she had decimated his self-esteem.
Yet at the same time, he admired Charlotte’s strength.
Being a genius himself, he wanted to emulate her.
As time went on, his feelings morphed into a twisted love-hate relationship.
And it seemed that this mess had spilled over onto him and Bianca.
‘Did he think that by taking Bianca, he could get to me too?’
Not that he could do anything to Charlotte.
So, he thought he could at least touch her little brother.
“Ha.”
Kraush let out a dramatic sigh as he swept his hair back in anger.
‘Just because of that, you think you can get to Bianca?’
The noble boy flinched at the blatant anger radiating from Kraush’s eyes.
He found himself embarrassed that he had momentarily been frightened by Kraush’s glare, and he frowned in irritation.
No matter how much of the Balheim family line he belonged to, Kraush was still younger than him.
Besides, he was just a nobody, often mocked as an underachiever.
Everyone already knew that he had been dismissed from Balheim.
Kraush could have turned a blind eye to him, but considering the Balheim issue, it was just too much.
“Y-You!”
“What?”
“N-Nothing.”
The boy almost shouted but retracted when Kraush shot him another scathing look.
“Loyalty, right?”
At that moment, Kraush’s mention of loyalty made the boy look up eagerly.
If he failed to uphold the princess’s command, he would surely lose his position as her loyal subject.
Seeing the boy’s face brighten, Kraush’s words took an unexpected turn.
“But instead, I’m going to inform Anicks.”
“W-Why Anicks!?”
Catching his expression, Kraush clicked his tongue at the self-proclaimed loyal subject before him.
“Are you really so clueless about whose orders you were carrying out? Truly a lack of observation skills.”
Let’s be honest, if he had been perceptive, he wouldn’t have fallen for someone like Anicks.
As the boy became aware of his own shortcomings, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Kraush took Bianca’s hand and began walking away.
He figured leaving this boy alone would just attract more flies, so acting on impulse felt okay.
Then a sudden thought struck Kraush.
“Bianca.”
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t you go, anyway? It was the princess’s command.”
No matter how bright Bianca was for her age, she was still just twelve.
Kraush, being a regressionist with full context, understood the situation perfectly.
But Bianca was oblivious to the intricacies of his relationship with Anicks.
“So why did you refuse to follow the princess’s orders?”
“Because you told me to wait here.”
Kraush blinked in surprise.
Was she prioritizing his words over the princess’s?
Kraush briefly gazed at Bianca’s expressionless face before raising his hand to pat her head.
“Well done.”
Praising her for listening was the least he could do.
Bianca’s little head swayed side to side as Kraush’s hand moved over it.
Suddenly, a smile crept onto Kraush’s face, slightly easing his earlier displeasure.
Now that he felt a little better, it was time to have a little chat with Anicks.
＊ ＊ ＊
Anicks was not far from the main party area.
Given how much time had passed, the young nobles were immersed in their own enjoyment.
Thus, Anicks found himself on a terrace with a prime view of the surrounding scenery.
As Kraush stepped onto the terrace, he encountered a familiar face.
A boy with a skin marked by a stripe pattern resembling a tiger.
Balak Hogma.
Anicks’s subordinate, he stood at the entrance to the terrace.
As soon as he caught sight of Kraush, his cat-like eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Hey, hey! Happy to see you!”
Kraush stared at him with a sullen expression.
Balak was a swordsman who could skillfully wield two swords simultaneously.
While he was perfectly capable on the battlefield, his personality had a few quirks.
If one were to describe him, he was like a volatile explosive, unpredictable and hard to manage.
There was no telling what was going on inside his head.
“I came to see Anicks.”
Kraush hoped to pass by without incident.
Dealing with Balak was a headache he wanted to avoid.
“Yep! Anicks told me to let you in when you arrived!”
“Well, that’s good to know.”
“But I won’t let you pass!”
Just as Kraush reached for the door handle, Balak abruptly blocked him.
With only a year gap in age, he was at eye level with Kraush, his cheerful smile wide enough to see.
“I’m also interested in you, Kraush!”
“I’m not interested in guys.”
“Do you have to be interested in girls to be interested in me?”
Balak tilted his head in confusion.
Kraush felt a headache coming on.
“Yeah, so?”
“Let’s fight!”
It was a development Kraush had sensed from the start.
Balak was a battle fanatic who had charged at Charlotte without a hint of fear when she was at the Star’s Sanctuary.
Of course, he had been thoroughly crushed, but unlike Anicks, he didn’t seem to care much for the outcome of a fight.
He simply enjoyed the clash itself.
So, it made sense that the member of Balheim, Kraush, would spark his fighting spirit.
“This is the Star’s Sanctuary; fighting is prohibited here.”
“But you fought with Charlotte!”
“Yeah, but I probably shouldn’t be fighting with you!”
Balak, being an unpredictable combat enthusiast, had thrown himself into a duel without hesitation when he faced Charlotte.
Naturally, Charlotte had dealt with him decisively, but he was one of the few to outlast her for a few seconds in the battle.
Kraush didn’t want to tangle up with Balak when he needed to meet Anicks.
Seeing Balak’s eyes, it was clear he wouldn’t move aside easily.
“Fine.”
In the end, Kraush groaned in resignation.
“Sweet! Thanks!”
Swish!
Then in joy, as Balak thanked him, Kraush immediately aimed a punch at his face.
The punch, packed with aura, sped towards Balak’s face…
At the last moment, Balak managed to lean back with uncanny reflexes, nearly touching his head to the ground in an impressive display of flexibility.
But before he could properly react, Kraush kicked his leg right out from under him.
Thwack!
Balak was launched into the air.
Kraush didn’t waste this opportunity, following up with an elbow strike aimed at Balak’s abdomen.
Bam!
Balak sprawled on the ground.
As Kraush looked down at him, Balak rolled into a backflip and sprang up to his feet.
In the meantime, he wrapped his arms around his abdomen for defense, slowly beginning to sparkle with enthusiasm in his eyes.
“You’re merciless!”
“You’re the one who asked for it.”
Kraush cracked his neck, the sound echoing from side to side.
He might be an underachiever in the grand scheme compared to the Sky Generations, but he had survived until the very end.
Kraush’s determination to survive had granted him a bit of strength.
At the very least, he wouldn’t be pushed around by some little brats.
Of course, the reality was that by the time he hit adulthood, he’d be thoroughly outmatched by their talents.
But that just meant that right now, he wouldn’t lose.
“Let’s keep going! I want to bring my weapon!”
“Uh-huh? But I don’t think it’s necessary.”
As Balak shouted in excitement, Kraush coldly interjected.
At that moment, Balak’s nose began to bleed without warning.
“Huh?”
In that instant of confusion, Balak’s eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the ground.
Seeing this, Kraush dusted off his hands while Bianca tilted her head in confusion.
“What just happened?”
“It’s a technique.”
The name of the technique?
Chun-gyeong (寸勁).
A martial technique developed by a previous underachiever from Balheim, famed for delivering immense destructive power at short distances.
Kraush had learned it from the only volume he managed to salvage from the burning Green Pinegwan’s secret library.
Thanks to this technique, he had survived numerous encounters.
So naturally, it was also his most frequently employed technique.
“It has quite a few conditions for use.”
If he manages the conditions, it can bypass armor, delivering damage directly to the core.
By the time Kraush’s elbow impacted Balak, the technique had activated.
Thus, the shock from this hit carried through, effectively shaking Balak’s insides.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Having been struck by the Chun-gyeong, Balak trembled for a moment before ultimately failing to rise.
Had he been able to defend with his aura, it might have been a different story, but taking a hit from Chun-gyeong unprotected was a futile effort.
As Balak lay there, Kraush took hold of the terrace door and opened it.
Standing by the terrace railing were a tall man and a woman.
The man was Anicks Graizar.
The woman was Emelia, Balak’s fellow subordinate.
Emelia glanced at Kraush briefly before stepping around him.
She seemed to be heading towards Balak’s downed form.
As Kraush stepped aside willingly, Anicks wore a sly smile, his eyes half-lidded.
“Wow, to take down Balak like that. I’m impressed.”
He certainly knew Balak would make a play to engage Kraush.
In that case, Kraush couldn’t help but glare at him, thinking how much of a two-faced person Anicks was.
“I figured you were planning to call me by way of Princess Cladia inviting Bianca, so I came personally.”
“You caught onto that?”
Anicks feigned surprise, stroking his chin in thought.
While he wore an expression of intrigue, it was also tinged with bewilderment.
“That’s not quite how the rumors portrayed you. This is a new side of you. Perhaps the rumors are off the mark?”
“If they say I’m an underachiever, that much is true.”
Kraush held no intention of denying the past rumors.
He never cared about such gossip in the first place.
With the impending doom approaching the world that even the Sky Generations couldn’t prevent, worrying about rumors was a waste of time.
“I just thought that if you hit me today, perhaps your rumors might get a little makeover.”
Kraush knew that if he got stronger, the reputation would change accordingly.
And Anicks happened to be one of those who could rewrite that narrative.
That jerk’s skills? I plan to steal them.
He was also part of the Sky Generations.
Anicks was merely another target on Kraush’s list.
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