I Became a Sick Nobleman

***

“…Are you up?”

At Cassion’s voice, Ruel nodded.

“You slept for two days. How are you feeling?”

At the news of sleeping for two days, Ruel turned his head startled and looked at Leo.

Leo was sleeping soundly and his hands weren’t wet with tears either.

“He didn’t cry this time.”

“Where is this?”

“We’ve gone around to avoid any eyes, so one more day, we’ll arrive at Ganien’s villa.”

“Alright.”

Ruel looked at the carriage with Breath dangling from his mouth.

It was a familiar carriage.

“…wasn’t it broken?”

“Aris did the outside and Noah fixed the interior.”

Aris would have used magic and Noah, according to the original story, was good with his hands.

In the web novel, the amount of content dedicated to Noah was not high.

Ruel thought it was because there was a more interesting character, Cassion.

So, Ruel brought him in because he wasn’t a colleague who had a lot of importance to Ganien.

Cassion was his only butler with no other servants to assist him.

It was a waste of power to employ Cassion’s shadows as servants, and it took a long time to choose amongst ordinary servants as they couldn’t work with Cassion.

Ruel drank the water Cassion handed over and asked.

“What do you think? Is it usable?”

A gentle smile formed on Cassion’s mouth.

“His mouth is very annoying, but it is useful. It’s very good to have.”

“Was there any friction with Aris?”

“There was.”

Ruel smiled lightly. It was expected.

He knew they wouldn’t get along.

Maybe the first impression wasn’t the best.

The memory of being sold as a slave created a lasting trauma to Aris, so the first impression must have already been at the bottom, once Aris saw his eyes that judged a person’s value from a monetary perspective.

Still, Aris would have tried to get along, but Noah’s mouth would have ruined everything.

Ruel inhaled Breath.

“The friction sparked into a fight.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t you want to ask who won?”

“Why would I?” Aris would have won.

“Aris’ growth rate is very fast,” Cassion said, handing over the meat pie.

Ruel’s expression was crumpled in the pain but he managed to pick up the pie.

Rattle.

“Who’s driving the carriage?”

“It’s Noah.”

He knew it.

When Aris drove the carriage, the ride was as smooth as gliding across ice.

“What about Aris?”

“He’s walking with the Knights. Speaking of which, I have something to tell you. I think you should check on the Knights as soon as you arrive at the villa. The morale has sunk.”

“…I know. It’s a little late.”

They must have been under a lot of pressure creating the resolve to face an impossible enemy, just to run away without the object you had to protect.

“How many people are escorting my carriage?”

“The Blue Knights left early and the Royal Knights left in groups, and now only Sir Torto is attached.”

That was wise.

Even though there were many escorts, they only drew attention from the surroundings now.

Ruel snorted, his eyes coldly sinking.

“Did you chase them?”

“I’ve heard that they’re heading out of Cyronian and towards the Tonisk Empire.”

“…to the Tonisk Empire?”

He heard from Sien that the gates of the Tonisk Empire were opened.

He wasn’t sure if they were heading to the Tonisk Empire on purpose or if the Red Ash hideout was really there.

“Watch until the door opens. Catch them after that.”

“All right, I’ll order that.”

Crunch.

Ruel shook his empty hand while eating a meat pie.

He asked while flipping through the data he had secured from the temporary hideout.

“How would you like to eat?”

“I’ll just sit down and eat.”

“I see.”

Ruel’s eyes moved quickly and flipped the next page.

There a record of his observations were noted.

The content was poor, most likely as it was observed from a distance.

‘Stalking is a basic.’

Ruel twisted the corners of his mouth.

Perhaps it was intended to be used as a threat, but there was a record log of contact with aristocrat that Bianne mentioned.

It was all about detailed information and research on a specific person that was not necessary even if they knew.

‘It looks like all the key information was stolen.’

It wasn’t a big harvest.

Ruel took out the data with certain individuals recorded and handed it over to Cassion.

There was no way the Red Ash would take action for something meaningless.

“Look into if there’s any pattern and make sure this log is handed over to Ganien. Of course, make a copy. Keep the rest.”

“Understood.”

The carriage stopped in a small nameless village.

Ruel hugged Leo, who was still asleep.

“…Are you all right?”

As Ruel got out of the carriage, Torto asked with a face deeply apologetic.

I’m sure you’ve heard everything from my subordinates, how disastrous.

Aris, who was standing next to him, waited patiently.

“It’s fine.”

“Please, I’ll take all the punishment…”

“Never mind, Sir Torto. My life is precious, but your mens’ are as precious as my own.”

“Why… do you spare my life?”

Ruel blinked silently.

Isn’t it time simply to say thank you?

“A knight exists to protect. If I thought my life was precious, I shouldn’t have chosen this job in the first place, but why did the lord give up his life to protect the knight?”

There were many emotions in Torto’s voice.

The face was also intricately distorted.

“Then should I have chosen dog death? Should I have killed all your men and survived by myself?”

“Of course you should have.”

“Are you sure you want that? Are you sure you can protect me after driving my subordinates to dog death?”

“I can’t say for sure…There is…”

“Don’t force yourself, Sir Torto. Cough, cough.”

Ruel spoke with pain coming up his throat.

“The monster doesn’t die, only I can get rid of it. I think you will understand why I made such a choice.”

Ruel patted Torto on the shoulder.

Ttak.

Torto came to his senses at the sound of a cheerfully ringing cane passing by.

“I, I made a slip of the tongue…”

“Come on, let’s eat.”

Ruel smiled and walked to the village.

Torto bowed his head silently.

His hands were shaking with a mixture of gratitude and guilt.

Looking at Torto, Aris asked.

“Are you feeling well?”

“As you see.”

Aris’ eyes were slightly frowned.

It wasn’t usually good, but it looked worse today.

Aris glanced at Cassion who shook his head as soon as eye contact was made.

“Aris.”

“Yes.”

“It’s okay, so you don’t have to look like that.”

He didn’t know what else to say, but it was hard to trust his words.

Leo poked his head out of Ruel’s arms and ran to Aris.

He spoke even though he knew he couldn’t be heard.

—Aris, did you sleep well?

Aris asked, stroking Leo.

“Then I’ll float you with a Hold.”

“Yes.”

Ruel gave his permission without hesitation. It happened to be a heavy tea cup.

“…So, the Lord is burned with a sense of justice and bruises… Ugh!”

Noha, who was sliding off the driver’s seat, gripped his chest and complained of thepain.

Aris didn’t know what he was going to say, but it was clear he wasn’t talking nicely.

Aris glared directly at him.

“Watch your mouth.”

“It wasn’t a bad word. It’s just a sense of justice. Stupid… Are you crazy? You don’t let me say anything!”

“I told you to watch your mouth, right? Or do you want to roll on the floor again?”

Since he had already lost to Aris, Noah muttered and reworded his previous unheard statement.

“Pretending to be good.”

The atmosphere between the two was frigid.

Ruel glanced at them and inhaled from Breath.

It was not his problem to intervene.

Noah was also the servant of Cassion.

Cassion sighed and approached Noah.

“Noah.”

“Yes!”

Obviously nervous, the fear was immediately present on his face.

“Didn’t I repeatedly tell you to watch your mouth? Is the pain still not enough?”

“I’ll be careful.”

The eyes of Noah, who had no time to look elsewhere, shook.

“If you slander Ruel-nim again, I’ll throw your body into the sea.”

Cassion was a loyal butler.

The loyal butler couldn’t let go of any gossip about his master.

At Cassion’s look of satisfaction, Ruel left Breath in his hand and walked again.

“Work until you get your act together.”

Cassion bowed slightly when he ordered quietly.

Leo jumped up and fell into Ruel’s arms again.

—I came to say hello to Aris. Did you sleep well, Ruel? This body did not cry today or yesterday again.

“Well done.”

Ruel patted Leo on the head.

The tail fluttered violently.

Aris used the Hold on Ruel, and he arrived comfortably at the restaurant.

When Ruel, Aris, and Torto entered the restaurant, Cassion blocked Noah’s entrance.

Noah expressing his dissatisfaction, “What’s wrong with you? Are you trying to stop me from eating just because I said that earlier?”

“The first thing to do is to buy ingredients for Ruel-nim’s meal.”

“I want to eat, too. I mean, my belly is about to stick to my back.”

“Who holds a higher position, Ruel-nim or you?”

“People are equal. Eat, poop, sleep. What’s the difference between an aristocrat?”

Cassion laughed.

Noah shuddered when he remembered the time when he had been smashed to the floor by him when he last saw the smile.

“Work it until you get your act together.”

It was an order that Ruel-nim gave himself.

How hard does he have to work to get rid of the stupid?

Noah’s physical ability was better than expected.

He had a keen eye and excellent sense, perfect for a tracker.

However the largest flaw was the words that came out never passing through the brain.

‘Isn’t it a problem that can be solved if you cut the vocal cords so that you can’t talk stupid?’

Cassion held himself back once while fiddling with the dagger hidden in his sleeve.

“People are not equal. You are below me, and above me is Ruel-nim.”

“It’s similar to a phrase the village chief used to tell me often but that was another word that came to mind after seeing my hunting skills.”

Noah said with great pride.

For him, the existence of a nobleman seemed very similar to a village chieftain.

“Have you ever seen an aristocrat?”

“It’s my first time.”

“Then you can experience the difference.”

“…what do you mean?”

Cassion handed over a silver coin to Noah.

“Wait.”

“All right! I will wait for you until you come. It’s rice, you won’t die from missing one meal.”

He entered the store and moved towards the room he had reserved in advance.