007 [Leaving the Forest and the Separation]

CALLEOUS INDIFFERENTLY stares at the people standing in front of him. He had heard their words but he just couldn't find his care about it so he just kept his indifference at bay, making the pair of merchants stand on eggshells before him.

They can't force him to give a damn since it was these two merchants who suddenly appeared out of nowhere before Calleous with a goal of wanting to buy the carcass of the alpha king wolf beast that he had painstakingly killed.

First of all, Calleous doesn't need money. With his status, he could even buy one hundred of these merchants and he still has enough savings to squander. It irks him that these merchants always seem to make him look like he is in dire need of money.

If they two just kindly ask for the carcass without mentioning paying an amount, Calleous wouldn't be this cold-hearted facing them, although he will still not give the body of the alpha king to them for free.

Secondly, he was already getting impatient, as he knows just how worried his family was, especially his brother, because he was already gone for a while now. Not only their position was a little farther than where the rest would be because of how they ran after all the beast, not letting anything escape to call for a backup.

With the distance, since the horses had escaped on their own after getting injured or scared from the beast attack, they had to walk the distance, which will also take time. And yet, these two stubborn merchants had been preventing them from going when he was already impatient enough to leave.

Will they agree to be the substitute recipients of his mother and brother's full blast of questions? If they are, then how about they let him use one of their horses so that he can quickly return to his family now?

Lastly and most important of all, Calleous really didn't like these merchants. It was because Calleous knew about how it was the merchants who spread his unwanted legend, creating that abominable nickname of his.

Added to the fact that it was this same situation in which those merchants asked to buy the dead body of the tamaraw from him that Calleous was reminded of that fateful encounter he most wanted to change.

"Can you not sell it to us? It may not be obvious but we are really a wealthy merchant from the kingdom of Temura so we can buy this alpha king wolf beast to you even if you triple the original price. Or you can just name your price? How about it?" The older merchant tried to negotiate despite him feeling nervous for no reason.

He tried to sneak a peek at this obviously young knight with the highest position in their group. Because of the hood the other was wearing, he couldn't see the face inside. This old merchant had been in this business for more than thirty years so he already had an eye to see beyond a person's face.

From reading the person's expression, he already knows what the other wants or their decision. Unfortunately, this young man wasn't letting him see even his eyes within the hood he was wearing.

But he wasn't lying when he said that he can triple the price he is willing to pay for the body of the seven-star beast. With how the body was not that ruined, it could sell at least four million star coins. And if the star beast core was also included, it could be sold alone with a wooping price of ten million star coins.

That was only the original price but after buying it, the merchant can sell it in the biggest auction house and it cannot only triple the amount but it can be bought as high as ten times the original price!

So the merchant really wanted to buy even the body alone!

They were just on their way to the Ciltara Kingdom to buy and also sell but he didn't know that he'd be this lucky to bump into this treasure. He sure will earn more than he expected.

Master Luc looked at the two pitiful merchants standing before their prince. He wanted to feel pity but he also felt ridiculous when these ignorant merchants asked for the carcass like their prince was some poor kid who could be bought with money.

Prince Calleous may be wearing the same uniform as them, but if you look at it closely, what the prince is wearing was made from treasures while theirs were made from ordinary cloth.

Were they really merchants, as they claimed? How can they not recognize the cloth used in making the prince's knight uniform? Master Luc can understand if these merchants weren't familiar with their prince, as they aren't from their kingdom but the fact of not recognizing a treasure is unforgiving!

"As you can see, sirs, our lord isn't interested in your money so please let us leave. We still have carriages behind us that we need to protect. So please excuse us."

Master Luc guided Calleous in his way but one of the merchants, who was obviously younger than the other, stubbornly stretched his hand to hold the edge of Calleous' knight robe. Because of this, the robe was pulled and since Calleous didn't tightly put on the hood, it quickly fell, showing his covered face.

"Please wait!"

Fortunately, he was still wearing the mask he always brings with him so when he angrily glared at the person, he wasn't fully showing his face. But that didn't disregard the fact that whether he was covered or not, as long as this popular mask was shown together with his hair and beautiful eyes, he would be recognized.

"Ah…"

Just look at the young merchant's blushing face while dazedly staring at him with his wide blue eyes.

"You're the Kallos Reaper!" The young merchant excitedly exclaimed.

Subconsciously, he had let go of his hold on Calleous' robe, which freed him. "Scram!" He rudely dismisses the other as he continues his step.

"Ack!" The young merchant stupidly put his hand on top of his heart as he exaggeratedly stared at the back of the leaving prince.

He didn't even give care if the other was rudely dismissing him. He had already fallen for the beauty hiding behind that mask and when he heard the beauty's angelic voice, it was like cupid had pierced his heart as he felt himself falling harder.

"Aww!" he yelped in pain. "What was that for, father?" The young man asked his father who was the one who hit him on the head.

"I'm waking you from your delusions! You idiot, you just let go of the chance for us to get that seven-star beast! Idiot!" And the old man continued hitting his foolish son in annoyance.

GOING BACK to Calleous and the other knights, who unconsciously had gotten farther from where they had left the carriages and the royal family, they were already not far from there, as Calleous could see the figure of their carriages in the way.

Without having his family wait for him longer, he started running towards the carriage. His brother also spotted him from afar, so Cadmus couldn't wait inside the carriage and came out to meet his younger brother, who had been away for more than an hour, making every one of them worried.

"Cally!" Aleera, who also couldn't wait in the carriage, came out running towards her youngest son.

Calleous silently stood before his mother and let the other inspect him to see if he had taken any injury. He knows that her mother was only worried for him so he didn't complain and allowed her to do what she wanted.

And he was also complacent because he knew he wasn't injured in any way that his mother could use against him.

"See? I'm really just fine. You're just as paranoid as brother now, mother."

"Who's paranoid now? I am just worried, okay?" Cadmus wanted to hit his brother but held back when he saw the big beast that was getting dragged by five knights under Master Luc's instructions.

"What is that?" King Cadmus asked in chorus with his mother Aleera.

Master Luc stood behind Calleous. He first gave the king a bow before he answered. "This is a seven-star alpha king beast that the lord prince had defeated alone. This may be the alpha of this pack who attacked us, Your Highness."

"According to my scout, there might be the pack's hideout not far from here. That's why we made sure to kill everything and came back here as soon as possible. We must leave this place, Your Highness or we might be attacked once again."

Knowing the seriousness of the situation, Calleous decided to get back inside the carriage with his mother. Cadmus, on the other hand, had given the knights a few instructions before they started their journey outside the Wispwood Forest.

They even encounter the carriages of the father-son pair of merchants, who had different reactions when they spotted the big body of the alpha king wolf beast at the back of the luxurious big carriage.

The young merchant had tried to look out of his carriage's door to find the figure of the Kallos Reaper, while his father tried to hide himself as much as possible when he realized that the owner of the beast was probably a royal.

It didn't take them another day to finally reach the end of the Wispwood forest and only after three hours since the pack of wolf beasts attacked them, they finally came out of the forest.

Half an hour from there, they were able to reach the gate to the next kingdom, which was the kingdom of Valdem.

"Are you sure you didn't want to stay for a night in the kingdom?" Aleera asked her sons when they took a stop in front of the mansion where she and her husband decided to stay.

"That's right, Your Highness. It's already nearing noon and entering the Valdemoar Forest at night is dangerous. Even if it was only a whole-night journey inside the forest, it's too dangerous," Duchess Florita Caramour worriedly suggested.

She is the old friend that their mother had been talking about and the mansion before them was hers and her husband's, who was the duke of Valdem Kingdom.

Cadmus politely smiles and shakes his head. "Maybe next time, Duchess Caramour."

Duchess Caramour flashed a disappointed smile, especially when she looked at Calleous, who was standing beside his brother. Obviously, the duchess, who had been married to the duke for twenty years, was still childless. And looking at the pretty and handsome Calleous, she was eager to have a child of her own.

Unfortunately, it was her husband's problem that even though she got a concubine for his husband just so she could impose a child that she could own. A child who has his husband's blood.

"Come on, Flor. Let's just let these brats away. We still have some get-togethers with the other friends and we can't do that if we have brats that we need to take care of," Aleera interjected.

She even wrapped her arms around her friend, then she looked at her children. "Go ahead then, shoo!"

Cadmus didn't mind his mother's dismissal of them and just chuckled. They formally bid goodbye to each other, and Aleera almost cried while hugging her favorite son, Calleous.

As a mother, she keeps on reminding things such as the dos and don'ts towards this son of hers, while she only instructed her eldest to take care of his younger brother. Favoritism might be obvious with that but for Cadmus, that was only normal. Even without his mother's reminder, he would still protect his brother.

"That's enough, mother! I'm really going!" Calleous yelled in annoyance.

But he was still standing still, allowing his mother to smooch him off with more hugs and kisses. Cadmus and the other had laughed at the mother-son interaction.

"I trust you, Cadmus. I know you can do it. Protect not only your brother now but the whole kingdom," Cirius said to his eldest son, Cadmus, giving the other a pat on the shoulder.

"Then protect Mother as well."

Cirius smiled back at his son. "That's only natural."

And with that, the royal family of Ciltara had taken their separate ways; the pair of brothers had proceeded on their journey towards the temple of Auraxia while the pair of husband and wife enjoyed their super delayed honeymoon.