Chapter 50: 3.4

Sometimes Jia Hyson thinks he's such a saint.

He donated to charity. He tutored disadvantaged children in high school for a while. He deliberately wrote a book where all the money from its sales would go into conservation and zoological science research. Like, in the big scheme of things, the amount of good he has done definitely outweighed the bad.

So why must he always be punished like this? God is too cruel!

Bebe: '...Are you done yet?'

Jia Hyson: 'Shut up! I'm being dramatic!'

Bebe: '...' So you do know you're being dramatic. 눈_눈

Jia Hyson looks up to give Sefu Karamoy another assessing look. The tall scarred teenager stares blankly back at him, there was an unfathomable emotion in his heterochromatic eyes but Jia Hyson was sensitive enough to tell that there was some dislike hidden in that gaze.

Which was. Not great. At all really.

Because that suggested that there was a good chance Sefu Karamoy had been in the rebel camp for some fucking time now and had come to infiltrate the palace as an attendant. Of course it could be that Jia Hyson was overthinking it and the man just wasn't a fan of the spoilt little prince but this was a world where all sorts of sinister backstabbing plots happen for the sake of drama. Sefu Karamoy may not necessarily be as conniving as Zheng Ting, the adopted daughter of the Zhengs, but he might be, and that's enough to make Jia Hyson feel deeply wary.

Sefu Karamoy is a character with even less connection to the story than Prince Farrell. Even when Bebe and he had leveled up Bebe's Facial Recognition skill to level 4 the information had been minimal.

Sefu Karamoy is currently eighteen, ten years older than Farrell. A fierce warrior that can defeat even Prince Chuma, the battle maniac who is one of the best fighters in the royal army, and is talented in sword, spear and bare handed brawling. He's also an orphan as his parents died in a fire when he was four. The day he would successfully overthrow the palace will be twenty years in the future at the prime age of thirty-eight years old. Given the lack of importance he held plot-wise, it was already pretty good to get this much information from the system.

Jia Hyson gives his possible future murderer a shy, uncertain smile. "Greetings," He replies, a little too shortly to be polite but it's clear from his face that he was flustered and blindsided by the unexpected new servant. "Father, I, can we have a moment?"

King Kro hesitates for a moment, glancing at the silent, unmoving Sefu. Objectively Sefu's face was very frightening to look at, the twisted scars all over the left side of his face was like small snakes of lightening writhing underneath his dark skin, coupled with that cold expression and sharp, angular facial features the young man could intimidate grown men much less someone as small and sensitive as Farrell. However he was trained personally by his own personal attendant Johan and if Farrell doesn't accept Sefu then King Kro wouldn't be giving his old friend and benefactor much face.

However more importantly than giving face, King Kro was worried that his Farrell would discriminate Sefu for his disfigurement. There were many hunters and warriors in Samotrelis so it wasn't strange to see injuries and scars but Farrell was a sheltered house kitten who had never seen the cruel jungle world outside, and Sefu's face was actually quite startling even to their standards.

If King Kro knew western media, he would describe Sefu's face by saying it was like if Scar from the Lion K*ng became a human and had a baby with Two-Face from B*tman. Honestly, King Kro also doesn't want to be shallow-minded but if this poor young man wasn't trained by Johan who he trusts greatly, he would definitely assume this was a man was born with shady intentions. Even folktale stories had antagonists that are described to look less villainous.

Little did he know…

Jia Hyson takes another glance at the solemn looking Sefu as he leads his father to the furthest corner of the room.

Jia Hyson: 'This guy… is really so my type ah~♡' (º﹃º )

Bebe: 'What, seriously? (¬_¬) That guy looks like the newest Black P*nther villain.'

Jia Hyson: 'And isn't that SO hot?! (*♡∀♡) A big, scarred, silent older military man who's fierce, cold and scary on the outside but is a secretly warm inside!! Bebe!!! That's my fucking ideal!' (∩˃o˂∩)♡

Bebe: '…' Actually Bebe does recall Host saying that a while back. But Host has a lot of ideals for his men and women, even as a top notch system it had trouble keeping track of all of them.

Jia Hyson: 'I want to tease him to death! I want him to lose control after I push him too far and then forcefully press down on my underage body and ravish me! I want to cry and beg for mercy! I want to emotionally blackmail him so he will never feel like he can sit on a high horse ever again! (╯✧∇✧)╯ Hahaha maybe I can even guilt him into not rebelling!'

Bebe: '...' At the very least, those toxic fantasy scenarios Host likes are pretty much all the same ah. Bebe already knows those by heart.

"What's wrong child?" King Kro asks cautiously, "Do you not like Sefu?"

Jia Hyson hesitates before shaking his head, "I, I don't not like him, but, I just," his golden eyes turn watery and anxious making him look like a scared baby kitten, "what if he doesn't like me?" He warbles it out quietly but in the silence of the room, even as large as this one, it was easy for a trained warrior like Sefu to hear.

King Kro has no intention of muffling his son's words though. It would be good to white wash his son's previously, ah, disadvantageous reputation from those awful rumors. Even though Farrell was quite naughty and was too cute to be angry at, there will inevitably be a few small-hearted people who enjoyed spreading and exaggerating all sorts of gossip on the higher class. He could tell that Sefu must have heard some of those rumors or how was it possible the young man to not dawn over his adorable little rabbit?!

His baby boy was the cutest thing under the sun and moon!

"Of course he would like you," King Kro assures, "You two will be like me and Johan. Just give it some time."

Jia Hyson silently nods but in his heart he already had a few suspicions about Johan. Even though this man seemed to have constantly assured the family of his trustworthiness, the fact he practically brought up Sefu was a big red flag. It seems there was a conspiracy afoot.

This sort of convoluted scheme of having a trusted elder secretly plant a spy to topple the kingdom slash company despite the fact the elder probably had enough power to do it themselves but for some reason chose not to and put all their time and energy on a seedling that may or may not sprout… it's very fitting to this sort of story world where a pampered adopted girl of a top tier family can successfully do so many shady things that she shouldn't typically be able to do given her position.

Honestly, this sort of capable (if a little rash and narrow hearted) antagonist was kind of wasted on a male lead who's head was like a soft persimmon.

After pretending to be a cute, shy baby for a few minutes, a smitten looking King of Samotrelis prods him toward Sefu, enjoying the way the small child reluctantly waddles forward a few steps like a baby deer before hesitating and needing to be prodded again. If King Kro could, he would have ordered Sefu to leave the room just so he could continue doing this forever. Unfortunately it had to end and the old man couldn't hide his disappointment, blaming the teenager in his eyes.

Sefu: '...' What is this feeling of being attacked out of nowhere? I haven't even done anything yet.

"You boys play nice okay?" King Kro simpers, voice tender and doting toward Jia Hyson but his eyes held a warning toward Sefu.

Jia Hyson nods meekly, "Okay." Looking up at his new bodyguard slash personal attendant, he shyly smiles but with an obvious nervousness that was not faked. After all, this was the first time he was facing off with a hostile so early in the game. And unlike in the last world where he could crush a grown man's head like a blueberry, now he was the weakest child in Samotrelis in the history of ever, "Do you, do you want to come to my room."

Sefu nods curtly, "I will do whatever your highness wishes."

"Okay," Jia Hyson blinks, with a second of hesitation he then impolitely grabs the other's larger hand, "let's go then. I'll show you the way."

Sefu Karamoy glances down at the pint where their hands were touching. He can feel that soft little hand, untouched by hardship, tremble lightly yet they still held onto his own larger, calloused and scarred fingers determinedly. The corner of his lips quirks upwards for a moment before it disappears into his usual stern frown.

Subconsciously he tightens his hold on the young prince's hand a little before quickly shaking Jia Hyson off the moment they leave the room and enter the hallway where the king could not see them. Under Jia Hyson's wide-eyed surprise, Sefu smiles. "Sorry, I get uncomfortable when people touch my hands."

Jia Hyson: 'Wow. What are half-hearted lie ah.'

Bebe: 'Maybe you just look like the sort of dirty person that doesn't wash his hands after going to the bathroom.' ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Jia Hyson: '(°ㅂ°╬) Scram! Laozi is beautiful and clean both inside and outside!' 


Even to an untrained eye, Sefu's smile was extremely stiff and not at all natural. Not a hint of the expected subservience nor flattery could be found on him.

From the looks of it, Sefu seemed to dislike maybe even hate Jia Hyson very much despite having no personal contact beforehand. Under closer inspection, as they continued walking back, the young man's fists were clenched and his back was straight, and tense in a constant state of alert. He seemed like a man reluctantly being led into enemy territory.

Jia Hyson however did not have much heart to feel sorry for him now that it was clear from this reaction that Sefu indeed already harbored animosity and rebellious thoughts against the royal family.

Even if he held a fragment that shared the same system as Drake, Li Guiren, Monroe and Tian Shun, Sefu held no memories of either Jia Hyson or that fantastical backstory. With a whole different set of memories shaping his views and thoughts, Sefu can be considered his own individual person completely unrelated to the other personas except for the system equivalent of blood connecting them. Jia Hyson would thus treat him like an individual person and harbour no romantic preconceptions just because he felt something for the other shard personas.

However for the sake of nostalgia Jia Hyson could not be completely cold blooded toward him anymore. Even if they may not necessarily be lovers in this life, the goodwill he harbored toward the previous personas had at least made him reluctant to murder Sefu Karamoy like originally planned.

After all, Sefu Karamoy is a dangerous person who has super high stats and has actually, in a different lifetime, successfully pulled off the rebellion. The easiest course of action for Jia Hyson would have been to simply nip the weed in the bud before it takes root. If another weed were to replace him, who was to say when the weed would finish growing or even if it would be as successful?

Now that he realizes Sefu is a system fragment, the violent path was now mostly blocked. It wasn't a big deal to Jia Hyson though, after all, even though there's a high chance the rebel leader's successor will be worse, there's always a chance they could become even more successful. So he supposed there was merit to the saying of keeping friends close and your enemies closer.

It had to be said, even after experiencing a few worlds, Jia Hyson's character never changed much. He's still a good author. He's still more or less kept the same opinions he had developed in his first life. And most of all... he's still scum.

If a host with a Love-affiliated system came in to check Jia Hyson's affection levels for Sefu, they would see the effects of the sentiment he has toward him being a shard system fragment and his physical attraction toward the man, would only amount to a mere 25 affection points out of 100. That is still worse than an acquaintance, not a very big change from his initial impression.

If he could capture the system fragment through merciful means Jia Hyson would do it but if, after two decades, he will not change his ways then… Jia Hyson was willing to carve open the man's heart and grab the shard for himself. If that doesn't work, worse comes to worse, the shard can't be destroyed anyway, it'll just reincarnate somewhere else ah.

Of course Jia Hyson is also aware that after nearly twenty years of contact he will inevitably become quite close with the man, it was impossible not to be. He's the type that needs familiarity to breed genuine feelings, and it's why Li Guiren was closer to his heart than Tian Shun despite their physical compatibilities. So even though at this moment he can plot so cold heartedly and say these cruel things now, deep down he knew, for the sake of his own mental health at the very least, he had to avoid such a bloody end result at all costs.

Finally they reach his room. From the throne room to Prince Farrell's bedroom it takes a little under ten minutes.

This is actually considered pretty good since the older princes and princesses live in nearby smaller palaces once they reach sixteen. However even though it's 'nearby' it still requires at least twenty to thirty minutes by horse to arrive. Samotrelis doesn't use cars unless it's for long distance travel due to the narrower roads paved inside the lively city and village areas.

Anyway, only himself and Koffi are left in the main palace, their own future homes being slowly built somewhere outside.

Farrell's bedroom is actually quite plain. As a child he may have acted very spoilt and arrogant to hide his insecurities but until he turned fifteen and understood the attraction of sex, booze and all sorts of dirty adult things, he had never really had much interest in things. Since he didn't have any real friends, and he would only be teased if he went out to try doing physical things, he took to reading as his hobby instead so there were a lot of books in the room. There was also a large Super King sized bed that was certainly much too big for a child though Jia Hyson was actually quite thrilled looking at it.

Jia Hyson: 'How many people could I fit on this bed?! At least three.. no, four people! Two men, two women, or maybe four men, or, or four women! Ah, I can't wait to grow up!'

Bebe: 'You're the worst. Bebe hates you.'

Jumping on the bed, Jia Hyson happily scrambles you the middle before turning around to sit and face his new attendant. He stares at him curiously. Even though he stole some looks before, it's still a little hard to get used to such an appearance. No matter how rude it is, Jia Hyson couldn't help his gaze moving to the gnarled scarring on the young man's face.

Burn marks. As a fellow comrade who had gotten abused by the bastard known as fire, a feeling of empathy bursts in his chest. "You.. does your scar still hurt?" Jia Hyson asks softly, recalling his own experience made him feel a little mournful. Even without a body there were some days he could swear his skin was still searing off and his nonexistent nerves were hurting so much it felt like his brain was being smashed on the ground in slow motion.

The teenager startles, absentmindedly touching the left side of his face as he gives Jia Hyson an unreadable look. "...No, not anymore," he finally says after a pause. However his words no longer sounded so cold and impatient, like he couldn't finish the sentence fast enough. Still, it was pretty curt and left little for Jia Hyson to keep the conversation flowing.

"Oh, well, that's good." Jia Hyson nods, before patting the mattress he was sitting on, "Do you want to sit?"

"This lowly servant wouldn't dare sit on your highness' bed." Sefu immediately declines.

"Oh," Jia Hyson says a little dumbly. He's never met anyone who could kill a conversation so easily. No wonder the original Farrell didn't seem to like, and most likely bullied, this guy. With his pride he really wouldn't be able to deal with such a disdaining attitude.

However unlike the original, he genuinely wanted to cultivate a close bond with the man. Not only so it may lower the chances of Sefu Karamoy pursuing a future in mutiny, but also because this man is going to stick with him for at least twenty years. If they held a bad relationship than it didn't matter how many riches Jia Hyson had, his life would still be uncomfortable.

Unfortunately Jia Hyson hates meeting people for the first time. Especially when he knew they would spend a lot of time together in the future. It's so awkward and forced. There were only so many things you could say and it's hard to bring up topics naturally.

When he was younger for first meetings, people only asked him about his school life and worst of all, what he wanted to do when he finished school. It was like there was no other thing in the universe to talk about. Then he became an author and mercifully the constant questions that hounded him for years changed. Unfortunately 'How's school been?' had been converted into 'What's it like to be an author?' which was almost an equally boring and repetitive question that had been cursed upon him even until the day he died.

He hated those banal questions. Those first meeting icebreaker bullshit that no one really likes yet feels obligated to do anyway. Like not a single person could muster up the brain capacity to even bother to think of something interesting to say like, like...

"So..." Jia Hyson says awkwardly, "how's, how's being a warrior?"

...It turns out he has become what he has hated most ah.