Chapter 171:

Chapter 171:

“What the hell is this *sshole doing here again?”

The boy rolled his eyes and glared at Van. Nephilia stood in front of him, ready to strike at any moment.

“Watch your mouth, Robin. Van is only here to deliver firewood.”

“Why drag him all the way here when he could have just given it to a servant? Hey, beggar, you laid a finger on my betrothed, and I won’t let you get away with it.”

“Can’t you stop? And please stop acting like I’m your property. It’s unpleasant to talk arrogantly about something that hasn’t been clearly decided.”

Kadell shifted his gaze to scan Van’s stony face. Judging by the children’s bickering, the situation was quite simple.

‘Is it a love triangle? It must have been painful for Van to be caught in between.’

If it had been a normal love triangle, Van wouldn’t have had to be so intimidated. Besides, wasn’t Van the one who was favored by Nephilia?

But this was a relationship between two nobles and a commoner. Cadel didn’t know if Van was also interested in Nephilia, but there was no sign of that at all. It must have been a headache.

‘What’s with this kid and his constant bullying of other people’s subordinates? I’m just saying.’

Cadel couldn’t help but feel angry, even though it had already happened. His protective instincts naturally kicked in, especially since this was a young and cute version of his subordinate. Kadell’s anger turned to horror as the next scene unfolded.

In a fast-paced scene, Van was being assaulted by a group of boys.

“Stay out of Nephilia’s sight, don’t approach her! Even if your mug of a face is good-looking, you’re born lowly. Know your place!”

At the center of the group was Robin, who stared intently at the sight of Van being trampled on by the boys who were assaulting him.

In a dark, deserted alley, Van could only let out painful moans and sobbed.

‘You crazy bastards......!’

Kadell’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the sight of the poor, frail form of the younger Van. He moved closer, trying to stop the beating somehow, but he was a mere observer. Unable to defend against any of the attacks, he could only watch Van’s contorted face, the tears streaming down his cheeks, and his body heaving with the kicks.

After the one-sided beating. The boys who had assaulted Van ran to Robin.

“Young Master Robin, we did as you asked, so please give us the money you promised........”

“Hmph, you hit him lightly yet got the nerve to ask for money.”

“If, if we hit him any harder, he might die.”

“I’m giving you money every time to hit him hard while controlling it well!”

“I’m, I’m sor.......”

“Forget it. Next time, make that annoying face into a real mug. Nephilia only likes his face, so if it’s ruined, she’ll lose interest.”

After collecting the money for beating Van, the boys turned and walked out of the alley. Robin didn’t leave, but walked up to the crouching Van and spat on him.

“Poor commoner. If you catch Nephilia’s eye again, I’ll kill you.”

With a cheeky chuckle, Robin darted out of the alleyway, and when he was completely out of sight, Van groggily picked himself up off the ground.

Every inch of his tiny body was swollen and bruised. Van roughly wiped his face, which was covered in tears and blood, and gave strength to his trembling lips. Nêww chapters will be fully updated at (n)ov(e)l/bin(.)com

“......It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt.”

There was no way his little body would be okay after having taken such a beating, and yet he kept muttering to himself that it was fine, as if brainwashing himself. Kadell looked up at the distant sky, unable to bear to watch the bitterness.

Anger and sadness clenched in his chest.

‘If I could, I would bring them all in and beat them up.’

Cadel resented that he couldn’t. It was all in the past. This dull memory, which could not be changed in a single way, must still be lingering in the back of Van’s mind.

“How much medicine can I have if I sell this?”

“Um...? This ring looks expensive. Where did you get it?”

“I got it from Lady Nephilia. She told me to sell it because she doesn’t need it........”

Excitedly explaining the ring’s provenance, Van stopped talking. He turned his head as if he sensed something wasn’t right, and as if waiting for him, Robin pounced.

He grabbed Van’s wrist holding the ring with the force of breaking it, and gasped with wide eyes as if he couldn’t believe it.

“You, you this....... Where did you get this?”

“Young, Young Master Robin.”

“Answer me! I asked you where you got it!”

Van’s face turned white at Robin’s murderous expression. He seemed to instinctively recognize the ring for what it was.

‘Don’t tell me that ring was Robin’s gift......?’

Cadel hoped it wasn’t, but it seemed to be. Robin was enraged by Van’s silence, and he snatched the ring from his hand, roughly. Then he grabbed Van by the collar and dragged him to the ground.

“You thief! Where, oh where, do you rats lay your hands on noble goods?”

Van did not steal the ring. It was given to him by Nephilia. Robin must have known that. He just couldn’t accept that Nephilia had rejected his gift and that she had given Van that abandoned gift.

His petty anger fueled his sense of entitlement, and in a fit of rage, Robin publicly insulted and kicked Van in front of everyone.

“Disgusting bastard! I told you to know your place, didn’t I? How dare you take a nobleman’s thing...... and covet my person? You bastard is not even allowed to peek at Nephilia!”

It was a one-sided assault. A child was being beaten without being able to fight back. Anyone with common sense should have stopped it, but no one in the market did. They just looked at each other and mumbled.

“Isn’t that the boy the young master of the Solace family?”

“Aigoo, that’s right, that’s right. What did that child do wrong to be beaten so hard like that?”

“I don’t know, nobles do that every day or two. If they’re offended by sarcasm, they’ll grab anyone and fight. No matter how young they are, nobles are nobles. It’s hard to stop someone for no reason and then get caught up in it. I guess I’ll do it in moderation.”

The commoners were too afraid of Robin’s family to intervene.

“Oh my gosh, what on earth is going on? I have to go and stop him.”

“Leave it alone, Madam. After looking at it, it looks like that child stole something from the youngest young master of the Solace family. A child with such bad hand habits needs to be taught a lesson.”

“Oh my....... I know that feeling. I caught one of my maids looking at herself in the mirror with my necklace the other day, and it was so offensive.”

“Oh my God. So what did you do?”

“Well, I gave her a good slap and kicked her out.”

The nobles took a wait-and-see approach, saying they had to get used to it.

No one stopped Robin, and no one saved Van. He had to listen to all that pontificating in the middle of the market ground.

Even though this was not something he had experienced, Cadel could feel Van’s despair. He wanted to shove Robin away and get Van out of this hellhole, right now.

‘How could.......’

How could he put up with such injustice, Cadel wondered. He could see Van’s rapidly disintegrating heart, wondering why no one was helping him. Van resented everyone here.

Cadel closed his eyes, unable to bear to watch the trampled Van, and the sounds around him began to speed up. Kadell opened his eyes hesitantly, the noise whistling in his ears like the wind, afraid to see another of Van’s dark past.

However, when Cadel opened his eyes again, what appeared in front of him was not a helplessly beaten Van.

Van was on top of Robin, frantically punching him in the face.