the trash that sleeps | totcf au

When Cale became conscious, it was sunrise. He blinked away the sleepiness he was feeling, but he supposed that his children noticed it and we're very quick to wake up.

"Papa..?" Hong peered over him.

Cale chuckled, "What happened to Mama, mhm?"

Hong and Ohn went beet red. They had seriously thought that the redhead didn't hear or remember them calling him Mama as he fell down.

"It's alright to call me Mama." The two looked at him.

"Really?"

"Mhm."

Cale turned to Charlotte, the only other person in the room.

"Report."

She bowed, "They all seemed to be in a state of chaos. There were also soldiers and knights leaving the village. I also cleaned the blood that you coughed out last night in case someone would come here and connect the dots."

"Good job," He praised,"I'm sure they went to report."

After regaining their consciousness, they probably sent people to Venion and investigated the area around the cave. It was to be expected after all, their precious "item" was gone.

"However."

"A part of the exit route we took from the cave was blown up. Even the trees, grass, ground, and everything around it was a mess."

Gasp.

The children gasped as they looked at Charlotte. However, Cale was still relaxed despite the phantom pain in his body.

"I'm sure the dragon did it."

Even if it is only 4 years old, the dragon was still extremely smart. It knew someone may come to the escape route, and probably decided to blow it up. Since dragons are also very sensitive to mana, it probably destroyed everything around it to destroy the magic tools in the area as well.

"Help me get ready."

Charlotte frowned, "Why? We won't leave until a few hours later?"

"I want to eat downstairs." He said stubbornly.

Cale leaned against the headboard, his pale complexion betraying the stubborn resolve in his voice. His casual dismissal of his weakened state only made Charlotte's frown deepen.

"My lord," she said firmly, folding her arms. "You need rest. The healers said—"

"I've rested overnight," Cale interrupted, his tone light but unwavering. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, wincing slightly as he moved. "Besides, I don't trust any of you not to ruin my breakfast with all this hovering."

The kittens, who had been watching the exchange with wide eyes, quickly scampered to his side, each clutching his hands.

"Mama," Ohn said, her small voice full of concern, "Are you sure you're okay? You're still really pale..."

Cale ruffled her hair with a tired smile. "Mama's fine. Just a little sore. Now, help me prove Charlotte wrong."

Hong, always eager to assist, puffed out his chest. "We'll take care of you, Mama!"

Charlotte pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling sharply. "Fine," she said at last. "But only if you allow me to assist you."

Cale gave her a look of mock suspicion. "And here I thought you'd take this opportunity to tie me to the bed."

Charlotte's ears turned red, but she ignored the comment, stepping forward to steady him as he tried to stand. Despite her frustration with his recklessness, she moved carefully, ensuring he didn't overexert himself.

***

When they went down, Hilsman and Hans were both arguing with a knight from the Viscount's with everyone else supporting the two.

"We told you! We were taking care of our sick young master!" Hans exclaimed in frustration at the stubborn knight, "How dare you accuse us of stealing when all of us had been in a state of panic for the whole night!"

The knight from the Marquis's estate seems to have introduced himself as someone from the Viscount's estate. The knight smiled at Han's suspicious and accusatory gaze, but the knight still answered back with a serious expression."We are just making sure that the Henituse envoy didn't suffer any losses like we did."

"There was a thief that broke into the Viscount's villa yesterday. A couple other knights and I were on guard, but we lost a few items to the thief. After hearing that people from Count Henituse's estate were here in the village, we came to see if the thief had stolen from the Count as well."

'Thief my ass. Well, I guess a dragon thief is a thief as well.'

Cale took that as a cue to enter the scene, stumbling in his steps, garnering everyone's attention.

***

"Young Master!" The butler the knight had been arguing for the past thirty minutes was quick to go beside the very pale young master. The young man looks so pitiful, he can't even walk properly.

'I thought Cale Henituse is trash? What the hell? This is a dying young man.' The knight thought to himself.

"Is.. Is everything alright?" The young master asked him.

The knight bowed and politely answered, "I am from the Viscount's territory. We had a problem with a thief, I am making sure that there was nothing amiss amongst your envoy, young master."

The pale and delicate young master frowned and turned to the butler, "Hans. Did we lose something?"

The butler shook his head, "Not at all, no one slept last night, Young Master."

"No one slept? Why?"

Everyone flinched at his gaze. The knight watches, intrigued by how the sickly young master is handling his people.

"We.. We were too worried about you, Young Master!" A knight answered as everyone else agreed.

The young master frowned, "That is no reason for all of you to miss your sleep!"

The knight barely concealed his amusement at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Here he was, watching a group of grown men and women, all armed and clearly capable, being chastised like children by a sickly noble who looked like a strong wind could knock him over.

Hans, ever the dedicated butler, bowed deeply. "Apologies, Young Master. We were too preoccupied with your well-being to rest properly."

Cale sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if dealing with a great burden. "You're all useless," he muttered, but the lack of real bite in his words made it clear he wasn't truly angry. "Fine, whatever. Everyone will rest properly today. That's an order."

"Yes, Young Master!" the group echoed, their relief evident.

The knight from the Viscount's estate, still standing awkwardly to the side, cleared his throat. "Then, since everything appears to be in order, we will take our leave." He bowed to the sickly young master, "Have a good day, Young Master."

***

As soon as they were gone, Cale turned to Hans. "Breakfast. Now."

Hans nearly sighed in relief at being given an order he could actually fulfill without the young master collapsing on them. "Right away, Young Master."

Cale allowed Charlotte and the kittens to guide him to a seat. As he settled, he caught Choi Han watching him from across the room, his expression unreadable.

Cale ignored him, reaching for a piece of bread with a content sigh.

A stolen dragon, a burned escape route, an overly worried entourage, and now Ron and Beacrox lurking in the background.

Yep. Just another morning.