Chapter 23: Family Trash
Hajin stared at the glowing red text hovering in the dark space of the cave.
’Eliminate the carrier to prevent future threat,’ he read, his expression flattening. ’Are you serious right now?’
The prompt pulsed silently, as if waiting for him to accept the order.
He looked over at Didi, finding her curled tight under the thin blanket with a pale and exhausted face in her sleep. She hadn’t shown him even a tiny sliver of hostility, and she had just watched the only person who cared about her die defensively.
’I know she has the bloodline of the thing that killed the Goddess,’ he thought, exhaling slowly through his nose. ’But I am not some mindless executioner following an automated system’s script. If the Underworld King becomes a problem later, I will deal with him directly.’
He reached out and decisively swiped his hand through the red panel. The warning shattered and vanished, leaving the cave entirely quiet again.
’My life, my choices,’ he thought, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.
Morning arrived a few hours later with the sound of distant birds waking him up.
’Morning already, huh,’ he thought, getting up and yawning while the early sun hit his face.
He walked over and kicked dirt onto the last burning embers of the fire, making sure it was completely out. Juna was already awake, stretching her arms above her head while her tail flicked back and forth.
Didi sat holding the blanket tightly, staring blankly at the ground. She looked a little more composed than the night before, but the heavy sadness was still obvious in her posture.
"We need to get moving," he said, adjusting his shirt. "The capital is still a few hours away on foot, and sitting out here won’t do us any good."
She nodded quietly, folding the blanket and handing it back to him.
The walk back was mostly silent, the forest feeling calm during the day while the demonic presence that had saturated the area yesterday seemed completely gone.
At the edge of his vision, the stream chat was unusually slow, mostly just people making small talk or discussing the events from the night before.
[ CringeSlayer91:] watching him casually walk the princess home after the most insane fight is wild
[ ShadowMage44:] wait until the kingdom finds out what happened though, they are going to panic
[ ashley (Mod) :] Let’s just hope the walk back is peaceful, they’ve been through enough.
’I totally agree with Ashley,’ he thought, pushing a thick branch out of the way for Juna and Didi to pass. ’A boring, quiet walk is exactly what I want right now.’
Unfortunately, the universe rarely cared about what he wanted.
About an hour away from the main gate, the sound of galloping horses suddenly cut through the silence. The sound of hooves hitting the ground grew louder with each passing second and moments later, a squad of heavily armored knights broke through the tree line to block the path.
Juna’s ears flattened instantly, dropping into a low crouch with a quiet growl. He patted her hand, calming her down while his eyes scanned the people in front of him.
His eyes locked onto the armor the knights wore, ’Huh, the Flint family crest?’ He thought, staring at the silver anvil and crossed hammers embossed on their chest plates.
The lead knight pulled his horse to a sudden stop, kicking up a cloud of dust. He pulled his helmet off, revealing a sharp, arrogant face that Hajin recognized instantly. It was Kenny, one of the older cousins from the side branch who used to make his life miserable before his exile.
Kenny scanned the group, his eyes widening slightly when they landed on Didi before his gaze slid directly over to Hajin, allowing a cruel, humored smile to spread across his face.
"Well, well. Look what the forest dragged in," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "I was wondering where the family trash ended up after being thrown out. Seems you managed to make yourself a dog for the royal family."
’Family trash?’ Didi thought, staring at the side of Hajin’s face. ’Could he be part of the Flint family? But why is he being called trash?’
So many questions ran through her head at once while she watched him.
Hajin on the other hand just exhaled quietly.
At the edge of his vision, the stream chat was moving much faster now.
[ CringeSlayer91:] who the hell is this piece of shit?
[ ShadowMage44:] wait, did he just say family trash?
[ NewViewer_02:] Hajin was exiled?
[ ashley (Mod) :] looks like some rich kid who thinks he owns the world
’What a headache,’ Hajin thought, pulling his gaze away from the panel.
"Look at you, staying completely quiet just like the old days," Kenny continued, leaning forward over his horse. "I heard you were dragging yourself through the outer slums to survive. Did you finally realize you have absolutely zero talent and decided to play servant instead? Honestly, it suits you better than a sword ever did."
Didi felt her temper spike, pushing past the grief from last night.
"That is enough," she snapped, stepping forward. "You will treat him with the respect he has earned. If you don’t, I will personally see that the King strips you of your position before sunset."
Kenny didn’t even flinch, a slow smirk pulling at his lips while he looked down at her.
"With all due respect, Your Highness," he said, his tone making it clear he held absolutely no respect for her at all.
"You should remember that the Flint family are not your dogs. We aren’t some minor house you can just order around, so I highly suggest you watch that mouth of yours."
Didi held her ground, the temperature around her suddenly dropping as her mana flared outward. Frost crept across the ground beneath her boots while she stared up at him.
"Oh?" she asked, her voice turning dangerously cold. "Are you sure you can handle the weight of those words?"
Kenny refused to back down, his bright silver mana flaring around his armor to push back against the frost effortlessly while two glowing shards casually materialized around his right arm.
At the edge of Hajin’s vision, the chat was losing it.
[ CringeSlayer91:] rich loser vs the princess, who wins? my money is on her
[ ShadowMage44:] princess is about to freeze this guy solid
[ NewViewer_02:] 100 credits on the ice magic!
’No,’ Hajin thought, staring at those two floating crystals while sensing the massive, compressed mana still hidden under the knight’s armor. ’Kenny might be arrogant, but he has the power to back it up. That fucker is a five-Shard knight, she can’t win this.’
Since a fight was a guaranteed loss, the only way to resolve this right now was to use the King’s authority as a shield.
He stepped forward, moving right next to Didi.
"We are late," he said, breaking the tension while speaking directly to her. "The King is already looking for you, and he is going to be worried if we aren’t back soon."
Kenny stared at him for a long second, his eyes narrowing slightly before the two glowing Shards vanished into thin air.
"How thoughtful of you to consider His Majesty’s feelings," he said, his bright silver mana fading completely as he nudged his horse forward. "Run along then. We have a gate to clear, so we wouldn’t want to delay you any further."
He spurred his horse forward, gesturing for his knights to follow as he rode straight past them, completely ignoring Didi’s lingering frost.
Hajin let out a quiet exhale.
’That was close,’ he thought, watching the squad of knights disappear down the path toward the forest. ’If she had actually attacked him, the Flints would have used it as an excuse to retaliate politically. They probably wanted her to strike first.’
The frost slowly melted into the ground as Didi lowered her hands, turning to look directly at him.
"So," she said, her voice completely calm. "The Flint family, huh?"
He looked away nervously, ’I am so fucking dead.’