Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 52

The Same Goal (3)

The morning after the pre-party ended, dawn broke. The mansion was as quiet as if nothing had happened.

“Ah, that old man is quite something.”

No matter what the cause, if a party hosted grandly by the family failed to proceed as planned and ended abruptly, it would tarnish the family’s prestige.

The moment it became known that the head of the family had been ambushed, the Winter’s Farewell party would have been over.

That was why Simid Kellogg disliked it so much that he didn’t even mention he had been attacked.

He must have told Jerry about it.

If he hadn’t, there would have been no way to explain why Vivian had suddenly disappeared. Jerry was probably in quite a state of confusion right now.

…

Kairus opened the window and stood in the biting chill of the winter morning, lost in thought.

“What, aren’t you cold?”

Right after the knock, the door opened. When Kairus turned around, Irena was shivering, letting out a small groan.

“What are you doing sneaking into a man’s bedroom at the crack of dawn?”

At Kairus’s words, Irena replied.

“Father says he wants to have breakfast together.”

“Good grief.”

That old man’s energy really was something else. Kairus almost said it out loud but swallowed it back.

Anyway, Irena didn’t know how the situation was unfolding right now, so he had to be careful with his words in front of her.

“Do you happen to know what’s on the breakfast menu?”

When Kairus asked, Irena answered.

“The omelet is always standard, and the side dishes change a little. Father and I always have it with just egg whites. What about you?”

Kairus let out a small groan at Irena’s words.

“I’ll have it normal. But did you come here just to check the breakfast menu?”

That was something the maids should do, not the only daughter of the family. Checking the menu was just an excuse to say hello; he expected there was some other reason.

“It’s nothing grand.”

After saying that, Irena hesitated for a moment before asking.

“Father said… you’re actually not Dominic Randolph.”

Kairus let out a small sigh and turned back to gaze out the open window.

Simid Kellogg hadn’t told Irena everything, but it seemed he had at least told her that Kairus was currently under an assumed identity.

“That’s right.”

And there was no reason for Kairus to deny it now.

He had already finished his conversation with Simid Kellogg and secured the documents he needed to pass to the Rose Garden.

Besides, this was a good sign for Kairus.

It meant he had agreed to Kairus’s proposal and decided to let him live.

And he was conveying that indirectly through Irena.

Simid Kellogg would commission Kairus for a job. One that his own subordinates were either unqualified to handle…

Or one that was simply too dangerous. It didn’t matter which.

‘He’s the guy helping to cut that bastard Emperor’s throat, so he can at least do this much.’

Kairus looked at Irena with a smile.

“You’ve heard the rumors about Dominic Randolph too, haven’t you?”

At Kairus’s words, Irena gave a small nod. From the train until now, the way Kairus had acted was nothing like the dim-witted heir of the Randolph family.

“There are plenty of times when rumors and reality don’t match.”

Kairus nodded and closed the window he had left open.

“You can just think of me as a collaborator who will be helping the Kellogg family.”

At his words, Irena crossed her arms and looked at Kairus.

“Teaching me how to use battle gear—is that also part of your role as a collaborator?”

Kairus snorted and shook his head.

“I only decided I wanted to be a collaborator last night, and it was confirmed just now.”

And what he had promised Irena was long before that. There was no connection between helping her and becoming a collaborator with the Kellogg family.

“Ah, by the way, did your father tell you?”

“I’ve decided to take extended service leave.”

Instead of answering Kairus’s question, Irena said what she wanted to say.

Extended service leave. It was common in the knight order. Knights grew stronger through training and discipline, and they were the ones who projected that power on the battlefield.

While fulfilling their duties, they often lacked time to train, which sometimes caused them to stagnate. The system of extended service leave existed to prevent that.

They could take up to three years of leave. Of course, if a national emergency like all-out war arose, the leave would be revoked without question.

“Do you know what this means?”

“Yes. You have to show results when you return.”

The purpose of extended service leave was not rest. It was to temporarily set aside a knight’s duties to grow stronger.

When they finished their leave and returned, the order would evaluate them. If they hadn’t developed sufficiently, or had even regressed, they would be punished for negligence and expelled from the order.

“So what do you expect me to do? Take responsibility for your situation?”

At his cold response, Irena flinched.

“If it weren’t for you, I’d never have had to request extended leave.”

“Probably. And you’d never have had the chance to learn proper battle gear techniques. You would’ve remained an apprentice knight your entire life.”

Kairus leaned against the wall, fixing his gaze on Irena.

“Are you trying to say taking extended leave wasn’t your choice?”

“It’s the truth.”

At Irena’s words, Kairus nodded. She was right. She hadn’t had any real choice. Kairus had planned to drag her off as a hostage anyway.

Kairus offered advice drawn from his own experience.

“You naive young lady. Not all the things you have to take responsibility for are things you chose yourself.”

There are countless times when a heavy responsibility falls out of the sky even though you never chose it.

You think it’s unfair? That’s just the way the world is.

“And the very person who created that unfair responsibility is standing here lecturing me.”

Irena shot back at Kairus, her tone prickling with thorns.

“Exactly. But what are you going to do about it now?”

At Kairus’s reply, Irena clenched her fist tightly, turned around, and began walking away.

“Can you teach me swordsmanship too?”

“If you want.”

When Kairus answered, Irena said, “Good,” and stepped out the door.

Since she had already requested extended service leave, she needed to grow stronger. And from Kairus’s perspective, if he was going to keep her around as both hostage and subordinate, it was better to hand her a few carrots to keep her docile.

Their interests aligned. Kairus would teach her swordsmanship, and Irena would act cooperatively toward him.

“See you at breakfast.”

A few small thorns still clung to Irena’s voice. They didn’t seem quite like hostility.

If anything, sulking would be the more accurate description. But Kairus did not make the mistake of saying it out loud.

Instead, he went to the breakfast table at the appointed time. As Irena had said, the menu was an omelet stuffed with several ingredients and asparagus on the side.

While eating, Kairus’s face suddenly twisted.

“Kh….”

“Does the food not suit your taste?”

Simid Kellogg asked, and Kairus shook his head.

Then he realized that inside his portion of the omelet was an entire Fire Spark Chili, notorious for its blistering heat.

Right across the table, one corner of Irena’s mouth twitched.

It was such a vivid twitch that Kairus immediately knew exactly who had ordered that damned chili to be put in the omelet.

…

When their eyes met, Irena stuck her tongue out at him with a mocking gesture.

“Kh…huff…”

At that moment, the toe of Kairus’s shoe struck Irena’s shin. She bit her tongue slightly from the pain, swallowed the rest of her groan, and shivered in silence.

“By the way, I don’t see your eldest son.”

This was a breakfast gathering with several members of the Kellogg family and a few guests. It was one thing for a few family members to skip it…

But it was odd that Jerry, the heir, was absent. When Kairus mentioned it, Simid dabbed the corner of his mouth and spoke.

“He said he had no appetite.”

Whether or not he had an appetite was beside the point. None of the guests at this table, nor even the head of the family himself, cared whether Jerry ate or not.

What mattered was that he was supposed to be here. That was what being an heir meant.

Vivian.

It seemed that Jerry, heir to the Kellogg family, had fallen deeply for the woman who went by the alias Vivian.

Kairus had sensed that inclination as well. For Jerry, it was only natural that his mind would be in turmoil after the woman he fancied disappeared overnight.

But that still isn’t a reason to skip a gathering like this.

Simid Kellogg spoke as if it was nothing, but in truth, it wasn’t nothing at all.

Jerry’s mind must have been thoroughly shattered.

It was true that the sense of duty placed on someone destined to take responsibility for an entire family suppressed the heir from acting on impulse. But that didn’t mean impulse always lost to duty.

If you look through history, there were quite a few kings who lost their wits after their beloved wives died.

“You should take care of your health. He’s still young, but it never hurts to be cautious.”

One of the people at the table offered those words of consolation to Simid.

“Indeed.”

Simid Kellogg gave a reply that made clear he didn’t wish to discuss the matter any further.

At that moment, everyone seated there tacitly turned away from the subject of Jerry Kellogg’s absence.

Since the Imperial Treasury Chief himself had signaled he didn’t want any more words about it, no one was foolish enough to persist.

“The asparagus is fresh. Was it grown in the greenhouse?”

Among the few topics available during a meal, the food itself was the easiest to bring up.

“Yes. The gardener has been working hard.”

The moment someone tried to change the subject, Simid Kellogg smoothly accepted it.

The meal ended naturally. After the table was cleared, Kairus rose and stepped up to Simid, lowering his voice.

“Did you lock him up yourself?”

…

Simid let out a small sigh.

“He threw quite a tantrum about going to look for that woman.”

It was a familiar story. Even if Simid explained everything, Jerry wouldn’t have believed it and insisted on finding Vivian himself to hear whatever she had to say.

In that state, no matter how much Simid explained, Jerry wouldn’t have listened. He didn’t want to hear anything.

Even if they dragged Vivian back alive, if she didn’t say exactly what Jerry wanted to hear, he would have insisted she was lying under duress.

After glancing around, Simid gestured to a maid with his chin.

“I’d like to speak with you a while. Prepare a fire in the parlor.”

After giving the order, Simid looked back at Kairus.

“First, I’d like to hear in more detail about the battle gear training Irena will be receiving.”

“Gladly. I’ll see you in the parlor, Grandfather.”

Kairus offered a polite bow, then let out a quiet sigh.

“Giving up on a child isn’t something a parent can easily do. But changing your heir? That isn’t the same as giving up on your child. Don’t confuse the two.”

If Jerry became too broken to salvage, the Kellogg family might have to replace their heir. Sometimes you could fix what was there, and sometimes you had to bring in something new.

Kairus inclined his head in a small nod, then walked away.