Elysian unabashedly grinned, which earned a snort from the woman. “Well, what’s wrong with being shameless? Embarrassment is only for those who value their appearance and reputation. Do I look like someone who does?”

BloodShade looked him up and down before raising a brow. “It’s clear you don’t.”

“Hey!” Elysian responded, scowling at the friendly insult. “As I was saying, I don’t care what others think of me,” he stated before reconsidering his words. “Hmm… Well, that’s not totally true. I do care. I care about my people’s opinions of me. Specifically, I want them to know that I value them and won’t take advantage of them.”

“You seem to be taking advantage of me,” the woman muttered, arching a brow, challenging him to refute her claim.

Elysian laughed awkwardly. “Well, you’re different; our relationship is different. You know me better than everyone, and I can’t hide anything from you, so it eases my heart, even without saying it, that you know I don’t take for granted the trust that you’ve given me.”

“It seems you’re quite the silver-tongued, brat,” BloodShade retorted, snorting at the grinning face of the boy. “You’ve learned a lot in your previous life; you’ve learned to be a scoundrel.”

Even with such a severe reprimand, the air between them was as lively and relaxed as ever while the boy’s smile never wavered for a bit.

“I have had enough of you,” BloodShade stated as a small smile slowly appeared on her crimson lips. “I don’t want to see your face for a while. I might develop some wrinkles with all the frowning and scowling you’re causing me.”

“No matter what happens, there are things that are certain and will never change, and one of those is your beauty…”

“Scram!”

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‘Huh? I’m back. It seems BloodShade really had enough of me. Oh, well…’

“Master, is everything alright?” Bran nervously asked when he noticed the younger boy’s eyes open.

“Hmm…” Elysian shifted his attention to both of his companions, who were still near the door, far away from him. “Don’t worry, everything is fine now. You can come closer to me.”

“Really?” Bran asked, not totally convinced by the noble’s voice as he tried to glimpse the serpent tattoo on his master’s arm. “How do we know it’s still you? Maybe that snake has taken over your body.”

‘This big oaf! Me being taken over by this tattoo? Does that even make sense?

Wait… Yeah, he’s not wrong there. I’ve already been taken over by BloodShade once, so his worry makes sense.’

Osric just glanced at the servant, shaking his head, before silently walking towards their master.

“Hey, where are you going?” Bran asked, glancing at the young soldier. “It might not be safe. The spirit of the serpent might have… might have taken over the master's body.”

Noticing Osric’s relaxed and fearless expression, Elysian hid a small grin. When he saw the older boy was about to stand beside him, he suddenly shouted, “Boo!”

Bran’s fright echoed through the room, while Osric just indifferently looked at the noble before raising a brow at his antics.

Elysian awkwardly coughed at his failed attempt to scare the older boy before turning his focus to the servant. “Hey, you big oaf, why don’t you be like him,” he stated, trying his best to shift the attention away from him. “As my personal servant, you must be brave—fearless even. How can you defend me when we are attacked if you’re this easily scared, right?” he asked, glancing at the older boy beside him.

Osric could only shake his head at the shameless antics of the noble. “Hey, come here, big fella. Don’t let our little master bully you.”

“Are you accusing me of bullying… Wait, did you just call me little?” Elysian’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the older boy.

Instead of being apologetic like before, Osric just smirked and retorted, “Yes, I did. You’re the smallest among the three of us, so little is just appropriate, don’t you think, Master? Or are you concerned with something else?”

‘This brat seems to have found his balls if he is this audacious to speak to me like this.

Well, I like it! Our conversation will become more interesting, and his company will be more entertaining. It seems without the problem of his family always hanging over his head, he can be himself now, showing his true personality. Hopefully, he can grow more so that he can support me with some of the weight I will need to bear.’

“I am still young. I’m confident that I will not have any problems in that department,” Elysian responded, snorting at his jab. When he saw the servant standing beside him now, he sighed and quipped, “I’m sure, big fella, you’ll surprise us all.” This made Osric chuckle.

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“Huh? Surprise what?” Bran asked, confused by their reaction.

“It’s nothing, big fella,” Elysian said as he slowly got up from the bed. “Let’s go. We have a long day ahead of us?”

“Master, what are you doing?” Bran’s eyes widened as he hurriedly tried to stop him. “You just woke up.”

“Yes, I have had plenty of sleep,” Elysian muttered, easily evading the older boy’s arm before successfully getting out of bed. “Don’t stop me, big fella. I’ll just get sicker if I stay here. What I need now is some fresh air.”

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“Master, why are we going to the training ground?” Bran asked, concern in his voice. “I thought you would just be taking some fresh air.”

“What’s fresher than the air in this place?” Elysian quipped, chuckling at the absurdity of his words. “Just think, my dear friend. The air here comes straight from the source—the sweat, the breathless heaving from extreme exertion, the… ” He immediately stopped speaking, trying to look around as if he hadn’t said anything.

‘F*ck! That came out bad. I hope they weren’t listening.’

“Why did you stop, Master?” Bran asked, confused by what happened as he was still trying to understand the words of the young noble. “I don’t get it. Why is the air coming from the soldiers fresh?” he innocently asked, glancing at Osric, who only shook his head, not meeting his eyes, while trying not to laugh. “I really don’t get it. Don’t they reek? They smell so ripe.”

‘What the hell! Why does this b*stard say it like that? Sh*t, this is embarrassing.’

“I also don’t understand. Do you really like the smell of soldiers that much, young master?”

Elysian suddenly heard the voice of a stranger approaching them from behind. “Huh, who?” He turned around and saw two men, dressed in simple, thick leather, without any ostentatious adornment. It was simply well-made armor, clearly built not for display or parade but for war. From their weathered appearance, marred by scratches and chipped in some places, it was clear these had served their owners well. After the momentary distraction, he glanced at their faces to know the identities of the two. “Oh, Captain Lucas. It’s you,” he greeted, smiling instantly at meeting the ever-so-agreeable officer. “Good morning. It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s also nice to see you again, young master. Also, good morning,” Lucas responded, smiling widely at the warm welcome he had just received. “I heard you’ve been unconscious for a couple of days. Are you alright now?”

Lucas’ companion was surprised at their rather friendly interaction; his eyes darted back and forth between the two. “Hey, what’s happening here?” he asked, looking at Osric, who just remained quiet, ignoring the man. “Wait, why are you with that spoiled brat?” he asked, his confusion growing even further, trying to make sense of all the weird things.

Everyone’s attention suddenly turned to Lucas’ companion.

‘Who is he? He’s certainly a captain, since he’s wearing the same armor as Lucas. Hmm… I can’t seem to remember. He’s likely unimportant. Also, I don’t really associate with the military that much in my past life. My uncle was the one who took care of this, so it’s not surprising that I don’t know his identity.

Spoiled brat? Did he just call me that? Well, that’s true, but who would dare say that to my face?

Sigh. This is the military. Of course, he dares to be rude to me. In my previous life, they even bullied me to quit, and in response, my father beat me up for being weak. Damn, those were the days.

The only ones they respect are their superiors and the strong. This is the place for the rejects of society. Those who only thrive in fighting and blood, which means there are plenty of weird and crude people here. Just my kind of place.’

Elysian playfully raised an eyebrow. “Did you just insult me, sir?”

“I’m sorry, young master,” Lucas quickly said, bowing in apology. Turning to his friend, he rebuked, “Apologize immediately. Why are you making trouble again?”

“Apologize?” he asked, turning to the young noble. “Hey, brat. Do I need to apologize?”

“Did you insult me?” Elysian asked again.

“No, I just spoke the truth.”

“Well, then you don’t need to apologize if you're just being honest.”

The soldier just blinked at the unexpected response of the boy before bursting into laughter. “I’ve heard you’ve changed,” he said, grinning widely. “It seemed they were right. The blood of the Ironheart runs deep in your veins,” he stated, ruffling the hair of the boy.

Elysian was taken aback by the action of the man before stepping back deftly avoiding his hand. “Hey, stop that! Do you know how long I styled my hair?” he muttered, growing irritated at the soldier’s nonchalant behavior. “Tsk, who the hell are you?”

“Huh?” The soldier stopped teasing the boy, looking at him carefully, studying his reaction. “You don’t remember me?”

“No, that’s why I’m asking.”

“I’m Hugo, one of the captains,” the soldier stated. He looked disappointed when he noticed the boy wasn’t still able to recognize him. “Hugo,” he said again. This time, he enunciated it slowly to make it register. “Come on, why did you forget me? I thought we were close.”

‘Hugo? And he said we’re close. Hmm…

I still can’t remember that name. It’s been a very long time already. However, I’m sure that I wasn’t close to any of the soldiers in my past life.’

“I’m sorry. After my accident nearly two weeks ago, I have trouble remembering things,” Elysian explained, trying to appease the man. “If we were close before, then it’s nice to meet you again, Hugo.”

Osric suddenly snorted at the grinning face of the captain and muttered, “Master, he’s one of your teachers. In the last lesson, I heard you came out crying, running back to your house.”

“Huh?” Elysian’s eyes widened in surprise, turning to Osric before glancing back at the captain.

“Hey, why are you ratting on me,” Hugo muttered, scowling at the boy.

Elysian quietly observed the soldier with a new lens as he slowly came to remember that one of his teachers, albeit for a brief time, terrorized him to the point he wanted to quit training. He forgot the face and name of the man, but sure as hell, he did not forget the experience. This time, his eyes narrowed as the older soldier glanced back at him with a savage grin. “I remember now. It seems we were quite close, Captain.”

Hugo chuckled at the sharp tone of the noble. “It’s an honor that you remember me again, young master.”

“Even though I have lost some of my memories, it seems you have such a presence that makes me remember you again,” Elysian muttered, smiling without humor in his voice. “It’s my honor to remember you, Captain. By the way, aren’t you going to the training ground to do your daily workout?”

“Yes, young master,” Lucas immediately responded. He was thankful for the change in conversation, forcing a smile as the tension around them made him very uncomfortable. “We are doing our daily workout and some training since Hugo here just arrived yesterday from the western borders. He wanted to catch up with everyone.”

“Great,” Elysian said, grinning as he glanced back at Hugo. “Why don’t we stretch out our legs and arms for a bit before we start our training?”

Hugo paused for a moment at the sudden request before his grin grew even wider. “Ah, yes. The arrogance of the youth. I like it.”