Truth Shall Set You Free

Chapter 11

The siblings were quietly looking up at Cale. Their hair and clothes seemed damp, probably because they stayed here through the foggy morning.

Of course, Cale pretended not to notice.

"You are such a tsundere," Kim Min Ah said.

"What's a tsundere?" Hannah asked.

"Someone who comes off all cold and uncaring at first, but eventually they warm up and show their soft side," Kim Min Ah explained.

"Oh. Yeah, I can see that," Hannah replied.

"We all know how secretly caring my dear dongsaeng is. He's just shy, aren't you?" Alberu teased.

"Shut up, your highness," Cale pouted.

"Hyung."

"Not right now, you aren't," Cale grumped.

"Actually, it is a hyung's job to pick on their dongsaeng," Lee Soo Hyuk* joined in.

"In that case, I disown any hyung clinging to me," Cale said seriously.

"Hahahaha, so sad for you, but there are no take backs or exchanges," Kim Rok Soo added in.

"Face it Cale, you are stuck with them," Kim Rok Soo* pointed out.

"Then so are you," Cale informed.

The slight smile twitching at the corners of Cale and Rok Soo's* lips showed just how happy that thought actually made them.

Meanwhile, a hooded figure sitting quietly in the far back corner of group 5 smiled at the sight of his troublesome dongsaeng looking so happy.

"Here, take it."

The young boy took both of their shares from Cale. Cale waited until the boy picked it up before turning around and heading for the man-eating tree.

'I'm glad it is foggy.'

The fog made it difficult to see. Since this hill was the highest point in Rain City, other than the Count's estate, the fog was even thicker up here. Nobody else would be able to see what Cale is doing, or more importantly, what Cale receives from the tree.

– More, give me more. Please.

"It's still creepy that some dead person is talking," Park Jin Tae* shivered.

"It's definitely not normal anyway," Cage* insisted.

Cale poured a bag of bread into the hole while listening to the eerie voice of the grudge-filled soul as usual. The darkness inside the hole was slowly turning from grey to white. Cale started to smile, thinking that all his efforts were not for naught. It was at that moment.

– More, more, more!

'What?'

Cale flinched and stepped backwards at the voice that now turned into a shriek.

"That went from creepy to terrifying at lightning speed," Park Jin Tae* said. "Are you sure this isn't a horror story?"

'The novel didn't mention something like this.'

"For having such detailed information at times, it's completely lacking in other areas," Valentino* muttered.

– More, more! I will give you a present if you bring me more. A present.

"Hey, Cale, didn't you ever hear of the terms stranger danger and don't take candy from strangers?" Park Jin Tae* asked with concern.

"Can an ancient power be considered a stranger?" Cale wondered.