'I'm dying.'
That was on Keith's mind as he lied down on the ground with both of his eyes closed. He was drenching in sweat and his legs were going numb. He could not even move a muscle.
He glared the angriest glare he could do toward the young man who forced Keith into his current predicament. He did not care whether that man had the ability to kill him in a single move, no, he could not bring himself to care since he already felt worse than dying.
The said young man was simply gazing at him with slight raised brows, as if seeing an angry cute little kitten.
Huh, no wonder father always liked to call young master Keith as a kitten. He could finally see the resemblance now. It was almost endearing.
"Endure it for a little longer, young master."
'I knew I shouldn't trusted the assassin's son!'
Keith should have known better. He had read the novel and experienced having the vicious father-son duo as his servants.
When the cook who was an expert in swordsmanship announced that the new training will not be as heavy and difficult as the previous trainings, he knew something was off. The entire situation was iffy.
He knew that other than wielding a greatsword, Beacrox also had a talent in torture methods. Despite not having to witness such vicious ability in person, Keith had that knowledge from reading [The Birth of a Hero] back as Kim Rok Soo.
Albeit there was no way Ron would allow his son to pass on the knowledge of torture methods to the youngest son of the Count. Assassination, yes, but torture method was a bit too much for an eight-year-old who will soon turned nine. No matter how outstanding Keith's performance in assassination and stealth, learning torture method was completely out of his league.
Even Keith himself agreed wholeheartedly.
He might had an ability to kill a man in a single move with ease, thanks to learning assassination and stealth from the butler. But, that did not mean he would kill people. Perhaps if he was forced to, then he would, though that was a different matter.
But torture people?
No, he would never ever do that.
Keith, no, Kim Rok Soo was someone who despised the sight of gruesome things like blood, death and war. He might learned assassination but the art itself was silent, fast and like a shadow. He did not have to stab a man right on his heart and wait for the man to die out of blood loss. He had a hundred way to kill without seeing so much blood.
Beacrox who was in charge of his training told him the training would not be hard and heavy. Thus, he would definitely not be taught in swordsmanship and torture methods.
Nevertheless, Beacrox is still Ron's son.
The son of the butler who was an expert in throwing sharp daggers and walking as silent as a shadow. Viciousness and ruthlessness was a trait in their bloodlines, Keith was extremely certain. The son of such a man was bound to inherit the trait that brought shiver down to Keith's spine.
His solid and concrete proof was [The Birth of a Hero] that depicted his... exploits in a detailed depth. The author wrote the scenes so well that he shuddered when he imagined the scenes.
His gut feeling was proven to be true when Beacrox laid out a box filled with shady bottles with suspicious looking colourful liquids on the ground. He instantly knew what those things was.
That was when Keith was mentally hit by something right on his head. He really wanted to smash his face on some wall when he had a realization. (Though he would not do it since he hated pain.)
In [The Birth of a Hero], other than being a swordsman and torture expert, Beacrox also found interest in the art of poison. He also was proven to be quite verse in it.
And the man who was also a poison expert said that the training would be poison training to increase Keith's immunity. As he also said that Keith had a 'shit immunity', he would start with something simple. A light paralysis.
'Light paralysis, my ass.'
Such a 'light' paralysis that made both of his legs going numb made his body drenched in sweat.
For Keith who was trained in assassination and stealth, legs were a requirement and necessary for survival's sake. He almost felt overwhelm when he could not move his legs to run or flee. It might be because of paranoia since he thought that he could not even lift a finger.
Keith made a decision at that time. He would never trust either the father or the son. Both of them were vicious as hell. He made another mental note to not piss them off. He did not wish to die just before he reached eighteen.
He needed to suffer for another ten years before he sent the father-son duo with Choi Han on their hero journey.
That was if he planned to let the plot be.
However, he would not since he would be altering the plot.
"Here's the antidote."
Beacrox crouched down just beside him after the time is up. Keith was torn between desperation and mistrust. He was desperate to drink the antidote for the paralysis but at the same time, he did not think he had the ability to put a trust in the scary torture expert anymore.
Nonetheless, Keith did not reject when Beacrox helped him drink the antidote. The taste of the antidote was as shitty as the toxin he drank just now. If not for his desperation, he would openly spilled the liquid. Perhaps right at Beacrox's face. Just to ease his heart and make himself feel better after the poison endurance.
Fortunately, Keith had a sense of self-preservation, thank you very much. He valued his safety and life as his top priority.
Seeing how he almost choked as he gobbled down the liquid, Beacrox frowned slightly. He told Keith to drink it slowly before putting his own input in a nonchalant way.
"You have a shit immunity, young master."
'...Is it really okay for him to curse in front of a child?'
Keith bemusedly thought to himself. Beacrox might already figured out that he was not like children his age, despite how he always appeared as a calm and mature eight-year-old with higher intelligence than most peers.
That was why he questioned whether it would be alright to curse in front of a child, a noble's child at that.
Not that Keith cared for such trivial things.
It just felt iffy when a man cursed and being respectful in a formal way.
"The next training will not be as simple and easy as light paralysis. I will increase the difficulty and the length of time."
'Shit.'
Keith instantly cursed when he heard that.
The so-called simple and easy light paralysis was enough to make him felt dying, and the next training would be even more harder?
He really could not tolerate with this whole thing anymore. He did not want to drink those shitty liquids nor did he want to suffer from the side effect of the poisons.
Great, now he needed to push his plan of taking the next ancient power into motion as soon as possible.
Vitality of the Heart would be crucial if he wanted to survive from the poison intake without even drinking the antidote.
Just how the hell was he going to get the restorative ancient power located in the Puzzle City?
"I hope you will be ready by the time of our next training, young master. I'm looking forward to it."
He really needed to figure out how to survive the poison training before he could set his plan to go to the Puzzle City on motion.
***
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Father, can I come in?"
It was silent before Keith could hear a sound.
"...Ah, yes! You can, Keith!"
Keith entered the room. He was greeted with the sight of a room filled with a mountain of paperworks. The room was a complete mess.
The owner of the room was even messier than the room itself.
Keith examined the appearance of the Count with his reddish-brown eyes. Deruth looked haggard with his messy hair and dishevelled clothes. Judging by the bag under his eyes, Keith was certain that his father did not sleep well.
It is said that there were five stages of grief. As Kim Rok Soo, he did not experienced those stages as he did not had the leisure or time to do so. But, looking at the state of his father and the room, he did not think that it could be this bad.
"I asked Ron for this tea."
Keith put a cup of a warm tea on the table. Deruth looked at the cup in question before he widened his eyes. He looked stunned.
"T,this is..."
'As expected, father recognized it right away.'
Keith nodded his head.
"Rose tea. I hoped this tea would help you to ease stress and sleep well at night."
'It was also mother's favourite.'
He absentmindedly continued on his mind. Mentioning his mother might not be a great idea in helping a man to cope from his loss and sadness.
Deruth appeared to be too stunned to He was in daze, seemingly in the middle of reminiscing the cherished memories of his wife, most probably. Then, he finally replied.
"...Thank you, Keith."
Keith nodded his head.
"I hope you can have a nice rest, father. It's not good to work all the time."
As someone who once a Team Leader of a company, Keith, no, Kim Rok Soo remembered perfectly well the time he worked. It was pretty hectic.
In a way, he was similar to his father.
The way they both coped and dealt with the feelings of loss.
After the death of his team members to the Unranked monster, Kim Rok Soo did not have time to grieve or mourn properly at the funeral. He threw himself in a mountain of paperworks and overworked himself.
He succeed Lee Soo Hyuk's position as a Team Leader and lead the team in countless battles against monsters. He was the one to draft a meticulous strategy of the battles.
That was why he could not help but see his past self in Deruth.
He felt bad when he remembered how he always made his subordinates and team members worried about him. Now that he saw his father's state, the realization finally started to dawn in his mind.
That was also the reason why he could not let his father in this new life and strange fantasy world to ended up like him.
"...I'll keep that in mind."
Keith nodded his head inwardly. A few months has passed since the Countess passed away, now should be the perfect time to move on from the past.
"Would you like to have a dinner with us? Cale missed his swordsmanship partner."
'Cale missed his father.'
Keith nonchalantly spoke with a stoic face while adding his thoughts in his mind. Well, he didn't have to say the last sentence out loud since his sharp father understood it.
He could see the slight flinch of his father. His father's eyes seemed to widen and shaken quite a bit. A sense of guilt and realization, most probably.
Nevertheless, he needed to remind his father.
Just like how Team Leader Kim Rok Soo was not alone after the death of his teammates, Deruth too was not alone.
And indeed, Keith's words came right toward him as a slap to his face, waking him from his delusions.
Cale and Keith.
The sons of him and his late wife.
They were still here, waiting patiently for the grieving older man to get a grip and be a responsible father they needed him to be. Be the father that his wife wanted him to be.
Drew would be devastated if she was here to see him like this.
"I will join you, Keith."
His brown eyes no longer held grief or misery. But, instead, it was a fury determination.
Keith fought back a wide smile, intended to keep a stoic face albeit he failed when the corner of his mouth started to curve upwards.
"Alright, father."
Well, Cale would certainly be delighted with the news.
Keith took his leave and walked out from his father's office with a quiet pleased hum. His heart felt a little lighter and his shoulders became more relaxed after leaving the office.
Now, they finally could move on.
***
Beacrox was cutting some vegetables in a quiet and peaceful kitchen in the middle of the dark night. He wanted to try a new recipe that could make the Count's family pleased and their stomachs satisfied.
Since the Count finally started to have a meal with his sons together, shouldn't he, Beacrox make a splendid and special meal to celebrate the wonderful occassion?
That was also the reason why there were no training today.
He knew that his father was more than pleased with the news of the Count when he saw his father sharpening the daggers more frequently happily.
And he also wanted to make a satisfactory meal for the youngest son of the Count.
Well, after he and his father took young master Keith under their wings, Beacrox felt a little bad seeing how lethargic and tired young master Keith was in the morning.
His father was very harsh in training, he admitted. And he also was strict in training, of course, not more than his father.
After increasing the immunity of the so-called kitten young master, as his father liked to call the youngest redhead, he would move on to his next lesson of poison.
Perhaps how to kill someone with a poison? Beacrox was not sure at the moment. He was not skilled as an instructor as he never was one in the first place.
Though the same couldn't be said to his father.
His father was actually delighted to insert the slightest and lightest amount of a poison in the usual lemon tea of the young master in the morning. The antidote was only given in the same form as the poison in the lemon tea at night.
Poor the clueless young master Keith.
He drank almost three cups of the lemonade in a day without knowing one of the drinks was poisoned.
His father was a real sadist, taking pleasure of young master Keith's misery.
Beacrox decided he should not take after his father in that aspect. Well, he pitied the poor kitten young master as it was.
The least he could do is to put some honey or sugar inside the lemonade.
He was cooking when he heard the quiet sound of a wind. His sharp senses heightened in an instant as he turned around to only notice nothing changed.
Beacrox frowned. He might be a little paranoid since he was the only awake at the moment.
He resumed cooking while never lowering his guard down even just once. It was really tranquil and quiet.
He quickly turned behind before grabbing a large knife, prepared to launch it when the expert felt the soundless move.
It was weird. Very strange.
There was no one here in the kitchen. If there was, he would know it since he was an expert in stealth. His sharp senses could detect someone instantly, with the exception of his father.
Yet, just a moment ago he heard the wind. And he felt that someone moved in a perfect stealth and agility.
Beacrox furrowed his brows. Or was it his father? But for what reason his father wanted to do this? Has his father thought it was finally his turn to become a victim of his father's sadistic actions? It could not be, since his father always said he was too stoic and uptight about almost everything.
His eyes landed on a glass jar filled with cookies.
He could not help but let out a sigh-like chuckle after seeing the decreasing amount of cookies in the transparent jar.
Now that Beacrox thought about it, he really was so slow-witted. He should realized it long ago when all the desserts his made started to vanish into the thin air.
He thought it was his mistake but today proved all wrong.
He finally knew the culprit behind the disappearances of the desserts.
'Hah! Kitten young master? He was more like a rat!'
The way the young master infiltrated into the kitchen without him knowing, the way he stole the cookies while moving like a soundless wind and the way he vanished in an instant.
Beacrox was chuckling as he put his right hand that was covered with white glove on his mouth.
If his father took it upon himself to call the young master with the nickname of a kitten, he might as well followed his father's footsteps. After all, he is his father's only son.
Rodent young master sounded more than adequate.
He raised the corner of his mouth.
The smile appeared to be very vicious that was eerily similar to the old butler in a way. The same smile that could make a certain tiny redhead suffered a nightmare.
Well, looks like there won't be any sugar or honey inside the lemon tea for tomorrow. And perhaps more amount of poison.
.
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Sorry for the late update! I have been busy with studies😅 Hopefully you enjoyed this chap!
More Beacrox-Keith moments!🌸
I saw TCF wiki and was shocked to know that when Cale was eighteen, Beacrox was thirty😳 ohh how wrong I was about his age! Please ignore his wrong age in the earlier chap of this fanfic as I will fix it later. There are many things to edit and fix honestly🤧 Hope you can ignore all of it😬
Btw this chap is inspired by Edzz227 'A King' s Maker' on ao3. Go read that fanfic!
Anyway, thanks for those who are still waiting for this fanfic!❤ Stay tuned for the next chap!❣