2 Chapter II: The Crow That Seeks For Devotion

After possessing the 2nd Prince Khalid De'l Urchtdorf, Lee Hyun has realized that he has entered a fantasy world where everything he could never imagine is possible to happen.

Even now, he can't believe that he's facing the hideous-looking beast in front of him that he has never seen in his world and never actually dreamed of seeing.

'What in the world?! '

Lee Hyun was surprised, but his expression didn't change. Just like a doll without a soul, he was just standing with the two armored guys beside him, preparing for an attack, while he was just staring at the pile of beasts that were cornering the three of them in the dense part of the forest.

"This is far from what I expected." 

He looked at the sky after hearing the terrifying growl of the rabid beast.

Every step the beast has taken turns the grassy field into a cold pile of ice.

"FRIGUS."

Reinhardt murmured.

Frigus was a type of monstrous demon beast that was covered in precious jewels and beads. They have a feature like a deer but have sharp fangs, claws, and fur that shine like glass. It made him confused that the beast that was supposed to be preying in the cold places had been residing in the mountain area of the summer season.

*Sigh* 

"Just how did things go like this?" 

(A week after Lee Hyun possessed Khalid's body.)

"Milord, we are humbly happy that you've finally awakened. For half a year, we thought that we would never be with you again."

The lithe guy who looks like he's in his 20s with eburneon short side emo bangs and clear hazel-looking eyes spoke.

"Erwin! Watch what you say; you are in front of his highness!"

Scolded by the big-built guy beside him.

"I apologize for his ignorance."

He kneeled as he begged for forgiveness.

Lee Hyun looked at the guy with his mirk-piercing glaucous eyes that made him sweat bullets.

"You…"

He pointed.

"The guy with a weird haircut."

"Ye-yes?"

"How old is this boy?" 

He pointed at himself with a serious tone and expression.

"Perhaps Milord doesn't remember a thing."

It made him roll his eyes.

"Answer is what I needed."

It made him look at the armored guy as if he were asking for help while still kneeling on the ground, avoiding Khalid's intimidating gaze.

"AHEM-" 

He clears his throat as he continues to speak.

"Milord, it seems that you are experiencing an aftershock from the war that must have given you an inferior impact in your memory."

The guy insists as he continues to speak.

"On behalf of that, please let us introduce ourselves."

He demanded as he took off the armor on his head.

Revealing his face, his looks were like a man in his 40s with long black hair around his waist and a tall masculine figure that perfectly suited his tan skin. 

He then looks at Khalid with his calm grayish eyes, which are like ashes in the furnace.

"I am Reinhardt Levista, the commander of all your knights!"

He claimed this as he introduced himself with confidence.

"The guy standing in front of you is Erwin; he was the same age as you, Milord; you are 5,876 years old; you just turned in the last month of autumn.

Lee Hyun startles as he stares at his reflection on his armor, wondering if he possesses a grandpa who looks like a toddler.

"Hmm... then this old geezer is suitable to die."

He murmured as he took the bayonet from Erwin and pointed it at his neck.

"Milord! You mustn't!"

He dusts off himself as he stands right in front of him.

"I beg your pardon, but you are just 23 years old!"

Lee Hyun's jaw dropped along with the bayonet as if he were stabbed in the back while Erwin explained everything that had happened: that after fighting on the battlefield, he loses a lot of mana that reverses his body back to a kid and leads him to a coma for half a year.

Lee Hyun couldn't even believe what he was hearing. He just suddenly felt a rumbling sensation in his stomach.

"Since your worries have been answered, then there's no point for this conversation to last any longer."

Reinhardt spoke as he walked right outside the tent to prepare for their feast and left Erwin to accompany him.

'This is unbelievable.' 

Lee Hyun thought.

'How could this twig be so frail? In my past life, I was able to survive being starved for a month with nothing.'

A week has passed, and the same cycle has repeated. All he has done is eat and stay at the shed under the oak tree while the two of his knights train themselves near the pond. 

After the fearful battle, all his knights had died, and only three of them had survived.

As he watched them from a distance, Lee Hyun, who was now living on the body of the empire's traitor, was in a moment of fika as he seriously looked at the pond while staring at the beauty of his new body.

"Tssk!'

 He sneers and frowns his brows as he watches the two of his knights train under the hot, blazing heat of the sun. He continued to look at them as if he were throwing daggers from a distance.

"What a nuisance." 

He muttered as he remembered the pridian weeks that flashed right before his eyes.

--------

"Well, will you look at this?" 

Lee Hyun was in his own world doing eccentric things that he seemed to enjoy. He was looking underneath his old big clothes that were led by Erwin while scanning his new body.

He felt a little chill when he saw swords instead of pearls.

"So it was a boy."

He pervertedly thought while he was left inside the old, cramped tent as the two of his knights were busy preparing for a feast.

"Milord, the food is ready-

Without even finishing his words, Erwin flushed in red while blocking his face with his own hands, avoiding to look at Khalid's messy appearance.

"Ah, I've been caught."

As he dropped the neckline of the shirt, he walked straight towards Erwin while his long ash-silver hair swayed by the wind and his messy and revealing clothes that were too big for him made Erwin freeze on his feet.

"Mi-milord, you can't!" 

Erwin stuttered as he couldn't seem to move by their Lord's seductive appearance.

"Hey Erwin," 

Khalid stands in front of him with his chin resting on his fingertips while staring right through his eyes.

"Y-yes' 

Erwin tried to respectfully look at Khalid with a serious expression, but he could not conceal the visible blush on his face, just like a freshly harvested tomato.

"What do you think of this body?" 

Khalid asked with a poker face that made Erwin faint in shock.

After the incident, Erwin could not face Khalid without a thousand continuous apologies.

"Milord, is something bothering you?" 

Reinhardt has been calling Khalid's name for a while, but they didn't get a response. He was in his own world before he came back to his senses, looking at them with his intimidating, cold-piercing eyes.

"What?" 

He replied in a monotone voice.

Reinhardt's eyes widen as he hears his stomach rumble.

His face flushed red.

'Damn. I hate this body,' 

Khalid thought, while Reinhardt just smiled as he called for Erwin.

'Now, what.' 

He looks at them talking to each other from afar.

"I trust you, Erwin," 

Reinhardt said as he tapped his shoulder.

"Milord, we will do the hunting." 

"I'm going…"

Before Reinhardt could finish his words, Khalid left them too stunned to speak.

He can't seem to understand himself; Hyun has never been worried about anything else, but when it comes to these two, he can feel a little bit of emotion that he doesn't want to express.

They left unspoken while staring at his embarrassed expression.

"There is nothing to do here." 

Khalid clicked his tongue as he saw them smile, and he immediately turned his back at the two as he couldn't dare look at their unwell complexion, especially Erwin's skeletal figure, which was like a kite that was ready to be blown by the wind.

Heavy footsteps can be heard as they enter the dense part of the forest. It always made him so worried every time the wind blew, fearing that it would take Erwin away, but to be surprised, he looked fine. He thought maybe he was being too guilty about nothing, but still, he couldn't blame anyone but himself, who was always hungry every minute, which made the two so busy that they couldn't take proper care of themselves.

"Milord…" 

Erwin called and faced Khalid with a serious expression written on his face. 

"Promise me one thing: whatever happens, run and don't look back."

Erwin pleaded with Khalid without knowing that he was different from before, or rather, that he wasn't the master they once knew.

'Even though his voice sounds sincere, isn't he just trying to say that I should save myself and leave them? Who are you to command me…?' 

Khalid's face gloom.

"…. Milord?"

"AH~…."

Khalid can't understand his emotions anymore. He knows that their amity is for the real owner of the body, but it is too much for him to feel furious. No one was ever so kind to him in his previous life; they were scared because of his power, but on the inside, their hands were so itchy to kill him and get his position. He knows that if the two find out that he isn't their real master, they will turn their backs too.

Lee Hyun closed his eyes as he flipped his bangs. He sighed.

 'I shouldn't have this kind of emotion.'

"Milord?" 

"Khalid, your highness."

Reinhardt repeatedly called when a pile of beasts suddenly appeared and cornered the three of them right in the middle of a dense forest that was covered in spiky thatch grass.

"Milord! While Erwin fights the frigus, I'll find a way for you to escape!"

Trap in a situation where neither of them had enough mana or energy to protect Khalid made his anger tick like a bomb that was about to explode.

'F*ck.Stop it. Just stop it! Stop being nice to me! ' 

His thought was puzzled; the thing he only felt was anger that wanted to burst into his body.

"Milord, we beg you to please leave us! before it's too late!"

Reinhardt demanded in a serious tone of voice while his eyes locked up on the beast in front of them. 

It's as if he was ready to even sacrifice their lives to their Lord, who was possessed by other souls.

"Damn it! Just who are you guys to command me?!"

Khalid is furious; he doesn't want to be attached to the two, but he just can't leave them to die and be preyed on by the group of beasts.

Their eyes widened in shock to hear Khalid's voice in range. 

"But Milord,"

"Do you think I will stay still, doing nothing like an idiot?!" 

He exclaimed and took out the bayonet that he stole from Erwin to take charge and attack the beast, when his body suddenly gave up as he stumbled down where his legs turned noodles as if he lost all the strength on his legs. But before he fell to the ground, Reinhardt caught him right after he lost his balance, leaving Erwin on the fierce battlefield.

"Milord, that's enough! You're hurting yourself!"

Reinhardt holds him gently, but then Khalid slaps his hands and gives an intimidating look in his eyes.

'Yun…. hyun, you have to... survive...'

A familiar voice rings in his ears, making him lose control of himself. Even the big, built body of Reinhardt wouldn't be enough to stop him.

"Up...Shut up!"

He screamed.

"Ha, this is it. I had enough." 

He wipes off the dirt on his chin as he licks the bottom of his lip.

With a bayonet, he tries to stab the eye of the frigus as it tries to attack him. Khalid observed that the frigus claws were extremely sharp and it had nice agility, but he didn't care and avoided all the attacks as it fought back in the same direction.

Every time the frigus makes a move, the grassy land turns into ice but Khalid avoids it all, finding a perfect time to chargeback. 

Because of the rays and heat of the sun, the thick ice that covers the fur of the frigus slowly melts, and that is where Khalid finds a way to kill the beast. He stabs them right through their stomachs as the purple-ish liquid flows out into the beast's body. It was all thanks to the sun that made their fur soft and easy to stab, but they probably died by now if they were fighting in a cold place.

Khalid leaves the two in shock as he forms a smirk on his face.

"You guys didn't know how many bones I have broken in this body."

Khalid felt so proud of himself.

He's been secretly training his new body to the point that he has fractured and broken some of his bones and ribs without telling the two, as they forbid him to train with them because of his fragile body, but still, he did it because of his stubbornness.

The fierce battle continued; with his flat, long sword, Erwin stepped back as he charged all of his energy on the sword. It lit up a blue aura as he swung it in the air, which cut the beast's body into pieces, while Reinhardt used his ability in his big ax to run towards the beast as he avoided them all while swinging it on the soft part of their bodies.

"1…2..3..4….5…..11" 

Khalid throws the frigus bodies in the same place as he counts them one by one, and then sits at the top of them while wiping off the blood on his face as he gently cleans the bayonet he stole on Erwin and watches the two catch their breath as they fight the remaining beast.

"M-milord, please don't worry about us; we can handle this!" 

The two claimed, as Reinhardt seemed exhausted, that he lost the weight of his ax, and almost fell flat into the ground while Erwin's swords formed cracks on its edges.

'Yeah~, sure you both can." 

He rests his chin on its palm as he sits on the frostbite's body, crossing his legs.

'Hmmm? Let's see. 30 minutes have passed. But they only killed seven beasts. Are they doing their job properly? '

He arrogantly thinks.

"Hey, if you can't finish this, then I'll help."

Khalid froze as his eyes widened when he suddenly felt someone's gaze watching them from afar. 

He just gave out a smirk and followed it without telling the two.

Not far from where they were fighting the beast, the thing that was watching them earlier hid from the bushes carelessly, even though knowing that it was being tracked.

"I'm all alone now; show yourself." 

A calm, cold voice pursued the unknown creature to came out.

The gentle brushes of the bushes and the falling of the leaves can be heard while Khalid coldly stares at it.

"What a joke?"

He chuckled.

When they arrive at the foot of the mountain, a view of a small town can be seen from a great distance.

"M-milord, we've made it!"

Erwin exclaimed, panting.

They successfully killed 21 friguss in a case of sudden serendipity where they could sell on the market.

"Say, Reinhardt, how much money do you think we can get from selling this beast?"

Khalid asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, we could probably get around 250,000 gold shillings."

Reinhardt stated as he gladly explained everything to Khalid about how the beast was priced based on its skin, type, and use.

"Uhm, milord, it's not for me to say, but you should be careful next time."

He spoke as he handed the mask that was similar to a deer.

"It will be dangerous to reveal yourself for now."

He sighs.

"Just what did this guy do?'

Khalid was amazed as his eyes observed the town. The clothing of the people was rather old and classic, and the buildings and houses were made out of cement and brick, which was different from the world he used to live in. But out of all of them, what amazed him the most was the different figures and appearances of people; some had bunny ears and features like beasts and animals. It was the first time he saw something so unreal, like a dream.

 Lee Hyun didn't want to believe it at first like it was just his paracosm, but when he felt the broken bone in his ribs, it just brought him back to his senses.

"OHO! Look at this harvest!" 

A fat, small-looking man who looks like a dwarf exclaimed in joy as Reinhardt placed the beast on its table, where he started to dismantle it.

On the other side, Khalid's attention was caught at the boutique shop window, where he seriously looked at his reflection.

'Khalid De'l Urchtdorf...' 

He placed his hands on the glass.

"Am I worthy to live freely in this life?" 

He mumbled without taking his eyes off his reflection.

The mask is simply a wall to hide his emotions, but still, the loneliness and sadness he feels, along with his soulless expression, cannot be hidden with the mask he is wearing right now.

"Milord, is there something wrong? Is the mask uncomfortable?" 

Erwin Run rushed at him, who was supposed to be negotiating with the butcher, but because he was just a commoner, he was raised with poor education and a lack of knowledge, and when it comes to money, losing money is almost one of his abilities.

"Ah. It's nothing."

Khalid smiled even though it wasn't visible because of his mask.

'If I were to live your life, would I be able to have such a thing as happily ever after? ' 

He walks towards his two loyal knights with a faint smile painted on his face.