Episode 23

Noah was led to a familiar place—the very labor yard that had unsettled them on their first day. Standing there now, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. So they had finally dragged him into this as well.

From a corner, Jacob, who had been working, spotted Noah and gasped in shock before hurrying over.

“Young Master!”

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“I’ll leave him to you, then.”

The man who had brought Noah, having completed his task, disappeared without another word. As soon as he was gone, Jacob took in the situation and began fuming, glaring at the departing man with disbelief.

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“T-This isn’t right! How could they make you work here?!”

Noah blinked in surprise at Jacob’s furious reaction. He hadn’t expected him to get this worked up. It seemed Jacob was still deeply grateful for being rescued.

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As Jacob grew increasingly agitated, saying he would go and complain, Noah hurriedly tried to calm him down. However, their commotion had already drawn the attention of the armed guards. One of them, eyeing the two with clear displeasure, slowly approached.

“What’s the problem here?”

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The guard brazenly raised his gun toward them. Jacob inhaled sharply, his entire body stiffening. But his reaction was too extreme for it to be just fear of the weapon—Noah instantly realized that Jacob must have gone through some serious mistreatment while he was here.

Glancing briefly at Jacob, who was visibly trembling, Noah then looked down at the barrel aimed at him. He exhaled sharply, clicked his tongue in irritation, and turned away, grabbing a nearby shovel as if nothing had happened.

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The guard’s face turned red with humiliation. Watching Noah work in silence, he scowled, kicked the dirt in frustration, then stomped back to his post.

‘So they’re still wary of Calyps.’

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Noah noted their restraint. They were testing boundaries but hadn’t crossed them yet, likely because of Calyps’s presence.

He moved the shovel lazily, feigning effort while keeping an eye on his surroundings. Even so, his stiffened thigh made it difficult to work.

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‘God, this shitty stamina…’

His body wasn’t this weak before. Ever since possessing Noah Valencia, his physical endurance had plummeted.

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‘…Is it because I inherited the role of a nobleman’s pampered son?’

Letting out a quiet curse, he begrudgingly accepted his reality.

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It wasn’t until sunset that he and Jacob were finally allowed to leave the labor yard.

As they trudged back to the castle, Noah suddenly halted. A familiar silhouette stood in the distance—one he hadn’t seen in nearly a week.

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It was Calyps.

Relief barely had time to settle before Noah’s gaze shifted to the man beside him. Dominic.

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His expression soured instantly.

Noticing Noah’s presence, Calyps and Dominic began walking toward him. Jacob, sensing something off, lightly tapped Noah’s shoulder.

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“Young Master, are you okay? Oh—!”

In that moment, Noah had a thought.

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Just because you survive death doesn’t mean a troll stops being a troll.

Jacob still had a natural talent for ruining everything.

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Just as Noah’s thigh was cramping again, Jacob’s touch caused him to lose his balance. Bracing himself for the fall, he clenched his eyes shut.

But before he hit the ground, strong arms wrapped around his waist.

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Expecting it to be Calyps, Noah opened his eyes—only to see Dominic’s snake-like face right in front of him.

His expression twisted in revulsion.

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“Are you alright?”

“Ugh!”

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As Noah groaned from the pain in his thigh, Dominic subtly pulled him in closer, his breath warm against Noah’s skin. The unwanted proximity made Noah recoil instinctively. However, in twisting his body away, his thigh cramped even harder, forcing him to collapse onto the ground.

“Noah!”

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Calyps was beside him in an instant, catching him before he could fully hit the ground. Supporting him with his large hands, he carefully adjusted Noah’s posture to help him sit comfortably.

“Slowly… There, good.”

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“Y-Young Master! Are you okay?!”

As Calyps’s hand pressed against his thigh, Noah flinched. But instead of withdrawing, Calyps began massaging the cramped muscle. The sensation drew an involuntary sound from Noah.

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“Hngh!”

Dominic watched them with an odd expression.

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“S-Stop! Ah!”

The pain was one thing, but the sensation of someone else rubbing his thigh so thoroughly was driving Noah insane.

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“Shhh, stay still.”

“Ah! Please, just—stop! Ugh!”

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When the cramp refused to subside, Calyps clicked his tongue and lifted Noah into his arms.

“Hngh—!”

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Caught off guard, Noah inhaled sharply as his face pressed against Calyps’s firm chest.

From the side, Dominic, still watching, chuckled in his usual sleazy tone.

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“Shall I accompany you, then?”

“That won’t be necessary. Rather, do you know where Derek is right now?”

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Dominic, his smile unfaltering, answered smoothly.

“By now… he’s probably in the underground prison.”

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“Thank you. I’ll see you in the meeting room later.”

“Of course. Take care.”

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As Calyps walked past him, he briefly cast Dominic a cold, unreadable look. Dominic, sensing it, stood still, watching them disappear with an expression that was difficult to decipher.

Calyp sent Jacob away before heading to the underground prison.

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Though Noah was more embarrassed about being carried than anything else, he closed his eyes tightly, trying to ignore it.

Just as Dominic had said, they found Derek in the underground prison. He was tending to Dmitri’s injuries when he noticed them enter. Seeing Noah, still leaning against Calyps, Derek hurried over.

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While Derek examined Noah’s thigh, Calyps stood quietly, watching him with an unsettlingly dark expression.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

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“Do you always come here around this time?”

“Huh?”

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“Do you always come here to treat this man at the same time?”

“Ah, no… I don’t have a set time for visits.”

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At Derek’s response, a sharp smile curled on Calyps’s lips. It seemed Dominic had stopped bothering to hide his actions. He had to know that they were being watched—Calyp’s question was merely a formality, a confirmation.

“So, we are being monitored?”

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“Most likely.”

Derek didn’t come to the underground prison at a fixed time, yet Dominic had immediately known where he was. That meant there were watchful eyes on them, and Dominic was receiving real-time reports on their movements.

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They had all suspected as much, but today, it felt particularly infuriating.

Specifically, what unsettled Calyps most was the sight of Noah—hunched over, exhausted, and covered in grime, looking no different from Jacob.

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If Dominic had been watching them all this time, he had to have known about Noah’s injured leg. Yet he had still sent him to perform hard labor. The cruel intent behind that decision made Calyps click his tongue in disgust.

He recalled Dominic introducing himself as a knight.

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A laugh almost escaped him.

Calyp had spent years on the battlefield. He had met more knights than he could count. There was no way he would mistake a real knight for whatever Dominic was pretending to be.

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‘It’s time to prepare to leave.’

Looking at Noah’s pitiful state, Calyps made up his mind.

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Just as they were about to leave the underground prison, a piercing scream froze them in place.

“Aaaah!”

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“Stop it! Someone stop it!”

Exchanging quick glances, the three of them sprinted toward the source of the commotion.

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The moment they arrived, they came to an abrupt halt.

A mutant zombie had somehow made its way inside the castle.

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The creature rampaged through the courtyard, tearing through anything in its path. The three of them held their breath, staying hidden for now.

Among them, Noah was the most shocked.

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His entire body went cold as he took in the scene.

In the drama, the midpoint shelter was indeed attacked—but it happened during the day, not at night. The timing was too early, and the way the attack unfolded was completely different from what he remembered.

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“Ghhwaaargh!”

“Kyaaa!”

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“Gkkhh—!”

First with the ambush in the village, and now this. More and more events were diverging from the original plot.

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Noah felt an eerie sense of causality—like the world was actively trying to force him into danger, no matter what.

As if just surviving wasn’t hard enough, did they really have to throw this at me too?

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Glaring at the mutant zombie rampaging through the courtyard, Noah swallowed back his frustration.

With how often things were straying from the original script, even his notebook felt useless now.

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‘Might as well throw that damn thing away if I make it out of this alive.’

So much for a story buff.

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If anything, it felt like the universe was out to get him.

Squinting at the monster, Noah took in its bizarre appearance. This mutant zombie was unlike any they had encountered before.

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Standing over two meters tall, its lower jaw extended grotesquely, swollen like a pelican’s pouch—large enough to cover its entire torso.

Just then, the creature lunged forward, its enormous mouth snapping shut over a person’s head.

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In an instant, the victim was decapitated, dying on the spot.

But not everyone was so “lucky.”

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Those bitten elsewhere didn’t die immediately—they turned.

Newly infected zombies clawed at the remaining survivors, spreading the chaos further.

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Derek, watching the bloodbath unfold, suddenly thought of something—

Dante.

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“Dante!”

Without hesitation, Derek bolted forward.

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Noah’s eyes widened in shock at his reckless charge.

Fortunately, Calyps’s reflexes were quicker—he grabbed Derek by the arm, stopping him in his tracks.

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“It’s too dangerous.”

“But—!”

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Derek opened his mouth to argue but fell silent at the firm shake of Calyps’s head.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he clenched his fists, forcing himself to think rationally.

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While Derek struggled with his emotions, Calyps calmly pulled a pistol from his pocket.

His sharp gaze remained fixed on the mutant zombie as he scanned their surroundings, calculating their next move.

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