KTD Chapter 5-1 (Part 2)

Jaynie had promised to make him a knight. If all he needed was a servant who could lift heavy things, there would’ve been no reason to send Leandro to school.

He asked,

“I understand why the servants are avoiding me. But they also seem to pity me.”

“Ah, there’s a reason for that too.”

Aron nodded. Chase glanced around, as if unsure whether to speak.

There was a group of knights training off in the distance, but they weren’t close enough to hear. Still, Chase lowered his voice, and Leandro leaned in.

“No matter how much trouble the kid caused, the young master absolutely doted on him. And then suddenly, he was sent away. To the temple. The last time he was seen, he was covered in blood.”

“In the young master’s bedroom,” Aron added, as if that detail was crucial.

“Servants guess that something happened during one of those shared meals. There’s this knight from a collateral family — Vibil Neade — who doesn’t get along with the young master. The kid was so pretty, anyone would be tempted, right? Neade started hitting on him, but the kid knew how to play people. He was likely stirring things up between Neade and the young master, and ended up falling out of favor completely.”

“Sounds like the young master’s the jealous type. Don’t get too chummy with us, yeah? I can’t handle getting on his bad side.”

Aron chuckled. Judging from Chase’s laughter too, neither of them seemed to truly believe the rumors — they were mostly teasing the squire for fun.

Leandro shook his head and resumed training. Servants or knights, they were all the same when it came to indulging in gossip.

But one word wouldn’t leave his mind. He’d known it would come up. Leandro swallowed a sigh.

The young master’s favorite boy.

The village where he had lived as a slave was small. Most of the residents were farmers, but the land had grown barren, and the younger folks had left for elsewhere.

Even the girls who had once smiled at Leandro got married and left quickly. Because of that, Leandro had always been a bit slow to think about sexual matters. So when he first heard the phrase “the young master’s favorite boy,” he hadn’t understood what it meant.

Could a beta man even feel desire for an alpha man?

Even though no one in the village had known Leandro was an alpha, none of them had ever tried to touch him — not even when he was a boy. Maybe they had sensed it, that primal difference on some instinctive level.

Jaynie’s hat had no lingering scent. Leandro knew his young master was a beta.

Maybe that was why he had never interpreted Jaynie’s kindness as anything sexual.

But why am I so sure there’s no such meaning in his kindness?

Isn’t it stranger for someone to offer help without wanting anything in return?

And if climbing upward meant paying a price… of course, Leandro could pay it.

Even so, he couldn’t explain the discomfort he felt.

He couldn’t imagine Jaynie’s pale legs entwined with someone else’s. Rather, the image that came to mind was those legs spread open, and—

What am I thinking?

Leandro swung his sword to clear his thoughts. Then stopped.

The truth was, he knew nothing about Jaynie.

“What kind of person is the young master?”

The question came from a supposedly quiet squire, catching Aron and Chase off guard.

“Well, he’s a good guy. Not too hard to serve. Compared to other nobles…”

Chase gave a vague answer, but Aron cut him off.

“He’s a textbook noble.”

“Hey.”

“Don’t trust him too much just because you’re favored right now. Nobles are fickle and cold. They don’t see their subordinates as people.”

A chill ran through Leandro’s chest. It felt like Aron had read his mind. Leandro did trust Jaynie — though even he wasn’t sure what kind of trust it was.

“Watch your mouth. You got sent here because of your loose tongue, and here you go again?”

Chase warned. The two of them, who had been joking moments ago, suddenly went cold.

It was Aron who broke the tension.

“You’re the one who said this kid doesn’t have the same vibe as Joachim!”

Then he turned to Leandro and added sincerely,

“Don’t go repeating what I’ve said anywhere. Just keep earning the young master’s favor. Well, you seem smart — I’m sure you’ll manage.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

Leandro replied as if oblivious to the shift in mood.

Was Aron a knight who had fallen out of favor with his superiors?

“Don’t thank me. Just don’t forget this deep favor.”

Aron chuckled again. Chase shook his head.

Still, despite everything, Chase seemed to like Leandro. At first, the squire the young master assigned to Aron had seemed like a handful.

Another alpha servant? Wasn’t that basically a setup for that? That…

In any case, Chase had figured it was just another typical noble’s amusement. But when he actually met Leandro, he realized the guy was a born warrior.

“They say he can pull as much weight as an ox?”

“Oh please, I’m worth two oxen.”

But it turned out to be true.

Even without formal training, this servant was ridiculously strong. Chase arm-wrestled Leandro ten times straight and lost every round, ending with a numb hand.

But more than his strength, what stood out was his character — calm and patient. Even when made to repeat the same move all day, he never complained.

He was knight material. Talent like his is maybe one in a thousand.

Chase himself found that he wanted to see Leandro rise as a knight. One day he’d surely earn great fame — and when that happened, Chase could go around saying, “I trained that guy.” What a delightful thought for his old age.

Still, the one with the strongest attachment to Leandro seemed to be Aron. Maybe it was the bond of shared commoner roots, but he even went so far as to give him risky advice — he must really care.

Did the young master assign Aron to Leandro knowing this?

Chase gave a little nod.

“No, that’s not his style.”

Just like Aron said — Jaynie was a textbook noble, cold and indifferent to those beneath him.

But suddenly there was a commotion at the edge of the training grounds. Chase turned to look.

As if out of nowhere, Jaynie was standing there.

In the sweltering heat, he wore long sleeves, long trousers, and a stiff collared shirt, yet not a drop of sweat marred his pristine appearance.

His cold face turned toward Chase, sending a chill even through the air. Without needing to think, Chase bowed deeply.

“Young master!”

“What brings you all the way out here…?”

The commands and shouts around the training ground had gone silent.

“Carry on as you were. The young master is simply curious about how the knights train during their regular sessions,” said butler Hansen.

But no one believed that.

The young master, who had never spared a glance for knights his whole life, was suddenly interested?

Chase leaned in and whispered with his mouth barely open.

“Hey, I’m not kidding. He really is interested in him.”

“You sure you’ve never been summoned by the young master?” Aron asked.

“Never,” Leandro replied, though his mind was somewhere else entirely.

Chase murmured,

“That’s strange…”

“Shouldn’t he be more worried about the other squires now?” Aron said. Attention like this was enough to stir jealousy among the other trainees.

“As if anyone would dare lay a finger on a servant favored by the young master.”

“That’s what I’m saying — you knightly types don’t get it. You don’t know what it’s like for us commoners.”

“Hey! After all I’ve done for you!”

But Leandro wasn’t hearing any of their conversation.

Jaynie had merely watched the knights and disappeared soon after. Under Hansen’s orders, the knights resumed their training.

Leandro kept swinging his sword as instructed, but he wasn’t aware of what stance he was in anymore.

His back itched.

That spot kept bothering him — the place where Jaynie had stood.

* * *

Aron’s prediction proved correct — Leandro was summoned by one of the senior apprentice knights.

This apprentice knight was the de facto leader of the squires gathered at the ranch. He was tall and broad-shouldered, but still a hand shorter than Leandro. In terms of looks, there was no comparison.

Leandro realized that even without formal training, his physique was better than that of knights who had been training for years. The apprentice knight, who seemed to notice the same, wordlessly opened the stable door and asked:

“You were a servant?”

“Yes.”

“Then you probably haven’t had much to do with real warhorses. I’m not talking about ponies or mules you stable boys fuss over.”

“I see.”

The apprentice knight looked at him with visible displeasure and continued.

“Feed, wash, and groom the horses here. Tend to their hooves too. Once you’re done, clean the stable. Can’t have freshly washed horses in a dirty stall. You’re a servant, so you’re used to cleaning, right?”

Leandro wondered if there was any reason he should try to impress this guy.

“What? Can’t do it?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Then get to it.”

The knight left.

Left alone, Leandro let out a dry chuckle. The knight’s thoughts were obvious.

“He won’t go whining to the young master just because I made him clean a little.”

So even this knight believed Leandro was favored by the young master.

And yet Leandro wasn’t sure what being favored even meant.

Jaynie had granted him his wish. Maybe—just maybe—he really would give Leandro a knighthood… if he wasn’t just toying with a slave.

But somehow, Leandro felt certain that wasn’t the case. Jaynie didn’t even seem to care about him that much.

After watching the knights train once, Jaynie had never returned to the training grounds.

That was already a month ago.

As summer waned, the days grew even hotter. Leandro wiped his sweat and headed to the back of the stable. He pulled out some stored carrots and fed them to the horse at the very back. The animal let him stroke its mane.

He had already learned how to handle warhorses from Aron.

“A great horse chooses its master. Being good with horses is part of a knight’s talent too,” Aron had said with a scoff.

“Of course, having a great horse is a matter of luck and birth. Not everyone gets rich or high-born parents.”

Leandro later found out that Aron had once been driven out of the Duke’s service for speaking too frankly. He had advised the Duke to abandon a military strategy that ultimately failed. Instead of praising his foresight, the Duke sent him to guard his son.

Chase had said he was exiled for having the wrong friends. Judging by Aron’s indifferent expression, it didn’t seem like he had much ambition left anyway.

Leandro also learned that the capital, where Jaynie lived, was considered “the rear.” Knights with ambition sought to stay near the Duke.

There were few opportunities to earn merit by staying with Jaynie. Who would dare attack him in the safety of the capital?

Still, many knights tried to catch the eye of the young master — but Jaynie showed more interest in mages than in knights.

That’s why even the apprentice knights disliked Leandro, assuming he was just another servant the young master kept close.

Leandro doubted he’d be kept close at all.

Either way, the horse was beautiful. The knight had said it mockingly, but Leandro had truly never seen a real warhorse back in his village.

A single swift warhorse could cost as much as a house in the city. Even if you sold every villager, you wouldn’t make up the price.

Leandro had no intention of cleaning the stable. The knights didn’t really have a good way to punish him if he didn’t. Instead, he was enjoying a rare moment of rest while stroking the horse that had first caught his eye — at least until a shadow fell across the stable entrance.

“Why are you just standing there like that?”

Jaynie asked. He was dressed in riding clothes. The sleek black pants clung tightly to his long legs, and his sturdy riding boots reached up to his shins.

Leandro stood up abruptly, having been stroking the black horse.

“My apologies. I was cleaning the stable.”

“Alone?”

“I’m still learning the job.”

Leandro’s ears burned. He didn’t mind being shunned by others, but he didn’t want Jaynie to see him that way.

Jaynie tilted his head slightly, his expression puzzled. But soon, as if losing interest, he said,

“That’s my horse. He bites if anyone else touches him. He’s got a nasty temper.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

Leandro stepped farther away from the horse. There was a reason it had been kept so deep inside the stable.

He didn’t tell me on purpose.

The apprentice knight who gave him the job never mentioned it was Jaynie’s horse. He must’ve been hoping something would happen. So it wasn’t about hazing through chores — there had been a deeper intention.

“The one who taught you the ropes must’ve conveniently left that part out,”

Jaynie said. He had realized Leandro was being harassed too.

But Jaynie didn’t seem particularly concerned. He turned his gaze back to the horse, walked deep into the stable, gently stroked the horse’s neck, and embraced it.

“That’s strange. He seems to like you.”

Jaynie didn’t ask about Leandro’s circumstances. Assigning him a knight — that was the extent of his favor.

Leandro bowed his head to hide his expression. But then Jaynie asked,

“Do you like this horse?”

The black mane brushed against Jaynie’s pale cheek. His eyes were a pale gray, almost silvery.

In the dusty stable, he seemed to shine on his own.

Leandro spoke without thinking.

“It’s beautiful. …I thought it was pretty. It suits you, young master.”

“I asked you to answer, not to flatter me.”

Jaynie’s tone turned cold.

“Move.”

He tended to his horse, mounted it in one swift motion, and rode off.

Leandro had no idea what part of his answer had upset him.

Favored, huh?

Aron had been right. Jaynie was a fickle noble.

To him, a single flower picked on a cliff might’ve been worth changing a slave’s life. Because he wanted it, it gained that value.

What was Leandro even thinking?

He sank down and covered his face with his hands, letting out a hollow laugh. With everyone around him feeding ideas into his head, it was hard not to entertain foolish thoughts.

He dusted himself off and picked up the brush. He had to at least pretend to groom the horse.

Jaynie’s horse returned a few hours later, but the reins were held by another knight.