HFMD - Chapter 57 < Until the Sprout Becomes a Tree >

When Randall was eight years old, his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Belfort, were killed in battle against the demons who had come from beyond the distortion. 

The night before the Duke and Duchess died.

“You must stay inside the castle. Got it?”

“But, Mother...!”

Randall grabbed the hem of the Duchess's skirt as she was about to go into battle with her bow. Then the Duchess, who seemed ready to run away at any moment, stopped. She glanced out the window at the battlefield where her husband was probably struggling and lowered her body. 

She had been anxious just a moment ago, but as soon as she saw her son, she smiled like spring. It was as if flowers had bloomed on her wrinkled face. She gently wiped her son's cheek, who was crying, with her eyes stained with anxiety.

“It’s not like I’m going somewhere I can’t go, so why are you crying so much?”

“It’s dangerous... Father, you too...”

“Your father is in danger, so I should go help him.”

“Then I want to go too!”

“Randall.”

The face that had been as bright as spring sunshine suddenly became stern. The Duchess looked directly into Randall’s eyes and asked.

“What did your father and I usually say?”

“... I am soon to be the North itself.”

His voice was filled with tears, but his answer was clear. Then the Duchess' face softened again.

“Yes. We are the pride of the North and the North itself. So you stay here and guard the castle.”

"But..."

“Of course, only temporarily. Only until we get back. When did we say we would give you the title?”

The Duchess playfully pinched Randall's nose and then let go. He frowned.

“My mother’s hand is stronger than my father’s...”

The Duchess’ eyes flashed with sadness as she watched Randall, who was covering his nose with both hands and muttering that his nose was burning. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like the Duchess had also intuitively realized that she had to trade her and her husband’s lives to end this battle. The Duchess stared blankly at Randall’s face for a moment before embracing him. Randall blinked in bewilderment.

"Mother?"

The Duchess hugged Randall and whispered in his ear.

“Randall.”

“...”

“If, really if. Even if we can’t come back to you...”

“...”

“Don’t forget, it’s not your fault, nor anyone else’s.”

“..."

“I’ll be back soon.”

With those words, the Duchess hugged Randall tightly and walked out the door. That was the last time Randall saw the Duchess while she was still alive. If he could go back then, he would have wiped away the tears of the mother who went to the battlefield with her young son on her back. 

Randall still had such thoughts on rainy nights these days. 

*** 

After that, Randall proved himself to those who looked down on him and stayed at the palace according to the King's orders. The nobleman who had guided him to the Prince's palace at the time had an embarrassed expression. He eventually stopped walking near the Prince's palace and spoke to Randall.

“I...the Duke of Belfort.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“I am hesitant to tell you this, but I think it would be good for you to know in advance. His Highness the Prince is a bit... unstable.”

“Unstable...?”

Randall tilted his head with a puzzled expression, having difficulty understanding what he was saying. The nobleman who had brought up the subject also continued speaking as if he was at a loss as to how to explain it.

“Yes. I think he’s still young... When he’s upset, he yells and throws things. So, if possible, in front of him...”

The nobleman explained the Crown Prince's condition as best he could. Randall frowned slightly at those words. He tried not to show it in front of other people, but he had learned since he was young that raising a hand to others simply because of his feelings was something only trash would do. 

However, Randall knew his situation well. He was still a small, young monarch of the north who was ignored even by his subjects. In this situation, it would not be good to be close to the Prince who was almost certain to become the next King. 

Randall made that judgment and decided to minimize his words and actions in front of the Prince as much as possible and continued walking.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

The nobleman left Randall in the reception room of the Prince's palace and went to fetch the Prince.

'The palace is really big.'

Randall, left alone, looked around in a strange mood and then suddenly looked out the window. Then he saw a little baby bird falling from a nest on a tree in the garden.

"Uh..!"

Randall jumped up in surprise. Since the living room was on the first floor, Randall went out through the window into the garden and ran under the tree. 

Beep. 

Just as Randall had seen, a small baby bird was struggling under the tree. The baby bird felt threatened by Randall’s shadow and cried even louder, kicking its feet.

“Easy. Just a moment, I’ll put you back up.”

Randall carefully wrapped the bird with both hands, worried that it might get hurt, and looked around. 

Fortunately, there was a ladder not far away that looked like one used by gardeners. Randall took it, leaned it against the tree, and began to climb the ladder cautiously. One step, two steps. The ladder rattled with each step because he had wrapped the bird with both hands. Randall had just taken his third step.

"...Ah!"

From afar, a loud crash was heard, followed by a scream. Randall turned his head without realizing it, and saw a boy running out of the palace, grumbling.

“Damn it. When the hell are you coming back...! Damn it!”

The boy, who had been kicking the plants in the garden and swearing with an unusually fierce expression on his face, soon found Randall. He saw Randall climbing up the ladder and approached him with a furrowed brow as if he had found prey.

“What are you doing there?”

“Ah, I...”

This was the first time Randall had heard of the Prince. He was so focused on putting the bird back into the nest that he couldn’t immediately connect the boy in front of him with the nobleman’s warning. 

While Randall was about to answer, the Prince, David, looked at the bird in his hand and the nest on the branch, and raised the corners of his mouth in a crooked manner.

“Are you going to put that bird back in the nest now?”

"Yes."

“Why would you do something like that?”

“Because, of course... it’s sad to be away from your family.”

Randall answered like that, but then suddenly his face darkened as he thought of his deceased parents. David, who saw that, smiled as if he was in awe.

“Are you the Duke of Belfort?”

“Do you know who I am?”

It was the first time Randall had met someone so rude from the very first time they met. And how could he act so rudely even though he knew he was a Duke? 

Randall asked back, feeling slightly offended. But David ignored him and continued to say what he wanted to say.

“It’s a shame that those who gave up their lives to protect someone like you. It was a complete waste of time.”

"...What?"

At that moment, the faces of those who died in the battle with the demons, including his parents, flashed before his eyes and his thoughts stopped. 

While Randall froze like ice from the great insult, David twisted his lips fiercely.

“I hate people like you the most.”

Boom! 

With a mutter that sounded like chewing, David kicked the ladder that Randall was on. Randall's body lurched violently along with the ladder, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

“Ugh!”

Beep! 

Randall's groans were covered by a sharp cry. He froze for a moment before feeling no pain, and then he quickly got up. 

Beep, beep...

However, the bird that was trapped under Randall's body was lying in a bizarre position, gasping for breath as if it would die at any moment. As Randall froze, listening to the cry that seemed as if it would stop at any moment, David, who saw that, laughed with genuine satisfaction and patted his shoulder.

“Oh my, how pitiful. That little beast died because of you?”

Randall's reasoning ended there. He immediately lost his senses and punched David in the face. 

Bam! 

With a loud noise, David rolled backward and fell to the floor. However, he also jumped up and ran to Randall. When the people who ran out after the Prince belatedly stopped them, both of them were already in shambles. 

Randall claimed that David had kicked the ladder unilaterally, hurting him and killing the bird. However, David lied, saying that they had only fought due to a misunderstanding and that he had only tripped and knocked the ladder over. It was not easy to find out the truth because there were no witnesses. No matter how ferocious David was, people seemed to not have thought that a child could do such a cruel thing. 

In the end, the King forcibly reconciled the two, saying that they were both at fault. Even while shaking hands with the King, Randall barely managed to hold back from David calling him an idiot with his mouth, almost running into him again. 

Since then, the relationship between the two has always been as precarious as walking on ice. David would always feel dirty when he sees Randall, and would cleverly commit atrocities while avoiding people's eyes. Randall desperately ignored him, thinking that if he got involved anymore, only he would be in danger. 

However, David's bullying became worse day by day. It was understandable because Randall showed outstanding talent in various fields regardless of civil or military affairs despite his young age. However, David had been busy committing atrocities since birth and had not even properly attended classes, so his skills were bound to be significantly inferior to his. 

Then, on the day of their first swordsmanship match. Randall knew that there was no benefit to facing David for a long time, so he quickly and overwhelmingly blew away his sword with his skills. David looked down at his hands with a shocked expression, then his face distorted like an evil spirit's as if he remembered something.

“You little punk! How dare you hit me again! Me...!”

David muttered something incomprehensible and tried to rush at Randall. Randall prepared for his attack with a posture that had become familiar. But the next moment. David froze in place and groped his chest with one hand. He was trying to figure something out when he suddenly started laughing like a crazy person.

“Haha, hahaha! Of course, it is! Of course, it should be like this! Because I am...!”

David covered his face with one hand and laughed wildly, so he couldn't hear what he was saying. Just when Randall was starting to think David had finally gone crazy, David suddenly stopped laughing and bowed his head to his swordsmanship master in a calm manner unlike before. It was a dramatic change in attitude that made him look like a hundred-year-old man in an instant.

“I’m sorry, Master. Please forgive me for being careless and reckless.”

After finishing speaking, David raised his head and chuckled. That laughter was so bizarre that Randall still couldn't forget that day. After that day, David would always pick a fight with Randall whenever he saw him, but he never hurt animals or acted out of the blue like when he was young. 

The King was satisfied that the Prince had matured and appointed him as the Crown Prince, and the nobles also liked him because he was moderately polite and witty. But Randall couldn't do that. 

He still remembered the screams of the bird that had been crying painfully. So as soon as the period promised by the King's command was over, he returned to the north as if avoiding something dirty. 

That had already been several years ago.

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