STABLE BOY ; Trash of the Count's Family

17. ROUGHHOUSING

South waited until Cale's group left for the rock towers before trying to inspect the new tattoo around his neck.

"Oh come on..." he sighed, noting the large crest of what was probably the four cardinal directions on a compass. "Oh, right. Seonbae just calls me Sou."

It's a cool one, at least, but he hated when they showed up on such big visible extremities.

"Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have found out his real name. He always calls me by my real name, so I knew it'd be a crazy connection," it's right over his neck! Not that he ever wants to use his powers on his seonbae, but that's exactly why he hates this power.

He then found one more— around his wrist, laid over the artery where the wasteland of swords used to be— a cute, lined drawing of a little corgi.

"...now this is just unfair. I didn't call him that out loud."

It's right over the still-scabbed artery too. For one person? Hans, why are you so expensive? I killed ten knights with that one artery. You're worth ten knights? Are you sure? Bloody hell he is absolutely like a corgi.

"What do you— no! Ponychael, NO!"

South snapped out of his thoughts when Ponychael reached for the jacket South was holding.

It was Cale's— he wore it here, but changed his mind after he saw how hot the sun was. Now South had to take care of it until he got back.

"You can't bite it— let go!" South begged, but Ponychael liked eating expensive fabrics more than he liked apples, "stop! I'm going to die and you will never get brushed again! Is that what you want!"

Christallion gave a warning grunt, but Ponychael whinnied in protest.

South dragged it back as far as he could, pushing the horse back by the forehead. "I'll give you as many apples as you want! You can have all of my money and dinner please just let go, this thing costs more than my salary!"

He lightly punched the horse on the head but Ponychael just squinted judgementally like he was getting patted instead.

"HEY," South was going to cry. "That's it—!!"

He was in the middle of wrenching the horse's jaws right open when someone behind him burst out into laughter.

He turned around quickly, and Priestess Cage seemed embarrassed to have been caught staring. Taylor Stan was still blatantly, very amusedly, and with a face filled with extreme concern, stared at South.

South immediately let go of Ponychael's entire jaw.

He freed the jacket, rapidly tucked it behind his figure like that would hide the damage, and bowed respectfully.

"G-Good day, sir," he tried to remember what seonbae would do when meeting nobles who are this close by. People don't usually approach coachmen taking a break, but sometimes they do, and that's a very delicate situation. Say anything wrong and you may cause some political trouble. "How may I help you?"

"Oh, it's nothing, dear," Cage began, still stiflign a laugh, "so sorry to disturb you on your break! Just carry on, don't mind us."

Taylor nodded after a moment, still staring worriedly at—

—South turned back and saw Ponychael in the middle of reaching his jaws over for another bite of the jacket that was sticking out.

That's it.

"You little brat!" South lunged, throwing the jacket at Christallion and proceeding to wrestle a horse in the middle of the road.

Christallion seemed to roll his eyes longsufferingly.

Taylor beckoned her down and whispered, "uhm. Don't people sometimes get fingers bitten off by accident while feeding horses? How is he sticking his entire hand in there? Is that safe?"

Cage stared as South got gut-kicked by the horse, then he jumped back up to attack the horse's ears— and she just buried her face into her hands and just about died laughing.

-

"What is going on here?"

South shrieked in surprise. He was in the middle of trying to choke a horse, but Ponychael was just trying to violently shake off his horrible rodeo rider.

"Is that how you usually are when you're not on the verge of sleeping?" Cale wondered, fully mortified, "that's it. You're never eating your medicine ever again."

"Young Master!" Hans called out horrified, at the same time Choi Han gasped out an exasperated, "but Cale-nim!"

Cale didn't want to address them right now.

Hans was covering the cats' eyes with his hands, like the scene was too horrifying for them or something.

South tried to get down from the horse with as much dignity as he could (meaning almost none at this point) and cleared his throat, shaking away the hair in his face and standing up straight.

"I- I'm sorry, Young Master-nim," he said. "I know I represent you while standing by the carriage with the Henituse Symbol, so I'm sorry for this disgraceful display."

Cale grimaced. "Well, who cares about that," he dismissed. "Why were you fighting the horse, anyways?"

South gulped.

"Uhm," then bowing low, "I'm sorry Young Master! The jacket you entrusted with me is ruined! I'm so sorry, I'll have it arranged that money is taken from my paycheck until I've managed to reimburse it a—"

"Wait wait wait hold on," Cale stopped him, "this is over the jacket?"

They all turned to Christallion, who had the jacket messily draped over his back, a few holes in the seams and some slobber on the edge.

Cale sighed deeply.

"Why are you fighting with the horses over stupid things, aigoo," he mussed his hair and stepped toward the carriage. "Hans, throw it away. I didn't want to wear it again after today anyways, it's too heavy."

"Yes, Young Master-nim!" Hans agreed easily.

Cale stepped into the carriage without another word, Choi Han following with a nod at South. Hans beamed, sending off the kittens inside and then joining South at the driver's seat.

"Wasn't that nice of him?" Hans mused, taking the jacket from Christallion and patting the horse on the head gently. He passed the jacket to South. "Now you get to keep this."

"Huh?"

South was flabbergasted. This thing is, in fact, still costing more than his paycheck. Even with horse saliva on it.

"Oh, it's a butler thing," Hans explained. "When Young Master-nim ruins a piece of clothing with wine or something, we have to replace them immediately. We can throw the old ones away, but usually us servants in the main building just mend it and take it home. Count Henituse allowed it."

South's jaw just dropped.

"Yeah, so don't worry about ruining clothes, okay?" Hans assured him, rubbing Ponychael around the neck soothingly, putting him in a better mood before they set off. "Young Master-nim ruins a lot every week anyways, we're all used to it."

South grimaced.

Cale Henituse (OG), your servants are so used to your troublemaking that they've improvised, adapted, and made profit off of it!

Now South had a heavy jacket. It would be nice as a blanket.