Beloved By Time

Leisure

Three days after departure, Cale returned to the Henituse Estate.

Upon approaching the gate, he caught a glimpse of white hair and formal butler's attire through the bushes. Cale scowled and decided to drop Honey off at the stables himself. No, he definitely wasn't avoiding the old man, he just...wanted to take care of his horse. Ron had more important things to be doing anyway.

'It's not like he'll be here for much longer, anyway.'

He thought bitterly as he dismounted Honey and brought her into the stables. Cale led her to her personal stall, the one that he remembered customizing for her when he was little. Cale smiled calmly at the pleasant thought and gave Honey an affectionate pat.

It really had been a while since he saw her. When he was still acting trashy, Cale never went out to ride her, and it was too late by the time he gave up on the act. When Henituse was destroyed, he never actually saw Honey's corpse like he had with many others. Cale had always hoped that she managed to escape somehow and ran off to live freely.

Cale's content smile dropped when he noticed the stablehand that was sitting on a pile of relatively clean hay, the boy's mouth practically hanging open, in shock at what he just witnessed. Cale scoffed, ignoring the slight heat in his cheeks.

"You there, make sure she's fed and rests well. Oh, and bring her some honey-coated apples, she prefers sweet things."

That's what Cale and his horse had in common, and why Honey got her name, they both enjoyed sweet things, and had a particular taste for honey. Cale remembers a time when he demanded that his father invest in the beekeeping business so as to get him more diverse flavors of Honey. If he recalls correctly, the investment was actually a good deal. Of course, the Henituse territory still thrived on marble and wine exports, but since then, beeswax and honey, etc. have also brought quite a bit of profit.

'Good on you, little Cale.'

Cale left quickly, heading towards the mansion with long strides, making sure to use one of the back entrances in order to avoid- nevermind.

He strode past the stationed guards as he always did, and once inside the building he went straight to his room. Deruth would soon know that he'd returned, if his father didn't already.

He rung the servant bell to summon someone before sitting down on the plush red velvet sofa near his room's fireplace. He felt the ache in his limbs and silently willed whichever servant that would come to be faster so that he could order a bath to be prepared. Cale desperately desired the embrace of warm water to soothe his muscles and clean off the sweat that had accrued on his pale skin over his trip. Cale had, of course rested at an inn on his day long return journey and bathed there, but nothing compared to the comfort and luxury of his own bath that was equipped with soaps and oils of his favorite scents.

A knock sounded at his door and an older male servant walked in with a much younger boy following him.

'Probably one of the new trainees.'

Cale thought as he glanced over at the nervous-looking boy. Whatever, as long as they get the job done.

"Prepare a bath for me. That is all."

He spoke curtly and decisively, dismissing them to do what he requested while he picked out a book from the small shelf that he kept in his room.

He ran through a few of the titles with a bored expression, with no real intention of picking out something to read, he wondered if Ron was sill mainly attending to his newly awoken 'hyung.' E

Cale made a face. Even just thinking the word made him feel like losing the small lunch that he had earlier. Cale looked out the window towards the sky, noting the position of the sun.