Chapter 8: Princess Isis Is NOT the Heroine (1)

If the troll genes gave Lee Han incredible resilience and great strength, the gnoll gene gave him an ‘olfactory sense’ and ‘instinct’ which surpassed that of humans. There was a lot to talk about when it came to instinct, so we’ll skip the explanation here, but the highlight here was his olfactory sense, or rather, his sense of smell.

While it wasn’t as sharp as a hunting dog’s, his sense of smell was three times sharper than that of an average person’s. This gave him a mystical ability; the ability to recognize people just by their smell. Just like how dogs with poor eyesight remembered their master’s scent just by smelling it, enabling it to greet and recognize their master even after meeting them years later.

Thanks to this, Lee Han learned how to remember people by their smells rather than by their faces.

…Which was surprisingly convenient once he got used to it.

“…I’ll leave first.”

“What about your daily wage?”

“Put it in the bank like you always do. Ah, yeah, you know what I’ll do if you take it for yourself, right?”

“Look, I can’t speak for the other guys, but I won’t ever take yours, I promise! Hell, I’ll give you twice as much as your current pay! Just don’t go to another workplace! Promise me, okay??”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.”

He roughly responded to the construction site’s team leader before pouring the water from the well on his body. Then, he wiped the remaining sweat and dust with a towel to maintain a somewhat clean appearance. After that, he changed into relatively clean clothes, went outside and…

“‘That personage’ is waiting for you.”

“…Haa.”

Someone who looked like an experienced butler bowed his head politely to him, while Lee Han couldn’t help but let out a sigh as he looked at the old man. He was familiar with this old man and even found him particularly annoying.

“You’ve suffered, too, old man.”

“Haha, what can I be suffering with? Let’s go.”

“Whew…”

When it came to things that annoyed Lee Han about this old man, Butler Albert, there were too many to talk about. But, there were three particular annoyances that stood out among them. One of them was the fact that the old man was a noble. Not just a normal noble, but a Baron from a prestigious family who was known for their loyalty to the royal family. Also, his status was so high that not even those who outranked him could treat him lightly.

Although Lee Han never really cared about the feelings of the nobles, he still found it difficult to deal with a big shot like this old man. But, the strange thing was, even though he was a noble, he always treated everyone, whether they were commoners or beggars, fairly and respectfully. He even ran an orphanage on his own, that was how exemplary of a person he was.

And that was the second reason why Lee Han was annoyed by him. If the old man were to openly pick a fight or at least, give him a cold look, he could have just ignored him. But, this old man was too upright of a person for him to treat roughly like that.

Lastly…

The biggest reason why he couldn’t treat the old man lightly was–

“Mhm, I see your musculature has improved from before. It feels nice to see your steady improvements, haha.”

“Ah, yes…”

“If you keep on growing like this, you might be able to land a hit on Baltar someday. Keep it up.”

“…Ahaha.”

–because this gentleman was also one of the few Aura Users in the kingdom.

By the way, Baltar was the name of the commander of the Third Order and the one who brought Lee Han into the Order.

This old gentleman is actually quite crazy…

Even Lee Han thought that he was a person of character. Still, he didn’t know why the old man felt the need to work as a butler even though he was practically a superhuman.

…Then again, Baltar also didn’t take post as the commander-in-chief of the military and instead took the position of the commander of the Third Order of the Order of Silver Lion instead, which could be considered as a lowly position. Thinking about the other Aura User’s current job, Lee Han couldn’t help but think that all of the Aura Users were eccentrics.

Of course he couldn’t express those thoughts openly because he knew more than anyone that he’d get beaten promptly if he did. After all, he had fought the old man once before.

He’s crazy strong.

Normally, he’s a perfect gentleman, but the moment he picks a weapon…!

“-You’re late.”

…Ah.

Before Lee Han could continue his thoughts, he already arrived near a luxurious carriage that was parked in a quiet alley.

“Is that so? It wasn’t our intention to be late.”

“Don’t even try to smooth this out with your words, Albert. You two were late because you were either gossiping about me or having some idle, nonsensical talk.”

“Hehe, that’s just too much, Princess. It wasn’t like that at all.”

“Hmph, what are you laughing at? It’s not funny.”

At first glance, this woman’s tone sounded extremely arrogant and aggressive, but there was this unmistakable elegance and force in her voice. It wasn’t an exaggeration to think that she was a noble of the highest rank.

Feeling her noble aura, Lee Han glanced at Albert with a very uneasy expression, as if trying to say, ‘Do I really have to go inside?’.

“Please make your way inside.”

But, instead of answering, Albert only politely opened the door and urged him to enter.

…What a cruel guy…

Inside the carriage, two maids, as well as various jewels and magical items, stood in all their splendor. The carriage’s interior was so beautiful to the point that its luxurious exterior could be said as just the tip of the iceberg. However, even the glitters of these jewels were pale in comparison to the noble aura radiating from the woman wearing the cotton robe who was sitting inside.

Lee Han let out a bitter smile before bowing his head inside the carriage—which was spacious enough for five of him to lie down.

“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”

“Hmph, you heartless man. You never told this lady about what you are up to, and yet you dared to call yourself a friend?”

“Because I’m too occupied with life.”

“Such nonsense! If you had just accepted this lady’s sponsorship, you would have plenty of free time!”

“Hahaha…”

“Don’t you dare try to cover it up with that laughter again!”

The woman called Lee Han a ‘friend’ of hers, which, at a first glance, didn’t seem to fit them at all. Looking at the nobility that the woman exuded, even a child could tell that she was a noble of the highest rank. Compare it to Lee Han, who had zero elegance at all, it was hard for anyone to believe that they were friends.

However, surprisingly enough, they were indeed friends.

…The only caveat between their relationship was that the difference in status between them was like a firefly and the sun.

“It isn’t like Your Highness the Crown Princess has been idle yourself either. So, let’s just call it even.”

“That arrogant tongue of yours is still working… Fine, this lady will do you a favor and cut it off right now.”

“Please spare me your bad joke, Your Highness.”

“Who said that this lady is joking?”

“…Please, I beg you. Bless me with your mercy.”

“Hmph, your waist is easy to bend just like always.”

Thump-!

The woman, Isis Elaine de Pendragon, the first in the line of succession to the Pendragon royal family, snickered arrogantly while hitting her hand with her fan.

─Showing him a glimpse of her incredible beauty that would make people unable to guess that she was already in her 40s.

When Lee Han first met the crown princess, she was just a regular princess. But in just three years, she managed to gain untouchable authority and became the true heir to the throne.

There were people who made old-fashioned remarks about how women couldn’t possibly become a monarch, but all those who did have probably either fallen into the vast riverbed and became fish food, or become fertilizer in the ground.

Calling her terrifying was an understatement. After all, she was a woman who managed to rise to power while she was still in her twenties, and someone who managed to get Albert, an Aura User, to join her ranks. Not to mention that she already possessed the dignity of the next monarch.

…When Lee Han thought about how he had coincidentally become friends with such a scary woman, he couldn’t help but to find life to be ironic.

“Your Highness the Crown Princess. What do I owe the pleasur-”

“Stop calling this lady by that awkward title. Just act as usual.”

“But, your positions are different now…”

“Are you trying to make this lady repeat herself?”

“─Big Sister! This younger brother greets you!!”

“Haha! Good! Now, this lady is happy!”

Isis let out a bright smile, as if she was amused by his supposed joke. For a moment, it felt as if a flower bud had bloomed.

She was clearly a woman in her 40s, but her beauty seemed to be frozen in time, as she didn’t look like she had aged over twenty. Then again, the members of the Pendragon Royal Family were able to maintain their youth until they were 100, so this wasn’t strange. Their average lifespan even reached 150.

Pretty sure she said that as long as they don’t get stressed or overwork themselves, they could live up to 200…

…The problem is that there’s no way someone from the royal family could achieve that…

“Remember, Lee Han. You are the one who once saved this lady’s life. So in return, you have been given the honor of becoming this lady’s younger brother. You should consider this an honor and be grateful for it for the rest of your life.”

“…You really haven’t changed, Big Sister…”

Three years ago, when the war had just ended, Isis visited the army camp to encourage the soldiers, but she ended up getting attacked by assassins. Fortunately for her, a brave soldier managed to save her. That soldier was none other than Lee Han. From that moment on, their relationship began.

…Though, there wasn’t even a sprinkle of romance in that relationship. Then again, if there was, it would only make matters worse for both of them…

It was because…

“Haha, in any case, this lady has become much more influential than before!”

“Um, is your child growing well?”

“Do you want to see him?”

“Uuu?”

“…”

“Mhm. The thought of leaving him behind never crossed this lady’s mind.”

She was a married woman with a child.

“…”

Seeing what happened in front of his eyes, Lee Han opened his mouth wide. He knew who this child was. After all, he had seen him from afar back when he was still a newborn.

That was why Lee Han dared to be disrespectful toward her in the next moment.

“…Big Sister, I know I shouldn’t say this, but… Are you crazy?”

He scolded her, as if he was grumbling. Meanwhile, Isis just let out a bright smile, a cool smile that was no less cool than that of a manly man’s.

“Of course this lady is still sane. If anything, this lady decided to bring him around like this because this lady trusts her people.”

“…Right. You could be so…idealistic sometimes, Big Sister. I forgot about that…”

“Indeed.”

“Uuuu!”

“Hahaha! Look at you, laughing so boldly! Well, that’s the kind of boldness that the child of this lady should have!”

“Ugh…”

What did my friend from the past say again? All people in politics have a few screws loose? Was that it?

In any case, that guy’s words were on point.

Lee Han could feel his stomach starting to hurt when he saw the only son of Crown Princess Isis, the eldest grandson of the king acting like that.

He wanted nothing else but to leave this place right away.

…But he couldn’t even do that no matter how badly he wanted to leave.