Frederic was slightly surprised.

The boy's voice was clear without any hint of having slept for 300 years. Thinking about it, Noel's eyes weren't red, so he wasn't a vampire?

"Noel, my name is Frederic. You can call me Eric if it's too long for you. I found you in an isolated tower inside Tifa Forrest 5 days ago and brought you out. Do you have any memory of why you were locked there?"

Locked?

He wasn't there in the first place. He was too lazy to explain though, so he shook his head.

"Do you remember any family, relative, friend, acquaintance, or anything?"

Noel nodded. He has 6 brothers.

"Do you know where they are? We can take you there."

"Alrgava."

"Alrgava…?" Frederic searched his memory, but he didn't know any place with that name, "The current year is year 378 A.I. Do you know how long you have been in that tower?"

Frederic said he found him 5 days ago, so it would be at least that long. He raised up 5 fingers.

500 years?

Then, it was possible that this Alrgava might already be destroyed in the war.

Frederic looked at the pure child in front of him. His heart couldn't bear to tell him.

"Are you a vampire? If so, I can use your blood to track your bloodline and bring you home."

Noel shook his head. He wanted to tell him, but his brothers' words popped out in his head. He wasn't allowed to tell humans that he was a devil.

"Then, do you mind telling me your race?"

Noel finally went for the second-best option, "Demon."

Frederic became even more troubled. Demons were a common race second only to humans. In short, it was near impossible to track his relatives especially since he was born 500 years ago.

After considering for a while, Frederic resolutely said, "What do you say you stay with me for now? Until I find your home or people related to you, I will take care of you. After all, it's my responsibility since I was the one who brought you out."

Noel looked at him curiously. Even if he didn't say he was a devil, he would still take a demon in? Has the mortal world become so peaceful?

Yes, he realized he was in the mortal world once he saw the bright blue sky and the room he woke up in. One, the underworld didn't have mornings. Second, the upper world would never build something with such dull-colored rock.

He didn't know how he got here when he was just sleeping peacefully in his room, but if he had to guess, it was probably caused by his brother's experiment. He just needed to wait for his brothers to pick him up.

Noel agreed.

After settling their matters, the convoy continued forward. One of the people inside the cart told him that they were heading back to the capital city. They were imperial soldiers that just finished their given mission to wipe out a demon beast's nest. The cart he was in was the supply cart, but it was fairly empty because the things have been mostly consumed.

Behind the cart was a group of soldiers, around 50 people including logistics and healers. They were Frederic's private unit that pledged loyalty to him directly. Half of them were humans while the other half were humanoids.

Noel listened to their words drowsily. The breeze and the cart's continuous rocking made him sleepy. When the people inside saw him falling asleep again, they wondered how weak the boy's body was and became worried.

The soldiers in the city gate saluted as Frederic entered the city. They went all the way up until they reached the palace gate. The guards opened the gate for them before saluting.

The convoy stopped and Frederic unmounted his horse. Several servants came and familiarly led the horses, including Frederic's, back to the stable.

"Commander, the boy fell asleep again." One of the logistics told him.

Frederic checked inside and indeed saw Noel tucked back into the blanket.

"He hasn't eaten or drink anything for a long time. Even if he is a demon, I think it's best to feed him soon." A soldier chimed in.

"Should we wake him up?" a female healer asked.

The soldiers looked at each other in hesitance. The demons among them also didn't know what to do since they've never encountered a situation where one hasn't consumed anything for 500 years. Heck, they weren't even that old yet. The boy was technically their elder.

"I will wait until he wakes up naturally again before feeding him. It's possible that his body is still in a state of semi-hibernation. We should wait until he gets used to being sober." Frederic spoke.

He raised his hands and Noel's body floated out of the cart into his hands. Afraid that he would accidentally hurt him, Frederic bundled Noel's hair and kept it floating behind his head.

Frederic felt the temperature of Noel's body was a little too cold.

When he entered the castle, the servants he passed by bowed to him before continuing their activity. They saw the person in his arms and thought he brought back home a girl. They became eager to gossip about this with their colleagues and sped up their work.

Frederic entered an empty guest room. He placed down Noel on the bed and covered him in the soft bed cover. After closing the curtains, he left.

Little did he know that his action resulted in Noel not waking up even after 10 days.

Out of worry, Frederick called the imperial doctor to check up on Noel's health. He said the vitals were too weak. It was as if Noel was standing in the thin boundary between life and death.

Eventually, they decided to wake him up.

Surprisingly, it was easier than they thought.

After the curtains were all opened, showering him with sunlight, and the bedcover was uncovered, Noel woke up from Frederic's rocking.

"Noel, it's time to wake up."

Noel heard a deep voice not belonging to his brothers and opened his eyes. He was greeted with Frederic's face, fairly in a close distance to him. He then remembered he was currently in the mortal world.

He slowly sat up and looked at the bright sun outside. He missed the underworld that has an eternal night sky.

"You need to eat something. I have prepared demon food for you. Tell me if you don't like it, I'll ask them to prepare another one."

The rectangular tray floated towards Noel from a table. It unfolded its two legs on the side before dropping down.

Noel looked at the meat in front of him. From the smell, it should be a demon beast's meat, but he couldn't remember what. Just like humans who ate animal meat, fruits, and vegetables, demons ate demon beasts and demonic plants. They could also eat human food, but it wouldn't give them the energy they needed, like protein and carbohydrates for humans.

Not that it mattered to him since he didn't actually need food to live.

The meat was already cut into small little cubes with a fragrant juice at the side. Noel tried the drink. He licked his lips in satisfaction and started eating. It's delicious.

Frederic watched him eat and inwardly sighed in relief. He sat down on a chair next to the bed to wait for him to finish.

He noticed it since their first exchange, Noel didn't really like to talk. He wondered if it was a psychological issue or if he was just quiet by nature.

"Noel, I asked a doctor to do a check-up on you when you were sleeping. I was afraid something would happen if I forced you to wake up. But in fact, it is dangerous for you to keep sleeping for a long period like before. You need to start regulating your daily activity with balanced eating and sleeping. I will wake you up every morning and take you out to stroll starting today. You will also have to eat 3 meals a day starting from breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Noel listened to him as he chewed the meat in his mouth. How could it be dangerous for him to sleep for a long time? On the contrary, the longer he slept the better it was for him.

But Frederic was too sincere and earnest. He couldn't just say that and embarrass him. He was also too lazy to explain, so he nodded in understanding.

Frederic looked at the pile of hair beside the pillow, "About your hair…Would you like to cut some of it? It would be hard for you to walk with that much hair."

A haircut?

Noel quickly nodded. He hasn't cut his hair for a very long time because his brothers would either burn it or destroy it in the attempt.

There was a knock on the door before a servant spoke outside, "Pardon me, Prince Frederic. The King and Queen are looking for you in the audience hall."