If you had told Ling eight years ago that he would become a rising star in the underworld, and later serve under a man who had the potential to climb to the top of Ozwarth, he would find it utterly ridiculous. 

Eighteen-year-old Ling, a talentless Intergalactic Warrior managed to be admitted into a third-rate military academy thanks to his Daddy’s money. A bit of bribery allowed for Uenkram to have a smooth transition into the academy. Compared to his eldest sister, Ling was the trash of the Ling Family, a stain to their glowing reputation. Sending Ling to a no-named military academy was a small investment for the Uenkram Family to eliminate him from the picture. A talentless person held no significance to helping the Uenkrams stand at the apex of Ozwarth. 

Being completely oblivious to the scheme as the naive rich kid he was, Ling saw his passage into the military academy as a way of having more fun. As long as he didn’t fail his classes, he wouldn’t be expelled. Hence, while there weren’t any exams, Ling and his classmates would party like there was no tomorrow. Getting wasted at every possible bar that existed in Ozwarth. For two years, Ling was living the present without a shred of care or awareness of his true situation. 

Looking back at himself, Ling couldn’t help but laugh. He was the epitome of the word prodigal. A spendthrift who knew no bounds as long as he had the backing of his family. How immature and oblivious he was back then. 

It was the end of his second year, Ling and his friends had gone out to party to celebrate the end of torturing finals. 

“Come on guys.” Ling smiled. “This one’s on me!” 

“Sweet!” One of his buddies at the time rejoiced. “Thanks, Ling. You’re always the best.” 

“Anytime,” Ling smirked. “So feast till your heart’s content.” 

“Sure is nice being the son of a banker. You’ve got yourself an unlimited balance.” 

“Sheesh I’m envious,” A female student who tagged along commented. “The world of wealthy people is vastly different from us commoners.” 

“We’re all friends here, our statuses mean nothing!” Ling remarked waving his hand telling the others to follow him. 

And so, the group feasted till their bellies bloated. 

A waiter walked over to fat Uenkram who had his feet propped up on the table. 

“Sir, the bill is 1450 Kalas.”

“No problem~” Uenkram replied tapping his wristband against the table. 

But, something happened. 

Instead of a glowing blue confirmation sign, a fluorescent red error message took its place instead. 

At first, Uenkram thought he was hallucinating. Never in his life had his Tap been declined. So he tried once more. 

Once again, the same result. 

 Hmm, that’s strange. Uenkram thought to himself before tapping his wristband again hoping the third-times the charm trick works. 

Red. 

Red was all he saw. 

“Sorry,” Uenkram told the waiter. “Can you come back in just a moment?” 

“Of course,” 

Hoping he wasn’t mistaken, Uenkram checked all of his accounts. Yet, all of them were gone, as if they never existed in the first place. His initial thought was that someone had hacked him. So he attempted to contact the Main House Butler who managed all of his menial affairs, Jacquline.  

“Jacquline,” Uenkram called over the line. “It’s me.” 

Jacquline, on the other end, replied curtly in her strong Northern Earth accent, “May I inquire who’s speaking?” 

Uenkram sighed. 

“Ling Uenkram.” 

“I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with such a person. Perhaps you’ve dialed the wrong person.” 

Uenkram scoffed. 

“Jacquline, this isn’t any time for your jokes.” 

On the other side, Jacquline, the Main House Butler remained silent. She was ordered by the Master that if Ling called in, she were to act as if she didn’t know him. At first, she didn’t understand why the Master would do such a thing. Was it a prank or something? It made no sense. However, the Master was serious. He was not the kind to tell these kinds of jokes and Jacquline couldn't help but obey the Master's orders as they overrode Ling's. 

It took her a moment to comprehend why the Master would do such a thing but when she recalled the events of the past few months, it clicked to her. 

>>>

Prior to today, Jacquline had found the other butlers disposing of Ling’s possessions. She thought it was because Ling ordered them to do so until she found something strange, a sundial gifted by the former Mistress to Ling was being thrown out. As much as she disliked Ling, since he always made her life difficult with all of his antics, throwing out one of his most prized possession was definitely crossing the line, even for a person she wasn’t too fond of. 

“Excuse me,” Jacqueline called out to one of the butlers. “What are you doing?” 

“Disposing of the 'junk' the Master told us too.”

Jacqueline couldn’t help but secretly grit her teeth. 

"May I please have the box your holding?" 

"Huh," The butler holding the box fumbled, nearly spilling the contents of the box. "Sure, but why?" 

"I'll need to inspect the contents before you throw them into the incinerator so just leave it here." 

"Are you sure? I mean we can help." 

"Don't worry about it," Jacquline replied with a smile. "I'll take care of everything from here." 

The butler shrugged dropping the box. 

"If you say so." 

Watching the backs of the other butlers disappear from the scene, Jacquline bent down and picked up sundial. 

>>>

Thus, Jacquline decided to take the risk and be honest with Ling. 

“Young Master,” Jacquline spoke softly. “Your accounts being deactivated wasn’t a fluke. During the time you lost contact with the family, they-“ 

Jacquline grit her teeth. 

She knew that this call was being recorded by the main house and she was basically asking herself to get fired but seeing Ling completely ignorant of the situation he was in, it was completely unfair and without any warning. Yet she was aware, this was the cold reality of the upper class. Hidden ploys. Cutting off loose ends. Reputation. Power. Greed. That was the world they both lived in and only those who were strong, cunning, and intelligent would survive. 

“They what?” Ling asked impatiently. 

“They decided to no longer associate with you." 

Ling was aghast.

His eyes filled with both disbelief and horror. 

“I’m sorry Jacquline, I’m not quite comprehending what you just told me.” 

“Ling, don’t you get it?!” Jacquline roared dropping any sort of formalities with Ling. “The Main House has decided to cut ties with you!” 

>>> 

There was a long pause in the truck. Uenkram silently focused on the road before him as Drew listened to his story without a single word spoken. He had known of Uenkram’s background from the files he had read at the Crow’s Eye but it was completely different from when he heard the story come from Uenkram himself.

“When my family cut ties with me eight years ago, I couldn’t believe it at all. To be honest, now that I think about it, I set myself up to be exiled. I think the day Jacquline told me that was my wake-up call, making me realize I had to grow up.” 

Uenkram let out a bitter laugh. One that Drew had never seen come from someone as happy-go-lucky as he was. 

“So what happened once Jacquline broke the news to you?” 

“I’ll tell you-“ 

>>> 

At first, Ling thought Jacquline was fooling him again but from the tone in her voice, the urgency, the betrayal, the sadness, Ling came to his senses and realized every word spoken from Jacquline was the truth. 

All the pieces had fallen into place. Ling understood, he was all alone in this cold world. He was isolated from the ‘family’ which he believe supported him no matter what he did but he was wrong. No, he was immature and he could only blame himself as to what was to come next. 

Jacqueline, the Main House butler that had served him ever since he was young, was doing him a huge favor and taking a big risk just to tell him he was removed from his family. He had to end this quickly or else Jacqueline would face even worse consequences than he did. 

“Jacquline, this will be the last favor I’ll ever ask of you before we sever ties completely.” 

“What?” 

“Please lend me 1450 Kalas. That is my final order to you. I promise I will pay it back to you in full. No, with interest.”  

1450 Kalas was a lot of money for an ordinary person but for Jacquline, it was pocket money. Main House butlers were rather wealthy and earned around 500,000 Kala salaries a year. For Jacquline who’s worked for the Uenkram’s ever since she was young, her assets had totaled to be several million. 1450 Kalas was the equivalent of spending 14 Kalas. Although Jacquline was reluctant to lend, a wave of pity crashed over her mind as she listened to the desperation of someone being abandoned. Oh, how she remembered that feeling when her former Master passed away before he could even speak.

So Jacquline didn’t give in. 

“Fine, you better not go back on your words.” 

“I won’t, Jack. I’ll see you around.” 

“Stay alive.” 

>>>

“Jacqueline was the only person who cared for me in that lonely manor besides my own mother. Though her way of displaying wasn’t the best, she’s another person who I cannot simply pay back by monetary means alone.” 

It was at this moment that Drew felt slightly envious. Uenkram at least had people who cared about him at a young age and stuck with him for years. Though the number could be counted on one hand alone, Uenkram was lucky. Drew only found out about the people who cared for him but did they really? What if they didn’t? Was he just a pawn in the revival of the Winter Family and nothing else? Was there anyone at his side? Drew still held doubts in his heart regarding this matter. To be honest, he was scared. He was scared of being cast aside by those who appeared to care about him. He was scared of getting too close to anyone.

“Seems like you have a lot on your mind, Master Snow.” 

Drew scoffed.

“Nothing really. What Jacquline did for you was generous. Is she still a butler for the Uenkrams?”

Uenkram nodded.

"Yeah, she did receive a warning but she wasn't fired so things weren't as dire as they appeared to be. She also held onto the sundial for me..." 

"That's good to hear." Drew smiled watching Uenkram recall those fond memories of his time with his mother. “So you never really told me why you became a drug dealer since you provided me too much exposition there.”

Uenkram chuckled.  

“Haha, my apologies, Master Snow. I’m not quite good at getting straight to the point when it relates to my personal life. The simple answer is to get back at my father for exiling me. However, I have many unfinished debts I have yet to pay so you could say I chose this lifestyle to do just that.” 

“You mean Jacquline?” 

“Not just her, it’s also to the previous drug lord who ran the group I’m leading now.” 

A solemn expression formed on Uenkram’s face. Drew was aware of who Uenkram was referring to but dared not to mention the name. After all, what happened to her was not something Drew had the privilege of bringing up. 

>>>

Alice Wonderwall, the White Rabbit and the former drug lord of the crew Uenkram lead today. According to her file, Alice was born and raised in Yerburn. Unlike Drew, Alice wasn't taken by an orphanage in the city when her parents passed away in a fire. To survive on the cruel streets of Ozwarth, Alice sold drugs to petty gangsters and addicted consumers before creating her own drug that would sweep the feet of everyone in the underworld, Lust. Lust was the first drug of its kind to impact both the person who consumed it and those around the consumer. The ability that Lust possessed was to create an illusion that someone is good-looking. When ingested, the consumer's negative perception of themselves is transformed into one of confidence thanks to the alteration of specific neurotransmitters in the brain. The alteration of this neurotransmitter also generates a certain command which stimulates the production of a potent pheromone that is not typically produced in any individual's body. As a result of this pheromone, surrounding individuals have their minds altered to perceive the insecure consumer as a confident good-looking person. However, like any other drug, Lust is addictive. The feeling of confidence created by Lust in their consumer's mind makes the drug addictive and is even more potent in people with insecurities regarding their appearance. 

Hence, because of Lust, Alice managed to create a monopoly in her own sector in the drug market and build up her empire. However, before that empire could see the light of day it crumbled. What happened to Alice was a tragedy that was bound to occur in her line of work. Uenkram had not need to tell him that story.

It was all over the news that day.

>>>

"I'll put our story on halt, for now. I deserve to tell you the entire thing after losing to you multiple times," Uenkram said as a familiar warehouse appeared into view. "We've arrived at the location." 

"Thank you." 

"Not at all. I should be thanking you, Master Snow."

Drew brushed his hair back, staring at the bright lights 

"And about that question about my age, you asked a while back-" 

"Yeah?" 

"I'm turning eighteen this year." 

Uenkram laughed hysterically. 

"I knew you were young but not this young. Geez, are all young people like you this terrifying?" 

Drew smirked. 

"Trust me, there are much scarier ones than me out there."