MTO C19

Chapter 19

“The point you must never forget is this: under no circumstances, in no situation, should you ever call a noble by his or her given name without permission. The higher the rank of the noble, the more crucial it is that proper etiquette be observed. Do I make myself clear?”

David’s voice rang out firm and severe. Michel nodded solemnly, wearing the face of pious reverence.

“Understood, Brother David.”

“…You may simply call me David if you prefer.”

At that moment, Charlotte’s hand shot suddenly into the air. Clearly, she was imitating Michel’s earlier habit of raising his hand to ask questions.

This must be what people mean when they say “A clever child learns ten things after being taught one.” Michel’s hand itched to ruffle her hair affectionately.

David pointed at her with his palm open.

“You have a question?”

“What about me—what Lady am I?”

“‘Young Lady’ (Yeongae) and ‘Young Master’ (Yeongsik) are terms reserved for nobility. They do not apply to you.”

It was a flat, merciless answer, leaving not the faintest spark of hope. For all her attentiveness in class, Charlotte’s little head drooped once more with disappointment.

Michel himself winced. For the first time, the reality of this rigid class society—so unlike Korea—hit him with full force. Quickly, he patted the crestfallen girl on the back.

“Charlotte is the Young Lady of Valois Orphanage!”

“Saint.”

David’s voice came down hard, harsher than before.

“If the children cannot accept their station, they may suffer grave consequences later.”

“What do you mean, exactly?”

“Do you truly not understand?”

Michel blinked in confusion but nodded. David sighed with a complicated look.

“For instance, if a child were to elevate herself before nobles—acting as though of their kind—they would not stand it. It would provoke dangerous anger. The reason I teach you noble etiquette is so that, when the day comes you must serve nobility, you will not make such mistakes. It is not because you are nobles yourselves.”

The faint arrogance in his words sent Michel’s head ringing.

Come to think of it, Monster Knight had portrayed something similar—Heart, newly adopted by a noble family, was slapped across the face by another young noble for not showing proper courtesy in greeting. Of course, Heart’s adoptive noble ranked higher, so the aggressor was punished later. Reading it as a webtoon, Michel had only found it cathartic. But now the implication—that superiority of blood warranted treating others with disdain—turned his stomach.

Yes, this world had laws of its own… but still.

“So if you’re not born noble, you can never become one?”

“…Not necessarily. If a knight wins great victories in battle or if a scholar makes a remarkable discovery, they may occasionally be granted a title.”

“Then anyone can become a noble.”

Michel lifted the tips of Charlotte’s twin braids as he spoke. David’s face immediately darkened.

“It is more a matter of words. Without fine education, one cannot rise as a knight or as a scholar respected enough to earn a title. And good education comes at a steep price.”

“But nobody knows what the future holds. Who can say? Perhaps the very hero who will save the world will come from here.”

Indeed, Heart eventually became a noble’s adopted son and went on to slay the dragon. Though Michel had never reached the ending of the original story—he had not seen the final battle—it never crossed his mind to doubt that Heart would succeed.

For now, though, Heart had skipped both breakfast and etiquette lessons. Michel silently vowed to bring him next time. If he began etiquette before being adopted, it would surely help him adjust.

“…Huh?”

“What is it?” David pressed.

“Oh, nothing.”

Michel shook his head quickly and laughed awkwardly. David looked at him suspiciously for a moment but then returned to the lecture. He had started explaining the founding families of the Formene Kingdom—but Michel found himself completely unable to focus.

This is bad. Really bad.

Sweat poured down his body like a torrent.

“What should I do…?”

That dark night, Michel sat at his desk, brooding. On the worn surface lay a single sheet of paper, scrawled with rushed handwriting:

〈Plot of Monster Knight〉

1. Leon’s death 
2. Heart flees the orphanage 
3. Heart adopted as a noble’s son 
4. The Dragon appears!!! 

“Ughh, what do I do about this?!”

Distracted by fury at the deeds of the body’s original owner and by throwing all his heart into caring for the children, Michel had overlooked a crucial truth.

Heart only fled the orphanage because Leon had died. Because Heart fled, he was adopted into nobility. One event triggered another, each like links in a chain. And only through that chain of misfortunes did Heart grow into the single hero capable of defeating the dragon.

But now, with Michel having possessed the abusive headmaster’s body, he had derailed the story from the very beginning. As things were, Heart might never flee—might never be adopted into nobility.

And then the world would be destroyed.

“You keep rushing into things headlong and thoughtless—you’ll regret it one day.”

His master’s old scolding echoed in his head. Michel winced, finally struck to the bone. How foolish to have accepted this new life as headmaster without deeper thought.

Couldn’t it still be fixed? He didn’t know exactly when the story had begun, but perhaps if he started following the original sequence carefully from now…

“Nonsense.”

No. Even if it meant the world’s doom, he could not condemn Leon to death. What sin had that sweet child committed?

When he had thrown the whip to the firewood flames, he had sworn never again to let violence haunt the orphanage. From the first day he began taekwondo training, he had never casually broken an oath to himself.

What’s more, even if the story played out as written and Heart slew the dragon in the future, Valois would already lie in ruins. The creature first marched on Heart’s birthplace, leading its army of monsters.

When that invasion began, the Valois Orphanage would be crushed instantly. He could not protect Barbara or David, let alone the children. Heart might survive, yes—but only to endure horrific magical modifications and hellish training in order to face the dragon.

Michel could not bear to see those he had come to love suffer such torment.

There had to be another way.

He stared at the page so hard it seemed the words would burn through him. Forcing his mind to turn, he combed desperately through memory of the plot for anything overlooked.

“Ah!”

At last, fragments of important scenes came back. Hastily, he snatched his quill and scribbled furiously:

〈Plot of Monster Knight〉

1. Leon’s death 
2. Heart flees the orphanage 
3. Heart adopted as a noble’s son ← Dragon still a child!!! 
4. The Dragon appears!!! 

Back then, in the webtoon’s comment threads, some readers had observed that the second lead was not Heart at all, but the Dragon. The story had detailed not only Heart’s rise into a hero, but also the Dragon’s growth from childhood into the flawless Demon King.

After all, the dragon had not started as a fearsome being. He, too, had known a vulnerable childhood.

“Get lost! Can’t you even talk properly?!”

“Mom, that thing looks disgusting!”

The dragon had hatched alone in a dark cave. Newly born, the whelp was fragile, lonely, and cried for help—but no one came. Starving, he stumbled down into the human world.

His instincts drove him to attempt polymorph magic, but his powers were still undeveloped. The result was a misshapen form—half creature, half human—that horrified people.

Coldness, rejection, and violence followed. Bruised and battered, the dragon eventually fled back to his birthplace. There, he encountered a monster that feared him. Only then did he realize his true power—and from there, his grudge against mankind grew.

But originally, the dragon had not despised humans at all. On the contrary, he had wanted to befriend them!

“Perfect.”

Michel set down his pen with a victorious clap. Heart was still young—so the dragon must also still be in its infancy. If Michel could find the young dragon and treat him kindly, perhaps he would grow into a good dragon. Guiding children onto the right path—that was Michel’s true purpose.

But… how was he supposed to find him?

“Hmmmmm…”

Must I go to the cave first? But where exactly was it? He remembered only that it was in the mountains. Hopefully the creature hadn’t come down to the towns already…

Thus Michel’s night sank deeper and deeper into worried thought.