a Lout and a Prince

Part 6

There was just something undeniably unique about the man known as Cale Henituse.

He wasn't a genius by any measure, he wasn't talented in any field unless being able to hold liquor was a talent, and he wouldn't stand out in a crowd if he kept his down and his mouth shut.

He ought to have been an average man with an attractive face. Nothing exceptional enough to make note of or pay any attention to.

He did have certain personality quirks that made him a bit notable though.

If a humble narrator were to express that specific aspect of his personality through an analogy, it would be hoped that those who read along would wait patiently to hear the conclusion.

Imagine there's a man, just an average man with an average life, who looked into a mirror and grew infuriated with his own face. Perhaps he was agitated with the glare he was being given or maybe he just didn't like the shape.

The source of his anger is irrelevant.

Well, as this hypothetical man grew angrier and angrier, he grew determined to get his revenge upon the entity that had caused this anger.

But how could a person get revenge upon their own face? It was an impossible task for most to consider. A person with any remaining sanity would just avoid looking into reflective surfaces.

Imagine everyone's surprise when this hypothetical man proceeded to cut off his own nose, glaring victoriously into his reflection as he succeeded in spiting his own face through his sheer grit alone.

Now imagine that the nose re-grew every single day for ten years and that this absolutely unhinged man cut that same nose off every day without ever once giving up on his maniacal goal.

The word 'stubborn' simply didn't do justice to a proper description of Cale's personality.

He used stubborn as a leaping off point and blew straight past descriptions such as obstinate or contrary and entered a zone all his own.

There were few people who could match Cale's zealous dedication to his mad goals.

As for the relevance to the allegory, it could do something to explain why a rather muscular and otherwise impressive looking kidnapper was currently cowering in a corner to avoid being hit by yet another bottle.

It wasn't that they couldn't fight back. Cale was significantly weaker than all of the kidnappers individually and most especially combined. There was absolutely no reason that they should be cowering in their own base surrounded by their own men and in a situation where escape for the young noble was absolutely impossible to even conceive.

It was just that they couldn't kill Cale if they wanted a pay out. Or really, to live through the experience. Kidnapping a noble meant that you had money to run away with and people who were relieved to have their loved ones back. Killing a noble meant that you had a large group of very vengeful, rich, and powerful people chasing after you with no money to show for it.

It was simple math.

Of course, they were all more than capable of incapacitating Cale without killing him. They could usually manage such a feat even without causing any serious injury.

With Cale, it was supposed to be easy. They'd given him a bottle of alcohol laced with a sleeping potion that ought to have knocked him out for days.

Seeing the young nobleman chug it was especially gratifying because it meant that they could quietly conduct their business while the spoiled brat snorred away.