The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 11: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (2) (Part 2)

It had been a day since Adrian returned to the County.

And Adrian hadn’t left the Trial Grounds of Frost since. He even took his meals inside.
Aside from sleeping, he spent all day training his body in the trial grounds.

Today as well, Adrian was gasping for air within the Trial Grounds of Frost.

Lifting heavy barbells and dumbbells.
It was basic physical training.
But the weights were far from normal.

Dozens of weights hung from both ends of the barbell, bending the iron bar into a near C-shape.

“W-What… am I even looking at?”
“Is that even something a human can do…?”
“Could it be that Lord Adrian is using Aura—”
“—You think?”
“R-Right? There’s no way Lord Adrian can use Aura.”
“Then what the hell are we witnessing right now?”

Adrian’s shirtless body had grown noticeably more solid than the day before.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Each time Adrian exhaled rhythmically and lifted the barbell, his tight, compact muscles flexed and writhed relentlessly.

“Is he… even human?”
“I’m starting to think he’s an Ogre…”

To the soldiers of the Whitewolf Castle, Adrian had become the hottest topic.
And it wasn’t just the soldiers.

Even among the maids of the Lord’s Castle, Adrian was the center of gossip.

“Hey, hey, about Lord Adrian. Doesn’t he seem… different lately?”
“Totally! Actually, I cleaned his room yesterday.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I finished cleaning and left, but then I realized—I didn’t align the hangers in his wardrobe properly.”
“Whaaat?! Lord Adrian would never just let that slide!”
“Exactly!”

The maid trembled at the memory.

“So I panicked, wondering what to do. Then I figured it’s better to get it over with and told him the truth.”
“And?”
“He said it was fine!”
“Whaaat…?”
“And he even said I must be working hard, always cleaning his room!”
“Ehhhhh?! You didn’t get slapped or anything?!”
“Nope! I was seriously so touched!”

The chatter bloomed like wildfire.

“Then… does that rumor mean it’s true?”
“What rumor?”
“About Lord Adrian’s meals. I heard he only eats entrails now. Even the ones people can’t eat.”
“No way. Lord Adrian, with his germophobia? Why would he do that?”
“According to the head chef, it’s to save ingredients. Says there’s not enough food for the people.”
“Ugh…”
“Honestly, even I found that hard to believe.”
“No, it’s true.”

Suddenly, another voice cut in.

“Huh? Rena…?”
“When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
“But seriously? You saw it yourself?”
“Yeah. I was there when Lord Adrian was in the dining hall. He said it himself—he was eating entrails because there were no other ingredients.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And then he just casually put those entrails in his mouth…”
“Oh my gosh!”
“Ugh, let’s stop talking about that. Just remembering it makes me wanna gag…”

Like that—

Not just the soldiers of Whitewolf Castle, but even the maids of the Lord’s Castle were all buzzing with stories about Adrian.

But it didn’t last long.

“When do you think he’ll go back to how he was?”
“I say he gives up by tomorrow.”
“I say today.”
“I’ll bet 1 gold he lasts at least three days this time.”

No one believed Adrian was truly changing.

They assumed it was all just an act—a temporary performance, triggered by the shock of the late count’s will.
He was just pretending to change.

People don’t change.

Especially Adrian, who had never put in real effort his entire life.
A delinquent for over ten years.
That kind of life doesn’t change from one runaway episode and a single day of training.

The Wastrel of the House of Whitewolf would remain just that.
That was the conclusion both the castle soldiers and the castle maids had reached.

“He’ll quit soon enough.”

But regardless of what they thought—

Adrian quietly continued lifting barbells and dumbbells in the Trial Grounds of Frost.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

His ragged breath and the heat radiating from his body.
No more frost fell within the Trial Grounds of Frost.

And so—

Time passed quickly.

In the early dawn, before the sun had even risen.

Moonlight cast a silver glow over the snow-covered landscape of the County, still cloaked in darkness.

Ice crystals shimmered like stardust in the moonlight.
The distant ridges of the Snowy Mountains.
A stillness hung in the air, as though the whole world was frozen, holding its breath—

Kai pressed forward, mentally reviewing the day’s training regimen.

Sword practice, live sparring, drilling the soldiers, tactics training, archery, formation breakthroughs and defense, night ambushes, tracking, survival, and physical conditioning.

A grueling schedule from dawn till late at night.
It pushed him to his limits every day—

But that was just Kai’s usual routine.

Each step he took, the freezing air stung his cheeks.
Each breath he drew iced over his lungs.
Smoke rose from chimneys across the village, as if trying to beckon him into the warmth.

But Kai pressed on.
If he wanted to complete today’s training plan, he had no time to waste.

By the time he arrived at the Trial Grounds of Frost—

Inside the training grounds.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

…Someone was already there, training before him.