BLEEDING UNIVERSE (The warrior in two worlds)

Chapter 5

Ugh, finally." Kate spoke first.

Folding her arms, she looked Baron up and down as though examining something dirty, her voice dripping with undisguised contempt.

"So you're Baron?"

Her gaze then fell on his faded blue backpack, and the disdain in her eyes deepened.

"Is that your only bag?" she sneered.

"It looks like it was fished out of a garbage dump." She clicked her tongue in disgust.

"Seriously, Margret, I can't believe your family actually made us drive all the way down here just to pick up some charity case." She deliberately emphasized the last few words.

"Honestly... was it even worth the trip?"

Margret finally looked at Baron.

Her beautiful eyes calmly swept over his worn T-shirt and old cheap sneakers.

There wasn't anger, only indifference, as if Baron was something she couldn’t care to take serious.

"As expected..." she sighed softly. "Mother really worries too much, I don't see any reason why we should become acquainted."

She then looked back at Kate and let out a quiet sigh, "Let's just get this over with."

Kate smirked, "You heard her, don't get the wrong idea. We're only here because Aunt Evelyn insisted. Otherwise, neither of us would waste even five seconds on trash like you."

She took a step closer, a mocking smile spreading across her face.

“And let me make one thing crystal clear.”

"Don't start entertaining any ridiculous fantasies just because Margret came to pick you up."

She gestured toward Margret with exaggerated admiration.

"She's one of the most sought-after girls at Tuntadel City University. Sons of wealthy families, heirs to billion-dollar corporations, young masters from prestigious clans..." She gave a dismissive laugh. "There are so many men chasing her that I've honestly lost count."

Her eyes swept over Baron with unconcealed contempt.

"And a country bumpkin like you isn't even qualified to dream about someone like her."

She glanced down at Baron's worn sneakers and curled her lip.

"Oh, and wipe your shoes before you get into Margret's car."

"I don't think Italian leather comes clean after country mud gets all over it."

With that, Kate lifted her chin like a proud peacock, waiting for him to blush, stutter out an apology, and look at the floor in shame.

In Baron’s previous life, that was exactly what had happened.

Every mocking glance, every contemptuous smile from these beautiful, privileged girls had pierced straight through his pride.

Standing there in his cheap clothes, surrounded by strangers, he had wished the ground would simply swallow him whole.

But this life…

He didn't shrink away. He didn't turn red. He didn't even get angry but merely stared at them with absolute, calm detached eyes.

To an ancient cosmic emperor who had conquered galaxies and watched ancient tyrant races fall to their knees, these two wealthy, arrogant girls weren't intimidating in the slightest.

They weren't powerful. They weren’t important. They were simply two spoiled girls, intoxicated by the tiny amount of privilege their families had given them, proudly showing off before someone they believed could never fight back.

Their so-called aristocratic superiority, their carefully rehearsed insults, and their childish schemes were so laughably insignificant that Baron almost felt disappointed.

A faint chuckle escaped his lips.

"What are you laughing at, you freak?" Kate snapped, her face flushing with sudden anger because she wasn't getting the timid reaction she wanted.

"Are you deaf as well as poor?!"

Baron took a half-step forward. The sheer change in his vibe was massive. The air around him suddenly felt heavy, cold, and suffocating.

His eyes locked onto Kate’s with a gaze so dark and deep it felt like staring into an abyss.

"If you two are supposedly so rich and powerful," Baron spoke, his voice smooth, flat, and completely calm, "then why are your families using you as low-level chauffeurs to pick up a 'peasant' like me?"

Without waiting for Kate to respond, his gaze shifted to Margret.

His expression remained just as indifferent.

In his previous life, he had been captivated by her beauty the moment they met.

Her graceful elegance and aloof temperament had seemed almost untouchable, and for a brief time, he had even imagined that someone like her might one day look at him differently.

Looking back now, the memory only made him want to laugh.

After a century of wandering the cosmos, after meeting saintesses, empresses, immortal queens, and women whose mere presence eclipsed the stars…

She was nothing more than an arrogant young woman who thought far too highly of herself.

Not someone worth remembering.

"I thought wealthy young ladies were above doing servants' work,” Baron continued calmly.

“Seems I gave you too much credit."

Kate's face immediately darkened.

"What did you just say?!"

"I said, you look ridiculous," Baron countered casually, his tone calm and matter-of-fact.

"You stand here bragging about your luxury car, your noble upbringing, and how precious your time is... yet you've been waiting at an airport arrival gate just to play the role of my personal chauffeurs."

His gaze swept lazily over the two girls, and a faint sneer tugged at the corner of his lips.

“How pathetic.”

Kate’s face instantly twisted with fury

"Y—you little piece of trash!” she shrieked. “How dare you talk to us like that?!

“If I'm trash," he said leisurely, "then you're even less than trash."

He looked at them as though stating an obvious fact.

"After all, you're desperately trying to please people who don't even see you as equals."

"To them, you're nothing more than expendable servants."

He gave a faint shake of his head.

"Honestly... it's rather ironic."

His expression remained relaxed, almost amused. He never raised his voice.

Yet the overwhelming indifference and quiet contempt radiating from him made Kate instinctively struggle to breathe.

It was as though he were looking down at an insignificant insect rather than a proud young lady from a wealthy family.

An invisible pressure seemed to settle over her shoulders.

For the first time in years, Kate felt the pride she had always taken for granted begin to crack.

Her wealthy background, her family name, and the superiority she had always worn like armor suddenly felt utterly meaningless before the man standing in front of her.

Margret's composed expression finally stiffened.

No one had ever spoken to a beauty like her that way before.

And no man had ever looked at her with such complete indifference.

Not admiration.

Not nervousness.

Not even anger.

It was as though her beauty—something that had always attracted countless young masters and heirs—held absolutely no value in his eyes.

She slowly narrowed her eyes.

"You're... quite different from what I heard."

"Different?” Kate snapped before Baron could answer. “He's just an arrogant loser!"

She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.

Just moments ago, she had actually been intimidated by him.

Worse still, for a fleeting instant, she had felt unbearably small... almost beneath him.

The mere thought filled her with humiliation.

How could she—a proud young lady from a wealthy family—ever feel inferior to a penniless country boy? It was intolerable!

"You really think landing one lucky punch changes anything?"

"You’ll never belong in our world!"

Baron merely looked at the two girls one last time.

"In my world..." he said calmly, "respect is earned through strength."

"Not inherited through a family name.. or won through childish little schemes."

Without another word, Baron lost all interest in them.

He didn't care about their luxury car, their wealth family backgrounds, nor their so-called elite status.

Casually adjusting the faded backpack on his shoulder, he walked straight between the two girls and headed toward the airport exit without looking back even once.

To the Void Sovereign...

They simply weren’t worth a second glance.

Kate stood rooted to the spot, her face alternating between red and pale.

Her nails dug deeply into her palms.

Margret remained silent.

She quietly watched Baron's departing figure, her beautiful face betraying almost no emotion.

Yet beneath that calm exterior, her thoughts were anything but peaceful.

This wasn't the Baron Colgate she had heard about.

The timid, self-conscious branch-family boy she had expected simply didn't exist.

From beginning to end, he hadn't tried to impress her.

He hadn't sought her approval.

He hadn't even bothered arguing with her.

Instead…

He had looked at her as though she were completely insignificant.

The realization left an inexplicable weight in her chest.

For the first time in years...

Margret Grant felt that her pride had been thoroughly ignored.

For some reason... that stung far more than any insult ever could.