Ch.142EP.36 – The Knight Hates Love Triangles (1)

…although he hadn’t particularly wanted to know, Ihan happened to have an informant almost as good as a returner, and thanks to that, he unwillingly learned about the dark-skinned man’s love story… or rather, his “divorce story.”

“Judia Pierre is, according to the setting, one of the orphans rescued by Cardinal Raphael during a pilgrimage. She entered the temple to repay the cardinal for saving her, but through various circumstances became an Inquisitor, and through further circumstances even disguised herself as a man.”

“I’m really curious about those ‘various circumstances’…”

“I, I’d like to tell you… but unfortunately I don’t know those details well either. I only know the basic setting…”

“……”

“I, I just don’t like game spoilers, so I only did what the planning team asked for and don’t know the specifics…”

“…You sometimes seem useful, yet useless at the same time?”

“Th-that’s too harsh…”

However, Ihan was merciless and didn’t accept excuses, making the other man look dejected.

“…Anyway, so how did they end up getting married?”

“Oh, I know that.”

“…You only know the strange parts.”

“W-well anyway.”

Derrick began to share what he knew.

“J-Judia Pierre, who became an Inquisitor at the temple, can be seen as a spy character who infiltrated the revolutionary army, that is, the army led by Young Master Roen. Like a spy, she extracted information and delivered it to the temple. During this time, Judia Pierre’s new mission was to seduce Young Master Roen and ‘eliminate’ him.”

“Eliminate?”

“From the temple’s perspective, Young Master Roen as the revolutionary leader must have been quite troublesome. And since ancient times, using beautiful women has been a classic but most effective method. So…”

“…He was seduced?”

As far as he knew, it didn’t seem like the dark-skinned man would fall for such a scheme.

“Hmm, it wasn’t easy, but through various circumstances…”

“What exactly are those circumstances?”

“…I wonder?”

“……”

“D-don’t look at me like that.”

“Damn those vague ‘circumstances’.”

“A-after that…!”

Taechang cautiously continued sharing what he knew about Judia Pierre’s story, and Ihan seemed to be half-listening while still paying attention.

“Of course, there were various reasons why Young Master Roen was seduced, and later, right before the wedding, Judia Pierre’s identity as a spy was revealed, leading to her pathetic exit. In other words, she’s a villain character who appears near the end. The reason she’s called one of the three great villainesses is because she caused the most damage to Young Master Roen in the story.”

“Hmm.”

“…His grudge must be significant. Among the crimes she committed were sowing discord and spreading misinformation, causing astronomical damage to the revolutionary army. Above all, several knights dear to Young Master Roen died because of Judia Pierre.”

“That’s a justified desire for revenge.”

“B-but in the end, that’s all in the ‘future,’ not the current timeline, right? Being angry about that seems a bit unreasonable…”

“…You’re making quite an arrogant statement, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

Ihan asked the confused young man who didn’t understand what was wrong with his statement.

If…

“Would you be able to say the same thing if Karin had died?”

“……”

“It might be a dilemma as you say. It’s only a future event that hasn’t happened yet. But humans aren’t such rational animals, just like your expression is quite scary right now.”

“?”

“Look in a mirror, kid. Your face looks pretty fierce right now.”

“……”

As Ihan said, Derrick belatedly touched his face to check and was surprised at himself.

…It was surprisingly rigid.

‘Ah, so that’s it.’

Derrick acknowledged his arrogance and understood why Roen was giving such a murderous glare to a young girl.

‘Forgiveness’ was a rash piece of advice that others shouldn’t carelessly offer—he realized this now.

‘At least he’s quick to accept his mistake.’

It wasn’t that Taechang was a bad person for making such a careless remark.

He just tended to view the world a bit too optimistically.

Well, such innocent comments sometimes escalate into big fights.

‘He only acts like this in front of me, he probably doesn’t with others.’

To begin with, Taechang’s communication skills were so poor that he could barely talk to others.

He only spoke properly in front of him; when talking to others…

‘He’s no different from a vibrating massager.’

He probably wouldn’t make many mistakes in front of others.

‘Come to think of it, he’s quite a pitiful guy?’

Doesn’t that mean he doesn’t even have friends he can talk to?

That’s really…

‘Oh wait, he has a girlfriend, right?’

And a smart and pretty girlfriend at that.

‘…He’s not pitiful at all.’

Ihan suddenly felt a pain in his stomach.

Along with the realization that other people’s happiness could be so irritating.

However, he had to set aside these feelings of jealousy for now, because…

“It’s funny to see the temple’s hunting dog like this.”

“……”

“Ah, come to think of it, even calling you hunting dogs is too good for you. You’re the kind who can change masters at any time. Disgusting rats.”

“……”

“Going with the silent treatment?”

“…I don’t understand why you’re suddenly picking a fight with me, young lion. I don’t think I’ve done anything to earn your enmity.”

“……”

“If you have a complaint, feel free to challenge me. Of course, you’ll need the knight’s permission.”

“…Someday we’ll cross swords.”

“Really? I look forward to that day.”

“……”

Crunch!

“…He’s going to break his teeth at this rate.”

What should he do about them?

The dark-skinned man who always maintained his composure was now furrowing his brow and picking a fight, while the red-haired woman calmly accepted it.

Looking at them like this…

“What a mess.”

It was a stark reminder of how terrible the aftermath of a badly broken couple could be.

* * *

…To put it simply, Ihan rejected Roen’s proposal.

The reason?

Well, nothing special.

“People aren’t objects, dark one. They’re not really slaves.”

“Judging by what they’re doing now, their situation seems worse than slaves.”

“They’re interns, right?”

“…What exactly is an intern?”

“It’s a thing, someone with a lower position than an assistant. Anyway, they’re under me right now, but that doesn’t mean I own them. I have to use them well and return them later.”

“…Are you really treating them as people?”

“Stop nitpicking. If you really need them, persuade them yourself and take them. I won’t stop you that far.”

“……”

“If you want to spar, just say so. I’ll arrange it anytime.”

“…It’s tempting, but I’ll pass. …I also need to calm down a bit. I’ll be absent for a few days.”

“You’re openly skipping class?”

Fortunately, the red-haired woman—no, Judia Pierre—was temporarily safe, and Ihan clicked his tongue.

This is complicated…

‘That old man asked me to take good care of her, Taechang warns she’s a villainess, and the dark one wants to kill her…’

It was an undeniably headache-inducing situation for Ihan.

‘Sigh, what’s the big deal about her anyway…’

He glanced at her briefly.

“……”

While others were being harassed by the merciless assistant and suffering under the harsh sacred magic of the Sacrifice Barrier, she just silently did her work.

If the other Inquisitors were following Ihan’s orders because they were overcome by pain, she seemed to be following orders simply because she had been defeated.

There was no sense of will from her.

She reminded observers of a doll, and one might even doubt whether she had any emotions.

‘A villainess and an Inquisitor… It doesn’t suit her?’

Ihan recalled.

How she immediately pointed a gun at her own head and tried to shoot herself without hesitation after being defeated.

That mechanical demeanor, devoid of any will to live or noble cause.

‘Hmm, don’t you need to have some level of emotion to act like a villainess?’

He knew.

The aura emitted by people with malice or some kind of cause.

But Judia didn’t show any such malice or cause.

So if he had to give a one-line evaluation of Judia Pierre:

“…She’s an anomalous one.”

Someone who could be neither evil nor good, just fundamentally different.

That was Ihan’s assessment of her.

“…What do you think of her?”

“Hmm, she definitely seems a bit different. Should I say her energy is unusual? At first I thought it was holy power, but it doesn’t seem like that either.”

“Really? I see.”

“Yes!”

“Hmm… But hey, little chick.”

“Yes?”

“…Why are you still here in the second semester?”

“……”

“Why bother?”

“Um, I, I wanted to take your class, instructor?”

“……”

“C-could you say something? Hehe.”

“Is being a spellcaster such a leisurely job?”

Ihan poked the cheek of the magic girl—no, Irene Windler—who was once again taking the Swordsmanship Department class in the second semester.

Each time he poked, her soft cheek would dimple as she showed an embarrassed expression, and Ihan sighed.

There were many other classes, and if she wanted to earn credits, she could take something else, but it wasn’t hard to guess why she was retaking Ihan’s class.

Therefore.

‘This affection from a kid is burdensome…’

Ihan mentally guessed why the chick-like magic girl was sticking to the Swordsmanship Department, and it made his head spin.

No matter how much he wanted to date, he didn’t want to date someone with so many troublesome settings attached.

‘A possessed person and a spellcaster. Plus she’s young and immature, and a spellcaster. Above all…’

…she’s a spellcaster.

Ihan had too many reasons to reject the girl’s affection, making it feel heavy.

“Sigh, what sin did I commit…”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, quickly go take another class. You can still make changes.”

“N-no! I, I want to be in the Swordsmanship Department too!”

“The top student of the Magic Department?”

“C-can’t I be an honorary Swordsmanship Department student?”

“…Would that work?”

“Heeeng…”

The dejected chick’s shoulders drooped.

Seeing her like this made his heart soften.

Even though it was just one semester, they had spent time together, and some attachment had formed.

‘…Should I just let her be?’

His heart was softening a bit, and although her body had become healthier since the first semester, it was still pitifully weak.

He was considering accepting when…

“…Oh, right. Instructor. This creepy old man asked me to give you this.”

“??”

“I, I didn’t want to deliver it either, but he insisted… I’m sorry.”

“……”

“B-but it’s okay, right? Hehe.”

“Don’t laugh, you fool.”

“Ouch!”

The girl flew from his emotionally charged finger poke, but he didn’t worry.

She wouldn’t fall with her telekinesis.

So what he needed to worry about was…

“I should have kicked that out sooner.”

…his own situation, Ihan thought with a sigh.

A pattern depicting ripples on a lake.

It was just stationery, but it was insanely expensive with gem powder that gave off a strange light.

Only one family in the kingdom could use such patterns and gems as ink.

‘Another reason I shouldn’t get involved…’

Galahad.

Looking at the invitation sent by the current duke, Ihan felt a headache coming on.