Ch.263The Double-Edged Sword (2)

# Chonchulsarin (寸鐵殺人)

A phrase that likens piercing someone’s vital point with sharp words. It means that a person’s words can always become weapons.

This idiom, often called a “critical hit” or “fact bombing,” reminds us how much power resides in human speech. When maximized, it can completely destroy a person’s life.

Thus, human speech contains terrifying potential. The person who possesses a “three-inch tongue” can sweet-talk even the mightiest individual into becoming their pawn.

This applies perfectly to everyday life. Speaking too well might get you labeled as rude, but it depends on how you use it.

And the words I just delivered to Count Ratish certainly qualify as chonchulsarin. If Count Ratish had claimed suicide, a long logical argument would have followed, but since he answered homicide, things couldn’t be easier.

In my previous life, parents like Count Ratish were everywhere. They’re common in countries with abnormally high educational fervor like Korea, India, and China.

Everyone has their breaking point, and when that limit is exceeded, they break down physically and mentally. The end result is taking the escape route of death.

Toward such children, people tend to blame the parents rather than the child. They point fingers, condemning you for driving your child to such extremes.

When faced with such criticism, parents usually offer similar excuses.

I didn’t know my child was suffering so much. I only did this because I wanted the best for my child.

Of course, examining their words carefully, they’re not wrong. Parents have experienced more events and incidents than their children, and likely gained considerable wisdom from them.

But it’s ridiculous. Parents should guide their children on the right path, not control them like puppets.

This distinction must be clearly understood and demonstrates how difficult the parental role truly is.

They must guide their children without letting them go astray, yet without controlling or suppressing them. I can assert that no parent can do all this perfectly.

Especially if, like Cherry, a child is emotionally crushed before even properly developing adolescence, their future looks incredibly bleak.

It might seem effective in the short term, but most end up carrying depression and self-hatred, which persists into adulthood.

In that sense, Count Ratish severely lacks the qualities of a good parent. He embraced a twisted philosophy, governed his child’s education according to his own taste, and even manipulated her like a puppet.

He nearly drove a child with a bright future to suicide—he deserves to be called an attempted murderer.

“…”

When I said he was almost an attempted murderer while wearing a bright smile, Count Ratish looked dumbfounded.

His face contained complex meanings, as if he couldn’t understand what he’d just heard.

I maintained my smile while looking at his face. Though he misunderstood philosophy, Count Ratish is quite intelligent.

He surely understands the meaning behind my words. Sure enough.

Count Ratish looked shocked, then slowly turned his head sideways. Beside him, naturally, sat his beloved daughter Cherry.

“…Cherry?”

“…”

“Did you really…”

Count Ratish’s voice trembled, apparently from severe shock. Meanwhile, Cherry didn’t even turn her head.

Instead, she shifted her bottom slightly, expressing her dislike of being near him. Though indirect, this was an extreme reaction for Cherry.

Children with normal upbringing don’t openly dislike their parents. Especially in cases like Cherry, who grew up without properly forming her personality, they often become like dolls.

But after meeting me and publishing her book, she’s gradually developing her personality. If this were before, she would have just sat still.

‘Though staring so intently is a bit burdensome.’

Even now, she’s shifting her bottom while staring intensely at me. In her dark eyes, light comes and goes like a discharged battery.

I made a complicated expression while alternately looking at Count Ratish, who seemed more shocked than before, and Cherry, who was rejecting him.

Unfortunately, their relationship crossed an irreversible river long ago. It will take a long time for their father-daughter relationship to recover.

They might even become worse than strangers. As with Adelia, blood ties don’t automatically make you family.

This isn’t something I can fix, so I can’t offer much advice. But I am confident I can make Count Ratish realize his mistake.

I spoke in the suddenly heavy atmosphere.

“You just said, Count, that while philosophy has no set path, it does have recognized paths. But for your child, even those recognized paths aren’t allowed. You think of parents as stems and philosophy as roots.”

“…”

“But that’s not right. Parents should faithfully fulfill the role of roots. Children who receive nourishment from the roots are the stems, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Those fruits fall to the ground and create new plants. There’s nothing standardized about human growth. If there were, humanity wouldn’t have developed this far.”

Count Ratish took his eyes off Cherry and looked at me after hearing my words. He seemed so shocked that he couldn’t say anything.

This situation actually helps me. If he had shouted like a typical stubborn old man, it would have been exhausting.

At least his love for Cherry is genuine—if he had thought of her as merely a tool, he wouldn’t have reacted this way.

As they say, too much of a good thing is bad—excessive love combined with misguided philosophy created this tragedy.

“Trampling on a sprout before it even emerges because it doesn’t suit your taste. Count, you mercilessly trampled Cherry until she could sprout the stem of philosophy. Not knowing that the stem would rot without even growing.”

“…What do you know.”

“Pardon?”

Perhaps somewhat recovered from shock, Count Ratish asked me in a much lower voice.

Then, as if unwilling to lose, he chided me with a tone that seemed to be clinging to a pitiful sense of pride.

“What do you know about Cherry to say such things?”

Whether it’s pride or the misery of being a father—perhaps both. As I said earlier, Count Ratish’s love for Cherry is genuine.

He must want to deny it. His beloved daughter nearly committed suicide because of his misguided beliefs.

People tend to resist losing when faced with factual attacks, if only out of pride. If Count Ratish weren’t a nobleman, we might have exchanged harsh words.

This is quite civil. Though his method was wrong, he possesses the basic qualities of a philosopher.

And I have enough logic to directly address his words. I clearly remember a famous saying from my previous life.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Yes. I’m just Cherry’s senior, not family like you, Count Ratish. I know what dreams Cherry has, but I don’t know what food she likes, what clothes she likes, what colors she likes, and so on. I know nothing.”

“Then why…”

Before Count Ratish could finish, I cut him off firmly.

“That’s why I can accept it.”

“…”

“Because I’m curious about what kind of person Cherry is, I dig deeper and learn what she truly wants. Instead of imposing what I think is right based on inadequate knowledge, I can think of it as individual uniqueness and support her dreams.”

I honestly know that I know nothing. This is one of philosopher Socrates’ greatest realizations.

People become arrogant about what they know. But like a well that grows darker the deeper it gets, knowledge works the same way.

Even I, well-versed in history, am a mere novice compared to Elena and Cindy. Even Elena burns with scholarly passion, saying there’s still much history she doesn’t know.

The same applies to people. Because I don’t know what kind of person someone is or what they like, I can accept their uniqueness.

“Count. Earlier you asked what philosophy is. I think even that question has no clear answer. Because that question itself is philosophy.”

“…”

“Philosophy fundamentally begins with ‘why?’ So…”

The merciless factual carpet bombing has ended. Now it’s time to make a polite ‘request.’

Before making my request, I glanced at Cherry to check her condition. The light has fully returned to her eyes, and she even seems lively.

With her hands tightly clasped, she looks expectant. I’m not sure what she’s expecting, but I should say what needs to be said.

I faced the confused Count Ratish directly and made my request politely.

“Please support Cherry’s dream, Count.”

“…”

“Just once. Even just once is fine. Please wait until Cherry sprouts and blooms.”

I bowed my head respectfully while making my request. I don’t know what expression Count Ratish is making, but I’ll wait until he responds.

For Count Ratish, this must be a somewhat incomprehensible situation. No matter how coincidental our meeting, I’m just a third party.

There’s no need for me to argue with Count Ratish while taking risks, and the return from those risks is unclear.

“…Why?”

“…”

“You’re merely Cherry’s academy senior… why are you going this far?”

The situation unfolded as expected. But unlike before, his tone has changed.

This indicates Count Ratish’s psychological change and shows his respect for me. It seems he has already made up his mind.

I slowly raised my bowed head. His blue eyes are full of confusion and questions.

I’d like to reveal that I am Xenon, but it’s not time yet. He’ll naturally realize it when he learns about Cherry’s book.

Moreover, I already had a suitable answer prepared for this situation.

I took my eyes off the confused Count Ratish and looked at Cherry. She’s tightly clasping her hands with an expectant expression.

Smiling at Cherry, I answered sincerely.

“Because Cherry’s writing is too enjoyable. To let it go to waste…”

Honestly.

“Would be too much of a shame.”

It would be a cultural loss, actually.

*****

Afterward, the situation passed without much incident. Count Ratish said he had things to think about after hearing my words and left the seat temporarily.

Of course he’d have a lot to think about. He probably went straight back to his family estate without looking back.

From Count Ratish’s perspective, his firmly held philosophy crumbled before his eyes. Nothing is more painful than having one’s beliefs shattered.

Still, I’m a bit worried he might formally protest that his honor was insulted. I hope he’s not a petty, vindictive person.

Anyway, after Count Ratish left, only Cherry and I remained. The coffee that Count Ratish hadn’t finished sat there.

“…Thank you.”

While I was silently staring at that coffee, Cherry’s fragile voice reached my ears. I immediately shifted my gaze.

Cherry was staring at me with her hands tightly clasped. Her eyes were still extremely dim.

Still, it’s much better than being dark and gloomy.

“No need to thank me. It was a problem that needed to be solved eventually.”

I answered while taking a sip of my Americano, where the ice had completely melted. This truly was a situation we would have faced eventually.

Now we just wait to see if Cherry will grow wings or face greater hardships, depending on Count Ratish’s choice. I hope it’s the former.

‘Though I’m not too pleased about revealing my identity.’

For Count Ratish, it’s a situation where he doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He received a carpet bombing of factual attacks, and the person behind it is Xenon.

Perhaps he’ll accept it because it’s Xenon. I hope nothing strange happens.

I put down my cup slowly and looked at Cherry. There was tea in front of her, but she hadn’t taken a single sip.

I was about to tell her to drink it, hoping she would relax a bit.

“Senior.”

“You should drink your tea… huh?”

“Do you want something from me, senior?”

A rather abrupt question came from Cherry’s lips. I was momentarily surprised by her question, but what followed shocked me even more.

Cherry’s eyes began to brighten… more and more. Along with this, the disguise magic cast by Cecilly seemed to be lifting, as her brown hair gradually returned to pink.

Returning to her original color isn’t significant. There was nothing to hide anyway after Count Ratish discovered her identity.

However, the return of vitality to her previously dark eyes is not a trivial matter. It clearly indicates a major psychological change.

I faced her pink eyes, which were brightening like a light bulb with new batteries, and spoke with a perplexed voice.

“Uh… not really? I just hope you keep publishing books regularly?”

“Besides that?”

“Besides that…”

“If you want, I can give you everything of mine.”

“What?”

What nonsensical talk is this? Looking at Cherry in surprise, something seemed off.

Her eyes are shining so brightly they’re almost radiant. The eyes that were depressed until just moments ago are sprouting with life.

No. Contradictorily, they’re “darkly shining.” There’s no other way to describe her eyes.

“What do you need? My body? Or my heart? Tell me what you want. I don’t mind walking around naked if you order it, and I’ll gladly die if you command it. And…”

“W-wait. Just wait a moment.”

I hurriedly stopped Cherry, who was getting increasingly heated. It’s like she suddenly floored the accelerator after her switch was turned on.

I roughly understand why she’s acting this way, but it’s excessive. I knew her thinking was centered on “me,” but it seems to have intensified.

Let’s stop here first. When I reached out to mediate, Cherry closed her mouth like an obedient puppy.

But judging by her upturned corners of her mouth and eyes full of ecstasy, she’s far from normal.

“Sigh… Cherry.”

“Yes, senior.”

“Then do you want something from me?”

Let’s change the subject first. I seem to have glimpsed a fragment of madness with no end in sight.

And proving my prediction, Cherry gave an answer that made my jaw drop.

“Just don’t abandon me.”

“…”

Simultaneously, her darkly shining eyes sank as deep as an abyss. Her voice also hit rock bottom, directly expressing her psychology.

I couldn’t close my gaping mouth at Cherry’s condition, which seemed more serious than before. Cherry really seems like she would do anything I command.

That’s what makes it scarier. This isn’t a senior-junior relationship, but master and slave.

Even Cecilly and Kate aren’t this extreme. If Cecilly’s devotion and Kate’s fanaticism were mixed together to create a terrible hybrid, wouldn’t it be exactly like this?

“I’ll do anything…”

Cherry’s delayed adolescence is.

“Just don’t abandon me.”

Severely twisted.

“Understood?”

My karma has returned all at once.