Chapter 117: To Von Grund’s Territory (2)

‘But what could this be about?’

It was a relief to escape that Baldo hell, but as I reached the headmaster’s office, an uneasiness that had been invisible until now blocked my path.

Though I tried to convince myself it was nothing serious, an ominous feeling, like seeing a crow or a black cat, wouldn’t leave my chest.

That urgent call to the headmaster’s office.

If it was about the kidnapping incident from the day before, there would’ve been no need for such urgency.

Something felt off.

These thoughts made me hesitate to knock on the headmaster’s office door, but avoiding problems never solved anything.

Finally gathering my courage, I lightly knocked twice and then, as if I’d never hesitated, strode in confidently.

“First-year Knight Department student Jessica von Grund, reporting as summoned.”

“…Please sit down, Miss Jessica.”

Instead of the mountains of paperwork I’d seen on my previous visit, the headmaster’s office now held two steaming cups of tea, freshly brewed by the look of it.

Near the headmaster’s cup, a few unidentifiable pills were scattered. It seemed I’d interrupted just as she was about to take them.

‘Her complexion doesn’t look good. Could she be ill?’

It was odd to see medicine here, considering high-ranking mages, like well-trained knights, rarely fell ill.

As if sensing my thoughts, Headmaster Marina picked up a pill and said with a wry smile:

“It’s for headaches. While I don’t get sick, I still suffer from headaches like anyone else…”

“Ah, I see. I was just curious… Are you having a headache now?”

“…Yes. But first, please have some tea. It’s chamomile, known for its calming effects.”

Headache, calming effects – these words strengthened my suspicion that something was wrong.

I wanted to ask outright what had happened, but the headmaster’s haggard expression made me hesitate.

As I cautiously sipped the steaming tea, I wondered how much time had passed.

Whether due to the tea or the passage of time, I felt somewhat calmer when the headmaster set down her cup with a soft ‘thud’ and spoke, her sigh filled with mixed emotions.

“Miss Jessica, please try not to be alarmed. We’ve received news that the barrier… the von Grund family’s barrier has been breached.”

“…Pardon?”

At first, I doubted my own ears. Or perhaps the headmaster’s information was wrong.

It was hard to believe that the barrier, which had stood firm and majestic for hundreds of years, could have fallen.

“What… what happened?! Who… no, which tribe could have…!! Did they form an alliance like before?!”

“No, this may be even harder to believe, but the barrier was breached by a single person.”

“You must be joking…”

I started to say it must be a joke, but then I remembered there was someone nearby capable of such a feat, and my words died in my throat.

Thinking about it, hadn’t the academy’s “barrier” also been breached by a few powerful individuals during my kidnapping the day before?

“Then… who could have…”

“According to survivor reports, the name of the man who single-handedly breached the barrier is Baek Jeong-nam. I’m not familiar with the details, but he’s apparently known as Koraea in the south.”

“Koraea…”

As I mulled over the name, I recalled a story that one of our family knights had once shared, a tale that circulated among the soldiers.

A ghostly figure from 80 years ago who had breached the barrier alone and caused numerous casualties.

If he was still alive, this specter would be well over 100 years old. Why had he returned now?

“Reports say that after breaching the barrier, he headed straight for the von Grund family’s territory.”

“The territory?! Then what about Father?! And Mother and my brother?!”

“…Count von Grund intercepted Baek Jeong-nam’s attack on the territory but was defeated and severely injured, according to the reports.”

“Hah…! Hah…!”

This news was even more shocking than hearing the barrier had fallen. My chest felt like it was collapsing, just like the barrier.

Thinking of my injured father and the possibility that other family members might be hurt made my breathing as labored as if I’d sprinted at full speed.

I gulped down the tea before me in an attempt to calm myself, but it didn’t have the same effect as before.

Seeing my distress, the headmaster cast some kind of spell on me, which finally helped my racing heart slow down a bit.

“What about… what happened to the rest of my family?!”

“Fortunately, the other family members were evacuated with nearby knights, so damage was prevented. The Count is injured, but his life isn’t in danger, so please try to stay calm. However…”

“However?”

“This Baek Jeong-nam seems to bear a grudge against the von Grund family. He’s still searching for the Count, who’s gone into hiding due to his injuries.”

Naturally, this pursuit was causing significant damage to civilian homes and the territory.

Moreover, with the barrier down, barbarian tribes and magical beasts that had been held at bay in the uncharted lands were now pouring in en masse.

Between the rampage of this superhuman who’d breached the barrier single-handedly and the attacks from barbarians and magical beasts, the territory had become a veritable hell.

“Then… then I can’t just sit here!!”

“…If you can’t stay put, what do you plan to do?”

“I’m going to the territory right now!! I’ll go there and immediately…!!”

“And do what, exactly? What can you possibly do if you go there now, Miss Jessica?”

“That’s…!!”

While the old me might not have known, after training with him, I knew my own strength well enough that I couldn’t argue with her words.

…I wasn’t Ian.

I wasn’t sure if I could handle even a barbarian chieftain, let alone this Koraea who had severely injured my father.

“The Royal Knight Order has already decided to dispatch troops, and an Archwizard is being sent to subdue this Baek Jeong-nam. Other influential houses are also sending reinforcements, so please try to go about your days as usual, Miss Jessica. That’s what your father would want–!”

The headmaster’s words were suddenly cut off by the sound of the door being roughly flung open.

I turned to see what was happening, and there stood Ian, his head bowed so low I couldn’t see his face.

After a moment of stunned silence, the headmaster asked in a trembling voice:

“I-Ian?! What are you doing? Don’t tell me you were eavesdropping just now?”

“Yes! I was curious about why Jessica was called, so I listened in secretly from behind the door!”

Ian’s brazen admission left the headmaster speechless, her mouth opening and closing without a sound.

“Jessica!!”

As his gaze, somehow still pure as always, turned to me, I felt my tense heart ease a little.

“You want to go home, right? Let’s go, I’ll take you.”

“……”

How I wished I could just nod at those words.

But I couldn’t. I couldn’t risk not only myself but also Ian, who had nothing to do with this.

“Just so you know, I’m going to the south even if you don’t come.”

“Y-You’re going?”

“Yeah, I have a small territory there too. I can’t ignore it just because I have a new place to stay. So don’t feel pressured. Do you want to go? Or not?”

As he said this and reached out his hand, I found myself grasping it before I even realized what I was doing.

“Let’s go.”

—Raei  Translations—

[According to survivor reports, the name of the man who single-handedly breached the barrier is Baek Jeong-nam. I’m not familiar with the details, but he’s apparently known as Koraea in the south.]

Baek Jeong-nam. Koraea.

Hearing those two names hit me like a hammer to the head.

There was one possessed individual I could think of with that name and nickname.

Gintokang : That Japan-obsessed bastard claims Baldo originated in Japan, but it actually came from Goguryeo, not Japan. As proof, there’s a mural in a Goguryeo tomb from the mid-4th century showing a Goguryeo person using Baldo techniques.

┗Baldojae : You’re crossing the line….

As a guardian of Baldo’s purity, I had to deal with this deranged lunatic myself, even if I could ignore other possessed individuals.

I would defeat him with the very Baldo techniques he had insulted and belittled, proving once and for all the superiority of Baldo.

“Let’s go.”

I burst into the room and grabbed Jessica’s hand, practically dragging her out.

They said the Royal Knight Order and an Archwizard were preparing to deploy, right?

I couldn’t let the knights or the Archwizard encounter him before me and potentially injure him or deplete his stamina.

Even if it meant fighting at a disadvantage, I had to prevent that scenario at all costs.

“Jessica!! I’m going to get Hori first, so you… Jessica?”

As we headed out of the academy, Jessica’s hand in mine, I called out to her but got no response. I stopped for a moment, and she looked up at me with dazed eyes.

“Jessica?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a second…”

“As long as you’re back. Alright, I’m going to call Hori. You go to the mansion and get ready to leave. Got it?”

Leaving Jessica, who nodded silently, I hurried towards the mansion.

—