Chapter 122: Reliable Witness

“I heard you say that Lee Hyun-seung was the one who started the rebellion? Can you take responsibility for that statement?”

When Baek Soyoon spoke, Kim Heera flinched.

There was a sharpness in her words.

Why is she acting like this?

Baek Soyoon was someone who, despite having many strange traits, had usually listened well to Kim Heera until now.

But this time, Kim Heera couldn’t understand why Baek Soyoon was acting so hostile.

Is it because of Lee Hyun-seung…?

Baek Soyoon had met Lee Hyun-seung secretly.

Although she had personally brought him into the Artemis Guild, she thought it was mainly to secure the voting right as an elder that Lee Hyun-seung would receive.

The Artemis Guild Master, Yoo Hanbeom, had said that if someone scouted Lee Hyun-seung, he wouldn’t become an elder officially, but for this one time, he would be granted an elder voting right that could influence the successor election.

So, Baek Soyoon’s act of bringing Lee Hyun-seung was naturally seen as a move to protect her own interests.

“Oh my, you’re unusually quiet.”

Seeing Baek Soyoon’s openly hostile attitude, Kim Heera couldn’t help but wonder if it was not just the successor voting right at stake, but that Baek Soyoon actually liked Lee Hyun-seung as a person.

If that weren’t the case, why would she defend Lee Hyun-seung, who had clear evidence against him for rebellion?

Click.

Kim Heera disliked the whole situation.

It was absurd that she, a senior member of the Artemis Guild, had to be questioned over a rookie who just joined.

It was infuriating that her opinions as the wife of the guild master were ignored, while a mere guild member like Lee Hyun-seung was being defended.

Most of all, it annoyed her that Baek Soyoon kept challenging her authority.

Kim Heera said coldly,

“Elder Baek Soyoon, you would do well to watch your words.”

She had decided not to back down this time.

The other elders looked at the two of them in disbelief.

They had never seen the usually calm Baek Soyoon and Kim Heera come into conflict like this.

If anyone else had dared to speak back to Kim Heera like this, they would have been scolded and called crazy.

But Baek Soyoon was an exception.

She possessed immense strength among the elders and was classified as a core asset of the Artemis Guild.

No one could say anything against her for such boldness.

If Baek Soyoon lacked ability, they wouldn’t have tolerated her killing those she disliked without hesitation.

She had always taken on the dirty work perfectly.

The dark underbelly of the Artemis Guild was all handled by Baek Soyoon’s hands.

Knowing all this, Kim Heera began to feel nervous.

She was acting strong but was somewhat worried about the backlash that might come later.

But if she backed down now, she would lose nothing but her own dignity.

The other elders are watching…

She must not be ignored.

Once your momentum is broken, it doesn’t come back.

“Elder Baek Soyoon, I don’t know what your relationship with Lee Hyun-seung is, but there’s something I want you not to misunderstand.

My husband is the guild master of the Artemis Guild.

I am one of the founding members of the Artemis Guild and have been delegated partial authority to operate the guild.”

Then, as if to leave a lasting impression, she walked steadily toward Baek Soyoon and added,

“Do you understand what I’m saying? I am your superior.

Your attitude toward me must not be different from how you behave with Guild Master Yoo Hanbeom!”

Baek Soyoon grinned watching Kim Heera’s outburst.

Has this woman never seen me before?

Kim Heera was unaware that Baek Soyoon had been near Broad Academy and had been watching her actions from afar.

No, she was definitely unaware.

*I thought maybe Lee Hyun-seung noticed me secretly watching and that Kim Heera might know too.

But I overestimated her.*

Baek Soyoon smiled to herself,

Such a useless, authority-obsessed trash.

For a moment, she considered killing her but didn’t have the confidence to deal with Yoo Hanbeom.

For her, Yoo Hanbeom was the only person she feared and admired.

“Hmm…”

Baek Soyoon hesitated for a moment, then nodded as if she had come up with an idea.

Let’s make this more interesting.

Kim Heera was growing increasingly angry at Baek Soyoon, who only snickered instead of answering.

“Elder Baek Soyoon, don’t you understand the situation?”

“I’ll handle the situation myself.

I’ll excuse myself from this elder meeting.

There’s no more value in continuing this conversation.”

“What?”

At that moment, the other elders frowned.

Elder Hwang Moonhyuk spoke to Baek Soyoon.

“Elder Baek Soyoon, why are you acting like this?

I could try to understand your strange behavior usually, but not this time.

According to Mrs. Kim Heera, there was a rebellion within the guild.

Have you already forgotten what happened last time there was a rebellion?”

The rebellion that happened within the Artemis Guild.

The Artemis Guild is strictly meritocratic. However, even within such a merit-based guild, there were sore spots. For example, Yoo Hee-yeon, who was weaker than the elders but held the successor position. And Kim Hee-ra, who had proven achievements beyond her abilities and held some authority in the guild’s operations.

In a guild that judged strictly by ability, they were painful thorns. But from Yoo Han-beom’s perspective, pushing his own family to the sidelines was also problematic.

He believed that just by his wife and daughter bowing to other subordinates, the guild master’s dignity would be indirectly diminished. Since it was a transitional period, Yoo Han-beom was overly sensitive about his position. But that caused dissatisfaction among some guild members. That dissatisfaction erupted into a rebellion.

— Today, we take over the Artemis Guild.

Those strong and capable but mentally unstable members gathered and launched a rebellion while Yoo Han-beom was trapped in the labyrinth. Many guild members died, and even the elders who were guild members at that time suffered heavy losses. But.

— Fools.

Yoo Han-beom, who had been training alone in the labyrinth, returned to the Artemis Guild and wiped out all the rebels with his own hands.

The number of rebels killed by Yoo Han-beom that day was 102. It took only about ten minutes to kill all of them.

Hwang Moon-hyeok shuddered slightly recalling that time.

‘I never want to remember that.’

The sight of people exploding, melting, and being torn apart. Yoo Han-beom showed no hesitation, and his power was overwhelming. Although he only purged the rebels, no more rebellions happened after that.

The reason was simple. Everyone witnessed that day’s events and feared what they saw. Yoo Han-beom’s overwhelming strength. His blade potentially aimed at their own necks.

Hwang Moon-hyeok was no different. He started to worry. Judging by the current situation, wasn’t Baek So-yoon defending the rebel?

If there was any misunderstanding, she could be accused of sympathizing with the rebellion. That was why he spoke out actively.

“Baek So-yoon Elder, the council of elders will not overlook your actions this time. Are you defending the rebel, Lee Hyun-seung?”

— Swoosh

Hwang Moon-hyeok brought his hand to the hilt of his sword. Nam Tae-hwan beside him was gathering mana in his hand, and the 4th and 5th elders also watched the situation closely from a distance.

Then.

Kim Hee-ra suddenly switched to a polite tone and said,

“I am endlessly grateful that you are listening carefully. I will definitely convey to Guild Master Yoo Han-beom how diligently the elders have worked.”

Looking at Kim Hee-ra, Baek So-yoon said,

“How can you be so shameless? Is lying without guilt something you’re born with?”

“Baek… Baek So-yoon Elder!”

“Baek So-yoon, don’t cross the line. No matter who you are, you can’t face all of us.”

“Hmm… Baek So-yoon Elder, why are you behaving like this?”

“This time, it’s hard to understand your position.”

As the elders each said something while looking at Baek So-yoon,

Baek So-yoon looked at Kim Hee-ra and said,

“You say Lee Hyun-seung caused a rebellion? Don’t be ridiculous. You were the one who attacked the quietly standing Lee Hyun-seung first, and he only responded to your attack. And you say he tried to kill you? No. If he had really tried to kill you, you would already be dead.”

Kim Hee-ra looked at Baek So-yoon as if she was absurd.

Baek So-yoon added,

“Does firing a warning shot at someone casting high-level magic in the street count as a rebellion? At least within the Artemis Guild, it’s understood that responding to someone trying to kill you without just cause isn’t a problem.”

Hearing that, Kim Hee-ra thought,

That bastard Lee Hyun-seung must have run to Baek So-yoon and tattled on me. He found a weak spot to cling to and did something foolish.

Then she replied,

“Baek So-yoon Elder, I know what you heard from Lee Hyun-seung, but everything he said is a lie. You are being deceived. I have already secured numerous witnesses. So if you act like this just based on his words, how do you plan to take responsibility?”

Baek So-yoon laughed harshly.

“Hah. If you’re that confident, bring the evidence! Don’t just talk. Witnesses or whatever, I don’t care. Bring the proof!”

Then, Baek So-yoon gestured toward herself with her hand.

“Evidence? Witnesses? They’re right here.”

Then she whispered softly.

“I saw it. I saw you using high-level magical blasts on the quietly standing Lee Hyun-seung first.”

At that moment, Kim Hee-ra’s face started turning pale.