Chapter 203: Interlude – Undercut Story (1)

The moment I turned the corner, a familiar smell stung my nose.

Regardless of the era or place, back alleys always have a similar scent.

The musty, stale smell of puddles, where rainwater, never reaching evaporation thanks to the absence of sunlight, lingers all 365 days of the year.

Added to that is the stench of rotting garbage abandoned in bags that no one bothers to collect.

And the sharp, piercing scent of alcohol wafting equally from every house window.

All these smells blend together in just the right proportions, creating the unique odor that belongs solely to back alleys.

It is the only form of self-identification for the lowborn who don’t even have identification cards.

A sacred stench, almost on par with the divine barriers of temples, that dares to keep nobles and their ilk from setting foot in here.

It’s unpleasant.

Thoroughly unpleasant.

But the more I smell it, the more acutely I realize — this is exactly where I belong.

“This way, please.”

The young man said as he opened a shabby wooden door for the girl.

A dark, eerie staircase awaited her.

On the surface, this place was labeled as one of the many basement pubs lining the street.

But the girl wasn’t naive enough to believe that at face value.

Ordinary pubs are never this quiet.

They’re either lavishly decorated to flaunt their presence, or at least you’d hear the occasional drunken shout or laughter leaking out.

The fact that the entrance was this silent was the biggest hint that the “pub” label was merely a cover.

This place was surely being used for a completely different purpose.

Maybe an illegal gambling den.

A meeting point for smugglers.

A den of drug addicts.

Or perhaps, the headquarters of a large underground organization that ruled this area.

“You said there’s someone who wants to meet me, right?”

The girl asked, her guard fully up, glancing around.

Her eyes instinctively searched for possible escape routes in case things went south.

But unfortunately, none appeared obvious.

Meaning, the moment she followed the young man down into the basement, her life would effectively be in his hands.

There was no way she could feel at ease.

“Let me ask again — is my safety really guaranteed? I’ll be able to leave here unharmed, right?”

“It should be… probably.”

“What?! What do you mean, ‘probably’?!”

The girl raised her voice, feeling betrayed.

“Up until yesterday, you said, ‘I guarantee you’ll be fine’! Why are you suddenly changing your story?!”

“W-well, you see, I can’t predict exactly how my sister will react! Normally she acts rationally, but when it comes to her sister, she can get extremely moody… B-but don’t worry!

I’ve got my pride at stake here too, so she won’t do anything too crazy. If it comes to it, I’ll even stake my life to protect you!”

“………”

The girl glared at the young man with eyes full of distrust.

From the moment they met, she had a feeling he wasn’t particularly reliable.

He didn’t seem like a bad person.

But he didn’t exactly give off the vibe of someone trustworthy or competent either.

Was it really okay to follow him?

Would she end up regretting this choice for the rest of her life?

‘No… there’s no point in regretting it now.’

The organization he belonged to had frightening information-gathering capabilities.

They had even found and dragged her here, despite her attempts to quietly hide away in the countryside.

Even if she ran now, they’d probably catch her within a week at most.

And by then, she could hardly expect the courteous treatment she was receiving now.

It would be wiser to cooperate quietly.

That was the only reasonable choice.

Resolving herself, the girl summoned what little courage she had left and stepped into the darkness.

Step, step…

Two sets of steady footsteps echoed down the long underground stairway.

With every step they took, the surrounding darkness grew heavier.

By the time sunlight from the surface had all but vanished behind them, a thick iron door blocked their way forward.

The young man stopped in front of it.

He turned to the girl.

And quietly warned her:

“Before we go in, there’s one thing you should know—I mentioned it casually earlier too, but whenever the topic involves her younger sibling, she loses her temper in an instant.

If things go wrong, she could turn violent at any moment. So, please avoid saying anything that could provoke her — for your safety, and mine as well.”

“………”

It sounded less like advice for dealing with a person and more like a warning about handling a wild beast.

Was she really that dangerous?

At this point, I was getting curious: just who exactly was this younger sibling?

“You keep mentioning the ‘younger sibling,’ but who exactly are you referring to?

I’d really appreciate it if you could tell me now. I need to know, so I can be careful.”

“Well, since we’ve come this far, there’s no point hiding it anymore. The ‘younger sibling’ I mentioned is none other than Hero Sion. She’s the one and only biological sister of the lady I serve.”

“Wha—?!”

The girl was shocked.

She was the real elder sister of Hero Sion?

For real?

“But I heard that the Hero had no family! I was told that she was an orphan from birth…”

“That’s the official story. The royal family manipulated the information on a massive scale. But the truth is a little different. The Hero actually had real parents and a sister.

It was only after she drew the Holy Sword that her original family ties were erased, and she was forcibly incorporated into the royal family.

No one in the world knows this — except for one person, her real older sister, who had her beloved sibling stolen away.”

“My goodness… that’s unbelievable…”

It was a truth she could never have imagined.

Yet at the same time, it cleared up the biggest question she had been holding.

Why this man had insisted on bringing her here the moment he heard about what she had experienced at the academy.

Why the ‘lady’ he served was so eager to meet her.

The moment she heard that explanation, she understood everything.

The letter she had received —the one bearing Hero Sion’s name — contained crucial information about the conspiracy surrounding her.

Maybe, just maybe, this would become the key to exposing the dark secrets of the Church of the Goddess.

Realizing this, the girl — Beryl — unconsciously clenched her fists tightly.

“Alright, we’re going in.”

“…Yes.”

At Beryl’s reply, the young man unlocked the door and pushed it open.

Creeeak.

The grating sound of old hinges echoed through the air.

Slowly, a wide, dark room revealed itself.

The first thing she saw was a massive chair —

positioned squarely in the center like a throne in a royal audience chamber.

That was the first thing to catch her eye, but then—

“!?”

The moment her eyes met the woman sitting atop that throne, Beryl involuntarily gasped.

Because of her work, Beryl had met many nobles.

Barons, viscounts, even counts — she had even had an audience with the king in Salem.

But none of them — none — radiated the overwhelming pressure that this woman did.

Never before had she felt such sheer bloodlust from anyone.

No one else had ever made her feel this terrified just by making eye contact.

“Hhk—“

She let out an involuntary whimper, feeling the air itself weigh down on her lungs.

It wasn’t the soft charisma that made people naturally want to follow, like Hero Sion.

This was the charisma of a monarch who would smash your head into the floor if you dared disobey — cruel, violent, oppressive.

The very atmosphere was saturated with a suffocating sense of threat.

Beryl understood, not with her head but with her body and soul:

This woman could only be Sylvia — the rumored ruler of the Undercut and the emerging empress of the underworld.

“…You brought her.”

Sylvia spoke, glancing at Beryl with chillingly lifeless eyes.

It was a gaze that looked at her not as a person, but as a lump of meat.

Beryl flinched instinctively.

“Wh-who are you?

Why have you brought me—”

Whoosh!

Before she could even finish her sentence, a sharp dagger sliced across her cheek at the speed of light.

A vivid red line appeared on her pale skin.

Drip, drip.

Blood dripped onto the floor.

“………..”

Beryl stared at Sylvia in stunned silence.

What just happened?

Did she throw a knife at me?

No — it wasn’t just a throw.

She hadn’t even seen Sylvia’s hand move.

“Rule number one. The only one who asks questions around here is me,” Sylvia said coldly.

“Rule number two. I hate wasting time. So when you answer, be brief, direct, and leave nothing out.”

“……….”

“Understand? Answer.”

“Y-yes…!”

Terrified, Beryl nodded frantically.

At this moment, the very thought of defying the woman before her had completely disappeared from her mind.