episode_0131

“What kind of bullshit is that… Is this nonsense?”

My face crumples like a piece of paper at the absurd question. Even though I couldn’t see it, I could definitely tell. He says such harsh things so casually.

“I asked just in case. Do you know how many boys were friendly to Ye-seo after sparring with her? Thanks to you, I had a hard time… ”

However, the female student with dark blue hair continued speaking calmly.

“Hana’s comments are also lame. Are you saying you fell in love with that strength? What do you like? Do you have a fiancé? Please tell me… Anyway, cowards. If that’s the case, it would be better to say it directly. Ugh… ”

Haewon shook her head repeatedly as if she was fed up. It seems that there are many unique people in the world.

“So I wondered if you were like that too. Well, if it’s the words of the ‘Prince of Black Lotus’, I can tell you as much as I want, right?”

Even as he spoke, there was a clear playfulness in his mouth and eyes.

I shook my head firmly.

“That won’t happen.”

“Really? When you say something like that, I feel sorry for myself. Well, if I had thought that way, I wouldn’t have hit Ye-seo so hard… ”

“I didn’t hit you. It was a fair sparring.”

When I protested, feeling like I was being stabbed for no reason, the female student continued to say that she knew everything.

“That’s what I said. I’m not saying anything. It was literally sparring, right? It’s not that I don’t understand your position at all… ”

Perhaps because of her cynical personality, she didn’t seem to care much about her friend’s injuries.

Only after hearing a few more miscellaneous jokes was I able to get to the point.

What I was curious about was Jin Ye-seo’s attitude, who seemed to be overly obsessed with winning or losing the duel. I could sense something about her that went beyond simple competition.

This also seemed to be somewhat related to the way he practiced until his body broke down. Perhaps even though he was majoring in emission magic, he seemed closer to circulatory magic.

“… Is that what you were curious about?”

“Uh. Do you know?”

Haewon frowned slightly as if she was surprised, but soon nodded.

“Well, I could tell you that much. It’s not really a secret. Everyone I know knows.”

And before starting the story, he gave me one caution.

“Still, can’t you tell Ye-seo that I told you? I’m telling you because it’s you. To pay for my life.”

“I will keep my promise. Don’t worry.”

Of course, no one likes to talk about themselves behind people’s backs.

“Okay. hmm. To conclude… It’s because of Yeseo’s mother.”

“Mother?”

“Yes. The matriarch of Baekgwang. know? Oh, since they are from the same five families, you may have seen them at various social gatherings.”

“I’ve never seen it before… ”

“Really? That’s surprising… I guess you didn’t leave the house often before it started blooming? Tsk tsk.”

Maybe you saw it on the day of the hearing. It might be one of those strange masked members seen in the Supreme Council.

“I’ve seen it a few times from a distance. She was truly beautiful for her age. If Ye-seo hadn’t told me, I probably would have mistaken her for her sister.”

Overcoming aging also means that she is an extremely powerful sorceress. I know two more people like that. Haewolhwa, whose cradle has now been emptied due to the subjugation of the No Man’s Land. And the leader’s mother.

Haewon lowered her voice even further and continued speaking.

“The matriarch of Baekgwang is truly a person without blood or tears. Needless to say, he is ruthless, and he values the glory of his family more than the individual. That’s usually the case with heads of famous families… He is particularly serious about it. Everyone knows it.”

“Why is it like that?”

” Considering Baek Gwang’s past, it’s rather natural, right? You know? Yamatai Scandal.”

“I don’t know… This is my first time hearing it.”

Then Haewon gave me a suspicious look.

“You don’t know about the Yamatai scandal? How can someone from five families not know about that great incident?”

“… I don’t know. No one told me.”

“Really? It looks like he has grown quite a bit… ”

After vaguely explaining it, Haewon seemed to understand it in her own way.

Yamatai. An island country located far east across the sea. A new country formed by those who survived the ten burning days, along with the Flower Country in the west and the Republic on the peninsula. One of three surviving civilizations in the Far East.

I first heard of its existence in a class at Cradle. I heard that there are some international students from them at the cradle as well.

The eastern development project had the purpose of opening a direct route to them in addition to expanding their settlements.

This is because the north is blocked by demons, and the route back to the south is always fraught with danger due to pirates operating in no-man’s land.

However, what I knew was that the eastern expansion project ended in a miserable failure due to the outbreak of the five plagues, the named demonic beasts.

“There must have been an uproar. Because the leading family of the country directly sold valuable national strategic assets to foreign countries.”

Haewon continued speaking.

A few decades ago. Baek Gwang was once on the verge of extinction for the Three Clans.

This is because, after an internal investigation, it was discovered that the head of the Baekgwang family had colluded with several foreign influential figures to embezzle a huge amount of Stellite stones.

Stellite gemstone, the only particle conductive material, was valuable in itself. With just 1kg, you can make over 100 high-end blades.

It is not for nothing that Jeokhwa amassed enormous wealth through the exclusive operation rights to the Stellite mine, and Baekgwang did not drool to take it away.

Hundreds of kilograms of such ore were smuggled abroad for the sole purpose of increasing the family fortune, and there was nowhere to be seen for the white light to escape.

And the one who stepped forward at that time was the mother of Jin Ye-seo, who was a student at Yoram at the time and Baek Gwang’s successor.

“… So, after cutting off the heads of his parents, he personally appeared at the Supreme Council and offered it to them before the punitive forces arrived.”

The dark blue female student calmly made terrifying noises.

That performance barely prevented extinction, but treason is treason.

From then on, Baek Gwang had to go through a miserable dark period for several decades. Even more than the current enemy fire.

” In fact, it has been less than 15 years since Baek Gwang regained his current status. However, it is still the weakest among the five families. So, they are secretly looked down on by the families that are rising among the 27 members of the Demonic Twenty-Seven Clan. For example, a sacred mountain… ”

Seongsan. This is the family of first-year student Choi Woo-jin and his older sister Choi I-re. I thought Jin Ye-seo and Choi Woo-jin were particularly growling, but I didn’t know there was such a backstory.

“That’s why Baek Gwang desperately clings to Patcheon. After Heukryeon suddenly announced his retirement 15 years ago, the family that enjoyed the most power is Paecheon. Because you never want to go through that dark time again. Yeseo seems to be following senior Baek Seoyeon out of pure admiration, but… What is it?”

Haewon suddenly stretched out her hand to shake off the reed flower that had landed on her head.

“Hmm. And Ye-seo both admires and hates such a mother.”

“Why?”

He admires his mother but hates her?

I have never once hated my mother in my life.

“Do you remember what I said earlier about Baek Gwang’s matriarch?”

“There is no blood or tears, it is ruthless, and it values the family more than the individual?”

“Yes. He thinks of Ye-seo as a chess piece that will make his family greater. Your daughter is no exception. For example, entrusting the castle to the Black Flame, which had failed to be restored during his time, or pursuing an engagement with a wealthy family that would be helpful to the family. And Ye-seo absolutely hates that kind of treatment towards her.”

Haewon took off a reed flower and blew it back into the reed garden behind her.

“Still, Yeseo accepted the black flame training. Because it’s about recovering the family’s unique magic that was lost due to the Yamatai scandal. It’s something that even his own mother failed to do. But I guess I just couldn’t accept the engagement. Well, that’s justifiable. I grew up watching The Iron Lady since I was young, but what kind of man would catch my eye?”

I couldn’t understand what she said for a moment. Even if her mother said so, doesn’t Jin Ye-seo’s current status and wealth all come from her mother? Enjoying everything you deserve.

But after thinking about it a little, I realize that this is not necessarily the case.

When I was young, I never even ate the eggplant dish my mom served me. Even though it was cooked by my mother and bought with the money she earned while living at my mother’s house.

No matter how angry my mother got, I persevered and never opened my mouth. I think it’s true that you don’t like what you don’t like.

“As far as I know, there have been several cases where engagements have ended right before the engagement. But Ye Seo broke everything. So he ended up making the final offer.”

“What is that?”

“If I lose twice to male students in the cradle’s ranking match, I will break my stubbornness and follow the engagement decided by my family. And Yeseo accepted this offer. I was confident in my skills, and more than anything, it was an opportunity to be permanently free from that tedious job. however… You must be desperate now.”

“… Why?”

Haewon, who had been talking without hesitation, suddenly looked at me in an uncharacteristic way.

And then he cautiously opened his mouth.

“… Because there is only one chance left.”

It was only then that I realized what she meant.

***

After a long conversation, the darkness of the night had already settled down around us.

It was a time when I was able to obtain various information in my own way. To be honest, Jin Ye-seo’s situation is quite pitiful.

As I listened to that story, what came to mind again was the leader’s parents. Although he is a member of a prestigious family that can be counted on one finger, he has an easy-going personality. The way he treats even a mere orphan with kindness.

The heads of the five families I saw. When I think of Yeon Jeong-moon, Yeon Jeong-moon, Yeon Yeon-ha’s father, or Baek Il-yong, the head of Paecheon… The difference is so severe that it almost feels like a mutation.

On the other hand, I still don’t understand it. Because I couldn’t figure out why the leader stayed away from those people.

On the way to the dormitory through the beech trees, I suddenly turned my head toward the front door.

And the old training room on the second floor of Building A was still brightly lit.

“… ”

But that doesn’t mean I want to help Jin Ye-seo. Anyway, it’s someone else’s housework. Even Jin Ye-seo is a student who is considered to be from the opposite faction of Nana and Yeon-sang.

The reason I brought this up to Hae-won in the first place was because I was wondering if there was any clue that could help me get rid of that gummy blonde girl.

But that side of the story didn’t come out at all…

-Quaang!

Along with the faint sound of heavy drinking coming from somewhere, an even more headache crept into my head.

***

The blonde female student stared blankly into space.

The body was as flaccid as a mollusk, and the eyes were empty.

All the efforts of my past life were completely negated in less than three months. The cradle that she thought would be the best stage turned out to be a mess for her.

In the end, the black flame was unable to overcome the limits of its aptitude and remained at a plateau. He was brutally defeated in the ranking match and was in danger of being deprived of his freedom. After losing to a friend whom I thought was beneath me, my inner feelings that I was not even aware of were exposed.

Jin Ye-seo was lost and was as empty as an old tree. Any sense of competition or hostility towards someone disappeared like smoke.

Lately, she had been relying on impulse rather than reason, and the result was that she was crouching in the corner of the old training room, waiting for something to happen.

-Trudge… Trudging…

Before long, I hear the footsteps of someone who is now familiar. Soon, I started to feel a squeak along with the sound of a door.

“Ha… ”

“… ”

The owner of Incheok sighed heavily when he saw Jin Ye-seo, but she did not react at all. I just thought about it instinctively.

Show me today too. The gesture of lightly swinging the blade as if flying like a bird. Flying my wings is impossible for me, trapped in the cage of my family.

However, instead of ignoring Jin Ye-seo like he usually did, he took steps towards exactly where she was.

I could feel the angry emotions in the pounding footsteps.

“Hey. Really, just do it in moderation, right?”

And a threatening and rough voice came from right above Jin Ye-seo’s head.