episode_0289

With Lee Hyeon’s introduction, the three finally greeted Sa Jae-hyeok, who had arrived late.

“Oh, right… ”

Sa Jae-hyuk made a rare expression of being absent-minded.

I heard it a long time ago, but it just didn’t feel real.

Red, white, and black.

They are all from high-ranking families and are direct competitors of the Black Lotus in politics.

It was only natural for him to react when the young ladies of such a family rushed to Lee Hyeon and told him to kill them.

Sa Jae-hyeok turned his gaze to Lee Hyeon, who was standing next to him.

When you sent him to the academy, who would have imagined that this would happen?

Even though he picked it up himself… wow, he was an extraordinary guy.

“… You have come to a shabby place.”

He waved his hand in greeting.

Suddenly his gaze lingered on Yeonminha.

Sa Jae-hyeok, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth as he looked at her.

“Hmm, maybe you attended a victory banquet with your father about 15 years ago? It was held in the capital.”

“I’m sure there was a time like that. I’m honored that you remember me.”

“What’s the glory? You’ve grown up well. I think you were very small back then.”

“Thank you for your compliments.”

Contrary to her humble words and attitude, the corners of Yeonminha’s lips turned upwards in a smirk.

It was understandable, since she was the first of the three to receive recognition from her in-laws.

On the other hand, Baek Seo-yeon and Jin Ye-seo felt wronged.

Baek Seo-yeon was always confined to her study due to her particle hypersensitivity, and Jin Ye-seo was still too young to engage in external activities.

Lee Hyeon, who noticed the two’s resentment, secretly hit Sa Jae-hyeok’s side.

Sa Jae-hyeok, who realized his slip of the tongue too late, added his words with a cough.

“Ahem, the two young ladies came safely. I hope you have a comfortable stay before you go.”

“It’s an honor.”

“Thank you for your kindness… ”

“There’s no need to be so polite. I’m no longer the head of the Black Lotus clan or a member of the 27th Magic Clan.”

Sa Jae-hyeok glanced at the annex building.

“Go and sit down first. I’m going to have a quick chat with this guy.”

Sa Jae-hyeok walked towards the garden opposite the annex.

Lee Hyeon, who followed them late after sending them off, glanced behind them worriedly.

“… Can we just let them go like that? If they fight with their sisters again… ”

“Don’t worry about it. Of course they don’t really hate your friends.”

Sa Jae-hyeok responded calmly.

“But earlier… ”

“I was just being a little grumpy. Man, thinking about all the fuss I’ve been through for the past few days… ”

Sa Jae-hyeok sighed, holding his throbbing forehead.

“Well, I was surprised too, so how surprised must they have been? Not one, but three, and they were Red, White, and Paecheon.”

“… I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”

Hyun Lee, who had responded, glanced at Sa Jae-hyeok’s expression.

I’ve been feeling this way since a while ago, but you look tired for some reason.

The area under my eyes is hollow, and my cheekbones seem to have lost some weight, to the point where you can barely feel them.

I clearly saw him discharged from the hospital in good health.

Does anything still hurt?

“But are you okay? Your face doesn’t look so good… ”

“This? It’s nothing. I just get bothered by mosquitoes every night.”

“Mosquito… ?”

“Oh. They’re really poisonous. All three of them take turns sucking blood… Oh my.”

Sa Jae-hyuk made a face that showed he was tired.

Before we knew it, it was the beginning of summer. It was time for mosquitoes to run rampant.

Suddenly, Lee Hyeon’s gaze turned to Sa Jae-hyeok’s right arm.

The once empty place was now replaced by a mechanical prosthetic limb.

“… How’s your recovery going?”

“So-so.”

Sa Jae-hyeok responded nonchalantly.

There was a faint mechanical creaking sound whenever he moved his arms.

“Let’s see… Right now, I can maintain the lantern magic for about 3 seconds?”

“… ”

Lee Hyeon’s face darkened after hearing the answer.

Even the most untalented wizard could maintain a lantern spell for several minutes.

Sa Jae-hyeok, once a promising wizard, is now closer to a commoner than a wizard.

“Okay. I have no use for it anyway.”

Sa Jae-hyeok hit Lee Hyeon on the back and snapped at him harshly.

“If there’s a problem, the kids will take care of it. And if you continue to rehabilitate, you can regain about 10% of your strength. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“But… ”

“Oh, it’s noisy, so what are you doing here?”

Sa Jae-hyeok quickly changed the subject and said.

“Don’t tell me you came to ask how I’m doing? You can tell just by looking at me that I have something to say.”

“… Is it that obvious?”

“You punk, you’re too honest, it’s a problem. You should know that there’s no mask to hide you. Practice hiding your expressions. If you have to, ask those guys from before to tell you.”

“Okay.”

“So? You didn’t come here to tell me to go back to my parents’ house or anything like that?”

Sa Jae-hyeok had already rejected Lee Hyeon’s words.

They say that old resentment has been washed away, but that doesn’t mean that the time that has passed will come back.

Right now, this is the best thing for both of us.

Even for his brother’s sake.

“I thought we already finished talking last time. If you say that again, I’ll just kick you out?”

“… That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

Woottuk-Lee Hyun stopped walking.

Despite Sa Jae-hyeok’s urging, he showed signs of hesitation.

After quite some time, Lee Hyeon finally opened his mouth with difficulty.

“As a member of the Black Lotus… I came here to say that I will take your place.”

“What?”

“… I’m really going to work hard from now on.”

A determined look suddenly appeared on Lee Hyeon’s face.

It was a story that he brought up after much thought.

Luckily, he survived and is now a member of the Black Lotus, one of the most prestigious schools in the country.

But it was still not enough.

In order to protect what I had, I needed to become stronger and more resilient.

It was not enough to rely on one’s own strength.

“I declined it before, but when the semester resumes, I plan on accepting the offer to be a student council executive member. And next year, I plan on running for president, just like my brother.”

One day, I opened my eyes to an old room.

A faded photograph hanging in one corner.

Thinking about the faces of those in the photo, Lee Hyeon spoke to the person concerned.

“I will study harder. Of course, I will not slack off in training. After graduating, I plan to join the Royal Guard and take the path to success. As a successor, I will be able to raise the reputation of Black Lotus and myself. No one will be able to touch what I have.”

“… ”

“… So I decided to take my brother’s place. Now I will become the true successor of the Black Lotus. The place that should have been given to my brother… I will take it. ”

Lee Hyeon lowered his head as if he had committed a sin, closed his eyes tightly, and continued speaking.

“I came here today to say that. Sorry, but… you have to give up that spot to me.”

And Sa Jae-hyeok was silent. Lee Hyeon waited for his answer with his fists clenched.

“Are you okay?”

After a while, he opened his mouth in a slightly calmer voice.

“It’s going to be hard. Scheming and plotting are the basic qualities of a wizard. And you just said you were going to walk into that damned house on your own two feet.”

“… ”

“Can you do it? You, a country bumpkin, a country bumpkin? Really?”

“… I can. No, I will definitely do it.”

And Lee Hyeon nodded his head, speaking resolutely.

“As the successor of the Black Lotus… I can easily handle something like that.”

“… ”

And then silence fell again. Sa Jae-hyeok stared at Lee Hyeon with an unreadable face. Lee Hyeon swallowed nervously.

“Oh my, I’ve seen so many strange people. I’m thinking of walking into that hell on my own two feet.”

And finally, Sa Jae-hyuk sighed lightly and said.

“… Do whatever you want.”

“Huh… ?”

“What are you so surprised about?”

“But… ”

“It was a decision you made on your own. Then it’s okay.”

Lee Hyun looked bewildered. It seemed as if he didn’t know he would answer so easily.

I thought it would at least be more troublesome than it is now.

Sa Jae-hyeok stared blankly at Lee Hyeon and then quietly opened his mouth.

“I have already entrusted you with the successor’s seal. That is my answer.”

“… I thought you left it for a while.”

“Wait a minute. I never intended to have a place like that in the first place. Where would a person live feeling suffocated? Huh?”

Sa Jae-hyeok waved his hands as if he was chasing away an annoying fly.

“Take it or throw it away, it’s up to you. Anyway, it’s not mine anymore.”

The attitude, which was so light that it felt frivolous, actually helped to reduce Lee Hyun’s burden. It wasn’t that difficult to guess what he meant.

“Brother… ”

“And this bastard, trying to gain weight with something so useless!”

-puck!

Sa Jae-hyeok hit Lee Hyeon hard on the back with his prosthetic hand.

It was so loud that for a moment I thought my bones were breaking.

“Ah!”

Lee Hyeon, who swallowed back tears, looked at Sa Jae-hyeok with a resentful gaze.

Sa Jae-hyeok, who had passed him over without a second thought, said with a sneer.

“What did I say again? I wasted your time just listening to you show off. If I had known this would happen, I would have just gone inside and had a drink.”

“Sir… Seriously… ”

“Be quiet. Hurry up and follow me.”

The two walked around the garden and headed back to the annex of the mansion.

Lee Hyun’s expression brightened as he shook off his firm resolve. On the other hand, worries that he had momentarily forgotten flashed through his mind.

I hope the kids and sisters are doing well. It’s been quite some time.

Are you guys fighting again?

And as soon as they opened the door to the annex, the strong smell of alcohol hit them.

At this, Sa Jae-hyeok ended up making a face.

“What… ”

There were already dozens of bottles of alcohol rolling around the table.

The inside of the annex was as noisy as the middle of a tavern.

“That’s why… I had such a hard time… ”

“Sniff… How much heartache… ”

“I know, we know that feeling too… ”

“Anyway, men are… ”

“Cool… ”

Yeonmin-ha, who is drunk and has a red face.

Baek Seo-yeon sobbing.

Jin Ye-seo fell asleep while drunk.

And the older sisters who kept nodding their heads while holding each other’s hands tightly.

Lee Hyeon found this scenery a little confusing.

I wanted to become friends, but is this what it felt like?

Anyway, it’s better than fighting by grabbing each other’s hair.

That was the time for Lee Hyeon to organize his thoughts.

Ryu Se-hwa, who was sitting at the table and happily humming a song, noticed them and waved.

“Our Hyun! What were you doing? Why are you here now~”

His speech reeked of alcohol.

Ryu Se-hwa, who had come closer staggeringly, grabbed Lee Hyeon’s cheek hard again.

“Our cute youngest… When did you grow up so much… Huh… ?”

“Sister… You smell like alcohol… Ugh… ”

Lee Hyun turns his head to ask for help.

Sa Jae-hyeok was already nowhere to be seen.

Before I knew it, he was sitting at the table, sipping a glass of alcohol.

He nodded to Lee Hyeon without saying a word.

With two years of experience, Lee Hyun was able to immediately understand what it meant.

He said, “It’s annoying, so you handle it yourself.”

“Our Hyun-i… Do you have any wishes…?”

“Is this a wish…?”

“I came to save my sisters… You should at least listen to that much… ”

I was just about to think it was just a drunken stupor and let it slide.

Sa Jae-hyeok, who was enjoying his free time alone, added a word.

“Okay. If you have a wish, tell me. But since you saved my life, wouldn’t you be able to do that much?”

“… ”

Lee Hyeon was lost in thought.

Even if I suddenly make a wish, nothing in particular comes to mind…

Suddenly, the scenery inside the annex comes into view.

People who cry and laugh together.

Lee Hyun always liked this kind of hustle and bustle.

It was a daily life that he had lost for a while, but ultimately wanted to get back.

And finally, a spark that passes by and picks at your head.

Lee Hyeon, who had remembered her wish, opened her mouth while looking at Sa Jae-hyeok.

“Make me a nephew.”

“Phuhhh… !”

Sa Jae-hyeok ended up spitting out the alcohol he had in his mouth onto the table.

***

Before we knew it, the banquet was over and we were on our way back.

Since he had achieved some of the goals he had set out for before his visit, Lee Hyeon could now feel a little more at ease.

“Kuu… ”

He was still stroking Jin Ye-seo’s head while she lay on his lap, still asleep.

On the other hand, Yeonmin-ha and Baekseo-yeon were awake, but their faces looked slightly embarrassed, perhaps remembering the disgraceful behavior they had caused while drunk earlier.

In particular, Baek Seo-yeon was watching Lee Hyeon’s expression while twisting her hair.

Hyun Lee, who felt the gaze, opened his eyes slightly as if to tell her to speak.

“I, you know… ”

And in a voice that still had the effects of alcohol, Baek Seo-yeon carefully opened her mouth.

“Baby, do you like it?”