Chapter 99
No matter what the intent had been, the position was more than enough to invite misunderstanding.
With no other choice, I slowly raised both hands and stepped back.
Even then, her sword remained pointed at me.
Her expression was still cold.
No.
For some reason, it seemed even colder than before.
...This is troublesome.
To her, Heuk Mujin was still nothing more than a womanizing delinquent.
From that perspective, it probably looked like I had tried to take advantage of the Young Cult Leader.
Until her husband was officially chosen, the Young Cult Leader was forbidden from spending the night with any man.
It was an ancient tradition of the Demonic Cult.
"Hah."
"I knew you were a delinquent bastard, but I didn't think you'd go this far."
"You got the Young Cult Leader drunk, and now you're trying to force yourself on her?"
I understood why Heuk Seol was reacting so sharply.
Even if the Black Heaven Family was one of the five great families, something like this could be enough to bring ruin upon the entire clan.
Though honestly, judging by the situation, I was closer to being the one who'd been held down.
Still, putting out the immediate fire came first.
"...It's a misunderstanding."
"I was only trying to lay the Young Cult Leader down-"
"Shut up."
Heuk Seol cut me off.
"'Misunderstanding' isn't a word that belongs anywhere near you."
"As if disgracing the family wasn't enough, now you're committing this kind of shameless act too...."
A cold silence followed.
Then Heuk Seol lowered her sword.
She turned toward the door and spoke without looking back.
"Come outside."
"Unless you want to die here."
It was already too late to persuade her.
If Cheon Soyeon explained things herself, that would be different.
But with her sleeping so peacefully, that wasn't happening anytime soon.
In the end, I followed Heuk Seol out into the manor courtyard.
I'd already ordered everyone kept away, so the surroundings were silent and empty.
Heuk Seol produced a sword from somewhere and tossed it at my feet.
Clatter.
"I'll kill you here and wash away the insult you committed against the Young Cult Leader."
"Pick up that sword."
"At least die like the eldest young master of the Black Heaven Family."
"..."
I quietly picked it up.
At that exact moment, a window appeared.
[A target eligible for Trait Plunder has been detected.]
[Trait - Heuk Seol]
Black Heaven Swordsmanship (S)
Black Heaven Demonic Soul Palm (S)
Shadowstep (S)
Genius (A)
Just looking at her Traits told me enough.
How strong she was.
And how much blood and effort she'd poured into getting there.
Flash!
Her figure vanished.
Without making a sound, she slipped into the shadows cast across the courtyard.
...This is my first time actually seeing it up close.
Shadowstep.
The Black Heaven Family's secret movement art.
I'd heard it was designed for moving through shadows with incredible speed and stealth, ideal for assassination.
Only direct descendants of the Black Heaven Family Head were allowed to learn it.
Under normal circumstances, Heuk Mujin would've learned it too.
A memory surfaced.
The first time Cheon Soyeon trained me before my regression.
...How did you do that?
What a shame. If you'd even brushed this lady's sleeve, I might've told you.
Try a little harder next time.
Back then, I couldn't resist at all.
No matter how many times we repeated it, the result was the same.
Even when I knew what was coming, I still got hit.
Naturally.
There was nowhere in the world without shadows.
I'd fought against it thousands of times.
Which meant...
I knew exactly how to counter it.
CLANG!
"...!"
I knocked aside the sword stabbing toward my back.
Heuk Seol's eyes widened.
She disappeared again, probably assuming it had been luck.
Then she attacked once more.
It didn't matter.
I'd already mapped out every shadow around us.
More importantly...
Against Battle Eye, cheap visual tricks like this wouldn't work.
WHOOSH! CLANG! CLANG!
Moonlight scattered across our blades.
Sword arcs collided violently.
From the outside, it probably looked as though she was overwhelming me.
But in reality...
The more she attacked, the more exhausted she became.
"Keugh...!"
She tried to widen the distance.
I closed it immediately.
I was cutting off the flow of Shadowstep itself.
When she finally managed to break away, she stared at her trembling hand.
"...H-How?"
Her voice shook.
"How can this be possible...?"
She couldn't believe it.
Of course she couldn't.
This was probably the first time someone had turned her own strength against her.
And that method only worked when the opponent was clearly weaker than you.
She knew that.
Which was exactly why she couldn't accept it.
Ding!
[The condition for Trait ‘One with the Divine Sword (S)’ has been fulfilled.]
[Trait ‘Black Heaven Swordsmanship (S)’ obtained.]
I'd originally planned to request it from the Family Head after winning the sparring matches.
I obtained it much earlier than expected.
For this body, it was probably the most suitable sword art available.
Not bad.
It's about time to end this.
"Enough."
"I know you don't trust me, but what you saw earlier was a misunderstanding."
"That should be enough-"
"Why?"
I froze.
Heuk Seol's voice trembled.
"Why did you hide your strength all this time?"
"Why..."
"Why did you live like such a worthless delinquent...?"
"..."
"You only had to try a little harder."
"If you'd endured just a little longer..."
Her voice cracked.
"I never would've had to become the young heir."
"I never would've had to hate you."
All the resentment she'd buried until now finally poured out.
For some reason, I couldn't answer.
It wasn't my will.
It was Heuk Mujin's.
The will remaining inside this body.
"In the end, you fooled me."
"No..."
"You fooled everyone."
"While you were living like that, I...!"
I still couldn't say anything.
I knew how hard she'd worked to fill the place Heuk Mujin had abandoned.
As the young heir, she probably had to give up her own emotions.
Her own dreams.
Living like a bird trapped inside a cage.
Maybe she'd been lonely too.
After all, the person hurt most by Heuk Mujin's self-destructive life was probably her.
"...That-"
"I don't need excuses."
"They'd all be lies anyway, wouldn't they?"
She looked away.
"Whatever you do from now on..."
"It has nothing to do with me."
Then she left.
Before I knew it, I was alone in the courtyard.
When I returned to the room, Cheon Soyeon was already gone.
"I kept feeling a faint gaze throughout the fight."
"So she really watched the whole thing."
Only a single sheet of paper remained on the table.
The next day.
Suhyeok walked through the marketplace.
Beside him was Cheon Soyeon, who should've already returned to the Cult.
"...Why did you summon me again today?"
"The condition for the competition was clearly to spend that one day with you."
"No."
Cheon Soyeon shook her head.
"You misunderstand."
"We weren't able to spend the entire day together yesterday."
"So naturally, it continues into today."
She spoke as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Isn't that the role of this lady's husband?"
"It hasn't even been decided yet."
"Besides, the Cult Leader still has to approve it."
"Then I'll decide it now."
Cheon Soyeon nodded confidently.
