Chapter 364
Chapter 364
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.76 – The Knight Leaves the Stage (4)
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...When was it?
"Instructor, don't trust that woman too much."
"Huh?"
"I mean the woman you're cooperating with. Don't trust her. No, you shouldn't even pay attention to her. She's a vile woman who can only deceive people."
Around the time of the Brass Knight Order incident, it was advice from the dark-skinned man he was working with, and Lee Han responded to it like this.
"Did you two get involved in the future or something?"
"What a horrifying thought!"
"...Then just say no, why get so mad?"
"You're the one saying creepy things, Instructor!"
"I was just kidding..."
"There are things you say and things you don't!"
"Alright, my bad."
"...If you apologize that easily, what does that make me?"
He didn't take it to heart much.
...Looking back, it was a shame.
'I should have asked for more details.'
Maybe if he'd probed deeper then, he could have learned something beforehand.
However.
"There's nothing more foolish than dwelling on the past."
Regretting and reflecting was something Lee Han despised as much as anything.
With a quiet murmur, he shook off the lingering thoughts.
"What was that?"
"Just talking to myself, ignore it."
"Impudent."
"Want me to show you something more impudent?"
"Hm, intriguing."
"...You talk a good game."
Hoo!
With a sigh, Lee Han plopped down onto the floor, and Isis eyed him with a peculiar gaze.
"Hm, this isn't what I expected."
"What's different?"
"Why aren't you angry?"
"I'm angry enough already, so don't provoke me."
Lee Han warned her with a furrowed brow, but she was resolute.
"No, you're not that angry. If anything, you're coldly calm."
"I'm so angry I've gone cold."
"No, that's not you. If you were angry, you'd lash out honestly, raise your voice, and vent regardless of status or gender. So I can't fathom why you're not angry at me."
"...Good thing you know your actions warrant a scolding."
"I didn't say that much."
It was a strange sight.
By all rights, Lee Han had every reason to be furious with Isis, yet oddly, there was no anger or even sorrow in his tone.
He wasn't trembling with betrayal, nor was he dry and emotionless.
Just the same cheekiness and ease as in their usual conversations.
"I am a bit shocked, sure, but it's not boiling over into rage."
...Oddly enough.
He admitted her point.
It was certainly shocking.
Prince Arthur, heir to the throne, wasn't Isis's son, and the series of events at the banquet had all played out according to the cultists' scheme.
...Yet, even knowing all that, Lee Han had only been briefly surprised. He wasn't angry—not even to himself, it was bafflingly so.
If there was any emotion welling up, it was probably.
"I'm a little disappointed..."
Disappointment that she hadn't told him sooner.
Was it weird that it stuck in his chest like this?
...Lee Han smiled bitterly.
"How much do you know about the Briton Royal Family?"
"Not interested."
"Then learn now. The Briton Royal Family took root in the southern lands before even Pendragon and is the south's first royal house. They possess mysteries as special as Pendragon's."
"I said I'm not interested..."
"How about this? They became unable to have children with anyone outside their bloodline to protect their uniqueness."
"!?"
"See? That piques your interest."
The Briton Royal Family.
This royal house, which had dwelled on these lands even longer than Pendragon, was said to be a bloodline blessed with mysteries much like them.
Perhaps even more mysterious than Pendragon, in some ways.
But had that mystery turned into poison for them?
"Knowing the uniqueness of their blood, they developed a twisted obsession to keep it from diluting across generations."
They had cursed themselves, it was said.
To ensure their blood never leaked out, and its purity never faded.
"They could never mix with outsider blood. Foolish, really—cursing their descendants like that."
"......"
Because of this, even if Briton royals found love, they could never bear children. Thus, their queens and concubines were mere ornaments.
To keep their secret from ever leaking...
"Impressive, that a kingdom boasting a thousand years of history hid such a secret."
"...How did you find out, Sis?"
"I heard it. From the crown prince, who knows Britannia's secrets better than anyone."
"The one who's supposedly confined...?"
"Confined? Hardly. He's just so frail he can't even walk—a living corpse bedridden. Well, since he can't move and is trapped in that iron bedframe, 'confined' isn't entirely wrong."
"......"
"For the record, I didn't tamper with anything. It's just a side effect of their bloodline inheritance."
Honestly, even among nobles, such customs existed.
Customs of marrying kin to preserve blood purity.
...But alchemists' research had shown generations of inbreeding caused severe side effects, and such practices had been banned for centuries.
"Who knew some still clung to that outlawed custom, even birthing a royal house plagued by its consequences."
Ridiculous.
Isis muttered sarcastically, then furrowed her brow.
"But those idiots started disrupting my plans."
Isis needed Briton blood for Pendragon.
To resolve conflicts from the sudden southern unification, to convince the populace still fully backing Britannia...
...But realizing persuasion was impossible, she.
"What choice did I have? I had to use a 'loophole'."
Ironic, wasn't it?
That her deep knowledge of magic, alchemy, and rituals—especially in [Life] studies—came into play.
"I mixed my blood with his appropriately and performed [artificial cultivation]."
"Like a homunculus?"
"Nonsense. Don't lump it with those shoddy alchemist homunculi. It didn't use a human womb, but it's undeniably a child born from my genes and his."
"...Even hearing it explained, it sounds kinda...?"
"Tch! What's the point debating with someone ignorant of life sciences."
"......"
The liberal arts knight shut his mouth, acquiescing to the science princess's words.
"Hmph, as long as you get it. Anyway, Arthur is my son. Though not birthed from my womb, he's undoubtedly a noble child of Pendragon and Briton blood. ...However."
He wasn't a child the world would accept.
"I acknowledge it. By current standards, Arthur can't be accepted. That's why I hid it. But..."
There are no eternal secrets in the world.
- [Pendragon's princess. Wicked woman claiming a false child as Britannia's heir. How long do you think you can keep your secret?]
"I never faced the Brass Knight Order's leader directly. Just his note left in my office."
"......"
"Seeing it, I knew it would derail my plans. So I resolved to upend the board, play a more desperate hand."
"......"
"That's all."
"...Hm."
The end of a fairly long tale.
A secret no one should know etched into Lee Han's mind.
Britannia's secret.
What Isis had done.
'The moment it's revealed, she's done for.'
Even in his scientifically advanced past life, bioethics were a mess.
Artificial cultivation might be possible, but it's still hard to accept.
...In this era where gods exist, mysteries and fairies roam, how valuable is life?
'If it leaks, lucky if it's just a scandal.'
The criticism toward Isis would be endless.
From artificially creating life—life given by the gods—pouring scorn and contempt.
Not just light-worshipping temples believing light grants life, but the entire continent would sharpen their blades.
Her Achilles' heel, truly.
A fatal, venomous one...
"—Is that really all?"
Lee Han asked hollowly.
"...What do you mean?"
"I'm asking if that's the only secret, if something so 'trivial' is really your weakness."
"Trivial, you say?"
"Extremely trivial. What kind of weakness is that...?"
Having heard her entire story, Lee Han scoffed.
Yes, it was shocking, no doubt.
Revealed, it'd cause massive fallout.
But—
"It's too subtle to call it your weakness or secret."
Lee Han knew.
How competent and brilliant she was.
He'd seen it many times.
Her extraordinary ways: bolstering authority with radical methods, turning crises into opportunities like a veteran.
...So he didn't see that as her secret or weakness.
Trivial.
Just an obstacle she could overcome.
"Something like that is par for the course for you—you'd handle it."
"...Your faith is overly burdensome."
"I'm just saying it as is."
Lee Han found her feigned grievance amusing.
"I shared a grave secret, and you call me a liar."
"Then don't reveal it. I never expected you to anyway. Not particularly curious for details."
"...We're talking past each other."
"Until you bare your true heart, we will."
Pat pat!
Lee Han brushed dirt off his pants and stood.
As if no more could be gained from talk.
"I'm off."
"Where to?"
"You exiled me, right? Gotta leave the country quick."
"...Official documents haven't arrived yet."
"What's the point waiting? I'm leaving anyway."
"......I really have nothing more to hide."
"Sure."
"......"
"...We've known each other a while, haven't we?"
Lee Han gazed at her steadily.
A bit more mature than their first meeting, but still beautiful.
"Sis, I'll let the using me slide. Not forgiveness—I'm just not that mad."
"......"
"Probably because I know you. I owe you a few, we've got history, ...Nah, screw the grand reasons. You're the first friend I made in this world. That's why I'm letting it go."
"...Friend."
"Yeah, friend. And as your friend, I know you're not foolish enough to ally with weirdos."
Yes, she was his 'friend'.
Whatever she thought, Lee Han believed there was something like friendship between them, so he deemed all issues trivial.
Instead of anger, he just faced her squarely.
Some might call him foolish, frustrating.
But as long as she hadn't vanished after guaranteeing his safety.
'Gotta forgive her once.'
...Out of loyalty to his first friend.
"Special service."
"...Cheeky bastard. Who's whose friend?"
"One-sided friendship? That's disappointing."
Step, step.
Lee Han turned away, leaving only a wave.
Without looking back, with unwavering steps.
"If fate allows, see you again someday."
-He vanished leisurely from her sight.
"......"
She stared long at where he'd disappeared.
Even after he was gone.
Strange.
She hated wasting time more than anyone, yet here she was, unproductive.
She...
"Who... who's calling who a friend?"
Muttered quietly at some point.
Irritated, displeased.
More passionately emotional than ever, her hand trembled.
As if truly wronged, deeply resentful.
"How can you be so oblivious..."
Shed felt it since their first meeting, but his lack of tact was unreal.
When he saved her, and even now after three years.
Always oblivious.
No, it felt like mockery.
Because...
"As if male-female friendship exists—you say it then..."
Grip!
—Clutching her heart like this, refusing to let go.
All she could do was clench her trembling hand.
Frustratingly...