Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: The Inherited Sword (2)
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My breathing slowly settled.
As the frequency of my gasps decreased, the flood of memories also calmly sorted themselves out. I still hadn’t recalled everything, but the memories of my old comrade who had faced my sword were vividly clear.
Ray.
I wasn’t sure if I even had the right to call his name.
Or the right to cry like this.
But the tears wouldn’t stop easily, so I wept quietly for a long while before wiping them away again.
He was as good as killed by my hand.
Memories of Lee Seung-hyun surfaced as well. A soldier scouted from Korea. He was a natural-born genius in combat.
I remembered being astonished by his skills….
And his smile.
He wasn’t one to smile much. Rather than expressionless, his default face was slightly furrowed. Even though he was so young and promising when we first met, he wasn’t someone you could easily get close to. I always kept a certain distance when dealing with him.
But exactly twice, Lee Seung-hyun smiled brightly, basking in the cheers of his comrades.
“Now I remember.”
I muttered blankly to myself.
The tears had stopped now, but the shock hadn’t fully faded.
“Lee Seung-hyun was an orphan.”
Ye-hyeon, kneeling and looking up at me, nodded quietly.
The revived memories were precise. I had exchanged brief conversations with the young man.
Among all the human soldiers I had trained, he boasted the most outstanding skills. Lee Seung-hyun was someone who didn’t know how to give love. He had never properly been cared for.
That didn’t justify abusing his son, of course.
Still, he had smiled purely and without a trace of shadow exactly twice.
When he announced his marriage.
And when he shared the news of his child’s birth.
Just those two times.
So….
“That child back then… was you.”
I looked down at the person sitting there in a daze before me.
Now that I saw it, Lee Ye-hyeon really did resemble Lee Seung-hyun. The lines of his face were much softer, but the arrangement of his features was identical.
I remembered telling him how truly happy I was for him becoming a father.
“You’ve grown so much.”
Unconsciously, I reached out and stroked the head of the one looking up at me.
Ye-hyeon’s eyes widened a little, but he didn’t move.
Wow, he really looks just like him. Even the deep eye color and hair color are the same.
The fluffy black hair….
….
…Huh?
Hair?
Ye-hyeon’s hair?
“Gah!”
I screamed and sprang back.
Ye-hyeon, who had been gazing up at me calmly, also widened his eyes and jolted away.
The distance opened up in an instant.
I froze, pulling my hand toward my body, while Ye-hyeon froze in a standing position.
Silence descended upon the living room in a flash. Amid the tense air, the two men stood rigid. We remained frozen like that for a while, just staring at each other with wide, rabbit-like eyes.
The only sound was the slurp of Yoon sipping his coffee.
Ye-hyeon broke the silence first.
“What’s wrong?”
“Gah! Don’t use formal speech with me!”
Why are you using formal speech with me!
No, how can the Commander use formal speech with me!
I freaked out and frantically shook off my stupid hand that had stroked Ye-hyeon.
“I’m sorry!”
“Huh? No, what?”
“I’ll correct it. I’m truly sorry!”
“You’ve really lost your pedigree.”
Yoon commented in a dry voice.
He sat calmly on the sofa alone, sipping his coffee. Legs crossed, one hand draped over the backrest.
My Master added without batting an eye.
“This is even worse than with Richard. Should I start using formal speech with you too?”
“Gaaah!”
Don’t!
I shot up from my seat.
“Please don’t!”
“What?”
“No! I hate formal speech!”
“Why reject it so vehemently?”
“Treat me like a rookie!”
I shouted with all sincerity.
“Treat me like a greenhorn, just like before!”
My Master let my words go in one ear and out the other.
He fixed his gaze on me and brought the coffee cup to his lips. One eyebrow arched silently. His pitch-black, emotionless eyes scanned my face.
Even after hearing everything, he seemed utterly unchanged—that was so like him.
I looked at Yoon seriously and said.
“In our organization, what does age matter, esteemed Senior?”
“Oh. That’s the right attitude.”
Yoon pretended to be impressed.
My Senior set the coffee cup down on the table.
“But someone with beliefs like that strokes his Supreme Commander’s head?”
“Gah! I’m sorry!”
What was I thinking!
Making a miserable face, I bowed deeply to Ye-hyeon again. Ye-hyeon tried to stop me in a flustered voice. The Supreme Commander approached, told me to lift my head, then turned to Yoon.
Ye-hyeon furrowed his brows and scolded Yoon.
“Yoon. Don’t do that.”
Yoon glanced at Ye-hyeon and tugged up one corner of his mouth.
“Do what?”
“Don’t torment Hilde for no reason. And in private, it’s right for me to use formal speech with Hilde.”
“No, it’s not.”
I put on a serious face at his absurd statement.
Yoon ducked his head and started chuckling lowly. Ye-hyeon, his already large eyes widening further, turned to me.
The Supreme Commander blinked a couple of times before asking back.
“You hate it that much?”
“Yes. No, please.”
Why do you keep using formal speech?
“Please treat me like before.”
“Hmm…. I could if you want, but….”
Surprisingly, Ye-hyeon hesitated.
Blood slowly drained from my face.
As dizziness crept over me, the man slowly added.
“I heard you taught my father swordsmanship.”
Ah. That’s right.
Lee Seung-hyun was an exceptional disciple.
Far superior to anyone I had ever trained.
“I learned the swordsmanship you taught my father, and I also heard the voice messages you left behind. So even setting age aside, in private, it’s only natural for me to use formal speech….”
“It’s not natural at all.”
What part of that is natural?
But the boss just blinked and looked at me. His expression said he wouldn’t listen to plain words.
Having no choice, I began pleading to treat me like before. I apologized profusely for the hyperventilating slip-ups and the idiotic head-patting.
And I eagerly exposed my weaknesses, insisting that while the past might be like that, my current skills were utterly pathetic.
Ignoring Yoon’s lament about my messed-up pedigree, I kept at it.
Until Ye-hyeon’s work phone rang, changing the air.
***
In the end, the title issue was settled the next morning.
8 a.m. Summoned from the cabin, I persuaded my two Seniors once more.
Fortunately, Yoon quickly promised to treat me as usual. He didn’t know how old I was, but my skills were still crap, so I was a fresh-faced rookie.
How moving those blunt words were. I gave my Master a heartfelt bow.
Then I switched targets to Ye-hyeon and began pleading.
The Supreme Commander hesitated for a long time.
“You use informal speech with my father, right?”
“No, that’s because he’s my disciple…. No, because Father is my old acquaintance. But you’re my Supreme Commander.”
“In official settings, we respect each other’s positions, but in private like this….”
“I haven’t even recovered all my memories.”
I was desperate.
“At least use formal speech with me after I’ve regained everything and can pull my weight.”
That argument was accepted.
The conversation returned to how it was before. As the boss naturally spoke informally to me, a small peace settled in my heart. I placed my palm on my chest and let out a sigh of relief.
Of course, that peace didn’t last long.
Ye-hyeon, strangely not preparing to go to work, looked at me with relief and said.
“So, you want to pick up the sword again?”
I stiffened reflexively.
My chest ached as if pierced by sharp glass. Last night, I had forced myself to ignore the pain and sleep.
My sword, stained with Ray’s blood.
If I asked for it back, Ye-hyeon would surely hand it over gladly. He might have been waiting for that day ever since I arrived here.
But I still wasn’t certain.
It was strangely like a weekend morning. Maybe because Ye-hyeon showed no sign of heading to work. Clear morning sunlight poured through the living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows. The scent of early morning air wafted in through the open kitchen window.
With my sharpened senses taking in the cool sensations, I answered.
“I don’t want to hold it until my skills return.”
The boss quietly took in my heavy response.
“You might think it’s foolish, but it feels like the proper etiquette….”
To Ray, and to my sword that had slumbered for so long.
I trailed off, but no one pressed. Ye-hyeon just nodded with an inscrutable expression. I was grateful they didn’t ask further.
The past I had recalled still hadn’t fully settled.
Suppressing the guilt and self-loathing that gnawed a hole in my chest, I bowed.
“Thank you.”
“No.”
Ye-hyeon replied curtly.
“Let me know when the time comes.”
“Yes. Just a bit longer, please.”
“Got it.”
After responding readily, the boss fell into thought.
Standing still in the white morning sunlight, he only looked at me after Yoon lazily rose from the sofa and approached, saying it was time to go.
Unsure who Yoon was addressing, I hesitated, but Ye-hyeon said.
“Then let’s go spar.”
“Huh?”
“Sword sparring.”
The boss said it like it was no big deal.
“Let’s spar with swords, Hilde. I need to see your skills.”
I stared piercingly at Ye-hyeon.
Various thoughts crossed my mind. But I only voiced the one I was most curious about.
“Do you have a sword, Commander?”
Or would he use mine?
Perhaps sensing the implication in my question, Ye-hyeon smiled bitterly.
“I haven’t touched your sword since that day.”
A hint of inexplicable regret laced his explanatory voice.
“I haven’t shown it to anyone else or spoken in detail about it. I’ve taken it out occasionally to maintain it. I worry it might not meet your standards….”
“No.”
I replied softly.
Looking into his always seemingly sorrowful black eyes, I said.
“Thank you for cherishing my sword.”
It was the possession I had loved the most.
Just knowing it existed made longing surge. Even knowing it was stained with Ray’s blood, I couldn’t suppress the yearning.
I didn’t know what I’d feel when I held it again.
In any case, I was grateful to the one who had treated the bequeathed sword with care.
Once my skills returned, I could wield my longsword again.
“Will you spar with me?”
When I looked up and asked, Ye-hyeon smiled sadly and nodded.