Chapter 534
Chapter 534
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 534
Chapter Title: Trial (3)
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1.
A pleasant dinner time.
Siwoo scooped a heaping portion of food onto the plate in front of him.
"Thank you for providing our daily bread."
"Aye."
Something was off with Lurye.
Of course, having observed her closely, Lurye was always up to her eccentric antics, so it might not strike anyone as particularly strange.
But it was definitely odd.
Even Siwoo—who had been preoccupied sorting through the insights gained from today's duel—noticed the change right away.
From the moment she returned after finishing the trial, she kept her eyes gently closed as if lost in thought, or perhaps tormented, slowly circling her fingers against her temple.
When Lurye—who boasted such a robust appetite—began merely picking at her king prawns, Siwoo could no longer contain his curiosity and spoke up.
"Your Majesty."
"What is it?"
"Is something wrong?"
Lurye, who had been lost in her own thoughts, lifted her blue eyes to Siwoo and let an inscrutable, complicated gaze flicker across her face.
"Nothing."
"I see. Sorry for prying."
"......"
If she had something to say, she would say it. If not, she wouldn't.
Truth be told, Siwoo himself was itching to wrap up dinner quickly and get back to his magic research.
But then Lurye abruptly shattered the silence with a question.
Her gaze fixed on her plate, she barely moved her lips as she spoke.
"Are you not afraid of battle?"
"Battle?"
"Didn't you tackle the trial five times today? Did you see a path to victory?"
"No. I got crushed miserably every single time. It was way tougher than I'd anticipated—I was shocked."
He flashed a wry smile, but by now Lurye was staring back at him with uncharacteristic gravity.
"Then why did you keep challenging it?"
Siwoo couldn't grasp the intent behind the question, but the air around her was intensely serious—something he'd never seen before.
Maybe slipping in a bit of flattery would be smart here?
He wove in a touch of the honeyed words he'd naturally mastered during his days as a slave.
"You've persisted with the trials without ever giving up, Your Majesty. I wanted to follow your example."
And in that instant, Lurye's expression twisted sharply.
Even as she strained to feign composure for the sake of dignity, it refused to smooth over.
Siwoo saw it crystal clear.
For Lurye, whose fierce emotions always spilled out plainly, Siwoo could sense the passion radiating from her.
Shame.
Embarrassment.
Lurye slammed both fists down on the table and bellowed.
"Shut your mouth! How dare a worm like you spout such drivel, acting like you understand anything!"
She hadn't flown into a rage like that even when she'd killed Foreign Minister Rakenraken.
Whatever it was, he'd definitely struck her reverse scale.
"I'm sorry."
Siwoo immediately bowed his head in apology.
In truth, she had almost no mana left at the moment.
Having just completed the trial, she likely had less than ten percent remaining—and Siwoo could still manage a few more rounds of mana recovery through amplification.
But attempting rebellion would be utter folly.
Didn't she still command three additional familiars?
Even at full strength, Siwoo wouldn't bet on beating three krakens.
Beyond that, with their relationship of trust building so smoothly, betrayal just didn't sit right.
"......"
Lurye bit down hard on her quivering lips, set her knife and fork aside, and vanished in a flash.
"This is bad..."
Whatever the issue was, he'd seriously earned her hatred this time.
2.
Lurye was furious.
This marked the third time something had ignited her anger.
The first, she'd countered with a show of power. The second, she'd magnanimously brushed off his flattery aimed at soothing her wrath.
But this time, the fury refused to fade.
The target of her rage wasn't Shin Siwoo—it was none other than Lurye herself.
Shin Siwoo jolting upright from the Dream Cradle in a panic.
His appearance made it clear he'd met his end inside.
When she'd first witnessed it, Lurye had inwardly dismissed it as inevitable.
Just as repeated workouts let you lift a bit more weight than yesterday.
Just as practicing song allows you to hit higher notes more steadily than before.
"Surpassing your limits" isn't some grand incantation.
Anyone can pull it off with modest effort and consistency.
But the "self" you face in the Dream Cradle is different.
Your clone, with all potential unleashed, towers like an insurmountable wall.
High enough to shatter anyone's drive the moment they confront it.
Yet he'd recovered his mana without hesitation and dove into the trial over and over.
Waking, pondering briefly, then plunging back in.
Failing, stirring, then charging right back.
He resembled a gamer relentlessly retrying a brutal boss.
Just like Lurye once had.
From behind him—eyes burning with pure, unrelenting seriousness, no empty posturing—Lurye glimpsed echoes of her former self as heat flooded her cheeks.
A scorching shame, like bile rising, spread through her chest; she scrambled to conceal it.
"......"
Because Lurye hadn't truly engaged with the trial at all.
The first year after her inheritance had been different.
Like Siwoo today, she'd thrown herself into the trials with fervor—even forming a task force in the palace for heated strategy sessions and debates.
But...
Not anymore.
An unbridgeable gap no matter her efforts.
Pain that screaming couldn't banish; a merciless barrier no thrashing could topple. It had stripped away her resolve.
Now, she bolted straight for the edge the instant she entered.
Fleeing in ugly panic from the horrifying "Lurye" pursuing her from behind, sprinting wildly until she awoke.
Then, scrambling to rationalize: "I'm not ready yet."
Not content with that, muttering to herself, "It's not flight—it's a tactical retreat for flawless preparation."
Even visiting the trial religiously once a month, feeding herself lies: "I'm upholding my duty," "I'm giving it my all."
She'd kept it up until the self-disgust finally ebbed away.
"And yet... I'm... doing nothing more..."
Humans are remarkably skilled at self-deception.
But witnessing him today, Lurye felt the flimsy veils cloaking her illusions strip away one by one.
It shamed her a hundredfold more than being stripped bare.
Lurye barricaded herself in the theater, curling into a pillbug on the sofa.
Why had her master left such a brutal trial?
She knew it made sense—her master, hounded by the Kether Duke, living in hiding amid enemies on all sides—yet Lurye grumbled pointlessly.
Just as tears began to prick her eyes...
"Your Majesty."
Siwoo's voice rang out, and Lurye—instantly composed—swallowed her tears and shot to her feet.
She couldn't let a mere slave see her in such a disgraceful state.
"It should still be working hours. Whose permission let you come here?"
Hands on hips, chest thrust out—but Siwoo clocked her off-kilter vibe immediately.
Her reddened eyes and cheeks, puffy enough that a poke might unleash a flood of tears, screamed it to anyone.
"This lowly one fears he misspoke. I came to apologize."
"No need. Return to your duties."
"But..."
Logic urged leaving the prideful Lurye be—no risk of backlash that way.
Yet his feet stayed rooted.
She looked downright depressed; he wanted to hear her out, at least.
In a submarine crewed only by familiars, where else could she unburden herself?
"I was worried."
The words had barely left his mouth when Lurye sniffed in startled fashion.
"W... worried? Worried about me? Why worry? I am the great Queen Lurye Nukelavi of the Nukelavi Kingdom..."
Lurye was utterly flustered.
"Do you think me so frail I'd need your consolation?!!!"
As if such treatment was utterly foreign, she trailed off uncertainly before exploding back into her signature Lurye stance.
No need for explanation, but the Lurye stance was her default for about half her waking hours: hands planted on hips, chest puffed to the max.
"......"
After bellowing with eyes squeezed shut, Lurye cracked one eye to sneak a peek at Siwoo.
The tension drained slightly from her puffed-up shoulders.
Torn by fierce inner turmoil and indecision, she ultimately chose to keep talking.
"Sit here."
"Thank you."
"I'm not seeking comfort. I am an iron-willed, flawless sovereign. Still, I'll hear whatever concerns you harbor."
Legs crossed, she patted the cushion beside her.
Seeing Lurye play the reluctant confidante, Siwoo barely stifled his wry smile.
"And... I wasn't angry at you. Fret not."
"Yes. I'll listen closely."
He couldn't help thinking she might need more human connection after all.