Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Uninvited Challenge
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Jeong Ru-han, who recognized Jae-hyeok's face as he suddenly appeared and picked a fight, looked flustered.
'What the hell is this guy doing?'
He had never exchanged even a single word with Jae-hyeok.
He had no memory of belittling Jae-hyeok's skills for defeating Class A students in the evaluation match or trash-talking House Kang behind his back.
Indifference was the accurate term.
No matter what kind of person Kang Jae-hyeok was, he was still blood of a fallen noble house.
To him, who would one day become the true master of the Guardian Guild, Jae-hyeok was just vermin he would never associate with in his lifetime.
Yet here he was, picking a fight, which made no sense.
"There's no reason for you to act like this toward me, is there?"
Jeong Ru-han asked bluntly.
The very act of conversing with someone so far beneath him was unpleasant.
If there was some misunderstanding, he wanted to clear it up quickly and go their separate ways.
Jae-hyeok wasn't one to beat around the bush either.
"Why wouldn't there be? There's a guy bullying my classmate. I have to beat him down and pry him off."
"Beat him down...?"
"......"
Jeong Ru-han and Park Hae-rin both stared in bewilderment.
One out of sheer absurdity, the other out of complete surprise.
"For someone of ducal blood, you lack manners."
"These people who don't give a damn about noble treatment only bring up the ducal house when nitpicking. What rhythm am I supposed to dance to here?"
Jae-hyeok, who shut Jeong Ru-han's mouth in an instant, checked Hae-rin's complexion and frowned.
"Look at her face—it's pale as a ghost. Hanging around with you, she'll get indigestion at best or suffocate at worst. So let go of her hand."
"You're just a lunatic, aren't you?"
Jeong Ru-han, inwardly startled, let his tone turn rougher than usual.
He knew full well that Park Hae-rin lost her vitality and became passive every time she faced him.
It was intentional, after all—he couldn't not know.
Ever since that day years ago when she trusted his father and equipped her First Skill.
From then on, she was fated to be under the control of father and son.
"......"
As the atmosphere grew hostile, the bustling morning commute fell silent in an instant.
The gardeners tending flowers and trees, the cleaners sweeping the grounds with brooms, the students hurrying so they wouldn't be late.
They all stopped dead and turned toward Jae-hyeok in unison.
Members of the Guardian Guild.
Jeong Ru-han's shadow warriors.
It was a chilling sight that would make anyone's skin crawl.
To realize that the people around you were undercover actors hiding their true nature, only to reveal themselves and glare at you all at once—it would chill anyone to the bone.
But Jae-hyeok didn't bat an eye.
"Wow, anyone would think you were the Guardian Guild's heir."
Why is the shadow that should be on Park Hae-rin stuck to you instead?
He pointed out yet another sensitive spot.
'Heard he was locked up in his mansion his whole life—he really knows nothing of the world.'
This guy's balls aren't just swollen; he's missing brains too.
Having sized up Jae-hyeok, Jeong Ru-han warned him.
"You think the top five guilds won't touch House Kang out of face-saving? You're delusional. In modern Korea, House Kang means nothing and holds no value. If you don't want to die like a dog, quit showing off and scram."
"...go."
Park Hae-rin chimed in.
She had been the same when they first met.
When the tension between Jae-hyeok and Teacher Kim Jin-myeong escalated, she had demanded they get on with class to lighten the mood.
He had his doubts back then, but now it was clear.
That day, Park Hae-rin had helped Jae-hyeok.
"I never asked you for help. We're just walking to school together—what are you trying to help with?"
Her unusually icy tone today gave him even greater certainty.
"Nah, this isn't just a simple walk to school. It's a date."
Grinning slyly, Ru-han draped his arm over Hae-rin's shoulder.
He clearly loved how she spoke to Jae-hyeok with such sharp resentment.
"......"
Jae-hyeok stared intently at Hae-rin, who flinched as Jeong Ru-han's hand brushed her hair, then slowly spoke.
"I never asked you for help either."
"...!"
He tossed out words only he and Hae-rin would understand, then changed the subject.
"Anyway! You know today is the last day of snowfield adaptation training, right? Let's stop by the convenience store. Gotta eat a solid breakfast for good scores."
Jeong Ru-han's face twisted.
"You little shit..."
Fury boiled over at Kang Jae-hyeok ignoring his warning and speaking only to Hae-rin.
Seeing his fist clench, Hae-rin spoke urgently.
"This is enough."
"Sniff sniff. Boiled chicken breast and broccoli? Not enough calories. And who packs a broccoli sandwich for a person? Are you sane? Your taste buds are on Huang butler level."
"You vermin dare mock me?"
Finally, Jeong Ru-han swung his fist.
He had immense patience, but after this incomprehensible situation and repeated insults, he couldn't hold back anymore.
Thud-!
"...!"
Jeong Ru-han's eyes bulged.
He never imagined the full-force punch, driven by emotion, would be blocked.
He glanced at Jae-hyeok's forearm, hard as rebar, and tilted his head.
"Never heard you were a tank?"
Word was Kang Jae-hyeok specialized in swordsmanship, spearmanship, and hand-to-hand combat...
That was as far as his thoughts went.
Jeong Ru-han's vision spun.
Jae-hyeok had closed in and grabbed his collar.
Kwang!!
"Guh!"
"Never heard you're a grappler either?"
"You son of a—!"
"Shut up. Park Hae-rin, what do you want to do? Quit minding this guy's looks and do what you want."
Jae-hyeok didn't force anything on Hae-rin.
He even waited for her to choose something as simple as stopping by the convenience store for breakfast.
"......"
Hae-rin's large eyes wavered.
Kang Jae-hyeok.
She had known him for a long time.
The happy girl from eight years ago, free of worries, had seen a boy her age's sadness on the news and wanted to comfort him.
But years passed after that.
The girl who lost her happiness forgot the pitiful boy and lived on.
She couldn't describe her shock upon seeing Jae-hyeok enroll late at Lion's Castle.
'I wanted to comfort you.'
Why are you trying to comfort me?
Crack! Craaack!
Something shattered in her mind.
Memories slowly surfaced.
The smile of the person the girl trusted most grew clearer.
It resembled Jeong Ru-han's smile.
"Fuck! I'll kill you!!"
Jeong Ru-han, who had fallen on his back and was coughing, screamed.
Jae-hyeok, about to stomp his jaw to pieces, subtly pulled back.
A hedge trimmer thrown by the plump-faced gardener whistled past his nose, shearing off a few strands of hair.
"Fighting among students? Tsk tsk."
"Kids grow up fighting, sure. But isn't an adult butting in a bit ridiculous?"
"Light-mouthed brat."
The gardener snapped his overall strap, and a new pair of shears popped from his pocket into his hand.
"Don't make more of a scene and back off. I guarantee no repercussions, so don't worry."
"What... Does the Guardian Guild have a worse hierarchy than a neighborhood senior center? The heir doesn't get guards, but the guards guarantee no fallout representing the guild while toying with the heir? This isn't just insubordination; it's upside-down chaos."
"Senior center?"
The gardener's thick cheeks trembled, his eyebrows shooting up, his face twisting like one of Buddhism's Four Heavenly Kings.
"Even your father never dared lecture the top five guilds!"
Rumble!
The gardener kicked off the ground with a thunderous boom.
Moving his fat body like lightning, he closed in on Jae-hyeok in an instant and thrust the sharp shears.
He held nothing back, figuring he could heal any non-lethal wounds with potions, and the Guardian Guild's influence could cover it up.
'I have to help!'
Tormented by flooding memories, Hae-rin snapped to at the sight of Jae-hyeok's peril.
Kiiing!
A clear blue light bloomed from her hands.
She reflexively activated the First Skill she had vowed never to use without her father's permission, so desperate was she.
"Hae-rin, you don't plan to disappoint the master again, do you?"
But at Jeong Ru-han's voice...
"......!"
Hae-rin's blood ran cold, and her First Skill halted.
It happened beyond her will.
Almost a conditioned reflex.
The result of people wielding a training whip under the pretext of throwing a lifeline to her when she teetered on the edge after angering her father.
Their identities were...
"Ah."
Stress at its limit struck her mind again, hard.
Out of fear and sadness.
The memory the young girl had turned away from because she couldn't accept it now reared its head.
'No.'
Hae-rin felt immense revulsion toward the resurfacing memory.
Bile rose in her throat; she clamped her mouth and bent over.
"You look really suffering. Stomach bothering you? Makes sense—crazy shit from morning. Skip training today. I'll explain to your homeroom teacher."
"No..."
"Hae-rin, you don't need to try so hard at anything. I'll handle your share too."
"......"
"Your health is most important. Never forget that those living under the Guardian name always worry only about you. Come on, to the infirmary."
Jeong Ru-han snatched Park Hae-rin's wrist and forced her to walk.
Thud!
Just then, someone collapsed behind him.
That idiot Kang Jae-hyeok couldn't hold out.
'Crazy bastard stirring up trouble for no reason.'
No matter how he thought about it, it was absurd.
Why would a nobody pick a fight with me and get his ass handed to him?
Jeong Ru-han, snorting derisively, froze.
"Jae-hyeok!"
Park Hae-rin.
The doll he had meticulously trained since childhood had shaken off his hand.
"...What?"
Ru-han blankly watched Hae-rin run back.
The unimaginable situation short-circuited his brain.
"Haha."
But only for a moment.
Jeong Ru-han quickly relaxed and laughed.
From the direction of the explosion.
The person standing where Hae-rin ran wasn't Kang Jae-hyeok, of course—it was the shadow warrior.
His overalls stained red with Jae-hyeok's blood, he reached out toward Hae-rin.
Yes, Park Hae-rin can't escape.
She's completely in my grasp.
As a smile crept back onto Jeong Ru-han's lips...
"Watch out..."
The shadow warrior slowly opened his mouth, then rolled back his eyes.
Thud!
The massive frame, like a giant tree, toppled. The hand that was supposed to grab Hae-rin flailed in empty air before following its owner's body.
"Park Hae-rin."
The dark-haired boy who appeared as the shadow warrior fell.
Not a scratch or speck of blood on him.
He looked utterly relaxed, hand resting on his sword hilt.
"Don't stay around people who torment you."
He hoped he'd never have to hand her his handkerchief someday.
Cherishing that wish, Jae-hyeok extended his hand to Hae-rin.