Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Noble (4)
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Lying in bed, Bella gazed at her own arm, now so thin it was nothing but bone.
When she pulled back the covers, her emaciated form was revealed.
With a small smile, Bella sat up.
Her bedroom was filled with nothing but training equipment, armor, and sharp blades.
Among them was an outfit she had never once taken out.
She opened the wardrobe.
*I bought it at the market for a few dozen gold, didn't I?*
It was a clean dress, never worn.
She took out the dress, adorned with vibrant lace.
For the first time in her life, she was putting on a dress.
Her long, silver hair and beautiful eyes. Her gauntness gave her an almost decadent beauty.
And the necklace given to her once by the Sword King, Barad.
‘A birthday present, Bella.’
She put on the emerald-embedded necklace he had given her so casually.
It was surprising.
Because the reflection in the mirror was far more beautiful than she had ever imagined.
She gave an awkward smile.
She had lived her entire life as a knight. Once the daughter of a blacksmith, and for a time, she lived in the gladiator arena.
The life of a woman was never hers.
‘This is enough now.’
Bella smiled faintly.
Because for these few minutes, in her first and final moments, she had lived as a woman.
She took out a pill she had kept safely to one side.
If captured as a prisoner, swallowing this pill would cause immediate death.
Bella’s loyalty, having been saved by Barad, was immense.
It was so strong that if Barad ordered her to die, she would truly take her own life.
‘I heard the stories.’
Bella's keen senses had picked up on the servants' talk.
That Barad was overextending himself, trying to save her.
That was not what she wanted.
For a king, it was natural to use a knight and then discard them.
Bella planned to swallow this pill tonight.
‘I’m not afraid in the slightest.’
Bella smiled faintly.
As a knight, wouldn't this be a truly noble death?
If she was going to die anyway, wasn't it better that the king be more at ease?
And the best she could do was to not let him see her like this, to not cause him any further discomfort.
Bella was about to turn to change her clothes again.
Just then, a man entered.
It was Hyun-soo.
***
Hyun-soo was certain.
‘If I save Bella, His Majesty Barad will repay me in kind.’
The Barad he knew was that kind of person.
That was why he didn't feel it was a waste to use the Saintess's Prayer, something the Saintess could only use twice in her lifetime.
As he walked to Bella's bedroom, he recalled something strange.
It was because of the pop-up quest: *A Woman Resolved to Die*.
‘A Woman Resolved to Die?’
The ominous meaning of the phrase puzzled Hyun-soo.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he broke into a run toward Bella's room.
Opening the door to Bella's bedroom, Hyun-soo saw her looking different than usual.
He knew instinctively when he saw the pill resting on her palm.
After a brief look of alarm, she composed herself and placed it carefully to the side.
"Will you keep this a secret from His Majesty?"
Watching her bitter smile, Hyun-soo shook his head.
He told her that the Saintess he had brought with him was here.
But she replied instead.
"That is a good thing. That you are now recognized as Saintess Aria's benefactor, Sir Hyun-soo. Now that you've become a noble of the kingdom, please use that power to bring prosperity to our nation."
Chivalry.
That was the problem.
*For the country, before my own life.*
Hyun-soo looked at the stubborn woman.
He seemed to be in a dilemma. Suddenly, his conversation with Nel flashed through his mind.
‘Besides your blacksmithing skills, you have one other special power, Hyun-soo.’
‘A special power? What is it?’
‘You’re good with words.’
Yes, Hyun-soo possessed the power Nel had spoken of.
Just then, a notification appeared.
[Bella was fated to die. However, by bringing Aria, you may have changed that fate.]
[A new episode, never seen before, may begin.]
‘A new episode related to Bella and me might start?’
Hyun-soo looked puzzled.
It was a story he couldn't quite grasp.
Was there even a story that could begin between her and him?
‘I’ll set this aside for now.’
For the moment, Hyun-soo just planned to change this stubborn lady's mind in his own way.
***
It was only natural.
As a knight, to wish for the prosperity of the kingdom and the peace of the king, rather than for one's own single life.
For that reason, Bella had not a single regret.
Just then, the blacksmith before her, that man, asked a question.
"...Aren't you afraid?"
His gruff words made Bella's heart sink.
But she tried her best to act composed, to act as if it were nothing.
"I am a knight. A knight finds their most blissful rest only when they die for the kingdom."
Bella tried to hypnotize herself.
*I am not afraid.*
*It is my duty as a knight.*
At that, Hyun-soo looked out the window. It was raining.
Gazing at the cold winter night's rain, he spoke.
"Spring will be here soon."
Bella's face crumpled in misery. She knew.
A beautiful spring that she, who was refusing the Saintess's Prayer for the sake of the kingdom's well-being, would never see.
Watching him speak of a spring she would never see, she thought.
*Is he mocking me?*
"When spring comes, we will go on an outing."
"You..."
*Yes, how could a mere blacksmith possibly know my heart?*
*How could he understand the noble heart of a knight, how beautiful it is for a knight to die for the kingdom...*
"On that day, Sir Bella, I hope you will stand by His Majesty's side, as you always have."
"......?"
No. With wavering eyes, Bella looked into the blacksmith's eyes.
When she first saw him, he was a greenhorn.
The second time, he was the creator of a masterwork sword.
The next, he had saved a territory.
And now, the man who had become a noble was speaking.
He wasn't mocking her death or disrespecting her chivalry.
He was comforting her, a knight afraid of revealing the woman's heart she held onto at the very end.
An image formed in Bella's mind.
Fields of beautifully blossomed flowers and lush greenery.
Barad standing before a large tree, and the knights standing at attention as they look at him.
And walking among them, her own disciplined figure, clad in silver armor with a sword at her hip.
It materialized before her eyes.
As always, His Majesty Barad would be smiling at her with a look of absolute faith.
Standing beside His Majesty, she would feel the swaying grass and look out over the world beyond the hills.
"Wouldn't it be too much of a waste?"
Bella slowly began to break.
"For a magnificent flower like you to fall."
With the word "magnificent," he respected her as a knight, and with the word "flower," he protected her heart as a woman.
Finally, it all came pouring out.
"I want to live..."
She wanted to keep living, to stand silently by His Majesty's side, as she always had.
"I want to live..."
And once in a while, on a very good day.
She wanted to secretly put on this dress and go for a walk in the market.
Sobbing, broken, Bella asked.
"Why, why..."
The blacksmith smiled a wonderful smile.
"Because His Majesty needs you."
Yes, he made Bella realize.
That surviving and continuing to protect His Majesty was the truly right thing to do, not clinging to some damn code of chivalry.
In that moment, Bella regained the will to live.
And...
[A new story begins.]
[It is the story of a knight who will one day risk her life to protect you.]
[The knight Bella embraces another sun in her heart.]
Finally, Hyun-soo stepped out, and Saintess Aria approached Bella.
Through the closing door, Bella watched the back of the man in the room until the very end.
He was the one who had brought Aria to cure her illness and had also instilled in her the will to live.
In that moment, she made a vow.
‘As much as my Majesty...’
A vow to protect him.
Saintess Aria's prayer began. A holy light filled the entire castle.
That warm energy resembled the warmth in Bella's own heart.
***
Stepping outside, Hyun-soo saw the most brilliant and beautiful light pouring out from the room.
[It is the story of a knight who will one day risk her life to protect you.]
[The knight Bella embraces another sun in her heart.]
He recalled the astonishing notifications.
‘Bella might be able to join our Gwangmyeong?’
The Bella that Hyun-soo knew was said to have talent that already surpassed the Knight Commander.
The strongest warrior in the Goyad Kingdom after Barad.
‘To bring her over, I'll have to grow Gwangmyeong.’
Barad was a friend, but a rather frustrating one. He wouldn't give anything up easily.
‘Was the reward I gained this time a possibility?’
Yes, the reward was likely the possibility of gaining Bella.
But that alone was enough.
That possibility alone held an astronomical value that couldn't be measured in money.
Just then, Aria came out.
"I will now meet with the Pope and discuss the value of the Tiger Blade."
"Understood."
The Saintess and the Holy Knights departed once more.
And for Hyun-soo, the value of the Tiger Blade was also crucial.
‘How many hundred million do I have left?’
In truth, Hyun-soo knew the Tiger Blade would be more than enough to cover the remaining treatment costs.
But what Hyun-soo needed was money to start anew.
He was an ordinary man, too.
He yearned for a good house, a good car, a good life.
The value of the Tiger Blade would be the first step toward that life.
***
Papacy of the Church of Ares.
The Pope was a figure whose power rivaled that of the emperor.
The 16th Pope, Karsel, could not understand.
‘Saintess Aria, how could she make such a unilateral decision...’
Aria was the wisest person the Pope knew.
Yet that same Aria had sent out the Saintess's Child, Bellia, on her own authority.
Even more baffling was the message Karsel had received by carrier pigeon.
‘I wish for the Tiger Blade to be designated as a Sacred Treasure. The Church of Ares must prepare a reward for the blacksmith, and I have promised to add a 30% bonus.’
Karsel's head throbbed. He had heard that the blacksmith was a benefactor who had saved a life.
But even so, wasn't this going too far?
Moreover, a Sacred Treasure was meant to be the holiest object symbolizing the faith.
‘The Tiger Blade?’
It was absurd.
To make a Sacred Treasure out of some sword that wasn't even among the weapons bestowed by the god Ares?
Perhaps Aria had hit her head.
He made up his mind.
He would give Aria a piece of his mind!
And so, he began his inspection of the Tiger Blade that Aria presented.
"...I did act too unilaterally. A 30% bonus was indeed too much."
Aria, who had subjectively decided to add 30%, wore a guilty expression.
To which Karsel replied.
"You're right, for an artifact of this caliber, you should have offered more! What do you mean, a measly 30%!"
"...Pardon?"
Aria was taken aback, and Karsel finally understood her sentiments. Their church had to maintain a close relationship with this man named Hyun-soo, no matter what.
"Let's add another 10% and give him a 40% bonus."
The Pope, Aria, and the blacksmiths together appraised its value.
Even they were truly amazed as they set the price.
"To think we'd set such a price on a single sword."
"But it's a worthy price."
Karsel couldn't deny Aria's words.
Not long after the carrier pigeon was sent, Hyun-soo arrived and accepted the reward with a look of astonishment.
***
Bank of Korea.
Bank teller Lee Da-som was handling her usual counter duties.
*Ding-dong—*
With the cheerful chime, Da-som saw a young man walking over.
‘Wow...’
Though his face was hidden by a mask, he was very tall and well-proportioned.
He couldn't be more than 23 or 24.
"I'd like to check a deposit and update my passbook."
As usual, Da-som inserted the passbook into the machine.
*Zzzzzing—*
The transaction history and the new deposit were printed onto the passbook.
Usually, people his age had around ten million won if they saved well, or at least a million.
Checking to see if the passbook had printed correctly, Da-som was shocked.
[1,600,000,000]
An enormous sum of 1.6 billion won had just been deposited.
‘A currency exchange?’
Da-som was greatly surprised.
But as a professional bank teller, she didn't let it show and handed it over.
The young man stared down at the passbook for a long time, then suddenly started to cry.
"I've sent it all..."
At his cryptic words, Da-som looked puzzled.
Just then, an old man at the next counter spoke up.
"Must've had some debt, eh? Congratulations. A grown man, crying. Only happy days are ahead of you now."
The young man replied with a bright smile.
"That's right. Only happy days are ahead of me now."
Da-som chimed in as well.
"Congratulations."
And the young man, wiping his eyes, walked out of the bank with a happy smile.