Chapter 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: People Always Hide the Truth
-----------------------------------------------------------------
People always hide the truth.
That was exactly what I was doing right now.
"Hoo...!"
Blood kept pouring from the corner of my mouth. I nearly spat it all over Jayvolg, who was on the verge of passing out.
Ugh, it hurts like hell. When was the last time I felt pain like this?
Ever since I started being called the Dark Venerable, no ordinary foe could even graze my clothes. I looked like a total mess.
I barely clung to consciousness and smeared the blood into the dirt to erase the evidence.
The sky's spinning...
Was it because I forced my body too hard?
This short period of training wasn't enough for my body to endure these martial arts.
Damn it. Pathetic, trembling like a leaf after using a technique I wielded like breathing.
Is this how a rooster that can't crow at dawn feels in the morning?
Before Jayvolg came to, I needed to pull myself together first.
I left him there and headed deeper into the woods.
My legs were shaking so badly it felt worse than my frail, dying body in my previous life.
"Urgh...!"
My knees buckled, and I collapsed. I barely stopped myself from tumbling over completely.
I couldn't let anyone see me like this. Everything had to end on a high note.
Still, there was nothing I could do about my ragged breathing.
The backlash from the Seven Pursuits Golden Command was starting to hit.
"Haa... haa."
The aftereffects of that technique are no joke.
It wasn't called the Golden Command for nothing.
Thanks to it, I won, but the side effects would linger for days.
I sat cross-legged and hurriedly began meditating to circulate my energy.
I had to do it now. After all that effort to win, I couldn't face Jayvolg looking like this.
Once I recovered enough, I spat out the pooled blood to avoid damaging my body further and stood up.
My legs were still shaky, but I forced strength into them and walked.
Damn, they were still trembling.
I considered my options, then decided to use Jayvolg's belly like a chair.
"......"
Not bad at all.
His well-trained body made for a decent seat.
"Groan..."
Jayvolg's voice came from below.
He's coming to faster than I expected.
Most people would be out for half a day, but he must not have slacked on his training.
"You're awake."
"......"
Jayvolg blinked dazedly.
After taking stock of his situation, he let out a long sigh.
"Haa... I lost."
"At least you grasp the situation quickly. That's good."
"I'm not that much of an idiot, young master."
"Hm."
Not an idiot, huh?
I had plenty to say, but I kept my mouth shut.
Jayvolg spoke up.
"Young master."
"What? You can't back out now saying the bet's invalid. I get you're frustrated, but you didn't draw your sword—that's on you."
"That's not it."
"Then what?"
"I know you've been training with things other than the sword... But there's one thing I really don't understand, young master."
"You're not about to spout something weird again, are you?"
"No, it's not that. Your talent right now is beyond comprehension. Honestly, I've never seen aptitude like this even at the knight academy. Purely in terms of talent... Ed, the continent's top genius—I haven't seen him myself, but I'm certain you're on his level."
That's because I've lived two lives.
"But there's something even more incomprehensible than your talent."
"What?"
"With talent like yours, why haven't you shown it in the Pador family? You know how some of the family knights and outsiders call you."
"Hm......"
Telling the truth is out of the question.
Who would believe I've lived not once, but twice?
"I told you. Everyone has their aptitudes. Mine just wasn't the sword. That's why I trained in secret."
"So you really have no talent for the sword?"
I lifted myself off his belly and picked up the stick he had been holding.
I wanted to use it as a cane, but I had to stay sharp. Now was the time to advise Jayvolg.
"Hoo..."
I steadied my breathing and demonstrated the Pador family swordsmanship from memory.
I added my own interpretations as I completed the full sequence. Jayvolg shot to his feet as if he'd never been hurt.
"Y-You're good with the sword too?!"
"Of course. It's not that I can't do it."
"Th-Then..."
"But I'm not great at it either. Better than most, sure... but I prefer shortswords over longswords, throwing daggers over archery. That's my style."
Jayvolg started to argue, then glanced at his battered body.
"Fine. I admit it."
"Really?"
He accepted it surprisingly quickly.
This conversation might go better than I thought...
"The sword is supreme, but my efforts fell short!"
"...Huh?"
Something's off.
After all that ordeal to teach him!
Why bring up sword supremacy here?
My head throbbed. Sword zealots are hopeless, whether in the martial world or Eneris.
I gave him priceless guidance, and he spits out dogshit philosophy.
Well, whatever. It has to be better than before.
"Do whatever you want..."
That's not the point.
"Handle that on your own. You haven't forgotten the bet, right? From now on, sword training time is mine to decide. We'll tell the family it's sword practice, but really, I'll train as I please."
"...Understood."
Jayvolg looked a bit displeased, but as one of the most stubborn knights, he'd never break a promise.
Is this settled?
I'd turned this nuisance into an ally, so I could train without prying eyes.
His underlings, who spied on me with shady gazes for the family, would report that I was doing sword training.
More importantly... I needed to get back and lie down.
My body had been screaming since earlier. A week's training wasn't enough to prepare my vessel.
As I fought to keep my drooping eyes open...
Shing!
Jayvolg suddenly drew his sword.
"Hm...?"
Then he dropped to one knee on his left.
"Don't we have a bet? A knight's oath."
"Ah...?"
That was just a taunt to provoke him.
He's actually going through with it?
"Forget it. I know a knight's oath isn't something to joke about."
But there wasn't a trace of playfulness on Jayvolg's face.
"This isn't a joke. A knight must acknowledge defeat. For me, this is how I do it."
"I refuse."
Shouldn't he go off on his knightly quests instead of swearing fealty here?
Unlike before, he'd tasted a new world now—he'd surely reach greater heights.
But Jayvolg was a straight-arrow kind of guy.
"I swear upon the Knight King. As long as it doesn't violate the knight's code, I will serve Deyan Pador as my lord."
"I said forget it."
"The oath is already made."
Jayvolg grinned with sparkling eyes.
I'd hooked the wrong fish.
"Looking forward to serving you, my lord."
"Do what you want. Just don't let on to anyone that you swore a knight's oath."
"Why not?"
"Please... just don't."
Jayvolg stood up, beaming.
"If that's your command, understood!"
"Haa... One more thing. You can drop the formal speech, right?"
"Yes! Of course."
"Haa."
I tried to shake off the leech, and he stuck even closer.
Why didn't I realize loose lips sink ships even at my age?
"Today it's water buffalo meat, specially shipped from the northern regions."
The chef introduced the dish and left.
Nellin swallowed hard, eyeing the water buffalo steak drizzled with orange sauce.
"Want some?"
"N-No?"
"It'll give you a stomachache."
"Pardon?"
Nellin looked flustered and whispered to Marian.
- Hear that? He's totally planning to hog it. The young master's tastes have gotten so twisted lately.
She thinks I can't hear?
I hear everything. Crystal clear.
Tsk, I warned her it'd upset her stomach for her own good.
This meat was poisoned too. At this point, I wondered if it was the chef preparing the food or the ingredients themselves.
But investigating the food had to wait as long as possible.
This was like tonic to me.
Cutting off the supply early would be losing the game for a single castle.
For now, I just quietly ate what they served.
Thanks to it... my internal energy was piling up at an absurd rate.
The serpent in my body opened its maw wide at the poisoned food, greedily absorbing every trace of venom.
Good, that's it.
Eat it all.
In less than three months, I'd accumulated more internal energy than three years of normal cultivation would yield.
That was why I chose the Ten Thousand Poisons Heavenly King Divine Art.
As long as I got proper poison, my energy built up overwhelmingly, and its quality was top-notch.
"Thanks for the meal today."
I scraped up every bit of sauce and wiped my mouth.
I could see Nellin's lips pouting.
"Get greedy with food and you'll turn into a pig."
"N-No way!"
Nellin sheepishly covered her belly.
But I was the one who felt awkward after the joke.
What kind of childish banter was that?
Dang Cheol-woo never would have joked like that... Maybe it was because I was in Deyan's young body?
I felt the ancient soul of Dang Cheol-woo blending and crossing with the immature spirit of Deyan.
For example...
"Dessert's coming, right?"
"Right away."
See that?
As Dang Cheol-woo, I hated sweets, but reborn as Deyan, I craved them.
Even my tastes were adapting to this age.
After Marian brought dessert herself and I finished it, I finally stood.
I was about to head to the training grounds where Jayvolg was waiting when...
"The madam has arrived...!"
The servants bustled about. Outside was the same—everyone lined up in a panic.
Looking out the window... a carriage pulled up to the mansion.
The Pador estate was so vast that using carriages in the inner gardens wasn't unusual.
But seeing the middle-aged woman stepping down from the carriage made my heart sink.
Mother... My mother, whom I'd longed for so desperately in my past life.
Her health had always been frail; she'd been recuperating at the temple...
She dragged her sickly body here just to see me.
"Madam..."
I didn't know what to do as she approached the mansion.
What should I do?
I'd deliberately avoided visiting her. Right after returning, I'd wanted to pay respects first, but I hadn't.
In my chaotic state, seeing her might make me lose control of my emotions and act foolishly.
But she came to me first.
"Young master, young master...!"
"Huh?"
Marian prodded my dazed self.
"You need to greet her!"
"R-Right..."
The mansion doors slowly opened. Everyone, including me, bowed in formal greeting. Through the gap, I saw Mother's lower body.
"Deyan, you look healthier than before."
A small but resolute voice.
The voice of my mother, so longed for and missed.
How I'd yearned to hear it...
"Lift your head, Deyan. What's wrong?"
Her hand gripped my shoulder. Despite getting the best from the Pador family, it was so thin. I grasped her trembling hand with mine.
"Mother..."
I looked up at her.
And the moment I did...
"Ah..."
I couldn't control my expression.
How much practice had I done in the Tang Clan to hide emotions? As the Dark Venerable, how sly had I become?
But facing Mother, it all crumbled to nothing.
As if I'd been caught in the rain alone.
The emotions surging from my chest were impossible to contain.
"Deyan? What's wrong?"
Mother asked worriedly, stroking my head.
"N-No, it's nothing..."
Pathetic.
Why... why am I crying?
Despite living so long, controlling myself before Mother was impossible.
As I showed this ugly side, she stared intently at my face.
"Are you alright, Deyan? Is something wrong?"
Yes... Mother always worried about me first. Even though she passed away from her own illness.
She always put her child's care above her own.
Calm down...
I regulated my energy, spreading mana to soothe my body.
It's been so long since we met.
I need to show her a proper... dignified self...
But the longing churning inside turned me back into that childhood Deyan.
"Mother..."
"Yes, Deyan. Have you been struggling?"
Mother pulled me into her embrace.
Is this what it means to act immature for my age? I should hold back. I know I should.
But I'd waited so long for this day.
What does age matter in the face of longing?
Today... I had no choice but to be boy Deyan again.
"I missed you, Mother."
"My Deyan... Yes."
Mother bent her knees to meet my eyes. Some servants flinched.
The lady of the Pador family held high status.
For the matriarch of a top-ten imperial house to act this way could draw criticism, even toward her son, as undignified.
But Mother would never prioritize decorum over her son.
She gazed at me steadily and said,
"If you're feeling burdened because you're slower than others, don't. Deyan."
"......"
Mother just stroked my head.
"As long as you grow up well, I'm happy."
Mother, no.
The world... merely surviving means you'll be weeded out.
But unlike my true thoughts, before Mother, I answered like an obedient son.
"Yes..."
"That's my boy."
I couldn't worry her anymore.
As if nothing happened, I straightened up and gave her a bright smile.
"You don't have to worry anymore, Mother."
What children tell mothers often has exaggeration... but not me.
From the heart: No more reasons for you to worry.
I'll make sure of it.