Chapter 414: Han So-hye
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 414: Han So-hye
“Ugh… sob…”
Han So-hye’s expression was twisted in anguish. She tried desperately to hold back her tears, but it seemed impossible to stop the ones that had already begun to fall.
She even seemed to be trying to channel magic into her eyes, but her hands wouldn't stop trembling, as if overwhelmed by some profound sense of injustice and resentment. She wasn’t wailing aloud, but her chin began to quiver uncontrollably.
When I lifted my head slightly to look at her, her utterly devastated face came into view.
Her eyes, streaming like open faucets, were a pitiful sight. I instinctively wanted to look away.
“Huu… sob… ugh…”
This was the Queen of the North. In my past life, she was the most respected figure of her era, a role model everyone aspired to be. The achievements she had carved out for herself were beyond words. The same was true of her now. Though she had Choi Seulgi’s help, she was the one who had built a small clan, traveled to the North, unified a region that had been no different from a warring states period, and established a kingdom. And that very person was now weeping, completely defenseless, in front of me.
‘…’
Choi Seulgi also wore a look of utter bewilderment. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed even she had never seen the Queen of the North like this. It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it felt as if Mev was hiding inside the always-strong woman before me—and a cornered Mev at that.
I kept my mouth shut and began to observe her condition.
[Target - Han So-hye]
[Status - Envy, Jealousy, Regret]
The information my eye provided told me that she was intensely jealous of me. I couldn’t help but be a little surprised to see the very person I had once envied now showing such feelings toward me.
“Why… why… are you so perfect? Huuuk…”
“I’m…”
“Spare me the talk of not being perfect. Do you have any idea… hic… how hard… hic! I’ve worked? I must have swung my spear constantly, forgoing sleep and food, just to become stronger… Huuuk…”
I thought I understood why she was acting this way. She had likely seen my performance in the battle against the Corrupted Prince and had been trying her best to catch up. She must have spent all day swinging her spear, all day thinking about how to become stronger.
The cause was likely her belief that martial strength was all she had left. It was only natural for her to feel this way, having been so thoroughly outclassed in the administration of a large nation. Now, that pride of hers had just been shattered in a single blow. She must have believed that she was at least on par with me, or that the gap between us had narrowed.
In truth, my growth was largely due to luck, especially the power of the Seat I had obtained. But to her, who saw it as a matter of talent, the sight was clearly heartbreaking.
“No matter how hard I try… hic… the mediocre can never defeat a true genius. All that study, all that effort… it’s all for nothing. I see that now, looking at you.”
“…”
I had never imagined I would hear such words from Han So-hye.
“It’s so unfair I can’t stand it. Hic… I never thought the day would come when the words ‘the heavens are unfair’ would resonate with me so deeply.”
As if her continuous tears weren’t enough, she even started hiccupping, which was even more unexpected. As I debated whether I should try to console her, I felt Choi Seulgi’s gaze on me.
‘Do something to fix this!’
That was the look on her face. Finally, I slowly began to speak.
“My words were a bit harsh… You never know the outcome of a battle until you actually clash.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. No matter how hard a pony tries, it can never beat a natural-born steed.”
If Han So-hye was a pony, I thought, then others without talent were probably ants.
“For someone who just projected such an imposing aura, your words lack conviction, don’t they? Hic… This is truly unfair… How can a person like this even exist…? Huuuuk…”
“That’s not it…”
“The heavens are so cruel.”
It was a thought I’d had over a hundred times back when I was Kim Taesung. It seemed like any attempt to comfort her would only make her cry more, so I was at a loss for what to do. I just swallowed nervously.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. My dear So-hye… come here…”
“Unni…”
When Choi Seulgi opened her arms, Han So-hye collapsing into her embrace was quite a spectacle. As if she had missed the comfort of Choi Seulgi, who had been so cold to her, she instantly burrowed into her arms.
‘What’s with her?’
In that moment, any sympathy I’d felt for her vanished. I had never imagined she had such a clingy side. After muttering something into Choi Seulgi’s embrace for a long while, Han So-hye’s shoulders finally stopped shaking.
“…”
“Hic, hic, hic.”
But the hiccups didn’t stop.
“My… my apologies… hic.”
Trying to put on a dignified expression now just didn’t suit her. I let out a calm sigh and spoke again.
“I was being sincere when I said my earlier words were a mistake. A fight isn’t decided by mere stats. In fact, I think you, of all people, know best that I don’t possess any remarkable talent.”
At her level, she could tell just by watching someone wield a weapon. She, more than anyone, would know that my fighting style was far from refined.
“When it comes to getting stronger… talent in wielding a weapon isn’t that important. Using your body, utilizing what you have… hic… that’s also an element of talent. In that sense, you are the genius.”
“I’ll return those words right back to you. You don’t rule a country well just because you’re eloquent, politically savvy, or have a good grasp of economics. I, too, know nothing about administration. I’m not like Jang Ye Ri. Han So-hye, utilizing what you have—that is your way.”
“Don’t you think you’re making it sound too easy?”
“I’m just stating the facts.”
Han So-hye looked at me again with a strange expression. It felt like her eyes were welling up with tears once more. This time, however, she seemed to hold them back, letting out a ragged sigh instead.
“Humans and Green Skins are different. You said a nation doesn’t need an incompetent king, but it was you, Han So-hye, who established a country here and gathered those who believe in you.”
“…”
“My case and Jang Ye Ri’s are different. You can afford to be a little more brazen. It’s the nation you built, and its people are your followers. You don’t need to try to be someone extraordinary.”
“But…”
“Everyone has a different role to play. I, too, left the duty of protecting the Land of Glory to the former Great Tribe Leader and came here. The current Land of Glory and the Brother’s Land were built because of loyal subjects like the faithful goblin Hakajin and the somewhat sly Lee Wanyong. The throne is not a seat for someone who is constantly walking on eggshells in fear. If you, the leader of the nation you created, are not its king, then who else could possibly sit in the highest seat?”
“I could make a mistake.”
“Mistakes are not for you to judge. The ones who made you their queen will be the judge of that.”
“…”
“Stop worrying about what others think and do as you please. That’s not the person they wanted when they made you their queen.”
I thought my words were part sophistry, part truth.
Of course, someone with responsibility should refrain from acting recklessly. Perhaps Han So-hye’s chosen path was the right one. I didn’t know the detailed situation in the North, but it was likely that its current political system shared many similarities with a modern one.
It wasn’t a bad choice to bring in things that were already proven, things she was most familiar with, rather than trying something new.
That is, if this were an ordinary world.
But this continent was a place ruled by power. The systems of a normal society didn’t apply here. One only had to look at the situation in the East to understand.
A noble, strong, and resolute queen takes her place and leads. She listens to the words of both loyal and treacherous subjects, using everything and everyone she can. She considers the interests of the great city and her followers, bringing everything under her control. She never forgives those who commit crimes, striking off their heads without hesitation. In a modern world, she would be called a dictator, so strong are her autocratic tendencies.
It was a system that would undoubtedly fail in the modern era. And yet, Garia was achieving such tremendous growth that it changed by the day.
In terms of simple growth, it was showing progress far superior to that of the North.
‘A transitional period.’
The way I saw it, the North was currently at a point of transition to the next stage. It was only natural for there to be chaos.
The challenge was…
Which direction would it take? That was something the many people who built the nation had to put their heads together and contemplate. I nodded and continued.
“I respect you. I respect your strength, and I respect your upright character. You told me the heavens are unfair, but that was a thought I had hundreds of times long ago. When I swung my spear, I always pictured you in my mind. When I clashed with others, I always fought with the thought of facing you.”
“Uh…”
“I respect you for uniting the North, for protecting those in need, and for fighting for the values you hold dear. Forging a small clan, entering the North, enduring the harsh environment, ending the human wars, and rising to stand tall above it all, never ceasing your efforts to move forward. Somewhere out there, there are surely humans who live their lives in this world with you in their minds.”
That was what I had thought when I was Kim Taesung. And there really had been people around me who lived on, thinking of her. It was probably the same now. Those without connections, those crushed by giant guilds, those who could no longer climb higher—she was the first person they would think of.
I truly believed that.
I finished speaking and slowly looked up at Han So-hye. It was a slightly embarrassing speech, but I felt it was the only thing I could give her, as I owed her a debt from before. Her reaction didn’t seem bad. No, it seemed very good.
“…”
The problem was that her face seemed to be turning a little red. She was staring at me with a somewhat dazed expression. I had hoped she would at least react to the words I had so carefully crafted, but she just looked at me as if a screw had come loose.
Just as I thought her face was getting closer, her lips brushed past mine in an instant. The timing was so sudden I couldn’t react.
Choi Seulgi’s shocked face, Han So-hye still staring at me with a blank expression, and me looking at Choi Seulgi. This was probably the most chaotic place on the entire continent right now.
“Huh?”
As Choi Seulgi let out a dumbfounded sound, Han So-hye flinched and opened her mouth.
“Oh? Th-this… This was a gesture of thanks… to Blood Dagger…”
“A gesture of thanks?”
“H-Humans sometimes express their gratitude this way!”
No matter how hard I wracked my brain, I couldn’t recall any human who expressed thanks in such a manner. Han So-hye’s face was already turning an explosive shade of red.
“So…”
“…”
“So… Unni, this… this is American s-style! So… I’m going to bed now! S-Seulgi-unni! Blood Dagger… Dagger, you too… sleep well…”
An absurd line. I had never thought this was the “American style.” As I stared at Han So-hye in silence, she seemed to run out of things to say. She glanced back and forth between me and Choi Seulgi, then hastily threw the door open and fled.
Immediately after.
Choi Seulgi, who looked like she was about to say something to me, instead muttered in a completely different direction, her fury focused elsewhere.
“American…”
“…”
I couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious, but the killing intent radiating from her was real.