Chapter 295
Chapter 295
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 295
Chapter Title: Were you... not afraid of me?
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***
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The voice that echoed through the space was utterly cold.
At that moment, Cheon-seong and Isabelle, who had been looking at each other, turned their heads in surprise.
*Srrk.*
Isabelle, who had been leaning lightly against the wall, quickly lowered her hand, her surprise growing.
The person now in her line of sight.
"..."
Fiery red hair and a frigidly set expression exuded an overwhelming pressure.
No, it was a gaze so intense it could only be described as ‘hostility,’ and it was fixed on her.
And yet, what truly startled her was that she hadn't sensed her presence at all. Not until the woman spoke directly to her.
“...Who are you?”
As Isabelle asked cautiously, Kalli slowly began to walk toward them.
*Tap, tap.*
Contrary to the sound of her leisurely footsteps, Kalli’s eyes were chillingly cold.
“I’m an academy instructor. And I’m also the instructor in charge of Student Han Cheon-seong, whom you are currently subduing. My name is Kalli Ishtar. And who might you be?”
Isabelle’s brow furrowed at the cold voice that followed the brief introduction with a question of its own.
‘The House of Count Ishtar.’
She had heard a little about Kalli, the eldest daughter of the Ishtar family.
Her name was spoken of frequently even within the imperial court; she had distinguished herself on the front lines for many years and was currently at the academy for a brief respite.
—The Pillar of the Empire.
Her reputation was by no means small, enough to have earned her the title ‘Crimson Dawn.’
Recognizing the situation, she spoke immediately.
“I am Isabelle Elinore, a Golden Knight. I was having a serious conversation with Student Han Cheon-seong, the individual I am assigned to protect.”
“A serious conversation, you say…? From what I can see, it doesn’t look like a conversation held in a very pleasant atmosphere.”
“That is a misunderstanding.”
Speaking lightly, Isabelle suddenly flashed a brilliant smile.
It was a bright smile, as if to say it was nothing, but the suspicion in Kalli’s eyes did not fade.
"..."
Sensing this, Isabelle grew more tense.
She certainly hadn't caused Cheon-seong any direct harm, nor had she left a single scratch on his body.
She never intended to. Still, a misunderstanding was inevitable.
To an outsider, she and Han Cheon-seong must have looked to be in a very strange situation.
“So you’re saying I’ve misunderstood…”
But after her cold reply to Isabelle, Kalli suddenly turned her gaze to Cheon-seong and asked.
“Well then, Student Han Cheon-seong, can you truly say I’ve misunderstood? If something happened, if she did something to you, you can be honest with me.”
Her gaze was soft as she looked at him, a complete contrast to the one she had given Isabelle. Cheon-seong inadvertently felt Isabelle’s eyes on him.
"..."
Kalli’s sudden question to him was akin to ignoring Isabelle, who was standing right there.
For a moment, Cheon-seong felt a pang of concern.
“...”
But when he checked Isabelle’s expression, she didn’t seem to have taken it that way.
So Cheon-seong calmly shook his head.
“I was just having a serious conversation with Knight Isabelle. It’s nothing major. And Instructor Kalli, you said you had something to take care of. Is everything finished?”
To diffuse the heavy atmosphere between them, Cheon-seong changed the subject, and Kalli calmly nodded.
“For the most part. It’s in the final stages now. So, are you sure nothing happened?”
Even so, Kalli asked one more time.
Was he sure nothing happened, that it wasn’t a serious situation? Her gaze wasn’t just soft.
A gaze filled with a powerful force.
With her eyes, Kalli was telling Cheon-seong that it was okay to confide in her.
In response, Cheon-seong gave a faint smile and shook his head.
“Nothing happened, really. You don’t need to worry. And Knight Isabelle, who has been my guard since yesterday, is a very... good person.”
As he finished speaking, he suddenly looked at Isabelle and defended her. Watching him tensely, Isabelle couldn’t help but freeze.
His response was completely incomprehensible to her.
‘Why…?’
She had deliberately brought him to a secluded, empty place. She had tried to intimidate him, creating a coercive and overwhelming atmosphere.
It was to make him feel immense psychological pressure, to imprint upon him the weight her words carried.
The process had seemed to be going according to her plan, but in the end, she had been inwardly shocked when he met her gaze without a hint of being cowed.
And now.
She was even more shocked to see him defending her.
It wasn't as if he were defending her out of fear.
It wasn't pretense or a lie; this man genuinely thought of her that way... it was palpable in his voice.
“...”
As Cheon-seong calmly met Isabelle’s perplexed gaze, Kalli, who had been scrutinizing the two of them, let out a small breath and nodded.
“If you say so, Student Han Cheon-seong, then I understand. And Knight Isabelle. My current attitude may seem rude to you, a Golden Knight. However, I hope you won’t take it badly. I was only doing my duty as an instructor.”
At Kalli’s cautious apology, Isabelle shook her head instead.
“It’s quite all right. I don’t find it rude in the slightest. If I were in your shoes and saw a student I was in charge of in such a situation... I would naturally have been on edge. It was a scene anyone would misunderstand.”
As the two exchanged slightly softer words, Kalli’s gaze returned to Cheon-seong.
“Student Han Cheon-seong, I really... want you to get some proper rest. It hasn’t even been a few days since the incident. Your body and your mind still need to rest properly.”
“...Thank you for your concern. I won’t overdo it.”
As Cheon-seong replied with a smile to her warm-hearted words, Kalli completely erased the doubt in her eyes.
“Knight Isabelle... you said. I had only heard that a Golden Knight would be coming as Student Han Cheon-seong’s guard, so this is our first time meeting. I look forward to working with you.”
“Yes. You don’t need to worry. There will be no danger to Student Han Cheon-seong in the future.”
“Then I’ll be on my way. Even if it is a serious conversation, I hope... it won’t be too long.”
With one last word of concern, Kalli slowly departed.
*Tap, tap….*
Isabelle, who had been staring blankly at Kalli’s retreating back, turned her gaze with a strange feeling.
Toward Han Cheon-seong, right beside her.
And even under her gaze, Cheon-seong was calmly meeting her eyes.
“Ah... Instructor Kalli cares for me a great deal. I’m very grateful for it.”
As Cheon-seong spoke cautiously about Kalli’s behavior and smiled, Isabelle nodded awkwardly.
“I see. I certainly felt that just now.”
At some point, Isabelle had reverted to using formal speech.
The imposing air she had used to pressure Han Cheon-seong, and even the intent to do so, had completely vanished.
***
*Step. Step….*
Different footfalls echoed as they walked in sync.
His black hair and her unusual blonde hair swayed slightly with their steps, a stark contrast, and the demeanor of both was perfectly calm.
After their encounter with Kalli, the conversation had ended, and they were now returning to the infirmary. A quiet stillness hung between them.
Among them, Isabelle’s mood was particularly strange.
“……”
Glancing to her side, she saw the man, his face even more relaxed than when they had left the infirmary.
The dark eyes visible through his black hair showed no hint of tension.
‘Strange.’
This wasn't what she had wanted when they left the infirmary together. She had wanted him to be scared of her, to spend the next few days on edge.
She thought that would make him take her words more seriously and be more cautious.
Her original plan was to drop the cold demeanor only after another day had passed.
But… that had all gone awry.
‘Why on earth did he defend me?’
She couldn’t understand the way he had acted after Kalli Ishtar, the so-called Pillar of the Empire, had appeared.
That moment had been completely unexpected, a situation where everything could have unraveled.
After all, she had just been cornering him with a coercive attitude and an intimidating presence.
He should have felt nothing but negative emotions toward her, yet his reaction had been the opposite.
He had calmly and composedly defended her, allowing the unexpected situation to pass without incident.
*Step.*
…Even watching him walk, she felt a sense of ease about him now.
—I understand your intentions.
Suddenly, the words he had spoken to her earlier came to mind.
Back when she was cornering him with her coercive attitude.
The moment she had asked about his intentions. After his reply, the man’s demeanor had changed.
Even though he was being crushed by the aura she projected, he had tried to meet her gaze with confidence, and it was not a look of fear or tension.
Lost in thought, she found herself speaking.
“Thank you for what you did earlier.”
Even if she couldn't fully understand this man right now, she was grateful, and she felt she had to express it.
“Thank me for what?”
“For defending me when we ran into Instructor Kalli.”
“No. There’s no need for you to thank me, Knight Isabelle. I simply did what I felt was right.”
…It was the same now.
This man looked at her so calmly.
He had clearly shown signs of tension and bewilderment when she was cornering him…
*Thud.*
She abruptly stopped walking and stared at him. He naturally stopped with her.
“……”
After a moment of hesitation, she asked him bluntly.
“Were you... not afraid of me?”
She had treated him with a slightly milder version of the mental training she had received the year she became a Golden Knight—the kind meant to instill a sense of pressure and gravity.
She didn't think her performance had been awkward.
This man must have been afraid of her.
‘Then how… how can he look at me so calmly now?’
“At first, I was afraid of you, Knight Isabelle.”
At his gentle voice… I simply listened.
“But I know you’re a good person. From the moment I understood your intentions, I wasn’t afraid anymore.”
*Flinch.*