Chapter 327
Chapter 327
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 327
Chapter Title: Isabelle Watching, Kalli and Adelia
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***
“……”
Hiding herself in the darkness, Isabelle waited, feeling utterly bizarre.
The darkness had long since deepened, and it was now the middle of the night.
She was still watching him from a distance, fulfilling her duty as his escort.
And it was a great shock.
‘No, just what…’
What was this man?
Just last night, she’d resolved to stand by and watch, as a proper escort should. But today had strayed so far from her expectations that her resolve now seemed laughable.
“Glacia. Is there something more you expected from me? Or something you want me to do?”
“No, not really… I wasn’t hoping you’d do a lot for me.”
“Really? Then my attitude won’t change much from here on out. I can’t exactly be fake with you.”
Even from a distance, she could clearly see him looking up at the night sky with a faint smile.
“...”
And right beside him was a woman with blue hair, watching him. A student named Glacia….
Above all, the relationship between the two was strange, far too strange.
She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she couldn't ignore the conversation that naturally reached her ears.
‘It seems they had some kind of relationship before I started my escort duty, but…’
Still, for the woman to ask him to treat her like a lover was quite shocking.
Just before this, she had seen with her own two eyes Han Cheon-seong and a student named Millia sharing a passionate moment of affection.
This man….
He had far, far too many women around him.
And just as she had feared, it was safe to say that every single one of them was infatuated with him.
Despite the presence of other women, they didn't give up. On the contrary, they voluntarily sought to form a relationship with him.
‘Have they all lost their minds?’
She knew that the man named Han Cheon-seong had a charm that attracted the opposite sex. She had felt a slightly strange current herself.
But even so, this wasn't a relationship that multiple women would accept so readily.
A harem… is inherently a privilege, a right reserved for those with responsibility and capability.
It was by no means something anyone could enjoy.
Moreover, most of the women currently involved with that man were from rather well-known noble families, and she had even heard the name of the student called Glacia before.
—Apostle Executioner Anastasia.
One of the key figures who had achieved tremendous results across all fronts. And as her sole blood relative, Glacia’s name was already known to the Imperial Family.
She was known as a person of great interest to the Imperial Family.
“……Han Cheon-seong.”
“Yes?”
“Can I lean on your shoulder?”
“Go ahead.”
Along with the conversation, she inadvertently saw it.
The sight of the woman named Glacia, sitting side-by-side with him, gazing at the night sky before naturally resting her head on his shoulder.
“……”
She hesitated, her lips trembling slightly, a tightness constricting her chest.
‘Is this… really okay?’
The feelings between a man and a woman are not for a third party to interfere with. Unless it was a union between noble houses, relationships were formed through natural emotions.
In this era where commoners were given clear opportunities for social advancement… it was easy to predict that the man named Han Cheon-seong would grow significantly and make a name for himself in the future.
But even so, the fact that each of the women involved was of such high standing made her feel strange.
A series of bizarre relationships unfolded, making what she knew as common sense seem anything but.
“And Glacia. There’s something I want to say, too.”
“Yes. What is it?”
“If I treat you like a lover, you’ll naturally think of me as your lover and act accordingly, right?”
“Well…”
“I’d like you to act that way. It can’t be a one-sided thing where only I treat you like a lover.”
“That’s… right. Of course, that’s how it should be… I’ll try to do that, too.”
“Good. That’s all I need.”
At the series of conversations that followed, a dry laugh escaped her.
It was so natural that, to her, the atmosphere between the two was no different from that of real lovers.
‘Hah…’
And so, she couldn't understand it at all.
From her perspective, she could neither comprehend any of the women involved with him nor fathom why they were all so natural about it.
Even if the Empire had a system for harems, it was a world completely removed from her own.
As a member of the House of Marquis Ellinor and after becoming a Golden Knight, she had never once considered such a thing.
‘Lovers are supposed to be in a relationship where they focus solely on each other, aren't they?’
She remembered reading romance novels that sometimes circulated among the female knights, but to her, that was the natural order of things.
If someone loves multiple people, their heart is bound to be divided. How could that be called true love? By its very nature, it meant they weren't being faithful to each other.
That’s why she hated harems.
Because she believed that no matter how much people loved each other, a one-on-one relationship should be paramount.
“……”
But now, she could see it.
*Rustle.*
The man’s hand gently stroking the hair of Glacia, who was leaning against him. And the woman’s expression, as if she were feeling a faint happiness while accepting his touch.
In a quiet, deserted space, they leaned against each other, simply enjoying the silence without exchanging a single word.
The sight of them alone seemed to twist something inside her heart.
‘Why is there such a sweet atmosphere between them?’
She felt she could never be like that.
She couldn't help but put herself in the woman's shoes. If she were in Glacia's position, she felt she could never bring herself to love that man.
Even if she had liked him before, the moment she realized his other relationships, her feelings would have likely cooled.
‘Because I’d know he wasn’t fully focused on me.’
And yet, despite knowing all this, the women she had seen today showed no sign of such feelings.
They didn't get angry or show any rejection upon learning that Han Cheon-seong had other women.
Only the woman named Millia had shown a hint of disappointment, but even that vanished like a lie the moment they were alone, as she began to crave even greater affection from him.
*Tap.*
“...”
She tapped her own lips, the strange feeling only growing.
What was even more ridiculous was that the man, Han Cheon-seong, made no attempt to hide his complicated relationships with women.
He would reveal the fact upfront, as if to show it off, and then ask the woman if she was okay with it.
That was very different from the harems she knew.
Typically, when a nobleman sought to build a harem, he would either choose commoner women of lower status or keep his relationships with high-ranking women a secret.
This was because high-ranking women of similar status generally did not accept the idea of a harem.
She had attended enough social gatherings to have witnessed just how much trouble and commotion this caused among various families.
If you dug deep enough, you’d find that there were many men and women in incredibly sordid relationships, and quite a few cases of the reverse as well.
“So this is what it feels like to be one of the women in a relationship with you….”
“...Glacia.”
“I’m not saying it to blame you. It’s just that what I’m feeling right now is a little different, so I had to say it.”
Then, as the woman named Glacia openly mentioned the fact, she saw the man flinch.
His awkward smile revealed his surprise.
‘It’s so strange…’
He seemed to be continuously adding to his collection of women, yet his attitude was not so brazen.
‘Is that strange attitude what draws women to him so strongly?’
She continued to watch, lost in thought.
Her own values, her very definition of what a harem was, were being called into question….
She found herself observing the women entangled with that man in ever greater detail.
***
The time was nearing midnight.
The door to a wine bar tucked away in an alley of the capital opened.
*Jingle!*
As two women, each with a distinct charm, entered, the men in the bar held their breath.
*Click, clack….*
With the clear sound of their heels, a woman with red hair and another with emerald hair took a seat at a corner table. The gazes of the men seemed unable to break away from them.
“……”
“……”
They all met their companions’ eyes, blinking blankly.
A rumor had already begun to spread.
A rumor that this was a wine bar frequently visited by two of the most renowned instructors at the Imperial Central Academy….
Even as the men’s gazes remained fixed on the table where Kalli and Adelia sat, the two women paid them no mind.
…
*Snap!*
With a light flick of her fingers, Adelia’s mana gently took control of the space. It was a spell to block outside noise and prevent their own voices from leaking out.
“Hoo.”
As Kalli let out a deep sigh and nodded her head, Adelia looked at her with a bitter smile.
“Instructor Kalli… don’t be too heartbroken.”
“…I don’t know.”
As Kalli spoke, caressing her wine glass, Adelia familiarly poured wine into it.
*Gurgle….*
The dark red wine filled the glass.
Staring at it blankly, Kalli let out a small, dry laugh.
“Are you alright, Instructor Adelia? I’m… my heart is shaking so much.”
“I’m fine. I knew this would happen when we started our relationship. But it would be a lie to say I’m completely unaffected.”
“Right…? I’m not being strange right now, am I?”
As Kalli looked directly at Adelia and asked, her eyes were trembling violently.
And for good reason. A huge rumor had spread like wildfire today.
The display of affection in the hallway right after the academy lectures ended. They couldn't ignore the story of Millia suddenly kissing Han Cheon-seong.
She had been distraught all day, and for Kalli, the shock was even greater.
“You’re not being strange at all. It’s because you like him… it’s only natural to be more concerned.”
“I just… I really don’t know anymore. How much more do we have to allow? Just hearing the news makes my heart ache, but we can’t just cut off the relationship, can we?”
As Kalli pleaded with desperation, Adelia’s eyes faintly darkened.
“…That’s right. We can’t cut it off.”
And even she couldn't give Kalli an answer.
Their own positions were too delicate to sever his relationships with other women.
—Instructors.
The fact that they, as instructors, were in a relationship with a student, Cheon-seong, was something they couldn't publicly reveal. Moreover, it forced them into an ambiguous stance regarding the other women.
Simply put, if he formed a relationship with a fellow student, they, as instructors, couldn't tell him to break it off.
“…Instructor Kalli.”
“……Yes.”
As Kalli replied weakly and immediately tilted her glass, Adelia’s heart was not at ease either.
Even she had thought it was unlikely.
But now that it had happened, could she say there had been no signs? No, that wasn't true.
The student at the center of this new rumor.
She had realized long ago that Millia had feelings for Cheon-seong.
“From now on… let’s have a serious talk with Student Han Cheon-seong. The two of us.”
“What do you mean by ‘talk’…?”
“We can’t do anything about the women he’s already in a relationship with, but I think we need to be a bit more firm about him not adding any more.”
As she spoke, Adelia’s eyes sank into a quiet depth.
It was a different kind of demeanor from Kalli’s outwardly distraught state.