Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Hero of Justice, Verdandi Astraia (4)
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"I'm sorry for showing you such an unsightly sight...!"
Verdandi wiped away her tears as she spoke. Her puffy eyelids and reddened eyes spoke volumes about how much she'd bottled up her emotions.
"It's fine. There are no perfect people in this world. Everyone makes mistakes, fails, and learns from them."
I gave Verdandi a gentle smile. She had simply twisted because no one around her had properly taught her about emotions.
Just like I had in the past. Before meeting my first love, I hadn't learned how to express my feelings through words.
- What's your name? Do-hyun? That's an unusual name.
Yes, it felt distant now, but my real name in that reality had certainly been that.
- Do-hyun, you really can't write. How can you put down such an unpleasant experience like this?
Han Do-hyun.
A name meaning to place a period at the end of the path.
Anyone hearing it might think it destined him for writing, but unlike my first love, I had no talent for it.
- There are too many commas in your writing. The line breaks are weird, and in the end, it's just noise only you understand.
Back in school, while filling out manuscript paper, I'd heard that from the girl sitting next to me.
- The problem is your thoughts are too extreme. Who would read writing that's always so depressing?
Her name was Yu Seol-hwa. A born genius writer, unlike me.
Seol-hwa had a knack for elegant prose and the power to move people's emotions.
The reason I was now desperately trying to save the final bosses was, in a way, largely her fault.
- Every story should end happily. The writer, the reader, and the characters in the novel—all should be happy.
That one sentence she'd left me with had pierced my heart like the sharpest thorn.
"......"
"Master Bing Yeon? Why the sudden change?"
My steps halted abruptly as I left the house to find the others, and Verdandi turned to ask me.
"Just lost in old memories for a moment. Someone I miss came to mind."
What would Seol-hwa say if she saw me now? Reborn into a world where the characters from my novel breathed and lived, living out a life on borrowed time.
And wandering around, trying to atone for my sins by saving the final bosses...
"Who could that be? You looked incredibly sad just now!"
Verdandi read my expression instantly and smiled brightly. Children were sensitive to others' emotional shifts like that.
...Was this another setting I wrote?
I squeezed my eyes shut. This was how Verdandi had lived until now.
A life prioritizing others' feelings over her own. The stress built up over years had finally exploded.
That's why she'd crumbled at a single divine oracle, and why a stranger like me had convinced her so easily.
"My first love. A pure, innocent time I can never get back."
"...What does 'first love' mean?"
Proving it, Verdandi didn't even know the term. I sighed deeply at her innocent expression.
"It means the first person you ever liked, the one you cherish most tenderly."
"I don't get it! Boys confessed to me, but they were all just teasing!"
In that way, Verdandi was like a blank sheet of paper. You never knew what would be written on it.
If I hadn't stopped her, she would have judged all life in this world as evil and become a murderous demon.
"Does that even count as love?"
Suddenly, Verdandi blocked my path and asked. Her pure, untainted smile made me chuckle despite myself.
"No. Love is the feeling where you'd gladly give your life for another. You could do anything for love, but you'd never hurt the object of it..."
"...So that means Master Bing Yeon loves me! This is embarrassing!"
To be precise, it was closer to paternal affection. I wanted all the characters in my story to be happy.
It was just the mindset of a child procrastinating the homework Seol-hwa had given me. Calling it love felt too embarrassing.
"No. This is a master's affection for a disciple. As you grow, meet people, and build bonds, you'll find someone to love and marry."
I imagined Biwol, Verdandi, and Azazel in wedding dresses.
Tall, handsome men standing beside them, thanking me as they held their weddings.
Seeing it for real might make me bawl. I could almost understand why fathers cried at their daughters' weddings.
"You're the first man in my life to cherish me like this! Can't I marry you, Master Bing Yeon?"
"Don't say such ridiculous things."
To me, these three were like daughters. To a writer, characters in a novel felt like children.
Biwol had licked my finger today, but I'd never harbored any impure thoughts toward her.
"I'm your master. No master in this world would feel that way about a disciple."
Even if one did, could you call them a master?
If a master-disciple bond turned romantic, they'd face the world's scorn and pointing fingers.
"They might exist! The men in this village looked at me with lecherous eyes! I don't think my body's lacking in appeal!"
"...At least, that's not me. I've never looked at a disciple that way, not once."
I wouldn't even have the face to look at my sect's disciples.
The Ice Dragon Harmony Sect took in coachmen, bellboys, beggars, limbless children, and even those who'd sold their bodies or organs.
And we were already labeled a demonic sect for mainly using ice arts.
"It's the truth! Master Bing Yeon really is pure!"
Verdandi was discerning truth from lie even here. She burst into laughter, "Puhehe."
"A master leads disciples through prestige and respect. At least, that's how I see it. Forcing loyalty through power or fear loses trust eventually."
I slowed my steps while watching her. At the academy where I'd worked, there was an instructor who ruled students with corporal punishment under the guise of "tough love."
...That guy got trashed behind his back.
He was the opposite of me. I'd scolded his methods several times, but he never listened.
"The human heart is like delicate glass. Without words or actions, some things stay forever unknown."
At the academy, I was called "handsome teacher" or "sculpted hunk" with excessive nicknames, but my specialty was counseling.
Listening to students' dreams and worries, guiding them from wrong paths.
That was my small escape after giving up my dream of writing.
"So that's why you held me so warmly! If I could choose a father, I'd want someone like Master Bing Yeon!"
I could only give a wry internal smile at Verdandi's words. After all, I'd written her backstory.
Just transplanting my own memory of being called an "unwanted son" by my father.
How did things end up like this?
"No need to attach '-nim' every time. 'Master' is enough."
I stroked her head like I did Biwol's. Time had made her hair feel a bit dry and frizzy.
"Master...! Is that title enough?"
Verdandi nodded vigorously, eyes sparkling. She must have wanted to call me Master, like Biwol did.
It sounded a bit awkward, but better than her stiffly adding honorifics to my name.
"Yes, your mother's up ahead. Go on."
"Got it. Master!"
Verdandi hesitated, fearing to approach, so I gave her back a light push with my palm.
This was something I couldn't help with. Parent-child bonds had to be mended by themselves.
Eila came to her senses, unable to believe the scene around her. Hadn't Verdandi just stabbed her in the stomach with a kitchen knife, blaming her?
Her abdominal wound, where even entrails had peeked out, was now perfectly healed, as if it never happened.
"You were this close to dying if they'd been a bit later."
The woman frowning over wine was the one called Gold Tower Lord earlier.
"Did you save me?"
"I did, but save the thanks for later with your daughter. Someone threw themselves into your family fight."
Wolfram sighed in relief at Eila. If not for Bing Yeon's quick response and judgment, it could have gone wrong.
"With my daughter...? Wait, what about Verdandi?"
"Here she comes. Do better from now on."
As Wolfram said, footsteps approached from afar, and a girl with a golden laurel crown drew near.
"Verdandi...?"
It was her daughter, Verdandi, whom she loved more than her own eyes.
Eila watched in disbelief as Verdandi walked slowly, then broke into a run.
- Even beasts cherish their young, but I nearly got killed by my mother as a newborn!
Eila might not remember trying to kill infant Verdandi. She was too young then, and it had ended as an attempt.
Bleeding from the knife, Eila had fought to stay conscious to hear Verdandi's pent-up feelings.
It was all her fault for not loving Verdandi enough.
"Are you hurt anywhere...?"
"Mother..."
So Eila's first words to Verdandi were these.
A parent's ordinary worry for their child.
"Mom's the one who messed up. I should have understood your heart sooner... At least listened to your troubles."
"......Ha."
Verdandi was speechless at Eila's attitude. Stabbed and nearly killed, yet her mother apologized?
"...I hate you, Mother."
Verdandi clenched her fists. She was angry at her mother begging forgiveness in this situation.
"You nearly died because of me, knowing how the villagers look at me, and you don't even get mad?"
"It's all my fault. I was lacking, so it happened. I'm sorry, my daughter."
Eila gently stroked her cheek, then spread her arms wide for a hug.
If she could show love like this, why not sooner?
"Stop saying sorry! You didn't do anything wrong!"
Verdandi forced the words out, voice thick with tears.
"I wasn't an unwanted child, was I? Raped by a bandit, daughter of some unknown man Father couldn't even identify!"
"......"
"It's all my fault! I fell for the oracle, thought you were evil!"
She wished Eila would slap her, despise her, scold her—anything.
"Why aren't you angry? I almost killed you!"
Eila just hugged her, sobbing. Verdandi couldn't stop crying either.
She should apologize, admit her wrong. Why couldn't she voice her heart?
"That's because your mother loves you more than anyone. Verdandi."
"...Master."
"Even stabbed by your child, a parent blames themselves. That's what being a parent is."
Bing Yeon appeared beside Verdandi, speaking softly and warmly, as if comforting her.
"Apologize too. Broken bonds may not fully mend, but you need to release those old emotions."
"......"
At Bing Yeon's words, Verdandi closed her eyes and gathered courage. If not now, she never would.
"Sorry... Mom... I was wrong..."
Not her usual formal speech, but a child's raw sobs.
"Yes, my daughter. You suffered so much."
Eila and Verdandi embraced, weeping freely, dismantling the walls between them.
"Mom... Sorry... It must hurt so much..."
"No, it's okay. It happens. Mom was wrong first..."
The mother and daughter repeated sorries and reassurances, sharing pasts they'd never voiced.
As I watched their reconciliation with a pleased smile, a cold voice came from beside me.
"Master."
"Biwol, where'd you go? I appreciate your help this time. Good work..."
It was Biwol. I reached to pat her head as usual, praising her.
"Master, do you like this little sister more than me?"
My disciple's expression was off. She felt like a different Biwol altogether.
"...Who are you, exactly?"
I couldn't help but say it.