Chapter 25 - {The Sub-Male Lead of the Original Story}
{The Sub-Male Lead of the Original Story}
Translator : Elizabeth
The sea of the South always shone with an emerald light.
The terrace of the ducal mansion where that dazzling horizon came into view at a glance.
As the sea breeze blew, red curtains fluttered as if dancing.
"I heard the Winter Grand Duke is looking for you."
Roan stood leaning obliquely against the railing.
Red hair burning red as if harboring the Southern sun, and copper-colored skin hardened while fighting rough waves shone even more wildly today.
Revealing his firm pectoral muscles by unbuttoning three or four buttons of his uniform jacket, he looked at Han Seol-ah with eyes hotter and more mournful than anyone in the world.
"……."
Han Seol-ah, standing in front of him, stared at the sea silently with sad eyes.
Roan approached her.
It was the hand of a rough sea man, but the touch brushing away her fluttering hair was as careful as a feather.
"Seol-ah."
His voice rang deep and heavy like the sound of waves.
"If the Winter Grand Duke tries to bind you with obsession… come to me."
Roan's eyes blazed.
It was not blind loyalty, but hot affection toward a woman.
"Because this sea of the South will let no one oppress you. I will become your shield, and become your freedom."
It was a fatal temptation, and the most reassuring vow staking his everything.
But Han Seol-ah shook her head and smiled faintly, very sadly.
"I'm sorry, Roan. I… cannot accept that heart."
It was an answer containing a regretful tone but a clear meaning of refusal.
But Roan didn't get angry or cling to her.
As if he even expected being rejected… he just raised the corners of his mouth bitterly and shrugged his shoulders pretending to be indifferent.
"I know. Where your gaze is heading."
He leaned against the railing again and laughed heartily on purpose.
It was laughter as if to hide the sound of his heart tearing.
"But remember. When you are tired and weary, when you feel there is no place to return to… that the gates of the South here are always open toward you."
That was the last consideration of a man in unrequited love, and the saddest confession in the world.
- From the original novel <The Regressor Saintess Only Walks the Flower Path> -
'Right, well, it was content roughly like that.'
Kang Jin-ho rested his chin on his hand in the rattling carriage and recalled the content of the original story.
At the time of reading the novel, the reaction in the comments section was truly explosive.
[Crazy… going all in on Roan stocks.]
[The Emperor is trash and the Grand Duke is an obsessive crazy top, but only Roan is true love ㅠㅠ]
[Author-nim please let her connect with Roan!]
[I think I'm going to die from sub-male lead syndrome…]
The decisive character inducing the so-called 'Sub-Male Lead Syndrome' in female readers.
That was Roan de Escar.
Handsome, capable, rich, and with a refreshing personality, yet a pure-hearted man looking only at the female lead.
From the perspective of female readers, it was a condition to go crazy for.
'Of course, it's a story unrelated to me.'
Kang Jin-ho yawned apathetically.
Whether Roan was pure-hearted or the sub-male lead was none of his business.
To him, Roan was just and a target to beat up if words didn't get through.
"Fist Emperor-nim."
Serafina, sitting opposite him, called carefully.
She had been fidgeting with her handkerchief nervously for a while.
She looked weak-hearted for a woman who would become the Guild Master of the Lapis Merchant Guild of the world, but considering the situation, it was understandable.
"Why?"
"Will it really… be okay?"
"What?"
"Duke Escar, I mean. Even without going this radically…."
Serafina trailed off.
She still seemed afraid of the fact that they might make an enemy of the ruler of the South.
"Tsk tsk, anyway. Worry is your lot in life."
Kang Jin-ho answered indifferently, looking out the window.
"The higher the position guys are in, the clearer their weaknesses are."
"Weaknesses?"
"Yeah. They become very docile in front of a guy stronger than themselves."
Kang Jin-ho's logic was simple and clear.
Serafina became mute like she ate honey.
That attitude full of conviction sounded like the words of an experienced person.
Also, it wasn't groundless confidence, but arrogance stemming from skill.
"We have arrived."
With the shout of the coachman, the carriage stopped.
Kang Jin-ho stretched and got off the carriage.
"Heave-ho. Shall we take a look at the house?"
The sight seen looking up was overwhelming.
A massive mansion built at the highest point of Escar City, on the edge of a cliff.
No, rather than a mansion, it was a grand citadel combining a fortress and a palace.
The outer wall built with white marble shone dazzlingly receiving sunlight, and the golden dome rising in the center flashed as if showing off the wealth and power of the South.
"Wow… spent some money on this."
Kang Jin-ho admired.
If Winter Castle of the North was a rough and practical fortress, this place was the extreme of splendor and luxury.
But behind that splendor, savage vigilance was hidden.
At the main gate, elite marines wearing dark navy uniforms stood holding spears, and on the walls, magic cannons enchanted with magic opened their muzzles toward the sea and the city.
"L-Look at the eyes of those guards over there. They're fierce."
Serafina whispered, grabbing the hem of Kang Jin-ho's clothes.
As she said, the spirit of the guards was different from ordinary soldiers.
It was the eyes of veterans who had experienced actual combat while subjugating numerous pirates.
"Halt! This is the residence of Duke Escar. Reveal your identity and business!"
The Guard Captain blocked the way and shouted.
His hand was already on the hilt of his sword.
It was an attitude of not tolerating suspicious people approaching.
"What do we do?"
Serafina looked at Kang Jin-ho in fluster.
Usually in times like this, the standard procedure was to show wealth and request to convey an agenda to the Duke's administrator.
Even if not that, they had to show the merchant guild's seal and beg to at least get a message to the butler.
But Kang Jin-ho hated such standard procedures.
"Hey, Serafina."
"Y-Yes?"
"What's the first thing you do when you go to someone else's house usually?"
At Kang Jin-ho's abrupt question, Serafina blinked her eyes.
"That is… you knock, or press the doorbell, right?"
"Right. If you're a polite person, you naturally should do so."
Kang Jin-ho nodded.
And walked to an empty lot a little away from the main gate.
"Excuse me, Fist Emperor-nim? That's not the entrance?"
"I know. But arguing over there is annoying. Do you have a reservation, who are you, wait… they'll recite the obvious repertoire, who has time to do that annoyingly?"
Kang Jin-ho rolled up his sleeves nonchalantly.
And looked up at the sky.
It was the clear blue sky of the South without a single cloud.
"So I decided to press the bell. With a bell that can be heard very clearly."
"Bell… you say?"
It was before Serafina could ask back.
Blue energy began to condense in Kang Jin-ho's right hand.
It was Aura.
But it wasn't simply Aura wrapped around a fist.
A high-density energy sphere was formed, as if a massive typhoon had been compressed inside his palm.
Vwoom—.
Space vibrated and made a low crying sound.
Guards noticed the strange sign and started murmuring.
"Wh-What is that?"
"Is it magic?"
Not caring, Kang Jin-ho lightly tapped the Aura sphere floating on his palm into the sky.
Shoom—.
The first Aura shell soared into the sky.
The speed wasn't that fast.
It rose slowly but heavily like a released balloon.
"……?"
Serafina and the guards looked up at that shining sphere.
It was around the time questions arose about what he was doing.
"Going with a time-lag attack."
Kang Jin-ho muttered in a low voice.
A second Aura shell was already made in his hand before anyone noticed.
This one was much smaller than the first, but the rotational force and destructive power contained within were incomparable.
"Go."
Shooooooom!
As Kang Jin-ho punched out, the second Aura shell was fired.
This time it was different.
Speed that couldn't be followed with eyes.
The second shell soaring tearing through the air rushed in a straight line toward the first shell that went up first.
'Don't tell me?'
Serafina instinctively covered her ears.
A premonition that something tremendous was about to happen brushed her mind.
"Hmm~"
And 2 seconds later.
500 meters above the Escar Ducal Mansion.
The massive Aura shell floating as if waiting after going up first, and the high-speed Aura shell that came up following it collided accurately.
Kaaaaaack—!
A flash burst.
Blue light brighter than the sun covered the sky of the South.
And following that, violence of sound struck the ground.
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!!!!
"Kyaaaaaak!"
"Uheok!"
The phrase 'bolt from the blue' was insufficient to express it.
A roar as if the sky were collapsing.
A shockwave generated along with the massive explosion sound shook the entire Escar City.
Crack! Crash!
The splendid glass windows of the Ducal Mansion couldn't withstand the vibration and shattered in unison.
Guards standing at the main gate were swept away by the shockwave and rolled like fallen leaves, and magic cannons on the walls rattled and deviated from position.
Citizens downtown screamed thinking a war broke out and lay flat on the ground.
Seagulls flew up in flocks, and ships docked at the harbor rocked.
"Wh-What is it! Bombardment! Enemy raid!"
"Sky! Look at the sky!"
In the sky people pointed at, remnants of blue Aura were spreading like clouds as if massive fireworks had exploded.
At that overwhelming spectacle, the city fell into panic in an instant.
"……."
Serafina looked up at the sky blankly while slumped down.
Her mouth was open wide enough for her jaw to dislocate and wouldn't close.
She slowly turned her head and looked at Kang Jin-ho.
The main culprit of this situation!
And the man who turned the peaceful morning of the South into the middle of a battlefield in a single shot.
Kang Jin-ho was sweeping back his fluttering hair and grinning.
"Saw that?"
He pointed to the messed-up Ducal Mansion with his chin.
"I pressed the bell. The sound is a bit loud, but with this much, even a sleeping person would jump up, right?"
"Th-This… is a bell, you say?"
Serafina's voice trembled like a goat.
This wasn't a bell.
It was a declaration of war.
No, it was terror worse than a declaration of war!
Told to press the doorbell of someone else's house, it was like plugging a Hellfire in front of the main gate.