Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The End of Childhood
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Jin Su-jeong lay sprawled on the floor, her nose bone collapsed.
The members of the Jin Family were too stunned to even murmur in shock.
Even Jin Yu-hee, seated at the family head's upper seat in the distance, stared with wide eyes in disbelief, biting her lower lip so hard it drew blood.
Standing at the center of it all, Jin Se-jeong clenched her fist tightly, a smile spreading across her face from the surge of accomplishment bubbling up from deep within her heart.
It wasn't catharsis from overcoming three years of exile after her mother fell ill and her own sister threatened her life, triumphing over every hardship and adversity through her own strength...
Jin Se-jeong's smile had nothing to do with her tragic family history.
'Ehehehe, it all went exactly as Yang Woo-bin said! Yang Woo-bin really is amazing. If I tell him about today, he'll definitely praise me, right? I did everything just as he said, and I won perfectly. Yeah, he'll shower me with praise. He might even hug me tight and say I'm a good girl... I don't like being called a kid, but since it's Yang Woo-bin calling me that, maybe I wouldn't mind at all...!'
The reason her chest swelled with such overwhelming accomplishment was simple: Yang Woo-bin.
On their last night together, Yang Woo-bin had given her plenty of hints.
Never lose the mental standoff. If they bring up the succession duel, push for it right then and there. If the opponent hesitates, make your face as scary as possible and say, "Scared?" And so on.
His incredibly specific advice, delivered as if he could see the future, was suspicious no matter who looked at it—but instead of doubting him, Jin Se-jeong trusted him completely.
Because to Jin Se-jeong, Yang Woo-bin was someone she could never suspect.
He was the one true friend in her world with whom she could open her heart.
And so, following his words without a shred of doubt, trusting him absolutely—this was the result.
"Phew, well then. That's my victory, right? Aunt."
She had shattered Jin Su-jeong's dirty schemes head-on and won the succession duel, claiming the heir's position with honor.
To fully execute Yang Woo-bin's advice for a perfect victory in the succession duel, Jin Se-jeong walked toward Jin Su-jeong's ally, Jin Yu-hee.
As Jin Se-jeong approached, Jin Yu-hee's clenched fist tightened even more, and the killing intent in her heart swirled more violently.
It was because the 15-year life plan she'd been pursuing since Jin Su-jeong's birth—to become the Jin Family's shadow power—had been spectacularly ruined by this one kid right in front of her.
"You need to declare it now. That I'm the legitimate heir of the Jin Family."
In the midst of that, when Jin Se-jeong said this from arm's reach away, Jin Yu-hee ground her teeth and calculated if she could snap the girl's neck in one strike.
But an imagination that couldn't become reality was nothing more than delusion.
Killing a direct descendant who had fairly won the right to heirship with her own strength, in front of the entire Jin Family, was impossible.
"Is there... some problem?"
On top of that, Jin Se-jeong's lip movements just before the duel—conveying not to interfere—and her unflinching gaze convinced Jin Yu-hee that someone was backing Jin Se-jeong.
Someone unfathomable, who had brilliantly transformed the kid who could only flee to another family to survive three years ago.
"...No, nothing like that. You won fairly in the duel, so as acting family head, I declare: as of this moment, the legitimate heir of the Jin Family is Jin Se-jeong."
It was an obviously reluctant, pathetically curt declaration, but Jin Se-jeong didn't mind.
What she needed wasn't flowery rhetoric—it was the position of Jin Family heir.
"Thank you. I will strive diligently to elevate the Jin Family's prestige."
Jin Se-jeong bowed her head slightly to Jin Yu-hee in minimal courtesy, then turned to face the Jin Family members watching her.
To those still too shocked to react, Jin Se-jeong flashed a bright, sun-like smile true to her character and raised her sword high.
"Woooaaahhhh—!!!!!"
An overwhelming confidence only a true genius—who harbored no doubts about her talent or future—could show.
At the expression of that confidence gleaming from the tip of her sword raised to the heavens, the Jin Family finally realized Jin Se-jeong was their heir and cheered in unison for the family's brightly shining future.
"Heehee."
At the center of all the cheers and fervor, Jin Se-jeong bared her white teeth in a cute, thirteen-year-old giggle.
Not because she was happy about gaining the family's recognition.
'I'm the heir now. If I just wait, I can see Yang Woo-bin again. Until then, I'll work hard so I can surprise him when we meet!'
She was simply laughing because she could see Yang Woo-bin again.
"Ahem, um. Jin Se-jeong?"
"Hm? Yes?"
"What happened while you were at the Yang Family...?"
Seeing Jin Se-jeong smile like her age only after being named heir, Jin Yu-hee relaxed her tension and asked cautiously.
"What do you mean?"
"What did you go through over those three years to get that strong?"
The Jin Su-jeong whom Jin Yu-hee had trained was no weakling.
She was the genuine second-in-command of the Jin Family, having passed on everything in preparation for any contingency—a true prodigy among the younger generation.
If she grew as expected and entered the academy, she could easily crack the top 10 in the school rankings.
Yet this Jin Su-jeong, who had ambushed with the family's secret sword art, Azure Dragon Twelve Swords, had been effortlessly dismantled and felled in one strike by a casual sword swing.
This couldn't be explained by innate talent alone.
So she was convinced there was a master in Jin Se-jeong's shadow—and this indirect question was her probe.
"Hmm..."
But when Jin Se-jeong answered her question, Jin Yu-hee couldn't help but regret asking.
"It's a s-secret..."
The Jin Se-jeong who hadn't flinched facing the family members convinced she was the heir, the murderous Jin Su-jeong, or the hostile acting head Jin Yu-hee—now she huddled her shoulders and trembled like anyone could see: gripped by fear.
A master so terrifying that even this amazingly grown Jin Se-jeong, back in her own family, wouldn't speak of them.
"A-ah, I see. If it's a secret, nothing to be done. You must be tired from the homecoming and the duel. Go rest in your room."
The seasoned superhuman Jin Yu-hee, all too familiar with the fearsome recluses of the superhuman society, quickly backpedaled in fear of any backlash splashing onto her and fled the scene.
'Ugh... How am I supposed to answer straight that I sweated it out sparring alone with Yang Woo-bin at night? Th-that's way too scandalous...'
Of course, Jin Se-jeong's trembling "secret" was just adolescent girl shyness.
'If word gets out, Yang Woo-bin won't be able to get married. It'll tarnish his reputation. So this is a secret just between me and Yang Woo-bin. Yeah.'
For a girl her age, a secret shared with the boy she liked was something precious. Imagining sharing this secret upon reuniting with Yang Woo-bin someday, she headed to her room.
And so, Jin Se-jeong proudly became the Jin Family's heir, cherishing her feelings for Yang Woo-bin.
"Did you hear, Young Master? Lady Jin Se-jeong has become the Jin Family's heir!"
"Whoa, really? That's impressive for her."
"Heh heh, the family head will be thrilled. To think we've bestowed such a great favor on the Jin heir. This will return to our Yang Family as tremendous fortune in the future!"
Nah, that doesn't make me happy at all.
I let the Wet Nurse's praise for Matriarch Yang Ga-jeong—ranting about investments being bought at the ankle and sold at the crown—go in one ear and out the other as I restructured my plans for the future.
Now that my little one has successfully become the Jin Family heir, our reunion at the academy in 7 years is set. I've gained a solid ally.
Jin Se-jeong wasn't part of my plans when I reincarnated into this world, so a noble-born ally is a huge boon for me.
Sure, it might alter the future I knew, but as a regressor, that didn't faze me.
Clearing a changed future has its own fun. Anyway, knowing her personality, that kid will diligently hone herself... so I can't slack off either.
I envisioned academy life—where I'd reunite with the kid and my real story would begin.
Alright, see you at the academy in 7 years, kid. We'll meet again looking cool.
I resolved firmly.
And so, 7 years passed, and I turned 20.