An Unexpected Reunion (3)
The moment the finals of the preliminary round began, a resonant voice rang out.
“The finals will now commence—!”
At the highest point of the arena, inside the VIP lounge, the match was being watched with keen interest. Every person present here held an exalted position. Among them, the most prominent were the imperial family of the Arcadia Empire and—
“Lord Morgan, no matter how much you ask, that is simply impossible.”
It was the Saint, Freya. She spoke with a bright smile, yet her refusal was absolute. Immediately, the First Imperial Princess, Morgan, who sat right beside her, furrowed her brow.
“What’s so difficult about it, Saint? I’m merely curious about his name and who he is….”
Morgan quickly smoothed her expression and spoke in a coaxing tone. No matter how offended she felt, the one currently holding the hilt of the blade was the Saint. Still, she couldn’t quite hide her irritation. After all, who in their right mind would dare refuse a request from the imperial family? There wasn’t a single soul in the entire Arcadia Empire who would.
“The male healer who passed this time has expressed a strong desire to keep his information private. Repaying that trust is the responsibility of our church. Even for Your Highness the Princess, I’m afraid I cannot disclose it.”
“Hahaha, Saint. You truly never change. So rigid as always.”
The information Morgan kept pressing for was, of course, about Sieg. The news that a male healer had passed had been released through the church, but they had stubbornly refused to reveal his identity. Having personally wanted to turn that healer into her plaything, the First Imperial Princess felt deeply frustrated. Why were those damned church fanatics so inflexible?
If she let this opportunity slip, she had a gut feeling someone else would snatch him away.
“Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness. Hehe.”
Even when openly mocked, Freya didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow. If anything, she looked perfectly composed.
‘I absolutely cannot tell her.’
It was true that Sieg disliked having his identity known, but Freya’s own greed played a far larger role in refusing to speak of him to the princess. The First Imperial Princess, Morgan, was infamous as a spoiled, self-indulgent tyrant. Her reputation regarding men was particularly awful—she would toy with nobles, commoners, and slaves alike if they caught her fancy, only to discard them the moment her interest waned. That fact was already widespread throughout high society.
Therefore, allowing Sieg to become her plaything was utterly out of the question.
‘Sieg-nim is going to be my plaything. Hehehe.’
Just recalling the contempt-filled gaze in Sieg’s eyes sent another thrilling jolt through her lower belly. It was the first time in her life she had ever been treated that way. The feeling was unfamiliar, yet unbearably exhilarating. No one had ever stimulated her like that before. Sieg-nim had to become her personal toy and hers alone.
‘Now that I think about it, he did say he needed to go to the Goshura Great Forest, didn’t he?’
Entry into the Goshura Great Forest required imperial permission. Sieg would eventually come seeking that approval from the imperial family. If he stood out then, all her current efforts would be wasted. In that case, it would be far easier for Freya herself to secure the permission in advance and allow Sieg to join the expedition as an outsider.
Having made up her mind, the Saint glanced at the High Priest standing beside her. It was a signal to proceed with the discussion they had shared earlier. The High Priest nodded and turned to the imperial officials nearby.
“Once again, we offer our deepest gratitude for inviting us to this historic event.”
“It is our Emperor who is delighted that the church’s High Priests and the Saint herself have come to visit. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
They exchanged polite greetings with proper decorum. After several more rounds of formal pleasantries, the High Priest finally brought up the main topic.
“Her Holiness the Saint intends to personally oversee and supervise this event until its conclusion.”
“I-is that true? We are truly grateful, Saint.”
The officials and several nobles present expressed genuine joy. Most members of the imperial family and high-ranking nobles were devout believers of the One God Church. Having the Saint remain in the capital was an immense honor. If she stayed throughout the duration of the event, its significance would only deepen.
“…Additionally, Her Holiness wishes to visit the Goshura Great Forest following a divine oracle. We will need your permission regarding this matter.”
“The Goshura Great Forest?”
Morgan narrowed her eyes at the High Priest’s request. Why would the Saint—who was practically a hothouse flower—want to go to such a dangerous place? To Morgan, it could only mean she had some hidden agenda.
“Y-yes, that is correct. Her Holiness has received an oracle from the One God and wishes to travel there…”
“Allow me to explain further, High Priest.”
The High Priest was sweating under Morgan’s intense stare. Seeing this, the Saint continued.
“The One God has warned that unusual movements will soon occur within the Goshura Great Forest. As it is the stronghold of heretics, we believe special caution is required.”
“Hmm… Even so, is it truly necessary for the Saint to go there herself? Don’t you agree, my dear sister Nero?”
Morgan, still sulking over the Saint’s earlier refusal, shot a meaningful look at her younger sister Nero, hoping she would back her up.
“Well, I don’t see why not? She is the Saint, after all.”
“What?”
It was a meaningless effort. The Second Imperial Princess Nero had no interest in anything except magic. She found life itself tedious and remained indifferent to most matters. Thanks to that, Morgan was virtually guaranteed to become the next emperor, but in moments like this, her sister’s uselessness was infuriating.
“Tsk. Whether it’s Goshura or Shurashura, go ahead. Since it’s a divine oracle, how could we possibly interfere?”
“Hehe, thank you very much.”
Freya smiled radiantly. She had obtained what she wanted. Now she could use this imperial permission as leverage to negotiate with Sieg. Just thinking about using it as bait to spend more time with him made her heart flutter with excitement.
It was at that exact moment—
“The victor is Emilia of Brook Territory!”
The winner of the finals had been decided. The victor was a newly emerged Sword Master. The entire audience erupted in thunderous cheers. The same excitement filled the VIP lounge.
The Saint found it mildly interesting, but only to that extent. These days, unless Sieg was involved, nothing held her attention.
“All of this is thanks to Young Master Sieg! It was only because Young Master Sieg was there that I was able to become a Sword Master! That is all!”
If only Emilia—the sixth Sword Master—hadn’t said those words in her victory speech.
“Just who in the world is this Sieg? To have raised a Sword Master…”
“He must be at least a Sword Master himself, or possibly even greater. We need information on this person immediately…”
Everyone, including the officials, began murmuring in agitation. Amidst the commotion, Freya let out a small sigh.
“Ha…”
Thanks to that, all her hard work seemed to have gone to waste.
“Who the hell is Sieg?”
“If he raised a Sword Master, then he himself must be at least a Sword Master or higher. Some hidden master, perhaps?”
“Does that mean more Sword Masters could keep appearing from now on…? Just what is this Sieg person’s true identity?”
On the path leading out of the arena, my name echoed from every direction. The silver lining was that only two syllables had been revealed. Thanks to that, it didn’t seem like anyone could pinpoint me specifically. Sieg was a fairly common name. Much like Min-jun, Seo-jun, or Do-yoon back in Korea. There were probably hundreds of people named Sieg inside this arena alone.
“Isn’t Sieg a man’s name? Could it actually be a man?”
“No way. There’s no chance the mentor of a Sword Master is a man. It must just be a masculine-sounding name. Or maybe a nickname.”
Moreover, everyone naturally assumed the person was a woman. In this gender-reversed world, the idea that someone capable of raising a Sword Master could be male simply didn’t occur to them. It was honestly a relief. They were misunderstanding everything on their own.
I thought I could relax, but—
“They say the new Sword Master is from Brook Territory. Then maybe Sieg is from Brook as well?”
“That’s possible… Should we start looking for every Sieg in Brook?”
It was too early to feel relieved. While most people focused solely on the name “Sieg,” quite a few were using Emilia’s origin as a clue. Brook Territory was nothing more than a rural backwater, yet people seemed ready to hunt down every single Sieg living there.
‘I guess I’ll have to put off meeting Emilia.’
When I heard she was participating in this tournament, I had considered stopping by to cheer her on. After all, I had helped her run away from home, so I felt grateful. But meeting her now seemed difficult. If people found out my name was Sieg, it would only invite needless misunderstandings.
‘Why did she have to say something like that?’
I suspected Emilia had simply been thinking of our promise when she answered. She had worked hard to keep that promise. It was entirely her own effort, but since I had motivated her, she probably wanted to share the credit in her speech. The problem was that to outsiders who didn’t know the full story, it sounded exactly like I had trained Emilia’s skills.
I couldn’t let my guard down until the very moment I completely left the arena. I glanced around to confirm no one was watching, then let out a sigh of relief.
“It couldn’t be… right?”
Once the crowd had thinned, Soho asked cautiously. Since he had been right next to me the whole time, he must have been wondering.
“Of course not. As you know, Lady Soho, I am merely a healer.”
“Even a male healer is already amazing enough, you know?”
“Well, that’s true… Haha.”
Faced with her continued suspicious gaze, I could only respond with laughter. The kind that said, If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.
“Hmm… Right. There’s no way Sieg-nim could be skilled enough to raise a Sword Master. If that were true, it would mean someone with Saint-level healing powers and the strength of a Sword Master… There’s no way a monster like that could be a man.”
It seemed Soho had mostly let go of her suspicions for now. Logically, such a monster shouldn’t exist, and I was genuinely innocent.
“Amazing… Sieg-nim!”
Akasha, on the other hand, seemed to believe it without question, but I didn’t bother explaining further. Her misunderstanding could be cleared up later. Right now, there were more urgent matters.
“Let’s go collect our money.”
“Yes! My gold!!”
Soho, who had momentarily forgotten about the bet amid the shock of the Sword Master’s reveal, shouted excitedly. We hurried over to the gambling house.
“Miss… Did you receive some divine revelation or something? How could you make such a bet…?”
The owner shook his head as he handed over the gold. The pouch was pleasantly heavy. Was it because it was money? The weight felt incredibly satisfying.
“And don’t ever come back.”
Leaving behind the owner’s backhanded praise, we exited the gambling house. We were rich now!
Afterward, I parted ways with Soho for a while. She said she was going to meet her older sister, Daeho. She even promised to introduce us today, so I sent her off without delay.
‘I’m finally going to see her…!’
To think I would get to see my favorite character breathing and living with my own two eyes. Life really was full of surprises. Though, of course, being possessed in the first place was already the biggest surprise of all.
After depositing the money at the bank, I waited at the promised meeting spot. I had been waiting for some time when—
Tap. Tap.
While I was talking with Akasha, I felt a presence behind me. Someone had tapped my shoulder.
“Lady Soho, you’re finally—?”
“Young Master?”
I had been certain it was Soho, so I doubted my own ears. The title “Young Master” was both familiar and strangely distant. There were only a few people who called me that.
The servants of the Barbar family.
“It’s been a long time, Young Master!”
When I turned around, I saw a woman with golden eyes gleaming from beneath a hooded robe.
It was Emilia.