Chapter 124: What Will You Give Me? (2)
Chapter 124: What Will You Give Me? (2)
It slid down.
The soft red dress that had been draped over April’s body glided smoothly against her skin, pooling at her feet.
Underneath the dress, April wore nothing at all.
She had shed the only garment she was wearing.
In other words, she was now completely naked.
She stood before Patrick in her natural state, revealing her body without a single thing to hide.
However, she wasn't entirely without shame; her gaze was averted slightly to the side.
With a flushed face, April spoke to Patrick.
“Congratulations on reaching adulthood.”
“…….”
“Young Lord?”
“…Huh? Oh. Right. Thanks.”
“…….”
“…….”
Their eyes met in a long, awkward silence.
Patrick was the first to speak.
“Is this… that? The custom noble sons are supposed to go through when they come of age?”
“Yes. That is correct,” April answered readily.
Patrick let out a long sigh.
What kind of era is this…
In truth, this was a common occurrence. It wasn't something discussed openly, but it was a secret tradition passed down through noble society. When a man had his coming-of-age ceremony, a woman was sent to his room so he could learn the ways of the flesh.
It wasn't a formal procedure, but rather a sort of unspoken rule. It was a custom that had persisted for a very long time, and many noble families still practiced it.
On the surface, it was framed as a form of sex education. However, its true essence was a test to see if the family heir had any "functional issues" as a man.
To an outsider, it might seem incomprehensible, but for nobles, it was a matter of grave importance. For a class that relied on lineage to maintain their status, whether or not a man’s reproductive functions worked properly was a matter of life and death for the family.
Thus, many noble families would push a woman into their son’s room after his coming-of-age ceremony. The woman could be anyone—a family maid, a girl from the fief, or even a high-class courtesan.
And now, April had stepped forward to take that role herself.
“Though I am lacking, I have taken it upon myself to be your partner, Young Lord.”
At April’s words, Patrick gave a bitter smile.
“Even if I’d held my ceremony at home, I doubt my father’s personality would have allowed him to push a woman into my room.”
“…….”
April faltered. It was true; Baron Schneider was hardly the type to force a woman on his son just to check his virility.
But…
“It does not matter. Even if the Baron had not ordered it, I would have offered my everything to you, Young Lord.”
April walked slowly toward Patrick. She sat sideways on his lap, wrapping her soft arms around his neck. Then, she brought her red lips close to his.
“Please, enjoy yourself…”
With a sweet sigh, her trembling lips were just about to touch his when—
Poke.
Patrick’s finger pressed firmly against her forehead, stopping her. And then…
Puuuuush.
He pushed her face back, creating distance between them. Once he had pushed her away completely, Patrick spoke.
“Put your clothes on, April.”
“Young Lord…”
“It’s an order.”
“…….”
“Are you going to disobey?”
At the gravity in Patrick’s voice, April stood up and dressed herself. Even as she stood there with a look of regret, she possessed a bewitching charm that could seduce any man.
However, Patrick’s expression and voice remained unshaken.
“I’ve told you before, you’re too extreme. If I told you to die, would you?”
“Yes.”
“Right. You’re exactly that kind of girl.”
Patrick sighed, covering half his face with one hand as if he had a headache. To April, Patrick’s existence was absolute. If he told her to die, she would do so with a smile. If he told her to fight, she would charge even if her opponent were a dragon.
To someone like her, offering her body was nothing.
There was only one other person she cared for with a devotion that rivaled her loyalty to Patrick.
“You know my mother thinks of you as a daughter, right?”
“…I know.”
For the first time, April’s expression darkened. If there was one other person in her world who held value equal to Patrick, it was his mother, Ava. While Patrick was the one who had saved her, it was Ava who had looked after her with such care and treated her like her own flesh and blood.
Patrick looked at April and said, “If I were to use you as a plaything for a night, how do you think my mother would feel?”
“That is…”
“Wouldn’t she be incredibly sad? Do you think she’d be happy to see the girl she loves like a daughter treated as a one-night toy?”
“…….”
April bit her lower lip hard. Patrick wasn't wrong. Knowing Ava, that was exactly how she would react.
Patrick offered a word of advice.
“Value yourself a little more. Every time you act like this, it breaks my mother’s heart.”
“…….”
April pondered Patrick’s complaint for a moment before speaking.
“I understand your words, Young Lord. But may I ask one thing?”
“What?”
“Objectively speaking, I believe I possess the kind of beauty that most men desire.”
“Well, that’s true.”
It was an undeniable fact. A beauty that could topple kingdoms, a face that would make the moon hide in shame and flowers wither in envy—no matter what superlative one used, it wouldn't be enough. How could one even describe it? April was just that beautiful.
April looked at Patrick with slightly misty eyes.
“Do you not feel the urge to hold me, Young Lord? Please, set aside Madam’s position and tell me only what is in your heart.”
“Well, it’s true that you’re beautiful. I can’t deny that.”
“…….”
“But you see, once you’ve reached my level of training, controlling your instincts and desires is easy.”
Seeing Patrick shrug as he spoke, April gave a bitter smile. She thought to herself:
As expected, the Young Lord always exceeds my expectations.
She had looked at her own objective beauty and wondered: if she offered herself as a ‘woman,’ would the Young Lord’s heart finally turn toward her? She had prepared for today, using the coming-of-age ceremony as an excuse to be held by him.
But Patrick had seen through her intentions and evaded them with ease.
April’s respect for Patrick only grew deeper. She bowed politely and said, “I understand. Please, rest well, Young Lord.”
“Yeah. Go on.”
She slipped out the window and vanished into the darkness as if melting into it.
After some time had passed…
“Whew… That was close.”
A deep sigh escaped Patrick’s lips as he slumped against the window frame.
“Terrifying. A true Nine Yin Blocked Meridians is terrifying.”
Training be damned, he had barely held back. It had been truly, truly dangerous.
It was true that the mind and body of a master who had reached a certain realm were much firmer than those of an ordinary person. Naturally, that applied to Patrick as well.
But April’s beauty was so dizzying that even Patrick’s mental fortitude had been pushed to the brink of collapse. If her lips had actually touched his back then…
“Ugh, I almost broke my promise.”
The reason Patrick hadn't wavered was because of a promise he had made to someone a very long time ago.
* * *
It was back when he was returning from crushing some Unorthodox Faction trash called the Blood-Something-or-Other who had been running rampant somewhere in the Huangshan Mountains.
He had ducked into a cave to escape a sudden downpour, and then…
She’s pretty.
The moment he saw her wringing the water out of her hair with both hands, the words had slipped out of the Radiant Dragon Hero Jincheon’s mouth.
[Su-yeon.]
[What?]
[Do you want to get married?]
[…What?]
He realized his mistake instantly, but he was already committed. Jincheon kept blathering whatever came to mind.
[Well, I’ve been thinking lately that I should get married, but I couldn't decide who to do it with, you know?]
[And?]
[So, let’s do it. …Marriage.]
[…….]
After a heavy silence, Tang Su-yeon spoke.
[Why me?]
[No matter how much I thought about it, there was no one else but you.]
[I’m asking why me.]
Running out of things to say, the Radiant Dragon Hero Jincheon snapped and shouted.
[Argh! Just let’s get married! Can’t we? You and I could get married, right? Right?!]
[Go die!]
A punch flew at him instantly. He could have dodged it, but he felt like he shouldn't, so he took it. A fist crafted like delicate jade slammed satisfyingly into the Radiant Dragon Hero’s face.
But Jincheon, though knocked down, sprang right back up. In his life, there was no such thing as retreat or surrender. There was only forward.
[Let’s get married. I’ll love only you for the rest of my life, until the day I die.]
[Just die already!]
After pestering her relentlessly, he had finally gotten her to agree to the marriage.
* * *
“She was a good woman. In many ways, she was far better than I deserved. She married the eldest disciple of a poor sect and managed the household so well. She was good to Master, and she kept those junior disciples in line…”
The Saintess, Tang Su-yeon.
Even if she was a daughter the Sichuan Tang Clan had cast aside, she could have found a much better match if she’d set her mind to it. Yet, she had married him.
And the Patrick of his past life had sworn an oath to her. He had promised to love only her until the day he died.
“I have the reputation of the great Radiant Dragon Hero to maintain. I have to keep my promises, don’t I? Right, wife?”
Looking at the moon in the sky, the face of his wife from his past life came to mind. Her face was as beautiful as ever, wearing a faint, gentle smile. Seeing that smile…
“Wait. I already died once, didn't I?”
A loophole in the promise he’d forgotten suddenly occurred to him.
Jincheon, the Radiant Dragon Hero, had specifically said he would love only her ‘until he died.’ And he had kept that promise. He had lived his life looking only at her until the moment he died at Nakbongpa. Which meant…
“Am I free now?”
As the realization hit him, Patrick clutched his head and slumped down.
“Dammit, why did I do that? Why? Whyyyy! You idiot! Go die! Go drown yourself in a plate of water!”
After agonizing and screaming at himself, Patrick finally grabbed the windowsill and yelled at the top of his lungs.
“April, come back! Let’s start over from the beginning!”
The face of Tang Su-yeon, the Saintess, was still reflected in the moon—looking utterly hollow and pathetic.
* * *
The day of the third round.
The Arcana tournament was now in its middle stages.
Fourteen participants remained. Every one of them was a person of exceptional skill who would be treated as a top-tier talent anywhere they went.
That included the Holy Knight who was now standing as Patrick’s opponent.
“O Yupinel! Look down upon your servant!”
As he shouted, holding his bastard sword before his chest, golden Divine Power erupted from his entire body. That energy was a holy light that repelled all things evil. It bolstered the Holy Knight’s durability, stamina, and recovery.
At this level, it wasn't an exaggeration to call him a large-scale monster clad in divinity. However…
“This brat… acting all arrogant, spewing out that ‘Purge Evil’ energy and crap. Huh? Am I some Unorthodox martial artist? Am I a demon?”
Patrick wasn't flustered in the least by the golden aura trying to push him back. He simply walked forward, one step at a time, with total composure.
“Wha… What…?”
Naturally, his opponent was bewildered. To approach someone currently radiating Divine Power at full strength was like trying to climb up a waterfall. Whether it was possible or not, it was only normal to at least show some sign of struggle, wasn't it?
Yet, the man was walking toward him as if he were taking a casual stroll. No matter how intensely he radiated his Divine Power, it was useless.
“How can this be…”
Seeing Patrick arrive right in front of him, the Holy Knight wore an expression of pure disbelief. Patrick looked at him as if he were pathetic.
“Are you stupid? If you just flow with the energy instead of fighting it, it’s fine. Why are you working yourself to death for nothing?”
“Flow with it? That’s preposterous…”
“Tsk, tsk. You don’t know? You don’t get it?”
“…….”
The opponent nodded. What Patrick had just said was something he had never even considered.
To which Patrick replied…
“Well, then just get beat up.”
“Wha—Guh!”
Clang!
Patrick’s twin swords, still in their sheaths, slammed down onto the opponent’s head. The Holy Knight raised his shield to block the attack, but he shuddered at the sheer force—it was powerful enough to make his arms ache.
To think I’d feel such an impact while clad in Divine Power. No, perhaps Divine Power itself doesn't work on this man…
“Distracted, are we?”
“Hup!?”
“Focus, you brat!”
And then, Patrick’s twin swords began to dance in a dazzling display, starting to dismantle his opponent.
Neil Bauer, the representative of the Holy Kingdom. He desperately moved his shield, focusing entirely on defense. Even if the pressure from his Divine Power didn't work on his opponent, the Authority that reinforced his own stamina and durability remained.
“Hooo… You’re confident in your toughness, are you?”
“My… my defense won’t fall so easily…”
“What a shame. I’m pretty confident in my hitting.”
“…….”
“Fine. Let’s see who’s better: the one getting hit, or the one doing the hitting!”
“…….”
He really didn't want to have that kind of contest.
Unfortunately for Neil, he didn't have a choice.
Thud-thud-thud-thud! Boom! Crash! Crack!