I Won’t Yield
“Then I’ll see you at the gathering. Kiyoung oppa, Hayan-ssi.”
As I finally wrapped up my preparations, I found myself unexpectedly resenting Lee Jihye for just walking out of this already unpleasant room.
That was because Jung Hayan’s expression was so dark.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be radiating killing intent or thinking about murdering anyone, but the deep sense of defeat clouding her face looked as if it wasn’t going to go away anytime soon.
“The decoration is crooked, o-oppa….”
It’s not crooked.
“Ah… I think it’s fine.”
“N-no. It is crooked. I-I’ll fix it.”
“Ah… yeah… thanks, Hayan.”
Of course she’d feel the gap between herself and Lee Jihye.
Unlike me, who had dashed over because I wanted to show off a prettily dressed-up version of myself, Lee Jihye had handled everything perfectly on this side before heading out, so there was no question Hayan was feeling something.
Of course, I wasn’t a child, and I didn’t think women’s roles should be limited to domestic support like that.
If Kim Hyunsung ever had to stand on a podium, it would be only natural for me to stand in Lee Jihye’s place and take care of all those little things for him.
I couldn’t do makeup for him, but coordinating clothes and shaping the overall image was exactly the sort of thing someone like us, who supported from the shadows, had to do.
As the one acting as my proxy—and even the chief proxy at that—Lee Jihye’s behavior was completely normal.
The problem was Jung Hayan, the one on the receiving end of it all.
I was sure that Lee Jihye’s quiet demonstration of this is what support looks like, coupled with the line about still being too young to know anything, had punched her right in the gut.
Well… it was true.
The achievement of having saved my life had clearly vanished from her head.
She already looked painfully anxious.
“Th-there’s dust?”
“Ah. Thanks, Hayan.”
“There’s something on your hair, O-oppa….”
It must have hit harder than I expected, because now she was frantically fussing over me in every direction, and it was frankly a sight to behold.
Her eyes were already glistening, which made her look like she was one step away from bursting into tears of apology, and that put me under a ridiculous amount of pressure.
She was blaming herself.
She should have been the one taking care of me, not Lee Jihye. From my perspective, it was far better for Lee Jihye to handle everything than to have Hayan clinging to me and doing all this—though obviously I could never say that out loud.
“I was b-busy since this morning. I was getting ready too, but… if I’d had time, I was going to take care of you. B-because of the thing you told me to do… I, I forgot….”
It’s fine, so stop making excuses, Hayan….
“No, it’s okay. I can see how much effort you put in today. Seeing you look so pretty makes me happy too.”
If Jung Hayan knew how many things Lee Jihye was handling at the same time, she would no doubt be swallowed by self-loathing.
Unlike Hayan, who had only run a simple errand or two, Lee Jihye was dealing with Lindel’s public opinion, manipulating the press, managing connections inside the royal castle, and even defending me on top of all that.
But what I wanted from Jung Hayan wasn’t Lee Jihye’s role.
Everyone had their own sphere, their own place.
“You’re doing well, Hayan. You don’t need to worry about too many things.”
She just needed to endure like she was doing now and keep growing as she had until this point.
The stage for an off-the-charts great mage wasn’t here.
“O-oppa….”
This stage belongs to me and my best buddy.
As I stepped outside, I saw Victor Hart and a few members of his knight order—the ones I’d recently exchanged greetings with.
My escorts for the day, guarding the man accused of murder.
“Good to see you, Victor Hart.”
“You’re a little late, young man.”
“Thank you for taking such good care of this.”
“I didn’t think the situation was dangerous enough to drag out an old man who was supposed to be resting… You’re more timid than I expected.”
“There’s no downside to being careful.”
“Heera said she’d be waiting at the entrance. Shall we take our time, then?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Tsk. I’m only asking just in case, but….”
“Yes?”
“The one who killed the people from Celia….”
“Of course not, Victor Hart. I am nothing more than a victim who was threatened with murder. Yuliena only acted properly in order to protect me.”
“I see.”
“You know this well yourself, don’t you? It was only because Ito Souta is colluding with the Vatican and pressuring our side that I was made into a suspect. This was all calculated. It must have been revenge for Blue Guild publicly declaring that the Yamato Guild was behind the Lindel terror incident. They’re trying to cover up the truth by assassinating me or framing me as a murderer.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes. Besides, doesn’t it strike you as strange that they couldn’t stop Yuliena in the first place? What about you, Victor Hart?”
“I don’t know what you’re asking.”
“If I assume the sword I carry were to harm someone nearby, could you stop it, Victor Hart?”
“……”
“Ito Souta also has the ability to stop Yuliena. Most of the free citizens invited here probably could. I did not deliberately murder him.”
“And yet you’re the one under suspicion.”
“The world doesn’t always move according to the truth.”
“……”
“This is no longer just a murder case. It’s become something more tangled in politics. A political struggle within the Holy Empire split between the Emperor faction and the Vatican faction. A battle over interests spreading through Lindel and Celia.”
“So you spread those strange rumors through Lindel, did you?”
“……”
I had thought he was just a brute, but apparently he had some brains of his own. I could only hold my breath for a moment at the look on his face, clearly displeased with me.
“I’ve met many young men like you before. The kind with snake tongues.”
“……”
This is why I hate old men who are too sharp for their own good.
For someone who had seen every storm life could throw at him, his instincts were absurdly sharp.
Age clearly hadn’t dulled him.
Before I could sort through my thoughts, the old man’s voice came again.
“Men like that usually sacrifice countless others to preserve their own skin. And in the end, things don’t often end well for them either. They end up breaking not only those around them, but themselves as well.”
“I’m not sure what you mean….”
“Tsk. Don’t pretend not to know. I have my own sources, after all. The persistent provocations aimed at Celia that have been unfolding in Lindel lately—weren’t they all your doing?”
The old man’s eyes fixed quietly on me, and they were intensely irritating.
It was only natural that I felt like pretending innocence would no longer accomplish much of anything.
In the end, I had no choice but to answer honestly, at least a little.
“Half of it is true.”
“……”
“I understand why you don’t look kindly on it, Victor Hart, but I had no choice. To put it bluntly, if I hadn’t made a move in Lindel, I’d be standing in court right now instead of attending this gathering. I would’ve fallen into a trap laid by Ito Souta and the Vatican faction, and likely had to swallow a rather serious amount of damage.”
“You would not have lost your life.”
“Of course I wouldn’t have. I’m the lover cherished by the Mercenary Queen and the guest of the Yozora Guild’s shrine maiden. But even so, think about it. If I were just an ordinary man with no backing at all, could you truly say my head wouldn’t have rolled in a situation like this?”
“That is….”
“It would likely be difficult. Yielding is a word suited only to men like you, sir. If I generously assume I gave way to them in order to minimize conflict, then listen carefully, old man—human beings are incredibly simple. The moment kindness continues, they begin to think it’s a right. Yield once, and you have to yield again. Yield again, and then you have to yield once more after that.”
“……”
“Do you know why, among so many free citizens, I—the one who came here—was able to stand here talking to you in less than a year? How could some idiot with no notable talent or special skill be here? It’s not because I’m someone the Mercenary Queen treasures. It’s not because I’m the shrine maiden’s guest.”
“……”
“It’s because I never yielded on a single thing that I’m able to stand here.”
“Tsk….”
“Because I didn’t yield, I’m receiving the protection of the finest warrior in the Holy Empire, and because I didn’t yield, I’m enjoying every luxury imaginable from behind the Mercenary Queen’s back. Because I didn’t yield, I’m here at a party instead of in a courtroom. And because I didn’t yield, I’m alive. Special people will never understand it. Those who stand in positions where they can afford to yield will never understand people like me.”
“You have a peculiar way of thinking.”
“It’s a way of thinking anyone can have. If you consider why the Holy Empire’s Emperor came to watch the Pope’s every move, the answer becomes obvious. He must have yielded for centuries. Yielded, and yielded, and yielded again until things reached this point. People and groups that avoid conflict lose their voice. I understand your feelings, old man. I also understand your love for the empire, of course. But that’s only possible because you stand in the position of the strong. There are plenty of people like me in this world. The kind who eagerly eat whatever falls to the ground after someone else yields. To put it bluntly, you’re the one who raised people like that.”
“That’s sophistry. Everything you say is sophistry.”
“I hear that a lot.”
“Still. There must be some part of it you can agree with. If you had swung your sword, if you had not yielded and simply gone after what was yours… what would have happened?”
“Fighting would have broken out. Quarrels would have broken out. My hands would have been covered in blood, and I’d have lived a life stained with regret and self-reproach because of it.”
“But in exchange, the Emperor you love so dearly, and your descendants, would have lived happy lives. Of course, I understand that harmony is important. I’m not telling you to drive out the Vatican faction right this second. They are already part of the Holy Empire. Still, if you want to protect your rights, you must not yield.”
“……”
“I’m not trying to start a war. I’m simply refusing to yield.”
“And if….”
“Yes?”
“If those others you spoke of also refuse to yield, then what will you do?”
“Well. I’d prefer to avoid war too.”
“……”
“But one thing I can say for sure is that I will never back down. It’s the other side that has to move. I’ve thrown my card, and whether they catch it or dodge it is entirely in their hands.”
“And if they don’t dodge….”
“I already told you—I’ve thrown it.”
“You’re a frightening young man, more than I expected… and quite formidable besides. I see now why that brat Heera is so fond of you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, sir.”
“Tsk. Are you fond of Heera, by any chance?”
What a dense old man.
As we kept walking, I could feel Jung Hayan beside me looking over at me at the sound of the old man’s voice.
She had the expression of someone waiting for my answer.
There wasn’t really a right answer no matter what I said, but there was one word I loved using in moments like this.
“Half and half.”
“Well now, that’s a relief.”
“It seems you care for her a great deal.”
“Of course. It may sound amusing, but Heera is like a daughter to me.”
I didn’t bother answering that last remark, because we had reached the entrance to the party and Cha Heera was waiting for us there.
The unfamiliar sight of her in a red dress, with red hair and a red voice and red lips, came into view at once.
“What were you and the old man talking about so intently?”
“Nothing important.”
“Seeing the two people I like walking in together like that makes me happy. Even Second looks… hmm, kind of pretty. You wouldn’t exactly be embarrassed to take her anywhere, huh? So? How do I look? It feels like I haven’t worn something like this in a while—does it suit me?”
Whether it suited her or not wasn’t the issue.
The places the revealing dress failed to cover were filled with scars.
Scars that showed just how much she had fought until now.
Maybe I had gotten too sentimental in my talk with the old man. I could feel that she, too, had lived a life much like mine, though in a different way.
Struggle.
She must have fought her way to this position by charging straight ahead without caring what it took.
Cha Heera was fire.
A blazing fire that never went out.
The confidence in her expression, and the fact that she didn’t mind showing the scars on her body.
The certainty that she would never back down—because in truth, she probably never had.
“Beautiful.”
The word slipped out before I could stop it, and Cha Heera’s face flushed red while Jung Hayan’s hand, still clutching mine tightly, tightened even more.
And then—
“Guild Master Cha Heera of the Red Mercenary Guild and Knight Commander Victor Hart of the Imperial Knight Order. Lee Kiyoung of Blue Guild, as well as Jung Hayan of Blue Guild, are entering.”
A voice calling for us rang out.