Chapter 146
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Keep It in Mind
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Ku-gu-gu-gung.
The maze that had enveloped the lobby crumbled away.
At the same time, the altered building reverted to its original state, and Li Chingwei felt the restraints binding her body lift. She spoke softly.
"It's finally over."
"Shall I dismantle the formation?"
"Yes. We've caught all the ferocious beasts anyway."
With Li Chingwei's permission, Youin lightly gestured to the Black Dragon Guards positioned throughout the lobby.
A moment later.
The change began.
The moment Hotel Leviathan seemed to ripple.
The darkness that had shrouded the building's surroundings, hiding it from view, slowly dispersed.
And what appeared simultaneously was an encirclement.
Hundreds of warriors dressed in martial uniforms, forming a massive formation, revealed themselves from beyond the veil of darkness.
"I must thank those who came to our aid. It must be chaos at the affiliates too, yet you rushed here to help."
"No need for thanks, Princess. Assisting you is our natural duty."
"Doing what's natural as if it were natural... that's what makes it truly grateful."
Li Chingwei smiled faintly.
Ryugangcheol's death and the end of the assault didn't mean the affiliates' situations had improved.
Especially those affiliates without Guardian contracts, unable to receive Infinity Guild support, had suffered numerous casualties.
Yet even in the midst of that, they had rushed here covered in blood.
It was something she truly ought to be grateful for.
Especially since she was someone openly scorned and viewed as the culprit behind the Black Dragon Clan's downfall.
'At least for the time being, I won't have to worry about the clan's support.'
Li Chingwei didn't believe they had all rushed here out of pure loyalty to her.
If anything, it was the opposite.
They had witnessed Rimon's exploits today and come to understand what a Sword Master truly was.
And realizing that if her engagement to Rimon proceeded, his sword might one day turn on them.
Likely, more warriors had hurried here to compete in belated displays of loyalty.
But it didn't matter.
Whether it was pure loyalty.
Or loyalty driven by ulterior motives.
For Li Chingwei, it was enough that they did what was natural, just as they were now.
They were the Black Dragon Clan of schemes and intrigues, and she was their princess.
"Doing what's obviously necessary is surprisingly difficult."
"Is that how you see it?"
"If the intruders had done that obvious thing, they never would have set foot in Hotel Leviathan so easily."
"...Indeed, you're right."
Youin readily acknowledged it.
The specters of the Liberation Brigade, including Bellos, had only feared the Seven Dragon Society's infamy and hadn't properly investigated what Hotel Leviathan truly was.
That's why Bellos never realized, even in death.
That even without Rimon blocking him, he could never have escaped this place alive.
This was Hotel Leviathan.
From dragon formations to magical barriers and spirit blessings.
A fortress stuffed with every ancient mystery money could buy from the Seven Dragon Society's vast wealth, one even a Sword Master couldn't breach lightly.
"Then, may I leave the cleanup to you?"
"Of course. Don't worry about the aftermath and rest easy."
Even with his arm broken and in dire need of treatment.
Youin responded calmly, and Li Chingwei didn't ask if he'd be alright.
This was nothing for him; that's why he was Hotel Leviathan's general manager.
Thus, Li Chingwei entrusted the clan's cleanup and aftermath to Youin, freeing her to focus on what only she could do.
Like dealing with a rather special temporary security guard.
"Shall I address you as Infinite Monarch?"
"Just call me comfortably."
"No, I couldn't possibly."
Speaking casually to the monarch?
If word got out, it would spark headlines about the Black Dragon Clan's princess disrespecting the monarch.
The Seven Dragon Society and the top ten guilds.
As leaders of the era's financial and military might, their every move swayed the world.
"Honestly, it's a bit unexpected."
"What's unexpected?"
"I didn't think you'd help so diligently."
In that sense, Li Chingwei's observation was natural.
Even with a massive contract fee, a top ten guild taking a security contract was unprecedented.
Much less the monarch himself stepping in as a guard—it was hugely surprising even for her as the employer.
Lee Cheongi's answer was simple.
"The employer is the employer. I didn't feel like slacking off when lives were on the line."
"True, you're not the type to appreciate empty gestures."
Li Chingwei let out a chuckle.
Rimon had grumbled countless times about the fees paid to Infinity Guild.
If Lee Cheongi had only pretended to fight half-heartedly, Rimon would have skinned him alive, cursing him as a money-grubbing fraud.
"You seem to know the Sword Duke well."
"Of course. I'm his fiancée."
Isn't it natural for a bride-to-be to know her groom-to-be well?
Li Chingwei replied with a smug air.
She then tilted her head slightly.
"Since you're bringing it up on purpose, it seems you want to know something about the Sword Duke?"
"Nothing I'm dying to know, but if I could, there's something I'd like to understand."
"Like why the one who took your comrade's life spared you, an enemy monarch?"
"How did you know?"
"How could I not?"
She didn't need to read his mind.
From the moment Rimon left until now.
Just seeing Lee Cheongi unable to tear his eyes from Yuna Kyung's corpse made it obvious his question involved her.
"Then can you answer that too?"
"Yes. If it's anything else, maybe not, but the reason the Sword Duke spared you is really simple."
Li Chingwei nodded readily.
And the answer anyone who knew Rimon even a little would already know.
But a reason Lee Cheongi himself probably would never realize on his own, she revealed with a perfect smile.
"Because you were a fool."
"...I wasn't looking for jokes."
Too absurd, perhaps.
After a brief silence, Lee Cheongi finally spoke softly.
Maintaining his composure through it all was praiseworthy patience.
"Good thing. I wasn't joking either."
But Li Chingwei wasn't teasing him.
She had simply given the sincere answer to his question.
That's why she kindly explained why he could only be seen as a fool.
"When the Sword Duke summoned you to the Blue House, you went to fight him alone, right?"
"You're not calling me a fool for that, are you?"
"Not 'are you,' it is. Challenging a Sword Master head-on one-on-one is something no one's even attempted in centuries."
"..."
Lee Cheongi fell silent.
If he were still ignorant, maybe not.
But having already fought Rimon, he roughly understood what a Sword Master was.
Thus, he knew.
Fighting a Sword Master alone was like jumping naked into a boiling volcano and trying to reach the other side of the Earth.
And considering what evaluation someone who attempted and survived such a feat would get?
Her calling him just a 'fool' was immense mercy.
"...So that foolishness is why the Sword Duke spared me?"
"Yes. Thanks to that foolishness, before seeing you as an enemy, he saw you merely as one challenger vying for the absolute's throne."
If Lee Cheongi had truly been the one holding the children hostage and setting the trap.
He never would have dared fight Rimon alone.
Or he'd have prepared some scheme.
A schemer who moved only with double and triple safeguards thought differently from an absolute who resolved everything with their own power.
From the moment he appeared alone before Rimon, Lee Cheongi had proven he wasn't the mastermind.
"And the Sword Duke is generally generous to such pure challengers."
"Why is that?"
A king threatened for the throne never forgives treason.
Why didn't Rimon?
To the calmly asking Lee Cheongi, Li Chingwei smiled faintly and said.
"Do you think an elephant would rage at a single ant bite, thrashing to stomp it dead?"
"An ant can kill a lion if it tears out its heart."
"Yes, but not one charging head-on, declaring it'll topple you fairly."
"..."
Perhaps indignant at suddenly being the ant.
Li Chingwei chuckled at Lee Cheongi, who calmly countered then quietly deflated.
"So the Sword Duke is indifferent to challenges against himself or personal threats. He doesn't even feel threatened to begin with."
A king executes rebels to the in-laws and cousins to maintain the throne through fear.
But a true absolute has no need.
No matter how many challenge.
They guard their throne solely with their own power.
"If the Sword Duke eliminated every challenger like you... well, most existing nations would have fallen long ago."
"...Isn't the scale off?"
"Many nations and organizations challenged for the absolute's seat."
In the chaotic Heroes Age.
Superpowers wielding Sword Masters to claim world hegemony inevitably clashed with Rimon, master of the Sword Tower.
To them, the Sword Tower—imparting teachings equally to all humanity—was an obstacle by its mere existence, as they sought to monopolize the ultimate asymmetric force.
If Rimon hadn't ended those wars with minimal casualties each time, world history would be different.
After calmly explaining, Li Chingwei added one thing.
"Of course, those who harmed the innocent with卑鄙 tricks instead of frontal challenges paid the price."
Rimon truly raged not at threats to himself, but when those around him or the innocent were touched.
And those who did such things always paid in blood, she said, gazing at Lee Cheongi's eyes hidden by his hair.
"The Sword Duke took your eyes not for challenging him. It's a warning for losing an innocent subordinate to your foolishness."
"...I see. Understood."
Only then did Lee Cheongi understand.
That Rimon's words about him being too stupid to punish were literal.
That if he'd been directly involved in Yuna Kyung's death even slightly, he'd be dead already.
And why, among Sword Masters, only Rimon was called Humanity's Guardian Deity.
A being who could destroy a nation on a whim yet didn't—that alone was reason for reverence.
"Has your doubt been resolved?"
"Yes."
"Good. With that level of comprehension, you'll understand the warning I'm about to give."
"...What warning?"
"Don't dare test the Sword Duke's mercy just because you know what he is."
Li Chingwei smiled faintly.
"Keep it in mind, Infinite Monarch."
Her usual beautiful smile.
"I'm not as merciful as he is."
Her voice utterly calm and composed.
"If you betray his grace by drawing a blade on him again, or forget his warning and become a puppet for 'something' once more."
Her demeanor leisurely, as if describing tea and pastries at teatime.
"I'll mobilize the full might of the Seven Dragon Society to kill you."
Yet her eyes, deep and murky as a swamp, held not a trace of mirth as they fixed on him.
Lee Cheongi slowly nodded to Li Chingwei, thinking.
A husband who threatens and exploits.
A wife who exploits and threatens.
A match made in heaven.
"Ah, and while we're at it, there's something I've been meaning to ask."
Feeling he'd fully heeded her warning.
Li Chingwei smiled in satisfaction, then casually posed a question as if it just occurred to her.
"Before I met the Sword Duke, what was the reason you targeted me?"