The Storm's Daughter
"Miss!" a woman cried out the moment the door opened. She was a woman in her thirties wearing a classic maid uniform with a white apron.
Yu Hae-rin blinked several times before answering. "Lilian?"
Not every student in Emperor Hall had one, but certain elite students were assigned personal maids. Yu Hae-rin, the daughter of the Storm Guild, was no exception. For the daughter of a chaebol family, having a dedicated maid was only natural. And Lilian was the perfect choice for her.
Having graduated at the top of a professional maid training program in France, Lilian had followed Yu Hae-rin to the academy. She had devoted her entire life to serving her young mistress.
Lilian stepped closer. "Are you hurt anywhere? How does your body feel?"
"I'm fine."
"Fine? Look at all these wounds! We need to apply medicine before they scar."
Lilian already knew the terrible news—that her young mistress had been caught in a dungeon chain. She had been attending Yu Hae-rin since she was a baby, so when she first heard about the incident, her heart had nearly stopped. The relief she felt upon learning that her mistress had returned alive was beyond words.
"I know, I know! Stop it, Lilian. I'll put it on myself."
"Just let me do this much!"
"Aish, really."
The young mistress had always been special, even as a child. Perhaps that was why Lilian cared for her with such devotion. As she gently dabbed ointment on Yu Hae-rin's small face with a cotton swab, Lilian thought that serving a girl blessed with such talent in every field was the greatest honor of her life.
Finally, Lilian closed the medicine bottle and spoke. "By the way, the chairman asked that you contact him as soon as possible."
"Father?"
"Yes. He seemed very worried."
It was right then that something caught Lilian's eye.
"Miss, what is that?"
A package wrapped in red paper was clutched in her mistress's hand. In that instant, Yu Hae-rin whipped her hands behind her back. At the same time, her face began to flush bright red.
"Ah! I'm so tired, I should really get some rest now!"
"Miss?"
"See you later...!"
Yu Hae-rin practically fled the room. Though she sensed something suspicious, Lilian simply found her young mistress adorable. If anything, it was refreshing to see this new side of her.
Just as Yu Hae-rin was about to open her bedroom door, Lilian called out one last time.
"Miss! You really must contact the chairman!"
"Yeah, I got it!"
Yu Hae-rin slipped into her room with lightning speed. The moment she locked the door, she muttered quietly to herself.
"Though I have no intention of calling..."
Click.
Yu Hae-rin immediately sat down at her desk. The modern furniture, painted in white and soft wood tones, emphasized the room's cozy atmosphere. In the quiet space, her face suddenly burned hot.
The bag of candy Ha Yeonjun had given her sat on the desk, triggering memories of what had just happened. After staring at it for a long time, Yu Hae-rin finally whispered her honest impression.
So childish.
Even though she said that, this was actually the first time she had ever received a gift from a boy her age. Perhaps that was why her heart wouldn't stop pounding wildly. Even though she knew it didn't mean anything special...
As anyone could tell from the books on her desk, Yu Hae-rin loved romance novels. More precisely, she longed for a prince on a white horse. From a young age, she had kept the emotion called love locked away. The reason was simple: she was bound by the 'love for the sake of the family' that her father had decided for her.
Ordinary people might not understand, but even before she reached puberty, her father had told her this:
"Hae-rin, you must become Geon-woo's wife. Then you will bear children and revive our family line. That is your father's one and only wish."
Those words had pierced deep into Yu Hae-rin's heart. It was the day she first met Seo Geon-woo.
I don't like this...
But Yu Hae-rin could not defy her father's request. Chairman Yu Jong-yun had always been evaluated as the second-best active hunter in his prime. Because of that, he carried a deep inferiority complex toward anyone who stood in first place. To overcome that complex, he had later founded his own guild—the Storm Guild, known for its rapid-fire archery.
Yu Hae-rin knew. She knew her father had single-handedly raised the Storm Guild to the number two ranking in Korea. But she also knew that was the limit of his power.
Perhaps from that moment on, Chairman Yu Jong-yun had burdened his daughter with his own inferiority complex. If he couldn't reach first rank himself, perhaps merging with the current number one guild would do. In the end, Yu Hae-rin had accepted her fate.
Yet even so, the young girl's heart secretly dreamed. She wondered if a prince on a white horse might still exist somewhere. To others it might sound childish, but for Yu Hae-rin, that fantasy was her only refuge.
"Ha Yeonjun..."
Yu Hae-rin softly murmured the boy's name. At first she hadn't cared about him at all, but at some point he had begun to catch her eye. When she had been swept into the dungeon chain, she had a dream. She remembered going to find Park Dong-soo, but when she regained consciousness, she was inside the cave of the first rift.
The moment she opened her eyes, she had been shocked to see Ha Yeonjun. Because she vaguely recalled him rescuing her—and then single-handedly defeating the Crystal Queen Arachne. Just like a prince on a white horse appearing in a dream...
Yu Hae-rin examined the bag of candy in front of her. It certainly wasn't the most sophisticated gift to give a girl you liked, but...
"How did he know I like this flavor?"
She had an adult's palate. She unwrapped one of the peppermint candies and popped it into her mouth. A refreshing minty scent immediately spread across her tongue.
Has he been watching me for a long time?
It was only natural to suspect him after he had pinpointed her exact preference. But Yu Hae-rin quickly shook her head.
No way.
After all, when he gave her the candy, he had stated his reason so firmly...
She stood up from her chair. Suddenly thinking this way felt completely inappropriate for someone in her position. Besides, today had been an exhausting day. She decided she should wash up first.
The second through tenth floors of Emperor Hall were reserved exclusively for female students. Luxurious carpets that wouldn't look out of place in a five-star hotel lined the hallways, so students often walked around barefoot. Yu Hae-rin was one of them.
Just then, as she walked down the corridor in nothing but her pajamas, someone called out to her.
"Hae-rin!"
It was class vice president Kim Jeong-a. She was also wearing cute pajamas. Judging by the direction she was coming from, she had probably just left the massage room.
"Kim Jeong-a?"
"So it's true—you really did break out of the dungeon chain! Are you hurt anywhere?"
Yu Hae-rin nodded. "As you can see."
When she was around other girls, Yu Hae-rin never showed any weakness. She deliberately acted haughty and strong. It was one of the ways she survived. The moment she let her guard down, the friends who had laughed and chatted with her would reveal the jealousy they had been hiding.
Of course, Kim Jeong-a wasn't like that. She had a righteous personality, and above all, they were from the same world. Even so, Yu Hae-rin made an effort to maintain her aloof demeanor. She had experienced those reasons she mentioned earlier far too often.
After a moment of hesitation, Kim Jeong-a spoke. "If it's alright with you, could I ask what happened in there?"
Only then did Yu Hae-rin understand why Kim Jeong-a had approached her. She must have thought that compared to the students who had been swept into the dungeon chain during this rift exploration, she still had much to learn. As expected of someone so proactive in everything she did...
Yu Hae-rin shrugged. "Sorry, but I don't have much to tell you. I lost consciousness for a while. On the other hand, the class president seemed to know a lot. Why don't you ask him?"
"An Gyeong-tae? Ha, that guy is a bit..."
Kim Jeong-a pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing. "Then... did Ha Yeonjun do anything?"
"Ha Yeonjun?"
"Yeah."
At the same time, Yu Hae-rin's eyes widened. The image of Ha Yeonjun's heroic actions from her dream had suddenly resurfaced. Not to mention the intrigued expression on Kim Jeong-a's face when she said his name.
"Why Ha Yeonjun...? He was just the porter."
"No, I was just wondering... Even a porter might have done something cool, right?"
Kim Jeong-a suddenly became evasive. Seeing that, Yu Hae-rin deliberately smiled and played dumb as well.
"I wouldn't know. If you're curious, why don't you ask him yourself?"
When Yu Hae-rin turned to leave, Kim Jeong-a pouted.
"I don't have his number..."
I decided to run laps around the playground every dawn starting today. After finishing my final lap, a familiar narration rang in my ears.
Grace, 'Muscle Recovery' has been activated.
The accumulated fatigue throughout your body will slowly recover over the next 5 minutes.
It was a recovery ability, but it would only activate if I exercised on my own. Muscle Recovery had its restrictions, but there was no blessing more useful than this.
"Hoo."
In the meantime, I checked my smartphone. But what was this...?
You have 10 unread messages.
It was only now that I realized someone had been frantically sending messages from an unknown number.