Chapter 188
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Execution Sanctuary (3)
Seo Yu-ju sensed urgent footsteps approaching her office.
Clunk!
"...Ho-yeon?"
"Master..."
Seo Yu-ju felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
It made sense. Wi Ho-yeon had rushed into her office, wearing that frantic expression on her face.
She could tell something had gone wrong.
Just like the time they were ambushed by those outlaws.
Suppressing her pounding heart, she asked Wi Ho-yeon,
"What happened?"
"...Lee Yun-seong hasn't returned to the clan house since he left with Woo Seo-hyun yesterday."
She felt a wave of relief that it wasn't an ambush or kidnapping, but something about those words struck her as off.
"...What do you mean? Does that mean Yun-seong spent the night out with Woo Seo-hyun?"
...Not with Wi Ho-yeon, but with another woman? The thought made her chest tighten.
As she gritted her teeth inwardly, Wi Ho-yeon seemed to guess her thoughts and spoke up hurriedly.
"No, it's not that. That's not the issue at all. It's something much more serious, Master."
"What..."
"...Lee Yun-seong left a note."
"A note?"
Seo Yu-ju took the note from Wi Ho-yeon and began reading it.
The problem was its contents. The more she read, the harder her expression grew.
Her hands even began to tremble.
"Is this... Is this real? Then..."
"...We haven't verified it yet. But the fact that he still hasn't returned..."
"...This doesn't make any sense. Woo Seo-hyun is suspected of being from the Execution Sanctuary? So Yun-seong went out alone to test her with a conversation? Are you saying this note is real right now?"
Wi Ho-yeon bowed her head in shame at Seo Yu-ju's words and replied,
"...Given that he still hasn't come back, it seems certain something happened to Lee Yun-seong."
"Ha... What the hell have you been doing, Ho-yeon?"
Right then, Wi Ho-yeon bit her lip and dropped to her knees before Seo Yu-ju.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I have no face to show you. I'll save Lee Yun-seong even if it costs my life."
"Of course you will. This isn't the time for this. Gather all the other clan members right now. Contact every place that might help."
"Hoo... Hoo..."
In one of the training grounds, a woman in training clothes was sweating as she worked on her stamina.
Her sweat-soaked hair and clothes might make her look disheveled at a glance, but anyone who saw her as a woman wouldn't think that.
On the contrary, the sight of her punching with sweat dripping and eyes full of determination exuded beauty and charisma.
Footsteps rushed into the training ground.
"Y-Yeon unnie!"
"Haa... What? Why are you making such a fuss? I told you not to come in while I'm training."
Park Seo-hwa saw Yun Yeon in front of her, her slender frame hammering a massive iron lump, but that wasn't important right now.
"Something huge happened! This isn't the time to be training!"
"...What?"
Yun Yeon stopped her training at Park Seo-hwa's words. If she was saying it that urgently, it wasn't something trivial.
"...What the hell happened?"
"Well... Eternity sent a request for support."
'Support?'
It was the first time Eternity had asked the Myth Clan for help since Lee Yun-seong was ambushed by the outlaws.
"What kind of support? What did Eternity request?"
"Okay, I'll summarize. It seems a spy from the Execution Sanctuary infiltrated Eternity, and that spy is suspected of kidnapping Lee Yun-seong."
"What?"
Crunch—
In that instant, the equipment Yun Yeon was holding crumpled in her hand.
"...Kidnapped? Not ambushed, but kidnapped? With the Sword Empress as his guard?"
Yun Yeon couldn't understand it.
Everyone knew that Eternity's master, Seo Yu-ju, treasured Lee Yun-seong.
Why else would she assign the Sword Empress as his bodyguard?
As long as the Sword Empress was by his side, kidnapping was no easy task. And Eternity had plenty of other top talents besides her.
Unless he went insane and begged to be kidnapped himself, it was practically impossible.
"I... I don't know. From what I heard, Lee Yun-seong went out alone with her to probe the spy and got into trouble..."
'Ha, that idiot...!'
She knew he didn't value his own body in weird situations, but she hadn't expected him to go that far without even bringing backup.
"Ha, then what were the other clan members doing while the spy was in Eternity? No, who the hell is the kidnapper in the first place?"
"A woman named Woo Seo-hyun... She officially joined Eternity recently."
"Ha... So you're saying that woman was a spy the Execution Sanctuary deliberately sent?"
"Yes, but... um..."
"....."
"U-Unnie... Are you okay?"
"...What?"
"Your... expression..."
At Park Seo-hwa's words, Yun Yeon touched her face without realizing it.
"......"
"Unnie, what should we do? About... L-Lee Yun-seong..."
"...We have to rescue him."
"Ah... How many parties should we send? The ones left at the clan house right now..."
"No, I'm going myself."
"...Pardon?"
"I'm going personally."
"W-Wait a minute. We don't even know how long it'll take, and if you go yourself, what about the clan..."
"You handle it well."
With that, Yun Yeon turned and walked away. To save that idiot man.
"Yes? W-Wait, hold on! Yeon unnie!"
"...Yul-ah, how's your body been lately? Feeling okay?"
"Yeah, unnie. I'm fine now, like I told you. No need to worry so much."
Ha Yu-ri couldn't fully relax despite her little sister's reassurance. After all, what her sister had gone through wasn't ordinary.
She had miraculously gotten her sister back. For her sister, she could do anything, and she had no choice but to pour all her effort into her safety.
She still hadn't officially announced her sister to the public.
Of course, a few in the clan knew about Yul. It was impossible to keep it secret from everyone.
But those who knew were tight-lipped. Keeping their mouths shut was a given.
"Hehe, unnie! More importantly, I've gotten super strong, right? Did you see me in action in the dungeon?"
"...Yeah. Our Yul was incredibly strong."
Perhaps thrilled by the praise from her big sister, Ha Yul smiled happily.
Ha Yul's condition was practically back to normal now, and they'd just checked it with a light dungeon run.
The results were astonishing. Her skill in handling power was still lacking, but her mana and spell output were top-tier, verging on the absolute best.
'But...'
However, Ha Yu-ri couldn't simply be happy about it.
It was the lingering trace of that old monster, Rekaruks.
Her sister knew it too but was trying not to think about it. Because she knew it would make Ha Yu-ri sad.
'Such a good kid... And I'm so sorry.'
Who was worrying about whom? It was admirable how her sister worried about her foolish big sister when she should be the focus.
"Yul-ah, is there anything you want? Anything at all?"
"Hmm... Not really?"
"...Don't hold back. Unnie's abilities are great, so just say whatever you want. I'll get you anything."
Ha Yu-ri really could give her everything.
"...Not something I want, but can I ask something I'm curious about?"
"Of course. What is it?"
"Um... What’s your relationship with that oppa from before?"
"Uh, huh?"
Ha Yu-ri couldn't help but be flustered by her sister's question.
She never imagined her sister would ask that, let alone about her relationship with that man...
"Wh-Why do you ask? I told you before. We're just, just friends..."
"Boyfriend?"
"Huh?"
"Isn't that oppa your boyfriend, unnie?"
"N-No. What are you talking about?"
Her words stumbled out. Anyone watching might think she was an idiot.
"But... Whenever you talk to that oppa or his name comes up, you always smile."
"...What?"
"I thought he was your boyfriend because you smile whenever he's mentioned..."
"...No. But why are you curious about that?"
"Just... He hasn't been coming around much lately."
Her sister looked a bit down.
It made sense. Unlike his attitude toward Ha Yu-ri, he was quite affectionate with her sister.
'...He said he had little sisters before.'
Maybe it was because they overlapped in his eyes, but she could tell his gaze toward her sister held genuine concern.
Even when Yul asked tricky questions or was exhausting, he never showed annoyance on the surface, whatever he felt inside.
It even made her feel a twinge of jealousy sometimes while watching them talk.
'He doesn't act like that with me...'
Unlike Ha Yu-ri, whose first button was sewn wrong from the start, Yul was different, so it was natural.
"That oppa's really busy... Different clan and all, he's got a lot on his plate."
"...Then can't that oppa join unnie's clan?"
"...Huh?"
"I want to be with unnie and that oppa together..."
"Th-That's..."
As Ha Yu-ri floundered for a response, someone knocked on the door.
"...Clan Master, there's important news. May I come in?"
"...Come in."
Ha Yu-ri hesitated a moment since Yul was there, but the knocker knew about her anyway.
"...Then excuse me."
Clunk.
"What is it?"
Her tone carried a subtle edge, perhaps from the interruption of sister time.
"Well... Eternity sent a request for support."
"...A support request from Eternity?"
"One of their clan members was kidnapped by the Execution Sanctuary."
"...A clan member?"
Ha Yu-ri suddenly felt her heartbeat quicken.
There was no guarantee it was him. But for some reason, her intuition strongly told her it was that man.
"Yes, that Lee Yun-seong... You know, the famous one lately. The guy who talked with you a few times during the Marsh of Oblivion expedition."
"....."
"They probably requested support from us because they mistook him for someone close to you, Clan Master."
His report barely registered. Her mind was just blank.
The old her would have been glad something happened to that man.
Because if he died or got hurt... she'd be free.
No one in the world knew about their relationship.
But Ha Yu-ri felt no joy now.
Only one emotion: fear.
Fear that she might lose that man, that she might never see him again.
"I... I don't know why they'd request support from our Magic Circle Clan when we're not even allies. Should we decline as usual..."
"No..."
"Pardon?"
"I'll... I'll go myself."
Her subordinate stared blankly at her response and asked back.
"What do you mean... You're going to support them personally?"
"Yes."
"C-Clan Master. There's no reason for our Magic Circle Clan to help Eternity. Why personally..."
"I can't lose him."
"Pardon?"
"Just prepare. I'll get ready right away too."
Ha Yu-ri said her piece and dismissed her subordinate.
"Um... Yul-ah, unnie has to go now..."
As Ha Yu-ri tried to explain, Ha Yul cut in first.
"Unnie, I want to go too."
"...What?"
Ha Yu-ri thought she'd misheard, but her sister's next words confirmed she hadn't.
"I want to help too."
"...Yul-ah, what are you saying? It's too dangerous for you to get involved. You just recovered, why would you..."
"Unnie, he helped me. I want to help him too. Please?"
"...No."
Ha Yul puffed her cheeks at the refusal and continued.
"...If unnie won't let me, I'll go by myself."
"Wh-What?"
"So decide, unnie. Let me wander off alone and get in danger, or let me help safely by your side!"