Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Second Hero (4)
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Rani was the daughter of a lord.
To be more precise, she was the second daughter of the Antalia Territory, which maintained a very close relationship with the Norba Kingdom, and at the same time, she was an illegitimate child who was shunned.
The daughter born to a woman who had been used as the lord's one-night plaything and then discarded.
Yet the fact that she was the lord's daughter remained unchanged, so Rani was raised being treated as such.
As the envy of everyone, the lord's daughter.
But to her, the title of "Antalia lord's daughter" felt more like a curse.
If she had been born to the lord's wife, she wouldn't have thought that way, but Rani was a bastard child.
She was bullied by her siblings.
On days when the family gathered, she had to keep her head down and eat.
The lord's wife always looked at her with eyes full of disgust.
In short, she was the lord's daughter, but she had lived a life rejected by her family.
And that wasn't all.
At a young age, desperate for someone to lean on, she opened her heart and approached anyone and everyone, but no one ever accepted her.
The children outside the lord's castle kept their distance because she was the lord's daughter.
The servants in the mansion, seeing her in such an ambiguous position, only felt a base sense of superiority and never approached her.
In the end, the young Rani was isolated everywhere because of that cursed title of "lord's daughter."
But what allowed her to endure those times when she wasn't accepted by anyone was her father.
In a place where everyone could be considered an enemy, the lord of Antalia Territory—her father—was the only one who treated her kindly.
That's how Rani endured.
'Live strong. Never show weakness.'
She recalled her birth mother's dying words over and over, living her life without showing any vulnerabilities to others.
And so, in the year Rani turned nineteen.
...Which was half a year ago, she was suddenly chosen by the "world" and became a hero.
She had no idea why she, of all people, had become a hero.
To begin with, what Rani enjoyed wasn't wielding weapons, but cooking as a hobby.
But regardless of how it happened, becoming a hero thrilled her.
In a place where she had never once been acknowledged, becoming a hero planted the hope that maybe she could finally earn people's recognition.
However, that hope didn't last long.
No, along with the hope vanishing, the pillar that had supported her crumbled to pieces.
The reason was that the lord who had sustained her until now was trying to sell her off to another territory, as if it were all a lie.
...She realized that the only reason he had raised her this far was her value as a commodity called "the daughter of the Antalia lord."
The lord didn't change his mind even after she was chosen and became a hero.
On the contrary, he was delighted.
Not as a father, but because the value of the commodity he intended to trade had skyrocketed in an instant.
...At least one person as her pillar of support? That had been nothing but Rani's delusion.
Three months after becoming a hero and realizing her father's true intentions, he finally tried to send his daughter to a count in the Norba Kingdom.
Not even as the count's "wife," but as his eighth "concubine."
A count whose rumors weren't even good.
The moment she realized that, Rani ran away.
She fled beyond the territory she had never properly left before, evading the pursuers sent by the territory, living the life of a fugitive.
That had been three months ago.
However.
"Tch, well, no way a crumbling territory like that could show any goodwill, huh? Yeah, I expected too much from that incompetent-looking village chief."
Rani fully realized in that moment that her life as a fugitive—her very life—was over.
Because he was the second son of the Antalia lord, currently locked in a power struggle with his eldest brother for the lord's seat. There was no way he'd let her go.
"..."
Now that the moment had come, everything about her felt utterly pathetic.
Being born as the lord's bastard.
Living a life without ever being acknowledged.
...Even becoming a hero and still being treated like this—nothing was free of misery.
Her frightened, small-animal-like eyes instinctively scanned the surroundings. It meant nothing. It was just the desperate act of someone cornered.
Her gaze lingering briefly on Lartania's lord held no deeper meaning.
She knew she couldn't expect anything from him.
She knew he couldn't help, and she shouldn't even hope.
But—
"Ack!"
Before she could continue that thought, Rani's body was dangling in the air.
One of the pursuers, scoffing, had grabbed her by the collar and hoisted her up. His blatant gaze of contempt flicked back and forth between her and the lord.
Then, with a sharp slap, her cheek turned. It was a stinging slap that brought tears to her eyes.
"What, you think that scarecrow over there is gonna save you? You filthy pest from this rundown village?"
"Eut—"
Her cheek throbbed from the blow by someone who wasn't even worth calling a brother.
But more painful than that was the miserable future awaiting her.
"Come on. Unless you want to be tied to a horse and dragged."
As the lord's second son, Gran, grabbed her wrist and turned to drag her away—
"Fucking retard."
The lord's low voice rang out.
"What...?"
Gran whipped around with a puzzled expression.
And then.
"Fucking retard, you shit."
The words flew from Kim Hyunwoo's mouth.
Kim Hyunwoo was an ordinary but quite rational person. Basically, when he failed at something, he analyzed why instead of just getting pissed. When unexpected things happened, he tried to find quick countermeasures rather than losing his temper. This wasn't just how he saw himself—it was how his coworkers and friends evaluated him. In other words, he seemed like a well-socialized person with only advantages, but like everyone, he had flaws alongside his strengths. Kim Hyunwoo snapped when ignored. That personality had allowed him to become a top ranker in Arteil, burning through money and time. In the military, during night guard duty, he'd beaten a senior who openly ignored and abused him with a helmet until the duty officer showed up. In short, Kim Hyunwoo hated being ignored more than death. He was rational in all things except that, where his berserk button was hit with alarming speed. Especially against blatant dismissers like Gran. Before Gran could respond to the trash talk, Kim Hyunwoo grabbed a beer mug from the table in front of the mercenary who had been watching the sudden situation with interest.
"Huh?"
The mercenary looked at him in confusion. But before he could say anything— Crack! Kim Hyunwoo smashed the wooden mug over Gran's head.
"Gak—!?"
Beer splashed everywhere with a splash, and Gran, releasing Rani's wrist, collapsed to the floor. Kim Hyunwoo didn't stop there. He straddled Gran and began relentlessly bashing his head with the oak mug. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! "Argh! Argh! Argh!"
Gran screamed each time the mug struck his head. He raised his guard against the sudden assault, but Kim Hyunwoo skillfully struck the gaps every time. Crack! As the mug warped under the force— "Do you even know who I— doing this shit—" "..."
Gran tried to say something belatedly, but— "I— I'm the second son of Antalia Territ—" Thwack! "Second— Aaaargh!" Thwack! Kim Hyunwoo said nothing, just swung the mug.
"U, uwaaaargh!!"
Gran screamed and passed out, and at the same time— "Y-Young master!!"
"What are you doing to the young master!!" —the knights waiting outside the tavern rushed in, finally noticing, but Kim Hyunwoo calmly stood up.
"Take this and get lost."
He nudged Gran's battered face with his foot. The knights scowled in unison. Thud! Rumble rumble boom! But at the massive sound from behind, they all turned and saw the log falling from above the tavern.
"Or do you want a taste of log too?"
At Kim Hyunwoo's voice— "..."
The five knights who had entered shut their mouths in unison.
As the five knights dragged away the bloodied Gran, Kim Hyunwoo asked Elena, who had rushed into the tavern, to chase them out of the village. He made a slightly regretful face. 'Did I go too far?' The thought flashed briefly, but he shook his head. Objectively, antagonizing neighboring territories wasn't ideal. But even if it wasn't ideal, he couldn't stomach the insult. It was bad, but not catastrophic, and ultimately, it wouldn't derail his labyrinth city plans much. 'That's why I stopped there on purpose.' Any more would worsen relations excessively, but since he'd let them live, it wouldn't plummet dramatically. 'Besides, recruiting Rani would sour things anyway.' With that, Kim Hyunwoo turned around. Behind him stood Rani, still dazed, not fully grasping the situation, staring at him entranced without even wiping the blood.
"I've taken care of your problem, so... feel like accepting my recruitment offer now?"
At his words, Rani just blankly took in his face with her eyes.
Gran regained consciousness two hours after being beaten by Kim Hyunwoo. Waking in the forest, he looked dazed at first, piecing together fragmented memories like a broken film reel. Once it connected— "Y-You arrogant bastard—!"
Recalling what happened, he sprang up, spitting curses. Blood rushed to his head, making it spin, but he forced himself upright. "Kuhk—!"
Pain surged through him. But more than the pain, the growing humiliation made him grit his teeth, eyes bloodshot.
"...Huh?"
His rage vanished in an instant. The reason?
"Awake now?"
"Filthy worm."
A wolf and a half-demon were staring him down, radiating bone-chilling killing intent. Their eyes gleaming red and violet with mana.