86 – 17. …… Engaged?
The kid, no, the duel agent has returned.
The ball was still going on, but the place Hector went to was neither the ballroom nor his room.
“……………….”
Walks while holding a bow in one hand.
There was no need to bump into anyone along the way. Because most of the employees were at the ballroom.
The few remaining people sense Hector’s presence and avoid him.
Hector, who continued walking, finally left the main building of the mansion.
Crossing the yard.
Pass through the warehouse.
I head to a lonely annex on one side of the mansion grounds.
“……….”
The annex had an eerie atmosphere. Especially because it was late.
The annex building was left in a dilapidated state, perhaps because it was really only minimally maintained, and a gloomy chill could be felt inside.
No matter how you look at it, it was a place that didn’t look like people lived there.
Hector calmly entered the annex.
“……………….”
The interior is old in places but has been cleaned.
Hector headed to the deepest part of the darkness and opened the door.
Kkieeek──
Just hearing it makes a creepy hinge sound echo throughout the annex.
A well-maintained room is revealed.
“Rain.”
“…Father.”
The room was dark. Even though it was late at night, the lights weren’t even turned on.
There is only Rain, covered in a blanket, on a bed in the middle of the room.
It looks like he’s squatting down with his entire body covered in a blanket, so you can’t even see Lane’s face.
Hector furrowed his eyebrows at that unsightly appearance and took a chair and sat down, even in the dark.
“……………….”
“……………….”
In the darkness, only each other’s shapes can be seen.
Hector looked down at Lane.
“You did something shameful.”
“……….”
There was no answer back.
I didn’t say this expecting an answer.
“Oh, it’s not a story about your little rebellion.”
“……?”
“It’s about the guy you dragged in.”
“……!”
At that moment, Raine and the blanket she was covering twitched.
Even after seeing that reaction, Hector did not stop talking.
“The more I saw him, the more I liked him. Not only was he smart, he could read the game, he had a lot of guts, and he was quite provocative.”
“……………….”
“That’s why I feel bad for you. You’re putting a guy like that in danger.”
Duel is not something that can be easily talked about.
A trial where each person risks each other’s life, justice is for the winner, and only death is for the loser.
It’s not like a young young man couldn’t overcome his passion and applied.
As we already confirmed with Namgoong Min.
I was just displeased when I found out that this duel was Lane’s will.
“……………….”
“That guy is such a bastard. I spent my whole life making you what I wanted, but he turned it around in just a few months.”
“……………….”
“Or did you seduce me with your off-white color? It really is the same.”
I knew that Lane would resist one day.
She was not ‘educated’ from birth, and because of that year, she could only enter education at the age of seven.
It was obvious that she would resist education as she started at an age where she knew what was right and wrong.
She never thought it would be a duel that would even attract a talented young man.
As he once tried to get rid of Namgoong Min but gave up due to his abilities and connections, Hector did not seem the same as Lane.
“Were you that desperate? Did you want to escape from the hands of your family, from the hands of this matriarch?”
“……….”
“If this duel is your will, then it would be your duty as the head of the family to trample on it with your own hands.”
Hector got up from the chair and walked toward the door.
And with the door half open, I glanced at Lane.
“The date and time are midnight tomorrow. The location is a mountain within the mansion. You know that, right? It’s right behind this annex.”
“……………….”
“Come observe. And see clearly.”
──Seeing a young man dying because of you.
“Remember, Arthur’s determination is to eliminate you if you cannot be an ally.”
“……….”
“I will allow you to collect the body.”
That was the end.
It was our first meeting for half a year, but the conversation, which was not a conversation between father and daughter, ended there.
It was only after Hector’s footsteps became distant and he finally went out of the annex that Raine lifted up the blanket.
“……….”
Her eyes are full of traces of her tears.
The tears that were still flowing little by little were adding to the marks.
Lane, who had maintained her silence despite Hector’s barbed words, looked out her window.
Dark night and the moon in the sky.
Reign cried for a moment, remembering the day she broke up with her mother.
“…I have to go.”
.
Disappears.
Even though the owner disappeared, the annex remained the same.
Dark, cold, and gloomy.
…… It had that atmosphere.
*
“Namgoong Min…”
“Mr. Lane, you are here. How about a cup of tea…?”
“Just give up.”
“……Yes?”
“I was stupid. I was too impatient. I was too foolish…”
She suddenly entered Nam Goong Min’s hotel room via , But it seemed like he knew she would come.
That relaxed attitude, gentle smile, and nice greeting.
Everything that Lane loves so much──
‘Come observe. And look carefully. ‘The sight of a young man dying because of you.’
──I was so scared that I would die and disappear.
Lane cursed her own foolishness.
“It wasn’t a duel. It wasn’t. Even if it took time, even if it meant getting engaged, I had to avoid a duel.”
“……………….”
“I foolishly mentioned a duel. I wasn’t risking my life, but the person I was risking my life for was Namgoong Min. It was so… Presumptuous.”
“……Hmm.”
As a result, Lane told Namgoong Min to die for his own resistance.
And…… Hector’s skills were not that rusty.
When she was young, who was it that single-handedly saved her and her mother from being trapped in her gate?
Although it had been more than 10 years since he put up a bow, he was still a great archer.
To the point where it far exceeds Lane’s expectations.
“Father, you have a high opinion of Namgoong Min. If you go and ask for forgiveness right now, you will be able to withdraw the duel. No, I will make it so.”
“Mr. Lane.”
“I-I don’t want to kill Namgoong Min. It’s my miscalculation and my stupidity. I ruined everything──”
“Rain.”
“──Huh?”
One of her hands lifted her up from her knees with tears streaming down her face.
And another hand wipes away her tears.
Rain was momentarily dazed by the warmth.
“Why are you crying?”
“……………….”
“Are you afraid I’ll die? Are you afraid I’ll lose the duel?”
Yes. I’m scared of that.
I’m afraid that my wrong choice will drive my other half to death.
A situation where a person who was serious about requesting a duel is now told to withdraw the duel, saying he made a mistake in judgment.
Even though it was a situation that would make anyone uncomfortable and annoyed, Namgoong Min was smiling.
Always come out……… Same.
With a warm smile.
“Okay, let’s say I pray and pray and somehow withdraw from the duel.”
“…! Yes, yes! You thought about it well──”
“Then what about Mr. Lane?”
“……………….”
“What happens?”
That, that.
I………
“…There will be no need to leave the Arthur Mansion in the future. At least not until the re-education is completely completed.”
“Yes.”
“You have to marry Kite Blackwood. I plan to go ahead with it even if there is opposition from high-ranking officials.”
“So?”
“And…And again…”
“Yes.”
“…Namgoong Min, I will never see you again.”
That is my future.
This is the result of my foolish resistance.
‘…… Just don’t resist.’
It would have been better if I had done that.
If I had just obeyed my father’s and family’s words, Namgoong Min would have been in danger and I would not have seen him again later.
Then, this precious memory, a little more happiness……
“Rain.”
“I… Was wrong… It’s all… My fault…”
“What are you talking about? Why is this your fault?”
“……Yes?”
Informal speech that is different from usual.
Nevertheless, these words are more sincere than polite words.
“It’s all that damn bastard’s fault.”
“Uh…….”
“Matriarch, Hector Arthur. He started this and he did it, so why are you saying it was your fault?”
“……….”
“I was the one who accepted the duel you mentioned in the first place. If you think about it that way, isn’t it my fault?”
“Oh, no! Absolutely not!”
“…Hmm, okay. This is a story about someone I know.”
…… Acquaintance?
What happened all of a sudden? … ?
“There was a family that was doing well. They had their own house, a car, and although they were not rich, they lived happily.”
“But when his father’s business failed, a fortune teller approached him, and his parents were deceived by the fortune teller and lost all their money.”
“In the end, the parents committed suicide, and the son lived taking care of his younger sister. The end.”
“……….”
“What do you think the moral of this story is?”
…… Lesson?
Is there a lesson in this tragic, even unpleasant story?
No, even more than that.
Is that really the story of an ‘acquainted person’?
I didn’t have a younger sister……
“I think there’s only one lesson: It’s easy to ruin someone’s life, and those bastards deserve karma.”
“……….”
“The fortune teller in the story is the same, and the matriarch is the same.”
Namgoong Min pours tea.
I hand the black tea with white steam rising to Lane standing across from me.
“Drink. Look at the tear stains, how much did you cry?”
“This, this…”
“Warm up, take a breath, and calm down.”
…… Take a deep breath.
Take a deep breath and exhale to calm yourself.
Don’t cry, Lane Arthur.
Nothing will change even if you cry.
‘Like Namgoong Min…….’
Keep calm and cool.
That’s how it is…… Because you can do anything.
From Noble mtl dot com
“…It’s warm.”
“Because I knew it would come and got on board.”
When you drink warm black tea, warmth spreads throughout your body.
Only then was Rain able to stop her tears and face Namgoong Min properly.
That warm, relaxed smile.
“Um…Now that it’s come to this, is it okay if I speak in peace?”
“Huh? Oh, of course!”
“Of course, not just me, but you too. I’m already getting along comfortably with Lucas.”
“How can I──”
“And don’t worry. I will come back victorious.”
I win and come back, La.
It would really be nice if that were the case.
“……Father is strong. Really. So…….”
“Could I have applied for a duel without thinking? I have my own thoughts, and I need you more than anything, Lane.”
“…Me, yo?”
“Of course, first of all, the ownership of the annex where you live──”
Ah, I see.
Even in situations where I would give up and even in situations where I don’t know what to do, this person doesn’t give up.
Regardless of whether it is for someone else.
Unlike myself, who is weak and strong, I just keep moving forward no matter what strong person I face.
‘I, Rio…… ‘You were jealous.’
I’m jealous of Liu Yan’s confidence. I’m jealous of your confidence in not bowing down to anyone.
So he hated Liu Yan, and he didn’t admit it.
If you admit it, you will only face your own shortcomings.
But why?
He is equally proud and confident, but unlike Liu, he is not jealous of the fortune teller.
Just.
‘I want to be like this, too.’
And, grow on your own.
‘…… ‘I want to stand next to you.’
I want to be in a relationship where we both need each other, not a relationship where we receive help one-sidedly.
There is no need for a cage or anything. It would be such a terrible thing to make him just a possession.
So, I want to become equal to him and tell him.
Thanks to you, I was able to become like this. That you changed my life.
So──
“Uh…Rain? Are you listening?”
“Earlier.”
“Huh?”
“You said it earlier. People who ruin someone’s life… Should receive karma.”
“Huh? Of course. So you’re planning to beat your father, right?”
Seeing him smiling as if joking.
I also laughed.
“I won’t forget those words.”
You ruined my life.
It brings a new life after ruining a life that was dark, hopeless, and full of strength and weakness.
Then, if you ruined my life like that.
‘Karma…… ‘I have to get it.’
Karma. That karma.
What should I do?
“I will never, ever forget.”
“Uh…Um, okay.”
Rain smiled. Namgoong Min followed suit and smiled somewhat awkwardly.
One day until the duel.
The day to clear all karma was approaching.
Basement Ending Unlocked