1. The First Letter (31)
Words are strong. However, it was not as strong as it seemed to the eye.
Even if you could hear a hundred words of explanation, it was better to witness the scene. That was the power of sight.
hearing, smell, touch, and taste. Although there are many senses, there is no one more dominant than sight. Some scholars even argued that seven of the human senses depend on vision.
So, there was no choice but to put an even heavier silence in the swordsmanship training ground.
In front of them, there was more explicit visual data than anything else.
His name was Thean. With chapped lips, he struggled to speak.
“You’d better be careful too. That bastard is so crazy… … .”
He walked up to the three women who were taunting Seria. The closer he got, the more pale the faces of the women were.
Without anyone asking, they urgently began to make excuses.
“Who, who, who said what?”
“Ooh, we didn’t talk about anything, just an acquaintance… … !”
However, their excuses did not last long. It was because Thean, standing in front of them, threw out a word with a voice mixed with a sigh.
“I said so too… … .”
Thean’s index finger pointed at my face. Tian, who was about to knock on the wound, frowned and stopped. Even that looked painful.
Cold sweat formed on the foreheads of the three women who mocked Seria. It was a warning.
An eerie warning that they could be like that too.
Thean looked at the girls whose faces were turning white and sighed and laughed.
“… … They made it like this. Was it just me?”
He glanced behind his back. There, the usual gang with Thean were walking in to attend the lecture.
What they all have in common is that they have a limp or have scars on their faces. Anyway, it was something that looked painful. At least it was certain that it was not an accidental injury.
They were pretty scarred faces. It was worth it. After all, no one wants to spread the evidence that they were defeated by someone around the neighborhood like that.
Even so, they forced themselves to come to this place.
That fact implied one thing. It meant that calming someone’s anger was more urgent than hurting one’s pride.
Aren’t they the pride of Tian’s gang? The students had no choice but to keep a chilly silence.
chills down the spine While mocking Seria, the disaster she was worried about was visualized and stood in front of them.
One of the girls mocking Seria swallowed dry saliva. Then he asked in a trembling voice.
“Hey, maybe… Did you get hit one by one?”
“no.”
It was a voice that trembled with fear, but even that could not continue and stopped. It was because Thean said that with a plain face.
The faces of the women had long since turned white. Eyes full of fear trembled violently.
They were also prosecutors. I was used to being knocked down as much as knocking someone down. However, the reason they are so afraid is the memory of one day that is still vivid in their minds.
Also known as ‘Yurdina’s half-baked incident’.
The girls still remember the moment of that one-sided and brutal violence. What if they stood there?
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Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps. Isn’t it an opponent that even the tean gang couldn’t beat.
Thean tapped the shoulder of the woman closest to him as if to comfort him. he said in a low voice.
Quietly, but clearly so that anyone who overhears the conversation can hear it.
“I attacked in droves, but I was beaten. Did I tell you? That bastard is crazy… Be careful, you.”
Meanwhile, Tian glanced at Seria. Seria still looked dumbfounded.
“… … Next, I think it will be you guys.”
Hiccup, the women hiccupped and cast fearful glances at Seria. They were eyes that longed for something. Even they don’t know what they’re asking for.
The position was immediately reversed. With Thean’s appearance, the mocking and accusing eyes directed at Seria were immediately filled with fear.
Knowingly or unknowingly, those who had participated in harassing Seria glanced at Seria. Of course, the same was true for Thean’s gang.
Because they were exemplary textbooks that showed what would happen if Seria were touched.
Unable to bear this, one of Thean’s gang yelled.
“What are you looking at, kids! Did you see it?!”
Only then did he startle, and the students’ eyes were withdrawn. There was nothing good to be touched by a beast whose pride was wounded. It was common sense.
Thean let out a sigh and trudged along, as if the painful work was over. The place where his steps continue is in front of Seria’s eyes.
Thean looked a bit dissatisfied, but soon lowered his head. It was a sign of apology.
“I’m sorry for all this time. I won’t touch you from now on.”
“… … Why?”
Seria asked blankly. Thean’s head lifted slightly.
“How can you change your attitude so quickly? And even if it doesn’t come out that low… … .”
“You seem to be mistaken.”
Thean said in a whisper. It was the exact opposite of the attitude everyone had been shouting for to be heard just before.
It meant that it was a secret story that could only be told to Seria. Curious about the intention, Seria kept her mouth shut.
“I’m not doing this because of you or Ian. If rumors spread that we were treated badly for no reason, then only we would be screwed… Okay? The idiots who attacked one of the middle and lower ranks as a gang and then got broken.”
But if you display your defeat so blatantly, the story changes.
People who didn’t know the seriousness of it when they heard it in words realized it at once while watching the Tean gang.
how brutally they were subjected to violence.
Then, the public’s attention is directed to the existence of Ian who destroyed them rather than the defeat of the Tean gang.
He is a human who defeated Tean and his gang, who are sure of their skills. Of course, since he didn’t come out today, he must have been seriously injured as well, but that’s why his venom and cruelty had no choice but to be noticed.
Then it was an advantage for Thean. Because public opinion will be formed that ‘I was beaten by someone who deserved it’.
And in the process, of course, the Tean gang, who were only perpetrators, turned into another victim. In other words, Thean just chose the best option.
because he was smart If he was stupid, he wouldn’t be able to act like a bully yet in an academy full of talented players.
“To be honest, I still don’t like you. He’s not cheap, and above all, he’s stronger than me and has a good background… Very f*cked up.”
However, he added that and straightened his bent back. He hit Seria’s shoulder with his elbow.
It was the greeting method of the Southern Ten Kingdoms, and it meant acknowledging the other person.
“However, having good companions is also a skill. Admit it. I lost this time.”
Then he waved his hand and turned around. As if her errands were over, Seria still couldn’t come to her senses and followed him blankly.
Thean, then, as if he had forgotten, cast his gaze back. He left a last request to Seria.
“And take good care of today’s work, Ian.”
The gang followed behind Te An. Their faces were still dissatisfied, but they were still following Thean. It must have been because he was a trusted leader.
He might be a surprisingly smart person, Seria thought involuntarily.
“… … A mad dog is scary if you have it as an enemy, but it’s reassuring if you have it as a friend.”
After that, Professor Derek arrived and the lecture began.
The lecture that day was consistently conducted in a heavy atmosphere, to the point where Professor Derek was confused.
And after that, the ridicule and bullying toward Seria disappeared.
On the contrary, some of the people who had openly ridiculed her approached Seria in embarrassment and even apologized. Seria’s suffering for several days was almost laughable.
So Seria thought.
If there is senior Ian, everything can be solved.
yes, whatever.
If only there was senior Ian.
As she repeated that, her aquamarine-like eyes sank.
**
In the intensive care unit of the temple, I was being scolded by a beautiful girl with silver hair.
With impressive pale pink eyes, she was a person with the noble status of a saint of the Holy Land.
He was a high-ranking figure who would not have even met his eyes if he had met outside the academy. So even while being scolded, I couldn’t lift my head the whole time.
Occasionally he glanced at her swollen chest, but it was a man’s instinct and he couldn’t help it.
The saintess’ bruises continued, as if she hadn’t noticed that kind of gaze, or because it was so familiar that she didn’t feel much emotion.
“How can you end up in the intensive care unit three times in two weeks? Brother Ian, do you have a hobby of abusing your body?”
She had always been a kind and benevolent saintess, but today she seemed to be very angry.
Her vocabulary was quite sharp. Feeling like my heart was being stabbed for no reason, I raised a timid objection.
“No, I… saintess? I didn’t do that on purpose.”
“If not on purpose, then the rumor that Brother Ian was violent against the eight people who visited the temple today would be false, right?”
I kept my mouth shut. No, did the rumor spread like that before I knew it?
If someone didn’t spread it on purpose, rumors wouldn’t have spread widely within the academy in just one day. I didn’t know who the hell it was, but because of that, I had no choice but to put an end to my pointless excuses on the spot.
The saintess glared at me for a moment with her light pink eyes, then let out a sigh as if she couldn’t help it.
“Brother Ian, cherish your body. Just because you can fix it doesn’t mean you can do it. Most of the people who unfortunately lose their lives leave for the heavenly god that way.”
“… … Yes, I will listen.”
Fearing that the saintess’ scolding would continue, I replied with such a quick response. The saintess noticed that she was unreliable, but she kept her mouth shut, probably deciding that saying more would only hurt her mouth.
She was silent for a moment, as if pondering, then glanced at me.
“I heard that Count Rainella is secretly displeased.”
At that low word, I let out a sigh as if I knew it. My hand was placed on my chin and forehead.
Damn it, I thought so.
When you think about it, it was a very reckless act. To think that a human, at most the second son of a viscount, would run into a gang of high-ranking aristocrats.
It was also an opponent that I couldn’t defeat with my own skills. At the time, I couldn’t figure out why I was so angry.
But then I felt a faint certainty. Unfounded conviction that I would never be defeated by those little guys.
A sense of debt toward Seria must have been one of the reasons. Because I was also responsible for the full-blown bullying towards Seria.
Even so, there were some incomprehensible points in my recent behavior. These were all things he did after he lost his memory.
Of course, I also had an idea.
No matter how powerful the Lineella count family was, it couldn’t be compared to the Yurdina family. And even though Seria was the youngest daughter, she was a member of the family that received the surname Yurdina. There was no way the Rainella family wanted the conflict with her to surface.
That’s probably why he said it was ‘subtly unpleasant’, because I can’t express it explicitly. It’s just that it’s not Seria, at least why the second son of a rural viscount disturbs their self-restraint.
It didn’t seem like he was going to take any action. No matter how different the prestige of the family was, I was also a descendant of an aristocrat. He probably didn’t want to take the blame by recklessly protesting about the violent incident that occurred within the academy.
On the contrary, rumors that hurt his pride would spread that he was broken up by the second son of the viscount. Although the name of the Countess Rainella was high, it was not a prestigious family that could crush a single noble family.
It could be said that the Yurdina family had that much prestige. One of the five noble families of the Empire.
Nevertheless, it was true that the warnings from the Rainella family bothered him. Not because of me, but because of my family name.
I was afraid that the Rainella family might exert pressure on my family without knowing it or not. Even without that, I was indebted to my family for the expensive tuition at the academy. So it was hard to keep my head up.
The saintess glanced at my complicated expression. Then he pretended not to know and said a word to me.
“I explained Brother Ian’s situation well.”
“… … ?”
My puzzled gaze turned to the saintess.
He said ‘well explained’, but this was nothing more than political rhetoric. A slightly more explicit meaning was:
‘I sent Tyler well, so he won’t be able to use his hands.’
But why the hell? Seeing such suspicion in her eyes, the saintess crossed herself.
“Heaven is the law that defends the righteous. I heard, at least roughly, why Brother Ian used violence. And again… … .”
As if it was time to leave, the saintess raised her body and winked one eye. It was a charming eye smile.
“There was also grace from last time.”
“… … Grace?”
“Hehe, if you don’t remember, that’s fine.”
I still had a puzzled look on my face, but the saintess responded with a strange voice.
As she was about to leave the hospital room, she left a riddle as if she had suddenly remembered it.
“Come to think of it, your complexion has improved a lot since then.”
“When?”
“Yes, at that time he had very tired eyes. I’m glad you’re okay… Then I’m done, Emmanuel.”
‘Eyes that look very tired’, it was only then that I was able to roughly guess what had happened.
While I lost my memory again, it seemed I had done something. But what the hell are you doing?
No matter how much I grunted, there was no way to come up with an answer. It’s been a long time since the memory of that week has been completely erased from my head. However, since I said ‘grace’, I can only guess that it wasn’t a bad thing for me.
My unanswered worries did not last long. It was because at the same time as the saintess left, someone suddenly stuck her head in.
“Brother Ian!”
The smiley voice, I immediately guessed the identity of the visitor.
It was Celine. She waved her hand with a bright face, as always, and approached me like a gun.
“Did you hear that you smashed those Tian bastards? Ugh, who the hell is a man to do such cool things?”
“Nobody’s man… Aww!”
Puck, Celine’s palm hit my shoulder. Still injured, I had no choice but to scream and struggle.
Celine’s face immediately became sullen. she grunted.
“I still can’t read the mood, can you give me a rough answer?”
“It’s not something I’d say as a joke.”
Heh, Celine sneered like that and crossed her arms. There was a blatant displeasure in her eyes.
“You burned your whole body for that bastard, is it difficult for you to even say a word to me?”
“Even if it was you, not Seria, I would have stepped forward. And again… … .”
I continued to speak like that, but I blurted out the end. Celine turned her head away from me as if she was sad, but she was secretly looking at me to see if she was curious about the next question.
“Yes,” a moan escaped from my mouth. It means hesitating.
Celine urged me in a slightly annoyed voice, as if she was frustrated by my appearance.
“Why, again, what!”
“… … Yes, you.”
Eventually, unable to overcome her urging, my mouth opened. Celine’s tan eyes turned to me. I hesitated a little longer before asking.
“Do you hate Seria?”
Celine, upon hearing that, showed no reaction.
It just kept looking at me. As if to gauge the intent of my question, I decided to ask a more blatant question.
“I wonder if you spread bad rumors about Seria.”
Only then did Celine’s expression harden. She slowly opened her arms.
Two fixed gazes collided in the air. My eyes were deeply sunken.
Celine didn’t say anything for a while.