Chapter 178

“… Mr. Lee Yun-seong, are you okay?”

Unable to focus on work, Wi Ho-yeon approached me.

“… I’m fine.”

It was a lie. Ever since that incident with Yoo Ju, I’ve been like this.

“…..”

Wi Ho-yeon got up from her seat and cautiously approached me.

Then, she bent down and looked me straight in the eyes.

After staring at me for a moment, she spoke.

“You hugged the Master, didn’t you?”

“… How did you know?”

I was startled and my eyes widened. Wi Ho-yeon smiled slightly and replied.

“I can just tell.”

“What…”

“Really. I could tell just by looking at your expression.”

‘What kind of nonsense is that?’

“… Is that even possible?”

“Well… you looked restless. You still have that expression now.”

“…..”

It felt like she was dissecting my innermost thoughts.

“… Mr. Lee Yun-seong, are you worried?”

“…..”

From Wi Ho-yeon’s perspective, she had every right to be angry or complain about my relationship with Yoo Ju.

Yet, the only emotion I could see on her face was concern for me.

“… Aren’t you bothered by this, Ho-yeon?”

If I were in her shoes, I would have been furious.

Wi Ho-yeon let out a rare sigh and spoke to me.

“If you’re worried because of me, there’s no need.”

“…..”

“I already told you, you don’t need to feel responsible for me. Don’t stress yourself out over me.”

‘Well… that’s part of it, but my headache is because of something else.’

The main reason for my headache was that I hadn’t told Yoo Ju the whole truth.

‘Now it’s really impossible to reveal everything.’

The train has already left the station. There’s no chance now.

If I had planned to tell Yoo Ju everything, not just part of it, I should have done it yesterday.

Wi Ho-yeon, unaware of this, seems to think I’m like this because I feel responsible for her.

‘It’s not like I don’t have thoughts about Ho-yeon…’

“… Mr. Lee Yun-seong.”

“Yes?”

“I wasn’t forced into this, and I gave myself to you willingly.”

“……”

“If I had intended to demand or force responsibility from you, I wouldn’t have come to your room that night.”

‘So, it’s not that.’

It’s a trashy thing to say, but I’m not as responsible as Wi Ho-yeon thinks I am.

“Sigh… I don’t understand why you’re so different from how you are at night. Where did the rough-talking Mr. Lee Yun-seong from that night go?”

‘Well, that’s… that was just part of the play, you know.’

No matter how abnormal I am, I’m not the kind of person who talks or acts like that in everyday life.

“… It’s not what you think, Ho-yeon.”

“What do you mean it’s not? You’re clearly agonizing over something.”

‘… I don’t think I should be hearing this from you.’

It’s absurd that Wi Ho-yeon is saying this to me, considering she’s the one who’s been agonizing.

“… Or did you force yourself on the Clan Master?”

“Am I crazy? Unless I wanted to get stabbed to death by Yoo Ju…”

“Then stop worrying unnecessarily. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

‘Nothing wrong, my foot.’

Suddenly, I realized that the faith Wi Ho-yeon has in me is almost fanatical.

Frankly, if I told her to die, she probably would.

Honestly, as someone who hasn’t made any moves on Wi Ho-yeon, I couldn’t help but recall what Ruska had told me.

‘… Did she say that Wi Ho-yeon had feelings for me during the first round?’

Perhaps the strange connection from the first round has carried over to the second.

Wi Ho-yeon suddenly hugged my face to her chest.

“What, what are you doing?”

“… I thought this might help ease your worries…”

“……”

“Or… would you call me informally right now?”

Me speaking informally to Wi Ho-yeon is a kind of signal.

In other words, Wi Ho-yeon was tempting me.

“… Are you tempting me?”

In response to my question, Wi Ho-yeon met my gaze and smiled seductively, asking in return.

“… I wonder. What do you think?”

‘Sigh…’

I’m always surprised when Wi Ho-yeon acts like this.

She’s so different from when she was first assigned as my bodyguard.

For a moment, my head grew hot from her response, but I forced myself to cool down.

‘Damn, my self-control has been shattered lately.’

I’ve always been quite confident in my self-control.

But lately, it feels like it’s been completely destroyed.

And the starting point of that was the woman in front of me.

Wi Ho-yeon’s gaze was urging me on.

“… Ho-yeon.”

For a brief moment, she looked disappointed that I didn’t speak informally.

“… Yes.”

“You’re going to get hurt if you keep this up. Worse than last time.”

“Ah…”

Wi Ho-yeon reacted dumbly to my words. She must have realized from my gaze.

That I was holding back as much as I could.

As evidence, her face turned red and her breathing became rough.

“If you keep provoking me… it’s going to be a problem. Ho-yeon, if your true nature is revealed here, it’s going to be really troublesome. Right?”

If things go south now, both Wi Ho-yeon and I are going to be in deep trouble.

“I… I’m sorry. I’ll… go ahead for now. Sorry, Mr. Lee Yun-seong.”

Without waiting for my response, Wi Ho-yeon quickly left the office.

‘Damn…’

I had a gut feeling I knew what Wi Ho-yeon was going to do after leaving.

As I tried to calm my boiling emotions, my portable crystal ball started vibrating.

‘What? Riki?’

The caller was Riki.

Click –

“What’s up?”

– …….

“Riki?”

– … Yoon Seong.

Hearing Riki’s voice, I instinctively knew something was wrong.

“… What’s going on?”

– … You’re as sharp as ever.

I waited quietly for her to continue.

– I just wanted to vent a little.

“Vent?”

– Well… I’m angry, annoyed, and it’s been a while since I’ve felt like this.

“What’s going on?”

‘Her voice is calm but fiery.’





She was trying her best to hold back her anger.

For a moment, I worried if I had done something wrong to her, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t remember doing anything particularly bad to Riki.

– First of all, congrats, Yoon Seong. Eternity’s status has risen a lot, huh? I heard the master of Eternity we saw last time took a spot in the rankings.

“Ah… yeah, that’s true.”

Riki, uncharacteristically, was avoiding the main point and beating around the bush.

– Now no one can ignore you. Eternity Clan’s position is completely different from before. What did they call it? A small but elite clan.

Well, that’s true. Eternity has now firmly established itself as one of the top clans.

It’s not quite at the level of the three major clans Gu Yeon-jeong led, but it’s close.

It’s not just Yoo Ju, Lee Jae-hyo, Charis, or Wi Ho-yeon.

Even the other members who showed exceptional talent from the tutorial are starting to make a name for themselves.

Kang I-seo has started to gain fame as an archer who never misses.

Hitting the weak point of the White Devourer, among other things.

Her talent as an archer is starting to bloom.

Not as much as Kang I-seo, but Song Ha-eun is also starting to be known as a Spirit Master, and Yoo Hyun? No need to even mention him.

There were quite a few who survived large-scale battles thanks to Yoo Hyun.

Uncle Ho-won is also starting to make a name for himself as a reliable tank.

But right now, that’s not the issue.

“…. Riki, you don’t have to beat around the bush. Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

– Sigh… Yoon Seong, remember?

“What?”

– That Jo Yeon-joo we saw at the banquet.

“Ah…”

Riki’s words reminded me. That girl who seemed pretty close to Riki.

‘Shadow Sorcerer Jo Yeon-joo.’

“Of course, I remember.”

‘She was such a weird person, it’s impossible to forget her.’

I still remember. That time she asked me if I wanted to knock Riki down.

What Riki said next left me stunned.

– Jo Yeon-joo is dead.

“… What?”

– Well, to be precise, she was murdered.

“Murdered?”

– Yeah. Kick… I don’t know who the bastards were, but according to the investigation, it was an ambush, and they attacked her with two people.

“… Even if it was an ambush, she was a ranker, right? They killed a ranker with just two people?”

The title of ranker isn’t something to be taken lightly. It’s a title given to only ten out of countless players.

Killing Jo Yeon-joo with just two people means the killers were either rankers themselves or had comparable strength.

– The culprit must be on that level. No, it’s not a guess, it’s certain. At least one of the culprits is someone we know.

“……”

– Gwi Chang, Baek Si-hoon. That bastard is the culprit.

I’ve heard of him.

‘He’s the only ranker who’s known as a traitor, right?’

“… Riki, are you okay?”

Her contacting me and expressing her emotions like this is a very rare occurrence.

‘No, actually, it’s the first time.’

– Well. Honestly, someone dying on this continent is a common thing. Even if it’s someone close to you.

“……”

– If I knew this would happen, I should’ve given her a piece of my mind. Sigh… Even though I thought of her as a friend, this doesn’t feel good.

“… I’m sorry.”

That’s all I could say to her.

Honestly, I wasn’t close to Jo Yeon-joo, so I didn’t feel much of a change in emotions.

I was just puzzled.

The fact that Jo Yeon-joo was ambushed by two people means it wasn’t just a random encounter that led to a fight.

In other words, it was a planned murder.

******

Wi Ho-yeon felt a sense of self-loathing as soon as she left the office.

‘… Lee Yun-seong, I’m sorry. I’m not in a position to say anything to you.’

She was disgusted with herself. She was a woman unworthy of being praised as the Sword Monarch, just as she had heard in bed.

She was just a woman who couldn’t properly convey her feelings, or rather, a woman who deceived herself about her own feelings.

‘… It’s my choice.’

She herself wanted it.

The proof of that was the change in her trait.

[Corrupted Loyalty (Hero Grade) – If you have pledged loyalty to someone, all stats increase by 2 within a 50-meter radius of that person. Recently, the target of your loyalty has changed. You now crave affection from the target of your loyalty.]

Originally, the trait was called Noble Loyalty.

But as the name of the trait changed, an additional description was added.

‘… You crave affection from the target of your loyalty.’

How absurd. A tool craving the affection of the one they serve.

It was a desire that crossed the line.

“Again…”

Lately, whenever she thought of him, her body would heat up on its own.

Her body automatically reacted, wanting to feel the same pleasure as before.

“No…”

Her role was to fulfill his desires. She couldn’t use him to satisfy her own desires.

‘Not here.’

At the very least, she had to head to her own room. What if he heard…

“Ah…”

‘If he heard… what would he do to me?’

Could she feel the same happiness as that time?

If so, she could endure any amount of shame.

‘What were the two of them like?’

Just imagining what kind of night Lee Yun-seong and the master spent made her body tremble.

‘Did he treat her the same way he treated me?’

The rough, vulgar language, as if imprinting what kind of existence she was, the violent tone of a man.

And the possessive desire burning in his eyes.

‘Stop it.’

Wi Ho-yeon bit her lip until it bled.

She felt a bit more grounded.

A bitter laugh escaped her.

She wasn’t the noble Sword Monarch people called her.

‘… To the room, I need to go to the room.’

There was only one way to relieve this heat.

… It seemed like she’d be skipping dinner today.