CH 39

Hazard drew his sword at the sloppy man. Scared by the sword under his neck, the strange man suddenly started to fall to his knees and beg for help. Hazard draws his sword back at the reaction. However, soon the man who found the jewelry in his hand began to tremble strangely, so they had no choice but to hold the man and question him. The clothes the man wore were embroidered with the same pattern as the one engraved on the jewelry.

The man is frightened and confesses obediently. He is an executive of a certain company, and the night before yesterday, the owner was at the scene, and the body was recovered by order of the boss. Then, he noticed that he had lost his identification card this morning, and he came to look for it, wondering if he had dropped it here, and confessed to Hazard, after he was caught. After looking pitifully at the apparently weak and timid man, Hazard told him to leave. If the story was true, the boss is the one that should be punished. This is because, in the Kingdom of Shekira, nobles were punished even if they hurt commoners.

So, after telling the child the news and informing Remburton who came back, they go to meet the boss. At this time, Remburton came to the knights, citing the family’s name as the second son of the Marquis of Barcella. Of course, the boss has a lie setup. However, because there was one person who had already confessed, and there were several witnesses, the boss’s (Sang Sang-ju) words lost credibility.

The incident took place in a small estate owned by Barcella Hu, and because Barcella’s second son, Remburton, was at the scene, the case was quickly closed. The subsequent investigations would reveal the misdeeds of the boss.

Trust, which has been considered the most important by the top, falls to the ground, and the top-level type becomes heavier due to layers. The child who is left alone is collected from the Marquis of Barcela as a villa user, and Hazard and his party return to the academy after the vacation. The case ends when Sang Sang-ju, who was locked in prison and waiting for the ruling, commits suicide.

It would have been nice if it ended like that. If you didn’t know the hidden details of this case, it would have remained the story of the ideal protagonist who embodied justice and put a stop to the wicked.

But there was a separate truth. There was a man who stitched the collapsed top after Hazard and his party left for the academy. He was the same man who accused Hazard of committing a commercial crime. And he was the mastermind behind all this. The man, who was the real culprit of the various evils covered by Sang Sang-ju, served as the executive right arm of Sang-ju at the top. He’s been looking at every opportunity to take the top. The criminal carried out the plan when more than half of the people at the top who had been steadily recruited for a long time were in full swing.

On the day things went as planned, fortunately, Hazard’s party was caught. With the unexpected help, everything goes according to the criminal’s plan. If Sang Sang-Ju survived to the end, it would have been explained somehow, even if it took a long time, but the criminal would not have kept Sangsangju alive. So the daughter of the merchant, who happened to know the truth of the case, had a grudge against the Hazard’s party. It was inevitable to embrace it. Afterward, Sang Sang-ju’s daughter hides her identity for revenge and deliberately approaches Hazard’s group to become their colleague. Yes, she was the wizard that Hazard and his party later recruited.

It was not until a long time after they gained their trust that the truth came out, but it was already too late. After graduating from the academy, Hazard and his party were on a trip to receive something from the temple, and the life of Sang Sang-ju’s daughter had already been corrupted without a way to return. The daughter, who had dealt with those who betrayed her superiors and her father before visiting Hazard, has already reached an irreversible point.

Hazard is shocked to learn the truth. Therefore, he accepts the resentment directed at him without avoiding it. As a result, his body is left with a great injury that cannot be cured by divine power, and not only that, as the daughter of Sang Sang-ju committed suicide in front of Hazard’s eyes, an indelible sense of guilt remains deep in Hazard’s heart and mind.

Everything he did was always just and upright. He was the one I believed in.

However, the fact that his childhood misjudgment ruined a person’s whole life came as such a shock to him. As a result, Hazard loses his sanity from this incident. His spirit reached its limit at that moment due to the rough adventure of leaving to seal the dungeon.

Hazard collapsed.

He drove himself hard, living in seclusion for a while, and sometimes self-tortured himself.

…This was the story of Hazard in the original book that Nathan remembered. Nathan was always heartbroken whenever he read that part. Of course, this was also part of the challenge for the main character to grow, so Hazard stands up again. But did he have to go through that? It’s just for his growth?

Nathan’s questioning begins there.

The main character in every story goes through various trials for growth, but it was bound to lead to a victim of Adam. In this case, the child’s older brother, Sang Sang-Ju, and Sang Sang-Ju’s daughter were included. Did they have to die? Nathan’s thoughts was different. In other ways, Hazard should be able to grow enough.

T/N: The victim of ‘Adam’ just is the name the police give to an unidentified male child murder victim.

‘So I don’t want Hazard to go through that.’

Nathan was the only one who knew this unsettling future ahead. So Nathan was the only one who could change the future. To do that, first…

“I have to go out to town.”

Nathan stopped stirring the soup, which was cold and hardened, and put down the spoon as it was. 

I didn’t eat half of the food that Vascent brought, but I didn’t want to put it in my mouth anymore, so I cleaned it up far away and make sure he doesn’t see. 

The chair screeched. Nathan leaned back and his head turned upward. He was lost in thought as he stared at the high ceiling with a slight yellow light.

He didn’t remember most of the details of the original. ‘I only remembered the big contents.’ So he kind of remembered that it was happening here.

However, I couldn’t remember exactly when and where it happened, when and where they met the child, and what the name of the big boss is. So I think it would be better to go to the village and check as soon as possible.

However, he isn’t sure if he could go out today with this body. 

‘What if you rest today and go out tomorrow? What if there’s an accident today? Then isn’t it too late? Don’t be late, so that the child’s brother won’t die, so that there won’t be any incidents.’

“Don’t tell me it’s already happened, or something?”

Suddenly, an ominous family passes through my mind. As soon as Remburton saw Hazard yesterday, he shouted? ‘Don’t tell me… I was worried that Nathan might have gone wrong even before I started. When did the village festival start? No, I have to know the weather first. Did it rain?’

Nathan jumped up from his seat. The sudden rise caused dizziness and blurring for a moment, but Nathan staggered to the doorstep. I’ll have to ask Vascent. 

Once he thought of an ominous future, he couldn’t sit still and organize any thoughts. Nathan slammed the door open.

“What?”

“…”

A large light blue eye resembling the surface of the calm lake looks up at Nathan in surprise. His fist stopped in the air as if he were about to knock on the door. So Nathan had no choice but to stop at the door.

“Wow! I was just going to knock on the door! How did you find out?”

A boy with soft cherry blossom hair like cotton candy burst into laughter and asked. The boy was a head and a half shorter than Nathan and had a charming and lovely appearance. A pointed ear peeked through the soft-looking hair.

“Hi! You’re the one that Hazard brought, right? Nice to meet you!”

The boy kept babbling, but it didn’t come into Nathan’s ear properly. This is because Nathan’s train of thought completely stopped due to the sudden appearance of the boy. Why is he here?

“-Hey, are you listening?”

It was not until his white fingers shook in front of his eyes that Nathan was surprised and nodded slowly.

“Why are you here?”

“Huh? ‘Why am I here?’ I wanted to say hello in advance! Well, I asked Remburton, everyone has already met you! I’m the only one who hasn’t met before, right? What’s with that? Then I’ll be the only one who feels so awkward at the luncheon later! That’s why I’m here to tell you in advance! I asked Vascent for your room and when you would be eating breakfast. So I thought you would be done eating by now! Did you finish eating?”

Smiling sweetly, the boy tilts his head. I am completely distracted by the constant chatter and asking. 

In the midst of this, Nathan nodded with a positive intention.

“Where are you going?”

“…I’m going to ask Vascent for help.”

“What is it? If there’s anything I can tell you, feel free to ask me! I was in this villa as soon as vacation started!”

Nathan stepped back each time the boy strode forward. However, Nathan was forced to let the boy into the room because they couldn’t keep standing in front of the door.