Ch. 263

[Master! You have to take off the mask.]

“Ah, right.”

I almost walked out wearing it without thinking.

I did like how I looked in the mask, but strolling through the city like that would make me more conspicuous, not less.

When I stepped out of the inn, Ash was waiting.

He approached with two brown horses, and just as I’d instructed, he wore a large hood that hid his face well.

I pulled up the hood with the biggest brim too.

“Where’s Rovenin?”

I asked, lowering my voice as much as possible. Ash gave a short jerk of his chin toward a distant tree.

“Over there.”

Even though he pointed so plainly, my senses couldn’t detect anyone there at all.

This wasn’t something you could blame on the dusk.

I took one horse’s reins from Ash and narrowed my eyes, focusing hard, but it was still the same.

“Hmm… Are you sure he’s there?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t feel him.”

“Young Master is someone even I have a hard time finding.”

“So you’re saying you can sense him?”

“I can when he’s just standing there normally, like now. If the he conceals his presence to the extreme, I wouldn’t be able to find him either.”

‘He calls that standing there normally?’

My pride took a hit.

Once again, I pouted in private frustration.

Ash knelt on one knee and helped me mount smoothly, then took both sets of reins and led us forward.

Toward the place he’d indicated.

It was considered polite not to gallop within the city walls, and on a dark evening like this, it was even more important. Accidents happened easily.

Of course, ill-tempered nobles probably galloped anyway.

“Geenie? Once we’re out of the city, I’ll have him share my horse. It’s a bit much to make him keep running when he’s going to follow us anyway.”

The Black Market venue was far—about an hour by horse. According to the map I’d been given, it was near the sea.

“Making a horse carry two men is pitiful. How about you give your horse to Rovenin, and you ride with me?”

“Geenie? Can’t you worry about people the way you worry about horses…?”

“Who cares. Horses are innocent. People are full of sin!”

I could stand seeing people die.

I didn’t want to see horses die.

[Master, you’ve always been fond of horses. It would be nice if you were that fond of me….]

[You’re a troublemaker! Horses don’t make trouble!]

[Tch.]

—

It would be troublesome if our other companions saw me with Rovenin, so only after we were fully out of the city could Ash acknowledge him.

“Young Master, from here on, you may ride my horse and follow us.”

Behind Ash as he handed over the reins, I glared at the man.

“Stalker.”

“Thief.”

The instant Rovenin came close, I snarled and bared my teeth. He did the same.

Instead of a greeting, we traded our mutual loathing, then mounted our respective horses and acted like strangers.

Ash climbed up behind me and held me steady as he guided the horse, while Rovenin—without knowing the destination—followed at a distance.

Not long after, Ash leaned in while we rode and asked carefully by my ear.

“Geenie, is the reason you dislike the Young Master so much because of what happened at tournament?”

“That’s about the sum of it.”

“That duel must have left a wound for you. The fact that you wanted to meet me so badly, even going to such lengths… was one of the biggest events of my life.”

It was a long time ago, but it was still vivid.

Being told I couldn’t meet him only made me more stubborn. I’d always been that kind of child—defiant, the type who wanted something even more the moment I was told no.

“Let me be clear. I came to hate Rovenin not because I lost, but because I was subjected to something so unreasonable.”

“…You’re right. It was our fault.”

“A fight between a kid and a young adult doesn’t even make sense, does it? I was sacrificed just for standing out. It’s infuriating.”

I only realized it later—that political issues had been mixed in.

The tournament itself existed to elevate Elan’s prestige, so from the perspective of Elan’s higher-ups, the sight of some brat from Dmitri—a student from another country who was supposed to serve as background—defeating all the talents Elan took pride in and taking the championship was hardly welcome.

‘It would’ve been better if I were a swordsman.’

How detestable must it have been, watching a Mage—something they’d never even heard of—act so arrogantly?

In a sense, I was the mudfish that dirtied the noble water.

And in the middle of that, Young Master Rovenin—the pride of Elan—expressed the desire to fight me first. What a sweet temptation that must have been.

The Emperor, too, probably wanted to break my spirit. This little kid kept defying his strict order and insisting on meeting the prince.

The fact that the prince had run away from home and been kidnapped by slave traders was a story he would’ve wanted buried, so of course I was an eyesore.

And I was a trivial child—someone easy to trample.

People in power rarely feel guilt tormenting the weak. They see it as their natural right. That’s why the weak can only experience it as cruelty and fear.

I knew exactly what had happened to me.

If they could drive a single child into a fight she was bound to lose and use it to burnish Elan’s reputation, it was a perfect choice.

“His Majesty the Emperor… has a wicked side. I’m sorry. I am so sorry. Geenie, I’ll apologize in his stead. I know it won’t appease your anger, but I’ll do it as many times as it takes.”

“It’s not something you need to apologize for. And I’m not that angry at the Emperor. It was Rovenin who brought it up first and lit the fuse.”

It might be dangerous to talk about the Emperor in front of the Young Master… but my companion was Ash. I grumbled without reserve.

“When I think about how Undine almost got annihilated because of that bastard, I feel like I could vomit blood even now.”

“Then the decisive cause is Undine.”

Ash was an incomprehensible man who always wanted to understand me.

And one of the things he found most puzzling was why I shook with such intense rage toward Rovenin.

As far as he knew, Rovenin and I had barely any connection—just a relationship that had soured once, long ago.

“There’s more. We ran into each other in Dmitri, you know? When he came to fight our country’s Count Galotin… was it half a year ago? Maybe a little more. Do you know what he said the moment he saw me?”

“Did he not recognize you at all?”

“…Oh, you pretty much guessed it? You two must be close.”

“The Young Master isn’t good at remembering people. There are many among his own siblings that he pays no mind to.”

I’d heard that from Rashamu too. But that wasn’t an excuse.

“If that was all, I wouldn’t be this angry!”

“Then what else happened?”

Ash suddenly slowed the horse. I wondered why—until a gravel path appeared.

Only then did I realize the two men were riding through a forest path drowned in darkness like it was nothing.

‘I wish all swordsmen would get nerfed…….’

“Even when I told him my name, he had no idea who I was. When I got angry and demanded how he could not recognize me, he thought I was some woman he’d slept with and then dumped!”

“…Surely not.”

“It’s true! He asked me straight up if we had sex!”

A murderous intent surged and I almost swore, but I forced it down, afraid Undine would sense it from the Spirit realm and come charging out again.

Even so, my stomach churned.

– “Did we do it?”

– “I thought I did it because you asked me to.”

– “Sex.”

Even though my memory wasn’t the best, I couldn’t forget a single word. How could he spew that kind of bullshit? How dare he?

“He’s the rudest, most sacrilegious—if he got struck by lightning and died, I wouldn’t have a single wish left! Annoying bastard!”

I shrieked, hoping it would carry all the way back to Rovenin.

After I fumed for a moment, I felt Ash hold his breath unnaturally.

He’d gone noticeably quiet, and the body I was leaning against stiffened.

“Ash?”

“Ah, yes.”

“What’s wrong? Why are you so quiet all of a sudden? Are you surprised?”

“…It’s… surprising. That the Young Master would say such a thing.”

His reaction didn’t feel like Ash at all. It was oddly suspicious.

Was he simply in shock?

He was behind me, so I couldn’t see his face, but it felt like there was definitely another reason for the strange reaction.

Right in front of me was Ash’s pale hand gripping the reins.

I didn’t hesitate.

I grabbed it and read his inner thoughts.

I had no intention of letting the Tears of Truth go to waste.

—The Young Master’s way of speaking may be a mess, but he’s not someone who would say such things lightly.

—As a noble, he has at least a minimum level of refinement… It seems she was, quite… the Young Master’s type. To the point where he’d judge her as someone he’d spent the night with…….

The most important thing when eavesdropping on someone’s thoughts was composure.

But now I found myself getting worked up without realizing it, clenching my jaw hard enough to grind my teeth.

—I hope my judgment is wrong, but the probability seems low.

—Come to think of it, the Young Master only ever associated with strong-willed beauties. Proud, mature… strong people who would slap his cheek rather than cry because he hurt them.

It was the first time I regretted peeking into someone else’s mind.

This was something I didn’t want to know.

—He dislikes the fragile type, for one… so there’s no doubt she’s the Young Master’s type. This is a big problem in many ways. It’s quite a troubling issue for me as well… She’ll definitely be angry if she finds out, so I’ll have to keep it a secret.

(T/N: WAITTTT WHATTTTTT???!!!!!! AUTHOR-NIM WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING ATTTTTT?!)

The bitter taste of the truth I’d forced open made me tremble, unable to keep my hands and feet still—like an earthworm sprinkled with salt.

[Master? Suddenly, your killing intent….]

[Rovenin! How dare he see me as a woman!]

[Calm down! Undine will sense it from the Spirit realm!]

[Argh! This feels disgusting! To think I’m that bastard’s type!]

All this time, I’d only assumed he was promiscuous.

I’d never doubted it for a second because I couldn’t even imagine my worst enemy seeing me as a member of the opposite sex.

I wanted to go back to the time when I didn’t know.

[Sigh, you’re always reading people’s minds at the drop of a hat… I knew you’d regret it someday. I told you it’s not always a good thing, didn’t I?]

[Shut up!]

(T/N: Dont play the enemy to lover’s trope here Author-nim hahaha.)