Chapter 154
I walked through the seemingly endless hallway toward the storage room.
As we descended to the basement, I didn’t utter a single word.
I needed time to process all the shocking revelations I had just heard.
Keeping my lips tightly sealed, I followed Han Taesu until we arrived at the basement.
The area, which appeared to be a storage room, was blocked off by an iron door.
Han Taesu channeled his magic through the cracks of the tightly shut door.
With a small vibration, the door opened.
Han Taesu explained in a firm voice.
“This is where combat artifacts are stored.”
“Ah.”
“You’ve probably never been here before.”
It seemed that artifacts were stored within the mansion, while books and treasures were kept in a separate underground vault.
As I blankly looked around, Han Taesu continued speaking calmly.
“It seems I haven’t taken you anywhere. Have you ever been to the underground vault?”
“…No.”
Though I had already emptied that place.
I turned my head, feeling a slight pang of guilt.
“Let’s go together next time.”
Fortunately, Han Taesu didn’t seem to notice it had been raided, merely adding that suggestion.
I lifted my head and looked around at the weapons displayed on the walls.
Various cold weapons, including swords, spears, bows, and daggers, were on display alongside staves.
The space was filled with high-end artifacts that, at a glance, appeared to be incredibly valuable.
Han Taesu’s gaze, which had been scanning through them, stopped in front of a blunt sword.
Han Taesu picked up the sword and handed it to me.
A sword covered in dust.
The blunt blade seemed to hold years of history but didn’t look very usable.
It was just an ordinary-looking sword.
“What is this?”
“I’m too old to return to the battlefield.”
The Blood Count. His title bore witness to the countless lives he had taken with his own hands.
Unlike other counts, he had led the charge against dark mages and contributed to the building of a new empire with blood.
I was certain his experience hadn’t yet faded. So those words were just modesty.
“It’s not time for you to quit yet.”
But Han Taesu seemed resolute in his decision.
“Even if the opportunity arises, I will refuse.”
The Katablam unresolved case is a tragedy he created.
His expression suggested he no longer wanted to see blood.
Han Taesu continued in a calm voice.
“But you’ll have many battles ahead.”
“….”
“This is the Earth-Wave Sword.”
“The Wave Sword…?”
I looked down at the old sword with the unfamiliar title and tilted my head in confusion.
There were likely priceless artifacts here that one could not put a value on.
It was puzzling why he chose a sword out of all the options.
“I don’t fight with swords.”
“It’s not a sword for ordinary use.”
Han Taesu shook his head.
“It’s a sword that can collapse the earth. It responds to desperation.”
“Collapse the earth…?”
“It can bring down this entire mansion where you’re standing.”
“….”
My expression turned cold.
Just from that brief explanation, I could tell what the sword was.
“So, with that sword….”
Han Taesu’s expression, watching me struggle to finish my sentence, gave me the answer.
Yes, it’s the sword that buried Katablam.
The sword that massacred a thousand people and erased a village from the map.
It’s the sword that was meant to bury Han Si-hyuk.
The sword that almost killed Adela.
I spoke with difficulty.
“I don’t want to take it.”
“You will have to.”
“How could I even use this?”
“The day might come when you’ll need it.”
Han Taesu placed the old sword into my hand.
“It’s a sword passed down through the family for generations. It won’t respond to just any desperation, so it won’t be easy to use.”
The heirloom of the Castica family.
I slowly looked down at the sword imbued with the weight of years.
Then I bit my lower lip hard.
It’s a cursed sword that has killed countless people, but paradoxically, it’s also a sword that has protected me.
If a moment comes when I need to protect someone with this sword.
Then, even if I detest it, I will wield it.
“When the time comes, take it out. It will help you.”
In the end, I could only nod at Han Taesu’s words.
** ** **
Castica territory wasn’t too close to the Academy, but I returned to the dormitory quickly.
On my way back, thanks to Han Taesu’s assistance, I was able to ride comfortably in a carriage.
And as soon as I arrived, I began hammering nails.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
“What are you doing?”
Won frowned as he asked.
Basilus, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, tilted his head and rubbed his face against my leg.
It was his way of asking me to play instead of doing nonsense.
“As you can see, I’m hammering nails.”
I replied absentmindedly, taking the sword out of my subspace bag.
The artifact I received from Han Taesu.
I don’t know when the situation might arise where I’ll need it, but for now, I planned to keep it in the dormitory.
I carefully placed the sword near the ceiling.
“Done.”
Although it was just an old, ordinary-looking sword, it gave off a peculiar feeling when hung up high.
Won, petting Kloshti, asked again.
“What is that?”
“They say it’s a family heirloom.”
“You’re just gonna leave it up there like that?”
It was amusing to hang an heirloom on the dormitory ceiling, and it was in a place where anyone could easily take it if they wanted. If Won really wanted to, he could snatch it.
“Apparently, no one but members of our family can use it anyway.”
“Is that so? Still, why hang it up?”
In reality, the subspace bag is the easiest place for storage.
It’s convenient because you can take it out whenever you need it, and it’s so obvious it’s almost redundant to mention.
There’s only one reason for choosing the ceiling of the dormitory over those places.
“They say it’s the Sword of the Earth… or something. If it’s not in use, it should be kept as far from the ground as possible to prevent contamination.”
The more tainted it gets, the weaker the sword’s abilities become.
It had likely already lost much of its past power over the many years.
Even so, I couldn’t just let it roll around in the bag, so I chose to temporarily store it on the dormitory ceiling.
Won looked at the plain sword and remarked.
“It doesn’t look that cool… but wow, are you already inheriting family heirlooms? Man, as expected of a prestigious family.”
A sword capable of demolishing an entire dormitory, if only fueled by sheer desperation.
Knowing the true power of the worn-out sword, I couldn’t help but laugh at Won’s nonchalant words.
A sword that has buried a thousand lives.
A sword so dangerous that possessing it itself could be considered a disaster.
Yet here I am, polishing that very sword with a cloth until it gleams, and hanging it high so it won’t get tarnished. What does that make me?
Thud.
I threw myself onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling again.
“Kku-u!”
Basilus, who found my embrace more comfortable than its own bed, wriggled in closer, but I was lost in thought.
‘Stay away from Han Si-hyuk.’
‘Adela, that girl too.’
“Urgh.”
Bile rose from my throat.
Even if I pretended nothing was wrong, I knew these relationships could never return to the way they were before. It felt like my insides were twisting.
Despite all my efforts to deny it and hammer my thoughts away.
The reality that I belatedly recognized was nothing but bitter.
It would be something I could never be forgiven for, even if I died.
What… What am I supposed to do?
Where on earth should I start to untangle this damn mess of a relationship?
Why the hell do I even have to….
“Urgh.”
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”
After retching twice, Won asked me with a concerned look.
I waved him off and got up from my spot.
Staying curled up on the bed, clutching my throbbing head, won’t solve anything.
“No, I’m fine. I’m just stepping out for a bit.”
“You’re not feeling well though. Where are you going? Hey, Han Siha!”
“I’ll be right back.”
I couldn’t just stupidly leave these twisted relationships as they were.
* * *
Han Si-hyuk looked grimly at the ashes of the burned documents.
Those were the last documents related to the unsolved Katablam case. Now, he was the only one who knew the contents of those papers.
“…What’s going on?”
Han Si-hyuk brushed off the ashes and looked up.
At some point, his sibling had burst through the door and was now standing in front of him.
No, perhaps the term ‘sibling’ no longer applied.
Han Si-hyuk let out a self-mocking smile.
Han Siha, grinning as usual, spoke up.
“I’m sorry for skipping the Magic Manufacturing class, Professor.”
He was smiling with his mouth, but not with his eyes.
Han Si-hyuk, too, forced his lips to curl up as he replied slyly.
“It’s fine. I was seriously considering failing you anyway.”
“What…?”
Han Siha frowned and shrugged his shoulders.
Though it was said in a joking manner, this time he couldn’t take it lightly.
Was his absence yesterday because he went to the Castica territory?
Reading the complex emotions on Han Siha’s face, Han Si-hyuk spoke cautiously.
“…Did you hear everything?”
At Han Si-hyuk’s words, the smile that had been lingering on Han Siha’s lips vanished.
Just in case, Han Si-hyuk tried to get ahead of it.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of seeking revenge now.”
“….”
If the incident file he had reviewed was accurate, Han Taesu was essentially the one who took Han Siha’s parents and village away.
And Han Si-hyuk himself had been raised as the offspring of that enemy.
How terrifying must it have been?
Watching the tiger cub picked up off the streets grow into a beast that would strangle him.
How much must Han Taesu have wanted to kill him?
Oblivious to all that, Han Si-hyuk had yearned for affection.
He had been jealous of his sibling and disappointed in his father.
What did it all mean, after all?
They weren’t even family to begin with.
Han Si-hyuk let out a chuckle.
“I don’t even remember it anyway. To resent or not, I would have to remember. So, if you came here worried about that, you can leave.”
“You seem alright.”
“I might just be pretending. But I really don’t have any intention of seeking revenge. Besides, I can’t win anyway. Not against your father.”
“….”
“When the investigations I’m working on wrap up, I’m thinking of leaving the empire soon. You’d probably be happy to see me disappear.”
Perhaps that was the best path for Han Si-hyuk. Han Siha, who was about to add something, closed his mouth.
Han Si-hyuk changed the subject as he pulled out a note from his pocket.
“Actually, it’s something you should be worried about.”
“What is it?”
“My assistant.”
“Adela? She… was here?”
Han Siha took the crumpled note Han Si-hyuk handed him.
“She came storming into the investigation room yesterday because you missed class without notice. Demanding to know where you were.”
The neatly written note was left behind by Adela.
Han Siha read its contents with a complicated expression.
What did it say…?
[“I want to see Basilus, so tell him to bring Basilus out!”]
“She never says she wants to see me, even if it kills her.”
Han Siha let out a bemused chuckle.
Han Si-hyuk waved his hand as he spoke.
“Anyway, she seems to be looking for you, so go.”
“….”
“Don’t regret it later. Go on.”
“Alright.”
As he was about to let Han Siha leave, Han Si-hyuk stopped him and called him back.
“Ah.”
A face that suddenly crossed his mind.
“So, is it this girl, or that girl?”
“What are you talking about, like some kind of golden axe, silver axe story?”
“You know… that girl who looked like she was in heaven in my class, napping with her head on your arm.”
“Are you talking about Yoon Haul?”
“I’m asking if it’s that girl or Adela.”
Han Siha blinked his eyes at Han Si-hyuk’s words.
His expression seemed to ask, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’
‘Is this guy just clueless?’
Han Si-hyuk sighed and clicked his tongue.
Suddenly, a wave of irritation washed over him.
“Never mind, go.”
“Wha… what? Huh?”
“I said get lost.”
Bang—.
Han Si-hyuk forcibly pushed Han Siha’s back and shut the door.