TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 173
Hanna clenched her fist as she looked at Rowen.
She couldn’t understand why her Father was at the Academy, especially at this late hour.
It was an unwelcome face.
Every time she saw his face, she was reminded of the nightmare of the blue window she had seen that day, and she wanted to avoid him.
And when her Father called out to her in a gentle voice, which he never used to, Hanna bowed her head unnaturally and greeted him.
“Father… no, Father.”
Rowen stood still, looking at Hanna, his hand still holding his sword, his rebellion annoying him, and the nightmare he had seen bothering him.
Hanna asked Rowen.
She had to ask because she was curious.
If she went back to the dormitory without knowing anything, it would be like she hadn’t slept at all, so Hanna clenched her fist and opened her mouth to ask Rowen.
“What brings you here?”
Hanna thought that maybe he had come in person because the letter was insufficient.
After the conflict between Father and Ricardo at the estate, the letters telling her to give up her sword had stopped, but Father was not a person who easily gave up his stubbornness.
“…Don’t you greet each other?”
Rowen muttered with a bitter expression, and Hanna replied with a stiff face.
“Yes.”
“You’re heartless.”
“It’s not as bad as what you’ve done, Father.”
“…”
Rowen nodded at Hanna’s cold reply.
It was a fact that couldn’t be denied, and Rowen didn’t regret being harsh because it was something that had already passed.
But one thing bothered him – the person who had influenced Hanna’s sudden change in attitude.
Rowen thought of a man with red hair.
A man with strength that didn’t match his age.
Rowen thought of the man with an unpleasant feeling.
-Do you want to be buried in a sunny place?
The impudent and ignorant man, who also had an unpredictable strength, must have changed Hanna.
Rowen smiled bitterly at Hanna’s cold reply and tried to ease the dark atmosphere.
Today, he didn’t want to get angry.
It was a rare meeting with his daughter.
He had things he wanted to talk about.
And he still wanted to make Hanna give up her sword.
Hanna was a talented child.
Rowen had to admit that his eyes had been wrong, and Hanna’s results had proven it.
But Rowen still couldn’t shake off the fear of the nightmare he had seen.
His wife had been hurt.
Because of his pride and arrogance, his wife had been badly hurt, and even now, she was still suffering from the aftereffects, which pained Rowen’s heart.
He was harsh, but it was because he loved her.
He had only learned how to strive for the family’s prosperity and didn’t know how to show warm love.
It was an education he had received in his childhood, and he had passed it down to his children, although it was far from enough compared to the hardships he had faced.
Rowen had accepted the Academy’s invitation to talk to Hanna again.
Rowen composed himself and spoke to Hanna.
“I was invited to the Academy as a temporary teacher to teach the budding sprouts.”
“…You didn’t teach me, but you’re going to teach others?”
Hanna bit her lip.
She was scared because her Father, who she thought of as an intruder, had come to her sanctuary.
After a brief silence, Mikhail tried to break the awkward atmosphere by glancing at Rowen and bowing his head.
“I’ll go in first, Mentor.”
As soon as Mikhail finished speaking, Hanna’s expression began to distort.
She couldn’t understand what she had just heard.
Hanna looked at Rowen and Mikhail with trembling eyes and said.
“You just called him Mentor?”
Hanna’s clenched fist was turning pale.
Rowen replied calmly to Hanna’s question.
“Something happened while you were away.”
“Is that an excuse?”
“Yes.”
Hanna listened to Rowen’s blunt reply, her fist still clenched.
“You’re saying that’s an excuse for calling him Mentor?”
“Malik said he wouldn’t take the Head of the Family position.”
“He said he had a dream.”
Rowen remembered his eldest son’s face when he came to the office.
-I’ll give up the Head of the Family position.
-What did you say?
-I have a younger sister who wants it, and it’s not like being the Head of the Family is anything more than just wielding a sword.
-I don’t understand. Am I supposed to go along with your stubbornness?
-It’s an answer I came up with after thinking a lot, after learning from Hanna.
Rowen thought of Malik’s face, which had a clear expression, and said.
“You two are alike, not listening to me. I’m telling you to give up because the world isn’t easy, and you can’t stake your life on something that might not work out.”
Hanna flinched at Rowen’s frustrated tone.
It was her Father’s stubbornness again, which he used to suppress others when things didn’t go his way.
Most people were intimidated by Rowen’s stubbornness and submitted.
Hanna thought she had overcome it, but she still feared Rowen.
Rowen began to tell Hanna about what had happened.
“Malik said he would prove it, just like you.”
“I don’t need Father’s recognition, and I know you won’t give it to me anyway.”
“…”
Hanna asked Rowen, her fist still clenched.
She had heard about her Older Brother’s dream, which was to carve his brand’s name into every object on the street, and although it was an unrealistic dream, Hanna knew it was sincere.
“Did you tell Older Brother to give up like me?”
Rowen’s voice, which included Hanna’s full name, was a warning.
Hanna continued to speak, despite her Father’s warning.
Even if her Father was scary, she couldn’t back down.
There were dreams that shouldn’t be trampled on.
Although her own dream had been crushed by her Father’s hand, she didn’t want the same to happen to her Older Brother.
He was the first person to apologize to her, and he was her family, filling the empty space in her heart.
Hanna knew how sad and humiliating it was to not have her dreams supported, so she clenched her fist and overcame her fear.
“Are you going to kill Older Brother this time?”
Rowen replied to Hanna without any hesitation.
“Histania Hanna…!”
For a moment, Rowen thought “oops,” but he continued speaking.
Malik wasn’t weak.
“I told him to give up, to not stake his life on something that might not work out, just like the miracle that a minority achieved.”
Hanna immediately realized that her Father’s words, which talked about a miracle, were actually directed at her.
Her efforts were ignored, and her Father’s words were just a fragment of his own thoughts.
The cold voice continued to echo between Hanna’s hands, which were clasped together.
“Your Older Brother also left the house, not knowing how valuable the treatment he received from the family was… He’s training a Disciple, and if he trains a new one, it will be a warning to him…”
Hanna spoke to Rowen in a cold voice.
“The miracle has already been achieved.”
“…”
“You survived in that damned household, that’s a miracle.”
“Father, how long will you keep doing this!? Are you not satisfied with just me!? How many holes do I need to drill into your mind for you to be satisfied?”
The only response to the cold, resonating resentment was silence, with Rowen simply stroking his sword, revealing his unpleasant feelings.
“You’ll understand me someday.”
“No, I won’t be able to understand you, Father.”
As Rowen passed by Hanna, he said in a cold voice.
“I still don’t acknowledge your sword.”
Hanna replied with an irritated tone.
“Please, just stop it!”
What was lacking that he still wouldn’t acknowledge her, despite her proven skills?
Hanna couldn’t find the reason.
So.
Hanna clenched her fist and said.
Perhaps it was a remark she would regret, but Hanna spoke out, unleashing her pent-up anger.
“Let’s have a duel, Father, between your Disciple and me.”
“…That’s an arrogant thing to say.”
“You’re too full of yourself.”
Rowen put his hand in his pocket and listened to Hanna’s proposal, thinking that maybe this was an opportunity to completely defeat his daughter’s sword.
Rowen looked at Hanna with a vain, confident gaze.
“If I lose, I’ll return to the household and give up my sword, and I’ll obey you, Father.”
“In return.”
Hanna looked at Rowen, clenching her fist, hating her Father for trying to bind her, and thinking that this was the only way to break free.
So Hanna said to Rowen.
“If I win, Father, don’t ever appear before me again, not even at my wedding, and don’t interfere with my life or my Older Brother’s dreams, just disappear.”
Rowen nodded.
“I will.”
Confident of his victory.
Believing he would win.
In the cold atmosphere, with an oppressive silence.
“Aren’t you going to let me join in?”
A bothersome voice reached Rowen’s ears.
The Man, who had been listening to the conversation, walked towards the training grounds with a heavy smile.
The Man said to Rowen.
“Instead of Disciple vs Disciple, how about Master vs Master?”
The Man smiled at Rowen, his red hair visible.
“That sounds like it could be fun.”