Chapter 54
"You mean I’m going to see Aiden Cavendish in person? Me?"
I nodded proudly at his wide eyes.
"Yes! If you’re lucky, you might even get to speak with him directly! I did good, right?"
Lee Chang-jin froze completely. With not even his pupils moving, he looked like a well-made mannequin.
Eager to see a reaction on the level of 'Hell yeah, my connections just skyrocketed,' I tapped the table three times.
Before long, I urged him again.
"I did good, right?"
"......"
"Uncle?"
"Haa... Yeah. You did good."
He wore the expression of someone chewing a bitter pill. Though he spoke positively, apparently his true feelings were not.
I worried that I had made some kind of mistake, but fortunately, he did not scold me.
Lee Chang-jin merely said, 'At least give me a heads-up next time,' then muttered under his breath.
"It’s an opportunity, I suppose... How many people in the world get to meet a Cavendish face-to-face?"
"Th-that’s true, isn’t it?"
It wasn’t quite the explosive reaction I’d expected, but I smiled anyway.
Judging by his expression, he seemed extremely surprised. I was certain that Han Jihye’s presence was the only thing keeping him from smacking me again.
I had thought he would be fine since he was acquainted with Douglas and had even served as an ambassador, but apparently not. No matter how dazzling someone’s career, a commoner was still a commoner.
"But why do you want to see Lord Aiden? Whether I see him on TV or in person, I don’t feel anything special."
"......Isn’t that because you’re the odd one?"
Lee Chang-jin gave me an incredulous look, as though this were normally the kind of thing people talked about for the rest of their lives.
When I thought about it, I realized that I, too, would have bragged about it everywhere if I had been in my old situation.
If anything, my current state was the one closer to abnormal.
'It’s because I’ve been experiencing one absurd thing after another.'
As I conceded the point inwardly, Lee Chang-jin continued.
"Besides, getting too close to the sun only makes you fall instead. Everything is best in moderation."
"......I’ll pack you a fireproof suit. Or should I cancel it even now?"
"Heh heh. No, no. Whether I know the reason or not, there must be a good reason they allowed you to bring a companion."
"Is that so...?"
It was definitely best not to change my story if I wanted to avoid making anyone resent me for no reason.
Lee Chang-jin emphasized the importance of advance notice once more, saying, 'You may be a noble, but I’m the one who’s in trouble.'
The point was that I was the only one meeting him as a student. From a commoner’s standpoint, the implications were different.
Once I thought of it that way, I grew a little frightened.
"I didn’t cause some huge problem, did I...?"
"If you had, your attendant would have stopped you long ago. When I told Lord Douglas you were impulsive before, he said he’d attach a veteran of the highest caliber."
Lee Chang-jin glanced sidelong at Han Jihye. I didn’t know whether they were acquainted, but her presence was so distinctive that he must have recognized her immediately.
"Anyway, to answer your question from earlier, there’s nothing much to it. Since I’ve come this far in life, I want to see how far I can go."
"The end?"
"Yeah. My dream is to become the best at whatever it is. If that doesn’t work out, well... I figure I might as well at least see the sights."
'I think I understand.'
I remembered what Kang Hana had said before.
Lee Chang-jin wasn’t a ‘hero’ who acted solely out of a sense of justice or duty.
Of course, those things made up a large part of it, but Lee Chang-jin also seemed to possess his own desire to climb higher.
That was on the condition that he used nothing but his own abilities, without lobbying or illegal acts.
It seemed that he had looked after Kang Hana so carefully because he wanted to become the ‘best detective.’
I supposed that his efforts to help me get adopted into a good family had probably stemmed from a similar motivation.
"So when is the interview?"
"Eight o’clock this evening."
"Well, that’s a problem. I need to bring a suit from home first."
"No, you can rent one. Go to the first-floor lobby, tap your pass, and explain the situation. They’ll take care of everything. I’ll send Ms. Hana, so go with her."
Lee Chang-jin stopped dead once more.
"Why?"
"No, it’s just... saying it like that made me realize you really are a noble."
"Heh heh. Anyway, go on."
"Yeah. Thanks."
Clatter!
Lee Chang-jin nearly fell over and braced himself hard against the chair.
"Uncle? Are you all right?"
"Yeah, the floor’s slippery."
'It’s carpet...'
His legs seemed to give out for a moment, but I decided to pretend I hadn’t noticed. If I pressed him over it, he might sulk all day.
For the record, he was extremely prideful. The ‘chess fiasco’ at the embassy was a prime example.
After getting demolished by me for three games straight, he had crushed all the pieces on the chessboard with his bare hands. He claimed it had been a joke, but what kind of excuse was that?
In any case, Lee Chang-jin rented a suit that fit him and went to get himself spruced up.
We agreed to meet again at six-thirty, so we had dinner separately.
'He said he has ambition. Then could he become a noble?'
I thought it over carefully while waiting for him after finishing my meal.
Of course, I knew it wouldn’t be easy. But I thought it would be convenient if he joined the Douglas Kim family and took my place as baron.
He was trustworthy, and whatever he did, he would probably handle it more skillfully than I could from start to finish.
I asked Han Jihye about it indirectly, but she said it was entirely up to Douglas.
"For reference, there is a reason the family head contacted him. A commoner can fulfill roles that nobles cannot."
"Hmm."
......Whatever it was, did that mean he would become useless if he became a noble?
What a greedy old man, without an ounce of appreciation.
I joined Lee Chang-jin at exactly six-thirty. As we headed toward the pyramid together, he spoke with an excited smile.
"Wow... I didn’t get to see Area G yesterday, but this is amazing. How did they build all this?"
Area G referred to the second ring in the figure-eight shape of Eight City, the one containing the pyramid.
The first ring, Area I, was adjacent to Incheon International Airport, and most tourism took place there.
People with access passes were allowed to go anywhere, but they said it could be troublesome if you happened to run into an ill-mannered member of a high-ranking family.
This was strictly an estate for nobles, after all, and some of them probably didn’t appreciate commoners touring around.
"Don’t worry, Uncle. If anyone messes with us, it’s war!"
"Hmm... War, huh. You liked playing with dolls at the embassy too. How are things these days?"
He was asking with An Nari and our surroundings in mind.
When he asked about the Pygmies’ current situation, I whispered softly to him.
'I didn’t get to tell you earlier, but I figured out how to access the Gate. There were hordes of them inside, and my dolls were only a tiny fraction of the group. Ms. Jihye and Sis Livi got caught up in it too.'
"......I see."
Lee Chang-jin answered calmly. He had probably been extremely flustered, but on the surface, he wore a gentle smile, as though watching his daughter put on a talent show.
That was the emotional control of a veteran who had been through every imaginable hardship.
We decided to discuss the details later and headed to the student council president’s office first.
"Are you Raebi Na?"
'Huh...?'
Surprisingly, the person who came to meet us wasn’t an attendant.
It was a blond man with a strikingly straight nose: Christian of the Brandenburg family, ranked tenth in the world.
Something seemed to be going strangely, but I somehow managed to hide my agitation.
"Hello, Lord Christian. I didn’t get a chance to greet you at the last social gathering. Please forgive my rudeness."
"It’s fine. You look busier than I am. Then let’s go in."
His expression and tone were somewhat stiff. After saying only what he needed to, he turned and walked away, making him seem almost robotic.
We entered the spacious student council room. Another door stood directly across from the entrance, and when we opened it, a lavish scene in the style of the British royal palace unfolded before us.
Aiden gave a brief greeting of "You’re here" and gestured for us to sit.
"Thank you for accepting my sudden request for an interview."
"No, it worked out. I was planning to call you anyway."
"Yes?"
......He had been planning to call me?
"You’re also the top student in theory, after all. More importantly, there were some things I was personally curious about. I was wondering what to do since you and Bella went and made a pact."
It was a promise not to bother me out of the blue.
Apparently, Bella had shared everything about me with Aiden.
"You could have just called me. If you gave me advance notice, I wouldn’t have had any reason to refuse."
"Hmm? Ah, yes, but this time the circumstances are a little different."
Aiden’s lips curled into a smile as his eyes darted around. For some reason, his gaze settled on Lee Chang-jin sitting beside me.
The blue in his eyes resembled a deep, frigid sea.
Aiden spoke quietly.
"Are you Lee Chang-jin?"
"I am. It is an honor to meet you."
Lee Chang-jin folded his arms. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and the complete absence of a smile showed just how nervous he was.
When Aiden offered him his hand, Lee Chang-jin stood with a crisp, disciplined motion and shook it.
After the handshake, Aiden said.
"Yes, you certainly seem to be. You’re maintaining your composure even in this situation, so I suppose your hero title isn’t just hot air."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Good. ......Christian."
Kzzzt-!!!
'What?'
Suddenly, bright lights began flashing all around us. The entire student council president’s office filled with more than a hundred high-level Lightning Bolts.
They were threatening spells powerful enough to kill anyone they touched, and they began floating nearby.
I was about to demand what he was doing, but Lee Chang-jin abruptly grabbed my wrist and lowered his gaze. It was as though he had sensed in advance that I might resist.
So I could do nothing but stare at Aiden.
"Raebi Na. Calm down and listen for now. There’s something I’m curious about, and Bella said it wouldn’t be easy. But I don’t like dragging things out, so let’s move quickly without either of us having to be exhausted. Understand?
"......What do you mean?"
"First, why did you request today’s interview?"
"......"
'Because I thought something was strange.'
Even if Douglas had taken me in for no reason, it was still unsettling that they had investigated me so intensely that they had even brought Bella into it.
I suspected they had discovered something strange about me and wanted to sound me out, but judging by his attitude now, there was no need to wonder anymore.
If so, what had he heard, and from whom? How much did he know, and how had it been conveyed?
I answered carefully.
"Because it’s difficult."
"What’s difficult?"
"Richin Haiyan picks a fight with me every time he passes by."
"Haha, this is funny. It sounds like an absurd excuse, but you’re surprisingly sincere. Christian, isn’t it interesting?"
Christian shook his head without moving a single facial muscle.
He shot me an indifferent look that seemed to say he simply wanted this to end quickly.
Aiden then demanded that I answer truthfully, but I had no intention of obeying such a threatening order, so I repeated the same answer.
He asked Lee Chang-jin whether he knew the real reason, but Lee Chang-jin remained silent as well.
After we remained at an impasse for a while, Aiden finally played his trump card.
"You’re really being a pain."
Ding-
[A mental skill is detected.]
'......?'
"You must have felt something just now. I’m sorry for springing this on you, but let’s move quickly so neither of us has to be exhausted. All right?
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Come on, think carefully. This is an opportunity, you know? I have no intention of treating you roughly. I’m genuinely only curious who you are."
This was bad.
It was a confession skill.
It was a method of pinning down an opponent’s mind with mana and then placing them in a semi-hypnotic state.
Even for someone in a position of power, it was an extremely discourteous thing to do, so it was generally used only against someone believed to possess information they absolutely wanted.
The triumphant smile he gave while looking at Lee Chang-jin suggested that he had figured out at least some of what had happened in Egypt.
"They say criminals often return to the scene. You probably came to sound me out, didn’t you?"
"Yes. That’s right."
I couldn’t fight back. Whenever I tried to offer another excuse or lie, I felt pressure as though my brain were being crushed.
"Raebi Na. Who are you, exactly? When I heard that a ten-year-old was the top student in theory, I looked into you out of curiosity, but there was no information anywhere."
Aiden added that if even a Cavendish didn’t know something, then no one in the world did. He regarded me with fascination, saying this had never happened before.
He tried to coax me by saying that he was simply curious about my identity and that I should answer honestly.
'You want me to talk? After treating me like this?'
That was out of the question. Covering the entire room with Lightning Bolts seemed intended to cut off contact with the outside, and he didn’t seem to be making an empty threat, but wrong was still wrong.
I activated a skill I had never used even once since being born in this body.
Ding-
[Skill 'Curse Transfer' activates.]
[The curse is returned to the caster.]
"Huh?"
As the sensation pressing down on my mind began to fade, astonishment began to fill Aiden’s eyes.