Chapter 181: The End of Pre-War Defense (2)

When I opened my eyes, brightness filled my sight. Though I still felt a little dizzy, it seemed as if only a little time had passed. I also felt a little refreshed, as if I had just woken up after a nap.

The wound on my right arm was also healed, and my entire body felt clean.

‘It looks like someone washed me.’

They probably washed my body with magic. I felt better all in all.

Seeing that I had been left alone in a large room, I gathered that I was staying at a hospital of some sort. Of course, the room felt too luxurious to actually be a genuine hospital room.

It was then that the door slowly opened. I turned my head, thinking it would obviously be Jung Hayan, but who I see was, surprisingly, Marlin Young-ae.

“Lee Kiyoung-nim!”

It was a spectacle to see her running to me, with tears running down her face. My face flushed with embarrassment. This was definitely not how a noblewoman was supposed to behave.

The remarkably embarrassing appearance was likable, but unfortunately, I was not interested in Marlin at all.

‘She is cute, but…’

There weren’t many benefits that came with her, and it felt like it would be a huge headache to take care of her and her antics.

“Ah, Marlin Young-ae.”

However, this didn’t mean that I shouldn’t still get on her good graces.

“What day is it?”

“Exactly three days have passed since you passed out. I was worried that you wouldn’t wake up…”

“Three days?”

“Yes, Lee Kiyoung.”

It seemed that I’d been unconscious for longer than I had initially thought. Hope began to bloom from within me.

‘The cleanup must be almost over…’

No, even the task of cleaning up the monsters’ corpses was not something to be done overnight, so the work was probably still going on.

I had to realize why my party members didn’t show up.

Seeing that there was nothing wrong with my body, Dialugia seemed to be doing well. I was curious about where she was, but there were many other things I was also curious about.

“I see…”

“Thank you very much, Lee Kiyoung-nim.”

“Marlin Young-ae?”

“You worked hard for Castle Rock until your body was broken like this… You don’t know how resentful I was for being unable to do anything. Sniff…”

“Hahaha. I’m fine. The other people did the hard work. I didn’t do much.”

“Lee Kiyoung-nim did a lot! Not only did you command the free people of Castle Rock, but you prevented the monsters from coming from the underground waterway… All the imperialists in Castle Rock watched as you spared no effort on the battlefield! Sniff…”

“That’s… Ahem. The Little Rock Guild and Song Jungwook, who sacrificed themselves for Castle Rock, are the true heroes. I just…”

“O-Of course, they’re also appreciated… Rather, are you… Are you feeling a little better?”

“Yes. There seems to be no other injury.”

Song Jungwook seemed to be irrelevant now. I could say that this entire thing was a success.

As Marlin Young-ae said, there was no such thing as a monster coming over from the underground waterway. It was a lie made by Cho Hyejin to escape from Cha Hee-ra, but to make the lie true, some of the Red Mercenary members even threw a few monster corpses there.

The fact that Cha Hee-ra’s plans for the pre-war defense were smashed because of a runaway was a story that shouldn’t be known except for the Red Mercenary members.

The same went for the part where I tried to ‘fight’ on the battlefield myself.

‘It’s good.’

If Young-ae thought of me in this manner, then the rest of the imperialists must be thinking the same, too. There would be no red light on the benefits that Blue and I will take.

“Where are the others…”

“Which one?”

“My party members and Cha Hee-ra. And what about Dialugia? Has the cleanup been all over? What happened to other things?”

“Ah! I’m really sorry, Lee Kiyoung. My first step was to explain what happened while you were lying down…”

“It’s okay, Marlin Young-ae. It’s nothing to be sorry for. I just wondered if the battle had been properly finished.”

“I-I didn’t know you would care for Castle Rock that way…”

“Hahaha…”

“Sorry. I got distracted again…”

“No. It’s really okay.”

Marlin Young-ae definitely looked a little excited. She must’ve thought that I had risked my life for Castle Rock in an effort to gain her affection. It was just my guess, but it would be right to block this misunderstanding beforehand as soon as possible.

“After Lee Kiyoung-nim passed out… Ah! They started cleaning the corpses of the monsters right away, and that’s still in the process.”

“I see.”

“There is a possibility that there may be monsters that have survived, so the free people first sorted it out… It’s taking a little longer. Perhaps the Blue party members…”

“They must be working hard.”

“Yes. Together with the Red Mercenary Guild, they are protecting the workers from being injured in the front line.”

“Is Cha Hee-ra also joining them?”

“Cha Hee-ra hastily returned to Lindel. I’m not sure what’s going on, but she seemed quite busy, so I didn’t even have time to say thank you. She’s a hero that gave her time for Castle Rock… It just hurts because I couldn’t even treat her properly.”

‘Did she run away?’

“What do you mean by her being busy with work?

“Ah, she apparently had an issue that needed to be dealt with urgently… Also, this is the letter Cha Hee-ra asked me to deliver.”

“Thank you, Young-ae. If you’ll excuse me…”

“Yes. Of course, you can read it right away, Lee Kiyoung-nim.”

After dismantling the cryptographic magic on the letter, I looked down quietly and saw Marlin Young-ae trying to peek at the contents. Of course, I had no intention of showing it.

I thought that there would be an apology written on it, but the result was slightly different from what I thought.

[Do not forget and do not ignore Vice Guild Master Lee Kiyoung-nim, living in Lindel. I believe that you will keep your promise. I’m waiting for a good invitation at good timing. -To Honorary Bishop of the Holy Empire, Lee Kiyoung-nim, From Miss Shaolin, Chief General of the Republic]

‘Shaolin?’

She had probably delivered a letter to Cha Hee-ra after the debriefing with her was over.

If I could, I would ignore it, but I couldn’t even imagine that she would be revealing her identity like this.

‘General, huh…’

I didn’t know the details, but the Republic didn’t seem to think badly about giving such positions to free people. Her position was a little higher than I had expected. There were at least five more powerful people like her.

I didn’t know how the Holy Empire and the Republic’s relationship would flow in the future, but I got some good information.

‘I think this can be used…’

I had to take risks on my side as well, but there will be some proper use for her later on.

Anyway, I had to meet the Republic once, whether in a good or bad way.

‘I don’t think it will be very positive, based on what I do these days…’

Right now, I didn’t even have the time to think about the Republic. It was difficult even to take care of myself right now. Just thinking about my work within the Holy Empire was enough to give me headaches.

Cha Hee-ra was my immediate concern.

Seeing that she exited from Castle Rock without meeting me first, she was definitely embarrassed about what had happened. It would be natural for her to feel this way, seeing as she had made quite the mess after leaving the front line.

She would have the courage to appear to me again after some time, but it surprised me to know that she had such a feminine side.

“And!”

“Yes?”

“That… Although the event to grant honors has not been properly carried out, it seems that our Castle Rock Yeongju Tower will directly reward Lee Kiyoung, Kim Hyunsung-nim, and the other members of the Blue Guild.”

‘Ah’

“I wasn’t hoping for compensation.”

However, I was smiling. I had naturally ditched my cold exterior and became friendlier as I processed the news. Seeing this, Marlin Young-ae brightened and began to speak again. She had realized what I wanted.

“Castle Rock overcame this crisis because of Lee Kiyoung and the Blue Guild. I can see that my father is things…”

“Hahaha…”

“If you think it’s not enough, I will…”

“No. Marlin Young-ae’s heart is good enough. I didn’t really ask for a reward. As a member of the Holy Empire, I just wanted to help.”

“No. Let us repay you.”

“If Marlin Young-ae feels like that… then I can’t help it.”

“T-Thank you.”

“No. Rather, I am more grateful to you for compensating for the obvious.”

It appeared that Marlin had such a pushover side to her. In this manner, I could get something better than what I had initially expected.

As I sat up in my bed, Marlin Young-ae’s face reddened. However, I had no intention of doing anything to express my gratitude. My mind was already set on the work I needed to do.

“The monster we caught…”

“Yes?”

“Did you see a woman with horns on her head?”

“Ah… If it’s that woman…”

“Anything happened?”

“She’s probably in the Castle Rock Dungeon. In fact, we were also thinking about how to deal with her… And…”

“Yes. You can talk freely.”

“That monster talked nonsense about her sharing a lifeline with you…”

‘Did she actually reveal that much…’

I thought it was a reasonable judgment. It seemed like she didn’t say that I was her spouse, but she and her child should have their lives spared for now.

I also liked the fact that she was waiting quietly for me. She herself must not have recovered properly yet.

I didn’t know if she was with the baby, but I knew I had to check.

“I think I’ll have to go there.”

“What?”

“What Dialugia said is true. Actually, I don’t know about what has happened in detail… For now, I know nothing but the fact that she and I share one life.”

“Ah!”

“Thank you for letting me know, Young-ae. Let’s have a meal with Lord Castle Rock.”

“Yeah, Lee Kiyoung-nim! Of course.”

It was only natural for me to move as fast as possible.

‘Shall I see if my child is doing well?’

That was my top priority as of the moment.