Chapter 216: Someone’s Master (3)

I was reliving the trauma of Viscountess Amethyst, who was walking ahead of me. She was just a character in this dream. I had been through quite a few nightmares, but Amethyst was the first person to realize she wasn’t real.

“Don’t you feel strange or anything?” I asked, just in case.

“Why would I?”

“Well, this place isn’t real. This is a trauma that my Skill created.”

Amethyst giggled. “I don’t find it that strange. The only strangeness I feel right now is your unfamiliar manner of speech while looking and sounding like my advisor, River Eternal. It’s fucking weird. You’re a man, isn’t that right, Mr.[1] Kim Gong-Ja? Considering the naming conventions of the Spire Realm, that’s what I’m assuming.”

“

Ah,

yes. I’m a man.”

“I knew it. Let me give you a mirror.”

Amethyst pulled out a hand mirror and pointed it at my face. There, I saw how the person I had possessed, Advisor River Eternal, looked.

“How is she?” Amethyst asked me. “She’s pretty, right? Of course she is. She’s my advisor.”

Amethyst laughed playfully. However, River Eternal’s beauty wasn’t something to joke about.

She’s beautiful.

Her jet-black hair fell short to her shoulders. Neither light nor oil could make her pitch-black hair shine. River Eternal’s short, ebony hair swayed, as if fighting the light that was trying to reflect into her dark strands.

“Wow...

Hmm. Ummmm,

” was all I could say.

Her skin was pure white, directly contrasting her jet-black hair. Describing someone’s face as snow white was common, but it seemed that the skin on her entire body had that shade. She was made up of only two colors: black and white.

“It’s interesting,” I managed to blurt out.

“How does it feel to go from being a man to a woman, Mr. Kim Gong-Ja? Does it get your heart beating hard? I hope you can show me the cliche of feeling your breasts and shrieking ‘I’ve really become a woman!’”

“Why did I possess this person out of everyone?”

I cast the information spell on myself.

River Eternal.

Social Status: Honorary Viscountess.

Connection: Advisor to Viscountess Amethyst.

Danger Level: Black.

Note: She’s leading the Family of Eternal.

When she was a young noble lady, her uncle, the previous head of the family before her father, was caught up in the Great War of Black and White Cats and was accused of rebellion, leading to the loss of his noble status. Her father used to hang around with those from the heretical sect and was purged along with them.

After the death of all the elders in the family, River Eternal was left with no choice but to take on the position of the family head.

At that time, rebellions and purges ran rampant. Marchioness Present Shield, a close friend, approached her, asking her to take care of the rebel executive’s infant daughter.

River Eternal took in the daughter and raised her as her own without anyone knowing. The daughter secretly organized an army with Marchioness Present Shield. When the army was discovered, the kingdom issued a royal decree and wiped them out.

Because of this incident, Marchioness Present Shield was executed, and River Eternal had her barony taken and was demoted to the status of citizen.

Despite her level of four-verse magic, she was expelled from the Magic Tower. While wandering around the streets with nothing left to call her own, the terrorist organization Red Fingernails kidnapped her.

She was later imprisoned and abused at the Red Fingernails lair for over nine years before she met Viscountess Amethyst.

Strengths: Rational Judgment, ability to execute, High Ascendant

Weaknesses: Rebel’s successor, rebel lair origin, rebel, rebel leader’s family, Viscountess Amethyst, her daughter.

She seemed to have had a very eventful life.

“She was from a noble family, but three of her family members got involved in rebellions?”

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“

Ah

, you’re looking at the advisor’s notes. Yes, that’s right. Her uncle, father, and herself were all undeniably involved in the rebellion. The funny part is that those rebellions are all different, but do you know what’s even funnier?” Amethyst asked with a chuckle.

“What?”

“It says the advisor has a daughter, right? She was the daughter of a rebel leader but was forced to take care of her at Marchioness Present Shield’s request. That child later grew up and led an actual rebel army.”

“

Oh,

yeah. The heck?”

“That’s what you call a fucked up family. Even I have never heard of a family like this. I thought they all had a treason fetish.”

“Her father was a rebel, her daughter was a rebel, and she herself was also involved in a rebellion. How is she still a noble?”

“Abracadabra?”

“That doesn’t make sense!”

“

Oh

, there are two types of people in the world who think nonsensical things make sense, Mr. Kim Gong-Ja. One is just an idiot, and the other is a person in power. Because I’m a person in power, I gave her noble rank back to her.”

Really?

“Are you picking up what I’m putting down?”

“Viscountess, you really have a way with words...”

“Yes, I can roughly converse in German, English, French, Korean, and Japanese. The recent popular trend in the outside world is crossing over to other worlds, right? On the contrary, the trend here is to accept people from other worlds. One of them became my language tutor.”

“

Huh

, then are there any British or French people in this world?”

Amethyst closed her hand mirror’s lid. The letters that had been swaying before my eyes quickly disappeared.

“No. They’re all dead except one.”

Right.

“The moment they jump on the bandwagon and rejoice, thinking ‘I’ll also have an exciting adventure in this world!’, they realize you can’t escape death even if you leave for a supposed utopia. Besides, they are outsiders with knowledge of different worlds. It leaves no choice but to imprison or kill them immediately, right? I—

We

have a lot we must protect.”

I couldn’t say anything.

“Well, I think that’s enough serious talk.”

After placing the hand mirror aside, Amethyst took out a cup. Where did the cup come from? I wondered what kind of physical laws were applied to her pockets.

“Mr. Kim Gong-Ja, please spread your arms for a moment so I can see your torso.”

“L-Like this?”

“Yes. Now, this cup is made from stone, not glass, so I can do this.”

For some reason, Amethyst pushed the cup toward me. It... went right through my chest.

“

Huh

?”

“

Hehe.

” Amethyst stirred the cup inside my chest. After a while, she pulled out her hand, and I saw that the cup was completely filled with water.

“What?”

“What do you think? Isn’t this awesome?”

“What... What... What did you just do?!”

“For your information, it’s freaking delicious. It puts the water from the kingdom’s highest mountain spring to shame.”

Amethyst gulped down the water she scooped out of me. Oh my god. My brain shut down in the face of this absolutely unexplainable phenomenon.

“

Phew...

Refreshing. This is why I always bring you around, Advisor.”

Was this a usual occurrence?!

“You’re an Ascendant. In this world, there is a phenomenon called Ascension, and the people who overcome trials gain power. Above all, you will receive the blessing that allows you not to die... just once.”

“Not die just once? What do you mean?”

“I mean that, once an Ascendant dies, they shrivel. If they die one more time in that state, that is the moment they really die. No more miracles happen. Your head will fly like an ordinary person’s.”

Right...

Amethyst took my hand, continuing her dramatic speech. “Surprisingly, there is Ascension beyond Ascension, a heaven beyond heaven. A very small number of people have reached the second sky. And one of them is you, Advisor River Eternal! You’re an incredible, extremely rare High Ascendant who also happens to be a witch. In this wide world, there are only twelve people like you. That’s the type of person you are!”

“I get that I’m great, but why can you get water out of me with that cup?”

“High Ascendants slowly transcend humanity. Kinda like becoming a god over time. For example, my first advisor’s core is fire. If she wishes, she can burn down the city like a phoenix. On the other hand, your core is water. Very clean and cool.”

Amethyst stroked my cheek with her index finger. “My two advisors happen to be complete opposites. I’m truly blessed.”

Amethyst dipped her fingertips into the water and brought them to her lips. Her lips were already pink and glistening, but my water droplets made them even more shiny.

“My advisor is my exclusive lip balm and washroom. To ensure that I always look fresh out of the shower, you take care of me. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to use the bathtub today because of you, Mr. Kim Gong-Ja.”

I processed the information I was just given.

River Eternal is Amethyst’s vassal, advisor, and High Ascendant archwitch. There are only twelve Ascendant mages. She’s also from a member of a heinous family that has rebelled against the kingdom for four generations. But she loves Amethyst. The water that makes up her body is only used to make Amethyst happy and comfortable.

In other words, River Eternal’s master was Amethyst. I didn’t know if this was a good or a bad thing for her, but countless other people served Amethyst as their master.

As soon as we entered the lounge, numerous nobles and their servants gathered around us.

“Viscountess Amethyst!”

“About voting in favor of the last agenda item—”

“The situation in the Raging Deathcrow Barony is still difficult, so what is the royal family—”

“As you instructed, we have secured the meat in cooperation with Spectra Palace. You said it didn’t matter even if it was rotten or not, so we had no issues securing the required quantity. Where shall I send—”

The crowd buzzed as if everything that happened in this world needed to be discussed with Amethyst. Despite her bitter smile, Amethyst answered every question.

“Yes, let me sign this.

“We won’t be just sending a new lord to the Raging Deathcrow Barony. The kingdom is showing great interest in the estate and the unused area around it. The Ministry of Finance will provide support, so don’t worry too much and just wait.

“Good job. Send the meat to the palace, not Innerbound’s place. Store it somewhere near the assembly hall so that we can bring it in at any time. I already talked to Princess Spectra, so if you go there, the royal court ladies and maids will help you."

Everyone who had asked questions paid their respects with “Thank you!” and “I’m sorry!” before running off. The dozens of other nobles sitting in the lounge were silent the entire time. Many of them glared at Amethyst in annoyance.

“Once again, Viscountess Amethyst is busy saving the kingdom. She’s amazing. Anyone who sees her will think she’s a duchess rather than a viscountess. How admirable she is for caring for the people...”

“Countess Towerfang Tiger.”

Viscountess Pure Sacrednoir was back in the lounge. Dozens of nobles led by her were drinking tea in their seats; they were from Amethyst’s faction.

“No matter what anyone says, Viscountess Amethyst is the one who had the most outstanding achievements this year. It’s only right to be rewarded accordingly.”

“In war, the one with the highest kill count is the strongest. Why don’t nobles know that?”

Towerfang Tiger scoffed. “

Ha

, I guess your subordinates’ shallowness is a direct consequence of your leadership skills. You’re merely an honorary viscountess. How dare you interrupt a countess?”

“What? Do you want me to challenge you to a duel? Bring it on.”

I checked the information of everyone who spoke.

“I already soaked my feet in water for thirteen hours.

Thirteen

hours. You’re having a hard time, I’m having a hard time, we’re all having a hard time, so why are you messing with my faction leader? She’s having the hardest time. Do you want to have your ass handed to you?”

Great Prawn Pearl

Status: Honorary Viscountess.

Connection: Viscountess Amethyst’s disciple.

Danger Level: White.

Note: Former Platinum General of the Royal Army.

When a large-scale rebellion broke out sixty years ago, she stood at the forefront and suppressed the rebels. The total of casualties from both sides at the time was sixty thousand. It ended up being 210,000, including civilians.

It was later discovered that the royal family staged the rebellion, so the royal army was disbanded, leaving Great Prawn Pearl unemployed.

Great Prawn Pearl argued that it made no sense for there to be no royal army in the kingdom. Her claim was that only destruction awaited everyone if security was left entirely to the nobles’ private armies.

Her plan was to create the need for a royal army through extremely violent protests, but Viscountess Amethyst stopped her. She accepted Great Prawn Pearl as her youngest disciple but is having a hard time with her because she just won’t listen.

She’s an ally that can be killed.

Strengths: Survival, martial arts, combat, war

Weaknesses: Slaughterer, plunderer, impatient, stupid except in war

Caution: Living in Marchioness Snowhite Rabbit’s estate.

I noticed something.

“What? Are you threatening me? Alright, you little shrimp egg bastard. Today will be your death anniversary—”

“Wait. You people are too worked up.” A gentle-looking noble strummed the strings of the harp-like instrument in her hands. “Today is the first day in sixty years that Her Majesty personally attended the assembly. If a duel between nobles in the lounge broke out on a day like this, wouldn’t it taint Her Majesty’s dignity? Even if we don’t have to worry about it, Amethyst will be sad.”

Wavecho Flare.

Status: Baroness of the capital.

Connection: Viscountess Amethyst’s colleague.

Danger Level: Blue.

Note: The former sect master of the Wavecho Flare Sect.

The sect was a group of a very small number of elites and one of the Six Heavenly Sects, the kingdom’s top six mercenary guilds. The sect’s specialties were special operations like assassinating key figures, destroying enemy bases, setting fire to farms right before the harvest, and poisoning the land.

Wavecho Flare received her barony when Viscountess Amethyst took in the Six Heavenly Sects.

She’s an ally that can be killed.

Strengths: Survival, swift, always keeps her promises, Ascendant

Weaknesses: Pyromaniac, poisoner, wanderer

Caution: She is starting to think of Viscountess Amethyst as someone special.

When this much information was collected, I could see the common denominator of the lovers who served Amethyst as their master. Each of the women in the lounge had a different appearance, personality, and past. However, all their lives had one red line that couldn’t be erased[2].

“Well, I am a rookie who only received the title of baroness today, so if you need to duel, send me instead. Rumors will soon die out if they’re about a bunch of clueless rookies that did something rude.”

Baroness Guardian Hope, Amethyst’s slave, had been the rebel leader’s right-hand woman, torturing and killing hundreds of people.

“Is there really a need for a duel? I think the reason Countess Towerfang Tiger is angry is that she feels like she can’t do anything and is losing to our teacher. Then, if she gets a landslide victory, the problem will be solved. I heard that the countess is good at Royal Go, so perhaps she and Teacher can play a game and solve this matter once and for all?”

Ironfang, the former viscountess, was Amethyst’s disciple. Just like Pure Sacrednoir had a history of being kidnapped by the Red Fingernails, Ironfang had learned the Ritual of Darkness and continued it even after safely returning to the capital. Together with her subordinate nobles, she preyed on thousands of humans.

Even Snowhite Rabbit, the young marchioness, had a record of whipping a commoner child to death.

“Mr. Kim Gong-Ja?”

Amethyst, who had been watching the war of nerves between the factions, turned to me. Even though she had handled numerous complaints on the spot, she showed no signs of fatigue. Rather, she was smiling.

“No, I should call you Advisor River Eternal while there’s other people around. So, Advisor River Eternal, is there something on my face? You look pale. Or perhaps... have you figured out the answer to your question?

Everyone who loved Amethyst was a killer.

“Have you formed an idea of the kind of person I am?”

1. The raw is -ssi. It's a gender-neutral form of address. ☜

2. The red line here is a Korean expression that one is a criminal. It's from the Japanese colonization period. The Japanese put red lines on the freedom fighters' names in the family registries. ☜