Chapter 33

Chapter 33

As time went by, Leasis felt a great sense of dispair. This was because she could not tell Hizen. The endless waiting gave her a sad realization. No matter how much she missed Hizen, she was nothing to him. It made her heart empty.

The pain lasted until the day of the gladiator tournament. She had expected it so much, believing that it would be fun just to see it, but she was not happy. It bothered her that she missed Hizen and could not participate.

Today, Leasis headed to Liduré. Her steps out of the Imperial Palace were heavy and her shoulders drooping.

Ding.

“Hello.”

Leasis opened the door of Liduré and greeted with a weak voice. But Liduré had been in a frenzy since morning. The faces of Grien and the employees were white.

Leasis’s mind flashed. It was clear that something had happened. She ran toward Grien.

“What’s going on, Grien-nim?”

“Setchen… Setchen!”

There was a letter in Grien’s hand. A familiar writing appeared in front of Leasis, who was checking urgently. It was a crooked handwriting unique to Setchen.

[Mom, I’m going to win the gladiator tournament.]

“Setchen, you punk!”

Grien, feverish, staggered. Leasis helped her and bit her lips.

She regretted hearing Setchen’s words before her. She had never imagined that he would really participate in the swordsmanship competition. Then she would have paid more attention to what he had said.

What could a young boy like Setchen do in a gladiator tournament? Leasis bit her lips again. She had to bring back Setchen as soon as possible. If he did something wrong, he could lose his life.

“I’ll go find him. Where is the gladiator tournament?”

“The Imperial Palace… in the Imperial Palace’s arena!”

Near the palace, there was a huge gladiator arena, which was built for the hobby of the former Empress. It clearly came into Leasis’ mind. Grien, who was worried about Setchen, trembled with a steady sound. Leasis hugged her and said.

“Grien-nim, please trust me and wait a little longer. I’ll make sure to bring him back.”

“Leasis… Please, save Setchen. I trust you.”

Leasis held Grien’s hand tightly. She left Grien with another employee and ran to the Imperial Palace.

Fortunately, she was able to get to the palace quickly thanks to the shortcut. Participants lined up in the gladiator arena next to the Imperial Palace. Leasis struggled through the crowd to find Setchen. However, it was almost impossible to find a little boy among the crowded participants.

“Setchen! Setchen!”

She shouted at the top of her voice, but there was no answer. Leasis tried to find Setchen, on tiptoe. Then, she saw a little head with dark blond hair.

“Setchen! Wait!”

Setchen could not hear Leasis’ voice. As he disappeared, Leasis ran urgently through the crowd.

She tried to get into the circular arena. But armed guards stopped her. Leasis asked desperately.

“My brother’s in here. Let me find my brother!”

“No, you can’t. Only participants are allowed to enter.”

She begged several times, but they were adamant. The rule was that no matter the reason, no one could enter except for the participants. They told her coldly that they would punish her if she made more disturbances. Leasis bit her lips.

‘I have to do something. Somehow…’

“Hellhard! Is Hellhard Me Accor here?”

“Oh, my. I can’t believe he signed up and didn’t come. Cowards are everywhere.”

The voices of the men receiving the participants could be heard near the entrance. Leasis’s mind flashed.

She immediately turned and headed for the Imperial Palace dumpster. She picked up some discarded clothes there, wore them thickly, and covered them with a black cape. She headed back to the gladiator arena. Unlike before, she had a confident step.

The soldiers’ eyes were on Leasis. With a large black cape, she looked like a tall man. She spoke with her voice down like a man.

“I’m participating. Please let me in.”

“What’s your name?”

“I am Hellhard Me Accor.”

She prayed not to be caught. Leasis’ heart fluctuated. The soldiers stared at her and laughed.

“I thought you were running away, but you came back.”

“Sure. There’s more turmoil than I thought.”

They exchanged glances and laughed at Leasis. Finally, a soldier asked lightly.

“Are you confident you won’t regret it?”

“Yes.”

“Nice. Good luck.”

Fortunately, they were completely deceived and let her in. Leasis did not show any signs of nervousness and went inside the gladiator arena.

The arena was made of huge stones. The ceiling, walls, and floor were all stones. Leasis sighed deeply. When she touched the cool wall, it seemed that she could feel the lives of the warriors. She was not the only one overwhelmed by the spirit. The other participants were sitting on the stone floor in the waiting room, holding their breath.

Leasis was able to find Setchen more easily than she had thought. At the far end, Setchen was hiding two swords behind his back. They looked like brilliant swords even from afar. In front of him, several men were threatening him.

“Kid, that’s a dangerous thing for a kid like you to use.”

“Yeah. They are swords that would look good on these Hyung-nims. Give them to us when we’re asking nicely.”

“No!”

They tried to force Setchen but he resisted. At that sight, Leasis’ expression became disgusted. She tried to run straight to them.

But there was a person who stood in front of her first. It was a boy chewing bread nearby. He was a short boy with soft green hair, who looked a little unusual. His face was young, but his eyes and atmosphere did not match his age. The green-haired boy said, patting the men on the shoulders friendly.

“That’s enough. What are you doing to bother a child?”

The green-haired boy had a unique accent like a man from the countryside. He looked like someone from a foreign country. The men warned threateningly.

“Isn’t this contryman tired of living?”

“Get away from me when I’m still saying it nicely.”

“I’m not scared even if you say that.”

The green-haired boy grinned. He seemed to enjoy the situation. As a result, the men’s hateful expression became more fierce. They snapped the boy’s arm off their shoulders.

The attention of the upset men completely turned away from Setchen’s swords. The men quickly surrounded the green-haired boy. Then the boy burst into a light laugh.

“Why? Do you want to play in advance?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The atmosphere got worse and worse. In the meantime, Leasis, who had run to Setchen, hugged him tightly.

Surprised by the familiar scent, Setchen opened his eyes wide.

“…Noona?”

“Sit.”

Leasis whispered quietly and hid Setchen behind her. Then she hurried up to the men. She could not bear to see the child who saved Setchen being in danger.

The men gave Leasis a glance. The tall woman looked even bigger because she was wearing a black cape and several layers of clothes. They flinched right away. They were cowards who were strong against the weak and weak against the strong.

“You, what are you doing?”

Leasis grabbed the boy by the collar with one hand and the man’s hand with the other. Then she spoke in a low voice.

“Stop it.”

“Ouch…”

The man who had his hand caught, turned white. He faltered at the first strong grip he felt.

Just in time, the contestants approached from far away. The man flew into a rage as if he had waited.

“I’ll let you go this time. Let me go! You’re lucky!”

When Leasis relaxed his hand, he backed away. They spit on the floor and hit Leasis on the shoulder.

“We’ll see.”

The men walked to the other side. Leasis bowed to the green-haired boy.

“Thank you. Thank you very much.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The green-haired boy answered lightly and chewed half of his bread. Then he looked at Leasis and Setchen alternately and asked.

“Is that your little brother?”

“Yes.”

The green-haired boy ate all the bread in an instant. He mumbled, roughly licking the crumbs on his hands.

“Your Hyung is going through a lot.”

“Not Hyung! Noo…”

“Setchen. Shh.”

Leasis covered Setchen’s mouth, who was screaming. The green-haired boy grinned at the sight. In his old clothes, he untied a shabby cloth that fell on the floor and took out three breads.

He held a bread in his mouth and handed two to Leasis. Was he giving them bread? Surprised by the unexpected favor, she hesitated. The boy spoke in a pleasant voice.

“There’s a lot, so don’t hesitate to eat.”

“Thank you.”

Goodwill was never rejected. Leasis bowed her head after receiving the bread. Then the boy grinned.

“You have good manners, too.”

It was strange to be complimented by a child younger than her. Leasis spoke in a shaky voice.

“Thank you.”

“It’s always like this. All the spoiled younger siblings’ Hyungs are polite and kind.”

Mumbling. The man pointed at himself with his index finger while chewing bread.

“Like me.”

* * *

Hizen’s expression reflected on the lake was strange. A black uniform, a sword, and neat hair worn over the years. Everything was perfect. But it was weird. Why was he feeling so empty? He had confirmed his appearance several times with unknown emotions. All the buttons were locked, and the Silver Bird Medals were properly attached.

Why? Hizen kept thinking, but no answer came out. He touched his forehead with one hand and sighed. He had never had such a difficult problem.

The dark forest was only filled with silence. He walked slowly and pulled out a sword. As soon as a black object passed by, he moved his left arm lightly. A monster’s body shattered around Hizen, who was now covered in blood.

Hizen blinked his heavy eyes. Blood droplets formed on his long eyelashes, which made his eyes sting. He wiped his eyes with one hand. Blood was dripping from the sleeve of his black uniform. He had already been on this mission for ten days. The smell of blood poking his nose did not seem to go away no matter how much he washed. But he could not stop.

Hizen seemed like a man who did not know how to rest. He looked around once and moved again. A monster appeared in front of him across the forest. It was an ogre, whose body size increased ten times. His forehead was filled with red energy, and a acidic liquid flowed all over his body. At first glance, he was a top-ranked monster.

Hizen took out his swords in the blink of an eye. The swords in his two hands emitted a strange white light. He murmured as he approached the monster.

“That’s weird. There’s a lot of strange things going on these days.”

Slash!

In one blow, the monster’s arm flew away and the floor rang. The torn monster struggled and rushed towards Hizen. His sword gave off a stronger glow.

“There are guys like you hiding in these woods… but I can’t stop thinking about her.”

Thud!

When Hizen wielded his sword, the monster’s body broke in two. His expression remained unchanged despite the vibrations that echoed the ground. Hizen finally realized one thing when he looked with indifferent eyes at the two parts of the monster’s body.

He wanted to see that silly smile. He felt empty without the strange maid, Leasis. As soon as things that were taken for granted were not here anymore, he realized it. It bothered him more because he could not see her.

At first, he hated the suspicious girl. He hated himself for turning into someone else because of her. After that, her bright smile and her affectionate eyes drew his attention. Even if he was not aware of it, he kept looking at her. He had never seen a person shining that much in his life. She was shining even more brilliantly than the rose of Vermanga in the past.

Monsters hiding in the forest crawled out one by one in front of his bright swords. Hizen gave strength to his hands holding the swords.

“Cooperate.”

Monsters uttered threatening cries as if rebelling. Hizen pointed a sword at them and said insignificantly.

“I need to go see her as soon as possible.”