Chapter 104
After being struck a few times, the attacker raised both hands in surrender. I lowered my arm while maintaining a distance that would allow me to dodge if he lunged at me.
“Chairman, why are you here? And what happened to your body?”
The attacker, or rather Alteo, flinched. It seemed he didn’t expect me to recognize him by voice alone. A smug feeling arose, but wanting to end this quickly, I showed some kindness.
“Isn’t it the Chairman? Then there’s no need to go easy. But as you can see, I’m a bit fragile. Can I just break one of your legs for now?”
As I raised my arm as if to strike his leg, Alteo shouted in panic.
“It’s me! It is! Fragile my ass, where exactly?”
As expected. The chairman, who had thrown off his mask, glared at me with tears in his eyes.
“I didn’t expect to see you here. Why did you attack me?”
“What are you? How can you fight so well? It’s not fair!”
The attacker saying this?
“Just answer the question.”
Ignoring his words, he shut his mouth tightly. Though he seemed to have completely lost his fighting spirit, I remained cautious, gripping the tree branch tightly while keeping an eye on Alteo.
“I, I had planned everything so meticulously…”
Planned meticulously? Don’t tell me I’ve been lured here?
“The wild boar. Was that your doing?”
“Yes! And that’s not all. The guy stabbed in the side was also my setup. You treated him with that sickening smile, not knowing a thing?”
Looking at Alteo sneering about pretending to be kind, I understood what had happened. The common factors were time and blood. He also had experience participating in the extermination team, so he must have checked if I clean up blood-stained sheets alone.
‘Last time, he must have turned back because the patrolling knights were nearby.’
Honestly, I wasn’t curious about his intentions or thoughts at all, but I needed to buy time until the knights came on patrol. Judging by his bulked-up physique, I might lose in a test of strength. With his fighting spirit broken now, this seemed the safest approach.
“Why did you leave that time when I was alone? You were watching, weren’t you?”
He’s probably not stupid enough to readily admit his crimes. He must know that dragging this out would only disadvantage him.
“Why are you asking when you already know? You’re right. The knights would have heard if you screamed.”
…Is he an idiot? Or has he really given up?
Well, thinking about it, his reputation at the academy is already in ruins, and he’s badly botched this attack. As long as I don’t keep quiet, the fact that he meticulously planned this attack won’t change his punishment.
‘But then… does that mean he’s certain the knights are far away right now?’
The few days of quiet seemed to be for figuring out the patrol routes. Calculating how long it takes for them to pass by the medical team’s tent and make a full round.
‘He put in quite some effort.’
However, the combat ability of countryside Norman was information he didn’t have, leading to this miserable failure.
Seeing the chairman’s distorted face made me feel satisfied. It felt like the stress that had been building up without Luwen was being released.
“Too bad it failed, huh?”
Alteo glared at me, his lower jaw trembling. Then, seeming to become aware of the tree branch in my hand, he bowed his head deeply. He even plopped down on the ground, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed.
“Are you crying?”
I don’t know what he finds so unfair.
“Don’t talk to me.”
He pulled the discarded sheet towards him and rubbed his face with it. Would he really want to wipe his face with a sheet covered in animal blood and dirt?
“Should I hit you then?”
“Are you crazy?!”
Alteo shouted angrily. I smiled crookedly and said,
“I seem quite normal compared to someone who meticulously planned a situation to lure a person. I’m just at the level of self-defense.”
Tears streamed down Alteo’s cheeks as he panted heavily.
“I… I must succeed. Do you know how hard I’ve tried for this?”
“Who are you trying to pin the blame on? If you were in the right, you wouldn’t have fallen this far.”
How many people in the world live without putting in effort? I couldn’t help but laugh at his statement, as if his effort alone was special.
“Don’t laugh. Don’t mock me! Why do you appear in front of me and make me miserable!”
For a moment, my heart stirred strangely at his expression and voice filled with anger.
‘My life has become miserable because of you! Disappear! I said disappear! Get out of my sight!’
…Damn it.
Why am I remembering this crap now? The expression and words of the man before me were frustratingly identical to that person’s.
But I have a family now, people who love me, so why does my heart ache to the point of bewilderment?
The loneliness I felt living with my mother in my past life, the fear and anxiety of possibly being abandoned, felt vivid. As if everything I’m enjoying now is an illusion, and the real me is still in that house.
‘No. It’s been so long since I was kicked out…’
Even if my past life were real, I was ultimately abandoned, so there’s no need to fear being abandoned anymore.
I desperately tried to recall my sister and Luwen to erase the memories of my mother. Memories of people who love me and whom I love were layered within me. If I bring them out-
Flutter.
Suddenly, everything in front of me turned white.
“…!”
Seeing the vivid red in the all-white world, I realized immediately that I had been covered with the sheet. Due to my lapse in concentration, I had let my guard down against Alteo, allowing him to counterattack.
Aware that Alteo was beyond the cloth, I quickly swung my arm, but the sheet slowed me down, reducing the power of the attack. Thud- I felt a dull sensation through my hand.
“Ugh! Shit!”
He groaned, seemingly in considerable pain. But I ended up being caught. I tried my best to break free, but his strength was brutally overwhelming.
‘Is he trying to throw me off?’
I had a bad feeling. I couldn’t let Alteo drag me as he wanted. I quickly made a decision and tried to stand my ground, but I was overpowered. To make matters worse, with my vision blocked, I couldn’t gauge how my direction had changed or where I was now.
“I’ll keep everything a secret, so let go of this!”
I tried to persuade him to deal with the urgent matter first, but-
“Fall! I said fall!”
He seemed to hear nothing. Mindlessly insisting that I fall, he pushed me recklessly.
“You crazy bastard! Is anybody-!”
Huh?
My foot slipped. The ground that should have been there was gone. I had finally been pushed to the edge of the cliff.
I clung desperately to Alteo. With the sheet tangled around me, I couldn’t get free in such a short moment.
‘You think I’ll fall alone? You bastard.’
The one fortunate thing is that even if we fall from this cliff, it’s not a fatal height. It’s about the height of a 4-story building, so it’s like diving. With frequent rain, the water level is high, and the width is broad enough to be called a river, so it’s sufficient.
‘The problem is, I can’t swim!’
My body became buoyant.
“Uh, uh? Uh!”
Hearing Alteo’s panicked voice, I clung to him even more tightly. This bastard better know how to swim, or we’re both done for. Still, having something to hold onto might give me a chance to surface at least once more.
“Waaaaaah!”
Hearing his exaggerated scream, I squeezed my eyes shut. Not knowing when we’d hit the water, I took a deep breath and braced for impact.
Splash!
Cold water enveloped my entire body. I couldn’t grasp the situation at all. I was sure I had been holding onto Alteo, but suddenly I was alone. I couldn’t tell if I was rising to the surface or sinking.
It felt like I was being swept around by the rapid current. I opened my eyes to try and struggle, but all I saw was pitch-black darkness. The situation remained unchanged, unable to distinguish anything.
Just as fear struck me, I saw a wavering white object at the edge of my vision.
‘The sheet!’
Maybe Alteo is there. Feeling the terrifying sensation of air escaping from my lungs, I struggled desperately. But I couldn’t seem to close the distance at all. I was suffocating.
Alteo, you bastard. You’re truly insane. How could you do this?
‘Luwen…’
I wanted to see him. I couldn’t end like this so pointlessly. I didn’t want to.
But… even though I knew I shouldn’t breathe in, I was seized by an intense urge to breathe. Perhaps due to the confusion from the terrible feeling of suffocation, I finally did what I shouldn’t have done.
Bubble bubble…
Poppop-
My last breath burst out, and the bubbles left me behind. Then came the coughing. Water keeps rushing in. My breath was cut off and my consciousness blurred. A strange feeling of floating came over me.
But something felt odd. This situation wasn’t unfamiliar. It felt like… I had experienced this before…
Thinking back, I had this sensation when I first recalled my past life. I thought I had fallen into deep water then, but that wasn’t it. So when did I experience something like this…
Thwack!
The sudden pain jolted me back to consciousness. It felt like I had hit a rock, and I frantically reached out, but it was too slippery to grasp properly. As I flailed about, suddenly my wrist was grabbed.
Splash-!
“Huk- cough, cough cough!”
Someone had pulled me up.
