The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

23 – EP2. One Night of Love

Her mother had been frail.

She realized it when she was five.

Her mother didn’t play with her much, and she didn’t care much about her mother.

And when her mother collapsed while having tea and snacks with her, and the servants reacted as if it were routine, she realized that this was her mother’s daily life.

After that, she spent more time with her mother.

She hoped that her frail mother would get better and tried to boost her spirits by her side repeatedly, and her mother stroked her head as if finding her commendable.

After realizing that her mother was frail, she also realized that her father didn’t regard her favorably.

Her father looked at her with cold eyes and paid more attention to things outside the house than what was happening inside.

The reason her father didn’t regard her favorably was simple.

The sole reason was that she was a daughter.

Her mother couldn’t have many children due to her frailty, and when she finally managed to have one child after countless hardships, her father didn’t view having a daughter in a positive light.

Her mother struggled to have one child and tried to have more, experiencing countless failures. By the time her father’s gaze grew colder, her mother barely managed to have one more child.”

It was when she was ten years old.

And her younger sibling was a sister.

“… Useless. Can’t even properly give birth to a son.”

Her father began to treat her mother even more coldly.

Her father, even though it had been more than a hundred days since her sister was born, did not give her a name.

She tirelessly searched through the dictionary and found the most beautiful name.

Tia. Angelotia. It was an ancient word derived from the meaning of a jewel, tears of an angel.

She hoped her sister would grow up as beautifully as a jewel.

She wanted to protect her sister from the winter that was their father and only show her beautiful things.

And on the day her sister finally turned one year old.

Because her father did not come to her sister’s birthday party, her mother had to take charge of the party.

And it was near the end of the party.

Her mother collapsed and could not get up again.

Her mother lay in bed, growing weaker with each passing day.

Even in such a situation, her father never once went to see her mother.

And her mother’s condition continued to worsen.

And one day, her mother called for her.

She began to speak in a calm tone.

“My daughter.”

“Yes.”

“Sometimes, I think about what it would have been like if I hadn’t married your father.”

Her mother continued speaking.

“It was a night when the sailor’s star was shining. There was a close friend who… suggested that I should step outside once and see the world, instead of living by the rules.

I refused. It was difficult to break your grandparents’ expectations, and I thought that my fragile body was not suitable for traveling.”

She swallowed her spit, and her mother smiled.

“But, no matter how much I think about it, that was just an excuse. I lived like a flower blooming in a beautiful greenhouse all my life. I didn’t know the real world.

Actually, I wanted to become a wildflower too. Even if it tore apart and swayed in the wind, I wanted to know the real world.”

Her mother looked up at the ceiling with a sparkling gaze, then eventually lowered her head, as if realizing that there was a ceiling there instead of the night sky.

“I still remember that night. What if I had followed at that time? The starlight shining, the grass caressed by the wind, the landscape filled with life… that was the scenery of that day.”

Even though her mother’s eyes were filled with tears, she appeared stronger and more vibrant than any other version of her mother she had seen.

Her mother placed her hand on top of her head.

“You must live as you desire. Don’t regret like me….”

And at that moment, her mother took her last breath.

From then on, she devoted herself to the sword like a madwoman. With the determination to live as she wished, she believed that if she achieved fame, she could live as she desired.

So she became a comrade of the warriors. She fought on the front lines against the enemy and eventually managed to accumulate some renown.

And the outcome was unexpected.

…

“What did you just say?”

“I said I would marry the hero. The hero may not be familiar with noble culture, so your will is important. So, when I call, come and express your willingness to marry the hero. Stop wielding the sword. Just a few words and a show of compliance will suffice.”

Saine’s face contorted.

“Why do you want the hero so badly?”

“I’ll be frank. I want the hero of this generation, not the hero himself.”

Saine felt trapped.

“Yes, I understand. But… bluntly speaking, I don’t want to get married, at least not right now.”

Jacop Rudelran’s face twisted in displeasure. It was a sign that something didn’t sit well with him.

“So what? You don’t want to get married? What does that matter? Do you wish to live as a noble and marry the person you desire, like the heroines in novels your generation reads?”

“…Not exactly, but, at least I don’t want to get married right now.”

Jacop Rudelran scowled and spoke harshly.

“What’s the ‘not exactly’? Well, let me be straightforward too. Go to the hero and seduce him, do whatever it takes to secure a marriage promise! Just a few words of ‘I do’ in front of him, and you’re done. You’re here, clueless, causing chaos when all you need to do is say a few words.”

Saine unconsciously bit her lip. Even if she didn’t know it, her expression was undoubtedly a mess.

“…Rather than that, I’d rather die.”

With a chuckle, Jacop Rudelran grabbed her hair and brought his forehead close to hers, speaking in a low voice.

“Die? Alright, give it a try then. I’ll marry off your younger sister.”

Saine’s expression turned to one of confusion. She stuttered as she groped for words.

“She, she’s only seven years old.”

“So what’s the problem? Is being seven years old different from being a Rudelran?”

Saine contorted her face and finally spoke with a trembling voice.

“Do you think that’s reasonable?”

“What’s unreasonable about it? Listen carefully. I won’t stop you from committing suicide. But after you do it, everything that happens to your little sister, like her being abused by her husband, will be entirely your responsibility.”

“…She’s your blood.”

“Yes, my blood, my property.”

She felt a tightening in her throat.

“Why would you go to such lengths?”

Jacop Luderan looked at her with a scornful gaze.

“Do you even know what Luderan is?”

She couldn’t reply.

“Pitiful. Then let me change the question. What’s the symbol of Luderan?”

“The golden lion.”

“Yes, the golden lion. The king of peasants. We should always be at the pinnacle. So, what’s the symbol of the Count of Serindel?”

“Cerberus.”

“Hah! Cerberus or whatever, fundamentally, it’s a hunting dog. Do you understand what I’m saying? Some lowly imperial hunting dog is acting up, trying to surpass us, the great golden lion!”

Jacop Luderan spoke with fervor.

“Do you think Luderan, who rose to the top by tearing apart and devouring all competitors for prey with lion’s teeth, serves the emperor or the empire’s sword? Luderan is not a guardian of the empire; Luderan is a sword that protects himself, and the empire is just his scabbard!”

After saying this, Jacop Luderan’s excitement subsided for a moment.

“My brothers didn’t know that, and that’s why I bared my lion’s teeth to my brothers. As a result, I, who wasn’t the eldest son, became Luderan’s successor. Luderan’s position weakened as a result. I told them I wasn’t the eldest.”

Sain finally managed to speak.

“…So, what does that have to do with arranging my marriage?”

“As soon as you, a hero who wiped out an enemy legion as soon as you appeared, stand under Luderan’s flag, can the aging emperor dare to reject such a hero and make Serindel, an empire’s pinnacle, a reality?”

“Do you not think I can elevate Luderan’s name without such a marriage?”

“No, you can’t. Never. You and your sister have disappointed me from the moment you were born. Don’t you know that the only way you can make me happy is by becoming a tool to make Luderan stronger?”

Sain bowed her head. She felt a sense of despair.

“…So, how would you deal with it if he doesn’t get married? Or even if he accepts me… I might choose death, and he might not accept my sister.”

With the last glimmer of hope in her voice, when she asked, Jacop Luderan responded with a mocking laugh, as if he were asking the obvious.

“I will kill him. If the hero doesn’t stand with us, the emperor will use the hero to keep us in check, and we’ll be pushed aside in the name of the aging lion. And we don’t need unmanageable wild beasts. So, if that guy doesn’t join us, I will kill him. Before he becomes the emperor’s new hunting dog that tears us apart.”

Sain fell to her knees in despair.