“Why?”
It was gloomy. Not afternoon, not night—more like noon, when the sun hung high in the sky. The sky was clear without a single cloud, and the fresh sunlight bathed all of Atlanta. Yet, it seemed the light couldn’t reach everywhere. Somewhere inside the castle, a room exuded a heavy, dim atmosphere.
A woman, probably in her mid-twenties, sat slouched against the back of a chair in a corner of the room. Her long red hair spilled down her back. Both her hands hung limply toward the floor, and in one hand, a short katana gleamed faintly in silver, dangling lifelessly.
Her red eyes, matching her hair, stared blankly into space. They weren’t focused on anything in particular—more like lost in some deep, troubled thought.
“Why?”
This time, a hoarse sound escaped her lips. A voice roughened by strain. But no one was there to answer her in this empty, deserted room.
“Congratulations. You’re B-rank now, right? I’m B-rank too.”
At that moment, the stillness in her eyes flickered slightly. Memories flooded her mind—the cold tone, the deliberate way they cut off the ‘B’ when speaking, and above all, the mocking voice! The katana she’d been barely holding slipped with a soft clatter to the floor.
“You damn bitch!”
Her limp hand twitched nervously. She yanked off the silver headband from her hair and threw it hard. It bounced and rolled across the floor with a sharp metallic ring. The ‘Purity Headband’—a gift from Kim Suhyun, designed to strongly protect the user’s mind. She’d worn it every day without fail under his orders, but now, she couldn’t bear it on her head any longer. Still, the anger didn’t subside; a low growl escaped her throat.
“Damn bitch… I’ll tear you apart…”
Lee Yujeong was truly imagining ripping Kim Hanbyul to shreds. Hanbyul crying, begging for forgiveness, while Yujeong laughed cruelly and mercilessly slashed with her katana. But it was just a fantasy. The more she thought about it, the hotter her blood boiled, and she slammed her elbow hard against the chair’s backrest.
Yet her rage showed no sign of cooling. Having thrown off the headband, a sudden wave of desire surged through her heart.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Yujeong let out a piercing scream. Then she frantically clawed at her own head. Her nails dug into her skin, and as she scratched harder, the pain turned sharp and blood began to trickle down. Somehow, it brought a strange relief. Seeing the blood and bits of skin caught under her nails, her mind finally calmed a little.
“I won’t… accept it!”
Her teeth clenched tightly, a fierce determination shining in her wild eyes. Without hesitation, she turned and left the room, gripping the katana firmly in her right hand.
Everything she saw on the way irritated her—the sunlight streaming through the windows, the maids chatting and sweeping the hallway, Vivian sunbathing in a bright spot, and the tearful maid who was constantly summoned by Vivian. All of it grated on her nerves.
By the time she reached the fourth-floor office, barely holding back her boiling desire,
“So, how does it feel to be treated as a B-rank now?”
Yujeong froze mid-step as she was about to open the door.
“Well… it felt kind of awkward.”
“You’re smiling though. You like it, don’t you?”
“Hehe… yeah. It’s definitely nice.”
“Ha ha. Good. When your environment changes, you’ll feel yourself changing too.”
The warm voices inside the room were unmistakable. She didn’t even need to see who it was—she recognized them by voice alone.
“Hyung, I heard you called me?”
“Oh, nothing much. It’s about time you took on a job, don’t you think?”
“A job? What kind of job?”
“Nothing special. Now that we’re a leading clan, outsiders will come knocking all the time. Like asking you to find a lost comrade during an expedition, or to accompany them to explore ruins, that sort of thing.”
Yujeong swallowed involuntarily. The suggestion that it was time for her to take on a job struck a strange chord deep in her chest.
“Heh. Sounds like when we were a mercenary clan, huh? Wait a minute, hyung. You don’t mean…”
“Exactly. We got a request just yesterday. A caravan found a promising spot nearby. The distance’s close, and the difficulty seems manageable. I think you can handle it.”
“W-what? How… how could I…?”
“You’ve been tagging along a lot lately. You’ll just be the leader this time. Listen to the caravan’s story, ask clan members you think are needed, and oversee the expedition preparations. Just report back to me three days before departure.”
“B-but… will there really be clan members willing to help me?”
“Why worry? If you succeed, it’ll count as a solid achievement. They’ll be fighting to help you.”
That was the last straw.
Yujeong exhaled deeply, then burst through the door.
“R-really? Then what about me…?”
Ahn Hyun’s mouth dropped open in surprise, but when Yujeong stormed in, he faltered and stepped back. She pushed past him with a fierce glare and stood in front of Kim Suhyun. The tension radiating from her made it impossible to scold her for her behavior.
Kim Suhyun remained calm, as if he’d known Yujeong had been eavesdropping. When he looked at her with a ‘Why are you here again?’ expression, Yujeong bit her lower lip hard.
“I’ll do it.”
“No.”
Did he anticipate her words? His voice was grave and resolute as he refused.
“Why not?”
“Only B-rank or higher are allowed to lead a caravan.”
“That doesn’t matter. I’ll succeed at this, so just promote me to B-rank, isn’t that enough?”
“Yujeong, I’ll say this once more. You’re not B-rank now, and even if you succeed, you won’t be promoted.”
Then—
“Then why the hell am I not B-rank?!”
Bang! Crash!
Yujeong slammed both hands down violently. The katana in her right hand split the desk and embedded itself deep into the wood. Even Ahn Hyun and Yujeong herself flinched in shock. The pent-up rage exploded all at once after being flatly rejected. But still, she had never once openly defied them before.
Kim Suhyun stared at her calmly.
“Quiet down. You were almost given a D-rank, but I gave you C instead.”
“Why?! I didn’t cause trouble and I always obeyed!”
“Hah. You think obedience is an achievement? Does that make sense? …No. Just leave. Now.”
“I won’t! Ahn Hyun and that bitch are B-rank! So why am I only C-rank?!”
Having been pushed to the edge, Yujeong unleashed all the resentment she’d bottled up since the clan’s ranking system was introduced.
“So all this time, you’ve just been coddling me…”
Kim Suhyun’s face hardened. He stood up abruptly, grabbed Yujeong by the collar, and yanked her forward.
“Want to break another sword?”
“Ah! Hyung! Hyung! Please calm down!”
Ahn Hyun quickly stepped in to hold Kim Suhyun back.
“Hey, Yujeong! Are you crazy? You’re doing this to hyung? Apologize right now!”
“No! I won’t! I can’t!”
“You…”
“What did I do wrong? How can you treat me like this, oppa?”
Her voice trembled with tears, but her eyes burned fiercely, refusing to back down.
“This girl… really…”
Kim Suhyun exhaled deeply and shook off his hand roughly, sending Yujeong sprawling. Turning toward the terrace, he took a deep breath to calm himself. Ahn Hyun looked helpless, his face twisted in discomfort. A heavy, uneasy silence slowly filled the room.
How much time passed?
“…So.”
After a long pause, Kim Suhyun’s calmer voice broke the silence. He turned back and looked down at the floor.
“You don’t understand why Ahn Hyun and Kim Hanbyul are B-rank, but you’re only C-rank?”
“……”
Though blunt, Yujeong nodded quietly with watery eyes.
“Yeah. That’s understandable.”
“Huh?”
Ahn Hyun’s eyes widened, but Kim Suhyun nodded as if conceding the point.
“Sure. My evaluation isn’t absolute. I could be wrong.”
“……!”
His tone softened suddenly. Feeling something strange, Yujeong swallowed hard. Could it be…?
“Alright. Then let’s do this.”
Kim Suhyun spoke as if he’d just had a good idea. He glanced between the restless Ahn Hyun and Yujeong still sitting on the floor.
“You two, fight.”
A bombshell—not quite, but the two called out looked at each other in bewilderment.
“Fight?”
“I didn’t plan to go this far originally, but I’ll make an exception this once. If you win the sparring match against Ahn Hyun, I’ll immediately bump you up to B rank. At least then you’ll be able to prove your user information.”
As Kim Soo-hyun added this, Lee Yoo-jung immediately caught on. In other words, she was being told to prove her skills.
“But—”
Suddenly, Kim Soo-hyun threw in a twist.
“If you lose, you drop to D rank.”
“Lose… and drop to D rank?”
“Exactly. Win, and you get promoted right away. But there has to be some penalty for losing. …Or are you not confident?”
“……”
Not confident? No, it was quite the opposite. Watching Ahn Hyun still standing there, dazed, Lee Yoo-jung felt a sudden surge of raw courage welling up inside her. Because she had never once thought she was inferior to Ahn Hyun.
“…Who’s inferior!”
“Alright. And you, Ahn Hyun?”
Kim Soo-hyun turned his gaze to Ahn Hyun, who blinked a couple of times and then slowly nodded.
And so, the sparring match between Ahn Hyun and Lee Yoo-jung was set.
A short while later.
In the castle’s garden.
Ahn Hyun and Lee Yoo-jung faced each other, keeping a reasonable distance.
Ahn Hyun stood holding the black spear—the symbol of a Qi Swordmaster. Lee Yoo-jung summoned two katanas and a pair of throwing knives from the brand stamped on her abdomen, settling into her stance. A faint smile, one that hadn’t been there before, played on her lips. She lightly flicked the twin katanas as if warming up, already confident of her victory.
The fight had already begun. There was no need to shout “Begin!”—the tension that wrapped around them from the moment they faced each other was enough.
“Sorry, but I’m going to step on you and climb up to B rank.”
Suddenly, Lee Yoo-jung spoke. But Ahn Hyun didn’t respond. From the start of the fight, he had been analyzing every move she made.
Perhaps mistaking his silence for nervousness, Lee Yoo-jung let out a dismissive snort. Then, without warning, she pushed off the ground with all her might and charged.
It was a swift surprise attack, but Ahn Hyun remained unfazed. He had known from the moment she snorted that she was tensing her ankles. Less than three seconds later, a silver flash streaked before his eyes, but he calmly rotated his spear in place, deflecting the strike.
Just as he felt the katana catch on his spear shaft, he summoned all his strength to shove it aside.
There was definitely a feeling of something bouncing off.
Yet Lee Yoo-jung’s momentum didn’t falter in the slightest. If anything, as if she had expected this, she used the force against her, spinning gracefully in midair before bringing her katana down in a powerful strike.
Clang!
The clear ring of steel echoed. Ahn Hyun raised his spear with one hand, his expression indifferent as he stared into the empty air. Lee Yoo-jung’s face twisted in frustration, and she quickly backed away.
“You’re…”
Ahn Hyun sighed inwardly. Now he finally understood why Kim Soo-hyun had paired them up.
Weak. Too weak. The slight tension she’d shown before the fight now seemed laughable. He had fought with his pride on the line, but now he was beyond disappointed—he was almost angry.
“Your expression’s pathetic. Maybe don’t open your eyes so wide?”
Growling, Lee Yoo-jung stamped the ground again, darting left and right like a nimble cat, trying to throw off Ahn Hyun’s focus.
“You’re…”
Still, Ahn Hyun didn’t budge. She was fast, no doubt.
But that was all.
Unlike the chaotic battle with Joo Hyun-ho, this was nowhere near overwhelming. And compared to when he sparred with Kim Soo-hyun, it was downright boring. Back then, he had no idea what hit him. Now, no matter how much he wanted to take it seriously, he just couldn’t.
“Hah!”
Suddenly, a sharp kiai came from the left. Ahn Hyun glanced sideways. Lee Yoo-jung, her face flushed with excitement, charged forward, her red hair flying.
“You’re…”
It wasn’t a proper technique, nor was it some clever trick. Just a feint relying on physical ability, utterly lacking any understanding of user information.
As Ahn Hyun slowly aimed his spear, a memory of his sparring match with Cha So-rim flashed through his mind.
“You haven’t grown at all…”
The reason Ahn Hyun thought this was simple.
Because…
“It’s over!”
The incoming attack was exactly the same as the first and last strike he had landed against Cha So-rim. Nothing more, nothing less.
In an instant, Ahn Hyun gripped his spear firmly and thrust forward with all his might.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
The maid hired by Night’s Flower is a non-combat user who has a formal contract with the mercenary group. She works for a salary under an official agreement. When recruiting Lim Hanna, Night’s Flower was hired for the first time through Ko Yeon-ju’s introduction. If you recall that part, you’ll understand the significance of the maid’s role.
So please, don’t argue too harshly. It’s natural to have different opinions about the story. But as the discussions get more heated, feelings get hurt. That makes me sad, and it makes readers sad too. Nobody feels good about that. I believe if we all use kinder, gentler words, no one will get upset.
Now! Let’s shake off any hard feelings, and like real men, let’s crack open a bottle of soju and toast it out!
Cheers!