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Chapter 195

"You’re a better speaker than I thought," Ha-Yeon said, striking up a conversation for no particular reason other than to break the silence.

Sun-Woo\'s behavior had genuinely surprised Ha-Yeon. Even Ha-Yeon sometimes found herself struggling to speak in front of Sung Yu-Da. In contrast, Sun-Woo spoke confidently without any hesitation in front of her father. Sun-Woo didn\'t answer Ha-Yeon\'s question but regarded her with empty eyes. Ha-Yeon felt a chill down her spine as she met his cold gaze.

Sun-Woo lowered his gaze and finally spoke.

"I did a lot of preparation."

"What kind of preparation?" Ha-Yeon asked.

"Writing scripts. Sometimes I would rehearse in front of a doll." Sun-Woo replied with a slight smile.

Ha-Yeon initially took his words seriously but then realized it was a joke. Imagining Sun-Woo talking to a doll, she couldn\'t help but laugh.

"Haha, you have a doll at home?"

"Yes, I have one rabbit doll, almost your size."

“It must be cute."

"Yeah, that’s why I hug it when I sleep."

Ha-Yeon couldn\'t hold back her laughter.

"Ah, stop saying all this nonsense."

"But it\'s true."

"Then I can spread the rumor, right? Sun-Woo sleeps hugging a rabbit doll."

"Huh? No, you can\'t."

Ha-Yeon burst into laughter again, seeing Sun-Woo pretending to be flustered. He said things that didn’t make any sense with a serious, straight face, but strangely enough, it made her laugh, even though it wasn\'t hilarious. Sun-Woo always seemed sharp and serious, but suddenly showing his light-hearted side made her laugh out of surprise.

Ha-Yeon smiled.

"Come to think of it, we had a bet about our test scores, didn\'t we?"

"That\'s right."

"I\'m curious about the results. I think I might have won."

"Where\'s this confidence coming from?"

"I did pretty well on the practical exam. How did you fare?"

"I did decently... no, I did alright."

"You don’t seem too confident."

"...I did well. At least better than you," Sun-Woo replied a bit curtly, his pride seemingly wounded.

Ha-Yeon laughed once again at his reaction. She then suddenly realized she felt comfortable. Until now, she hadn\'t had anyone she could have such relaxed conversations with. Her classmate Ra-Hee had been the only one she could comfortably talk to, but things between them had turned a little awkward. She didn\'t want to mingle with the other kids, and even when she did, it only made her uncomfortable and disgusted. It was easy to look through their obvious attempts to show off and boast.

"If, and I mean if, you win, what wish would you ask for?"

"Didn’t you just say you thought you won?"

"That\'s why I said if."

"Hmm..."

Sun-Woo was a bit different from others. Although he was a little arrogant, he wasn’t fake. Maybe that was why she didn’t find talking to him unpleasant at all. However, there was a high probability that she felt comfortable because he possessed the blood of purification.

Rather than finding his neat appearance, and his peculiar, no, his weird but charming personality, and his intelligence that had enabled him to easily take first place during the evaluations attractive, she was attracted to him simply because he possessed the blood of purification.

If it wasn\'t for the blood of purification, she wouldn\'t even look at someone like Sun-Woo. That was what Ha-Yeon was trying to tell herself.

"I think I would ask you to buy me a meal."

"Ha, just a meal?"

"It’s not just about the food, but rather who you eat with.”

"What? What do you...?"

"And you? What would you ask for if you won?"

"...Ah, m-me? " Ha-Yeon was taken aback by Sun-Woo\'s words and stuttered.

Sun-Woo\'s words, “rather who you eat with,” were meaningful and open to various interpretations. Her face started to heat up, but she had already missed the time to ask what he meant by those words. Ha-Yeon wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand in an attempt to cool them down.

"...I haven\'t thought about it yet. I was going to think about it once I won the bet."

"I can\'t give you money or anything like that."

"Why? Weren\'t you willing to give me anything?"

"I don\'t have money, but I can make it up to you if it’s something I can do with my body."

"...What are you saying? I don\'t even have the slightest intention to ask for something like that!" Ha-Yeon lashed out because a strange thought popped into her head.

Sun-Woo shrugged with an expression showing that he didn\'t know anything. "What are you talking about?"

"No, forget it. Gosh..." Ha-Yeon let out a deep sigh.

The heat that had subsided from her cheeks was coming back again. A moment of silence followed. Ha-Yeon waited for Sun-Woo to speak first, but he just kept his mouth shut and seemed to be lost deep in thought.

Suddenly, he raised his head and broke the silence.

"Ha-Yeon."

Before Ha-Yeon could answer, Sun-Woo continued speaking.

"After I leave, your father might say something strange."

"...What?"

"Don\'t believe him, whatever he might say."

Sun-Woo\'s face was serious as he looked at Ha-Yeon. His gaze toward Ha-Yeon was clear and innocent, as if he would never tell a lie. His eyes were fixed on her, and her only. Startled by Sun-Woo\'s sudden words and the unexpected eye contact, Ha-Yeon nervously averted her eyes and bit her lip.

"What... does that mean?" Ha-Yeon blinked her eyes and asked.

Sun-Woo said with a gloomy expression, "It seems like your father doesn\'t really like me."

"What? That can\'t be... From what I see–"

Clank.

At that moment, the door opened. Sung Yu-Da entered the reception room. In his arms, he held a few books and paper bundles.

Thud.

Sung Yu-Da placed the books and documents on the table. He picked one of them, quickly skimmed through it, and handed the book to Sun-Woo. It was a book that Ha-Yeon had also read before. However, the book was filled with foreign and archaic language that was hard to understand, and it had been so thick that she hadn’t been able to finish it.

"This is a book about the history of the Romanican Church. It might help you understand the current Romanican Church a bit."

"I\'ve never seen this kind of book in the school library... Is this also a forbidden book?"

Sung Yu-Da\'s expression stiffened upon hearing Sun-Woo\'s words.

"It\'s not a forbidden book, but a book that cannot be obtained through ordinary means. I\'ll lend it to you."

"Thank you, but you didn\'t have to go through all this trouble..."

"I\'ll give you an explanation about the other books and documents. Now if you put the book that I’ve given you away and if you divert your attention toward this paper..." Sung Yu-Da began explaining, and Sun-Woo listened attentively, slightly leaning forward.

However, Ha-Yeon couldn\'t join their conversation at all. It wasn\'t because she couldn’t keep up. Although they were talking about topics that were hard to understand, it would have been within her grasp if she concentrated enough.

However, Sung Yu-Da\'s advice was mostly relevant to paladins and had little meaning for Ha-Yeon since she aspired to be a priest. Above all, Sun-Woo\'s last words lingered in her mind: “Don\'t believe him, whatever he might say.”

Ha-Yeon was preoccupied with the meaning of those words and couldn\'t focus on their conversation.

"...It seems like it would be best if we conclude our conversation here. If we continue, we might stay up all night."

"Understood. Thank you, it has been very helpful."

"Do you have any more questions?"

"I don\'t have any more questions about what you\'ve covered. So, I would like to ask about something regarding the conclave next..." Sun-Woo paused for a moment and fell silent.

Ha-Yeon had been lost in her own thoughts, but she finally focused on their conversation due to the silence. Sun-Woo briefly lowered his gaze, then looked at Sung Yu-Da with a serious expression.

"I want to know the significance of the conclave. Specifically, its political role."

"..." At that moment, Sung Yu-Da\'s expression hardened.

The previously warm atmosphere had been doused cold. Sung Yu-Da kept his mouth shut, stared at Sun-Woo, then closed his eyes tightly before opening his mouth.

"It is not easy to answer your question. Even students know that the conclave is the secret meeting to elect a pope, right?"

"Yes, I am aware."

"I have also been away from the position of a cardinal for quite some time. I don\'t know much about the conclave either."

"I understand that members of the purification clan can participate in the conclave regardless of their position within the church through something called a pact."

"...No, even if I knew anything, I could not tell you," Sung Yu-Da said firmly.

His jaw muscles twitched, indicating that he was gritting his teeth. Sung Yu-Da glared at Sun-Woo, his eyes blazing with intensity.

After a while, the pupils that had been trained down at Sun-Woo began to shake. On the other hand, Sun-Woo calmly looked back at Sung Yu-Da without any sign of wavering.

Ha-Yeon alternated her gaze between the two facing each other. Both of them seemed uneasy. For some reason, the atmosphere had suddenly become tense. Sung Yu-Da\'s finger trembled as he pointed at Sun-Woo\'s left hand.

"Where did you get that ring?"

"Are you talking about this?" Sun-Woo raised his left hand indifferently, showing the ring. "I bought it from a peddler a while ago. I wear it occasionally because it\'s pretty."

"...Be cautious with items of unclear origin. It could belong to someone from a cult," Sung Yu-Da said, his voice trembling slightly.

Sun-Woo smirked.

"Well, then, I guess I shouldn’t have worn it today," Sun-Woo said and took a sip of tea, raising the cup.

Clang!

Just as he was about to put the cup down, his hand slipped, and the cup fell to the ground. The teacup shattered loudly, its fragments flying in all directions.

Ha-Yeon flinched in surprise, hunching her shoulders.

Sun-Woo should have been surprised, but he remained calm. He glanced at the scattered pieces and slowly lowered his head.

"I\'m sorry, my nerves caused my hands to slip. I will clean it up."

"No! ...No, it\'s fine. I\'ll call a servant to clean it up later."

"Oh, then... I\'m really sorry. I will compensate."

"No, we have plenty of teacups. It\'s not that expensive," Sung Yu-Da said with a smile.

Ha-Yeon was puzzled.

The teacup Sun-Woo broke was definitely expensive. As far as Ha-Yeon knew, the teacup he had broken was a high-priced item worth a million to ten million won.

Something was off. Sun-Woo was in a situation where it wouldn’t have been weird to cower in apology, but he instead took on a confident stance. Meanwhile, Sung Yu-Da, who had every right to be angry, showed unusual patience. Their reactions were beyond Ha-Yeon’s understanding.

Sun-Woo looked at Sung Yu-Da with empty eyes.

"May I ask one last question?"

Sun-Woo asked without waiting for Sung Yu-Da\'s answer, "Sung Yu-Da, which candidate do you like the most?"

"...It\'s getting late. How about you go back now?"

Instead of answering, Sun-Woo smiled and nodded his head.

At first, Ha-Yeon tried to accompany Sun-Woo to the front gate of the mansion, but Sung Yu-Da stopped her. Sung Yu-Da called a servant and instructed them to escort Sun-Woo outside the gates. She watched Sun-Woo leave the mansion through the window.

Finally, when Sun-Woo completely disappeared from the mansion...

"Huh, huff. Ah...!"

Sung Yu-Da gasped for breath, leaning on the table. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead like rain. He stood up and roughly grabbed Ha-Yeon\'s shoulder. Ha-Yeon was startled by her father\'s sudden action, and she trembled in fear.

"Ha-Yeon, listen carefully. You must listen to me."

No, she wasn’t just shocked. She was terrified.

Sung Yu-Da\'s laughter was a facade that he put on for his guests. As soon as the guests left, Sung Yu-Da would quickly wipe cheerful expression on his face as if he were removing a mask and would return back to his cold and expressionless self.

Even that expressionless face was not Sung Yu-Da\'s true self. Layer after layer, he wore masks—he put them on, took them off, and changed them as needed. Due to this, Ha-Yeon always found it difficult to talk to Sung Yu-Da.

"He is not someone who possesses the blood of purification. Don’t be friendly with him, don’t talk to him, and don’t get close to him. No, if possible, don\'t even go near him."

"..."

"R-right now, I can\'t tell you why, but never... get close to him. Remember, Ha-Yeon. Ha-Yeon..."

However, this wasn’t a facial expression that Ha-Yeon had ever seen on her father\'s face. It was Sung Yu-Da\'s bare face, with the mask completely removed. Ha-Yeon trembled in fear as his face was more grotesque than she had imagined it to be.

‘It seems like Father doesn\'t really like me.’

Suddenly, Sun-Woo\'s words came to mind.