<strong>Chapter 194: Dysfunctional Family (1)</strong>


    “…”


    An awkward mood settled in.


    When Ohjin and Ha-eun heard what Isabe said, they froze on the spot, mouths open in shock.


    It was thest thing they expected her to say with how her father flew there on a helicopter as soon as he heard that his daughter was in danger.


    "Haha. It seems that my little princess is very embarrassed."


    Paulo put on a lonesome smile like he was used to it and reached forward to pat Isabe’s head.


    p!—


    Isabe coldly pped his hand away and red at him with sharp eyes.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "What am I doing here? I was curious about how my princess was doing!"


    "Is that so?" Isabe said with a bitter smile.


    Ohjin felt something was off about the conversation—something about it was strange and unpleasant, like gears that didn’t quite fit together correctly.


    ''Not because he was worried, but because he was curious?''


    For a father who flew over on a helicopter to check up on his daughter, his expression was strange.


    "Then why don''t you leave now that you''ve satisfied your curiosity?" Isabe said with a cold voice.


    Paulo shook his head like the suggestion was ridiculous.


    "How could I leave so soon when my princess went through such a dangerous situation?! By the way… who are those people?"


    Paulo''s gaze headed to Ohjin.


    Isabe stood in front of him in an obstructing manner and red at her father.


    "They are my guests."


    "Aha! I see! It''s a pleasure to meet you!"


    Paulo walked past Isabe, approached them, and extended his hand with a cheerful smile on his face.


    Ohjin looked at his hand for a moment and then epted his handshake.


    ''He isn''t an Awakener.''


    He sneakily sent mana into his hand, but he couldn’t feel any mana within Paulo.


    "My name is Gwon Ohjin."


    "The Lightning Wolf! Aren''t you the apostle of the Weaver Girl? I''ve heard of you before."


    Paulo vigorously shook his hand and smiled brightly.


    "What kind of rtionship are you in with my princess? By any chance, are you—"


    "Father."


    Isabe cut off Paulo in the middle of his sentence.


    "I''m sure Ohjin is also very tired from the incident. Wouldn''t it be impolite to continue holding him here?"


    "Ah, I see. Haha! I was just too excited! This is the first time my daughter has brought guests over!"


    ''Too excited, huh?''


    The vacation spot his daughter was at was attacked by tens of thousands of monsters along with a dragon vein going berserk. Was ‘excitement'' appropriate for the situation?


    "I''ll take care of the rest! You should go get plenty of rest with Isabe!"


    Paulo patted Ohjin’s shoulder and walked past him.


    "……"


    Ohjin watched him leave.


    "Let''s go, Ohjin."


    Isabe held his arm as they went into the house.


    "Are you not in a good rtionship with your father?" Ha-eun asked as she followed behind her.


    "……"


    "He seemed like a nice person. Did something happen?" Ha-eun asked while tilting her head, and then she suddenly eximed, "Sorry! I think I asked something I shouldn''t have."


    Digging into her family matters when she wasn''t even that close with her felt out of line.


    "…No."


    "Hm?"


    "No, he isn''t a good person."


    She spoke like she was chewing it out.


    Her hands, closed into fists around her red-stained dress, shook.


    "……"


    Ha-eun didn’t ask any more questions and quietly followed her.


    Isabe guided Ha-eun and Ohjin to their rooms and slightly bowed her head.


    "Get plenty of rest, and please feel free to contact me if there''s anything you need."


    ck—


    Isabe closed the door and left.


    "Wow… what a dysfunctional family. Their conversation made me feel like I was suffocating."


    Ha-eun shook her head as Isabe left.


    Ohjin looked at the firmly shut door and recalled the conversation he had with Isabe when they were hunting the Living Armor.


    ''She said that her sister was exiled from the family once she was chosen to be the heir.''


    Had her rtionship with her parents fallen apart due to that incident? Even so, a couple of questions remained.


    ''It appears there''s a need to speak with her.''


    Ohjin rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought.


    He thought that there might be a chance of figuring out why the monster attack had happened if he found the answers to his questions.


    "Bleh, whatever. There''s no reason for me to meddle in someone else''s family matters."


    Ha-eun jumped onto the bed and stretched. She kicked her slim legs like she was swimming.


    "Yan~ I''m so fucking tired."


    "Still, wash up before you go to bed."


    "Hmm."


    Ha-eun spread her arms out and smirked.


    "I''m so tired I don''t think I can move."


    Ohjin chuckled and approached Ha-eun, who was spread out on the bed like a baby looking for her mother.


    There were ck bruises in several areas on her body from the intense fight (which was actually more like a one-sided massacre) thatsted several hours.


    He put his arms behind her back and carefully held her.


    Ohjin could directly feel her smooth skin because she was still in her swimsuit.


    Ha-eun giggled and put her arms around his neck.


    "Ohjin…"


    "Yeah?"


    "Can… we trust Isabe? You said that she was an Executor of the ck Star Organization."


    "…I''m not sure."


    It was still difficult to give a definite answer regarding Isabe.


    "But… I think it''s worth giving it a shot."


    He recalled her ''true'' nature that he got a glimpse of in the alley. He at least knew that she was different from the ck Star Organization he was familiar with.


    "Really?"


    Ha-eun nodded her head in his embrace.


    If words of trust wereing from none other than Ohjin, she no longer had a reason to suspect her.


    "Then we''ll need to make her our ally at all costs."


    Ohjin’s eyes widened at her unexpected reply.


    "…Are you okay with that?"


    "Hm? Okay with what?"


    "Your rtionship with her isn''t particrly good."


    "Ah, that…"


    Ha-eun clicked her tongue and scratched her head.


    "Well… I did dislike how she tried to flirt with my man, but we can''t let this good opportunity go because of that."


    The opportunity to be allies with an Executor of the ck Star Organization, and ranked third at that, wouldn''te again.


    If the goodwill Isabe had shown to Ohjin until then was sincere, the benefits they would gain from getting her on their side could not be fully expressed with words.


    "Obtaining internal ck Star Organization information, using the Cgrande Household''s authority, and there are many others, but…"


    Most importantly…


    "If that woman is that strong, can''t she protect you when you''re in danger?"


    Boundless danger would be lurking around the corner for Ohjin since he was acting like he was the ''Heaven-defying Star''. Among those dangers, there would be some that Ohjin could not possibly deal with by himself.


    Ha-eun really wanted to protect him with her own strength, but…


    ''That… won''t be easy.''


    She had already experienced the fact that her strength wasn''t enough to protect him on several asions.


    If Ohjin could be protected, it wasn’t a big deal to have another woman around him.


    "Well… Ohjin, haven’t you alreadypletely fallen for me?"


    Ha-eun straightened her back with a smug look on her face.


    Ohjin chuckled and nodded his head.


    "You''re right."


    As she said, he had already fallen too deep for her to possibly escape. He had fallen for her so long ago that he couldn’t even remember it.


    "Then you should try to sweet talk her. You have an opportunity right now."


    "An opportunity?"


    "Yeah. There''s… something about her that feels vulnerable."


    Ha-eun touched her lips and narrowed her eyes.


    She recalled how Isabe looked when she was sharing a conversation with her father.


    "Vulnerable?"


    "I saw a couple of children who were like that in the orphanage."


    She was talking about children who weren''t abandoned by their parents but had to go to the orphanage as their family crumpled down—children who did everything they could to fix what couldn''t possibly be reversed with their frail hands.


    Ha-run felt that same deep despair from Isabe.


    "Well, I don''t really have anything like evidence."


    "Is it something like a woman''s intuition?"


    "Fufu, don''t you know that I''m sharp?"


    "Haven’t you been oblivious too many times for that to be the case?"


    "Sh-Shut up!"


    In any case…


    ''Vulnerable, huh?''


    Ohjin repeated that word in his head while taking Ha-eun to the bathtub.


    * * *


    Moonlight shone through the window.


    The light in the night sky couldn''t be any more beautiful.


    Isabe sat down on the terrace and looked up at the sky.


    "…Sigh."


    ''How did thingse to this?''


    When she was repeating the question that wouldn''t be answered countless times in her head—


    Knock, knock—


    —she heard the sound of knocking on the door.


    "Who is it?"


    "It''s me."


    It was Ohjin.


    "Ohjin? Is there something you need?"


    "No. I just wanted to sit down and have a talk with you."


    Ohjin raised a bottle of wine that he brought from the kitchen.


    "Oh my, I didn''t think that you would be the first one to suggest a conversation."


    Isabe smiled with her eyes and took out two wine sses.


    Drip—


    Wine that looked like it would easily surpass a couple thousand dors in cost filled the ss.


    The two sses clinked with a clear sound, and the fragrance of the drinks spread over the area.


    "Do people say ''cheers'' in Korea in situations like this?"


    "That''s what I heard."


    "Hmm? Did you avoid doing such things?"


    "It''s just that I''ve never drunk alcohol with someone else before."


    How could he find the opportunity to drink alcohol when he was surviving each day with two calorie bars?


    "Fufu, then am I taking your first?"


    Isabe’s eyes shone as she put on a charming smile.


    Well, he actually did drink alcohol with Ha-eun a couple of times before, but Ohjin didn''t bring that unnecessary bit of information up and took a sip out of the wine.


    Was it because of its expensive price? The fragrance that shot into his nose with just one sip was impressive.


    "Did your rtionship with your father fall apart because of what happened with your sister?"


    "…As I expected, you came to ask about that."


    Isabe smiled faintly like she knew it would happen.


    "Yes, that''s right. After it was decided that I''d be the next head of the family… I fought with my father over my sister. However, my sister was exiled from the family in the end."


    A fight between a young girl who wanted to protect her family and her father who wanted to adhere to family regtions.


    Since the incident likely took ce before she awakened, she probably had no way of defying her father since he hadplete authority over the family.


    "Well… I was no different from his puppet back then."


    "That’s not what it looked like."


    "Fufu, I wouldn''t just stand back and listen. Though I may look like this, I take action when it is required."


    He was already well aware of that.


    She couldn’t have be an Executor of the ck Star Organization if she obediently listened to the orders of higher authorities.


    "Then why are you doing nothing about it?"


    "Hm?"


    "Couldn''t you overrule your father and take the seat of the family head whenever you want?"


    Isabe didn''t know, but he was asking the question not to the ''Saintess of Rome'' but the ''Queen of Leeches''.


    ''With that much power, taking the seat from someone who isn’t like Paulo wouldn''t be difficult at all.''


    Even though she looked at her father with grudge-filled eyes, why didn''t she do anything to him?


    "…I don''t know."


    Isabe tilted her wine ss and looked up to the night sky with bitter eyes.


    "No matter how much I hate him, I can’t… maybe it’s because he''s my father?"


    Not knowing the answer to the question herself, she spoke with a bitter expression.


    ''Because he''s her father, huh…?''


    As someone who didn''t even know what his parents looked like, it was an emotion Ohjin couldn''t understand.


    Trantor - Mas


    Proofreader - fy


    * * *


    "Perhaps there’s a part of me that is still clinging to a thread of hope."


    "Hope?"


    "Hope that… all the built-up hate and misunderstandings will be resolved and that everything will go back to how they were in the past like a miracle."


    She once lived happily like any other family ten years prior, before thepetition to be the heir started in earnest.


    A father who loved his two daughters, a gentle mother, and although weak, a sister who took care of her…


    That time was like a sweet dream.


    "Despite knowing that it''s already toote to return things to how it was… I still can''t give up on it easily for some reason. Haha, aren’t I an idiot?"


    Isabe shrugged her shoulders with a smile mixed with self-deprecation.


    "……"


    Ohjin looked at her with puzzled eyes.


    A woman who loved her family that much became a witch who massacred tens of millions of humans?


    ''By any chance… is this all an act?''


    When he met eyes with her while having that in mind…


    "Ah."


    Was it because he himself was a talented scammer? Maybe it was because her eyes shivered as they reflected the moonlight.


    He didn''t know why, but he noticed that the person in front of him wasn''t the Saintess of Rome or the Queen of Snakes, but ''Isabe Cgrande'' herself.


    "Hm? What''s wrong?"


    "…It’s nothing."


    Ohjin chuckled and shook his head.


    ''It''s ironic for me out of all people to argue about what happened in the original timeline.''


    If she was a witch that massacred tens of millions back then, he was the Heavenly Demon that caused the deaths of billions.


    ''ording to choice, you can be the Heavenly Demon that exterminates mankind or a Heaven-defying Star that is the savior of humanity.''


    At the very least, he needed to believe that she could change because the moment he didn''t, he would be contradicting himself.


    "It''d be nice if your hope turned into reality."


    "Haha, thank you."


    ng—


    The sses clinked with a clear sound.


    Though he said that it''d be nice, he already knew.


    Perhaps even Isabe was aware of the fact that hope is only called hope because it cannot be reality.


    * * *


    Standing on a beach shining under the moonlight, Paulo called someone as he walked through the gore-strewn sand.


    "Ahh, it''s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Damien."


    He continued talking to the person on the other side of the phone in an extremely respectful tone.


    "The reason I''m contacting you is…"


    A certain video was being yed on a small tablet that was in his grasp.


    "Because there''s something I would like to say about my daugh… no, the blood-crazed ''Witch''."


    Isabe was covered with red energy and grotesquely massacring thousands of monsters in the video.