<h4>Chapter 261</h4>


    The day of the engagement, after the bustling pre-engagement party the night before, all of the guests who had been invited had begun entering the mansion''s first-floor banquet hall.


    And as they settled at tables, small conversations inevitably broke out.


    “Did you see them?”


    “Of course. There were repair marks all over the ce.”


    “Does that mean the rumors are true...?”


    Initially, the guests thought the rumor that Aria, the eldest daughter of the Myers family, had knocked out her older brother Lloyd and fought her younger brother Jake was exaggerated. However, the visible signs they saw left throughout the house today confirmed it.


    “They say the younger son was upset about the engagement and nned all that chaos with his sister.... Do you think the ceremony will be canceled?”


    “If they were going to cancel it, they wouldn''t have invited us in the first ce.”


    “That’s true, but still...”


    Because of the incident, the guests couldn’t help but wonder if the engagement would proceed smoothly. So, for now, the guests all decided to keep a curious and puzzled eye on the situation.


    And soon, the engagement ceremony began as scheduled, without any changes.


    “We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our esteemed guests for attending today...”


    Jake stood on the podium, giving his speech with a smile, with Raphael next to him, smiling softly. The sight of the two’s calm and peaceful demeanors left the guests—especially those who had witnessed the pre-engagement incident firsthandpletely confused.


    <i>Are they actually going through with the engagement?</i>


    <i>I thought it definitely would’ve been canceled...</i>


    What exactly happenedst night when they all left? Left in the dark, the guests in the hall just quietly exchanged uncertain nces as Se-Hoon, sitting alone at a table in the far back, watched with a smirk.


    <i>Everyone’s confused, as expected.</i>


    But he understood. After all, the smooth progress of the engagement made no sense following such a significant incident the previous night.


    Amused, Se-Hoon scanned the room before shifting his gaze to Jake, who stood on stage, and recalled what had transpired after all the guests had left the previous night.


    ***


    “I will get engaged.”


    That was what Jake had said immediately upon returning to the back garden. It was apletely unexpected deration to the many family members there, especially Miles, who looked at Jake in shock.


    “You...”


    “No matter the process, this is the decision I came up with on my own, and I will take responsibility for it.”


    “Hey! What nonsense are you spouting now...?” Miles shouted, frustrated.


    However, Jake just met his uncle’s eyes without a word. And despite his utterly exhausted expression, Jake’s eyes were steady and unwavering—theplete opposite of just a few days before.


    <i>Is this kid... serious?</i>


    Caught off guard by the change in demeanor, Miles was left speechless. Jake was no longer the same person who had reluctantly epted the situation.


    At that moment, Aaron, who had been observing in silence, took over the conservation. “It seems like you have more to say. Continue.”


    From the beginning, Aaron stood by indifferently while his children fought, showing no intention of intervening at all. He waspletely unreadable.


    Still, Jake met his father’s gaze and, with clear resolve, dered, “The wedding will happen after I graduate from Babel. As for living as husband and wife, that will have to wait for now.”


    “And until then, will you stay quietly at Babel?”


    “No. I intend to travel around, venture into danger zones, and, if necessary, traverse the contaminatednds beyond the Pilgrim’s Path.”


    Taken aback by Jake’s words, everyone in the back garden burst into murmurs. It wasn’t as concerning if Jake nned to stay quietly within Babel, but he nned on venturing beyond the Pilgrim’s Path, which was akin to cing his life on the line?


    “That’s out of the question! If something happens to you, young master...!”


    “Yes! For the sake of the family’s traditions, we cannot allow it...!”


    “Enough.”


    With just one word, Aaron’s voice cut through all of the noise, silencing the back garden once more. Then staring calmly at his youngest son, Aaron continued. “That’s still a half-hearted answer.”


    @@novelbin@@


    “...”


    “You''re not avoiding responsibility, but you''re not fully epting it either. What are you trying to aplish with such lukewarm determination?”


    Instead of responding, Jake scanned the faces of the gathered family members, who all seemed to regard him as a naive child.


    Then, taking a deep breath, he gave his answer with conviction. “I want to end it all.”


    “What do you mean by that?”


    “After fulfilling the family’s duty and sacrifice... I want to put it all behind me and move on.”


    Everyone stood dumbfounded. To end the Myers family''s legacy of duty and sacrifice, he needed to eradicate the Abyss of Demons and the entire Demon Force.


    <i>Has he gonepletely nuts?</i>


    <i>That’s impossible...</i>


    Even world-famous heroes couldn’t aplish such a feat, yet Jake imed he could do it in three years? The disbelief of the crowd was palpable, but Jake remained resolute.


    “It won’t be easy. I know that many have failed before me. But...”


    Trailing off, Jake’s gaze shifted to Se-Hoon, who silently watched from behind Aaron. Unlike when he was overwhelmed and felt guilty by Se-Hoon’s gaze of trust, now, he could meet it head-on.


    <i>As long as he believes in me, I have a chance.</i>


    Drawing on the confidence instilled in him by Se-Hoon, Jake turned back to face the crowd that doubted him and finished his words with more conviction than ever. “But I believe challenging this is also part of our family’s tradition.”


    Jake thought that while tradition and formalities were important, what mattered more was living up to the core values behind them. Fighting enemies that threatened humanity, protecting citizens—upholding those ideals, even in failure, would leave him with no shame, neither before his ancestors nor himself.


    “...”


    A heavy silence hung over the gathering. No matter how determined Jake seemed, they couldn’t just easily trust him. And though Jake had expected such a reason, he couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.


    <i>Step.</i>


    At that moment, amidst the silence, the footsteps of Se-Hoon, who had been quietly observing from afar, drew everyone’s attention. Then, when his footsteps stopped, Se-Hoon casually draped an arm over the shoulders of Jake, who he now stood next to, and confidently dered, “I’ll vouch for him.”


    Unlike most people’s, Se-Hoon''s words carried weight. After all, just recently, he had been directly involved in the elimination of the Dream Demon, one of the Ten Evils.


    If he, of all people, was backing Jake.... Jake looked at Se-Hoon in surprise, realizing the crowd''s gaze had shifted slightly from disbelief to hesitant possibility.


    Se-Hoon gave Jake a small bump, having sensed the shift as well. “What are you waiting for? Go ahead and finish what you were saying.”


    With Se-Hoon as his backer, Jake chuckled softly and turned back to face the crowd.


    “No... rather than talking, I’ll just show you all with my actions.”


    Then, with a hint of defiance, he added onest thing.


    “Let’s see whose wordse true.”


    <strong>[The bond with ‘Jake Myers’ has grown to Lv. 3.] </strong>


    <strong>[Since the bond has grown to Lv.3, the existing Rtionship has deepened.]</strong>


    ***


    <strong>[Rtionship: Trust] </strong>


    <strong>[Trusting yourself, or having self-confidence, is something manyck and desire to seek through others. And while having to rely on others'' trust is, in and of itself, a sign of ipleteness, it can also be seen as an effort to see validation in oneself. </strong>


    <strong>If one day, your trust allows the subject to trust themself fully, the Rtionship may evolve into a different form.</strong>


    <strong>*A Fatestone is created whenever the subject feels their trust is well ced.</strong>


    <strong>*The maturation rate of the Fatestone increases whenever you have the subject’s trust.</strong>


    <strong>*The probability of the subject’s synesthetic mindscape manifesting inside the Fatestone increases when a trusting rtionship is maintained with the subject.</strong>


    <strong>*Currently created Fatestones: 0]</strong>


    Reviewing his newly updated Rtionship with Jake, Se-Hoon dismissed the information message and turned his attention back to Jake.


    He found Jake slightly frustrating, but he epted that his personality wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Jake wouldn’t be overconfident and reckless like others, and he’d likelye to Se-Hoon for advice, deepening their bond even further.


    <i>And it wouldn’t hurt to keep his fiancée tied down, too.</i>


    Considering most Watchers cut their ties and fled at the first sign of danger, keeping her tied down with the engagement wasn’t a bad idea. However, Se-Hoon thought it would be best to inform Jake at some point to avoidplications.


    <i>I’ll save that forter. For now...</i>


    With the engagement ceremony nearing its end, Se-Hoon quietly rose from his seat and slipped out of the banquet hall. The remaining festivities involved dinner and mingling, things he found boring.


    <i>Guess I’ll head back to my room... Hmm?</i>


    Just as he was about to leave, his eyes caught sight of a familiar figure outside the window. Pausing on the spot, he contemted whether to ignore or approach them.


    And in the end, he stepped outside the mansion with a sigh. Heading to the front garden, he found the figure standing alone, gazing into the distance—Aria.


    Approaching her, Se-Hoon casually started a conversation. “It’s your brother’s engagement; shouldn’t you be attending?”


    “I thought you’d just pass by.... How unexpected,” Aria said, turning to him with a mildly surprised expression.


    “I considered it, but you already noticed me.”


    “Normally, you’d just walk away, though, wouldn’t you?”


    Caught, Se-Hoon paused before honestly answering, “You seemed a bit down.”


    “...Me?”


    “I know you’re not someonepletely emotionless. A little detached, sure.”


    In both the past and the present, Se-Hoon had never thought of Aria as someone without emotions. Rather, he had always thought she seemed like someone who had grown weary of everything after enduring too many disappointments. To him, it was as if she had lost interest in life itself.


    <i>If I ignore her now and let her fall into apathy...</i>


    The idea of his ownziness being responsible for the birth of a Harbinger was unbearable. So, for that reason alone, he decided to keep an eye on Aria’s condition.


    “...”


    Looking at Se-Hoon silently, Aria turned her head and changed the subject. “How did the engagement go?”


    “It’s probably over by now.”


    “I see. That’s good.”


    Taken aback by her indifference, Se-Hoon was momentarily unsure of what to say, feeling that perhaps the timing was off.


    But then Aria spoke again, her voice calm and with a sharp undertone. “You knew, didn’t you?”


    Realizing she was referring to the actual reason Raphael was getting engaged with Jake, Se-Hoon decided to answer honestly. Feeling the sharpness beneath her casual words, Se-Hoon knew it would be worse if he tried to hide it.


    “I did.”


    “Then why didn’t you do anything about it?”


    “Because it wouldn’t have mattered.”


    Aria’s eyebrows twitched slightly, but Se-Hoon continued without hesitation. “If I had helped Jake this time, what would I have done next? Armed him?”


    “...”


    “There are many ways to prepare for unseen threats, sure. But no defense is foolproof, and I’m sure our enemies know that.”


    All Raphael and Session had done was merely trigger the negative emotions Jake had harbored for a long time. With Jake’s weakness now known to the Watchers, no matter how many precautions they took, they would exploit it somehow to bring an unforeseen crisis to Jake.


    “That’s why I chose to watch instead of intervening. If Jake ovees it on his own, I can trust him to handle things in the future. Otherwise...”


    “Otherwise, if he fails, it’d be better for him to stay at home quietly instead of dying a pointless death.”


    Cutting Se-Hoon off and finishing his words, Aria let out a smallugh.


    “You know Jake would be quite hurt if he heard that, right?”


    “I didn’t mean it quite that harshly.”


    Though the intent was close, Se-Hoon believed there was a difference in nuance.


    However, Aria seemed to have sensed that the intent really was close, from how she stared at him intently.


    “Are you lying to me right now?”


    “I’m telling the truth.”


    “But it sounds like a lie to me.”


    “Why don’t we ask Jake then? See who he thinks is telling the truth.”


    Given everything he had done for Jake, Se-Hoon thought he''d earned the right to be a little bold, even though it was a bit underhanded.


    Staring at him, Aria eventually sighed, as if giving up.


    “Well, if you say so, I’ll let it slide.”


    Then, as she turned to leave, Se-Hoon heard her quietly mumble, “After all, I’m the evil sister to him.”


    Watching Aria head back, Se-Hoon’s expression was one of slight puzzlement.


    <i>She seems to ept my reasoning, but... I don’t know why she’s upset.</i>


    Recalling the odd abrupt change of subject and her reluctance to speak more, he wondered if she was embarrassed that her sword had broken. Or perhaps it was because the garden, filled with memories, had been ruined?


    Unable toe up with an answer that seemed to fit, Se-Hoon found himself thinking back to Aria’s final words: <i>“I’m the evil sister to him.”</i>


    Like everyone else, Se-Hoon thought Aria had pushed Jake to test his strength out of sheer curiosity. And initially, her interest really did seem to lean in that direction.


    But, what if there was another motive? What if, by helping Jake grow stronger, she hoped to free him from the pressures of a political marriage, just as she herself had escaped the family’s traditional expectations?


    That wasn’t entirely impossible, and Jake epting the engagement—talking about responsibility—had probably frustrated her. Se-Hoon thought that could’ve been why she didn’t attend the ceremony and had stayed outside instead.


    <strong>[The bond with ‘Aria Myers’ has grown to Lv. 2.] </strong>


    <strong>[Since the bond has grown to Lv.2, a Rtionship has been established. Your Rtionship with ''Aria Myers'' is currently ''Expectation''.]</strong>


    <strong>[Rtionship: Expectation] </strong>


    <strong>[There’s nothing more futile than hoping for something that will never happen. After all, once that expectation is shattered, everything bes meaningless. </strong>


    <strong>But by the same coin, if one manages to fulfill that hope, it may be the fuel needed for the Rtionship to turnpletely around.</strong>


    <strong>*A Fatestone is created whenever you meet the subject’s expectations.</strong>


    <strong>*The maturation rate of the Fatestone increases whenever the subject holds expectations for you.</strong>


    <strong>*Currently created Fatestones: 1]</strong>


    Reading the notification message that appeared before his eyes, Se-Hoon became surprised at how quickly his bond with Aria deepened.


    <i>This... was unexpected. </i>


    He knew Aria cared more for Jake than she let on, but he hadn’t imagined it ran this deep.


    <i>If she was also like this before the regression, Jake’s death might have affected her more than I thought.</i>


    While there was no longer a way to confirm it, Se-Hoon thought the possibility was high.


    With that thought in mind, he nced toward the banquet hall, where the engagement was still ongoing.


    <i>If that’s the case, how would Session have acted back then?</i>


    As of now, it was unclear whether the engagement had been the result of a butterfly effect caused by his regression or if it had happenedter in the previous timeline as well. Regardless, one thing remained certain in Se-Hoon’s mind.


    <i>I’ll need to take out those Watchers first.</i>


    Before anything else, he had to deal with the lunatics that roamed among both humanity and the demons before they could cause more trouble.


    ***


    “I’m sorry. I need to touch up my makeup for a moment.”


    Excusing herself, Raphael, who had been greeting guests around the banquet hall, headed to the restroom.


    Then, once she was staring into the mirror above the sink, she began fixing her makeup. And at that moment, the reflection in the mirror suddenly smirked.


    <i>“You were so confident before. But look at you now.”</i>


    “...”


    <i>“You couldn’t save the Seraphim Guild or secure the Myers family’s bloodline. You should’ve just stayed with your mother.”</i>


    Its eyes tinted red, her reflection was now staring back at her mockingly, causing Raphael’s hands to tremble slightly in fear. The one speaking was no ordinary reflection—one of the three Magi that led Session, Caspar, was the monster dwelling within her body.


    <i>“But I’ll let it slide this time, as you helped us stumble upon something useful.”</i>


    At Caspar’s words, Raphael’s expression turned to one of surprise. She couldn’t think of anything worthwhile during the recent events.


    “What do you—”


    <i>“Shush. Aria Myers is watching you.”</i>


    Raphael’s face froze. She couldn’t even tell where Aria was, yet she had to be cautious with her words?


    <i>What a monster... </i>


    Feeling both inferiority and fear, Raphael remained still. Meanwhile, Caspar was ncing around cautiously.


    <i>“While I don’t have an obligation to tell you... I’ll keep it brief, so you don’t raise any more suspicion.” </i>


    His eyes glimmering, Casper recalled the fierce battle between the Myers siblings the previous night.


    Then he spoke, his voice tinged with excitement.


    “Those two... they’re the ingredients for the birth of a new Harbinger of Destruction.”