Chapter 941. Gen (20) [Illustration]
“Mr. Ki-Young...” Kim Hyun-Sung called out.
“...”
“Mr. Ki-Young, are you available?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.
“I’m sorry, but Father Lee Ki-Young said he doesn’t want to see anyone right now...” a holy knight said to him.
“Please tell him that I’m here,” Kim Hyun-Sung requested.
“I already did, but he said he didn’t want to see anyone. I’m sorry, Master,” the holy knight told him.
“Mr. Ki-Young!” Kim Hyun-Sung shouted.
“I’m sorry, but...”
“Let go of me!” Kim Hyun-Sung yelled.
“Please have some dignity, Master,” the holy knight said.
I heard loud noises outside. I heard Kim Hyun-Sung shouting my name, but I didn’t really care. If I weren't the one explicitly denying visitors, he would kick the door open.
‘Unfortunately, he can’t do anything about it, as I’m the one who doesn’t want to meet anyone.’
I was in the middle of a very confusing time. I was minimizing contact with the outside world, excluding Jung Ha-Yan, and I avoided exposure to the media as much as possible.
There were only a few people aware that I was kidnapped.
Was it because they thought that my miserable life of eating pig porridge had tainted my honor, or was it because they didn’t want to show the world that they were incompetent?
The Vatican was really against letting the media know about the truth.
It was also the reason I didn’t want to meet Kim Hyun-Sung. They announced to the public that I was taking a break, and I went along with them by minimizing contact with other people, telling everyone that I had yet to recover from the shock.
Of course, Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t feel that way.
He was preparing for the trial of the worst criminal to have ever existed—Templar Gen’s trial. However, I was sure he was disappointed in himself as well. He was mentally unstable because he was scared of losing his brother whom he had a deep connection with.
The revived Kim Hyun-Sung was really obsessed with our bond, so I could see why he was acting kind of strange.
He was deeply shaken by the fact that a random insignificant fool had somehow managed to take his position away as my brother.
To make things worse, he was a criminal as well.
In Kim Hyun-Sung's eyes, he was a criminal who had hurt me, so I was sure it was hard for him to understand why I was defending the criminal.
He was probably thinking that something had gone wrong somewhere, and he had to find what went wrong and fix it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he thought he needed to be by my side because I was in a lot of mental pain.
“He’s been like that for three days now. Oppa, Kim Hyun-Sung is okay, right?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
“I can’t do anything right now,” I replied.
“I ate with him two days ago, and he was just in the worst condition. He looked like he had lost everything, and there was a cloud over his head... he'd sometimes mumble strange things to himself as well...” Lee Ji-Hye said.
“Mumble strange things to himself?” I asked.
“I was scared, so I couldn’t really hear what he was saying, but the light in his eyes had faded away. He looked desperate—like he had been pushed into a corner. He looked like someone on the brink of causing trouble or someone about to commit a crime...
"It’s like he'd blow up the moment you mess with him...” Lee Ji-Hye explained.
“But why did you two eat together?” I asked.
“Ah! He asked me to join the trial and to side with the Vatican. Apparently, he wants me to be a special prosecutor or something and punish the criminal.
"He said the criminal had to be brought to the gallows no matter what... he said I could just come to the trial, and he’d take care of the paperwork. He’ll also pay me handsomely if I help him...
"I'm still not sure about the details of his request, but the remuneration is pretty large. He said he’d pay me several years’ salary all at once. I don’t really care about gold at this point, but that amount was just astounding,” Lee Ji-Hye answered.
‘This girl...’
“So what did you do? Did you accept it?” I asked.
“No, I told him I was busy. I would accept it if I weren't so busy. However, I don’t really like being on the opposite side of you. However, I think he's going to visit Commander Jin,” Lee Ji-Hye replied.
“What?”
“He really wants to see the criminal on the gallows and Commander Jin is pretty skilled when it comes to that. He also enjoys filming court cases. Kim Hyun-Sung seems like he knows that you’re going to defend Gen because he's preparing many things. He’s working harder than you think behind the scenes,” Lee Ji-Hye informed.
“...”
“But... are you really okay?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
“I told you I’m fine,” I answered.
“Your face and skin are horrible right now. Your face and the skin were the only things that were good about you, but look at them now...
"You also lost too much weight. I feel bad now... I had no idea that things would get this bad. I thought you were living a good life. Since you were struggling, you really should have said something,” Lee Ji-Hye said.
“I really was struggling at the time,” I told her.
‘It’s been a while since Ji-Hye noona felt bad about something.’
In other words, I was definitely in pretty bad shape. I could still remember seeing a speechless Commander Jin when he came to arrest Gen, the worst criminal in history.
I thought he was going to say a bunch of bullshit, but he stayed quiet upon seeing my poor condition. Thanks to his silence, I didn’t need to get into a pointless argument, so I could say at the time that my condition was great.
It was to the point that I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go around looking like this from time to time.
‘People who are normally cold toward me are treating me well right now.’
Of course, I couldn't do that again.
I didn't really want to go out looking for freedom again.
“Do you want more tea?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
“Yeah,” I answered.
It was my dream to live a free life, but it seemed that living inside a birdcage was more enjoyable for me as the Saint of Light.
I finished my half-bath and put on a face mask. Then, I sipped on tea while spending some time with Ji-Hye noona inside a luxury spa.
'Now this is what I call a real break...'
The massive room couldn't be compared to that moldy, deserted building. Rather than a musty smell, the room was filled with sweet-smelling candles as a part of a so-called aromatherapy.
Rather than a harsh discordant mixture of noises, sweet music filled the air. The sensation of the fabric wrapped around me felt really good; my feet and joints weren't throbbing in pain as well.
I also really liked the fact that Ji-Hye noona was treating me better than usual.
“Did our Ki-Young have a really hard time?” Lee Ji-Hye teased.
'But don’t treat me like a baby.'
“Do you want a hug?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
“No. I need to eat and get ready to go out,” I told her.
“...”
“...”
“Hmm, are you going to Gen?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
“Yeah, I need to get as much information as I can. It’s Mirror Salmon today as well, right?” I asked.
“Yeah. I also brought Rainbow Cotton Candy for dessert, so have your fill,” Lee Ji-Hye answered.
It was pointless to compare Mirror Salmon and Rainbow Cotton Candy to Gen's pig porridge.
“The salmon came straight from Mirror Lake rather than from a farm,” Lee Ji-Hye added.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes. Kim Hyun-Sung told me to tell you,” Lee Ji-Hye answered.
‘He’s really dedicated and nice.’
I felt kind of bad. There was no need for him to go that far.
I wanted to explain my situation, but what could I even tell him? I couldn't tell him that everything was a part of my scheme and that I had been acting all along. I couldn't tell him that I wanted to turn someone into a criminal and bring him down.
The food melted in my mouth, causing all my complicated thoughts to disappear. It seemed that my stomach had gotten smaller because I quickly became full, but the fact that I was enjoying my meal was enough to make me feel better.
“And the guild is in chaos,” Lee Ji-Hye informed.
“The Blue Guild?” I asked.
“Yeah. Looks like Kim Hyun-Sung has caused quite a commotion while venting out his anger. He started breaking stuff as well. Jung Ha-Yan wasn’t there because she's preparing for a wedding or something...” Lee Ji-Hye replied.
“How do you know so much?” I asked.
“Because I have an informant. This is so good. I can see why you like it,” Lee Ji-Hye answered.
“I don’t like it that much...” I commented.
“You say that, but you looked like you really enjoyed it. By the way... you’re going to start today, right? How are you planning on doing it?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
“I’m going to go hard and wear all sorts of accessories,” I responded.
Lee Ji-Hye nodded in understanding and smiled.
I could go around wearing comfortable clothes, but this was more effective.
The brighter I shone and the more I acted like the honorary cardinal of the Sacred Democratic Country, the more ashamed Gen would feel.
This outfit was actually the most comfortable outfit for me, but Gen would think that I had become nothing but a mindless doll. He’d probably confess once he saw me in shackles again because he was too incompetent to keep me away from here.
“A beautiful bird inside a birdcage... that's what you want to become, right? A dressed-up doll living according to the wishes and whims of other people. You once desired freedom, but your eyes had lost the light.
"You want to be someone who has no choice but to accept your fate no matter how horrible it is,” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
“That’s exactly it,” I answered.
“You should wear the hat. I’ll give you the necklace and rings as well,” she suggested.
“Not bad.”
My preparations were done, and I got ready to go out.
Dozens of holy knights instantly surrounded me outside, as there was an ongoing concern about the security around the Vatican.
When I saw how Park Lian, Lee Chang-Ryeol, and even Kim Ye-Ri were assigned to protect me, I realized that they were truly worried about the possibility that I could get kidnapped once again.
Kim Ye-Ri raised her hand slightly to greet me, and I did the same. It looked like Kim Ye-Ri was aware of everything, but it was probably because she had participated in Park Deok-Gu’s awakening event.
And that was when I heard a voice...
“Where are you headed, Father Lee Ki-Young?” a holy knight asked.
“Please take me to where Mr. Gen is,” I answered.
“...” “There’s something I would like to hear from him. I’ll interrogate him myself and see what he has to say,” I added.
“...”
“I trust that he wasn’t tortured, and there weren't any cruel and usual punishments inflicted on him,” I said.
I was sure he was constantly being tortured, but Gen definitely hadn't said much to him, as he was pretty good at keeping secrets.
Anyway, the party of holy knights nodded in response to my question.
“Mr. Ki-Young!” someone yelled.
“Mr. Hyun-Sung?”
‘You’re still here?’
It turned out that he had been waiting outside, waiting for an opportunity to see me.
“Mr. Ki-Young, have you—”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hyun-Sung. I don’t want to see you right now,” I interrupted him.
Ji-Hye noona was right. Kim Hyun-Sung looked really horrible.
‘I don’t think he’s been sleeping.’
I couldn’t really describe his face, but he looked like he was hanging off a cliff.
He looked really desperate.
“You have your own tasks to handle,” I told him.
'You have work to do in the Republic, so why are you here?'
“Those aren’t important right now, Mr. Ki-Young,” I said.
'If that’s not important... Shit. So you randomly picked those guys as guild members because you thought that the tasks I assigned to you weren't important?'
“You have to take care of the new guild members,” I said.
'Yeah, the ones who hit me. Those bastards.'
“Those... guild members... are no longer part of the guild,” Kim Hyun-Sung informed me.
“What? Did you shut down the Republic branch?” I asked.
“No, t-that’s not what I meant. The new guild members are no longer around,” Kim Hyun-Sung stuttered.
“...”
“It’s hard to explain... but anyway... they’re no longer around,” Kim Hyun-Sung repeated.
'So where are they? In Heaven?'
“They’re... no longer around,” Kim Hyun-Sung added.
'Did you... kill them?'
Kim Hyun-Sung’s gaze scared me a bit.