At the same time I thought I shouldn't trust my 180 years of intuition, I snapped out of my shock.
"Help Sanghyeok? What do you mean by that?"
Sanghyeok had definitely changed since the vacation.
The difference was so subtle that unless you were perceptive, you wouldn't notice.
It wasn't a change for the worse.
He just often avoided eye contact or held back his words, like someone who had committed a sin.
I had been waiting, thinking that one day Sanghyeok would tell me the reason himself.
But this wasn't something I could just keep waiting on.
I hadn't been able to pay attention because of the Northern Great Forest incident, but now it was time to find out what was wrong.
"I need to find out what happened first."
Sanghyeok's situation was a future I knew nothing about.
Because of me, Sanghyeok enrolled, and the original ranks 29 and 30 were pushed out.
How much had that changed the future?
And what kind of trial had Sanghyeok faced because of it?
I had to start figuring it out now.
Minju continued speaking with a sigh.
"Honestly, I don't really know either. I just happened to see it when I went over to his place."
"You went over there?"
"Yeah. I didn't tell him in advance, though."
After hesitating for a long while, Park Minju spoke again.
"So, you see…"
The reason Park Minju and Sanghyeok had grown close was during the practical exam where students were paired up in teams of two.
The very day Arin and I nearly died at the hands of the Baekdu Sword Demon.
Sanghyeok had taken good care of Park Minju, who had enrolled ranked 30th.
"I thought he'd be totally prickly since he's from the Unseong family and looks like a sculpted handsome guy, but he's actually really warm."
A sculpted handsome guy?
Well, Sanghyeok was just a tiny bit—just a tiny bit—more handsome than me.
…Let's focus on the story for now.
"I happened to be nearby for an errand, so I thought I'd at least see his face. When I said I'd come to Unseong to see the young master, they let me in."
They probably thought she was a friend of Han Yeongsu.
"But didn't you know Sanghyeok is an illegitimate child?"
"I didn't. How would an illegitimate child get into Seongmu Academy?"
No one had ever directly said that Sanghyeok was illegitimate.
I knew because I knew the future, and Han Yeongsu's group probably knew because Han Yeongsu told them.
On the other hand, even though Park Minju was from the prestigious Park family of Sinpyeong, she had little interaction with other clans.
There were many reasons, but that wasn't important right now.
Park Minju continued,
"I don't care. That doesn't matter. Sanghyeok is Sanghyeok."
To Minju, who was already head over heels for him, his status as an illegitimate child didn't matter.
That's what's nice about being fifteen.
You don't measure or weigh things.
Minju's voice grew gloomy again.
"Anyway, I was heading to the guest quarters after arriving at Unseong, and I happened to glance into the inner courtyard. Sanghyeok was kneeling there, and in front of him there was a woman covered in blood…"
"A woman covered in blood?"
It wouldn't be his mother, and not his older sister either. Then who was she?
"Yeah. I only saw it in passing… The door was slightly open. The situation felt really strange, so I just said I had something urgent and came back. It must've been something really bad, right?"
"Yeah."
"Do you have any idea? You're closer to him than I am, so I thought you might know something…"
"No. I really don't know."
I really had no idea.
Who that woman was, or why Sanghyeok was kneeling.
With a worried expression, Park Minju said,
"The atmosphere was really serious. Ever since that day, I can't stop thinking about it, and Sanghyeok looks so drained. What should we do?"
"What do you mean, what do we do? We ask him."
The best approach in situations like this is to just ask directly.
It might be a sensitive topic for Sanghyeok, but I couldn't just ignore it.
"I thought there might be some retaliation, but…"
There were no people in Unseong now.
Only beasts.
That's why I had expected them to target Sanghyeok for siding with the Blue God faction.
"I should use this chance to make him fully independent."
After organizing my thoughts, I spoke to Park Minju.
"Thanks for telling me. I'll look into it."
"Yeah. Please pay attention to it."
That was when—
"Who's that?"
The scent of wind orchids tickled my nose, and Arin was standing right beside me with a blank expression.
"That's my seat."
At the cold voice that sent a chill down one's spine, Park Minju flinched and jumped to her feet.
"Oh, sorry. Sorry."
Apologizing without realizing it, Park Minju started making excuses no one had asked for.
"I just came to talk a bit about Sanghyeok. Right?"
"Huh? Yeah. That's right. She said there was something wrong with Sanghyeok."
Why was I making excuses too?
Only then did Arin relax her expression slightly, and Park Minju spoke as if fleeing.
"Then I'll be going. Have a nice time."
I watched Park Minju walk away.
She, too, was one of the talents whose path I would eventually have to guide.
It would be good to get closer through this Sanghyeok incident.
As I was watching her, Arin asked,
"What's going on?"
"Seems like a family issue. I need to ask him."
It was an incident I hadn't experienced before my regression, but I had experience to rely on.
Carefully, slowly—approach it that way.
Arin looked at me and asked,
"Is there anything I can help with?"
She looked at me with pure eyes.
One person is good, two is better, and three is even better.
But Arin was still unstable.
If she lost control, the students of Seongmu Academy would be wiped out, so she wasn't a card I could use lightly.
"Later. I'll ask if something comes up."
"Okay. Please do."
Arin smiled softly.
Just that one smile made me feel full.
After killing some time at the restaurant, the lookout came in to inform us that my grandfather had arrived.
Chuseok was a major festival that even the king attended.
Because of that, not only my father but also my eldest and second uncles had come—our whole family had mobilized.
Among them, I spotted Lee Junha and waved.
"Hey, Lee Junha. You came too?"
"Of course I did. I'm part of the Blue God faction too, you know?"
Lee Junha looked around me and snorted.
"What's this? You don't have any friends? Came out alone?"
"What do you mean I don't have friends?"
Right on cue, my friend Arin walked over.
She stepped in front of my grandfather and bowed politely.
"Greetings. My name is Yu Arin of Hwagang. Seoha has helped me greatly."
The scent of wind orchids grew stronger.
Even passersby stopped to look at Arin.
With her elegant movements and polite greeting, Arin looked like a painting come to life.
"…."
Lee Junha stood there with his mouth open, staring only at Arin.
Yeah, this must be the biggest shock of his life.
I smacked his jaw shut and said,
"Don't drool, idiot. It's embarrassing."
"…You know her?"
"Would someone I don't know come up and greet us?"
While I teased Lee Junha, my father shook hands with Arin and said,
"Thank you for being friends with our Seoha. He has many shortcomings, so please look after him."
"Shortcomings? Seoha is absolutely not lacking in any way."
"Thank you for saying that."
"No, really, Father. Seoha is like the sun itself."
"…Hahaha. Is that so?"
My father looked down at Arin's pure eyes, then turned to me.
"What did you do to her? Did you hypnotize her or something?"
"It's nothing like that."
"Then why would such a pretty girl say something like that? Be honest. What did you do?"
"Father, looks aren't everything, are they? Even if I fall short of Arin in appearance, don't I have outstanding human charm?"
"Well, you do take after me, so you've got a strange kind of charm. Your mother was a renowned beauty too, and I snatched her right up, didn't I?"
"Exactly. A person's charm isn't just about looks."
"Right. Looks aren't everything. Not everything—just about ninety percent?"
"…."
"You're handsome too, son. Cheer up."
We were bantering like that when—
"Sorry I'm late. I offer my greetings, Head of the Family."
Sanghyeok came running over, out of breath, and bowed deeply.
My grandfather took one look at Sanghyeok's clothes and condition and laughed heartily.
"Looks like you came straight from training. That's always welcome. You don't need to come greet us on purpose. Training is always more important."
"Thank you."
Sanghyeok lowered his head deeply, and my grandfather patted his head and said,
"Alright, let's move as well. The coachmen have been waiting for quite some time."
For distinguished guests like my grandfather, the royal family personally prepared carriages and accommodations.
"See you later, Seoha."
More than dozens of people began moving after the carriages.
They said my grandfather was a childhood friend of the king, and the ceremonial treatment was impressive.
That aside, I turned back to Sanghyeok.
"By the way, Sanghyeok. Did something happen?"
"Huh? Ah, I was doing the Strong Path and lost track of time. Sorry, sorry. I should've come earlier to wait."
"No, not that."
I looked straight into his eyes and said,
"You had something happen during the vacation, right? What exactly happened?"
"…."
Sanghyeok looked at me like he was wondering how I knew.
He's terrible at lying.
Still, he forced a smile and started lying.
"Oh, nothing happened. What are you talking about? I just got cursed at a bit for betraying them. That's all."
An awkward smile.
But I had no intention of letting it slide.
"That's all?"
"…Really, that's all."
Avoiding my gaze, Sanghyeok quickly changed the subject.
"So what did you and Arin eat? I'm starving. Did you two eat without me? That's cold. With this many people, there probably won't even be seats."
I looked at Sanghyeok, who was joking around unnecessarily, then nodded.
Seems like he had no intention of talking.
I wasn't disappointed.
"He can't say it easily."
I could read what he was thinking.
He didn't want to cause trouble again.
He probably thought he couldn't burden me any further.
If that was the case, there was no helping it.
I'd have to find out by force.
As I was thinking that, Han Yeongsu approached from afar.
"Hey, Han Sanghyeok. You should greet the elders first. Come on."
"…Sorry. I'll just go greet the elders and come back."
"Yeah. You're from Unseong too, after all."
"I'll be right back. Really, right back."
Sanghyeok clasped his hands together apologetically and walked over to Han Yeongsu.
"Bastard. Even so, shouldn't you greet our elders first? Even if you're a traitor."
Han Yeongsu slung an arm around Sanghyeok's shoulders and curled his lips as he looked at me.
"There's definitely something going on."
Looks like I'll have to dig into this now.
I don't have information on this incident, but fortunately, in this life, I have plenty of cards to play.
"Arin. Your father is coming too, right?"
"Yeah. He said he's being reinstated this time."
"Good. Then let's ask him for a favor."
Yu Hyeonseong.
The Black-Robed Immortal reinstated as the head of the Intelligence Department.
A man who knew everything about this kingdom.