The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

34 – The Appearance of the Master

[Master, please read this letter. If you are unable to read it, it probably means either you have passed away, or the gate is not connected to you.]

The introduction was familiar.

“That Logan.”

It was clear that it was written deliberately like this.

[By now, you must be blaming yourself.]

Geomseong’s shoulders shook violently.

‘How?’

No matter how much I think about it, that’s the only conclusion. I couldn’t have imagined that my master would fall into a trap as trivial as Stella’s. Isn’t my master the strongest swordsman on the continent?

At first, I worried that Stella might be threatening Logan’s life, but there was no trace of a curse in the cathedral, and if Stella was completely dead, she couldn’t have held Logan’s life in her hands.

Now, Logan’s speech was more like that of a master.

“I’m just saying this as a precaution, but when you escaped the gate, there was no danger of me dying, so if you’re not coming out because of that concern, you can come out without worry.”

“There’s no way that’s true…”

Stella was already dead.

Without leaving a trace, inflicting pain by tearing apart every inch of her body.

If she had the ability to leave a curse strong enough to harm Logan’s body, even in that state, she wouldn’t have been defeated by the swordsmanship in the first place.

“It’s not because of that reason…”

The reason was clearly written in the letter Logan sent.

“My master did nothing wrong.”

Logan couldn’t bring himself to read any further.

“Everything is because of me…”

Before killing Stella, Logan asked.

Why was it him?

Why did she impose such a terrible curse on Logan, while placing relatively weaker curses on others?

“Well, you are the great master’s disciple, aren’t you? If I leave you alone, you’ll undoubtedly become a hindrance, so killing you would be fine, but then you’d suffer less, wouldn’t you?”

Even as she was almost dying, Stella’s words, filled with laughter, could not be forgotten.

“If I hadn’t taken Logan as my disciple…”

Logan would not have suffered the terrible fate of growing up hated by everyone around him.

As the eldest son of Viscount Astrian, he would have grown up upright, receiving love from his family.

He would have always worn a cute smile, unseen for the past ten years, and wouldn’t have endured much heartache.

[Let me tell you once again, don’t blame yourself. I was saved by my mentor, and without them, I would still be nothing more than a wretched existence.]

Her disciple knew her well.

[I don’t have magical prowess, so breaking the gate and rescuing my mentor is impossible.]

Reading the mocking words of her disciple quoting her own words in the letter, Gyeomseong barely held back a faint smile.

‘Concerning the sinner…’

Every pain Logan endured ultimately fell on her shoulders.

[It’s impossible for someone like Stella to imprison my mentor, so don’t confine yourself and come out.]

Gyeomseong’s hand began to tremble slightly.

‘How can she…’

How could a mentor who had brought such a terrible fate upon her disciple face it so casually?

[If you’re reading this letter, it means you still have thoughts of coming out.]

It wasn’t like that.

In order to catch a glimpse, even a fleeting one, of the traces of her only disciple, whom she would never see again, Gyeomseong endured the pain tearing at her heart and continued to read the letter.

[The disciple is living well. There are no wounds, they eat what they want, and now they even have friends they can call their own. So, please come out. You haven’t committed a sin big enough to blame yourself, and even if you did, the victim has already forgiven you.]

‘It’s fortunate that they’re living happily.’

[P.S. Never entertain thoughts of wanting to die.]

After reading Logan’s letter to the end, Gyeomseong had no intention of going outside.

Logan knew it wasn’t her fault, but she still felt a sense of guilt.

‘Is my role here to slowly wither away in this small space?’

– Fluttering

Carefully preserving the black letter, a single letter fell to the ground.

[The fact that the teacher will read this letter probably means they have no intention of listening to what I have to say.]

The handwriting was different from before.

Not that the person who wrote it had changed, but it was written with much more force and sharpness.

[I apologize for using strong language towards a teacher like you, who sacrificed for me like the heavens.]

Gum Sung could sense it.

If Logan reads more than this letter, he will eventually leave through the gate.

Logan, as Gum Sung knew, was a very smart child, and he wouldn’t leave an unsuccessful plan behind.

[If you think you’ve committed a crime against me, don’t avoid it recklessly. Committing a crime and hiding is the act of a witch like Stella. A true person should show themselves in front of the victim and apologize directly.]

As the strong handwriting that seemed to crush Gum Sung’s heart appeared, tears began to flow in her eyes.

From Noble mtl dot com

Although reason suggested that this letter was intentionally written in a strong tone by Logan to pull her out, emotions couldn’t be considered in such detail.

[So please stop coming out, teacher. Isn’t it better to be exploited by the only disciple than being exploited by a witch like Stella?]

*******

“Been busy lately?”

“I’ve always been busy.”

While working to bring Gum Sung out of the gate, Logan was also doing his best for the development of the car.

If it was just about moving, he could create a finished product, but there was still much to consider, such as direction change, braking, and balance, to achieve a truly functional item.

Fortunately, we could borrow several ideas from the magic carriage side.

While it wasn’t easy to transition things powered by magic to the mechanical side, without even that, the development of the car might have been indefinitely postponed.

“Let’s call it a day for today…”

-Wheeeeeee!

-Clunk, clunk.

A gentle vibration swept through the room where Logan and Redrika were.

It was a kind of shockwave formed by the faintly clustered mana, powerful enough to temporarily turn off mana lamps and then turn them back on.

“What’s going on?”

Redrika, with a considerable sensitivity to mana, could sense that this mana disturbance originated from a very distant place.

“But it produces such power?”

Was a dragon descending?

“For now, let’s take cover…”

-Thud!

A loud noise echoed from outside.

-Buzzzzzz!

“Asrian! Run away quickly!”

The magical items inside Redrika’s workshop started to overload, emitting small sparks.

It was a phenomenon where intricately designed magic circles distorted little by little. To cause such a thing with just mana waves, it was evident that a powerful monster like a dragon or an Elderich-class being had appeared.

“Phew…”

Even Logan, who remained unfazed by most things, seemed tense, stiffening his body.

His face was filled with unease, and seeing the wicked grin, it seemed like he was even experiencing fear.

“The sound isn’t loud, is it a Lich? A Lich in the heart of the Institute…”

For a Lich, the mana wave was remarkably orderly, but amidst the already unpredictable situation, it was impossible to discern such subtle differences.

-Thud, thud.

A very heavy footstep echoed into Redlica’s forge.

“Why of all times…”

Why would a being with a presence like his come to his forge?

-Thud.

Now, the true form of that monster came into view.

Since all the surrounding lights had been extinguished, Redlica could only see the red glow in the eyes.

“A horde…”

She simply couldn’t handle an opponent of this caliber.

Not even looking, just the presence in front shattered all her defenses.

The mana waves created just by walking shook her entire body, giving the sensation that her insides were breaking apart.

“Is this how I die?”

Only now did it seem like she found the meaning of life, and it ends like this?

-Thud.

Eyes accustomed to the darkness finally pierced through the opponent’s aura.

The opponent was a woman.

Impressive with red glows and hair as dark as pitch.

‘How can a human possess such power…’

So, the Black Dragon polymorphed into the form of a human.

It was only then that Redrika could fully understand the whole story of the incident.

“Sigh…”

It was futile to hold on any longer.

Her vision was getting blurry.

Even though she knew that closing her eyes would mean certain death, she couldn’t stop the cold from seeping into her eyes.

‘Even you, Logan…’

In the fading sight, the last thing Redrika saw was Logan and the Black Dragon both kneeling and bowing their heads to the ground simultaneously.