The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

35 – Conversation with the Master

Arlena, the genius woman with talent beyond what the word could contain.

When she was merely seven years old, she sparred with the former top swordsman of the empire.

Even more astonishing was the fact that the next day, Arlena defeated the former top swordsman with an overwhelming difference in skill.

The empire immediately bestowed upon Arlena the title of swordsman due to her outstanding prowess, which was beyond measure.

It was a decision made under the judgment that having someone with the ability to defeat the former top swordsman at the age of seven was beneficial to keep in their ranks.

‘Boring.’

Becoming a top swordsman at the mere age of seven left Arlena truly bored with what could be achieved with a sword.

There was nothing she could do.

The news that a monster called “Geomseong” had appeared in the empire reached the surrounding countries, but none dared to provoke the empire. Even the people who became emperors showed respect in front of Geomseong.

Swinging a sword was always fun, but there was no one to spar with, so it was not satisfying.

After living a leisurely life for several years, Geomseong unexpectedly met someone at a martial arts competition.

He was the only disciple and the most precious one.

“Hello, lady. Why are you hiding your beauty in a place like this?”

The boy seemed unaware that she was Geomseong.

Now that she knew the boy’s personality better, she knew that even if he knew she was Geomseong, he would react similarly. But at that time, she didn’t think about it.

“I’m not hiding my beauty. Everything just seems dull.”

She came to the martial arts competition thinking it might be fun, but no one seemed capable of relieving her boredom.

Everyone was wearing fake smiles, and occasionally there were children with genuine smiles, but they were all boring and uninteresting.

But the boy in front of her was different.

There was no fakeness in his smile, and seeing him come to her first, he didn’t seem boring either.

“Boring? There are so many interesting things in this world. Just look around this ballroom. That decoration over there was made by people hundreds of years ago, and the chandelier has been hanging there for decades without maintenance.”

“… Is that really so impressive?”

“Of course it is!”

Arna was teasing the boy a little.

How surprised would the boy, who was amazed by such trivial things, be if she revealed that she was Geomseong?

“There are many other things. Would you like to come and see?”

The boy suddenly grabbed Arna’s arm.

If she had moved reflexively, the boy’s body could have turned into a bloody mess, so Arna barely managed to control her body’s response, preventing the joyful martial arts competition from turning into a terrible incident.

“Got it. Just follow me.”

“Are you a knight aspirant, Lady?”

“Yeah.”

She had a keen eye.

Even though the royal greetings were dressed lavishly for the ball, Arna recognized Arn as a nobody as soon as she participated.

“Look at that! The sun is disappearing behind the ground!”

“And look at that too! As the sun sets, the moon begins to shine!”

Honestly, the boy’s stories didn’t interest her, but his enthusiastic face intrigued her in everything.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Logan Astrian.”

The rest of the conversation was mundane.

She just visited the Astrian Viscount’s house as Logan’s mentor, revealed the art of swordsmanship only to Logan; truly an uneventful tale.

Logan was truly untalented, but since Arna didn’t become Logan’s mentor to groom a successor in the first place, she never felt impatient.

If that damn Stella hadn’t cursed Logan midway, it would’ve just been a simple, happy story.

******

Two people sat in a quiet café.

Despite being a renowned café in the city, there were only two people, probably because it was late at night.

“Cof…cof-cof-cof-coffee’s served.”

The café owner, pulled out in the middle of the night, promptly served two cups of coffee without any complaints.

“Thanks. It’s about time to head back.”

– Woo woo woo

The owner, overwhelmed by the heavy vibrations that shook the entire cafe, hastily fled outside.

“Phew…”

With the owner gone, the cafe was now completely their own space.

“First, let me apologize…”

“Master, if you apologize one more time, I will literally bang my head against the wall.”

“…Understood.”

It had been nearly 10 years since the master and disciple had last spoken, but the atmosphere was heavy and tense.

“First, it’s not your position to apologize to me, Master.”

‘Of course not.’

After all, they had done such despicable things that they couldn’t even beg for forgiveness.

The words that Gumsung had tried to express aloud were immediately blocked by Logan’s next words.

“I am in a position where I must express my infinite gratitude and receive your apology.”

“I can’t agree with that. You’ve never apologized to me.”

“I have plenty of reasons to apologize, as I resented the master who dedicated half of their life for me.”

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“Just for that…”

“You say you can’t apologize? Isn’t that the same for you, Master? Leaving me suddenly just to break my curse isn’t a reason enough for you to apologize to me.”

“…Your eloquence has improved. Nevertheless.”

“You’re still as stubborn as ever.”

From the moment Logan placed the letter in the mailbox, he had anticipated the current situation.

Originally, Arna wrote that advice about not blaming oneself between the lines of the letter, knowing well that his mentor couldn’t handle his own matters properly.

“How about this then? I feel guilty towards my mentor, and my mentor feels guilty towards me, so let’s just call it even and move on.”

Arna knew Logan’s eloquence well. Even from a young age, he had a knack for manipulating his mentor with his sharp tongue, but now, at the age to enter the academy, his eloquence would have developed even further.

Although Arna knew that merely listening to those words would play into Logan’s schemes, she could only nod her head.

She had covered Logan’s real sin.

“Well then…”

Logan suddenly got off his chair and knelt down.

She could predict, with his advanced physique, that Logan would kneel the moment he got up from his seat, but she couldn’t stop him.

“What are you doing now?”

“I’m expressing gratitude to my mentor.”

Logan slowly lowered his head to the ground.

“For the long ten years, thank you for striving for me. Thank you for ultimately killing Stella and breaking the terrible curse placed upon me.”

“Just a moment…”

“Thank you for always being on my side. Thank you for sacrificing for your disciple.”

Logan’s words seemed never-ending, and Arna’s cheeks were burning as if engulfed in flames.

“I cannot fathom how this unworthy disciple could ever repay the grace equal to your forgiveness, mentor.”

As Arna’s cheeks endlessly reddened, one fact crossed her mind.

“After all, it’s because of me that Logan fell under the curse.”

If Arna hadn’t approached Logan in the first place, Logan wouldn’t have fallen under the curse.

“Logan, all I did was fix what I caused. The reason you were cursed by Stella was because you were my disciple. Ultimately, it was because of me that you were cursed.”

I revealed the truth.

Logan, who had just been saying that there was no need to apologize, would undoubtedly despise her once he knew the truth.

“If I may make a judgment, Master, I don’t think you knew that you were the cause of my curse until you met Stella in person.”

“Well… that’s true.”

“In that case, Master should not blame yourself. You sacrificed half of your life for me, even though it wasn’t your fault.”

“For now, can you please lift your head and talk?”

Talking with her forehead on the ground since earlier was quite burdensome.

“If Master would kindly accept my gratitude, I will lift it.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I will live the rest of my life with my head bowed to the ground.”

In the end, Arna surrendered.

Logan had always been a difficult disciple to conquer, be it then or now.

“Alright. So, lift your head for now.”

As Logan slowly lifted his head, there was a smile on his face.

‘Logan has grown so much.’

Until now, she had only secretly observed him from a distance, unable to see him properly. But Logan had definitely become an adult.

Despite growing up without eating well and having a tall and neat appearance, he had a slightly cold yet gentle smile that made her heart tremble.

And to top it off, his oddly lean body and unapproachable expression even stimulated her protective instincts…

-Snap!

Arna’s heart was fluttering so much now that it felt like the ground would split open with each beat.