Chapter 102
Translator: Yonnee
RP: Haebaragi_syk
—
“Haa… Everyone, stop.”
“Reina.”
“Noona.”
But Reina shook her head, closing her eyes slowly and opened them again as though she was some sort of tragic heroine.
“I’m very grateful for your concern, but I’m fine. Let me talk to him.”
She wondered if they’re uncomfortable with this, because everyone didn’t look very happy to hear what she said. Even so, because she was the person directly involved here, they didn’t stop her.
Reina looked at the people next to her—Ethan, Paul, Letis and Eli.
“Let me talk to him. Can you all go over there for a moment, please?”
These four members of the nine households looked back at her as though they didn’t want to leave her side, but nonetheless left and protected the surrounding area. Seeing this, the other onlookers backed down and left.
Reina put up a magic barrier to block out the sound just in case. But were they not members of the prestigious founding families? If they wanted to listen in, they definitely could.
“What the hell are you doing.”
As the sound barrier was completely set up, just in time, Lehman asked this to Reina.
She only tilted her head to the side and stared at him with a clueless expression.
“What do you mean? This is what you’ve always been doing, duh.”
“Ha.”
“Baffled, aren’t you? I’m just dishing back what you’ve always been serving me.”
Abruptly, a vein popped up on Lehman’s jaw.
‘Yep, that’s exactly it. Get angry for all I care, but you can’t deny it.’
Reina took a step closer to Lehman.
“Still, this is still weaker than what you usually do to me. You know, you always dragged along at least ten people, right?”
They all took turns to corner her, so she never got the chance to refute anything.
Compared to what he subjected her to, there were only four people against him now. This was still quite merciful.
In the end, Lehman wiped off his mask and showed a cynical smile.
“So you’re taking revenge on me now?”
“Revenge, huh.”
It’s exactly that.
But she couldn’t say this. How could she spin it so that it didn’t look like that?
As she had the complete advantage in this situation, Reina drew closer to Lehman and said,
“I just wanted to make one thing clear.”
Reina whispered into his ear.
“The fact that you are no longer the main character.”
It was not just a metaphor.
The novel was gone now. And as such, the people around him no longer had faith in him.
“The world will no longer revolve around you.”
“You… You must be misunderstanding something—”
“Misunderstanding, my arse.”
Laughing, Reina swept her fringe up.
“So it’s a misunderstanding that you told me to put in the red solution? It’s a misunderstanding that you painted me out to be a fool when all you had to do was tell the truth?”
“……”
“You turned me into a woman who’s jealous of you for no reason and made me receive everyone’s criticism.”
His expression was already crumpled at this point, but it was now completely distorted.
“Place a hand over your heart and tell me if you can really dismiss all of this as a mere understanding. Can you? The smart you?”
Biting his lips tightly, he trembled as though he was holding back his anger at the ‘injustice’ he was facing.
“Anyway, I’m not trying to get an apology out of you. I’m not going to ask us to get along and leave everything in the past either. You certainly knew what you were doing throughout all this.”
“……”
“So, there’s no ‘misunderstanding’ between the two of us. Don’t you agree?”
As the woman said her piece, Lehman had just been staring at her for a long time. Then, breathing out as though he had given up, he finally opened his mouth.
“Disgusting.”
Flinch—
“…What?”
“You and the nine households are disgusting.”
She already knew that he didn’t like her, but for him to bring up the word ‘disgusting’… His resentment seemed more extreme than she initially thought.
“You’re all living such easy lives just because you got lucky to be born into good families. I loathe every single one of you.”
“…Hah.”
Only then did she finally begin to understand Lehman’s hostility.
“What… So that’s why you did all that to me?”
“Yes. After watching you live a smooth-sailing life without even making any efforts, you disgust me.”
She was rendered speechless.
Although commoners were also free to become public officials, this country was still, at its core, ruled by the nine households.
How could she not be aware of that? When she was sitting in the top ranks of this unforgiving hierarchical society, how could she not be aware of the entrenched classism of the empire?
However, after she had become Reina Chantra and became part of the ruling class, she liked this life more. When she was still Han Jaehee in Korea, she lived the exact opposite life at the bottom of society. Nonetheless, the words ‘justice’ and ‘utopia’ still did not truly exist in this new life of hers.
“Even if I screamed and shouted about wanting fairness, nobody would have acknowledged me.”
She had suffered through harsh poverty in her previous life, and it was the reason she had lost her precious family. Her memories of those experiences weighed heavier than a clean conscience, and she tried to ignore the contradictions in her values, even when it felt as if there were thorns being stabbed into her fingertips.
“……”
As if he could feel Reina’s true feelings, Lehman turned around and laughed sardonically.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. That disgusting double standards created by the dragonfolk and the nine households.”
It seemed like he no longer wished to stay here and listen, so Lehman tried to leave.
And he might truly have left by now had he not heard what Reina would say next.
“Lehman. That doesn’t justify your actions.”
As he stopped in place with his back to her, Lehman bowed his head and smirked.
“And what about you?”
“…What?”
“Do you think your actions are justified only because you did unto others what had been done to you?”
His criticism froze Reina like a stone.
“Anyway, you have everything, so it’s easy for you to say anything. Just empty words.”
At the end of that remark, there was no more point in arguing. Lehman turned and left.
And as if they had been waiting for him to disappear, as soon as Lehman left, the others flocked to her side.
“Reina, are you okay?”
“Noona, what did you talk about? Are you alright?”
“Should I go and catch him?”
Ethan, Eli and Paul asked her one after another, examining her condition.
“…No, I’m fine.”
She was definitely fine. She now received the heartfelt worries she had been hoping to get from Ethan, she now had the support of these people who she wasn’t expecting to be on her side, and she still had Paul here who consistently got her back…
She should be fine.
“I’m really okay. Thank you for your concern.”
But it’s strange.
Contrary to her words and circumstances, her mind felt increasingly unsettled. It was akin to the feeling of going about your day after not being able to wash off your shampoo completely from your scalp.
“You’re all living such easy lives just because you got lucky to be born into good families. I loathe every single one of you.”
With the faint echoes of these words lingering behind, that day, the main character left the stage.
And on that same day, an irrefutable sense of guilt began to fester within Reina.
Chapter 102
Translator: Yonnee
RP: Haebaragi_syk
—
“Haa… Everyone, stop.”
“Reina.”
“Noona.”
But Reina shook her head, closing her eyes slowly and opened them again as though she was some sort of tragic heroine.
“I’m very grateful for your concern, but I’m fine. Let me talk to him.”
She wondered if they’re uncomfortable with this, because everyone didn’t look very happy to hear what she said. Even so, because she was the person directly involved here, they didn’t stop her.
Reina looked at the people next to her—Ethan, Paul, Letis and Eli.
“Let me talk to him. Can you all go over there for a moment, please?”
These four members of the nine households looked back at her as though they didn’t want to leave her side, but nonetheless left and protected the surrounding area. Seeing this, the other onlookers backed down and left.
Reina put up a magic barrier to block out the sound just in case. But were they not members of the prestigious founding families? If they wanted to listen in, they definitely could.
“What the hell are you doing.”
As the sound barrier was completely set up, just in time, Lehman asked this to Reina.
She only tilted her head to the side and stared at him with a clueless expression.
“What do you mean? This is what you’ve always been doing, duh.”
“Ha.”
“Baffled, aren’t you? I’m just dishing back what you’ve always been serving me.”
Abruptly, a vein popped up on Lehman’s jaw.
‘Yep, that’s exactly it. Get angry for all I care, but you can’t deny it.’
Reina took a step closer to Lehman.
“Still, this is still weaker than what you usually do to me. You know, you always dragged along at least ten people, right?”
They all took turns to corner her, so she never got the chance to refute anything.
Compared to what he subjected her to, there were only four people against him now. This was still quite merciful.
In the end, Lehman wiped off his mask and showed a cynical smile.
“So you’re taking revenge on me now?”
“Revenge, huh.”
It’s exactly that.
But she couldn’t say this. How could she spin it so that it didn’t look like that?
As she had the complete advantage in this situation, Reina drew closer to Lehman and said,
“I just wanted to make one thing clear.”
Reina whispered into his ear.
“The fact that you are no longer the main character.”
It was not just a metaphor.
The novel was gone now. And as such, the people around him no longer had faith in him.
“The world will no longer revolve around you.”
“You… You must be misunderstanding something—”
“Misunderstanding, my arse.”
Laughing, Reina swept her fringe up.
“So it’s a misunderstanding that you told me to put in the red solution? It’s a misunderstanding that you painted me out to be a fool when all you had to do was tell the truth?”
“……”
“You turned me into a woman who’s jealous of you for no reason and made me receive everyone’s criticism.”
His expression was already crumpled at this point, but it was now completely distorted.
“Place a hand over your heart and tell me if you can really dismiss all of this as a mere understanding. Can you? The smart you?”
Biting his lips tightly, he trembled as though he was holding back his anger at the ‘injustice’ he was facing.
“Anyway, I’m not trying to get an apology out of you. I’m not going to ask us to get along and leave everything in the past either. You certainly knew what you were doing throughout all this.”
“……”
“So, there’s no ‘misunderstanding’ between the two of us. Don’t you agree?”
As the woman said her piece, Lehman had just been staring at her for a long time. Then, breathing out as though he had given up, he finally opened his mouth.
“Disgusting.”
Flinch—
“…What?”
“You and the nine households are disgusting.”
She already knew that he didn’t like her, but for him to bring up the word ‘disgusting’… His resentment seemed more extreme than she initially thought.
“You’re all living such easy lives just because you got lucky to be born into good families. I loathe every single one of you.”
“…Hah.”
Only then did she finally begin to understand Lehman’s hostility.
“What… So that’s why you did all that to me?”
“Yes. After watching you live a smooth-sailing life without even making any efforts, you disgust me.”
She was rendered speechless.
Although commoners were also free to become public officials, this country was still, at its core, ruled by the nine households.
How could she not be aware of that? When she was sitting in the top ranks of this unforgiving hierarchical society, how could she not be aware of the entrenched classism of the empire?
However, after she had become Reina Chantra and became part of the ruling class, she liked this life more. When she was still Han Jaehee in Korea, she lived the exact opposite life at the bottom of society. Nonetheless, the words ‘justice’ and ‘utopia’ still did not truly exist in this new life of hers.
“Even if I screamed and shouted about wanting fairness, nobody would have acknowledged me.”
She had suffered through harsh poverty in her previous life, and it was the reason she had lost her precious family. Her memories of those experiences weighed heavier than a clean conscience, and she tried to ignore the contradictions in her values, even when it felt as if there were thorns being stabbed into her fingertips.
“……”
As if he could feel Reina’s true feelings, Lehman turned around and laughed sardonically.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. That disgusting double standards created by the dragonfolk and the nine households.”
It seemed like he no longer wished to stay here and listen, so Lehman tried to leave.
And he might truly have left by now had he not heard what Reina would say next.
“Lehman. That doesn’t justify your actions.”
As he stopped in place with his back to her, Lehman bowed his head and smirked.
“And what about you?”
“…What?”
“Do you think your actions are justified only because you did unto others what had been done to you?”
His criticism froze Reina like a stone.
“Anyway, you have everything, so it’s easy for you to say anything. Just empty words.”
At the end of that remark, there was no more point in arguing. Lehman turned and left.
And as if they had been waiting for him to disappear, as soon as Lehman left, the others flocked to her side.
“Reina, are you okay?”
“Noona, what did you talk about? Are you alright?”
“Should I go and catch him?”
Ethan, Eli and Paul asked her one after another, examining her condition.
“…No, I’m fine.”
She was definitely fine. She now received the heartfelt worries she had been hoping to get from Ethan, she now had the support of these people who she wasn’t expecting to be on her side, and she still had Paul here who consistently got her back…
She should be fine.
“I’m really okay. Thank you for your concern.”
But it’s strange.
Contrary to her words and circumstances, her mind felt increasingly unsettled. It was akin to the feeling of going about your day after not being able to wash off your shampoo completely from your scalp.
“You’re all living such easy lives just because you got lucky to be born into good families. I loathe every single one of you.”
With the faint echoes of these words lingering behind, that day, the main character left the stage.
And on that same day, an irrefutable sense of guilt began to fester within Reina.
