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Chapter 22

“Ages?! You motherf*cker. Compared to all the things I have been through, what did you even suffer from? How dare you speak to me again after you sold me into slavery and how much power did you wield after selling your childhood friend?!”

He laughed bitterly at her.

“You’ve grown a lot. You’re as pretty as anyone else today. I almost couldn’t recognize you. You got an award on that stage. And be thankful that your name was announced, or I wouldn’t have known about you.”

“Do you have a death wish?”

Serek scratched his head, smiling widely.

She remembered feeling better just by looking at that smile. She used to like his bright smile. However, if you thought she’d still fall for that face, well…..you thought wrong.

“It’s been a while. Shall we get something to eat?”

“I’d rather die.”

“Come on, we’re meant to be reunited.”

She shot a glare at him, regretting that she didn’t have any more drinks in her hand and that the glasses were too far to reach.

‘I’m going to kill you, you son of a b*tch!’

Out of anger, she jumped off her seat and immediately regretted it, feeling her feet sprained because of her high heels. She managed to balance them and shook off Serek’s hand when he reached out his hand to help her.

Then, she met the eyes of the Emperor. He evidently looked bored talking to the other nobles, and suddenly, he began trudging the path towards her.

‘Why…Why are you coming here?’ She was busy fixing her shoes and leaving Serek’s side when the Emperor strode to her side.

He flicked his head at Celestia when he spotted Serek’s outfit.

“Goldina’s emblem. I’d like your introduction.”

“Wha– Who? Your Highness the Emperor.”

Her stomach twitched to see Serek addressing the Emperor by setting up the etiquette to greet him gracefully that he practiced dozens of times in front of her. The Emperor was really interested in the way he looked.

“I’ve never seen you before. You must be from Goldina.”

“It’s an honor to finally speak to you, Your Highness. My name is Serek. As a magic officer, I was exclusively assigned by Her Majesty. I’m very surprised you knew Celestia—Ouch!”

She stepped on Serek’s foot, trying to stop him from spilling nonsense, away from the Emperor’s gaze.

Serek, who could not bear the pain, shot at her with tears in his eyes. He gritted, whispering to her.

“Come on, Celestia. Not in front of His Highness, the Emperor! No matter how close you are with me–”

The Emperor said, turning to her.

“You two must have met each other before.”

Serek looked up at him in surprise when he casually spoke to her, whom he’d sold as a slave, and the Emperor stared down at nowhere but her eyes to see if she flinched.

‘The name Serek isn’t that rare, but why are you so good at remembering things? This is a problem even if you’re smart enough to remember it.’

When she silently bit her lips, he shifted his eyes to Serek.

“I guess I ventured myself into an anger relieving session.”

Serek was always loyal like a dog to people in power. He shook his head.

“What are you talking about, Your Highness? There’s nothing like that.”

Van replied, narrowing his eyes at him.

“Yeah? Then, it’s fine.”

‘I’m doomed.’

“The magic officer selected by the Queen of Goldina. I’ve heard that before.”

Serek’s eyes glistened with joy, as if he felt himself being recognized.

“It’s an honor to know that you heard about me.”

“You’re a commoner who hasn’t completed a full-time education and still did a great job as an attacking unit. I really haven’t learned anything in particular, but if I used magic with my own enthusiasm and brain to that extent, it would be no exaggeration to call it a genius’ work. It is also understandable why the Empress chose you by herself.”

“Haha, I never thought so, but everyone says I’m a genius.”

‘That is ridiculous.’

Twisting his lips, Van took a sip of his alcoholic drink.

“So, is that true?”

Confused, Serek looked up at him.

“Pardon?”

“That you’re a genius? Rumor has it that you’re a good magical officer who’s been here all this time without a decent education. Then, if Empress Dowager decides to raise you, you will grow up at an alarming rate, won’t you?”

“……I, uh, I cannot understand what His Highness is trying to say.”

While Serek stuttered to look at Celestia, Van emptied his glass of liquor before placing it on the counter beside him.

His face clearly told that he was feeling pathetic.

He must have recalled all of what she’d told him. Honestly, she thought he’d just hear her story with one ear and spill it out with the other, but she did not expect him to remember every bit of it.

How ridiculous would it sound to hear all about the Serek who sold her as a slave and was the reason for the magical engravings on her?

“I think I asked something wrong.”

“What do you mean—”

“For you, who cannot understand my question, it was my mistake to ask you if you’re as good as the false rumors said.”

Serek’s face became distorted. His pride must have seriously been hurt. However, Serek seemed to be unable to show it.

The Emperor squinted at him.

“Do you understand what I am saying?”

Serek had no idea what to do with the obvious sarcasm. Relaxing his intimidating look, the Emperor smiled mildly.

“Look at you, I think I’ve offended you with my excessive jokes.”

“No, Your Highness.”

As the Emperor softened the mood, Serek kept rolling his eyes to see how far of it was really a joke. But soon, the Emperor asked again.

“Glad to hear that. But what’s the relationship between Celestia and a magic officer like you?”

“Oh, well……We grew up together in an orphanage since we were young. Once, we were really into each other, but somehow we fell apart, but I don’t know what might happen again.”

‘Might happen again?’

She wanted to push herself off of the conversation as she just wanted to go back to her room.

In fact, he was still much higher in rank than her. Yet, he looked pathetic instead of cool.

‘What the hell is wrong with him? What happened to your fiancée? Wasn’t she pregnant?’

The fact that she once loved such a person seemed to undermine her value. The more she endured him, the less humane she felt and the more miserable she thought her past was. And she was even thinking about how the Emperor would see her.

Van smiled softly at her. It was not just a smile that made her feel good, but one that removed the darkness around her.

“It’s a little different from what I heard.”

“What…..?”

“From what I heard, you sold Celestia to a slave dealer, right? Is this how people get rid of their lovers in Goldina? That’s not something the Burgic Empire would acknowledge.”

Perplexed, Serek turned his face to Celestia.

“That story……How…..?”

‘Are you surprised at it? Believe me, my life is surprising even to me.’

The Emperor leaned back.

“Ah, it’s something I’d like to forget about you. If you thought about this and that while lying on your bed, you’d have gotten a trivial past story. Don’t blame Celestia too much.”

“That……How on earth…..?”

Serek threw his perplexed face towards her again and repeatedly looked at the Emperor. The Emperor momentarily turned his gaze away as if he was finished with what he had to say before looking back at Serek.

“Did you say it was ‘Serek’?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a good thing you joined the Empress Dowager.”

“…….Yes.”

“If you had joined me, you wouldn’t have had a neck to speak up. Anyway, congratulations on being part of the Burgic Empire for the first time in eons. I hope you will continue to work hard for the prosperity of the Empire. Anyway, I have some business to attend to.”

No matter how insulting the current situation was, the Emperor could not stand still. Serek bowed down to him with a bewildered look on his face.

Serek, who was fiddling with his glass as if he was nervous even after the Emperor left, faced her.

“I knew you had become prettier, but you’ve become a much greater person than I thought, Celestia.”

“Don’t talk to me with that filthy mouth of yours.”

“But you know it, too, right? Magic isn’t the only thing that can help you succeed.”

“……What the hell are you saying?”

“I know you’re selling yourself to the Emperor to make it to the Academy, but you’re just getting used up by—”

Unable to stand till the end, she slapped him across his cheek, which instantly turned red. Her palm felt itchy, but it wasn’t important.

“Do not insult His Highness, you bastard.”

Serek was starting to feel bad.

“Don’t do this, Celestia. I’ve been worried about you and your brother. We haven’t even been together since I made the wrong decision for a moment…… You can reconsider it.”

“Reconsider it?”

“Yeah.”

“What happened to your fiancée?”

“W-What fiancée……….?”

‘Are you crazy?’

“The one who was pregnant with your child.”

“Oh, we were thinking of getting married, but the humble noble family of hers said she wouldn’t marry a commoner like me, so it ended up falling apart.”

“And the child…….?”

“I heard it was a miscarriage. Perhaps, if it weren’t for me, she would already be married.”

He wasn’t sad because he missed her, but because he lost the opportunity to marry in a noble family.

“But see, it turned out greatly. The coalesce took place and I met you. How is Samidion doing?”

“Don’t put my brother’s name in your dirty mouth.”

“Your brother and I have known each other for a long time, there’s nothing to be so hard about.”

“Even when he almost died because of you? Without me, my brother would have died without being able to leave the house, do you even know that?”

“I didn’t think it was going to be like that. I’m not that cold-hearted, you know.”

Grinning, he shrugged.

Liberty was the only one who came to Samidion after Celestia was taken.

Serek never visited her brother even after he did such a thing.

“Don’t ever show up before me again, you a**whole.”

Cursing, she stormed out of her seat and walked to the end of the banquet hall.

Serek stood up to catch her, but stopped when he saw the Emperor.

Now that the Emperor had drawn the attention to him, Serek was busy bowing to the compliments he was receiving.

She promised to watch how far he could go up and fall by selling other people.