Playing the Perfect Fox-Eyed Villain Chapter 47

Episode 47. Grudge

Linne Rondbell.

Her tragedy occurred when she was 16 years old.

That day was unusually quiet. It was a day when the usual sounds of birds chirping and employees moving busily were completely absent.

Linne noticed something strange when she saw the butler who always came out to greet her collapsed at the entrance.

“Oh, what the heck is going on…….”

The sight of the butler cooling down in a pool of blood alerted Linne to the danger.

“……You damn fool. You didn’t think you’d stepped in too deep, did you?”

She held her breath and slowly approached where the faint voice had been heard.

Through the window, I could see a man with a black hood pulled over his head and my father on his knees, bleeding profusely.

'Ah, Father… … !'

Linne wanted to scream and run to her father right away, but the ominous atmosphere made her instinctively cover her mouth.

“I’ve never liked that guy. That parasitic face.”

As the man with the sword approached my father, I had a gut feeling that something irreversible was about to happen.

‘What on earth is going on… … .’

Linnaeus, overcome by primal fear, froze like a statue.

At that moment, hope appeared in my father's eyes, perhaps because he had found Linne outside the window.

Her father, who had met Linne's gaze, spoke to her with his mouth small so as not to be noticed by the stranger.

'Run away.'

Clearly, that was the shape of my father's mouth.

“Ugh. Then you shouldn’t have left the Dawn Society.”

Fortunately, the villain did not notice my father's actions and stood in front of my kneeling father with a cynical sneer and raised his sword.

'No─!'

Crunch, thud──.

The sound of something being taught.

The sound of something falling.

Linne shut her eyes tightly and turned her head.

I wanted to scream and run away, but there was nothing I could do.

She remembered her father's last request, covered her mouth, and left the place as quietly as she had come in, without anyone noticing.

The face of her father behind her as she left looked strangely comfortable.

***

“Honey… Honey!”

“Brother, you can’t go like this……!”

On the day her father was laid in the coffin, Linne did not cry like the others. No, she could not cry.

It's okay to shed tears after revenge is over.

'Dawn Society… … .'

That name that sticks in your bones. And.

‘… … a wound on the neck.’

When he struck his father, the wound was revealed as the hood of the villain blew away. Linne saw it clearly.

'I need strength.'

Linne went to see the one who was praised as the strongest among the stars of the Adratan Empire.

Black Haydn Reich. To him.

“I want revenge. Please teach me how to use a sword.”

***

After receiving a year of harsh training from Geomseong, he entered the Bayer Academy, which is considered the best.

– 'Linne, you're really amazing!'

– 'That's right, that's right! Doesn't that mean you're much better at handling Aura than an ordinary knight?'

Because of this, even in the academy, which was known for its high level, there were few classmates who could reach her level of skill.

The handle of the sword, which had seemed unfamiliar at first, became familiar as time passed. But she always felt it was not enough.

Is it because there are only strong people around me?

Black Sword, Yurian, Yeomyeonghoe… … .

In general, it is said that most aspiring knights hold a sword before they are even 10 years old. What about you, on the other hand?

He took up the sword to seek revenge, but he started at the age of 16. Compared to others, he started at least 6 years later.

– 'Rinne will definitely get first place in this practical exam, right?'

– 'It goes without saying!'

– 'He's a genius, a genius!'

– 'That's right, a genius among geniuses!'

But contrary to her worries, those around her praised her as a 'genius'.

Talent was talent, but unlike other children, she learned swordsmanship from the 'Sword Master' for a certain period of time, so it doesn't make sense that she is weaker than others who have trained in regular swordsmanship.

But instead of settling for that, she pushed herself even harder and hung on to the title of 'genius'.

'You have to be a genius.'

That day, in order to reach the prosecutor who killed my father, I had to be far ahead of everyone else.

but…….

“Miss Linne, you haven’t changed at all since then. If you keep doing this, you’ll be no different from everyone else.”

To her, Yulian's decision was like a bolt from the blue.

Linne looked up at Yurian with blank eyes.

The disgusting, cross-eyed man was staring at her intently, hiding his usual smile.

“……Lord Yurian, what are you trying to say?”

“Oh, that was a mistake. I apologize for the unnecessary words, Miss Linne.”

Yurian shrugged his shoulders and tried to walk away as if nothing had happened. Linne, who was watching him, couldn't help but point out his nonsense.

“Wasn’t this practical exam supposed to be about auras? I think I got the highest grade there.”

Linne opened her mouth as if to question him, bringing up the results of the practical exam for the academy's aspiring knights.

“Yes, you are a ‘Le Meilleur’ of the highest rank. That is an undeniable fact.”

“If you really think so, would you please correct your slip of the tongue a moment ago?”

She was the one who received the highest grade among her classmates who took the practical exam this time, so she couldn't accept Yurian's evaluation.

I wanted to refute Yurian for trying to ignore my efforts.

“Phew…….”

Yulian, who was listening to that, sighed as if she was embarrassed.

It was a strange sight, but the correction of the evaluation came first.

“That may be the Academy’s standard, but if you go beyond that standard… you are at the average level.”

The problem was that this cross-eyed man seemed unwilling to correct his own evaluation.

In fact, in normal times, something like this could have been passed off as a joke.

As he was a man obsessed with distorted respect and inferiority complex toward 'Geomseong', he could have dismissed such remarks as mere words intended to cause trouble.

but…….

'Why are you saying that now?'

In the slums, in the twilight forge, and in the special lectures at the Academy, Linnaeus could not help but see Yurian differently through their repeated encounters.

An overwhelming difference in class.

Having experienced it, she unconsciously acknowledged 'Yurien'.

“……Why?”

That's why the word 'ordinary' that came out of Yurian's mouth could not be dismissed as a simple slip of the tongue.

“There must be a reason why you think that way. Please tell me why.”

Yulian, who was embarrassed, answered as if she had no choice but to give up.

“When you completed the mission in the slums and now. There isn’t much difference between you then and you now, Miss Linne.”

“Is that the reason? A proper explanation…….”

“Your auror quality is clearly far superior to that of your classmates. But, Miss Linne, how long can you maintain that?”

“That, that is…….”

When Linne was left speechless, Yulian smiled as usual.

Linne's eyes narrowed and trembled as she faced Yurian's bitter smile, feeling even more awkward because she couldn't read his emotions.

“If you can’t maintain your aura for a long time, then that means you’re a third-rate inspector. No matter how good your aura is… if it becomes useless in a long-term battle, what good is it?”

A soft aura began to flow from his body.

“Miss Linne, your aura is incredibly powerful, but it’s not consistent. It’s so immature to distribute your aura evenly like this.”

One's own weaknesses.

Yurian said it as if he knew it.

“When we met on the train earlier, you said it would be a good idea to carry a spare sword, right?”

"yes……."

“I said there was no need to do that. Why would I do that?”

“…….”

Linne knew the answer, but she was too upset to say it.

“Because I don’t break swords with imperfect auras like yours.”

Linne bit her lip at his plain tone. Her lips turned so red that it seemed as if they were bleeding.

“That’s why you’re a genius.”

***

The Academy grounds were reddened by the sunset. The view of the falling spider webs was truly beautiful, but it didn't really resonate with Linnaeus at the time.

She became even more depressed at the fact that she couldn't refute Yurian's words that stabbed her heart like a knife.

'Actually, that's something I already knew… … .'

Even though I tried to deny it in my head, I was internally agreeing with what he said.

Because of that, Linne had no choice but to sit in the empty classroom and lose herself in thought.

'I felt deep in my bones that I had to fix it.'

Bitterness lingered on the tip of her tongue, and a throbbing anger enveloped her body.

It couldn't have been a more terrible feeling.

It was difficult to shake off the sticky, negative thoughts.

'Immaturity in operating Aura.'

It was something he should have asked his teacher for help with, but he has been very busy with some work lately.

'Can I fix it by myself?'

She shook her head from side to side to shake off her thoughts.

'I can find a way even without the teacher's teachings.'

Linne clenched her fists and walked off somewhere with a determined expression.

'Father also said. If there's something you like, just say it clearly… … and if it's wrong, just correct it.'

Linne was headed to the main building of the Academy.

There, you will finish talking to Vice Principal Alomm Chorni, and then you will catch Yurian on his way back and speak to him again.

'As you said, I'm not very good at operating Aura. But! I'll solve that problem within a month.'

A kind of declaration.

It is to correct the weak mind through it.

“Have you heard the news? I heard that one of the knights of the Cryphat family has murdered a comrade.”

“You mean that knight of the Joshua family? He is the former vice-captain of the Knights of the Blue Lion.”

"huh."

“It’s scary, it’s scary. How are you going to survive if you turn the Cryphat family into your enemies?”

As she walked, she heard the students' chatter, but Linne ignored it and continued on.

Soon, the hallway leading to the main building came into view… … .

'… Ugh.'

The pungent smell of blood tickled her nose.

She turned her head hurriedly and looked around, and was able to find the source of the faint but ominous scent of blood.

'Severe burns.'

The source of the smell was an unidentifiable man with half of his face covered in burn scars.

He was a man who caught my eye on that alone, but there was more to him than that.

'… … strong.'

The spirit emanating from his trained body and his gait that seemed to be well-versed in swordsmanship were constantly stealing Rinne's attention.

The man in the video felt someone's gaze and turned his head to meet Linne's eyes.

Shh.

A man's mean smile.

‘Ah, that wound… … .’

A wound on the neck.

When Linne saw that, she felt as if she had been hit in the head with a hammer.

How could I forget that?

At the time, I couldn't see the assailant's face because of the black hood, but I clearly remember the wound on his neck.

The name I found out while investigating the incident with Geomseong while training.

'Alphas… …Mayhand!'

Linne glared at Alphas with blazing eyes. Her breathing became ragged and her body trembled with boiling anger.

Boom, boom.

Her heartbeat rang in her ears. Linne took a deep breath to calm her chest and calm her emotions.

Boom, boom.

It doesn't sink. On the contrary, only one thought fills my head.

'I have to kill him.'

Her eyes sparkled with vengeance.