Playing the Perfect Fox-Eyed Villain Chapter 37

Episode 37. Bad Blood and Worse Blood (2)

“You… you!”

A flushed face, trembling hands and wide-open eyes.

Even without looking at the <color of negativity> above his head, it was not difficult to figure out that Joshua's emotions had reached their peak.

The boy grabbed his cheek, which was starting to turn bright red, and made a fist with his other hand.

The posture was quite acceptable.

Judging from his confident attitude, he seems to have trained to some extent and is confident in his abilities.

“Ugh!”

Crack──!

Before Joshua could even rush at Yurian, the boy's cheeks burned once more.

The opponent was bad.

Yurian, who was praised as an unparalleled genius.

Joshua, in his eyes, was a poor lamb.

Originally, it was violence that was unavoidable in order to avoid getting the clothes dirty, but now it has become a process for acting as 'Yurien'.

“Again… Again, you hit my cheek!? You lowly collateral member…!”

“Didn’t one of the saints of the Sun Church say, ‘If someone hits you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek as well?’”

Crack──!

As I said that, I slapped Joshua on the cheek once more.

“If you’re hit on the right cheek, turn to the left. If you’re hit on the left cheek, turn to the right. This is it…. I have no choice but to keep hitting, right?”

It may have seemed like an overreaction, but the moment Joshua raised his glass of wine and pointed it at me, it seemed inevitable.

If someone puts their teeth into him, he will thoroughly educate anyone, regardless of whether they are a member of the same family or not. That's because Yurian is a human being with a beast's heart.

“This, this is profit……!”

Joshua held his red, swollen cheeks and looked at me with murderous eyes.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, the boy moved his hand to the scabbard with the ornate pattern on it at his waist.

“Hey, Joshua……!”

Renia's urgent cry.

At the same time, the air around Joshua became cold due to his reckless actions.

“Would you like to pick it?”

Looking at Joshua like that, I asked quietly.

“If it were now, we could treat what happened here as a family affair. We could make excuses, saying it was a process of disciplining our ill-tempered younger brother.”

“Who… who is the younger brother of a lowly bastard like you!?”

“But! The moment you draw your sword, you will stand before me as Joshua the Swordsman, not Joshua of the Cryphat family.”

I calmly tapped the scabbard on my waist with my hand.

Of course, I have no intention of pulling it out, but this thought will not be conveyed to Joshua.

Because all he sees now is the notoriety and true nature of 'Jurien Kraiphart Frasson'.

“Still, are you okay with that?”

Joshua paused for a moment, his tendons still bulging from his neck, and the whites of his eyes were bright red.

I slowly approached him. Just in case, he might draw his sword.

There were people around me who couldn't stand the tension and swallowed their saliva.

'purple.'

But the <Color of Negation> seen above the guy's head was whispering that that would not happen.

Although he showed anger on the outside, he eventually cowered before Yurian's notoriety.

“That’s wise.”

Crack──!

***

Yurian Kraiphart Frasson.

Known for his cold-bloodedness, the glimpse of violence he inflicted on a direct member of the family when he visited Renia Kraifat's wedding was enough to make the attendees frown.

Although Joshua Kreifart was known for his harsh remarks, he went too far.

Look, isn't Joshua's cheek swollen? If it were a normal person, it would be an act that would be condemned.

‘… … I feel so refreshed.’

What Irene felt was more exhilaration than condemnation of that hypocrite.

Joshua Kreifart.

A student at Bayer Academy, he is a notorious troublemaker on campus, known for forming factions to ostracize common students and disrupting classes taught by lower-ranking professors.

Because he was relying on the status of the Cryphat family, he was also a student who had no way to do anything within the academy.

When she saw him being slapped by Yurian, a strange feeling rose up deep inside Eileen's heart.

Refreshing is a strange feeling.

‘… … You shouldn’t have these feelings.’

She cleared her throat and approached Yurian. She wanted to tell him that if he caused any more trouble, it would be difficult for Renia too.

“Stop it, Yurian.”

Before such an Irene, someone appeared to mediate Yurian.

The third son of the Kreifat family, Herand Kreifat, rushed into the banquet hall.

“Brother, you’re here.”

Looking at Herand, Yurian smiled beautifully.

There was no trace of guilt or hesitation in his smile, because he believed that what he did was justified.

“Okay, the other guests are watching. How about we stop now?”

Herand, standing in front of Joshua, covered in cold sweat, spoke in a trembling voice.

“I was just disciplining my cheeky younger brother. I hope others understand.”

“You lowly bastard……! Who said you were my little brother!”

“Stop it, Joshua! Didn’t you displease Renia and Yurian first?”

“Ha, but……Brother Herand.”

Herand, who had expected Joshua to rush over and defend him, instead began to scold him.

“The fact that I, that lowly guy, am in a place like this……!”

“I don’t want to hear any more! You caused a commotion at the banquet hosted by the Cryphat family! You are tarnishing the family’s honor!”

“Brother, why are you telling me…….”

“Go back! No matter how much the elders love you, your actions here now are bringing shame to the family name!”

When Herand let go of his grudge, Joshua looked at Yurian with a look of injustice.

Joshua, who had been glaring at Yurian for a moment, closed his eyes tightly and left the banquet hall with weak steps.

“I will apologize on behalf of my reckless younger brother, Yulian.”

Yurian, who had been watching Joshua's back as he walked away, turned his head again at Herand's words and met his gaze.

“No, it’s okay. I was prepared for something like this from the moment I came here.”

“I’m sorry, Renia.”

“It’s okay, brother. Joshua is still young, so that’s understandable.”

Herand, who had been bowing his head to Renia, made eye contact with Eileen and offered a slight apology.

“But Brother Herand, didn’t you come to the banquet hall?”

“Oh, you mean father?”

"yes."

“My father was unable to attend due to some work. I came as his substitute.”

“Is that so?”

A voice that somehow seems to contain regret.

Yurian suddenly straightened his clothes and turned to Renia.

“Sister Renia, I apologize for causing such a commotion.”

“Huh? Ah…… Yeah, it’s okay, this much.”

“No. I did something like this on my one and only day.”

“Well, maybe it happens twice in your life?”

Yurian laughed at the joke that somehow had some substance.

After a brief chat, Herand and Renia left to greet the other guests.

A situation where only Yurian and I are left.

As an uncomfortable atmosphere flowed between the two, Eileen looked around.

"ah."

Suddenly, Yurian's cufflinks caught her eye. It was the item she recommended in a fit of anger when she was provoked at a clothing store.

“You’re acting all fancy about your formal attire, but aren’t those the clothes I chose after all?”

Eileen lifted her chin slightly and smiled smugly.

Because I remembered Yurian mocking me about my artistic sense when I met him at the Baekuijeom store.

“Was it? I don’t remember.”

Yulian said with a faint smile.

Are you trying to get me out like that again?

Eileen pouted at his attitude.

“Even though you don’t remember, the cuffs, buttons, and belt are all the things I told you about?”

“What a coincidence.”

“……Wow, I don’t think that’s a coincidence!”

She found Yulian's impudent attitude repulsive.

A man so obsessed with his pride will never bow his head or acknowledge anything that doesn't go beyond the name of belief.

Even if I die under that weight, I will never acknowledge others──.

“I’m joking. Actually, it’s exactly as Miss Eileen said. These clothes… I like them quite a bit.”

"……yes?"

“As expected, Miss Eileen is also a member of the Donatien family.”

Random jokes, compliments, and recognition.

As the incongruous words came out of his mouth, Eileen was dumbfounded.

I thought that when I praised others, my tongue would become like a thorn in my side… … I thought that wasn't the case?

“Well then, I guess I’ll be going now.”

“Huh? Ah… Already?”

The tone of her voice broke out due to her embarrassment. As a result, Eileen's face turned red.

“It’s not that I’m oblivious. When I’m around, don’t people around me notice?”

The atmosphere at the banquet hall has improved after the commotion with Joshua, but that doesn't mean that the notoriety of the character 'Yurien' has disappeared.

Glance at it.

To those who look at them, the existence of Yurian is the very definition of awkwardness.

“I came here just to say hello. I ended up getting involved in something useless though.”

With those words, Yurian turned and left the banquet hall.

I felt a strange sense of foreboding. It was as if I had heard something like that from Yurian before.

When was it? Oh, it was when I was a student at Bayer Academy.

– 'It's like it contains stars. It's a beautiful magic worthy of a member of the prestigious magic school Donatien.'

Memories that bloom brightly.

The reason this memory comes back so clearly is simple.

The day Yurian was recognized in the past.

Irene is under the cherry blossom tree on the mountain behind the academy──.

“Kuaaaah…….”

She groaned and held her head with both hands as she recalled things she didn't want to remember.

***

The head of the household does not attend.

The purpose of coming here is to secure the 'soul stone' owned by the Cryphat family.

And since the in-game head of the household had that soul stone, there was no need to stay at the banquet any longer as long as the head of the household was not there.

'I was planning to secure a place for myself, but I didn't expect the owner to be there… '

A bitter taste lingered on the tip of my tongue for no reason.

Will I ever get another chance like this?

Even if you go to see him in person, it is uncertain whether he will meet you, as he hates the infamous Yurian, who is a collateral branch of the family.

This is a headache.

As I was pressing my throbbing temples, I heard a voice calling me.

“Yurien!”

At that time, from the direction of the banquet hall where I had escaped, I saw Renia walking towards me in the same manner as when I first met her.

“Are you leaving already? I wish you had stayed until the end.”

Instead of opening my mouth, I just smiled and answered.

As if she understood why I was laughing, Renia nodded and took out a small, ordinary jewelry box from her bosom.

“You actually came to my wedding to see my father, right? To take this?”

“This is…….”

“Your mother’s heirloom.”

Mother's heirloom?

When I heard that, I tilted my head and accepted it.

It's a crude box for a jewelry box.

“I saw this while I was choosing a wedding gift at the jewelry store. I suddenly thought of you and brought it out. Yurian, you had an argument with your father over this, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

I nod in agreement, but I have no idea what he's saying.

Yulian had such a family history.

“So I pretended to choose it as a gift and brought it secretly. I was going to give it back to you.”

"……thank you."

Renia smiled happily as she looked at me expressing her gratitude.

It was my first time seeing a jewelry box, but for some reason I felt a sense of warmth and affection.

And inside it.

‘… … Mixed group.’

A soul stone owned by the Cryphat family.

In the jewelry box that was said to be her mother's heirloom, there was an item made into a necklace.

This was Yurian's mother's belongings.

The word 'relic' probably means the deceased.

I ran my hand over the jewel at the center of the necklace, the 'soul stone'.

Unlike the soul stone obtained from the Pirun Forest, it did not have any special energy, so I wonder if it had been magically processed.

“I never imagined I would get this much.”

“……Huh? What did you say?”

“No. Thank you for helping me find my mother’s belongings.”

I thanked Renia again and said goodbye, then turned my gaze to the jewelry box I was holding.

Different from the feel of cold metal.

A yearning that is overwhelming.

Comfortable and warm.

It's a shame, but I feel sad.

I'm sure this isn't what I feel, it's what 'Yurien' feels.