Chapter 43: A Complicated Affection

“Are these bastards insane?”

“He’s the man who almost killed our Guild Master, yet we haven’t laid a hand on him; we’ve only bound him. We’re strictly adhering to protocol, so what’s the problem?”

“At the very least, unfix him from the wall and lengthen his chains. Assign someone to bring him food and water if he’s hungry, and ensure he can use the restroom when needed.”

“Are you truly out of your mind?!”

“I’m perfectly sane, so stop asking. And get your facts straight. He wasn’t trying to kill me.”

“Then what did I see on the CCTV?”

“He eased up at the last moment.”

‘Wouldn’t that just mean he intended to kill me but changed his mind midway?’

“His grip had also tightened slowly. As a Returnee, he could have killed me instantly if he’d truly wanted to, but he didn’t.”

As Sagyeol passionately defended the man who had nearly killed him, a sudden realization dawned upon Lee Hyun-su.

He groaned, burying his face in his hands. Indeed, it was harder to pretend ignorance when the evidence was so blatant.

The thought alone sent shivers down his spine, but this man was clearly in love. Just yesterday, watching the CCTV, he’d been utterly flabbergasted when the ‘match’ suddenly began.

While Lee Hyun-su fretted, Sagyeol, now somewhat calmer, spoke.

“I completely forgot in my excitement.”

“…Forgot what?”

“That I’m Lee Myeong-hwan’s son.”

“? That’s absurd… Ah.”

Sagyeol was not Lee Myeong-hwan’s biological son. Though they shared no blood, only a select few knew this truth, and now, only Lee Hyun-su remained aware. Moreover, Lee Hyun-su was the only one with whom he could discuss Lee Myeong-hwan.

That was precisely the problem. Sagyeol swept a hand across his face, his expression etched with weariness.

“Spending so much time with you, I just took it for granted. Damn it.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t know; it was more akin to a genuine oversight. Having grown accustomed to freely discussing his exact relationship with Lee Myeong-hwan with someone who knew, he had simply assumed the other person was also privy to the information.

Moreover, the situation itself was overwhelming. Having desperately clung on, the moment the other person finally showed a hint of opening up, everything else—even the things he absolutely should not have overlooked—was wiped clean from his mind.

Understanding the full context, Lee Hyun-su became solemn.

‘He found out.’

Even if one approached with an ulterior motive, that wasn’t a reason to kill someone. However, the story changed entirely if they knew the truth.

‘By what means did he… No, that’s not important right now.’

Lee Hyun-su stifled a sigh that threatened to escape.

Instead, he offered words of comfort to his superior, who had met with disaster before even making a move.

“Regardless, it would be best to keep your distance from Yeowon for a while. Even if you try to explain, in the current situation, it might only lead to greater misunderstanding.”

This advice was half genuine concern, and half a worry that Yeowon might attack Sagyeol again.

Lee Hyun-su recalled the moment Sagyeol’s throat had been squeezed. A chill ran down his spine anew.

Sagyeol was the Guild Master of Grisha, a colossal guild, yet his true value lay elsewhere.

He was the brightest star, a beacon for hunters participating in subjugations, and a prophet whom all of Grisha followed with clasped hands.

“Right.”

Sagyeol replied glumly. Lee Hyun-su’s feelings grew even more complicated.

The Guild Master’s lover, whom he had brought, tried to kill him!

The news spread, starting with the crew and reaching even the few guild members who were on board for dispatch missions.

“A lovers’ quarrel?”

“Definitely a lovers’ quarrel.”

“The Guild Master must have done something despicable.”

While the airship crew, who idolized Sagyeol, expressed bewilderment or hostility towards Yeowon, believing there must be some extenuating circumstance, the guild members reacted differently.

Those dispatched to smaller cities were primarily high-grade magic users. In other words, they were individuals who knew Sagyeol well enough. These individuals, now occupying the lounge, began to voice their opinions in earnest.

“Did the Guild Master cheat?”

“Wouldn’t he?”

“Or perhaps he pursued someone purely for their looks, without any genuine feelings, and got caught. I caught a glimpse when he boarded the airship, and he was completely…”

“Right up the Guild Master’s alley.”

Everyone in the lounge nodded in unison, as if on cue. Even a crew member, who had merely come to get a drink and inadvertently overheard the gossip about Sagyeol, nodded unconsciously.

Realizing the impropriety a moment too late, they quickly exited the lounge.

In the pastel-toned space, only the guild members remained. A brief silence fell. The guild member who had mentioned ‘the Guild Master’s taste’ began ticking off points on their fingers.

“He’s obviously got a blunt personality, handsome yet strangely ascetic, and his physique is incredible.”

“Come to think of it, he’s perfect.”

“At that point, didn’t the Guild Master just custom-order him?”

The guild members chuckled.

The ice-attribute guild member, who harbored something akin to admiration for Sagyeol, cautiously offered an opinion.

“Even if the Guild Master is trash, surely he wouldn’t go *that* far.”

‘So, they admit he’s trash…’

A colleague beside him looked at the ice-attribute guild member with solemn eyes. They clearly had no idea what was so strange.

“It seems he himself did something wrong, though?”

“Oh, right. I saw it too. He was pacing around the cargo hold.”

“He was exactly like a dog with separation anxiety.”

A guild member, who had been quietly sipping coffee throughout the conversation, shook their head. It seemed the unreasonable organ inside their skull had conjured up its own wild imagination.

At this, a colleague beside them chuckled teasingly.

Splash!

The guild member, who had remained silent, quietly snapped their fingers. Immediately, water poured down onto the head of the chuckling colleague. The muscular man, instantly looking like a drenched dog, shot to his feet.

“Wanna go?!”

“Go where, you lunatic?!”

“Hey, break it up! Break it up!”

Just before chaos erupted, the gravity around them shifted. Stumbling as their bodies suddenly grew heavy, the men turned their heads in one direction. Lee Hyun-su stood in the doorway.

“If you don’t wish to plummet along with the airship’s floor, I suggest you quiet down.”

“Uh… then won’t the Vice Guild Master fall with us?”

“……”

“Your mouth! Shut your mouth, you bastard!”

“Mmmph mmmph.”

“It seems you’ve taken a liking to this place, so you’ll spend the rest of the day here. If even one foot steps into the hallway, I’ll arrange a private meeting with the Guild Master.”

“……”

“……”

Lee Hyun-su left the aghast guild members behind and resumed his walk. Though he hadn’t wished to overhear, their analogy was, in fact, perfectly apt.

‘A dog with separation anxiety.’

Immediately after Yeowon was dragged to the cargo hold, Sagyeol fretted in front of it. He knew it wasn’t a wise decision to go inside, yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave the cargo hold’s entrance.

‘This is utterly ridiculous… Never mind.’

Skillfully managing his stress, he stood before the security room. Receiving no answer to his knock, he naturally opened the door and stepped inside.

He immediately saw a motionless back. Lee Hyun-su swallowed a sigh that threatened to escape.

It was like a cat utterly mesmerized by a fish tank.

The security room was Sagyeol’s second temporary nest. The reason was the monitor connected to the surveillance cameras.

Yeowon on the screen wasn’t even doing anything. Even though his arms had been unfixed from the wall and his chains lengthened, the man simply leaned against the wall, eyes closed, with no other discernible movement.

A silence stretched on for a while. Lee Hyun-su simply stood beside Sagyeol. He hadn’t come with anything particular to say.

After a considerable amount of time, Sagyeol asked, almost to himself.

“If I open the door and immediately say, ‘I am not Lee Myeong-hwan’s biological son,’ would I be treated like a madman?”

“Being treated like a madman is secondary; they wouldn’t believe you. That type of person needs concrete evidence right before their eyes.”

“Then I’ll need a DNA test.”

Lee Myeong-hwan’s corpse lay deep within the flood damage. The grand manor of the Lee family, adjacent to the Three Crescent Guild’s main building, was presumed to be his place of death.

“So, we’re back to square one.”

“If I ask him to help with the flood subjugation because I need a DNA test…”

“Yes. He’d be so eager to help.”

Crack!

Lee Hyun-su’s perfectly good shoes froze over. Sagyeol glared at him with bloodshot eyes.

“I only said that out of sheer frustration.”

“Yes. My apologies.”

Lee Hyun-su quickly apologized. It was a well-known fact that one should never provoke a hungry beast or a heartbroken Sagyeol. If the beast before him was both hungry and heartbroken, he needed to be doubly cautious. After accepting the apology, Sagyeol continued to glare for a while before turning his gaze back to the monitor.

He crossed his long legs and folded his arms. It was a haughty posture, but those who had known him for a long time understood it was a manifestation of his anxiety.

Sagyeol’s insides were burning. The mere fact that Yeowon was in such a place, bound by chains, frayed his nerves. Had it not been for the slow, shallow rise and fall of his chest, he might have thought the man was dead, so little did he move. He gripped his forearm tightly.

The timing of his realization about his feelings was simply terrible.

‘If only I had known a little sooner.’

His arrogance, which made him believe that if anything went wrong, it was due to external factors rather than himself, had tripped him up. In this case, strictly speaking, his adoptive father, Lee Myeong-hwan, was at the heart of the problem, but Yeowon didn’t know him.

It was also uncertain whether Yeowon would readily understand if he explained.

Unable to bear his anxiety, Sagyeol rose from his seat. Sitting here and stewing was not in his nature.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s already been three days. Yeowon must have sorted out his thoughts by now.”

“I’m against it. It’s too soon.”

“Then what should we do? We’ll arrive at Grisha tomorrow anyway. Are we going to keep him tied up like an animal even after we land there?”

“…It’s funny, coming from you, of all people.”

Even with the foundation of the Three Crescent Guild, he hadn’t simply walked into this position. His current ease only came after his credit had solidified his standing. Before that, both Sagyeol and Lee Hyun-su had been filled with fierce determination.

He wasn’t one to concern himself with humanity or morals. Efficient, rational, yet inhumane? He would actively choose that method.

In fact, Lee Hyun-su still wanted to make such choices now. When he handed over the syringe, he had worried that an irrational Sagyeol might fail to control the dosage and lose the Returnee he had barely found, but he had never opposed the syringe itself.

‘Things got complicated because of emotional entanglement.’

He wasn’t sure if ‘complicated’ was the right word, but that was the gist of it. Sagyeol was a man who could do worse things than the Azure King’s mafia if necessary, but now he was the world’s most ardent pacifist.

“Then what method do you have in mind, Boss?”

“Persuasion.”

“What if persuasion fails?”

“Pleading.”

‘Oh, for f*ck’s sake.’