Chapter 167. Even If Our Sleeves Brush
A corner of the banquet hall.
Aster was squatting in the most comfortable posture, blankly staring at the floor.
There’s a saying—saphil-gwijeong (事必歸正). The old words say that everything, in the end, flows toward what is right.
Then if you applied that saying to this matter, what would it become?
‘In the end, going to Amera (行) is the result we deserve?’
Yeah. Probably.
“Whew… damn it.”
Maybe because of the quiet curse, nearby gazes seemed to gather for a moment, but soon everyone turned away as if they’d seen something they shouldn’t.
In the midst of that, Aster’s thoughts continued.
‘Honestly, this isn’t a situation I couldn’t have predicted at all.’
The fairy dance in the Amera region is a magical phenomenon that occurs once every few decades at the shortest, and once every few centuries at the longest.
Not just pen-pushers like Professor Parun—even mages would find it an event too precious to miss.
In a way, Demian’s trip to Amera was only natural.
So it wasn’t some incredibly contrived situation…
That was when Aster suddenly felt a gaze.
‘What is it?’
From far away, in the center of the banquet hall, some middle-aged man was looking at him.
With people gathering around him, he seemed to be someone of some stature, but his eyes were… strangely unsettling.
Like the eyes you’d use on some bizarre beast.
‘They say if you lock eyes for more than three seconds, that’s picking a fight.’
As he counted in his head—three, two… leaving just one—
A presence approached.
“Y-younger brother.”
“Oh, hyung. You’re here.”
Paijin flinched for a moment at Aster’s bright, smiling face, then glanced around.
“Hyung, what’s wrong? Are you embarrassed by me?”
“N-no. It’s not that.”
If anything, it was exactly that.
The moment Paijin approached, the eyes of those who had been vaguely aware of Aster instantly converged.
“Wouldn’t it be better if we sat somewhere and talked? Ah… of course, it’s not like we’re at the stage where we’d drink tea together, but.”
He meant that the stares were burdensome, so they should move somewhere else—but even after saying it, Paijin felt anxious.
But for some reason—
“Sure. Let’s sit, then.”
At the unexpectedly crisp answer, Paijin brightened. But only for a moment.
“Here. Sit.”
“…?”
“Didn’t you say sit?”
Paijin quietly watched Aster scoot aside while still in a squatting position.
“You’re not sitting?”
“Y-yeah… I’ll sit.”
With no choice, Paijin squatted down beside Aster.
The surrounding attention intensified even more, making Paijin’s face burn, but he clenched his teeth and put on a shameless mask.
That was when Aster spoke.
“Did things go well when you talked with Lady Mother?”
“Yeah, they went well.”
“What did you say?”
“Just… I thought about it and realized I was wrong… I asked her not to punish you. Ah—Lady Mother will probably contact you separately.”
“Hm. Okay.”
After that, silence flowed between them.
Paijin watched Aster, who seemed deeply absorbed in thought, then raised a hand to a servant passing by with drinks.
Receiving two glasses from the servant, Paijin set Aster’s share down on the floor, then took a sip to wet his lips.
Since he’d decided to go shameless, he might as well go all the way. It was his first time doing something this bizarre, but it oddly suited him.
So, how long did the silence last?
“Hyung, listen. I’ve got a dilemma.”
“…A dilemma?”
Paijin tilted his head, looking at Aster. The words We’re not close enough to share dilemmas surged up to the tip of his tongue, but Aster’s fairly serious eyes made him listen for now.
The dilemma was this.
“I have to go somewhere. But if I go, it feels like some kind of accident will happen, you know? So if it were you, hyung—what would you do?”
“Then… wouldn’t you just not go? Do you have to go?”
“Do I have to go?”
“No, if you’re being forced to go, then you can’t help it. But if it’s not that, then you don’t have to go out of your way, right?”
“Hm.”
Aster wet his lips with the drink on the floor. A fresh pomegranate scent spread through his mouth, and a thought rose suddenly.
‘Yeah. Just don’t go.’
He was right.
It wasn’t like they’d held a knife to his throat and told him they’d kill him if he didn’t choose to go to Amera from Brando.
The problem was this, though.
“It’s a rare opportunity, and the side that’s coming along kindly arranged a spot for me, right? But if I refuse, won’t that make them feel bad?”
“Well…”
“What do you think, hyung?”
Paijin rolled his eyes up toward the ceiling as if thinking, then opened his mouth.
“If they’re above you, you can’t help it.”
“And if they’re below you?”
“I think they won’t look kindly on it.”
“Right?”
“Right. Are they nobles, by any chance? Nobles are sensitive about that. The ones with good personalities will just let it slide, but still, it’s better if you give a decent reason.”
“A decent reason?”
“Like you’re not feeling well. There are lots of things. The most common is faking it, but…”
And so began Paijin’s lecture.
—How to run away cleanly without ruining a superior’s mood.
Aster listened quietly, and maybe because Paijin was the kind of guy who diligently avoided places he hated, every single word had a soul in it.
“First, if you’re going to say you’re sick, it’s better if there’s a witness. The easiest examples are getting injured during sparring, or falling off a horse while riding.”
“That works?”
“It usually works. Oh, but it was hard in Brando. Even if it’s not Healing Light, recovery magic is pretty strong.”
“You’ve tried it?”
“Once. Because I didn’t want to go to the family.”
“Hm.”
Then external injuries were out.
“Then what about internal injuries?”
“Internal injuries… I haven’t tried that far, but if you can pull it off, it’s not bad. But why? Are you going to try it in Brando?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Right? And the easiest thing is…”
More and more know-how spilled out.
For example, your beloved horse dies and you waste away from the emotional shock, or you collapse because lovesickness is severe, or you go into seclusion from the shock of losing a spar, and so on.
Some examples were tempting, but Aster’s interest cooled at Paijin’s warning that followed.
“The most important thing is details. When an appointment gets set, you need to design it with at least two to three weeks of prep time.”
Tch. Why the hell are details so important?
Ah—one small question.
“Hyung, did you kill an innocent horse?”
At Aster’s contemptuous look, Paijin flailed his hands and jumped up.
“No, are you crazy? That one was real. The horse I raised since I was five died, so I was actually sick.”
“Right? You didn’t kill it, did you?”
“O-of course not.”
Paijin was genuinely wronged. He’d only meant it as an example, yet he’d suddenly become some utter trash who committed murder just to skip an appointment.
Anyway, Paijin’s lecture ended after leaving behind a few details and one final famous line.
“This is the most important part.”
“…?”
“Before you deceive the other person, you have to deceive yourself. You know that saying, right? ‘Everything depends on how you set your mind.’ The moment you truly believe it, it becomes the truth.”
“Hm.”
At the heart-stirring line, something lit in Aster’s eyes.
“So you’ve got your own conviction, hyung?”
“O-of course.”
“Cool. I mean that sincerely.”
“H-ha ha.”
Paijin gave an awkward laugh, because he couldn’t tell if Aster was mocking him or being sincere.
But unfortunately, Aster was admiring him purely, without even a grain of twisting malice.
In any field, it was rare to see someone live with this level of conviction—even if it was about something as trivial as this.
“Anyway, did that help at all?”
“It helped… a bit, I think.”
Aster nodded briskly and reviewed the lecture.
Leaving the detailed parts for later, he picked out only what seemed usable immediately and stored it in his head.
The most appealing one was this.
‘Internal injuries.’
That seemed like something he could fudge reasonably well.
‘Of course, I’m not going to actually make internal injuries, but spitting a bit of blood and messing up my mana flow is nothing.’
Still, the important thing was details, but…
“Uh, um. I have to go now—Father will be making his entrance soon.”
Aster gathered his thoughts and stared fixedly at Paijin.
Under that burdensome gaze, Paijin broke into a sweat and backed away awkwardly, and that was when Aster spoke.
“Hyung, want to shove me?”
“…Huh?”
“Shove me once. If you just shove me, I won’t take your sincerity.”
“……”
Paijin stared at Aster with blank eyes.
“You’re really… trash, aren’t you?”
It was the first time contempt appeared in Paijin’s eyes. At the same time, a thought crossed his mind.
…Maybe this was how other people looked at me.
If so, his previous life would be deeply shameful—far more than squatting like this in a banquet hall.
In the end, Aster took only the “show of sincerity” and sent Paijin back.
“Hyung, live kindly.”
“…I’ll try.”
“Oh, and if you’ve got time, write some books too. What you said earlier was pretty good. I’ll check next time we meet, so make sure you write it.”
“…Okay.”
And after Paijin left—
Aster wandered around the banquet hall with nothing to do.
But for some reason—
Contrary to Ransi’s harsh warning, none of the nobles in the banquet hall approached Aster.
No—was it only that they didn’t approach?
If he closed the distance beyond a certain point, they even slipped away from their seats.
‘I’m confident I can cough up blood if our sleeves so much as brush…’
So why was no one giving him an opening?
Was this nobles’ territorial pressure?
In the end, after drifting around the hall, Aster returned to his original spot, squatted down, and smacked his lips.
‘Tch. If I’m going to do it, before Demian arrives is the perfect time.’
Once the banquet properly started, it would feel uncomfortably like ruining someone else’s birthday party.
A minor quarrel would be swallowed by the noise and vanish, but Aster was destined to cough up blood and roll around from the tyranny of a vicious noble.
‘Is it because I’m not holding a drink?’
As his head grew tangled with thoughts, it wasn’t long before Aster felt that gaze again.
“……”
What is it?
It was that middle-aged man who had been staring at him earlier.
But this time he wasn’t alone.
Beside him stood a woman around Paijin’s age, and since they looked alike, they seemed to be father and daughter.
As they stared at him, Aster’s eyes met the woman’s at that moment.
She had an air that could draw everyone’s attention at once, and at her gaze, Aster suddenly had this thought.
‘Why are you glaring at me?’
He didn’t like her eyes.
So, three, two, one…
When the final countdown ended—
After finishing her conversation with the middle-aged man, the woman approached Aster, smiled faintly, and greeted him.
“Nice to meet you, Aster-gun, correct? I am the eldest daughter of House Jilrox, Rana von Jilrox.”
With a fresh smile, Rana quietly took in Aster, squatting on the floor.
But for some reason—
Aster didn’t respond.
At his oddly spaced-out look, Rana tilted her head and asked,
“…Are you not Aster-gun?”
That was when Aster reacted.
“Just a moment.”
After asking Rana’s understanding, Aster walked to a servant, received a drink, then returned.
Rana naturally held out her hand at the sight, but—
“It’s mine.”
“…Ah. Yes.”
Her awkward hand withdrew at his single sentence.
Rana gave an embarrassed smile to hide her confusion, and around then Aster opened his mouth.
“I’m ready.”
“…Pardon?”
“Go ahead and do what you want, as much as you like.”
“……”
Rana didn’t answer.
Because she didn’t know what he meant.
She only stared blankly at Aster, turning her mind to grasp his meaning.
…Meanwhile, the drink was a bloodlike, deep crimson red.
