NOVEL FROG Chapter 78
– I’ve lost too much blood. A transfusion is urgently needed…
– Draw my blood…! He has the same blood type as mine…
– You can’t, miss! Your health is already poor, and doing that…
– I don’t care if I die, just draw it quickly!! I don’t care if you drain all my blood… Please… him… Huh…
…
– What happened?
– For now, he’s still breathing, but we need to monitor his condition. His already weak body is now infested with demon poison, so it’s uncertain if he’ll recover… Right now, it’s quite pessimistic…
– Save him no matter what. I don’t care how much it costs. If you save him, I promise to repay you a hundredfold, no a thousandfold in the future. So please…
“Haah… Haah…”
As she snapped out of a momentary recollection, the blood-soaked girl gasped for breath.
Golden particles flickered along her frail body, and at her feet laid dozens of dead assassins, unmoving.
This was a horrific sight she had encountered multiple times since arriving in the capital city.
– Target confirmed. Kill the male next to her and leave the scene.
The beastly language she heard that day still floated chaotically in her mind.
If she hadn’t understood the demon tongue, she would have simply thought she had been unfortunate to cross paths with the demon remnants that had come over the wall.
However, they had definitely come to attack her on someone’s orders.
Members of the families that were hostile to Paecheon, those who feared the birth of powerful rivals, and countless other factions bound by blood and resentment.
There were so many who had motives to assault her that it was hard to even narrow down the list.
If she stood around dazed, she would just be caught off guard again.
Leaving the boy at a hospital in the satellite city, the girl concluded and shifted her steps back to the capital after several years.
And she announced that she had blossomed as a wizard, once again listing her name among the members of Paecheon.
Weeks passed like that, but all the girl could face was the darkness of a night stained with blood and filth.
She only flaunted the capital’s good points to him, never bothering to mention the dark side of its splendor.
Among powers, families, and between members of families.
Those who smiled and faced her at the council yesterday sent assassins and casually poisoned the meals their siblings ate.
This was also a life she was originally supposed to blend into.
It felt like paying back the sins of spending years in that paradise without any sense of reality.
Coming to the capital was to uncover even a bit of the attack’s background, but now the girl could only spend the night with hollow eyes, unable to take a single step forward.
“I miss you…”
What made the girl, caught in a hostile environment, suffer more was the emptiness.
Her heart was filled only with overwhelming loneliness.
Without the boy, everything was meaningless.
On the other hand, with him, she wouldn’t mind rolling around in a filthy muck pit.
She had promised herself to return after solving all the problems, but the happiness she had once tasted had made it impossible for her to endure her previous loneliness.
Unable to resist the strong impulse to be in his arms once more, the girl moved as if entranced.
*
“Ah…”
In the shabby hospital room illuminated by the soft moonlight, the girl faced the sight of the boy lying on the bed, his whole body and face wrapped in bandages.
Seeing him barely asleep thanks to narcotic painkillers made her heart ache as if it were being torn apart.
The bandages around his eyes still bleeding were especially painful for her.
He had ended up like this while trying to save her.
Moreover, he had barely saved his life, losing everything in the process.
This was, of course, an emotion that Baek Seoyeon herself could not understand. What he cherished meant nothing to her; family, friends, hometown—none of it held any value.
The only change she had shown was her effort to become the ideal woman he wanted.
If there was only one meaning to life for her, it was the boy breathing faintly before her eyes.
And only after seeing him groan in pain could the girl finally face the reality she was confronted with properly.
Paecheon was one of the most prominent noble houses in the country, but the past ten years of domineering conduct had created countless enemies.
Additionally, due to the current head’s tendency to intentionally incite competition and slaughter, bonds even among the members were nearly nonexistent.
Despite being from Paecheon, the reason the girl could continue living without any threats in the outskirts of the countryside was simply due to her impending death warned by particle sensitivity.
However, for some reason, the girl had survived.
Moreover, she had been able to grasp transcendental magical talent as a reward for withstanding particle sensitivity.
But this fact had been leaked externally by someone, and she began receiving relentless attacks since coming to the capital, starting with the demons.
Though the initiators were all different, one thing was certain: the opportunity to eliminate her was now.
No matter how she gained transcendental magical talents, until she honed them to be effective, she was just an unstitched bead.
Furthermore, the current girl didn’t even know several proper magical spells to protect herself. There wasn’t any force yet that could firmly support and uphold her.
Of course, the girl had no intention of quietly giving up her life. Eventually, the surroundings would stabilise, and her strength would naturally attract power.
It would take some time, but this was merely a temporary problem.
Like the boy, who had fallen for her, she had never failed to achieve what she was determined to do.
But paradoxically, the bond with the boy was the weakest link that Baek Seoyeon currently had.
For the time being, she was at a level where protecting herself was even a struggle.
Moreover, despite her utmost efforts to eradicate traces of the past, there was no guarantee she could definitively say she could avoid being backtracked if someone set their mind to it.
And if the boy’s existence was revealed, her connection with him would inevitably be exposed too.
Her impulsive return to the hospital was no different from act of immense danger.
The long efforts the girl had made to turn him into her captive suddenly came back like a boomerang in this situation.
Their relationship was comprised mainly of mutual dependency and pathological obsession.
It was hard to believe he would accept the fact that he had been away from the last bit of his possessions.
And he certainly wouldn’t let such a girl go easily. Instead of preserving his life, he would rather sacrifice himself for her. Just as he had done in the past.
This was not a matter of strength; it was a problem of his inherent nature.
*
“Ah… ugh…”
The girl groaned in distress. There wasn’t much time to think. Before dawn broke, she had to return to the capital while avoiding others’ eyes.
However, no matter how many times she pondered, the conclusion kept leading to one point.
To make him temporarily sever all ties with her. Thus diverting his attention from the dangers and hardships she was facing.
So what she needed was the courage to be hated.
Even if it meant receiving resentment from him akin to death, it would only be a temporary phenomenon.
The brief resentment would be better than him facing the threat of death again.
*
“Umm…”
Had he sensed her presence, he stirred in his sleep. The girl quickly gathered her painfully aching chest and composed her expression.
“Yena…?”
Even now, she was confident in her acting skills.
“…Hi.”
She promised a great reward to the doctor while desperately urging him to keep the boy safe, and she ordered the maid, Yeo-Jin, who had been serving her, to discreetly ensure the boy’s safety and provide regular reports.
After everything was properly organized, she would find the boy, kneel, and apologize for her wrongs.
Hearing his resentment was scarier and more daunting than anything in the world, but she believed he would eventually appreciate her efforts.
He would surely lift her up for the hardships she had endured, gently hug her, and lovingly stroke her hair.
But if there was one mistake the girl had made, it was allowing love to blind her, making her think his heart was more steadfast and serious than it truly was.
And when unexpected betrayal was added to that, it was a plan that had gone awry from the start.
*
All traces should have been perfectly erased.
However, if there was one unexpected thing, it was Baek Seoyeon’s obsessive fixation on him.
“How could you… how could you do this to me!! Of all people, how could it be you!!”
It was a rare display of fury from Baek Seoyeon, almost resembling a lament.
Her hair was messy and tangled, a complete wreck. Her red, bloodshot eyes brimmed with tears. Her gaze was hollow, and shadows loomed darkly around her. Each time her lips trembled, a soot-stained ring hung idly in the air.
And just behind her, a woman dressed as a maid lay bloodied, gasping for breath.
She had served the girl since childhood up until now and had eventually grown close to Lee Hyun. Yeo-Jin was her name.
“He called you sister, and yet… how could you have hired someone to kill Hyun!!”
“Haah… Haah…”
Despite the relentless accusations, the maid merely exhaled. Seeing this, Baek Seoyeon grit her teeth and spoke in a chilling tone.
“…You couldn’t have made such a decision alone. Who’s behind this? Who exactly told you to commit such an act?!!”
“Kuah…! Cough!!”
The golden particles that concentrated in the air crushed her like a massive boulder. Unable to endure the pressure, Yeo-Jin spat a bloody phlegm.
Finally, she could no longer bear it and opened her mouth.
“The eldest young master…”
“What…?”
At the mention of that name, Seoyeon’s eyes widened.
Baek Seojun. He was the standout heir among the many siblings of Paecheon. While his magical abilities couldn’t compare to hers, he possessed exceptional social skills and commanded substantial support.
‘It’s been a while. Our youngest. Welcome back.’
He was also the only one who had welcomed her with a smile when she returned to Paecheon, but the underlying sense of dread had always lingered.
It wasn’t uncommon for siblings entangled with him to mysteriously go missing or sustain severe injuries, thus being eliminated from the competition.
Eventually, that sense of dread had returned, leading to the worst outcome where both the doctor and he had been assassinated.
“Why… why would he harm Hyun…?”
“Cough… perhaps to… cough! Annihilate the evidence…”
“What…?”
It was the moment the girl realized the culprit who had shattered her paradise.
In shock, Seoyeon bowed her head in despair, but after a brief silence, she asked Yeo-Jin again.
“…Since when have you been working for him?”
“Since I first served you…”
“…Ha.”
Seoyeon let out a faint lament as if feeling empty. After a moment of silence, she spoke again.
“…I’ll spare your family, but… you must pay the price.”
– Pfuuk!
“Kuhk…!”
An enormous ice spear, frozen in midair, swiftly pierced through Yeo-Jin’s heart. Following a brief gasp, the woman collapsed, no longer moving.
“…Huh…”
Tears of rage and sorrow flowed calmly from the eyes of the betrayed.
*
“Sister… I’m sorry… I’ve tarnished our dignity…”
“Don’t worry about that. Focus only on recovering, okay?”
“Hehe… sister…”
As Baek Seoyeon smiled gently and held hands tightly, the blonde female student lying in the hospital bed turned red with embarrassment.
After a brief visit, Seoyeon slowly walked out of the ward.
Just then, someone called out in a hurried voice from behind her.
“Seoyeon… huff… Seoyeon!”
“Ireh…? What’s the matter…? Why so urgently…?”
A neatly braided girl wearing glasses rushed over, panting heavily.
She was Choi Ireh, the girl with whom Seoyeon had managed to become close alongside Kwon Yuri.
While she typically maintained a dignified demeanor, seeing her like this raised Seoyeon’s curiosity.
“I found it…! The thing you mentioned… finally…”
“…What?”
At the words spilling from Ireh’s mouth, Seoyeon’s expression changed at once.
Seoyeon followed Ireh’s hurried steps down the path.
Memories began swirling back to the surface in her mind.
*
“Hello, big brother.”
“Oh… who could this be… haah… my cute little sister has come… haah…”
In a secluded hideout, a man greeted her with a cheerful voice as he saw Seoyeon enter through the iron door.
Though he was restrained in a chair, his body covered in blood, it was clear he resembled Seoyeon significantly, being quite handsome.
Seoyeon worked hard to maintain an indifferent and professional expression. Yet inside, it felt as though her intestines were twisting in pain.
The greatest culprit that had twisted her life was right there.
“I’ve heard the news… huh, you topped the cradle? That’s impressive coming from your first semester… you must have earned quite a bit of trust from father… And now you’re in the pursuit squad as well… haah…”
“Big brother. Why did you run away?”
“…”
The man, who had been chattering away, suddenly closed his lips tightly. The cheerful expression he put on collapsed into a menacing and dark demeanor.
Setting aside her resentment, this was a question born purely out of curiosity.
Seoyeon believed the time wasn’t right yet. Thus, she merely showed a calm demeanor and had been secretly focused on building her own force after enrolling at the cradle as per the head’s orders.
And she merely maintained a polite demeanor towards her elder brother for the time being.
But as he suddenly vanished, his position and authority had fallen easily into her hands.
Had she made even a slight misstep, her revenge would have been futile, but fortunately, she found a way to catch him after all.
“…That’s enough. But big brother, I want to ask you something else.”
Seoyeon changed the topic after his extended silence. While she had some questions, his reasons for fleeing weren’t particularly of interest. She suppressed her emotions in her heart and broached the subject she had long wanted to discuss.
“…What is it?”
“One year ago. Sending demons to kill me. Was it you?”
The man looked at Seoyeon with wide eyes as if questioning how she had found out. His surprise was somewhat valid; had she not learned the demon tongue, she might’ve easily dismissed it as an unlucky attack.
“…”
“Don’t worry. Unlike you, big brother, I just want to clarify the facts and circumstances. Depending on your answer, I might let you go.”
“Is that… true…?”
For the first time, hesitation flickered in his gaze, once filled with artifice. Only then did Seoyeon reach a degree of understanding regarding his thought process. What he sought wasn’t noble values or magical achievements.
His survival took priority.
The fact that he had eliminated competitors, tossed aside the position he’d fought hard to obtain, and had escaped into the unknown all spoke to a survival-driven mindset, as did his instantly wavering gaze at her one word.
“It’s true. I’m not interested in that sort of thing. I don’t want to see blood flow among siblings. You know how I have lived all this time.”
“…”
“Of course, this is an internal family matter, and I intend to take care of the other side decisively. So I hope you can answer honestly. No matter how much of an heir to Paecheon you are, you couldn’t have mobilized all those demons to burn down a single village on your own. There must be external collaborators. Isn’t that right?”
“…If I were to be completely honest… would you let me go?”
“I don’t lie.”
The man’s face was etched with agonizing deliberation. Eventually, he uttered the name of an unexpected faction.
“The five families… Jeokhwa Yeon family.”