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Chapter 33
Arsen closed his mouth. He felt like he would show his surprise if he reacted to Harna bowing her head and apologizing like that.
He’d long heard the rumors about Harna and knew well how vicious her personality was said to be.
So when he saw Harna writhing in pain at feeling his holy power, he thought it was exactly as he’d expected. Someone with a wicked heart like Harna’s wouldn’t hesitate to borrow the power of darkness and use forbidden black magic.
But unlike Arsen’s firm belief, the Harna he met today was strange.
She ate the carrots he was picky about, kindly prepared snacks and cocoa for him when he skipped meals, and treated him warmly. If not for Harna’s earlier slip of the tongue, they would have continued chatting like nothing had happened.
And now, she was bowing her head and apologizing to Arsen. Faced with such an unexpected apology, Arsen was at a loss for words.
He had lived through a childhood worse than that of commoners. Conversely, he also knew very well how nobles valued honor as dearly as life.
So even if he was a priest, he was, strictly speaking, no more than a commoner. For a high-ranking noble like Harna to bow her head to him was something unbelievable to witness.
“I’m sorry for hurting you with my words. I can’t believe I made the mistake of judging someone by appearances alone.”
When Arsen said nothing, Harna cautiously lifted her head to gauge his reaction. Seeing her shimmering orange hair, he suddenly thought of carrots—along with Harna smiling while eating the carrots meant for him.
‘Yeah. She probably didn’t do it on purpose.’
He’d always been misunderstood, and there was no way Harna would deliberately treat him like a child just to anger him. If that were the case, she wouldn’t be apologizing like this.
Feeling his heart relax, Arsen spoke in a tone that had lost its earlier chill.
“It’s fine now, so please raise your head, Lady Juren.”
“Are you saying… you forgive my rudeness?”
“Surely you don’t expect forgiveness for free, do you?”
“Of course not. I’m not that shameless.”
When Arsen lightened the mood with a bit of teasing, Harna eagerly played along.
“I prepared a bit more of that cocoa powder that turns sweet when mixed with milk. How about it?”
“And just what do you take me for…?”
Just when she wondered if he was getting angry again and tried to hide the cocoa powder behind her back, the packet vanished from her hands.
“You brought the perfect bribe.”
Seeing Arsen smiling mischievously like when they first met, Harna finally felt relieved enough to smile back.
After apologizing to Arsen, she was going to leave so he could have some time alone. But Arsen asked if he could speak with her a bit longer.
Since she also wanted to talk with him more, they headed together to the reception room.
Seeing Arsen carry the cocoa powder she’d given him like it was some precious treasure instead of leaving it in his room, Harna asked Vera to bring some warm milk.
When she served the cocoa, Arsen drank it with such a satisfied smile that she couldn’t help but look at him fondly. Then she quickly snapped herself out of it.
‘He’s not Seungwoo. He’s not a much younger kid brother. No matter how he looks, he’s an adult. Don’t forget that.’
To avoid repeating her earlier mistake, she tightly reined in the softening of her heart caused by Arsen’s cuteness and focused. Meanwhile, Arsen, unaware of her inner turmoil, happily drank his cocoa, dimples appearing in his cheeks.
Maybe the sweetness put him in a good mood, because with slightly flushed cheeks, he set down his cup and spoke.
“Do you by any chance remember our eyes meeting at the imperial ball?”
“Yes, I remember.”
She hadn’t expected him to bring that up first. In fact, the two of them had tacitly avoided mentioning that night the entire time they’d been together.
After answering, she unconsciously glared at him. It was a day she could never forget—the most terrified she had ever been.
Her legs had nearly given out beneath her, and if Cardin hadn’t supported her, she would have collapsed.
As the memories vividly resurfaced, she asked Arsen in a resentful tone.
“What on earth did you do to me back then?”
“That’s what I want to ask you. What in the world did you do?”
Arsen placed both hands solemnly on his knees and stared at her intently, as if giving her a chance to confess a crime.
That only made her answer even more curt.
“What do you mean what did I do? I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“If you insist on denying it until the end, then I have no choice.”
Muttering regretfully, Arsen sighed softly and closed his eyes. Then a strange force began to emanate from his body—the same terrifying aura that had frightened her back then.
“Ugh!”
The oppressive weight pressing down on her body made her shove her chair back to try to get away from him, but it didn’t work.
“How does that feel?”
“Why are you doing this to me all of a sudden!?”
Seeing her pained expression, Arsen withdrew his power and asked calmly, and she hurriedly stood up and put distance between them.
“If you confess the truth, I may be able to help you, Lady Juren.”
“I really don’t know what you want me to confess!”
Frustration and injustice welled up until she felt tears prickling her eyes. Her eyelids reddened and tears threatened to fall, but she forced them back with deep breaths and spoke as calmly as she could.
“Just tell me what you think I did wrong.”
When she finally asked, Arsen stared at her, hesitated for a moment, then spoke as if he’d made up his mind.
“The power I just used that caused you discomfort is holy power.”
Holy power. A familiar term for someone who’d read countless fantasy novels. Power granted by the gods, capable of healing the injured, curing the sick, and helping those in need.
So why did his use of holy power make her suffer?
“Then why am I afraid of holy power?”
“That is exactly the answer I want from you. The only reason someone would be unable to withstand holy power is because they committed a forbidden act and were cursed by the gods for it.”
“What do you mean I did something forbidden!?”
Her mind went blank with shock. She quickly protested.
“I didn’t do anything. I don’t even know what this forbidden art is.”
“Still denying it?”
As soon as she denied it, light began to envelop Arsen’s body again.
“Ugh!”
“Do you still not believe me?”
Only when the pressure disappeared could she breathe again. She tried to speak, her voice filled with grievance.
“No, I really don’t kn— Ugh!”
When she shook her head again, his holy power surged once more, making her frown in pain.
“If you tell the truth, I may be able to help you obtain the gods’ forgiveness.”
“Ha… I said I’m innocent— Ugh! Hey, cut it out!”
He withdrew his power briefly, then blasted it again as if punishing her for protesting. Furious, she slammed her fist onto his head.
“..…!”
“Are you kidding me? You think it’s funny seeing someone suffer? You horrible man!”
As she raised her fist again shouting at him, Arsen, clutching his head where she’d hit him, flinched back in shock.
“You definitely need your older sister to teach you some manners.”
Darkness clouding her expression, she cracked her knuckles and stood up, advancing toward him. It was time to discipline the little brother who refused to listen and tormented her instead.
“…I’m sorry.”
“What was that? I couldn’t really hear you.”
She leaned in close, pressing her ear toward Arsen, who was mumbling in a voice so tiny it could crawl into an ant hole. After chewing his lips for a while, Arsen squeezed his eyes shut and shouted loudly.
“I’m really sorry!”
After glaring at him a bit longer, she sighed like she had no choice, rolled down her sleeves, and patted the wrinkles out of her dress. Ignoring Arsen, who flinched at even her smallest movement, she gave a sweet smile.
“Since it’s the first time, I’ll let it slide with just this much.”
“‘Just this much’…?”
Rubbing the bump forming on his head, Arsen looked at her resentfully. But when she widened her eyes and clapped her hands together sharply, he reflexively raised his hands to protect his head and stepped back.
‘Anyone watching would think I beat him to death.’
Sure, she’d hit him with full force at first in a burst of temper, but that could be called tough love. She’d simply helped Arsen get his head on straight since he had no idea what he’d done wrong.
After that, she scolded him thoroughly, explaining exactly why you shouldn’t toy with people while they’re suffering, and finally wrung that apology out of him.
‘Serves you right.’
Leaving the nervous Arsen behind, she lifted her chin proudly and sat back down.
Once he was sure she wasn’t going to hit or nag him anymore, Arsen sighed in relief and finally lowered his hands from his head.
Her throat dry from talking so much, she drank the now-lukewarm cocoa and then turned to ask Arsen,
“Alright, let’s go back to the beginning. You said I used a forbidden art. What exactly is that?”
“That’s what I want to—”
Seeing him about to repeat himself like a broken record again, she smiled sweetly. Realizing what that smile meant, Arsen cleared his throat and continued properly.
“My guess is that you used a forbidden art and thus were tainted by an unholy aura.”
“An unholy aura? Hm. First, explain exactly what this forbidden art is.”
“When one uses black magic, which disappeared after the Heavenly Demon War a thousand years ago, the body becomes corrupted, and one develops fear toward divine holy power. The temple treats black magic as an extremely serious matter, and recently an unholy presence was detected in the capital. That is why I came here… and that is when I saw you, Lady Juren.”
When she thought of black magic, she pictured a sorcerer in a black robe, swirling dark energy inside a crystal orb, commanding monsters. The idea that she had used such magic was absurd.
“That sounds strange. I heard I have no talent for magic. And you’re saying I used black magic?”
She asked, puzzled.
In truth, after hearing about Saera’s magician father, she’d once looked into magic out of curiosity too. But magic belonged only to those chosen.
The Juren marquis household had long been a family of swordsmen, and all she’d ever learned was that Harna had absolutely no magical talent whatsoever. Someone like her using magic more difficult than normal magic—and on top of that, forbidden black magic that was practically nonexistent now—seemed impossible.
“Since black magic isn’t well-known, I can’t say for certain, but I think you might have used the help of a magic stone.”
“What’s a magic stone?”
“It’s a tool that allows one to use magic by borrowing the magical power contained within a jewel.”
