The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 238

Chapter 238
At the Kang mansion.
“Poppy! What are you doing standing there in a daze?”
“That... Young Lady, the disc disappeared into the horizon faster than Poppy could blink...”
“Did I throw it a bit too hard? In any case, it’s stuck in the side of that commercial building over there—” Kang Hyeon-Ah pointed toward the horizon. “See that, Poppy? Go fetch!”
Butler Hwang coughed. “I can’t even see the building...”
“Uncle Hwang, you have presbyopia, so it can’t be helped that your eyes aren’t what they used to be. But our Poppy is only eighteen years old.”
“First Young Miss, you must convert to dog years... No, regardless, you can’t simply send a dog to wander the streets...
Sigh
. I’ll go pay for the damages.”
The Kang estate had a history that went back two hundred years—everything from the stonework to the carpets, paintings, and side tables exuded an air of antique wealth. Moreover, even considering the year in which it was built, the mansion did not lose out in scale to modern architectural marvels, boasting a room count in the hundreds.
The Kang family’s mansion was impressive indeed.
However, when it was only Jae-Hyeok and Butler Hwang, the mansion’s endless rooms, long halls, and wide dining tables served only to remind Jae-Hyeok of his own isolation.
Thankfully...
Jae-Hyeok smiled. Recently, a spark of warmth had returned to the Kang mansions' cold halls and windy gardens.
Bark! Bark! Bark!
“Okay, Poppy!” Kang Hyeon-Ah announced, using her Lieutenant's voice. “I’ll throw this next one gently. I expect a perfect catch!”
Bark!
Bark bark!
With Kang Hyeon-Ah’s return, the mansion had become a home once more.
Things’ll be even more lively once Do-Jin comes back.
Jae-Hyeok thought.
At the start of summer vacation, Jae-Hyeok couldn’t stop thinking about the lion statue. Knowing it would be lonely over the break, he’d decided to send Do-Jin back first.
If the two of them get close, the statue will be less lonely, and Do-Jin will get the quest. It’s a win-win.
The lion statue clearly had a sense of intelligence. However, it was fixed in place and unable to move. How painful must that be? Eight years trapped at home had made his life hell, so he couldn’t even begin to fathom the lion statue’s feelings after centuries of isolation. Jae-Hyeok wanted to help; he yearned to ease its suffering.
Do-Jin will do well.
Jae-Hyeok knew Do-Jin himself had experienced loneliness as well. Moreover, Do-Jin was genuine. He treated everyone with an open and honest heart, no matter whether they were an aristocrat or a dog. Unless the statue brought up his height, Jae-Hyeok was sure that Do-Jin and the statue were sure to be getting along well.
He is so energetic that the statue might have more fun than when I was there.
Was Jae-Hyeok worried about losing the main quest?
No, he was not.
Having faced life and death against the Baus family, Jae-Hyeok knew Do-Jin's personality. He was sure that betrayal wasn’t in his nature.
I hope summer vacation ends soon so we can all meet again.
Jae-Hyeok thought about his friends and made a quiet wish, one that, for once, had nothing to do with revenge, schemes, or calculations. It was the sort of wish any sixteen-year-old boy might’ve had. And had he lived a normal life, perhaps such simple hopes would’ve been his biggest concern, too. But Jae-Hyeok knew there was no point in wondering. There was no going back to the past, and for an aristocrat, there was no such thing as escaping duties once borne.
“Yes... Yes, one moment.” Butler Hwang placed his phone to his chest. “Young Master, the representative of the Jeongdo Party wishes to pay you a visit.”
“The representative of the Jeongdo Party.... Is it Representative Ha Yul? Tell her that the Kang family always welcomes her.”
***
Ha Yul visited the Kang mansion and confirmed what Jae-Hyeok had already predicted: for the time being, the political and military circles wouldn’t bother Jae-Hyeok.
In other words...
“You mean that they won’t take issue with my killing the Association’s branch managers and General Cha Seung-Min?”
Ha-Yul smiled. “There’s no need to affect surprise. You must’ve expected such a result the moment you allied with the Ruler of the Sea.”
Jae-Hyeok’s face went flat and he shrugged.
“With a mind like yours, it wasn’t luck that Ji Cheon-Myeong fell by your hand. Even so...”
The wrinkles on Ha Yul’s face deepened.
“Did you consider the reaction of foreign powers?”
The movements of China and Japan were unusual. Based on the information coming in through her party’s connections, she suspected that a large number of foreign players had already set foot on Korean land. From Ha Yul’s perspective, Jae-Hyeok had driven away the dogs with Yeon Ho-Ryeong’s name only to summon tigers and lions in their place.
Again, Jae-Hyeok shrugged. “I know. That’s primarily why I agreed to join forces with Master Yeon Ho-Ryeong.”
“......!”
Ha Yul studied Jae-Hyeok’s face before her shoulders relaxed. It seemed Jae-Hyeok relly had a grasp on the situation.
Does that mean... No... is he actively targeting China and Japan?
Ha Yul suppressed the urge to pursue details and moved directly to the crux of the issue: “Can you handle it? Did the Ruler of the Sea promise to help?”
It hurt Ha Yul to admit it, but Korea was weak compared to superpowers like China and Japan, where Player-related businesses and training infrastructure had developed to an extreme degree.
Jae-Hyeok might’ve made his debut as a National Treasure candidate and was on a winning streak in Korea, but even he would have a hard time standing against the Chinese and Japanese players.
In the worst-case scenario, he could be found dead tomorrow morning.
Sensing her worry, Jae-Hyeok smiled politely. “Representative Ha Yul, do you only fight for the things you believe in when it's easy?”
Ha Yu made a confused face, and Je-Hyeok continued.
“No—you haven’t. You wouldn’t have been able to become a five-term member that way.”
“You don’t mean... So you
are
taking a gamble? You’re going to fight a battle with no chance of winning, and you haven’t even secured the help of the Ruler of the Sea?”
Of course, Ha Yul’s life had been a series of adventures. But at the very least, she had never gambled with her life—after all, risking one’s life on a gamble with no chance of victory was only something those backed into a dead end would do.
“Why are you doing this? You’ve already cleared the accusations against the Yaksha and your Kang family. Why go this far?”
It was clear to Ha Yul... no, it was clear to anyone that all Jae-Hyeok had brilliant talent. All he needed was to safely build up his strength for the next several years to a decade. So why was he still so set on goading China and Japan over here?
The answer was simple.
“I don’t have time to waste.”
“Is that what a sixteen-year-old boy should say? You have more time than anyone else!”
“I have to save my father.”
“.. .Huh?”
“The longer he remains brain-dead, the slimmer the chances of my father recovering.”
In fact, the odds right now were likely already close to zero. Hundreds of years ago, most countries took brain death as a measure of death, no different from the loss of a heartbeat.
From a medical point of view and common sense, the Yaksha had been a corpse since that day eight years ago. The best doctors from across the world had all given the same diagnosis, concluding that the Yaksha would never awaken. However, Jae-Hyeok didn’t believe that.
He couldn’t.
His father yet breathed!
Sitting at his bedside, Jae-Hyeok listened to the sounds and watched the movements of his father’s chest every day. They were the signs of life. So what if it was sustained through life support? What mattered was that there was still hope, no matter how slim... He just had to find the right elixir. Jae-Hyeok was sure of it.
“Recovery?”
“Indeed.” Jae-Hyeok nodded. “I will continue to fight, win, and become stronger to obtain the elixir.”
Moreover, this world was full of unknown areas called gates.
One elixir in particular was said to be an all-powerful panacea that cured all diseases. Jae-Hyeok planned to get his hands on one even if it meant searching through all the gates that existed in the world.
Of course, no one had actually seen the elixir before. However, the System acknowledged the elixir’s existence, and Reinhardt’s farmers had casually talked about it as if it were natural for it to exist.
They even grew golden walnuts that were said to have similar effects to an elixir.
“Ah...”
Ha Yul read Jae-Hyeok’s sincerity and controlled her expression. His ambition to heal his father was absurd, but it wasn’t her place to say that. That said, she wouldn’t encourage Jae-Hyeok’s reckless behavior, either.
“I understand why you're doing it. But what if the Chinese or Japanese players kill you...”
China and Japan were targeting the Kang family using Yeon Ho-Ryeong as a pretext, with their ultimate goal being to put pressure on the Korean government and maximize their own benefits in the next exchange.
It was highly likely that Jae-Hyeok would be used as a scapegoat to threaten the Korean government.
Jae-Hyeok smiled.
“Since they are prepared to kill, they must also be prepared to die. Likewise, that goes for me, too.”
Is it a lack of vigilance? Or is it that his recent success has blinded him?
Such people usually died early, Ha Yul knew.
She was at a loss for what to say.
“Can you excuse me for a moment?”
“Yes.”
Ha Yul rifled through her purse until she found the source of the buzzing; looking to Jae-Hyeok, who nodded, Ha Yul accepted the call.
“Hello... What?”
Ha Yul was greatly shocked.
“A new S-grade gate is open?”
Although gates had always appeared very suddenly, the one silver lining had been that it took them time to fully assemble and activate, giving the government and the Association ample opportunity to prepare. Moreover, high-grade Gates were valuable areas for gathering resources. Therefore, the emergence of an S-grde gate was usually taken as a development opportunity for Korea. But this time, the gate had both appeared and activated in rapid succession.
“What about the Association? Can they respond?”
—Jang Baek-San is gathering people but... It seems too much to do it alone.
The Korean Players Association was currently in a terrible state, which was no surprise given what Jae-Hyeok had done to them.
—
The military’s reaction is also lukewarm.
In addition, the military was dissatisfied with the government for not punishing Jae-Hyeok for killing General Cha Seung-Min.
“Where is the location of the gate?”
—
Jongno... Gwanghwamun...
“Dammit!”
It was said that Chinese and Japanese players had gathered in Korea.
They already looked down on Korea. What if they witnessed the scene where the S-grade gate that just appeared wasn’t properly managed?
They would definitely be drawn to what was going on, and once that happened, things would only spiral.
There was no way they would miss out on the gate’s first clearance reward when it was one of a player’s biggest opportunities.
It was even the first clearance reward for an S-grade gate. That was a chance at a complete turnaround in life, so it was worth taking a shot.
How can things become so twisted?
Did they have to stand by and watch as the Chinese and Japanese players thrived in the heart of Korea?
I can’t do that.
Ha Yul started wondering what price she would have to pay to negotiate with the military.
“I will go,” Jae-Hyeok announced, having already risen to his feet. An old scabbard was at his side—something that hadn’t been there moments before.
“Young Master Kang, you mustn’t!”
From Ha Yul’s perspective, it would be like stepping into the middle of the enemy camp, surrounded by many players from China and Japan.
Jae-Hyeok leveled a firm look toward Ha Yul before shaking his head.
“No. I will go, and it’ll be okay. Please trust me and watch over me.”