Conquest Complete, So Why Is the Affection Dropping? - Chapter 51
Judgment(Judex) Lv.3
Divine Master’s unique ability.
The power to correct what is wrong in the world and restore twisted phenomena to their original state. Can ‘judge’ and eliminate injuries or illnesses that afflict humans, returning them to their natural state.
However, it will not activate if information about the original state is unavailable, or if the judgment result during the restoration process comes back as ‘incorrect’.
Usage condition: None.
This was the first time I was using this skill directly on a romance target character.
“……”
Though Hexion seemed a bit taken aback, he neither avoided nor pushed my hand away.
I slowly watched the blood stains disappear from his face, then gently stroked his hair. Despite looking like it would be coarse and strong, his hair was still soft.
“You escaped from the temple prison, right? Have you been getting any sleep? What about meals?”
“This level of injury is nothing.”
“That’s not an answer to my questions.”
“…I apologize for showing such inadequacy.”
That’s still not a proper answer. But even without Hexion mentioning it, I could guess that life hadn’t been easy since he escaped from the temple.
It must have been frustrating enough to be falsely branded a traitor and have his honor damaged, but then to be humiliated by Kaint in front of me…
For someone who took pride in being the finest holy knight in both skill and faith, how wounded must his pride be.
Once things settle down after my marriage to Kaint, I’ll gather people and activate the Blade of Judgment. I need to restore Hexion’s honor.
I want to save him right now, but the situation doesn’t allow it.
“Hexion. Can you stand?”
“Of course.”
He stood up without a word, maintaining proper posture. The tall Hexion still looked as solid as a rock.
Thinking about how this man had been wandering around looking for me while bleeding and exhausted made a corner of my heart ache.
Somehow I keep making Hexion suffer. I feel sorry.
“You can’t return to the temple yet, right? I’ll ask Kaint to prepare a room for you. Please stay there for now.”
“Shin Joo. I came to escort you.”
“Hexion, I can’t leave right now.”
“Why not? Do you no longer favor me?”
Hexion’s expression was as if he’d heard something unbelievable. His unexpected question caught me off guard.
Favor?
While I did rely heavily on Hexion when he was my guardian knight at the temple, it wasn’t to the extent of being called favor. If anything, wasn’t he the one taking care of me?
Above all, Hexion is currently in an unpersuadable state. Words like ‘favor’ are meant for confessions.
“I should be the one asking.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hexion, you don’t like me, right?”
“What?”
[Hexion] dislikes you.
No matter how many times I see it, I can’t get used to it. I never imagined I’d see such a message in the status window of a character whose route I’d completed. It must have been quite a shock for me to log out like I was running away when I was right at the ending.
I worried about Hexion. I felt sorry for him. When I saw Kaint ignoring his injuries, I was ready to fight even if it meant ruining the romance route.
It’s the same now. If anyone finds out I came here, I won’t be able to face Kaint. No, even if they don’t find out, we’ll keep getting into troublesome situations unless I resolve things with Hexion.
Yet I came here to ease my guilty conscience.
Maybe I do like Hexion quite a bit. But I’m not desperate enough to cling to someone who dislikes me.
It’s silly to harbor such serious feelings for a game character in the first place.
“I met you to heal your wounds.”
“Shin Joo…”
“Let’s end our relationship here.”
I stepped back and gave Hexion a slight nod. While I’ll do my best to restore his honor, it’s right to draw the line here and sort out my feelings for Hexion.
“After I marry Kaint, I’ll be going even further away.”
“…!”
Hexion’s purple eyes shook greatly. His large hand immediately clenched into a fist, as if trying to stop himself from reaching out to grab me.
“Shin Joo. I…”
Hexion’s lips trembled severely. His eyes wandered here and there, unable to look at me directly. Like someone lost their way.
I didn’t think what followed would be pleasant to hear. Just as I was about to tell him he didn’t need to continue, the response I least wanted to hear came out.
“…I hate it.”
Ah. I should have stopped listening.
I really should have cut him off earlier.
No, I should have just said what I wanted to say and left.
“Yes. That’s good, I won’t have any lingering attachments.”
“……”
“I’ll be going now. Take care, Hexion.”
I had no intention of entering Hexion’s route now, and I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of the story getting complicated by some sudden bride kidnapping event delaying the ending.
While I wasn’t entirely satisfied with how Kaint’s route was developing, I needed to see it through to return to reality. At this point, I just wanted to reach the ending quickly and be done with it.
I walked towards the exit, leaving Hexion behind. My steps gradually quickened until I was practically running, out of breath. I couldn’t remember the last time I ran this hard. My hair whipped against my face in the wind.
[Hexion] dislikes you.
I dismissed the tactless system window that kept confirming the kill.
They didn’t need to include such a miserable development of being rejected by a game character.
Won Soo-young. Our tastes really don’t match at all.
[Hexion] dislikes you.
Ah, please stop with the confirmation kills and just disappear.
I squeezed my eyes shut and flung open the door. I just wanted to return quickly to my room, the starting point.
[Hexion] dis■|likes you.
Tap. Tap.
[Hexion] dis■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■likes you.
Ding.
[Hexion] dislikes that you are returning to reality.
***
“Shin Joo. You’re here.”
When I returned to my room, I saw Kaint standing by the window. My legs froze.
“Admiral……”
Did he know where I’d been? He must know, right? There’s only one place I would have gone without saying anything.
“Come in, Shin Joo. This is your room, you needn’t be mindful of me.”
I thought he would demand to know where I’d been and who I’d met, but surprisingly, Kaint welcomed me gently without asking anything.
As the lord of the castle, he must know that I met with Hexion, but I couldn’t tell if he was choosing not to care or deliberately overlooking it.
“I came to tell you that we’ve set an auspicious date.”
“…Oh, really?”
For Kaint’s and my wedding. Though there wasn’t exactly a proposal, he had been seriously considering marriage with me. Since I didn’t object when he started setting the date, I suppose that was as good as agreeing.
I glanced at the window flickering in the corner of my vision.
Event condition achieved!
Would you like to proceed with the special event [Wedding]?
Yes / No
If I press ‘No’ here, what would happen to my marriage with Kaint?
Would Hexion burst in and kidnap the bride?
That would be troublesome. It was problematic to begin with, but after having it confirmed three times that he dislikes me, it would be really troublesome if something like that happened.
“Admiral. Why do you want to marry me?”
“Because I want to become family with you.”
“Is that all?”
“And because I’m in love with you.”
How can he be so sure it’s love when he’s never liked anyone before?
Even I can’t tell if what I feel for Kaint is love, interest, or curiosity, despite being attracted to him.
They say the less you know, the braver you are – Kaint showed no hesitation in being certain about his feelings.
I guess it’s true that beginners can surpass experts in enthusiasm and passion.
“Admiral. There’s something I want to ask.”
“Please speak, Shin Joo.”
“Aren’t you curious about my feelings?”
I understand that Kaint likes me. I maxed out his affection level, and the wedding event will trigger as soon as I accept, so he probably has no doubts about his feelings.
But marriage isn’t something you do alone.
There’s no guarantee that my feelings for him weigh the same as his, so why isn’t he anxious?
“I already have your answer, Shin Joo. You told me you like me.”
I did say that. But words aren’t everything. I already took Hexion’s side in front of Kaint. I even got angry and demanded that he treat Hexion’s wounds.
He should be suspicious of my behavior, saying I like him while talking about another man and even meeting him secretly.
“You believe that?”
“If I can’t trust the person I love, who in this world can I trust?”
“……”
My cynically thrown question vanished like waves washing away footprints in the sand.
