Chapter 370

After the funeral, the Lady talked with her relatives, and we had Rianna brought to a separate building to take a warm bath. We didn't say anything, unsure of what to say. The talk about why the Demon King did what he did couldn't be discussed here. I felt a heavy sense of oppression knowing the truth. The revolutionary forces were not completely eliminated. They fell into Owen's hands, and he became the next leader of the revolutionary forces. The situation was unbelievable. The revolutionary forces were now under the control of the regime. It seemed like a bad situation, but I had to agree that Berthus had thought things through well. If the revolutionary forces were touched at the wrong time, the worst result could be that the revolutionary forces would run rampant throughout the empire. Berthus had planned to kill the revolutionary leaders under the guise of a demon attack and had arranged for Owen to become the next leader of the revolutionary forces in case of confusion. Owen would pretend that the incident was a result of our use of force during negotiations with the demons, causing internal turmoil. In the long run, they would weaken and destroy the revolutionary forces, cause internal conflicts, and solve problems as they saw fit. They were perfectly used. There was no better way to destroy the revolutionary forces without making a big noise. Berthus had been inspired by my killing of Leberian Ranche. "Be careful," I said. Rianna came down to the separate reception room in light clothing. She sat on the sofa, hugging her knees and staring blankly ahead. We didn't say anything for a while. No one could open their mouth. Late at night, the time of silence passed, and everyone went to bed. The space where we had recently had a lively party was now filled with silence. Most of the friends couldn't leave the Grantham mansion because they had to take care of Rianna. On a cold winter night, Cliff woke up to a strange sound coming from somewhere. No, he hadn't even fallen asleep. He was just wandering between sleep and consciousness. Cliff got up from bed and headed to the hallway. He knew whose voice it was. In the dark first floor of the separate building, Rianna was repeatedly creating flashes in the air. "What are you doing?" Cliff asked, and Rianna looked up at him and stared at the stairs. "......Just."

Rianna, with a gloomy expression, spoke with her eyes downcast.

The person who was always confident, lively, and mischievous, Rianna de Grandt, seemed to have disappeared.

Rianna was there with a face full of depression and frustration.

Cliff cautiously went down the stairs.

Then he sat across from Rianna.

Rianna faintly smiled at Cliff.

"Well, you must be tired."

Cliff was shocked by Rianna's smile and words.

It wasn't a situation where one could laugh.

Rianna was smiling in this situation.

Cliff found this unfamiliar side of Rianna.

But in this situation, people become kinder.

They couldn't treat the person they had unconditionally as precious.

Thinking that it would last forever, they treated them carelessly. Only after that person disappeared did Rianna become sincere to people.

In regret.

Because she realized the obvious fact that no one can be eternal to oneself, and oneself cannot be eternal to anyone.

She began to treat people preciously.

"Thank you all today."

That's why Rianna became kind.

Regretting all the days she wasn't kind.

"......."

"You'll feel better soon. Don't worry too much."

Rianna's tone was different from usual, making her seem like a completely different person to Cliff.

Cliff was originally not good with words.

He was also awkward with people. He thought that he might improve a little by being swayed by this wicked girl, but he was always at a standstill. He was still awkward with people, especially with girls.

He didn't improve.

Cliff didn't even know how to treat people normally, let alone in this situation with Rianna.

But it was strange.

Originally, it was difficult to look directly at Rianna's face.

If someone stared at her, she would break out in a cold sweat and quickly avert her gaze. Especially Rianna, who tended to stare piercingly, made it difficult for Cliff to endure. She would ask why he kept avoiding her gaze and even scold him to look straight at her.

He didn't know why it was so difficult, but when Rianna stared at him, it felt like someone was squeezing his heart and it was painful.

But now.

Cliff was looking at Rianna, but Rianna wasn't looking at him.

It wasn't awkward to stare.

In this situation, he didn't know what to say.

He didn't even know how to treat her normally, let alone comfort her.

However.

Just because he didn't know didn't mean he couldn't do anything.

Even if he didn't know how to treat her normally, he could try something to comfort her.

The attempt may or may not be successful.

Right now, Cliff.

"Rianna."

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to drink... alcohol?"

He wanted to comfort Rianna de Grandt. Rianna looked at Cliff with a slightly surprised expression, as if she didn't expect those words to come out. In this situation, they drank alcohol together. It was a night where they might get deeply drunk, but it might be better to do so. Rianna looked out the window every time she took a sip of whiskey. She told Cliff about her parents' failed elopement and forced marriage. Her mother wanted to love her father, but he couldn't love her back, so it was a difficult situation from the beginning. "I was like a mediator who forced them to continue their creaky marriage. I don't even know why I was born. Anyway, I was born. It's not like I was a sacrificial lamb, but whenever they had a big fight, my story always came up. Even if it meant looking at Rianna or looking at me, my mother and father both talked about me. Whenever they made extreme decisions, my story always came up. So, should we continue here with Rianna?"

"I was sick of it."

"Do you think I'm the only achievement we left in each other's lives?"

Rianna takes a sip of whiskey.

"Anyway, I hated both my mother and father. I hated my mother because she always interfered in my life, and I hated my father because he seemed to let me be free, but it was clear that he wanted me to live the life he couldn't. If my father had been good to my mother from the beginning, she wouldn't have become such a bitter person."

"My mother is openly problematic, but my father pretended not to be a problem, but he was actually the biggest problem."

"So I hated both my mother and father. Seriously, I thought I hated them."

Rianna pours whiskey into her glass and rolls the liquor around in the glass.

"But I think I liked my father more than I thought I did."

Because of the regret that flooded in when she couldn't see him anymore.

Because the last thing she said became the last thing she said.

"I'm a bastard, just like you guys say."

Rianna was crying with her eyes wide open.

"Everything...I regret it so much..."

Rianna put down her glass and just stared at it, unable to drink, while Cliff watched her quietly.

"Why. Why did the devil...why did our father...why did he have to die there...He wasn't a good husband, but he seemed like a good father to me. He didn't love my mother, but he loved me, right? He loved me as much as I did, but he thought it was an excuse to rationalize his unhappy marriage. So...sigh...and...he was a good person, our father. He was kind to people and didn't do bad things. He was a good...person..."

Cliff watched Rianna, who was choking up.

The Duke of Granth was a good person externally.

He didn't think he was a good husband or a good father, but he wasn't that bad of a father.

Rianna says that in a world where her father disappeared.

What's lost can't be regained.

So, you can only hope for something else.

Unable to understand why he had to lose, she thinks about why he had to lose.

"So, I...so...I'm a psychic. Can I take revenge? Can I fight? I'm curious. How much power do I have? Can I do that?"

Revenge.

A sleepless night. Rianna was imagining revenge and was hitting her pillow. She wondered if she had the power to take revenge and spent a sleepless night. She contemplated her abilities as a powerful electric user and wondered if she could stand up against the demon king. Cliff offered to help her and said they could face the difficult task together. Rianna was surprised by his offer and smiled. She thanked him and poured out the expensive whiskey, saying she couldn't drink until the demon king was dead. The funeral was over and they returned to the temple, but Rianna was still not feeling energetic. Cliff advised her to rest and not push herself too hard. "Oh...? Ah. Yeah... Okay. Rest then."

Rianna started her early morning training. Nara and Ellen watched from afar as Rianna and Cliff ran together. Rianna was not particularly enthusiastic about physical training and was not as physically fit as other combat students. She had powerful and self-growing abilities, which were enough for her. Her family was wealthy, so she didn't have to worry about her life after graduation. She was only interested in playing around and having fun, and had been disappointed that we were working too hard just a little while ago.

That Rianna de Granitz disappeared.

"Haa... Haa..."

"Be careful of the ice."

"Yeah."

Rianna, with a deadly poison in her eyes, chased after Cliff, who could not keep up with her even if he tried. Rianna had been dragging Cliff around, trying to fix his awkwardness in social situations. Now, Cliff seemed to have no problem speaking or dealing with Rianna. In fact, he was teaching her something. Their common goal had eliminated Cliff's embarrassment and Rianna's unfaithfulness. Their chronic problems disappeared through someone's death. Through the purpose of revenge.

Nara and Ellen watched Rianna chasing after Cliff, sweating in the middle of winter.

"I thought the demon king was a distant story."

Ellen looked at me.

The champion of Tuwan.

And the owner of two relics.

Ellen seemed to think it was a story that applied to us. The demon king is just a symbol of fear for most people, and it's not something that will directly affect their lives. But the Duke of Granitz died because of the demon king. Someone around them had directly experienced sadness and pain because of the demon king's actions, and they had changed because of it.

"Reinhardt."

"Yeah?"

"I'm angry."

Ellen's eyes were shaking. It was difficult to accept that the demon king was now truly an evil presence. She seemed to be angry because the demon king had destroyed her friend's life. Their anger was different from that of others.

"I am too."

I can only be the angriest.

"Let's go."

"Yeah."

We ran together.

The culmination of anger, even if the true target of revenge is different.

We spent the day together, until something began at the end of our daily routine.