Chapter 147: Lifting The Curse (3)

It was as usual for Elena.

She woke up early in the morning and did her usual training.

After having her ordinary breakfast, she took on her morning guard duty.

In the afternoon, she helped Mila train the soldiers and did some additional training herself.

In the late evening, she came to see the Lord, using what Kim Hyunwoo had said previously as an excuse.

The point here is that her day was no different from any other day.

Even when she spoke with Kim Hyunwoo, nothing seemed different.

She interacted with him as usual, trying to appeal to him in the same way, even though he remained as indifferent as ever, making her wonder if he even saw her as a woman.

It should have been like that.

"My Lord...?"

"Uh, yes?"

'Why is he reacting like this?'

Elena looked at Kim Hyunwoo seriously.

To her, Kim Hyunwoo was showing some very unusual reactions.

Whenever Elena subtly leaned closer as she usually did, Kim Hyunwoo would flinch, and his words would freeze momentarily when talking about the Labyrinth. His movements became stiff like a wooden doll.

As if he was actually paying attention to her.

However, his reactions only made Elena more puzzled.

Just yesterday, no matter how openly she tried to appeal to him, he hadn't noticed at all. Instead, he had smiled that infuriatingly calm smile, showing no emotional response.

Even today was the same.

So, when Kim Hyunwoo suddenly started reacting differently, Elena felt a brief confusion.

'I don't know why the Lord is acting like this, but this is my chance...!'

Amidst the confusion, she instinctively realized this was her chance and pressed her body closer to Kim Hyunwoo.

"...!"

As expected, his hands trembled even more violently than before.

Feeling the heat radiating from his body, hotter than usual, Elena started thinking about what to do next, as she had never gone this far before. But her body acted on its own, following plans she had made long ago.

At that moment.

"...That woman...!"

"I'm going to...!"

Merilda and Rin, who had come to check on Kim Hyunwoo's condition after hearing from their subordinates, watched in real-time as Elena flirted with him. They had been glaring at each other and exchanging light insults just moments ago, but they were now pressed together, peeking into the Lord's castle, ready to barge in.

"Boss, if you go out now, you'll look ridiculous, so stop."

"Master, today is just for observation."

With Giral and Loriel's responses, Merilda and Rin ground their teeth in frustration, their faces twisting into annoyed expressions as they reluctantly kept quiet.

However, Rin, despite her pout, wore a somewhat happy smile.

The scene before her, of Kim Hyunwoo struggling under a woman's advances, was something the Absolute Ruler of Darkness had never seen or been informed of.

Of course, even recalling that, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness's smile soon faded.

After all, though Kim Hyunwoo was showing this new side of himself, it was only in response to Elena. They hadn't yet seen how he would react to others.

In other words, while they had some hope, it wasn't certain. So, Rin and Merilda watched from the hill with increasingly anxious expressions.

Soon, Giral and Loriel, who had been watching Merilda and Rin, exchanged glances before quickly looking away from each other.

In the past, neither Giral nor Loriel would have avoided each other's gaze.

Instead, they would have looked into each other's eyes, feeling a strange sense of kinship.

But then, a few weeks ago.

After they had both taken advantage of the Spring Water's effects, staying close together until noon, things had become extremely awkward between Loriel and Giral.

More precisely, their relationship had been at a standstill since that day.

The reason was obvious: neither Loriel nor Giral had talked to each other about it.

They both knew that the awkwardness wasn't due to feelings of discomfort or hatred or any other negative emotions.

But they also knew that if they spoke up now, their relationship would undergo a significant change.

So, they avoided looking at each other.

They simply turned their gazes elsewhere, each thinking about the other.

...Ignoring the discomfort they felt about taking their relationship any further.

As Merilda and Rin watched Elena from the hill, nearby, Adria, who had also been watching Elena and Kim Hyunwoo,

[What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do-]

Looked at the dragon, who had frozen upon seeing Elena, and sighed as she spoke.

"Please calm down, Your Dragonship."

[B-but, this looks like a very very very dangerous situation-]

"Don't worry. You can really calm down. Just looking at how the Lord is reacting to a hero he never seemed interested in, it's clear there was a mental limit in place. But just because that limit is gone doesn't mean the Lord will easily fall for a woman's temptation-"

Adria said this as she looked at Kim Hyunwoo.

Through the window, she could see Kim Hyunwoo moving like a wooden puppet.

He was trying to hide it, but she could see his stiffened face.

"-Probably not."

[Really, do you think so?]

"O-of course."

As Adria said this, she quickly began to think.

She began to seriously wonder if she had made a mistake.

After all, there were still several months left until the dragon's seal would be lifted.

'...Should I have delayed delivering the materials?'

Adria regretted it briefly but then shook her head as if there was nothing she could do about it.

She had only learned about the restriction today, and the situation had already unfolded. Now, she needed to figure out how to deal with it.

So, after thinking it over for a while,

'...If it's come to this, there's only that method left.'

She began to formulate a plan in her mind as she descended to the ground.

"In any case, Your Dragonship, don't worry and just focus on refining your resolve."

The next day, after Elena couldn't muster the courage to go further, having never progressed beyond the first step of getting physically close to him,

Kim Hyunwoo woke up, washed up as usual, and sat in his office.

Then, he absentmindedly thought about what had happened yesterday.

No, not just yesterday - he calmly recalled everything that had happened up until now.

It seemed to take about 10 to 20 minutes.

And then he thought blankly.

'...Is this for real? Or am I just imagining things?'

Kim Hyunwoo recalled all the behaviors the heroes had shown him so far.

Starting from Elena, then River, and even Shadra.

He thought that if he hadn't noticed by now, he must have been an idiot, given how much they had been flirting with him.

'Let's just stay calm.'

Kim Hyunwoo tried to stay calm and objectively review the situation.

And he came to a cold, hard conclusion.

'...No matter how I think about it, it seems like they're coming on to me.'

Next, the question of 'Why?' naturally crossed his mind, but only briefly.

'Stay calm.'

Kim Hyunwoo quickly calmed himself.

'I can't let myself be swayed.'

In fact, this situation was almost too good to be true for Kim Hyunwoo.

For someone like him, who had lived his life without any romantic experience, this situation - having so many women interested in him - was something he had only dreamed of.

But just because a dreamlike situation had appeared before him didn't mean he should be ensnared by it.

Kim Hyunwoo knew how devastating relationships could be in this game called Arteil.

So, despite feeling great about regaining his emotions, he thought coldly.

'...I absolutely can't let myself be easily swayed by this.'

He thought.

"Dad!"

Squeeze~

'I absolutely can't let myself be easily swayed by-'

He thought.

"Mate! Look at this, this wing part - how about making it like this? Give me your hand, so if you think of it like a drawing, you connect this part here-"

'I absolutely can't let myself-'

He thought,

"My Lord, I have something to report regarding security this time. Yes, it's about this part."

"......"

Three days after Kim Hyunwoo had coldly resolved to focus on the growth of his territory,

'...A little bit should be okay, right?'

His resolve began to waver.

And at the moment when Kim Hyunwoo's resolve began to waver,

"Finally, I can meet him."

The Hero King arrived at Lartania, now flourishing and thriving.

,

It was as usual for Elena.

She woke up early in the morning and did her usual training.

After having her ordinary breakfast, she took on her morning guard duty.

In the afternoon, she helped Mila train the soldiers and did some additional training herself.

In the late evening, she came to see the Lord, using what Kim Hyunwoo had said previously as an excuse.

The point here is that her day was no different from any other day.

Even when she spoke with Kim Hyunwoo, nothing seemed different.

She interacted with him as usual, trying to appeal to him in the same way, even though he remained as indifferent as ever, making her wonder if he even saw her as a woman.

It should have been like that.

"My Lord...?"

"Uh, yes?"

'Why is he reacting like this?'

Elena looked at Kim Hyunwoo seriously.

To her, Kim Hyunwoo was showing some very unusual reactions.

Whenever Elena subtly leaned closer as she usually did, Kim Hyunwoo would flinch, and his words would freeze momentarily when talking about the Labyrinth. His movements became stiff like a wooden doll.

As if he was actually paying attention to her.

However, his reactions only made Elena more puzzled.

Just yesterday, no matter how openly she tried to appeal to him, he hadn't noticed at all. Instead, he had smiled that infuriatingly calm smile, showing no emotional response.

Even today was the same.

So, when Kim Hyunwoo suddenly started reacting differently, Elena felt a brief confusion.

'I don't know why the Lord is acting like this, but this is my chance...!'

Amidst the confusion, she instinctively realized this was her chance and pressed her body closer to Kim Hyunwoo.

"...!"

As expected, his hands trembled even more violently than before.

Feeling the heat radiating from his body, hotter than usual, Elena started thinking about what to do next, as she had never gone this far before. But her body acted on its own, following plans she had made long ago.

At that moment.

"...That woman...!"

"I'm going to...!"

Merilda and Rin, who had come to check on Kim Hyunwoo's condition after hearing from their subordinates, watched in real-time as Elena flirted with him. They had been glaring at each other and exchanging light insults just moments ago, but they were now pressed together, peeking into the Lord's castle, ready to barge in.

"Boss, if you go out now, you'll look ridiculous, so stop."

"Master, today is just for observation."

With Giral and Loriel's responses, Merilda and Rin ground their teeth in frustration, their faces twisting into annoyed expressions as they reluctantly kept quiet.

However, Rin, despite her pout, wore a somewhat happy smile.

The scene before her, of Kim Hyunwoo struggling under a woman's advances, was something the Absolute Ruler of Darkness had never seen or been informed of.

Of course, even recalling that, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness's smile soon faded.

After all, though Kim Hyunwoo was showing this new side of himself, it was only in response to Elena. They hadn't yet seen how he would react to others.

In other words, while they had some hope, it wasn't certain. So, Rin and Merilda watched from the hill with increasingly anxious expressions.

Soon, Giral and Loriel, who had been watching Merilda and Rin, exchanged glances before quickly looking away from each other.

In the past, neither Giral nor Loriel would have avoided each other's gaze.

Instead, they would have looked into each other's eyes, feeling a strange sense of kinship.

But then, a few weeks ago.

After they had both taken advantage of the Spring Water's effects, staying close together until noon, things had become extremely awkward between Loriel and Giral.

More precisely, their relationship had been at a standstill since that day.

The reason was obvious: neither Loriel nor Giral had talked to each other about it.

They both knew that the awkwardness wasn't due to feelings of discomfort or hatred or any other negative emotions.

But they also knew that if they spoke up now, their relationship would undergo a significant change.

So, they avoided looking at each other.

They simply turned their gazes elsewhere, each thinking about the other.

...Ignoring the discomfort they felt about taking their relationship any further.

As Merilda and Rin watched Elena from the hill, nearby, Adria, who had also been watching Elena and Kim Hyunwoo,

[What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do-]

Looked at the dragon, who had frozen upon seeing Elena, and sighed as she spoke.

"Please calm down, Your Dragonship."

[B-but, this looks like a very very very dangerous situation-]

"Don't worry. You can really calm down. Just looking at how the Lord is reacting to a hero he never seemed interested in, it's clear there was a mental limit in place. But just because that limit is gone doesn't mean the Lord will easily fall for a woman's temptation-"

Adria said this as she looked at Kim Hyunwoo.

Through the window, she could see Kim Hyunwoo moving like a wooden puppet.

He was trying to hide it, but she could see his stiffened face.

"-Probably not."

[Really, do you think so?]

"O-of course."

As Adria said this, she quickly began to think.

She began to seriously wonder if she had made a mistake.

After all, there were still several months left until the dragon's seal would be lifted.

'...Should I have delayed delivering the materials?'

Adria regretted it briefly but then shook her head as if there was nothing she could do about it.

She had only learned about the restriction today, and the situation had already unfolded. Now, she needed to figure out how to deal with it.

So, after thinking it over for a while,

'...If it's come to this, there's only that method left.'

She began to formulate a plan in her mind as she descended to the ground.

"In any case, Your Dragonship, don't worry and just focus on refining your resolve."

The next day, after Elena couldn't muster the courage to go further, having never progressed beyond the first step of getting physically close to him,

Kim Hyunwoo woke up, washed up as usual, and sat in his office.

Then, he absentmindedly thought about what had happened yesterday.

No, not just yesterday - he calmly recalled everything that had happened up until now.

It seemed to take about 10 to 20 minutes.

And then he thought blankly.

'...Is this for real? Or am I just imagining things?'

Kim Hyunwoo recalled all the behaviors the heroes had shown him so far.

Starting from Elena, then River, and even Shadra.

He thought that if he hadn't noticed by now, he must have been an idiot, given how much they had been flirting with him.

'Let's just stay calm.'

Kim Hyunwoo tried to stay calm and objectively review the situation.

And he came to a cold, hard conclusion.

'...No matter how I think about it, it seems like they're coming on to me.'

Next, the question of 'Why?' naturally crossed his mind, but only briefly.

'Stay calm.'

Kim Hyunwoo quickly calmed himself.

'I can't let myself be swayed.'

In fact, this situation was almost too good to be true for Kim Hyunwoo.

For someone like him, who had lived his life without any romantic experience, this situation - having so many women interested in him - was something he had only dreamed of.

But just because a dreamlike situation had appeared before him didn't mean he should be ensnared by it.

Kim Hyunwoo knew how devastating relationships could be in this game called Arteil.

So, despite feeling great about regaining his emotions, he thought coldly.

'...I absolutely can't let myself be easily swayed by this.'

He thought.

"Dad!"

Squeeze~

'I absolutely can't let myself be easily swayed by-'

He thought.

"Mate! Look at this, this wing part - how about making it like this? Give me your hand, so if you think of it like a drawing, you connect this part here-"

'I absolutely can't let myself-'

He thought,

"My Lord, I have something to report regarding security this time. Yes, it's about this part."

"......"

Three days after Kim Hyunwoo had coldly resolved to focus on the growth of his territory,

'...A little bit should be okay, right?'

His resolve began to waver.

And at the moment when Kim Hyunwoo's resolve began to waver,

"Finally, I can meet him."

The Hero King arrived at Lartania, now flourishing and thriving.