Ch. 284 - Shadow Cast By The Wind (8)

All of the palaces in the Pung Empire were named after legendary beast or heroes from myths and legends.

For instance, the Iron Queen Palace was named after the wife of the Iron General 'Cheolyata,' a statue mocked by everyone for not moving.

However, after her diligent care, the statue miraculously turned into a real person. This palace was known as the residence for queens or princesses.

Of course, Jeliel knew nothing about such stories. She merely assumed this was a lavish palace meant to host distinguished guests.

"I'm Pung Harang, the youngest son of the Pung family."

When she first saw the boy, who looked like a human block of muscle, her first impression was that everything about him was rigid—his expression, his muscles.

"Hmph! I'm..."

"Shh, senior. Introductions later."

Then, when she saw the boy named Deok Cheol-Gwang behind him, huffing like a bull, she slightly adjusted her initial impression.

'...His muscles look even more rigid.'

As someone like Jeliel, who maintained just enough fitness to avoid collapsing while sitting at her desk, people who overtrained their muscles like that only seemed foolish to her.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jeliel from the Starcloud Trading Company. I'm truly honored by the extravagant hospitality you've extended to someone as unimportant as me."

Unlike her usual demeanor, when meeting higher-ups, Jeliel would wear a fake smile and soften her tone to perfection.

Acting kind? Pretending to be polite? She had rehearsed it so many times it was almost second nature by now.

"We don't offer extravagant hospitality to just anyone. Miss, please have a seat."

Following Harang Pung's direction, she walked slowly to the head seat of a large meeting room, presumably used by important figures. As she did, she glanced at the Stella Academy students who had come along.

'Ma Yu-Seong, Hae Won-Ryang... Flame.'

The boy named Deok Cheol-Gwang wasn't in her data, so she disregarded him.

The remaining three, however, were individuals whose information was already cataloged in her mind to some extent.

Ma Yu-Seong.

He entered Stella Academy as the top student and exuded an air of nobility. He was clearly from an affluent family, though his exact lineage remained a mystery.

Rumors suggested he was admitted under special circumstances at Stella.

Hae Won-Ryang.

He was the heir to the Full Moon Tower and entered as the second-ranked student. Recently, he had been catching up to Ma Yu-Seong's extraordinary talent and was known for his versatility with multiple elements.

Flame.

Despite being an orphan, she could freely wield special elements such as light and plants, which were typically associated with different races, and her overall magical abilities were outstanding.

And... There was also a record that she once had a romantic relationship with Baek Yu-Seol.

'To think I’d meet her here.’

Even though she tried to look elsewhere, Jeliel couldn’t stop her gaze from constantly drifting back to Flame.

Flame, too, was having a similar reaction.

'So this psycho is Jeliel, huh?’

It was her first time seeing Jeliel in person, but after being scarred countless times by her in the original novel Don’t Fall in Love with the Unfortunate Princess, her impression and personality were deeply ingrained in her mind.

Jeliel was the one who tormented Eisel to the point of tearing her heart to shreds. She was a true psychopath.

The same Jeliel was sitting there now, gently smiling as she glanced at Ma Yu-Seong, Hae Won-Ryang, and Flame.

"You’ve brought your friends."

"Yes, my apologies. However, my friends are also Class S students from Stella, so I believe this will be a valuable meeting for everyone."

"Yes, you’re absolutely right."

From the perspective of the trading guild, having connections with Stella’s Class S students was undeniably important. So, in that sense, Jeliel found this situation somewhat appealing.

She had been curious to meet Ma Yu-Seong and Hae Won-Ryang, but most of all, Flame. She finally had the chance to see the girl she had always been mindful of.

'What’s with her? Why does she keep staring at me?’

As Jeliel smiled softly and gazed into Flame’s eyes, Flame was slightly flustered and quickly scrunched up her face.

Just the act of Jeliel staring at her was enough to make Flame struggle to keep her expression under control.

Observing this, Jeliel mentally assessed Flame’s personality.

'... Is that the type he likes?’

With her constantly shifting expressions, a lack of composure, and her inability to keep her mouth shut, she seemed the complete opposite of Jeliel.

Or rather, she was someone whose personality Jeliel couldn’t quite comprehend.

'With that crude personality… Was she really in a romantic relationship with Baek Yu-Seol?'

‘She’s short, has short hair, and her figure is practically childlike.’

‘What in the world is attractive about her?’

‘If anything, someone mature and beautiful like myself, a High Elf, would be more…’

‘What am I even thinking?’

This line of thought was far from mature.

Jeliel took a deep breath and then extended her hand to Flame.

"I've heard a lot about you. They say you’ve inherited the blood of an angel?"

“No. I haven’t.”

As their hands met, the pressure from Jeliel’s grip was no joke. Even if she didn’t work out, the strength of an elf was naturally superior to that of a human.

However, Flame was no slouch when it came to physical strength.

Growing up, she had competed in neighborhood arm-wrestling contests and beat full-grown men, so she wasn’t about to lose in a test of grip strength to some scholarly elf.

Squeeeze!

As the veins bulged on both of their hands and beads of sweat started forming on their faces, Pung Harang finally stepped in to intervene.

"No matter how happy you are to meet, handshakes are not exchanged in such a manner in the Pung Empire.”

Pulling the two girls apart, Pung Harang spoke again.

“In our tradition, it’s proper to tap the opposite shoulder three times with your fist and bow to show respect.”

While Flame nonchalantly flopped back into her chair, not caring either way, Jeliel smiled brightly and awkwardly followed the gesture before stepping back.

"Jeez. Women's mind games sure are scary."

Watching the tense standoff, Ma Yu-Seong and Hae Won-Ryang wisely kept their mouths shut, but Deok Cheol-Gwang remained oblivious to the tension and casually muttered his thoughts aloud.

Pung Harang shot him a sharp glare, warning him to keep quiet.

“Well… it’s not like I said anything wrong. Why is everyone acting like it’s just me?”

Deok Cheol-Gwang muttered before quietly sitting back down.

At that moment, Hae Won-Ryang finally spoke up, getting to the main point.

"It’s an honor to finally meet you. I’ve heard you had a request. As a student of Stella, the successor to the Full Moon Tower, or even as a peer, if it's a request we can fulfill, we will gladly help you. Please feel free to ask."

"Is that so?"

Jeliel cooled her heated mind after hearing Hae Won-Ryang’s words, and began to think.

In reality, she had no real favor to ask. She had merely come to catch a glimpse of Baek Yu-Seol's face and had unintentionally become entangled in the situation.

But since it was them, things had changed.

"Actually... The favor I originally had in mind might seem trivial now, but would that still be okay?"

"Even a trivial request is fine.”

Hae Won-Ryang replied with a calm smile.

Jeliel hesitated for a moment before speaking carefully.

"This semester, there's going to be a student exchange program between the Astral Flower Magic Academy and Stella Academy."

"I'm aware.”

Though making such a request in front of Flame was awkward, there wasn’t much choice.

This was the only opportunity she had.

According to the information, that boy, Ma Yu-Seong, was close to Baek Yu-Seol.

The mysterious boy who had sat there quietly with a constant smile on his face wasn’t known to be close to many people, but Baek Yu-Seol was one of the few exceptions.

"Could you persuade Baek Yu-Seol to come to Astral Flower for the exchange program?"

As soon as Jeliel cautiously mentioned Baek Yu-Seol name, the three boys and the one girl were clearly taken aback.

"Ba-Baek Yu-Seol?"

Pung Harang stuttered and repeated the name in disbelief.

Jeliel nodded to confirm.

"Yes. That’s correct."

"... Why would you want that?"

“There’s no particular reason. I just… Want to see him at the academy.”

If anyone familiar with Jeliel saw her now, they would probably be shocked.

She was fumbling her words, something she always considered one of the dumbest things a person could do.

Normally, she was someone who never let her true feelings slip, but now, she was clearly flustered.

Noticing her awkwardness, Hae Won-Ryang quickly jumped in to help her.

“I understand. Baek Yu-Seol is certainly someone that even the Starflower Trading Company would be interested in meeting.”

"Ah! Yes, that's right. From the perspective of the trading company... that's why I want to meet him.”

Did she even realize what she was saying or how chaotic her words were?

In her haste to make her request, Jeliel had completely lost her composure and had no idea how to recover.

‘What’s up with her?’

Flame narrowed her eyes as she watched Jeliel. She looked as arrogant and cold as the novel described her, but her personality was completely different from what she had heard.

‘Something feels... Off.’

Jeliel didn’t seem like the ruthless person who would do anything, no matter how cruel, to achieve her goals. Instead, she had the air of a ordinary girl in love.

‘Is she really like this? For real?’

Flame knew Baek Yu-Seok and Jeliel had met before, but still, this was completely unexpected.

The atmosphere between them was far too different from what she had imagined.

‘What did he do to this psycho?’

It was starting to feel like even the personalities of the characters from the original novel were being twisted. She wasn't sure whether to be pleased or concerned.

‘… I guess it’s a good thing?’

She didn’t know how Baek Yu-Seol had managed to meet someone as high-ranking as Jeliel and change her attitude, but it didn’t seem like a bad thing.

Though Jeliel had been a powerful antagonist in the original novel, if she became an ally, she could be a very strong supporter.

But still, something felt off.

Instead of feeling happy, she was left with a sense of discomfort and unease.

“That doesn’t seem like a difficult request.”

Ma Yu-Seong, who had been quietly listening until now, spoke.

“I’ve actually heard Yu-Seol mention it before. He’s been interested in the exchange program with Astral Flower for a while now.”

“... Really?”

“What? Seriously?”

Flame echoed at the same time, clearly taken aback.

Ma Yu-Seong leaned back in his chair slightly and laughed awkwardly.

“Yeah. It’s true. I’m not lying.”

Hearing that, Jeliel’s expression grew more complex, but she forced a smile to mask her thoughts.

“That’s... Good news.”

“Good news?”

“... It’s nothing.”

Once again, Jeliel had blurted out something unnecessary. Today, she kept stumbling over her words, leaving her feeling frustrated with herself.

Trying to cool her head that felt like it was on fire, Jeliel turned her gaze toward Hae Won-Ryang and spoke again.

“And one more request, if I may? This isn’t just a simple favor, but more of a formal job. I’m willing to offer a generous payment for it.”

“... What kind of request?”

Hae Won-Ryang and Pung Harang both asked with serious expressions, sensing the shift in her tone.

Jeliel slowly parted her lips.

“I want to find someone. A person who is nowhere to be found on this continent. A very special individual.”

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