The Sub-Protagonist Is Retiring

50 – 049. Bern Kulam-2

“That stubborn, wooden bastard… !”

Bliston’s pub.

Inside, Lewen was holding on to the bottle, her face red.

He wasn’t strong on alcohol, and he didn’t like hangovers, though.

Unable to stay sober today, he gulped down his drink.

“Hey Lewen, stop drinking and go home. Don’t regret saying that your head hurts again the next day.”

“shut up. I’m doing this because I don’t want to go back to his house.”

“I’m sorry, what are you doing this time?”

“… … I only say good things for Vern hyung, but he doesn’t notice at all.”

“Who did I tell you about? If I wait, the Count will tell me all the facts someday.”

“How long are we going to wait? I’ve been patient and patient for over 10 years! There seems to be circumstances, but they don’t tell me at all… … .”

Lewen groaned and slammed her face on the table.

It was difficult to control my body because my head was spinning from the alcohol.

However, I was holding on to the ceremonial rope, thinking that Bern would come and take it if the film was cut.

Even if it wasn’t, I fought like crazy with the person in question, but I didn’t want to be rudely carried on my back.

“You are the same, too.”

“what?”

“When you’re angry, you always come to the bar and curse at the Count.”

“Then can’t I just complain?”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just admiring that there’s no one as persistent as you. Usually, if you don’t listen to me for a day at the earliest or a month at the latest, everyone will give up, right? But no matter how many years pass, you continue to curse at the Count and worry at the same time.”

“… … .”

“Even if it’s the last bond your sister left behind, you care about the Count more than blood. I wonder why you care so much about the Count.”

Teeing-!

Lewen started snapping his fingers at the empty bottle.

It was his habit of showing up occasionally when he confided in his heart.

“… … Bern is a trash who couldn’t protect his older sister, and although he’s a fool who recklessly tries to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, he deserves respect.”

“People in Bliston respect the Count.”

“That’s not enough. Even though my older brother’s past actions were somewhat radical, he performed as many activities as the current king, so I don’t understand why people are praising the king and pointing fingers and cursing at his brother.”

“Because it’s true that I’ve acted more than necessary.”

“That sucks. If you don’t kill a serial killer, you’ll kill again someday. So, someone had to have blood on their hands, and Brother Bern voluntarily took on that role. In the end, the fact that the current king is in the limelight as a clean hero is thanks to Bern, but people don’t know that fact.”

“Originally, this is a world that only looks at the good guys, what are we going to do?”

“f*ck, what a f*cking world… … .”

Lewen let out a thick curse and looked at the ceiling.

How can I make the current situation better?

I thought about it while wrapping my head around it, but because I was drunk, nothing came to my mind.

“Ew, stop going.”

“Good idea. But can you go back alone when you’re so drunk?”

“Isa Nam, I’m no kid anymore, I go to the house on my own.”

“okay. Enter carefully.”

Lewen came out of the bar with only complaints.

He slowly moved forward, barely controlling his staggering body.

Taking in the cold northern wind with his whole body, he looked around the street without saying a word.

The smoke rising from the chimney and the sound of children laughing in the house.

The warmth that Lewen wanted was in a common family home.

However, the only blood relative was lost, and the person who wanted to accept it as a family lived with a wall built up.

When I was able to walk on my own two legs like now, family affection no longer existed.

“Sup… ! ha… !”

Am I hoping for too much?

With such doubts in mind, Lewen walked and walked aimlessly.

Until you find an unexpected person.

“… … Who is that person?”

A woman came into his field of vision.

Although his face was wrapped tightly in a cloth, Lewen’s eyes could not be fooled.

It was immediately recognizable from the pink hair and body shape protruding through the fabric.

It was Sherin, the wife of Count Berncoulam.

‘What are you doing at such a late hour… ?’

Sherin looked around and entered an alleyway.

Suspicion grew in Lewen’s head at the suspicious appearance, and his feet automatically followed her.

As he went all the way along the alley, killing as much as possible, he came to an abandoned cathedral.

‘I came to worship at this time… … . No, much less, this is an abandoned church.’

Lewen knew that Sherin was a former priest.

But I didn’t think that she, who usually spends her time shopping and dressing up, would come here to pray devoutly.

As the suspicion deepened, Lewen quietly entered the abandoned cathedral.

All the lights were broken, and everywhere was overflowing with spider webs, waste materials, and dust.

Even when I came in, I was short of breath.

Feeling like he would cough if he took a deep breath, Lewen covered his mouth and nose with his hand to keep his breathing to a minimum.

“Is the evidence manipulation over?”

“of course.”

It was the time when I was carefully walking around the inside of the abandoned cathedral.

Sherin’s voice came from the chapel, and Lewen hurriedly hid with her back against the door.

I opened my ears wide and gave my full attention to the conversation.

“I bet the Count doesn’t know, right?”

“Of course. How would he know if he didn’t enter the mansion on an expedition? Don’t worry and prepare a plan.”

“The preparations have already been completed. Just give a command and we can start anytime.”

“great. Then put your plan into action without delay.”

“As commanded.”

plan? preparation? execution?

Unknown stories were coming and going, messing with Lewen’s head.

However, from fragmentary conversations, I guessed that they were plotting something dirty.

We must inform Berne immediately.

But stubborn, he would never harm Sherin without proof.

Even taking the risk, it was necessary to dig into the truth of the case a little more.

Lewen followed the two as they left the abandoned cathedral after the tryst.

However, on the way, the man wore invisibility magic, and there was no way to track him down for Lewen, who could not operate mana.

Reluctantly, with only heartache, Lewen went back to the mansion and opened the door to Verne’s office.

“Brother Bern! Are you still awake?”

Entering the count’s office without knocking was disrespectful, but the situation was urgent, so it was omitted.

He entered the office, prepared to be scolded, but faced a completely unexpected situation.

“Cool! Cool!”

“Brother Bern!”

Vern, sitting on the floor of his office, coughing up blood.

Lewen hurriedly tried to approach him, but Bern raised his hand to stop him.

“You shouldn’t come close to me.”

“What kind of dog is that while vomiting blood!”

“I am not saying this out of selfishness. It’s because there’s a chance you’ll get caught up in it too.”

“What is that… ah!”

Vern’s blood, which had been vomited on the floor, began to stain it black.

Upon seeing the scene, Lewen judged it to be poison and distorted her expression in anger toward Sherin.

However, words that broke his expectations came out of Vern’s mouth.

“This is a curse placed on me.”

“curse? Not poison?”

“okay. It is a curse that has plagued me all my life.”

“Then hurry up and call the priest to do it… … !”

“Unfortunately, this curse cannot be lifted because it hangs on my soul, not my body.”

“A curse on the soul? What is that?”

“I can’t tell you because I don’t know the details. What is the reason you rushed to see me at such a late hour?”

“Oh right!”

Recalling his original purpose, Rewen reported everything that had just happened.

There was no physical evidence, but he did not hesitate to give advice, saying that if he directly inquired, it would come out.

Berne was nodding his head calmly.

“Looks like it’s finally starting.”

“How do you say that you know?”

“Recently, after seeing Sherin, who has been acting suspiciously, I asked the butler to investigate. Sherin was intent on framing me for treason.”

“What, you lost money by worrying for nothing! Then, are you going to seize the woman and the ringleaders and slaughter them?”

“no. I intend to follow Sherin’s intentions.”

“it’s crazy? If you know the plot, you should think of repaying it! Why are you giving it to me!”

“Because it is not long before I can live.”

With a bitter smile, Vern wiped away the blood scattered on the floor.

Then the cloth that wiped the blood began to corrode.

Rewen was agitated and continued to speak while trying to manage his expression.

“I know that my brother’s lifespan is short. But are you going to let them do whatever they want?”

“It’s okay not to worry about that. I’ve found all of their evidence, so even if I die, everyone except Sherin will end up with me. And the Bliston Territory is scheduled to be governed by someone more popular than me.”

“for a moment! Why are you excluding that woman?”

“Early on, I was defeated in a duel with His Majesty the King and decided to entrust Sherine to him. However, due to His Majesty’s circumstances, I was able to take Sherin as my wife. Cherin, who ended up in an unwanted marriage, is unhappy because of me, so I want to give her a chance to find happiness.”

“Where in the world is that person who looks down on his brother, spends his brother’s wealth and is hysterical? Rather, it would be more correct to say that the older brother who had to live with that woman was unhappy!”

Lewen couldn’t understand.

I couldn’t accept that someone who should be happier than anyone else was about to fall into hell.

Since his body was shaking with anger, Vern carefully hugged Lewen.

“Don’t hate Sherin too much. Because of her, there were times when I was happy too.”

“After all, it’s just the past! After sacrificing so much, what is left for you?”

“It was an inevitable choice. I’m sorry, forgive me for leaving you alone.”

“If you feel sorry, live a little longer! Forget about such a woman and live the rest of your life happily!”

“… … It can’t be.”

“How come!”

Vern slipped away from Rewen and took something out of his arms.

A handkerchief stained with blood. There, the name of his sister, who was precious to Lewen, was embroidered.

“Your sister’s handkerchief?”

“Rin gave me this keepsake and wanted me to be happy. But I was destined not to be happy.”

“… … .”

“After the battle with the demon king, I happened to encounter the first witch. She looked at me and said,

You are cursed with fate, and all you approach will be unhappy.

It was the moment when Bern’s hidden circumstances were revealed.

“I couldn’t believe it at first. However, I had no choice but to believe that only my colleagues and close friends who had been with me had died and I was the only one who survived. Rin’s death is probably because of me.”

“Then the reason hyung kept away from others… … .”

“Yes, it was so that precious people would not be unhappy because of me. But even so, those who end up being unhappy because of me continued to appear one after another. I couldn’t see him any more.”

The reason Bern isolated himself.

It was because of a curse that could neither be purified nor escaped.

“Are you willing to sacrifice yourself to the end for that reason? Without telling people anything?”

“Originally, I was going to carry my secret to the grave. Because there might be people who take pity on my circumstances and approach me. was patiently enduring. But looking at you with the same expression as Rin at that time, I couldn’t bear it.”

“ah… … .”

“So please don’t. Lewen, you live happily as much as I do.”

Vern smiles broadly as she squeezes the handkerchief tightly into Lewen’s hand.

Verne’s smile, which he had never seen before, caused Lewen to burst into tears.

However, the time to be immersed in sadness was not that long… … .

Bern used magic to put Lewen to sleep.

“Sebastian.”

“Did you call?”

“Take the sleeping Rewen to his room. I have to go to the royal road soon.”

“All right.”

“Thank you.”

Bern came out of the room wearing a simple coat.

The moment he left, the old butler’s words flowed from behind him.

“Count, you have been the greatest master to me.”

“… … If you had been eavesdropping, would you know? It’s dangerous to get close to me.”

“Heh heh heh! Anyway, I’m an old song that doesn’t have much left. Wouldn’t it be okay to rebel like this at the end?”

“… … Right. You, too, were an irreplaceable person to me.”

“I don’t know what to do with the Count’s rave reviews. On your way out, I wish you peace.”

“Thank you.”

the next day.

The fact that Bern’s conspiracy quickly spread throughout the kingdom, and Bern, who voluntarily visited the royal capital, gradually disappeared from history.

***

“Lewen.”

“… … .”

“Lewen!”

“Yes? sister… ?”

“Sorry for waking you up so suddenly. But you’re crying.”

“ah… .”

Lewen, who recalled the past in a dream.

His eyes were wet with moisture.

“Did you have a scary dream?”

“huh… .”

“It must have been because the beds were different. sorry.”

Dagdak-! Dagdak-!

On top of a rocking horse.

The two siblings were riding horses and running through the woods.

And Lewen had just fallen asleep in Lin’s arms.

“are you okay! Isn’t that because you want to see Vern hyung?”

“Yeah, yes, but if you had nightmares because of my pointless greed… … .”

“Sometimes you have nightmares! Don’t worry about that! And I forgot what the dream was all about!”

“That, is it?”

“huh! So, let’s go and see Bernie!”

He said that, but Lewen still couldn’t forget the memory of that day.

From nob le mt l. co m

No, I couldn’t forget.

past before regression. From that point on, Lewen continued to return.

I don’t know why he became a regressor.

Perhaps he became a regressor due to Bern’s curse.

If so, there was only one thing he had to do.

‘You said you wanted me to be happy, right? I’m sorry, but neither am I.’

Two people who were precious to Rewen.

Lin and Bern.

Lewen had always hoped that the two of them would be happier than anyone else.

But his sister always died sooner than that, and Bern too, by the curse of fate, was doomed to be short-lived.

‘But it’s different now.’

The one and only sister was alive, and Bern, though different in ego, was alike in essential goodness.

There has never been a situation like this in dozens of regressions.

This episode was a golden opportunity for him.

‘This time, absolutely… !’

will make both of you happy.

Resolving once again, Lewen clenched his fists.

“oh! Teacher!”

“oh? It’s Rin! Did you manage to come all the way here?”

“I have sensed the teacher’s energy from the village and followed him!”

“That’s kind of scary.”

Rin, who noticed Vern’s figure, stopped the horse halfway through and ran out.

And then, without looking back, he hugged me in his arms.

Lewen, who was watching the scene, was a little disappointed, but on the other hand, he felt good.

Even though it wasn’t complete, it was getting closer to the future he wanted little by little.