Chapter 177

The person who could deliver the most powerful one-shot attack in this world was none other than Shin Jae-heon.

The problem was that he just happened to be sitting on the emperor’s throne.

As Countess Edelweiss, formally requesting an audience with the emperor would involve cumbersome procedures, and too many people would find out about our meeting.

Training would be completely off the table then.

I stared at the party window.

But asking for help in the chat window felt a bit off.

Joo Yian the hunter would undoubtedly apologize and say he couldn’t help, and above all, it would be unfair to Soo Yeri the hunter, who had been assisting me all this time.

In the end, there was only one option.

Sneak in!

Q. Is it real life that I’m infiltrating my own country’s imperial palace?

A. Yes.

Q. And it’s real life that I have to sneak in even though the palace lord is my childhood friend?

A. Yessss.

With that unbelievable self-Q&A, I donned a black robe under the cover of night and slipped into the imperial palace.

“…What do I even say when I get there?”

I muttered softly to myself.

Just then, a patrolling knight passed by, sharply scanning the surroundings.

He was A-rank like me, but his stats were on par with S-rank, so unless I started dancing, there was no risk of getting caught.

Tap, tap.

After the knight marched past with disciplined steps, I headed toward where Shin Jae-heon might be.

It was 9 p.m. now. Since the guy usually did light training at this hour, maybe he was at the training grounds?

Would he skip training just because he’s the emperor?

I doubted it.

I’ll check the training grounds first, and if he’s not there, keep looking.

I moved quickly, racking my brain.

So, what do I say when I run into Shin Jae-heon? Ask him to help me properly master defensive swordsmanship?

His response would be obvious.

“The best defense is a good offense, right?”

…And then he’d tease me mercilessly.

But what could I do?

Better to get teased and train properly.

“The problem is…”

If I call it practice, that guy won’t go all out.

I’d found an L-rank box, so the opponent might be L-rank or higher.

Taking half-hearted attacks from S-rank Shin Jae-heon and calling it practice wouldn’t help at all.

I bit my lip.

Whoosh!

Shin Jae-heon’s red greatsword cleaved through the air.

His eyes gleamed with killing intent as he swung at an imaginary foe.

This was his routine training at this time every day.

It was unchanging unless he was raiding a dungeon or had unavoidable circumstances.

This place was inside an L-rank dungeon too, but since it was an RP dungeon, there was no reason to skip training.

“Then I’ll step out for a bit.”

Everyone in the palace knew the emperor stepped away at this hour, so no need to worry about prying eyes.

Shin Yuri would be shocked if she knew, but surprisingly, he handled his emperor duties promptly.

“You?! Doing work!?”

Imagining Shin Yuri’s inevitable reaction, Shin Jae-heon chuckled silently.

It wasn’t because he enjoyed the work.

In a world where gates could erupt at any moment, he didn’t want to be held back by trivialities when she needed him.

“Hah!”

With a sharp kiai, his sword thrust forward powerfully.

In his mind, the enemy before him was one that wouldn’t die no matter how many times it was killed.

He never let his guard down until it crumbled completely into black ash.

Because danger could strike her anywhere, anytime.

Even right after unleashing his strongest attack, he prepared for impact.

He did the same for thrusting attacks with a greatsword, which weren’t typically chosen.

Thrusting straight ahead with a greatsword.

Given its immense weight, it dealt tremendous damage on penetration, but it was high-risk.

It was hard to follow up with another attack immediately, making it even more dangerous.

That’s why he carried not just Maletia’s sword, but several others.

Tap!

So he could thrust with Maletia’s sword and swiftly switch to another for the follow-up.

As long as it was nearby, he could retrieve it into his inventory anytime.

Though no one else could wield Maletia’s sword anyway, since it was bound to him.

He had been practicing like this for a while when…

“…”

He lowered his sword and closed his eyes briefly. Calming his ragged breath, he looked up at the sky.

It was about time to head in and sleep.

As he turned to leave…

“…?”

He froze mid-step.

A strange presence nearby.

Any other time, he’d have hurled his sword without hesitation.

Everyone knew the emperor hated being watched during training, so approaching here meant shady intentions.

And urgent matters would be called out from afar, so this wasn’t an emergency.

“…”

But Shin Jae-heon couldn’t throw his sword.

The presence was far too familiar.

It shouldn’t be felt here.

Have I finally lost my mind?

“You weren’t all there to begin with?”

As that thought crossed his mind—of someone who’d reply just like that—he clutched his forehead.

“Your- Majesty.”

A voice came from behind.

Shin Jae-heon stiffened, holding his breath.

He couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality.

“Hey, over there?”

The voice called again.

Finally, he whipped around.

It was real.

Really… Shin Yuri.

“!”

He’d turned so abruptly that Shin Yuri looked startled too.

“What, you didn’t know I was coming?”

I thought you’d sense it if it was me.

Even her muttering was pure Shin Yuri.

Shin Jae-heon stood blankly for a moment before responding a beat late.

“…I knew.”

“You knew and still got that startled?”

His unfiltered reply shot out.

“I knew, but thought it wasn’t real.”

“?”

Shin Yuri blinked.

Shin Jae-heon barely swallowed the rest in front of her.

I thought I’d finally gone crazy from missing you so much.

He let out a short breath.

Rubbing his face to snap out of it, he asked,

“No chat? You snuck in?”

Her black robe made it clear this wasn’t official.

She nodded lightly and grinned mischievously.

“Yeah. Sneaking into my own country’s palace felt amazing. This weird thrill of immorality is like…”

Shin Jae-heon watched her ponder.

Then she dropped a bombshell.

“…Eating instant noodles in the school library at dawn?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Where in our school library could you eat ramen?”

Eunryeong High’s library was cramped, by her description.

No spot for ramen.

The librarian would spot you in one sweep.

Shin Yuri waved it off.

“Not our school. Joo Hunter Yian said he once ate ramen in college at dawn because he was starving.”

“Oh…”

New info. Shin Jae-heon arched a brow.

The guy who never breaks rules?

“He felt so guilty he volunteered to clean the library for a week.”

…Healers weren’t for just anyone, huh.

“So why’d you sneak in?”

Forehead in hand, Shin Jae-heon asked.

He still couldn’t believe Shin Yuri was here.

Could he touch her…? Probably not.

They used to playfully punch shoulders and pat backs, but at some point, he couldn’t anymore.

He bit the inside of his lip.

Shin Yuri gave him a sly smile.

“‘Cause I missed you?”

…Her usual tease.

One he’d thrown at her first, in the Polang house training grounds.

“Missed me?”

Even knowing it was that follow-up, it choked him.

“Not feeling well today?”

Shin Yuri asked. He shook his head quickly.

I don’t want you noticing my ‘weird state.’

“No, I’m good. Great, even.”

He showed his hands as he spoke.

Fortunately, she didn’t pick up on anything odd.

She clasped her hands behind her back playfully and sidled closer.

“Then you wouldn’t happen to be busy?”

“No.”

Time? He could make it. As he thought that,

“Good.”

Shin Yuri flashed a relaxed smile.

Then she blurted,

“Help me out then?”