Chapter 6, Use If You Can

 The banquet hall was now eerily quiet, with many people's fake smiles still frozen on their faces and no time to remove them. Some women turned their heads in horror, their faces showing a guilty reluctance to acknowledge what they had seen. The men tightened their facial muscles, trying to prevent themselves from showing disapproving expressions.

 In the center of the crowd was the old master's family. Madame Yolan was lying on the ground with her necklace broken, beads scattered all over the floor. A few drops of blood fell on the smooth and bright floor, wiped away by her struggling movements.

 Among the twins, the elder sister pressed her lips tightly, revealing a hard-to-understand, statue-like resolute expression. The younger sister's eyes widened, her eyebrows furrowed, she was the only one present who dared to show their dissatisfaction, but the person who did this didn't care.

 "When is it your turn to speak? Did I authorize you to speak? Do you make me look like I can't even control a woman?" The old master stood next to Madame Yolan and kicked her hard in front of the guests. Seake could hear the heavy thumping sound, although the audio was very low, and the feeling was almost like a vibration, making both Seren and Seake aware that the old master used all his strength.

 Seren marched towards the front row like a tank, blocking the old master's next kick with his foot. From the subtle change in Seren's expression, Seake knew that the kick had hurt badly.

 "Stop it! You've committed an assault!" Seren spoke to the old master. He was like a thick wall, separating the old master from Madame Yolan.

 However, the old master didn't feel any threat from Seren. Raising his chin slightly with a louder voice, he asked Madame Yolan, "Yolan, did I hurt you?"

 "No, no, Sir. It's all my fault. I deserve it." Madame Yolan struggled to sit up while covering her face, shaking. Her face was slowly turning purple.

 "You heard it. Step aside!" The old master shouted at Seren.

 The assault charge had to be filed by the victim. As long as Madame Yolan didn't press charges, Seren couldn't prosecute the old master. However, Seren didn't give up. He was a knight.

 "If you persist, I will challenge you to a duel." Seren stared at the old master and said, "Spear, sword, or giant axe, you can pick your weapon of choice!"

 The old master defensively retracted his chin. He wasn't proficient in martial arts and wasn't foolish enough to duel with a knight, nor did he want to refuse a duel demanded by a knight, which would make him look bad. His eyes darted around, trying to find a way out in his mind.

 There was always a way out. This matter was over, at least for now.

 Seake turned and went into the kitchen, picking up a cold pie and biting it hard, venting all his anger on it. With a head of a family like that, this family was beyond saving.

 He repeated his breathing several times until he finally restored his working expression and returned to the banquet hall where laughter had once again filled the air. He helped pour water, serve food, and collect plates. The blood on the ground had been cleaned off, and everyone's expressions had returned to their pre-incident faces. They were still endlessly happy for no apparent reason.

 Seake had thought that he would never have to see this kind of thing again.

 The low, hoarse voice of the woman he had become accustomed to listening to in the Dark Academy echoed in Seake's mind.

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 Under the Black Night King, we became brothers. That was the voice of DeanMi. She always spoke beautiful and joyful words.

 DeanMi said, "There are no outsiders among us anymore. Even blood relatives would abandon each other, but we are true family. We have true solidarity."

 At the evening prayer meeting she presided over, everyone showed a satisfied expression, as if her words touched their hearts, satisfied all their needs, and filled their souls with peace. Lower grade students decorated the venue with care and made various drawings praising the virtues of their beloved god. Middle grade students recited articles about how much God loves us, and as for Seake, among the high grade students, he nodded in agreement and smiled all the time.

 But Seake knew that not far from where DeanMi was, there was a student with half his face wrapped in gauze, and the eye sockets underneath were empty. Another student dug out his eyes and almost killed him.

 The woman who did this sat next to Seake, playing with her waterfall-like blonde hair. She blinked her eyelashes, and the blood-red pupils inside were full of hunting pleasure.

 DeanMi saw the bandage on the student's face, and she smiled completely kindly, telling the student, "It must be very painful, but don't worry. You won't get hurt here. We are all brothers and sisters who would never harm each other."

 Everyone knew that the student would not live past tonight.

 The woman next to Seake whispered, "The Black Night King gives love to everyone. She will definitely succeed tonight."

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 After more than half an hour following the domestic violence incident, Seren finally reappeared at the gathering. He strode straight towards Seake and promptly whisked him away to the balcony for a private conversation.

 "Madam YoLan is alright now, resting," Seren informed Seake, as if Seake should be deeply concerned about YoLan's condition, though he wasn't as concerned as Seren assumed. He knew Seren would take notice.

 "Hanna will attend to her injuries," Seake said. "Healing bruises and cuts should be one of the oldest parts of a mage's job description."

 "Hanna, the one with the tall pointed hat?"

 "It's not a tall pointed hat, it's her hairstyle!" Seake chuckled.

 "Really? I watched her perform, and none of her spells succeeded." Seren glanced around the gathering, then turned back. "I must take my leave now."

 "Take care," Seake replied expressionlessly. He knew by social convention, after bidding farewell, there would be more conversation before Seren actually left. True to form, Seren pulled out a chair and sat down, even pulling out a chair for Seake who reluctantly followed suit.

 "I had intended to meet with the Lord privately, but after what just happened, I doubt he'll see me," Seren smiled.

 "I think you're right."

 "Are you settling in well? Need anything?" Seren inquired.

 "Nothing I need. Given the state of that room, there should have been a lot missing, but he's made do with whatever scraps were available," Seake responded.

 "Then I really should be off. If I stay longer, some of the hounds might get restless."

 "You could send a whole army to level this place, and I'd just watch from the sidelines."

 "Consider it," Seren clasped his left fist to his chest in a knightly gesture, then raised his head high and strode out of the gathering.

 Seake returned to his duties at the gathering, heading back to the kitchen alongside the honey-glazed meat.

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 Seren stepped out from the warmth of the grand mansion onto the chilly streets, feeling oddly relieved to be outside. There was something off about that house. It wasn't just the fact that the Bright Staff coveted this land; he felt it even inside.

 While feeling scrutinized or treated as entertainment fodder at high society gatherings was normal, there, amidst the crowd, it wasn't just the chill of desire lurking; there was a tangible sense of threat.

 Analyzing the situation, he concluded that the master of that house was the Lord, and no one else held sway. However, the Lord's impression of him was already dismal; communication with him was likely impossible.

 So Seren decided to approach from another angle. He had met an elderly woman dressed in mourning at the gathering, a relative of the family who had been a long-standing resident in the community. A chat with her might yield some results.

 Seren agreed to visit her that evening. But before that, he needed to find himself a place to stay. It seemed he would be here for quite a while.

 The country's knights had a good relationship with the police system. Knights often stayed at police stations during their travels, and Seren intended to do the same this time. Finding the local station, he found an eerie atmosphere within. The police officers were all holding stacks of photos of teenage girls, murmuring to themselves, sporting dark circles under their eyes. It made Seren wonder if some tragedy had befallen them after a collective social event.

 After settling his luggage, Seren changed into casual clothes and headed out.

 The old woman's house wasn't far, and he reached it by foot. It was a charming two-story building. Unlike the opulent aura of Seake's workplace, this place felt like a well-maintained, perfectly complete home, imbued with care over the years. Even the size of the door, smaller than the other side, seemed just right, with the option to open only one part, enough for a single person to pass through.

 Seren placed his shoes on the wooden shoe rack, slipped into fluffy slippers, stepped over the oval-shaped woven mat, and followed the old woman inside.

 An old-fashioned fireplace against the wall hinted at the house's age. There was no fire; instead, a modern magical heater provided warmth.

 Seren wasn't sure why the elderly always took a liking to him, but whenever they saw him, they smiled warmly. Even those whom others described as difficult or stubborn were, in Seren's eyes, amiable. Some elders said he reminded them of their grandsons, some said he reminded them of their departed spouses, and some said he made them feel young again.

 This old woman was no exception. As Seren approached her, she engaged in conversation. He listened to her talk about various mundane aspects of life, and when she mentioned a cherished chair in her home that needed repair, Seren volunteered to help, thus securing an invitation for the evening.

 Using nails and brackets he obtained from the police station, Seren fixed the chair. Afterwards, the old woman naturally insisted Seren stay for a second round of storytelling.

 Seren spent over three hours at her place. Amidst the disjointed tales, he learned a lot about that family.

 The old woman had watched YoLan grow up.

 She remembered the day YoLan, in high school uniform, ran into the kitchen exclaiming, "Auntie! I've got a crush!"

 Her cheeks flushed, and she twirled around the room like a butterfly. The old woman had felt worried seeing her in such a fervent state; her fiery enthusiasm always made her uneasy.

 Sure enough, a few days later, she heard that the person YoLan liked publicly rejected her. YoLan screamed and cried in public, eventually escorted away by an instructor. It was said the other party didn't like assertive girls.

 Looking back years later, the old woman realized that was the beginning of YoLan's transformation.

 Years later, without a boyfriend, YoLan obediently married the Lord of that house, as arranged by her parents.