The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

25 – Greatest Contributor

“You… designed this?”

In response to Redrika’s question, Logan nodded.

“Where did you even learn this stuff…”

“Mainly from textbooks, surprisingly.”

Redrika shot Logan a look that clearly said ‘stop talking nonsense,’ but Logan just shrugged in response, as he always did.

“I appreciate the detailed planning, but honestly, you didn’t have to bother planning it out for me.”

“Does that mean I can just give you a rough outline from now on?”

While Logan and Redrika were discussing their business matters, Showell, who had finally overcome his embarrassment, chimed into the conversation.

“Last time, you left me behind and went alone, but this time, you brought me along. Should I interpret that as you finding me more reliable now?”

“Interpreting it that way shouldn’t cause any major issues.”

“You tend to beat around the bush a lot, Senior.”

Logan handed over all the money he had received from his uncle, Repaire, to Redrika.

“You said you were going to your family’s place. Is that where you got this money?”

“It’s an investment from someone important. I can’t consider it as my own money; my goal is to multiply it several times over and return it.”

“Someone important, huh?”

Showell’s gaze sharpened slightly.

“Yeah, someone who helped me cultivate beans and whom I’m grateful for in many ways.”

‘A family story, I see.’

Showell’s eyes softened as he caught onto the vague mention of beans.

“With this much money, do you really need to bother with business ventures? Even if you were to do business, you wouldn’t need to take on such risky endeavors.”

“Hmm.”

Logan’s expression showed a hint of contemplation.

The question of whether to sympathize with Redrika’s story and proceed with the business was not on her mind. She was only contemplating how much of the story to share with Redrika and Shohel.

“I think everyone knows by now that I was under Stella’s curse,” Logan said.

Both women nodded almost simultaneously at Logan’s words.

“Because of Stella’s curse, I’ve lived quite a tumultuous life. But not everything that happened to me is solely because of Stella.”

There were trivial matters that left deep wounds in Logan’s young heart, like Ansa’s actions, but the scars he had received from people throughout his life were by no means minor.

“I’m not an adult, you see. I developed a sense of vengeance. I think I mentioned it to Shohel once, but in the end, I thought that since I have no talent in swordsmanship or magic, gathering power is the best way to seek revenge.”

As Logan’s curse became widely known, seeking revenge became even more difficult for him.

Those who had tormented Logan could now be somewhat justified under the name of a curse in the eyes of others.

Just as Logan had ruined his own life, he needed even more strength to seek the same revenge on his adversaries.

And that wasn’t all.

Despite his efforts to hide it with his trust in his master, Gumsung, Logan also had doubts about whether his master was truly alive.

If the Gumsung he knew was still alive, he should have reappeared long ago, which made his absence even more perplexing.

To enter the gate where Gumsung was believed to be, Logan needed to become someone worthy enough, so he initially set out to make money.

Earning a lot of money, developing irreplaceable goods with that money, and increasing influence to find Gumsung and seek revenge on those who needed to be avenged—this was the task Logan was facing.

******

“Obedience!”

The military discipline of the Cheonggisadang, who guard the heart of the empire, is very strict.

Senior knights do not treat junior knights lightly, but if a senior knight deems a junior knight lacking as a knight, the junior knight faces all sorts of irrational treatment.

Of course, not all the trusted knights were treated that way.

“Hello, Haru.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Lea Haru.

The newly appointed knights who entered the Green Knights this year had a different starting point from the other newly appointed knights.

From the very beginning, she was Haru.

When talking about swords in the Empire, she was invariably one of the most prestigious figures, the daughter of the Marquis of the Gongjakgamun, who, thanks to the long-standing reputation accumulated by the family, was building a force second only to the royal family.

That was Lea Haru.

With such a background and skills that far surpassed those of the newly appointed knights, she was being treated on par with knights who were at least two ranks above her.

Considering that her skills were far superior to those of her seniors, it wasn’t unjust for her to receive such treatment.

“By the way, Haru, have you heard the rumor?”

“What rumor are you referring to?”

Although Haru had a somewhat arrogant temperament, she was respectful to the senior knights.

Because of this, she could naturally respond with a smile even when engaging in small talk that was not particularly close to her usual manner.

“Logan Asrian, have you heard of him? Until last year, he was the head of the Academy’s student council and the leader of the vanguard, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, I’m well aware.”

Perhaps she was the person most closely associated with Logan at the Academy.

She had seen him in action whenever Logan got into trouble, and even restrained him first when he was trying to keep quiet to prevent trouble.

Haru took considerable pride in this.

She believed that the reason for the very few actual incidents involving Logan, compared to his reputation, was because she had taken the initiative to restrain him first.

‘He was somewhat good-looking, which made it bearable.’

Even though he was the one who had done wrong, he never admitted to committing such a sin. Sometimes, his tearful outbursts were quite a spectacle.

‘But still, he was a trash of a person.’

Logan’s voice, claiming his innocence, seemed genuinely truthful.

So, it meant that he was either twisted enough to sincerely believe he was innocent despite committing such heinous acts, or he was capable of acting so convincingly as to be close to perfection, meaning he was truly a human trash.

Either way, Logan’s sins were serious, so every time he wailed like that, he was repaid with a punch.

However, there was one assumption that was never considered,

“You say he was under Stella’s curse? That he lived his whole life being hated by people because of it? Poor thing, what can he do, really…”

It was the assumption that Logan might actually be innocent.

“Pardon?”

If it were another new knight, they might have been taken aback by the senior knight’s words, responding with a simple “yes,” but it was a story that did not apply to Harue.

Instead, Harue’s unusual behavior made the senior knights doubt.

“May I ask again?”

The senior knights spoke with a more cautious tone, as if it was okay to be creaky.

“Logan, there’s a rumor that you were under a curse by Stella all this time, is that true?”

“Oh, is that so? Do you happen to know what kind of curse it is?”

Harue vehemently denied the current situation.

Even if Logan was under a curse, the story of the senior knights, and that Logan was not a pitiful child without any sins, was not true.

And even if the curse was true, it probably wasn’t that big of a deal. And perhaps, if the Logan she knew was under a curse, he must have done something equally bad.

“Was it called the curse of being hated? I haven’t seen it myself, so I don’t really know… Don’t you know well about it, Haru? They say that just looking at it makes you feel bad, like a curse that makes you constantly feel like you’ve done something wrong, even if you’re just watching.”

At the words of the senior knight, Haru took a deep breath.

“It does seem to match the emotions I felt when I saw Logan Asrian. It’s really unfortunate. Because everyone hated him, he probably grew up twisted.”

One assumption still lingered in Haru’s mind.

Even if Logan was hated by others because of the curse, his character would be evil, and he would still have committed some sins.

“Isn’t that so? There were many rumors about him donating to an orphanage, and when you examine it closely, it seems like Asrian didn’t commit many sins.”

‘Unbelievable.’

Haru rejected the senior knight’s words.

It couldn’t be true.

In Haru’s mind, Logan Asrian was always just a trashy junior, causing trouble, receiving complaints, always cold and hating everyone.

“… It’s hard to believe the story when you’ve seen Logan Asrian in person.”

Haru couldn’t affirm the senior knight’s words.

To affirm the rumors about Logan Asrian meant acknowledging that he himself was the greatest contributor to Logan’s terrible and miserable life.