The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 62

A bright red palanquin adorned with gold threads arrived before the club manager’s office. The palanquin lacked privacy panels or screens and was borne on the backs of many students, displaying its passenger in full.

The performance was beyond flashy—it was an affront to human rights.

Ban Hee-Yeol. Jae-Hyeok’s eyes dimmed when he recognized the identity of the boy sitting on the palanquin. The Ban family was one of only five families with the title of Count in South Korea, and they were well known for having produced four S-class players in a row. Many believed they would soon produce a National Treasure. There was even an opinion that they would replace the dying Kang family as a ducal family.

“Hmm.”

Ban Hee-Yeol also recognized Jae-Hyeok. He straightened his posture and smiled sharply. “Aren’t you Jae-Hyeok? It has been quite a while. Your complexion is as fine as jade, and you’re appearance is good-looking. You grew up well, as expected. Ah, you don’t remember me, do you? You were young when we met.”

“No, I remember,” Jae-Hyeok replied coldly, and Ban Hee-Yeol’s brow furrowed.

“Oh, Really?”

It wasn’t Jae-Hyeok’s insolent attitude that annoyed Ban Hee-Yeol. Rather, he was annoyed that Jae-Hyeok remembered their meeting ten years ago.

“How dare a cheeky freshman speak impolitely to the vice president?” one of the boys carrying the palanquin shouted. He had an impressive-looking physique and tanned skin like he came from a beach.

Ban Hee-Yeol rebuked him, “Why are you raising your voice to the son of a duke?”

“He might be from a ducal family, but isn’t it just the Kang family?”

“The ancestors of the Kang family promoted national honor and obtained the title of duke. Their honor deserves to shine forever. The power of the Kang family might’ve weakened, but we should not lose respect. What’s more, he has a childhood relationship with me. Is there any problem if he treats me in a friendly manner?”

“......”

Jae-Hyeok looked surprised. “Huh, I guess you’ve grown up a little bit? Originally, I assumed you hadn’t changed at all from the way you were using fellow students as servants.”

“These are my dear friends who carry me. Kang Jae-Hyeok, calling them servants is terribly disrespectful. If this were the Joseon Dynasty, you would already be considered an adult, so how could you make such a slip of the tongue?”

“So you are still the same,” Jae-Hyeok muttered. Ban Hee-Yeol was completely unaware of his own sophistry. His personality was just as strange as it had been ten years ago. He couldn’t help thinking that if things continued, he might end up hitting Ban Hee-Yeol, just like back then.

How did he become vice president? Jae-Hyeok recalled the rumor about the Student Council's great power and already had a headache.

“I’m here today for other matters. Jae-Hyeok, let’s end our reminiscence here... Young Lady Jang, how long are you going to stay silent? Didn’t I tell you to bring the sinner Baek Do-Jin to me?”

As expected, Ban Hee-Yeol continued to get on Jae-Hyeok’s nerves from the moment he’d appeared.

Jang Yeon-Ju also didn’t hide her displeasure and refuted him, “How come Baek Do-Jin is a criminal? What type of sophistry is it that the Student Council must give their approval to compete for the position of Shooting Club manager? The Student Council has no right to interfere in the club's affairs.”

“The Student Council determines the club’s budget, which includes the manager’s expenses, and the most important thing to consider when setting the manager’s budget is the manager’s competence.”

Ban Hee-Yeol gestured to the students in red uniforms and the palanquin slowly lowered.

“If the allowable budget for someone of Roh Jun-Yeop’s level instead fell into Beak Do-Jin’s hands, that would be the same thing as robbing the council.”

Ban Hee-Yeol got off the palanquin. His physique, glimpsed through his thin robe, was remarkably robust. Together with his piercing eyes, thick eyebrows, and high nose bridge, everything came together to create an upright and strong appearance.

His gaze drifted to the calendar on the wall of the manager’s office.

“Today is the day when the managers’ expenses and salaries are paid. Honestly, if the Student Council hadn’t known in advance that the manager of the Shooting Club had been replaced, the precious taxpayers’ money would’ve gone to some undeserving fool.”

Jae-Hyeok tilted his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. If Baek Do-Jin became the manager of the Shooting Club, it means he defeated Roh Jun-Yeop. Doesn’t that make him worthy of receiving the same budget? Rather, shouldn’t that qualify him for even more support than Roh Jun-Yeop got? Why are you treating him like some thief stealing the club’s funds?”

“Bah. Worthy, you say?” Ban Hee-Yeol snorted and made a gesture. The tanned student stepped forward and took out a piece of paper before unfolding it. It was one of the targets used by the Shooting Club for practice.

“This is the target paper that Baek Do-Jin used in practice. Look at it. Let alone 10 or 9 points, he couldn’t even hit 1 or 2 points. There are only traces of misses along the edges. The Student Council monitored the shooting range all night and searched through the trash bin to recover this. Tell me, how could he have beaten Roh Jun-Yeop with such poor archery skills?”

“......”

Jae-Hyeok was silent and gave Jang Yeon-Ju a strange look. Are you really teaching Do-Jin properly?

Jang Yeon-Ju glanced back obstinately. We are. Roh Jun-Yeop has been working hard to teach him.

Jae-Hyeok tilted his head and widened his eyes, Then why is he still like this?

‘......’

Ban Hee-Yeol interrupted the two people, who were talking to each other with their eyes. “Do you understand now? The Student Council believes that Baek Do-Jin is someone else’s agent. I intend to secure Baek Do-Jin in order to investigate this.”

Jang Yeon-Ju crossed her arms. “Baek Do-Jin didn’t write his name on this target paper. Hmph. It isn’t clear evidence. You’re just trying to use force to catch Baek Do-Jin.”

Ban Hee-Yeol replied, “If you want, I can follow legitimate procedures. However, we both know the shooting department wouldn’t want that. Once it comes to light that Roh Jun-Yeop has lost his position, all types of people will come out to devour the Shooting Club. Can you handle it?”

“...The manager of the shooting department is still Roh Jun-Yeop. I don’t know where you heard such nonsense from.”

“Oh, really? There are quite a few people who witnessed Roh Jun-Yeop badly beating up Baek Do-Jin. He warned Bark Do-Jin twice not to return to the shooting range, but just two days later, Baek Do-Jin began entering and exiting the shooting range again. Do you expect me to believe Roh Jun-Yeop suddenly had a change of heart? The Student Council has a perfect grasp of the personalities of all the managers.

Jang Yeon-Ju had tried to cover things up, but it was useless. The Student Council had a relatively educated guess of what had happened in the Shooting Club.

Ban Hee-Yeol told them, “What the Student Council wants is information on the person who beat up Roh Jun-Yeop, the talent who is expected to become South Korea’s future top marksman.”

“Why?”

“That should be clear. Whoever they are, they could pose a threat to the Korean shooting community in the future.”

Ban Hee-Yeol’s eyes narrowed slightly, and Jae-Hyeok felt a chill go down his spine as he caught the killing intent in those cold eyes. Is he aiming for Loren? Currently, Loren was the only person the Student Council could point to as being behind Do-Jin. Although Jae-Hyeok and Chae Da-Hee were also close with Do-Jin, as far as the Student Council knew, neither of them could defeat Roh Jun-Yeop. In particular, Jae-Hyeok was only level 10 at the time of his re-examination, so he wasn’t a suspect even though he was openly standing beside Jang Yeon-Ju.

He’d heard that the Student Council was a very difficult organization to get into. It was a royal club of sorts, where each member was exceptional in either strength, intelligence, or status. However... exceptional people often had extreme and forceful ways of thinking.

For Ban Hee-Yeol to have been appointed vice president of the Student Council, there was likely more to Ban Hee-Yeol than Jae-Hyeok knew.

Next to Jae-Hyeok, Jang Yeon-Ju was feeling troubled about the situation. What else could she do? Ban Hee-Yeol had clearly decided on his own course of action: Regardless of logic or justification, he intended to take Baek Do-Jin back to the Student Council and get the answers he wanted. And the Shooting Club couldn’t resist—Ban Hee-Yeol had caught too big of a weakness.

Just then, Jae-Hyeok spoke, “I’ll tell the teacher.”

“......?”

Jang Yeon-Ju, Ban Hee-Yeol, and the other students all doubted their ears.

Ignoring the crowd’s attention, he explained to Jang Yeon-Ju, “Judging from Ban Hee-Yeol’s words, it’s clear there’s no basis for treating Do-Jin as a criminal right now. He’s trying to blame Baek Do-Jin for a crime based purely on speculation. Since that’s the case, I’ll have to ask a teacher to stop him.”

“But once you ask, the rumors that the Shooting Club has been occupied will spread... ”

“How about this? According to the Student Council’s claim, there’s a monster behind Baek Do-Jin who allowed him to become the manager of the Shooting Club despite not being able to use a bow properly. The small fries probably won’t dare to step out until they find out who is supporting him, right?”

“Uh?”

“I’m saying that the Shooting Club should come forward and promote this. If the members claim you had no choice but to appoint a fool as the club’s manager after being threatened by some terrifying monster, then who would dare mess with the club? They wouldn’t want to be the target of the monster either.”

“That... I think that would work.”

“Wait... ” Ban Hee-Yeol felt the situation turning bad and urgently tried to say something, but it was too late. Jang Yeon-Ju and Jae-Hyeok were already sharing devious smiles.

And Jae-Hyeok’s smile, in particular, made Ban Hee-Yeol uncomfortable. It drudged up a memory he had long tried to forget. On that day ten years ago, Kang Jae-Hyeok had worn the exact same smile just before kicking him.

“You want to tell the teacher? That must be a joke... ”

Contrary to Ban Hee-Yeol’s embarrassment, the other students only laughed. They dismissed the conversation between Kang Jae-Hyeok and Jang Yeon-Ju as nonsense. It was natural. Those enrolled in Lion’s Castle were players before they were students. They had power beyond ordinary humans, regardless of their age, so it was impossible for them to imagine running to the teacher like children.

However, the more special a person was, the more they defied common sense.

Jae-Hyeok told them, “I’m not joking.”

“......”

The students stared at Jae-Hyeok as he innocently blinked his eyes. It was then they realized it. This guy might have a big body, but he’s actually just a naive kid. They were speechless.

“D-don’t you have any pride? What are you, a child?”

“Yup, I’m just a child. Wah～”

“Did he just make the sound of a baby crying? This lunatic...!” Impatient, the tanned boy rolled up his sleeves before pausing halfway. Jae-Hyeok was sticking out his chin... If he hit him, this guy really would turn around and spill everything.

Just as the situation was calming down, Ban Hee-Yeol shifted his gaze toward the door. “Roh Jun-Yeop, your reputation will plummet if rumor spreads that you lost your position as manager. Let’s compromise. The news won’t have to get out if you hand over Baek Do-Jin now. You don’t like him either.”

The former manager of the Shooting Club stood with his back against the door and shrugged. “I don’t know. As Kang Jae-Hyeok said, the one who beat me is a monster. A natural disaster struck me. I don’t see why that would harm my reputation.”

Ban Hee-Yeol asked, “...As expected, so was it Loren? Did you get tricked by that foreigner?”

“What bullshit about Loren? If we fought using the rules of the Shooting Club, I would never lose to him.”

“......”

After studying Roh Jun-Yeop’s expression, Ban Hee-Yeol’s face darkened. He seems to be speaking the truth.

It seemed the one behind Baek Do-Jin could be an even greater person than they expected. Who was it? Was it a person at the level of the council president? Ban Hee-Yeol thought of a few faces before clicking his tongue and climbing onto the palanquin.

“I came here casually today, so I didn’t prepare enough. Tell whoever is behind Baek Do-Jin this, The allocated budget won’t go up until he proves his skills to the Student Council. Also... ”

The faces of Jang Yeon-Ju, Roh Jun-Yeop, and Kang Jae-Hyeok were clearly etched in Ban Hee-Yeol’s bright eyes. “You will pay the price for dishonoring the Student Council—”

“Wah wah～”

“Damnit, Kang Jae-Hyeok, stop making baby sounds! You’re an aristocrat, so show some shame! Sigh, let’s go back.”

The palanquin carrying Ban Hee-Yeol left.

Roh Jun-Yeop watched them leave and immediately clicked his tongue. “I can’t believe threatening to tell the teacher worked. I didn’t think the Student Council cared about the teachers?”

Jang Yeon-Ju said, “Actually, the threat worked because they’re the Student Council. The Student Council’s power comes from the support of the teachers, so they want to avoid conflicts with them as much as possible. Of course, few people could take advantage of this even fact if they knew it.”

Running to the teacher? Unexpectedly, such words had come from the mouth of a duke’s son, and not just any duke’s son but a monster who overwhelmed Roh Jun-Yeop with archery.

The two people looked at him as if he were absurd, and Jae-Hyeok urged them, “As I said earlier, Senior Jang, please find a list of commissions that can be done in Lion’s Castle. Roh Jun-Yeop, you go back and teach Baek Do-Jin well. How have you been teaching him that he can’t even hit the 1-point outer ring on the target paper?”

“It isn’t my problem... Ugh, I got it, I got it.”

A little while later, the Shooting Club members cheered upon hearing the somewhat exaggerated rumor that the Student Council, known throughout the school, was helpless before Jae-Hyeok and had fled.

***

On the way back to the Student Council, the tanned boy couldn’t hold back and asked, “Why did you back down? Would it really have been a problem if he tattled?”

The Student Council's power was almost invincible among the students, and since most of its alumni were big names, even the military treated them gently. And yet, the Student Council had just failed to get what they wanted from a single club, even after the vice president came forward personally. The tanned boy couldn’t help wondering if there was anything more humiliating in the world.

The most important point was that Kang Jae-Hyeok was a freshman, meaning the teacher he’d planned to tattle on was an actual teacher, not a professor.

A mere teacher wouldn’t dare to speak out against the Student Council, so the tanned boy felt they could’ve ignored Kang Jae-Hyeok’s threats.

However, Ban Hee-Yeol had a different idea. “That day ten years ago.”

“......?”

“Her Excellency Seol Su-Ah was also present.”

That day ten years ago? Seol Su-Ah? What was he saying?

Ban Hee-Yeol explained it to the confused tanned boy. “It means to not take a duke’s son lightly. If you prematurely make guesses about the power of a noble family, you will surely suffer a disaster.”

Ban Hee-Yeol knew that Kang Jae-Hyeok was Baek Do-Jin’s team leader. However, he hadn’t expected that the Shooting Club would get involved as well. There was also the sudden appearance of the mysterious person behind Baek Do-Jin.

Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop’s attitude toward Kang Jae-Hyeok was strange...

There were too many surprises involved in this incident.

In the first place, Seol Su-Ah must’ve had a strong influence over Kang Jae-Hyeok’s admittance to the school, so she’s probably watching over him.

The Ban family knew the relationship between the Yaksha and the White Night. Ban Hee-Yeol judged that there was a high probability Seol Su-Ah was involved in the situation related to Jae-Hyeok.

What if Kang Jae-Hyeok is really Seol Su-Ah’s spearhead?

If that was so, then could the Shooting Club’s targets be the clubs controlled by the students of the Association and the military?

Well, I will find out if I keep watching.

The slowly rising clouds of war made Ban Hee-Yeol smile.

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