Chapter 41

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Christmas Morning
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Christmas morning.

“Haaahm....”

Seol-i let out a big yawn, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

Her gaze drifted to the window, where warm sunlight was pouring in...

“Huh?”

She blinked a few times.

“Did Seol-i fall asweep...?”

Before long, her expression turned gloomy.

*Pat.*

Just then, someone placed a hand on her head.

“What is it?”

A large, warm hand.

It was her daddy.

A wave of sadness washed over her.

“Hiiing....”

With a pout, Seol-i struggled to get the words out.

“Seol-i wanted to meet Santa Cwaus, but I fell asweep...”

“Was there a particular reason you had to meet this man?”

“‘Cause Santa Cwaus uses the chimney....”

Kang-jun's brow furrowed slightly.

*Is she trying to say ‘chimney’?*

It seemed so.

“Daddyyy, but Seol-i’s house doesn’t have a chimney....”

“That’s right.”

“Santa Cwaus can’t come in ‘cause Seol-i’s house has no chimney...”

Kang-jun hesitated, his lips twitching as he carefully chose his next words.

“I opened the door for him.”

“Daddy did?”

“Yes. Look behind you.”

At his words, Seol-i’s gaze naturally turned to her bedside, and a gasp of awe escaped her slightly parted lips.

“Wowww...!”

Kang-jun replied triumphantly.

“He came in safely, left the gift, and went on his way. He even had a lot of praise for you, saying you’ve been a very good girl this year.”

Hearing this, Seol-i immediately started moving her tiny, fern-like hands, busily tearing the wrapping off the colorful gift box...

[Princess Makeup Toy Set.]

As soon as she saw what the gift was, her eyes widened, and she clamped both hands over her mouth.

“Wow, this is the toy Seol-i wanted the mostest....”

Then, as if she couldn't believe it, she blinked her doe-like eyes several times and murmured.

“But how did he know...?”

She seemed utterly baffled as to how Santa Claus had managed to pinpoint the exact toy she wanted...

But only for a moment.

Unable to contain her joy, she hugged the toy box tightly, rubbing her soft cheeks against it.

“It seems you quite like it.”

“Uh-huh, Seol-i is so happy....”

“There is an even greater gift.”

If she was this happy with such a small gift, he was certain she would faint from joy upon receiving the present he had painstakingly prepared.

“Bring it.”

At his command, Crabslie and Iriel, who had been standing silently by the door, exchanged a glance...

“I do hope Her Highness the Princess will be pleased....”

“I worry it’s not a gift that will resonate with her....”

Iriel then brought out a document she had been hiding behind her back and handed it to Seol-i.

“Her Highness the Princess, this is the gift prepared by the Lord.”

Seol-i, who couldn't yet read, stared intently at the document before tilting her head in confusion.

“This document certifies that the Princess is the owner of a large-scale commercial building located in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, valued at approximately 22 billion won....”

Just then, Seol-i cut in.

“Seol-i knows what this is.”

“Oh, as clever as ever.”

“This is ‘paper’.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Seol-i’s gonna draw a picture.”

She immediately set the toy box down and pulled out colored pencils and markers from her drawer.

As Iriel and Crabslie watched this unfold in a daze, they jolted in surprise and began to nervously observe Kang-jun's reaction.

*Sk, sksk—.*

Without giving anyone a chance to stop her, Seol-i started humming and began to draw on the front page of the contract.

“Y-Your Highness the Princess....”

“Good heavens....”

“It's all over now....”

It was entirely possible that their lord might decide, starting today, to completely eradicate the culture of ‘Christmas’ from the face of the Earth.

Anyone else might not, but wasn't their lord more than capable of such a thing?

Just as the two were offering their silent, heartfelt condolences for the culture of Christmas, which was soon to disappear...

“All done drawing.”

She then handed the commercial building sales contract back to the stone-faced Kang-jun and mumbled.

“Daddy, it’s a pwesent.”

Kang-jun’s gaze naturally fell upon the *drawing* (the commercial building sales contract) that Seol-i had so diligently created...

“It’s Daddy and Seol-i.”

After speaking, Seol-i mumbled, “Now I'm gonna pway with my toys,” and walked past the two dumbfounded adults.

‘This is a disaster....’

Crabslie swallowed dryly and asked in a cautious tone.

“My Lord, if you but give the word, I will see to it that the culture of Christmas is immediately eradicated....”

Kang-jun, who had been silent for a long moment, suddenly replied in a low, trembling voice.

“Look closely. It's me and Seol-i.”

“Pardon'?”

“A masterpiece.”

At his words, the two turned their gazes to the drawing Seol-i had made on the contract.

The sales contract for a commercial building valued at a staggering 22 billion won had been reduced to a doodle pad.

A sun was drawn in the upper right corner, with a few fluffy clouds embroidered next to it...

In the center, an adult man and a little girl were holding hands tightly, beaming with wide smiles.

“It is the Lord and Her Highness the Princess....”

Kang-jun then murmured as if possessed.

“The work must not be damaged. It would be best to purchase a frame adorned with pure gold and all manner of rare jewels and store it properly.”

“Pardon...?”

“No, it would be better to entrust its preservation to an expert. We should immediately hire the finest art conservator on Earth....”

Mumbling “No, that’s not right...” for a moment, Kang-jun shot to his feet and muttered in an agitated tone.

“While I’m at it, I should contact Kajan and order him to establish a ‘museum’ to display the princess’s artwork, no matter the cost....”

Having spoken, Kang-jun immediately stood up.

“And it would be best to clean up the trash right away, no reason to delay.”

Crabslie asked with the utmost respect.

“If you are referring to ‘Aldebaran’ and his followers, we have succeeded in locating their base. If you but give the *order*, we can handle them within the day....”

Kang-jun shook his head and replied.

“No, I will go myself.”

“Then, when will you....”

“Tonight would be good.”

In a dark basement, a man, tightly bound, was squirming.

“Mmmph....”

He had been abducted from his home last night by an old man who had suddenly bargged in, and was dragged to this basement.

The old man knew he was a member of the Anti-Bureau Alliance and had subjected him to brutal torture.

Not only had all his fingernails and toenails been pulled out, but the man had also yanked out several of his teeth with his bare hands.

“Mmmmuph....”

He had eventually confessed everything he knew, but the old man only repeated, “It’s too late.”

He had then left him abandoned here, promising to pull out his tongue tomorrow before disappearing.

‘I have to escape, somehow, before that crazy old man comes back to pull out my tongue and kill me....’

He didn't care what happened to the Alliance; he had to escape by any means necessary to survive.

*Creeeeak—.*

Just then, the basement's iron door began to slowly open, and a bright beam of light streamed in...

Subsequently, three figures—two men and a woman—appeared and began to walk toward him.

Spotting the old man who had brutally tortured him last night, he began to squirm even more violently.

“Mmph! Mmph! Mmmmuuph—!”

Just then, Kang-jun grabbed a lone chair, plopped down into it, and said chidingly.

“Hey, how could you do something like this in a building under the princess's name? It feels... unpleasant.”

“My sincerest apologies, but I had no other suitable place to leave the scoundrel after his interrogation....”

Kang-jun then gestured toward the man with his chin and said.

“Take the gag off first.”

Crabslie personally began to undo the gag in the man's mouth, whispering a warning as he did.

“I'll warn you now: do not speak carelessly before the Lord asks his questions. If you do, not only will your remaining teeth be pulled, but your tongue as well.”

The man nodded repeatedly at those words, thinking.

‘They’re villains....’

He himself had lived a life of countless evil deeds and had associated with numerous wicked people, but...

‘These are real villains....’

He could feel an unapproachably sinister and terrifying aura emanating from them.

Just as the man was wiping his tear-and-snot-streaked face with the back of his hand...

“I heard that the organization you belong to, the Anti-Bureau Alliance, worships the insignificant ‘Aldebaran’ like a *god*.”

“Th-that’s right. I-I have committed a mortal sin. I-if you’ll just spare my life, I’ll really do anything you ask....”

With a tone that betrayed no emotion, Kang-jun said, “Shh,” and added.

“Why do you all worship him like a god?”

“Th-that’s because everyone has witnessed his power.”

The man explained that after completing the Alliance’s initiation process, the one called ‘The Leader’ gives them a glass of a liquid called holy water.

The holy water was a dark, unidentifiable liquid, and drinking it allowed one to briefly *commune* with the god...

In simple terms, they could not only see the god’s form but also hear his voice with their own ears and converse with him.

“Also, he bestows ‘power’ upon the believers who commune with him....”

“Power'?”

“Yes, a power with a very dark and viscous energy....”

Kang-jun replied.

“It seems to be dark magic.”

“I-I’m not sure about that....”

“I’ll make you an offer.”

Kang-jun finished, his tone chillingly calm.

“Tonight, I intend to annihilate your Alliance. I plan to slaughter every last one of you without exception.”

He continued.

“The same goes for the Aldebaran you serve.”

After speaking, the corner of Kang-jun’s mouth lifted into a crooked smile.

“However, I will give you a chance to walk away alive.”

“A chance...?”

“I’d like to have a sip of that so-called holy water myself.”

The man asked in a trembling voice.

“Th-then are you asking me to guide you to the Alliance’s headquarters, disguised as a new believer?”

Considering his position within the Alliance, it was certainly possible, but it was a matter that required careful calculation.

‘No matter how strong they are, it should be impossible for them to defeat everyone in the Alliance....’

Just then, as if reading his thoughts, Kang-jun slightly raised his magic, and *coffins* erupted from the basement floor.

*K-k-k-krak—!*

The doors of the newly risen coffins swung open one after another, revealing rows of corpses with all-too-familiar faces.

The first to catch his eye were the corpses of the ‘Black and White Twin Fiends,’ two of the Alliance’s twelve executives, and ‘Warlock,’ the Alliance’s top mage.

And even the ‘Forbidden Arts Division,’ composed of Warlock’s elite mages...

“H-how....”

He murmured softly, swallowed dryly, and then answered in a barely audible voice.

“I... I will guide you....”

At his words, Kang-jun took out his phone...

He checked the time displayed on the screen.

Ten o’clock at night.

In just two hours, today would end and tomorrow would begin.

Kang-jun planned to finish everything by then.

“We leave at once.”

In the photo set as his phone’s wallpaper, Kang-jun and his family were smiling brightly.