To You Who Will Destroy Me - Chapter 121

Surprisingly, what the blood demon had dropped was a gem. Ryu Cheong, having reverted to his human form, instinctively picked it up, wondering if it had been stolen from his family.

No, that’s not it.

Such a large and red diamond was practically unheard of in the Eastern Continent. If it were his family’s, it would surely have been recorded in their treasury.

Then, it must belong to the blood demons.

As he held the diamond in his hand, Ryu Cheong slowly lifted his gaze. His sharp vision picked up the sight of the fleeing blood demon on the distant ship, staring back at him with burning red eyes, fixated on the gem he now held. It looked as if leaving it behind was unbearable for the creature.

It’s like they left behind their own mother.

This was clearly no ordinary object. Looking back, it seemed the blood demon he had killed had been trying desperately to pass it to their comrade. Whatever it was, Ryu Cheong decided it was best to hold on to it and find out later. He tucked the blood-soaked gem into his sleeve, then glanced at the ship, now shrinking into the distance.

Should I transform into a hawk and chase after them?

Part of him wanted to continue the pursuit to the bitter end. If he could reclaim the jade heirloom and wipe out the last blood demon, it would bring great satisfaction.

“Young Master! Are you unharmed?”

But just then, the family’s retainers arrived, rushing to his side. Once they confirmed his safety, urgent reports began pouring in.

“Young Master, it’s terrible! The Grand Elder has been gravely injured and is in critical condition. You must come at once!”

“The blood demon’s torch set the warehouse on fire, and several valuable items have been badly damaged. Some were meant as tribute to the royal family of Araya—what should we do?”

The responsibilities of his position clung to him like tree roots, binding his feet. As much as he longed to take flight in pursuit, the pressing matters of his family weighed him down. Ryu Cheong clenched his teeth in frustration.

Fine. This isn’t my last chance.

He often traveled to the Western Continent for trade. There would surely be another opportunity to reclaim the jade heirloom.

At least, that’s what he thought at the time. He had seen how the blood demons frantically scoured the Eastern Continent, searching for something, and believed it would be easy to track them. However, after the remaining demon fled to the Western Continent, they vanished without a trace.

It was only much later that Ryu Cheong would learn the truth: the blood demon he had failed to pursue had died shortly after arriving on the Western Continent. At the port, they had run into none other than Phillip Alswaiz, the captain of the royal guard. The demon, having abandoned their comrades, was killed on sight.

And so, the Breath—which had originally come from the Western Continent—was returned to its rightful place, hidden deep within the royal treasury. Soon after, it was set to be passed on to King Ramón’s illegitimate son, Archbishop Ramón.

Ryu Cheong, unaware of all this, remained deeply frustrated by his failure to recover the jade. The only solace he had was the diamond he had taken from the blood demons.

Perhaps this gem will help me find the heirloom.

Tired of searching in vain, Ryu Cheong had crafted a ring with the diamond, wearing it as bait. The demons had valued the gem dearly, so he hoped it might lure the hidden ones out of hiding.

However, it turned out that a completely different fish took the bait.

No matter how it seemed, this meeting with Irel had been a complete coincidence. As the heir of the Ryu Clan, Ryu Cheong couldn’t focus solely on the jade. There were always urgent matters demanding his attention.

As usual, he had been aboard a ship traveling between the Eastern and Western Continents, carrying wood and construction materials for rebuilding the inn that had been burned down. This time, he needed more workers than ever before, and among the new hires, there was one man who particularly caught his eye.

“Who is that?” Ryu Cheong asked the foreman.

“Ah, he’s one of the new laborers we hired from a nearby village. He’s from a small place called Al Ros Condes,” the foreman explained.

Something about the man intrigued Ryu Cheong, so he asked him a few questions. The laborer explained that he had worked at a marble quarry for many years, but after the quarry was shut down, he’d been drifting from place to place, eventually finding his way onto Ryu Cheong’s ship.

Marble, huh?

Ryu Cheong’s interest was piqued. He had been searching for new building materials for the inn’s reconstruction.

I should finish this job and then look into it more.

Normally, that would have been the end of it. But fate had other plans. While en route to the harbor to gather materials for rebuilding the inn, a fierce storm struck.

“We can’t go any further, Young Master,” the captain said, his face lined with worry.

“It’s best to dock at a nearby port and wait for the storm to pass. It’s too dangerous to continue.”

“Very well,” Ryu Cheong agreed without hesitation. The captain was right—it would be disastrous if the storm damaged the construction materials aboard the ship.

“Wait, this place…”

As they neared the closest port, the new laborer’s eyes went wide. He recognized the area as his hometown, Al Ros Condes.

“Is that so? The place is known for its marble?” Ryu Cheong mused, intrigued.

Perhaps it was fate. With time to kill while waiting for the storm to die down, he decided to visit the marble quarry. He had heard good things about the quality of the stone, and the delay offered an opportunity to explore.

As soon as daylight broke, Ryu Cheong, with the new laborer as his guide, ventured to the quarry. As expected, the marble was of exceptional quality, and Ryu Cheong thought it could fetch a high price back on the Eastern Continent.

He was in the middle of evaluating the materials with a merchant’s eye when suddenly, he felt a strange pulsing from the ring on his hand. The gem began tugging him somewhere, pulling him with an unseen force.

Could it be…

At last, had the bait been taken? Ryu Cheong was certain that the end of this pull would lead him to the blood demons. He quickly dismissed the laborer, knowing that the man would only be a liability if he fell under the spell of the blood demon’s powers.

It would be dangerous for him to be manipulated by their curses.

Being a Masaka, Ryu Cheong had some resistance to the blood demons’ powers as long as he wasn’t caught off guard. He followed the pull, all the while feeling an odd sense of connection—like someone was pulling on the other end of an invisible string. Though he thought it might be a blood demon, strangely, he felt no hostility.

But when he reached the source of the pull, it was none other than Irel who appeared.

“And that’s where my story ends,” Ryu Cheong finished, gazing at Irel with his late-summer green eyes, darkened by too much exposure to the sun.

“Now, it’s your turn. Why do you want this jewel? And what is this strange resonance between them?”

The ball was now in Irel’s court. As she listened to Ryu Cheong’s story, she had been thinking the whole time—how could she get him to hand over the ring?

“Ryu Cheong, you mentioned that you were looking for your family’s heirloom, the jade,” she began.

“Yes, that’s right,” he responded, though a hint of confusion crossed his face at her seemingly unrelated question. Why was she bringing the jade up again?

“Well, the jewel in your ring also happens to be a treasure of my family. Not the jade, but the red diamond you’re wearing,” Irel declared, her words dropping like a thunderbolt.

Ryu Cheong’s expression turned to one of shock as he touched the ring on his finger. “You’re saying this ring is your family’s heirloom?”

Feeling a slight pang of guilt, Irel nodded firmly. “Yes. It’s a cherished relic of House Elorance.”

Technically, it wasn’t a complete lie. The Elorance family did treasure their youngest member, Irel, above all. And if she treasured the jewel, couldn’t it be considered a family heirloom?

In her mind, Irel declared, From today on, this jewel is officially our family heirloom. She carefully fingered her single earring, determined to push her claim as far as she could.

“So you see, this gem belongs to my family,” she added with brazen confidence.

“See? These jewels were originally part of a matching set of earrings,” Irel said smoothly, gesturing to her single earring. “One half disappeared mysteriously, and I’ve been in quite the bind trying to recover it. Imagine my surprise when I ran into you, Ryu Cheong. It’s quite the curious coincidence, isn’t it?”

In other words, she was subtly telling him to give it back. Ryu Cheong’s expression turned uneasy.

Her claim wasn’t entirely without merit. After all, who would make an expensive diamond earring and only craft one? Moreover, the two jewels shared the exact same cut and color. It was likely, as she said, that they had once been a pair.

“Still, I don’t understand,” Ryu Cheong began, his eyes narrowing. “Why would the blood demons steal an heirloom of House Elorance?”

And treat it like it was something precious? He remembered the way the blood demon had reacted and pressed Irel with a sharp question, but her response was equally biting.

“Oh my, isn’t that the same question you could ask yourself, Ryu Cheong? Why would the blood demons steal the jade, the heirloom of House Ryu?”

“…”

Irel’s counter left Ryu Cheong at a loss for words. It was true. He had long wondered why the blood demons had traveled so far to the Eastern Continent, risking everything to steal his family’s jade.

When it came to conversations like this—feeling out the unknown—the side with more knowledge had the upper hand. Ryu Cheong, with his merchant’s intuition, realized he was being played, but without knowing the full story, he couldn’t counter her argument.

“…Very well. You’re saying you don’t know why the blood demons stole the earring,” Ryu Cheong conceded, his eyes narrowing further as he tried to gauge her.

Not wanting to be outplayed, he decided to probe further. “If this is truly an heirloom of House Elorance, then surely you know all about these jewels. Tell me, what exactly is this strange resonance between the two? And what is the purpose of these peculiar items?”

His gaze sharpened, testing her.

Go on. Explain it to me, his eyes seemed to say as they scrutinized Irel’s face.