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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Take My Hand
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"...What?"
Rimon wore a dumbfounded expression.
It was a pathetically undignified look for a Sword Master who had lived for centuries.
Yet it didn't feel pathetic at all—because there were others even more shocked than him.
Crash!
For example, the potted plant that had been standing quietly behind Li Chingwei and suddenly toppled sideways.
Shatter!
"P-Princess? What did you just say?"
Or Youin, who dropped an entire tray of teapot and cups, smashing them to pieces, then asked the question with a frantic look on his face.
But Li Chingwei paid no attention to the potted plant or Youin.
She simply fixed her gaze on Rimon, smiling brightly as she asked,
"What do you think? Is that enough?"
"Uh, um..."
He stammered for a moment, caught off guard by the unexpected words.
Rimon cleared his throat to steady himself and tried to speak calmly.
"Ahem. I think I must have misheard you... Did you just say shares in Hotel Leviathan?"
"Yes."
"Forty-nine percent of them?"
"That's right."
"And you're giving all of that to me? As a dowry?"
"That's what I said."
"...Are you insane?"
They had only met twice now.
And it was far too rude a question to ask the princess of the Seven Dragon Society.
But neither Li Chingwei nor the pale-faced Youin could blame Rimon for his impudence.
Her proposal was just that absurd.
What the hell is she thinking?
Hotel Leviathan wasn't just some fancy hotel.
It was one of the seven holding companies that formed the backbone of the Seven Dragon Group—and the central hub that controlled the Seven Dragon Society.
Forty-nine percent of its shares?
That was a value beyond any monetary measure.
The one who held them would gain not only immense wealth, but also the power of the Black Dragon Clan and control over the Seven Dragon Society.
And yet, she was offering those precious shares as a mere dowry—to Rimon, of all people.
It was enough to make anyone question her sanity.
But she remained unflustered.
She simply smiled and said,
"Didn't you say it yourself, Sword Duke? That the price should change if the goods do."
"So you're offering forty-nine percent of Hotel Leviathan because of that?"
"Yes."
"...Why?"
"Just as you said—the goods have changed."
As if that nonsense demanded no further explanation.
Li Chingwei continued nonchalantly, watching Rimon's bemused expression.
"I know your situation, Sword Duke. You're already branded a traitor in this country. And you even have an enemy called the Infinite Monarch."
Rimon wasn't surprised by the facts themselves.
She was the princess of the Black Dragon Clan.
A figure at the pinnacle of intelligence-gathering within the Seven Dragon Society.
There was no way Li Chingwei wouldn't know about a massive incident where a building collapsed and over a hundred high-level Players were slaughtered.
What was surprising was her response to it.
"And yet you're raising my bride price?"
"Exactly. That's why I'm setting your price so high."
Twisting his words into something entirely different, Li Chingwei smiled brightly and continued.
"You said it yourself, Sword Duke. As a public servant, you could have to stand against the Seven Dragon Society at any time for your country—so you couldn't enter an engagement with me."
"What about it?"
"But you came to propose anyway. That means you have nothing holding you back anymore."
"..."
Rimon fell silent.
To him, she asked in a light tone,
"If a sword that could only be used for display becomes a peerless blade you can actually wield, doesn't it make sense to pay the appropriate price?"
As if inquiring about the specs of a product on display.
Watching her casually spout such outrageous claims with a composed face, Rimon thought to himself once more.
Just like the princess of the Seven Dragon Society.
Her words cut straight to the heart of the matter.
If he hadn't been branded a traitor.
If he hadn't turned his back on the country.
Even if he had accepted her proposal and gotten engaged, Rimon never would have lifted a finger in matters involving the Seven Dragon Society.
To Rimon, a man of the old era, the Seven Dragon Society was an enemy that could threaten the nation at any moment.
He'd sooner smash them head-on than ever help them.
But things were different now.
Cast aside by his country, saddled with the label of traitor.
With all his remaining ties severed.
Rimon no longer had any loyalty or attachment to this nation.
In other words, he was free to act as he pleased, unbound by anything.
Even if it meant helping the princess of the Seven Dragon Society.
It was like a scrapped car gathering dust in the garage suddenly becoming a brand-new ride he could drive anywhere.
Of course her bride price would go up.
...Even accounting for all that, the price she quoted was still ridiculously over the top.
Of course, Rimon could guess the hidden meaning behind such an outrageous sum.
"You want me to earn it?"
"No, the conditions are the same as before."
"So I just become your husband and live leisurely ever after?"
"This is just the dowry."
A mere formality of a marriage would suffice.
If Rimon didn't want it, she wouldn't force anything on him.
Conversely, if he desired something, the Black Dragon Clan would lend their full power.
After rattling off such absurdities with a beaming smile, Li Chingwei added as if it had just occurred to her,
"If my dowry feels too burdensome, promise me just one thing instead."
"A promise?"
"That you'll never abandon me."
"...Worried I'll take the dowry and run?"
"Of course not. Why would the great Sword Duke stoop to something so low?"
Her words clearly denied it.
So why did it sound like she was calling him the lowlife?
Under the subtle pressure of her words, Rimon gave her a wry look and asked,
"Then why ask for such a promise?"
"Because I absolutely need you, Sword Duke."
Li Chingwei answered immediately.
She met Rimon's eyes directly and continued in a calm voice.
"No matter what happens, I need you."
"No matter what..."
The girl gazed at him with obsidian eyes—beautiful yet deep as the night.
Mulling over her words, Rimon chuckled softly.
"You're giving away what I don't need while holding on to the most important part."
"Does my condition displease you?"
"It doesn't sit right."
If anyone else had heard Rimon, they'd have called him crazy first.
Marrying the princess of the Seven Dragon Society was a dream most would kill for.
Even an ordinary person could instantly become a key figure in the Seven Dragon Group, gaining vast wealth and glory—a total life reversal.
Freedom guaranteed on top of that.
And shares in Hotel Leviathan to boot.
No sane person would refuse.
Especially if the bride was a beautiful girl like Li Chingwei.
But Rimon wasn't your "ordinary person" or "average guy."
"I'm not interested in your power or wealth anyway."
Rimon snorted.
Even if he'd turned his back on the nation, he was still Rimon Asfelder.
He'd fought the Seven Dragon Society his whole life and claimed what he wanted with his own sword.
He'd sooner smash them outright than seek such trifles as the price of becoming a son-in-law.
"And even if I took the shares, I couldn't use them freely."
Problems would pile up even if he accepted.
Hotel Leviathan's shares were deeply tied to the Seven Dragon Society's control.
Which meant using them freely would require not just the Black Dragon Clan's approval, but the other clans' as well.
And would they stand by?
Allowing Rimon—the Seven Dragon Society's greatest nemesis for centuries?
It'd be a miracle if they didn't bomb him on the spot.
If he hadn't come as Li Chingwei's guest, the Black Dragon Clan—Youin included—would have torn him apart already.
In short, her offer was a rubber check.
"But I'll take it."
"Pardon?"
"I'll accept. The conditions and all."
That was why, the moment Rimon answered—
Li Chingwei's eyes widened in shock.
"You're serious?"
"I told you. I decided to get a little greedy too."
If he'd been tempted by the Hotel Leviathan shares, fine.
But he'd just listed every flaw in how worthless they were—then accepted anyway.
Watching her expression shift from bewilderment to hearing things, Rimon chuckled.
"I realized that without holding onto even useless things like money or power, I might end up feeling like shit."
In the past, he wouldn't have taken it.
Core shares in the Seven Dragon Group? More trouble than they were worth.
But from the moment he accepted her son-in-law proposal, tangling with the Seven Dragon Society was inevitable.
A few more headaches wouldn't change much for Rimon.
"...There aren't many who'd dare look down on the Sword Duke just for lacking money or power."
"Maybe. But it doesn't always work that way."
Rimon smiled coldly.
Until recently, he'd held a somewhat optimistic view himself.
No matter how faded the Sword Master's fame, his deeds wouldn't vanish.
But after offending the Infinite Monarch, getting abandoned by the nation, and killing Yuna Kyung with his own hands, Rimon realized something anew.
The era had changed.
No one cared about past merits.
About how honorably you'd lived.
They only checked who held more money and power now—and valued that alone.
How had the world come to this?
To Rimon, it was lamentable, almost baffling.
Even after centuries, seeing the world shift so drastically in mere decades felt alien.
Maybe it had always been this way.
Only now, stripped of wealth and power, did it stand out.
"On that note, there's something I want to confirm."
"What is it?"
Even so, harboring an unresolved doubt—
Rimon fixed her with cool, sunken eyes and continued.
"Princess, when you proposed, you said marrying you would make me a target for fearsome enemies."
"Yes, I did."
"Those fearsome enemies—are they human?"
"What an interesting question."
Li Chingwei smiled faintly.
"Do you think I'd propose to you out of fear of something inhuman?"
"...At least you don't strike me as the type to fear anyone."
"Then you know my answer."
"I see."
Rimon understood perfectly.
Why she showed no unease at his out-of-left-field question.
Why she brushed it off like a joke.
She only asked if she seemed scared.
But on whether the enemy was human, she neither confirmed nor denied—letting that serve as her answer.
"Well, my answer stays the same regardless."
That was why Rimon didn't press further about the "enemy" she was wary of.
He merely glanced at the starry night sky, then continued innocently.
"I need money and power."
Rimon could feel it.
Whether his foes were human or not—
The days when swordsmanship alone won every fight were over.
So he thought.
He'd gather power and wealth too.
If his strength and honor as a Sword Master meant nothing, he'd reclaim his place the modern way.
If he couldn't change the era's flow, he'd change himself.
"And once something's in my hands, I won't let it go to anyone else. No matter what it is."
It was the declaration of an absolute.
Proof of the Sword Master's resolve to grasp things beyond his blade.
"So, Li Chingwei."
Rimon knew.
If he sought power, plenty would try to stop him.
Especially in the Seven Dragon Society.
Then Li Chingwei would have to side with either the other clans or him.
But Rimon made no empty promises about avoiding that.
"No matter what I do or who I make my enemy. If you're prepared to stand by me to the end, take my hand."
Even if he opposed the Seven Dragon Society.
Even if he fought the whole world.
If she couldn't stay on his side until the very end, she should back out.
With words too calm for a warning, too cruel for advice, Rimon extended one hand.
And with his golden eyes quietly settled, he looked straight at Li Chingwei and said,
"If so, I swear on my sword—I will never abandon you."
It was an unreasonable proposal.
A nonsensical deal where he took Hotel Leviathan shares as dowry and got saddled with a massive bomb in return.
But she wasn't disappointed.
As if she'd waited lifetimes for this moment—
Without a hint of hesitation, she placed her hand over his, smiling softly.
"Shall I call you my husband from now on?"