The Overlord of Blood and Iron (WN)

Chapter 240: Lee Chae-Rin’s Confession

Translator: Leyy3

“Grandma, Arshelly thinks...”

Arshelly was good with words.

Kwak Jung had taught her what to say, but even without them, her efforts would have been incredible.

Why?

It was because she didn’t want her beloved father, Kang Chul-In, to be an unmarried and lonely man.

In addition,

“Imperial Princess.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you want a younger sibling?”

“S-sibling?!”

“That’s right. A cute little sibling!”

“...!”

“When his Majesty and his spouses get married, they can make your younger siblings via ovulation, fertilization, implanta... no, not that! I meant by holding hands!”

“Gasp...!”

Arshelly had been coaxed into doing as Kwak Jung had told her.

That’s right; let’s get a younger sibling!

With that goal in mind, Arshelly continued her persuasion.

“I wish for daddy to get married.”

“But!”

Park Sun-Ja gave her a stern expression.

“He can’t have two wives! That’s bad!”

“No, it’s ok~!”

“H-huh?! What did you say...?”

Park Sun-Ja was puzzled. She could not comprehend why this innocent little girl was supporting Kang Chul-In in polygamy.

“Grandma.”

Arshelly spoke.

“Daddy, no, Royal Father is...”

“R-Royal Father?”

“That’s right!”

“What... do you mean?”

“Well, Royal Father is a ruler of a nation.”

“R-Ruler?”

“Yes!”

“You mean... over in the ‘other world’?”

“Yes! That’s right.”

“...!”

“Royal Father will soon be a king!”

“What in the world...!”

Park Sun-Ja did not even know that lords existed. The information was too much for her to handle.

A king?

Her son was a king over in the ‘other world’? Ruling over an entire nation?

“What do you mean? Explain to your grandma, now!”

Park Sun-Ja coerced Arshelly.

“Alright, grandma.”

Arshelly maintained her composure and explained everything from the start to finish, as Kwak Jung had told her to.

She mentioned Pangaea, lords, and what kind of character Kang Chul-In was in the ‘other world’.

“I-I see.”

Park Sun-Ja mumbled to herself, as if she was lost in her thoughts.

“Daddy would never have an affair!”

“I didn’t know that... so, it was just a difference in culture...”

“Yes, grandma!”

“It’s still difficult to swallow... that he has two different families...”

Park Sun-Ja muttered in confusion.

Strictly speaking, Kang Chul-In only had one family with multiple wives. Park Sun-Ja, however, saw it differently from her perspective.

“Mrs. Park?”

At that moment, Lee Chae-Rin gently opened the door and peeked her head in.

“M-Ms. Chae-Rin?”

“May I enter?”

“S-Sure. I also have something to talk to you about.”

Park Sun-Ja gave her the permission.

“I’ll be leaving, grandma! Have a pleasant talk!”

Arshelly was sensible enough to leave immediately.

“You may sit here.”

“Thank you.”

“What are you thinking, Ms. Chae-Rin?”

Park Sun-Ja went straight to the question.

“Are you really planning to marry my son? As his second wife?”

“Yes, I am.”

Lee Chae-Rin replied firmly.

“How... Is that possible? You can appreciate this situation, Ms. Chae-Rin?”

“Yes. I’m also an Overlord, after all.”

“...!”

“This is more than just a marriage between a guy and a girl. It signifies a unification between Laputa and Dorado.”

“H-However, there is no love...”

“No, Mrs. Park.”

Lee Chae-Rin spoke with a slight blush on his face.

“I-I...”

She finally leaked her true rationale.

“I love Mr. Chul-In!”

“...!”

“Mrs. Park, I can handle it!”

“No,”

Park Sun-Ja shook her head.

“Ms. Chae-Rin is such a good lady. It doesn’t have to be my son...”

“No!”

“...!”

“I-I... don’t think any other guy can be my husband. Ever since I got to know Mr. Chul-In, I couldn’t find anyone as supreme as him.”

“Ms. Chae-Rin...”

“Furthermore... I myself am no ordinary woman. I’m some sort of a queen. Who other than Mr. Chul-In could handle me? Mr Chul-In’s the only man for me.”

“I-Is that right? Ms. Chae-Rin may end up unfortunate...”

“Nope.”

Lee Chae-Rin shook her head.

“I’m confident. I will definitely be a beloved wife and a great daughter-in-law.”

“But the jealousy...”

“I tossed that emotion out of the window.”

“...!

“The moment Mr. Chul-In decided to become the ruler of Pangaea, he was destined to have more than one woman around him.”

It was strange logic, but not false. It was just a bit difficult for a normal Korean to comprehend.

“Mrs. Park, please permit our marriage.”

“...”

“Please!”

Lee Chae-Rin pushed on with a headstrong resolve.

Phew... I guess having a talented son is not always a good thing...

Park Sun-Ja, thanks to Kang Chul-In’s superiority, had to face dilemmas that no other layman could ever encounter.

***

“Huu...”

Kang Chul-In let out a long sigh on the rooftop.

“This is driving me nuts.”

The fact that he couldn’t just go headstrong on this matter made him extremely frustrated.

Even a hundred thousand enemy soldiers didn’t scare him, but his mother Park Sun-Ja was so hard to deal with.

“Son! You should not be a playboy just because you have it good! I’ve never seen a playboy who was actually decent! That’s not good at all!”

Kang Chul-In suddenly remembered Park Sun-Ja’s words.

“Mother, that’s not...”

He tried to explain, but,

“I have nothing more to say.”

Park Sun-Ja had already turned her back against him. Kang Chul-In was caught in a dilemma.

“Mr. Chul-In.”

At that instant, he heard Lee Chae-Rin’s voice from his back.

“You came.”

Kang Chul-In replied, with his gaze fixed on Seoul’s night scenery.

“Yes.”

“You’ve done... well.”

“No problem. Don’t we all have to strive to get what we want?”

“...!”

“I learned that from you, Mr. Chul-In. I’m just doing what I usually do, so don’t mind me.”

“You...”

As Kang Chul-In was replying, Lee Chae-Rin suddenly embraced him from the back without notice.

“I love you.”

“...!”

“I really, really love you.”

Her confession was as sudden as her back hug.

Thump, thump, thump!

Kang Chul-In could feel Lee Chae-Rin’s heart racing, almost as if it was going to explode.

“When I first... met you, Mr. Chul-In... you were a newbie whom I wanted to protect.”

“...”

“It was amazing to see you struggle to survive in this dog-eat-dog society.”

The Kang Chul-In Lee Chae-Rin mentioned was an average employee before the Great Summoning happened.

“Hence, I tried my best to take care of you. You did seem burdened by it, though.”

“...”

“And I began to like you since then.”

“...!”

“Even before the Great Summoning... for the longest time.”

Honest, heartfelt words.

Thanks to them, Kang Chul-In could recall his past memories and feelings which he had forgotten.

A newbie.

He always had that someone who was friendly to even a lowly intern like him.

“Aren’t you tired, Mr. Chul-In? Drink this.”

“Hang in there!”

“The boss is always like that. He is retarded. So don’t pay too much attention to it.”

“What’s your plan for... this weekend?”

Lee Chae-Rin had always been displaying her feelings subtly, and Kang Chul-In had started to appreciate her caring and cheerful behavior.

“When the Great Summoning happened... I was honestly scared. It’s true that I relied on you the most, and that I ranted a lot to you.”

“...”

“But not now!”

Lee Chae-Rin embraced Kang Chul-In tighter.

“I no longer depend on you. Instead, I wish to be your trustworthy supporter and wife.”

“...”

“I love you! Even if I can’t have you all for myself...”

At that moment.

“...!”

Lee Chae-Rin’s body was swept around.

“Are you really fine with this?”

Kang Chul-In faced and asked Lee Chae-Rin, who was now in his arms.

“Of course!”

“You sure you won’t regret it?”

“Certainly!”

“If you happen to regret it, then I will let you off...”

He was about to finish the sentence with ‘anytime you want’, but he couldn’t continue.

“Heub!”

It was because Lee Chae-Rin’s moist lips had sealed his lips tight in a blink of an eye!

***

While Kang Chul-In was focusing his attention on domestic affairs, a coalition had gradually formed in the north, with Albrecht Vilhelm in the center.

In the land of Bifrost, the Lord’s Hall...

“From this moment onwards,”

Albrecht Vilhelm, wearing a luxurious cape, raised his Epic-ranked sword Balisada high up in the air.

“We, as one, will fight against the evil Overlord Kang Chul-In, and achieve peace in this continent!”

Immediately, all the lords gave him a standing ovation.

“My brothers!”

Vilhelm shouted at the audience.

“I, Vilhelm, have respected your wishes and became the chairman of the North Coalition! I will, however, never abuse my authority, and I promise to listen to every ruler intently! With that, let me open up the first topic for discussion!”

He spoke in a grandiose tone, but in reality, he had already grasped the whole of the North Coalition under his control.

Overlord rank 2.

An enormous amount of land, a robust economy and an endless talent pool.

A concrete alliance with Overlord Ao Xin.

In fact, Vilhelm was the one who created the North Coalition. All of his speeches were nothing but a façade.

“As the chairman of the North Coalition, I propose to position our army to the west!”

That was the only sentence which he actually meant.

The west.

By advancing the allied troops towards the Deathwin territory, Vilhelm aimed to pressure Kang Chul-In and prevent his move in the next spring.

“I agree!”

“Vilhelm, I’m with you!”

“Let’s destroy Kang Chul-In!”

“We can’t let that demon advance to the heart of Pangaea now can we?!”

All the lords in the North Coalition supported Vilhelm.

“Wait.”

At that moment, a man with pale skin and white hair stepped forward. It was Andrei Ivanovic, the vampiric Overlord.

“Overlord Andrei Ivanovic... any suggestions?”

Vilhelm questioned him with a slight hint of skepticism.

“Is pressuring alone enough?”

Andrei’s red eyes gleamed.

“It seems like an overly timid move to me.”

“Timid you say...”

“What if we conquer Deathwin? Won’t that be more beneficial to our coalition’s safety?”

“Hmm... but isn’t it winter, soon?”

Vilhelm opposed.

“Our coalition is still in the midst of formation. If we start a war at this point...”

“We are an alliance.”

“...!”

“The enemy may be strong, but he is alone. Why stop at pressuring? Even a simple war of attrition will be burdensome for Kang Chul-In.”

Andrei glanced sharply at his audiences and continued.

“I agree wholeheartedly with the chairman’s opinion, but to merely pressure Kang Chul-In is equivalent to giving him time to stabilize. I believe that conquering Deathwin right now is a better move, even if costly.”

He had a point.

However,

This sly vampire bastard...!

The problem was that Andrei intended to stand back and watch while Vilhelm and Ao Xin did the work.

A war of attrition?

As Vilhelm mentioned, an imminent war would undoubtedly cost Vilhelm and Ao Xin. The other lords didn’t have the ability to participate in the war, after all.

Even if they did, they would give a myriad of excuses to contribute as little as they could.

In other words, Andrei manipulated his words cleverly to place the burden solely on Vilhelm and Ao Xin’s shoulders. The other lords were bound to agree to his suggestion as well.

“Hmm... that makes sense, too.”

“As Overlord Andrei had mentioned, our coalition is strong enough to strike now...”

“I agree with him.”

“Chairman Vilhelm, what do you think?”

The response was immediate.

The cunning lords of the North Coalition were leaning towards Andrei’s opinion.

... Touché.

Vilhelm gritted his teeth.

He had assumed that he had control over the North Coalition, but that damn Andrei was tackling his influence.

Of course, it would be great if they could conquer Deathwin. However, that was not all.

Vilhelm also needed time.

He had to amplify his influence and power to ‘perfectly’ gain control over the North Coalition.

His final goal was to conquer Pangaea, after all.

“What’s your view on this, chairman Vilhelm?”

Andrei inquired.

“I...”

Vilhelm replied.

“I respect your opinion.”

“Is that so?”

“Immediately after this meeting, we will form the first allied troop to conquer Deathwin.”

Vilhelm didn’t have a choice.

Andrei Ivanovic had valid logic and Vilhelm didn’t have any excuses. He had to send an army to at least ‘pretend’ to conquer Deathwin.

You will pay for this, you sly blood-sucking bastard.

Vilhelm glared at Andrei.

Well then, have fun.

Andrei responded with a relaxed expression.

***

W-What is this...!?

Lee Chae-Rin was surprised.

So hard... to compose myself... Heuk...!”

Kang Chul-In’s kiss was akin to a thousand-year-old snake’s movements.

How could a man’s tongue move so flamboyantly? And how could someone’s kiss be so soft and delicate? Lee Chae-Rin’s mind was blanking out.

She was the one who initiated the kiss, but she succumbed to Kang Chul-In’s kissing technique within ten seconds.

Thump,

Thump, thump!

Lee Chae-Rin’s heart raced uncontrollably.

The kiss was short and succinct.

“Lee Chae-Rin.”

Kang Chul-In spoke.

“Yes, Mr. Chul-In.”

“No matter what happens...”

“I’m listening.”

“I will never let you starve to death. I promise to feed you.”

“Pfft!”

Lee Chae-Rin broke into laughter.