Stigma Effect

Translator: Skye  Editor: thursdays

A voice as sharp as a blade followed.

“I won’t limit your personal activities, Commander Helio. The only thing I request from you is to be mindful of the appropriate time and place.”

Rather than a colleague, Raphlet seemed more like a judge. He finished his words cold-heartedly, while his face remained expressionless-there was not even a trace of disappointment.

“Since you stopped fighting just to converse with a civilian, I’ll be punishing you formally after reporting to our superiors.”

Helio twisted his lips as if to show Yuriel that this was the kind of person Raphlet was. But though Raphlet’s voice had been cold and rough, to the point that even Yuriel noticed, Helio showed no signs of feeling hurt.

Wanting to show her more about the type of person Raphlet was, Helio opened his mouth to speak.

“She’s not an ordinary civilian. This lady is the one who stopped the train. I was keeping her in custody, so I hope you won’t decide to punish me for this.”

Even before Helio finished talking, Yuriel felt someone grab her wrists.

Raphlet had come up from behind her during the conversation. He pressed down on Yuriel’s back with his knee and twisted her arm to restrain her.

Ignoring the woman who didn’t even have time to utter a groan at the sudden pain, Raphlet addressed Helio in a monotone voice.

“If that’s true, what were you doing, not even arresting the criminal? Is she part of a terrorist group?”

“I can’t say for sure, but she was trying to stop the train because she knew the monsters would come. In fact, as you can see, the monsters did end up appearing.”

Raphlet and Helio began a conversation while Yuriel was still pressed against the train. She listened in to their conversation while letting out groans of pain due to her sore wrists.

‘Terror? Wait, am I being accused of being a terrorist?’

She remembered reading about it in the newspaper. A terror incident that threatened the capital. She never thought she would be misunderstood as the main culprit behind the incident.

Yuriel found it hard to breathe due to the knee that was pressing against her back. She turned her head, which had been facing the floor, to look at the man who subdued her.

Scanning him from bottom to top, she saw the figure of a flawless, perfect man.

Dark, black hair that did not change color even under the sunlight, sun-kissed skin, and a strong body hardened by training stood right behind her.

Though it was the first time she was seeing him in seven years, she felt a sense of familiarity.  It felt like she had imagined being pressed against him like this just a moment ago.

Of course, it had to have been just an illusion. Yuriel had never once left the Mogris Grand Duchy in the seven years since Raphlet had left, and Raphlet himself never returned to visit.

While Yuriel stared absentmindedly at Raphlet’s form, the two men continued their conversation.

“She wasn’t carrying anything someone involved in terrorism would carry, and it seems she’s never seen a gun-something anyone from the imperial capital would recognize-either. I don’t think she’s a part of the terrorist group that’s been going wild these days...But it would be better to thoroughly interrogate her.”

“I understand. I’ll finish things here Commander Helio, so if you could transfer this person to the temple…”

Raphlet, who was in the middle of responding to the blond, trailed off when he lowered his head and saw a pair of green eyes staring at him.

He blinked several times, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He blinked slowly three more times before he was convinced that what he was seeing was indeed real and not some illusion.

“...Yuriel.”

Helio looked at the two with widened eyes when he heard Raphlet’s voice, followed by a brief silence.

“Why are you here?”

It seemed the woman hadn’t been lying when she said she had come to see Raphlet.

Yuriel followed behind Raphlet like a baby duckling imprinted on its mother.

He dragged her to the train station by his hand, and she was now gazing at the figure of his back while he stood in front of the ticket counter.

Even inside the busy train station, which was crowded with a large number of people coming and going, the only one reflected in her eyes was Raphlet.

She had always imagined what he would look like and how much he would have grown over the years, but to think he was now in front of her eyes, in the flesh.

Every step, every gesture overwhelmed her.

While Yuriel was in a state of excitement, Raphlet bought a train ticket from the counter and returned to her side.

“The train for Mogris leaves in an hour. I’ll guard you until then, so go back,” he said, handing her the ticket.

It was a polite and formal tone, as if he was talking to a stranger. Yuriel blinked when she received the train ticket from him.

“Pardon?”

She thought her ears must have become defunct due to the hard work of her first-ever train trip. As if having to hear Raphlet speak formally wasn’t enough, she thought she was being told to go back. She knew she was tired, but perhaps she was more fatigued than she initially assumed.

“I think I misheard you just now, master. Could you repeat that?” Yuriel asked with an embarrassed smile on her face.

Raphlet looked down at her face for a moment before responding to her in a flat tone, “Please return to the Mogris Grand Duchy immediately.”

Yuriel’s smiling face hardened into shock. It seemed she didn’t mishear the honorifics that felt distant-as if he was dealing with someone he had never seen before-or the cold demand telling her to go back.

“M-Master. Are you angry because I came without telling you? But when I heard that you were injured, I was overwhelmed and wasn’t in the right mindset-”

“Please stop calling me master. I’m not your master right now.”

Raphlet rejected Yuriel with an icy face she had never seen before.

His golden eyes-which had always been affectionate-now had a mineral-like glow, like some kind of metal.

Raphlet continued to explain in a machine-like manner, “It’s a train with protective magic covering every car. You don’t have to interfere to stop the train even if the same situation occurs. In the event of a monster attack, all the cabins will be sa-”

“I’m not going back.”

“What are you saying when you don’t even have a place to stay?”

“I can stay at an inn and find work.”

“It’s too dangerous. Go back.”

He began to turn her away without any signs of hesitation. Intimidated by Raphlet’s insistence, Yuriel clenched the train ticket in her hand and looked to be on the verge of tears.

“Do you not need me anymore? If I’m no longer useful, it would be better for me to die.”

“...What are you saying?”

A tolerant [1] light flashed through Raphlet’s eyes at Yuriel’s extreme words. He let out a sigh.

“Although the capital has improved, monster attacks are still frequent. There’s also the danger of terrorism, so it’s not a good place for women to live alone.”

“Master, no…Raphlet, I’ll just stick next to you. If I’m not alone, it’ll be okay, right? Please let me enter as your personal maid.”

“No, it’s dangerous.”

Yuriel and Raphlet’s scuffle continued endlessly. Watching their quarrel, Helio let out a hollow laugh.

Her claim that she came to see Raphlet had not been false. The two were continuing their quarrel without any awkwardness, as if they had seen each other just yesterday.

Raphlet’s face also had the most human-like expression since he joined the order.

Even though this was Helio’s first time witnessing such an expression on Raphlet, he could not hide his displeasure towards him. Rather, Helio thought it was better when Raphlet’s face was devoid of emotion like usual.

The way Raphlet expressed his emotions felt as if a clumsy mechanical device was mimicking human speech and expressions.

Yet this woman was continuing her conversation with such a person with no signs of discomfort.

“I can’t go, I’ll stay in the capital even without your permission! I’m sick and tired of hearing about your injuries through the newspaper.”

The conversation showed no signs of ending while simultaneously revealing her intense feelings. The woman was unable to stifle her emotions, and tears began to flow down her cheeks.

“Can’t you just let me stay by your side? I’m good at cooking and other chores. Whatever you ask me to do, I’ll do it, so please just let me be by your side…”

“...Yuriel.”

“I can even be beaten in your place again, just like before. If you ask me to take a knife for you, I can do that too,” Yuriel said, throwing her luggage aside and clinging to Raphlet’s chest.

It was amusing yet revolting to see Raphlet, whose face had hardened into an unreadable expression, being unable to push a single woman away.

Helio, who was watching them and fiddling with the silver coin in his hand, stood up.

As Helio approached them slowly, Raphlet-who had been restless and unable to lay a finger on the woman clinging to him-glared at him with piercing eyes.

It was a look that seemed to warn against coming any closer, but Helio ignored him. He grabbed the lower end of Raphlet’s uniform with one hand and took hold of Yuriel’s sagging shoulders with the other, separating the two, before addressing her in a friendly tone.

“You seem to be mistaken, miss.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re under investigation, so even if Commander Raphlet tells you to go back, you’re not in a position where you can do so.”

Raphlet’s face twisted at his gentle explanation. Fiercely slapping Helio’s hand away, Raphlet stood in front of Yuriel so that she was blocked from Helio’s view before addressing him.

“She stopped the train in good faith. There’s no reason for her to be investigated.”

It was a cynical and sharp tone. The commanders glared at each other, both on edge, while Yuriel glanced nervously between the two.

It seemed Raphlet didn’t get along with this man.

Yuriel, who was nervous about Raphlet sending her back again, thought so.

T/N:[1] - The author used 인간적인 a lot in this chapter when describing how Raphlet reacted/responded to Yuriel. The literal translation is “human(-like)” -- which sounds weird in English so it’s been slightly modified several times throughout the chapter. But basically, this chapter showed us that Raphlet is the typical cold/emotionless male lead whose walls come down only when he’s in front of the female lead.

Also, just a little note that Raphlet and Yuriel speak formally to each other, but it gets lost in translation. I’m pointing it out because the author will be emphasizing those moments when Raphlet talks formally to her and later in the future, when he starts to drop the formality when they’re alone together.

But note that Yuriel will always speak politely to him, as she views herself as her master’s maid. She always adds a -님 (-nim; equivalent to the JPN -san) at the end of his name, which I could TL into “Sir Raphlet” but I think that looks a little awkward to use constantly (whereas “Sir Helio” looks fine, or is it just me?)

WHEW. End long TL note.

Tl;dr Raphlet is a simp for Yuriel while trying to keep her at arm’s length

E/N: I wanted the title of this chapter to be “Simp” just so you all are aware

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