The place the Blood Night Palace Lord took us to was a luxurious estate called Water Moon House. I couldn’t tell whether it was a restaurant, inn, or tavern.

Probably because I hadn’t been to many fancy places before.

Looking around as we entered, it turned out to be all of those things. They served food and alcohol, and in various separate quarters, well-decorated annexes offered privacy.

Basically, it was one of those over-the-top establishments reserved for VIPs.

We watched as attendants fawned over the Palace Lord before we were guided to a private area in one of the annexes.

We hadn’t even ordered yet, but light dishes began arriving.

Since everyone seemed so cautious around the Palace Lord, I asked what came to mind.

“Palace Lord, did you maybe swing your sword around this place before?”

She looked at me, confused.

“What are you even talking about?”

“Everyone here treats you like a goddess.”

She shook her head and replied,

“This estate was built with palace funds. We can’t just accept offerings recklessly, so we let a competent merchant run it, and a portion of the profits goes back to the palace. So yes, I’m effectively the owner.”

“Ahh.”

I was genuinely surprised and looked at her again.

A curious woman, indeed.

The Sword Demon, the Left Guardian, the Palace Lord, Gyo Yeong, and I sat around a round table and began eating.

At one point, a servant came to pour water, and her figure was so striking that everyone looked a bit thrown off.

Some habits die hard.

Every time the servant passed, the Left Guardian’s eyes trailed to her chest as he drank.

After this repeated a few times, the Sword Demon let out a long sigh.

“My disciple.”

“Yes, Master?”

“You fall in love far too easily. Staring so shamelessly at a woman’s body like that… I feel a sense of shame for even having to scold you in a place like this.”

For once, the Left Guardian replied in a serious tone.

“Master, do you think I might be ill? I feel like I can’t control myself.”

The Sword Demon turned to the Palace Lord.

“Senior, my disciple is like this. You were known for assessing people’s character and reading physiognomy in your younger days. What’s your take? It’s been a while since I’ve heard tales of the Blood Fairy’s readings.”

Apparently, Blood Fairy was her nickname in youth.

Fairy typically refers to a woman of great beauty, but to my eye, the Palace Lord’s looks weren’t all that. Years of hardship had taken a toll on her face.

She was certainly strong enough to spar with the Sword Demon, but the one she sought revenge on was the Cult Leader, so long years of suffering made sense.

She stared intently at the Left Guardian before answering.

“That’s definitely the face of a lecher. How did you not correct him before it reached this point?”

The Sword Demon replied, clearly troubled.

“As you know, he didn’t come from the Cult. I didn’t realize he was like this when I took him in as a disciple.”

While studying his face, she continued.

“There are men—and women—who are born with a pathological obsession with the opposite sex. That in itself isn’t necessarily a problem. What does matter is the time they’re born into.

“If he’d been born during wartime and became a general or a king, this wouldn’t be an issue. In times of war, people overlook flaws if someone can command an army or wield great power.

“But in a time like this… What was your name again?”

The Left Guardian answered,

“Mong Yeon.”

“If you keep acting this way, you’ll be labeled a pervert, condemned, and chased around. But even if you’re chased, that deep-rooted sickness won’t go away. It’s a disease of body and mind that will only vanish when you’re dead.”

Then she turned to Gyo Yeong.

“This kind of man tops the list of people you should never get involved with. Understand?”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Today he’s in love with you, tomorrow he’ll be in love with the servant, and ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ by evening he’ll be sniffing around the brothel. Then on the way home in the morning, he’ll hit on the next woman he sees.”

I chuckled while eating.

“Couldn’t have said it better.”

The Left Guardian spoke up, still serious.

“Senior, is there no way to fix me?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you don’t want to be fixed. When behavior becomes habit, it becomes fate. You’ll live your life knowing you’ll turn into a pervert. You might even die pitifully. Training in martial arts regularly might help, I suppose.”

Gyo Yeong curiously asked,

“Then what kind of person should I meet?”

This time, the Palace Lord turned to me. Her sharp, snake-like eyes scanned me from head to toe before she spoke again.

“This one’s another you should never get involved with. If Mong Yeon ranks first, then the Master of Haomun here is second. From a woman’s perspective, there’s no difference between the two.”

I replied with a bored expression.

“And why’s that?”

She explained to Gyo Yeong,

“Look at his eyes and expression. This one’s not interested in starting a family. Men who live prepared to die are often like that. Gyo Yeong, look at your forehead.”

She touched her still-swollen forehead.

“You’ll keep getting flicked like that whenever you displease him. No man who lays hands on a woman is ever any good.”

The Left Guardian looked at me like I was pathetic.

“She’s got a point.”

I kept eating while glancing around the table.

“…Unbelievable.”

Gyo Yeong asked,

“But why didn’t anyone in the palace ever say ‘forehead flick’ before?”

“That’s a word friends use when joking around. Do you think anyone in the palace would say that to you?”

“What if I say it?”

“You’d be threatening to flick your servants?”

“Yes.”

The Palace Lord, at a loss for words, looked at the Sword Demon.

He spoke to Gyo Yeong.

“Gyo Yeong, how old are you now?”

“Eighteen.”

“You’re too old to be flicking or hitting servants. Don’t do it.”

“Yes, sir.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“With your level of martial skill, a flick could kill them.”

The conversation was getting more and more chaotic.

I chuckled between spoonfuls of soup and snorted at the absurdity.

Still, the food was good.

“Quite the chef they have here.”

The Sword Demon looked at me and asked,

“Master Yi, seems like you’ve got something to say.”

I nodded and looked at the Palace Lord.

“…Judging by your face, you haven’t got long to live.”

The Left Guardian spat water from his mouth.

“Pfft—! Ah, I’m sorry.”

“…!”

The Palace Lord set down her chopsticks and stared at me.

“That’s the first time anyone’s said something like that to me. I’m genuinely flustered.”

Seeing her angry expression, the Sword Demon interjected.

“He’s not the type to spout nonsense. Just hear him out.”

“Let’s hear it, then.”

I chewed the last piece of braised pork rib and began.

“You sparred with the Sword Demon, so your martial skills are obviously top-notch.”

She started to say something, but stopped when she saw the Sword Demon’s expression.

I took a sip of water and spoke solemnly.

“Today’s meal at the Blood Night Palace was nice. But I hear you’ve been keeping things tightly closed off to outsiders. Do you really think hiding will stop the Cult Leader from finding you? With a single word, his men will spread out. Whether it takes a year or two, they’ll find you eventually. One word—‘kill’—and his subordinates will clash with the Blood Night Palace. And if the Cult Leader shows up himself, your palace will be gone.

“You’ll die. That girl who got flicked will die. Your servants will die. Your elders will die. Your gold will flow into the Cult. And where the palace once stood, only ashes will remain.”

She responded,

“We’re not that weak.”

“So you’re stronger than the Cult?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what’s your point?”

“What’s with a name like Blood Night Palace? Red-tinged night or whatever? Anyone hearing that will immediately think you’re from the demonic path. Right, Sword Demon?”

He replied,

“‘Blood Night’ was her grandfather’s nickname.”

“Still, naming a group after your grandpa’s nickname is just weird. Ditch the Blood Night Palace name. Even countries change names when dynasties shift.

“Wanting revenge while isolated and alone is a futile dream. No sense of reality. The Cult is obviously stronger. Your organization is weak. Your personal martial skills are even weaker. If you want to survive, you have to change.

“What you said to that brat about repeated actions becoming fate—maybe you should reflect on that yourself. You’ve got no intention of changing your closed-off ways, do you? Then your death is already on the way.”

“….”

Everyone fell silent at my grim prophecy.

I took another sip of water and continued.

“In my opinion, the Sword Demon is a solitary type. Yet when he said he wanted to visit your palace, you should’ve treated him as an honored guest. What’s so hard about offering a proper meal?

“If rumors spread, what’ll they say? That the Sword Demon was seen visiting the Blood Night Palace. The Cult Leader won’t like that. People he hates are starting to mingle.

“Then they’ll find out the second son of the Wind and Cloud Dream Clan was there too, along with some unheard-of punk from Haomun.

“Now the Cult Leader has even more people to deal with.”

I reached for another piece of pork rib with my chopsticks—then put them down, realizing how heavy the mood had gotten.

“Listen, Palace Lord. Staying alive is no easy thing. If I were in your position, I’d be clinging to the Sword Demon’s trouser leg.”

I tapped the table with my hand.

“In any case, now’s not the time to be playing games with the Moon Orchid. You understand? That’s why when I move on the Saryugok assassins, you’d better lend a hand.”

The Sword Demon spoke up, flustered.

“That escalated fast…”

The Palace Lord stared at me and said,

“I get the gist of what you’re saying, but I’ve never met someone so arrogant. It’s frankly baffling.”

Suddenly I noticed Gyo Yeong staring at me, so I snapped,

“What are you looking at?”

“……”

The Palace Lord asked her,

“What do you think?”

“I agree about changing the name.”

“To what?”

“Maybe listen to the elders’ suggestions? Or switch it to ‘Sacred Fire Palace,’ after Father’s creation, the Sacred Fire Devouring Heaven Technique. It makes more sense to name it after a technique than some old nickname.

“Besides, aside from the elders, no one even uses Great-Grandfather’s martial arts anymore.”

The Palace Lord nodded.

“I’ll take it into consideration.”

Just then, the voluptuous servant came in to clear the dishes—and everyone turned to look at the Left Guardian.

He instinctively turned to look at her, then slapped himself across the face and forced his head to face forward, staring at nothing.

Smack! The noise startled the servant.

“….”

In a calm tone, I addressed everyone at the table.

“Changing one’s fate… really is hard.”

The Left Guardian replied with a heavy sigh.

“I agree. It’s not easy.”

As soon as he said that, he squeezed his eyes shut. I clicked my tongue and shook my head.

“Cut the crap. Ugh.”

His forcibly shut eyes trembled slightly.

The Palace Lord, who’d been deep in thought, looked around and said,

“…Well then, I’ll serve tea inside the palace. Everyone, let’s go.”

As we all rose, Gyo Yeong turned to the Left Guardian and muttered,

“You really are insane.”

He opened his eyes and replied,

“You shouldn’t speak that way to your big brother.”

He winked at her—and she recoiled in horror.

The Sword Demon and I locked eyes—and sighed in unison.

At that moment, the Palace Lord pulled Gyo Yeong protectively close and said as if to ward off a plague,

“Don’t look at him. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Honestly, changing your fate really is hard.

It’s probably the same for everyone.

For the pervert. For me.

In my past life, the decent beauties were never mine. Even now, after scolding the Palace Lord, mocking the Left Guardian, and taunting a whip-swinging brat… deep down, I can’t shake the feeling that this life won’t be any different.

At this point, I’ve uncovered one truth about regression.

I may know the futures of others…

…but I still can’t see my own.

And yet, one thing hasn’t changed—then or now.

I am a man who changes fate, no matter what.

Otherwise, there would’ve never been a day when a tavern boy from Ilyang County became known as the Crazy Demon.

From Jomsoi to Crazy Demon.

And from Crazy Demon… what comes next?

That is the riddle of my regression.