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Chapter 28
“Do you mean… exactly the same?”
“You should repay in kind, or else people will continue to ignore me in the future, right? But just one slap would be too light a punishment. I’m worried it won’t uphold my dignity.”
“…….”
“I’ll strike ten times.”
I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands. Even repaying double would have been considered plenty, yet the young lady boldly called for ten strikes.
The master of the household flinched slightly but nodded without much hesitation. It wasn’t as if she was going to hit him personally, and she probably thought handling a single servant was a small gain.
“Very well.”
“M-Master…!”
The servant, on the other hand, panicked.
Ignoring that, the young lady gestured toward the warrior. The warrior standing next to Brother Lim stepped forward. His presence alone seemed enough to intimidate the servant.
When the warrior grabbed the servant by the collar, he began begging with tears streaming down his face.
“I was wrong, please spare me, spare me… ah!”
Crack!
The punishment began.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
“…Five, six, seven, eight.”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
“Ugh… ugh… oof!”
Watching this, I broke out in a cold sweat. The strikes were so strong that the smack sounded more like a whack.
Smack!
“Ten!”
Only after the full ten strikes did the warrior release his grip.
By then, the servant’s face was a mess of blood. The staggering servant eventually collapsed unconscious onto the floor.
Thud!
Yet the young lady didn’t even glance at him and turned back to the master of the household.
“Master.”
“…Y-Yes?”
The master, who had been staring blankly at the servant, was startled and looked at the young lady. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy.
Honestly… I was terrified too…
As I realized that the young lady’s fearsome reputation wasn’t exaggerated, she spoke in a monotone voice.
“I heard everything you said outside. Your martial arts are excellent, your appearance is decent, and being in your prime, you can entertain me night and day, correct?”
“Th-That means… uh…”
“But that is not my ideal type.”
“Eh?”
The young lady’s voice hardened.
“A weak body that breaks at a touch, someone with no martial arts skill at all!”
“Eh?”
“Someone younger than me, naive and innocent, obedient to my every word as if it were divine, pure without greed or ambition, and able to smile as blissfully as a fool…”
“Eh?”
“A worthless pretty boy.”
The master’s mouth fell open.
“A stunningly beautiful worthless boy is my type!”
Then she spun on her heel.
With the young lady detonating her bomb of a statement and leaving swiftly, an awkward silence fell over the room.
I, too, watched her retreating figure, thinking to myself:
‘Is that… me?’
It wasn’t long before I understood the full story.
“Do you know how shocked I was?”
Brother Lim explained everything to me.
He was the first to discover me.
He had been on his way to report to the chief about the master of the household lingering around the servant quarters, when he happened to hear my voice and turned back.
He then saw me bowing to the master’s entourage and, sensing something ominous, went straight to the servant quarters.
He had intended to report my situation to the young lady first and then rescue me, but the young lady arrived before he could say anything and acted herself. Brother Lim marveled at how stunned he had been.
“You… even though I said I’d support you, I never imagined you’d be favored like this. Incredible.”
“Hehe, I just got a little closer to the young lady.”
“‘A little closer’? Judging by how angry she was…”
“Eh?”
“Never mind.”
Brother Lim cleared his throat and changed the subject.
Anyway, that’s how he arrived with the young lady, witnessed me being slapped, and everything that followed unfolded as I had seen.
Finally, I asked what I had been wondering.
“So the master didn’t hear everything? I thought she’d heard everything since the young lady supposedly came to my quarters…”
“How could she know if she just arrived? The master only guessed since it was the only reason to threaten you, and it happened to be correct.”
“Phew… that was close. If she’d known the young lady hadn’t heard…”
She could have denied it and shifted the blame onto me.
Thinking this way, I understood how amazing it was that the young lady came to rescue me. Normally, it wouldn’t matter if it were just a servant, but the young lady had taken action.
I had even felt a little hurt thinking she had just stood by while I was bullied. Embarrassed, I scratched my cheek.
The very next day, I thanked the young lady.
“Thank you for yesterday. If it weren’t for you, I’d have been in real trouble. I usually avoid such things, but I got unlucky yesterday…”
“That’s enough.”
“You were reckless, too. Yesterday, the master of the household looked furious. What if you had been caught? Next time, don’t go yourself; send someone. Okay?”
“If I hadn’t gone, you would have…!”
The young lady suddenly paused and asked sharply, staring right at me:
“Did you enter the house yesterday?”
I tilted my head.
“The house? No, I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Eh? Obviously. Things have calmed down a bit, but if I had gone in that state yesterday, my mother would have fainted from shock.”
“And you didn’t think of my fainting?”
“Eh? Why would I?”
I truly didn’t understand, and the young lady exploded in anger.
“You’re ugly! Your face was already ugly, and now with one cheek swollen, it looks even worse! You should have healed before coming…”
“Eh? But you said being ugly was fine.”
“I said…”
The young lady fell silent for a moment.
“……Stunningly beautiful worthless boy.”
“Shut up.”
“That’s my type.”
“Get lost.”
“A weak body that breaks at a touch, no martial arts skill, naive and blissfully foolish, younger than me… Could it be…?”
“Not leaving?”
“Me?”
Clatter!
The young lady grabbed the table for the first time in a while, as if about to flip it. I hurriedly stopped laughing and tried to restrain her.
“H-Hey, just kidding! I mean, you wouldn’t say that because I’m your type, right? You just wanted to get rid of the master of the household because he’s annoying…”
“…….”
“……But I’m kind of like that.”
“Get out.”
“Oh, come on. I’ll tell you my type too. A martial arts genius with perfect aim! Weak body but strong-willed! Knowledgeable and reliable older man! Cold to others but warm to me!”
“You… you…!”
“Most importantly…”
I spoke firmly:
“Absolutely stunning.”
“…….”
“And you’re not my type?”
“Out, now!”
Crash!
The table finally flipped, and I dashed outside. Still, I couldn’t help laughing out loud, feeling a thrill in my chest.
‘She’s really reliable.’
I had been too embarrassed to say it while teasing her, but that was exactly what I wanted to say.
At that moment, the young lady felt truly dependable. No matter how much injustice or unfairness I endured before, at that moment, I didn’t have to.
Her act of revenge was a little scary, but honestly, it felt satisfying. I felt like there was nothing left in the world to fear.
‘Is this what it feels like to have an ally?’
If so, I would cherish that ally even more.
Humming to myself, I continued walking, enjoying the rare peace.
‘Nothing should go wrong now, right?’
“Damn her!”
The so-called master of the household, Wang Jugeon, fumed while holding his cup.
In front of him, the servant with the swollen face asked cautiously:
“Master, S-Sojo wouldn’t actually tell Wang Munju, right…?”
“Whether he tattles or not, it’s nothing to worry about!”
He shouted boldly but couldn’t hide his unease, his legs trembling. Secretly, Wang Jugeon thought:
‘If my father finds out, I’m in big trouble.’
In truth, Wang Jugeon wasn’t actually the master of the household.
