“Wh-why are you acting like this?”
Terrified by the look in Jeok Igeon’s eyes, I shoved Yang Sobaek away with all my strength.
The maids, of course, completely misunderstood.
“Oh, come on. If you’re getting married soon anyway, what’s the problem?”
“That’s right. Don’t be shy in front of us. If you’re finally seeing your lover after so long, a hug is the least of it!”
“Honestly, I’m so jealous I could die!”
What marriage?
I couldn’t exactly tell them now that the whole thing was a lie, and it was driving me insane.
“I had no idea you felt that way about me, Seolha…”
What nonsense had he been spouting since earlier?
“If you’re willing, I can marry you today!”
Are you out of your mind?
What on earth did you eat?
And why is your face so red?
I needed to get him away from the maids before he said anything even more deranged.
“Oh my!”
“Was that a proposal just now? Seolha, that’s incredible!”
“Hurry, let’s go spread the news!”
Whether it was fortunate or disastrous, the maids scattered at once, thrilled by this fresh bit of gossip.
And just like that, I was finally left alone with Yang Sobaek—
exactly what I’d wanted so desperately.
“Getting married?”
Ah.
Jeok Igeon was still here.
His voice had gone low in a way that immediately set me on edge as he began walking toward us.
Had I done something wrong again?
For some reason, the way he was looking at me felt… strange.
“I-I greet the Second Young Lord!”
Since I’d frozen where I stood, it was Yang Sobaek who stepped forward instead.
At least the fool recognized Jeok Igeon on sight and had the sense to bow.
“State your affiliation.”
“Yang Sobaek of the Blood Shadow Unit, Tenth Strike Force!”
“So you’re a new recruit.”
“Yes, sir!”
“But this is not the Blood Shadow Unit.”
Jeok Igeon gave Yang Sobaek a long, openly displeased look from head to toe.
“Ah… well, I only came to see Seolha for a moment.”
“Why are you looking for my Personal Maid?”
“Since we’ll both be working around headquarters, I thought we should greet each other properly and put faces to names. Something like that. Haha.”
He really had no sense for the atmosphere at all.
Yang Sobaek answered with a bright grin, as if he’d mistaken Jeok Igeon’s questions for friendly interest.
“I hear you just proposed to my maid. Are the two of you planning to hold a wedding?”
“Yes, actually—”
“Second Young Lord! I can explain. It’s all the result of a small misunderstanding… I can tell you everything!”
“Can you?”
I nodded so hard my neck nearly snapped and shot Yang Sobaek a desperate look.
Please disappear.
The gate is right there.
I’ll explain everything later, so until then don’t say another word. Just go. Understood?
To his credit, my best friend understood immediately.
“I’ll see you again soon.”
Yang Sobaek bowed to Jeok Igeon and slipped out through the back gate without another word.
The instant he vanished, it felt as though a live bomb had finally been removed from my life.
“Now then. You need to explain, don’t you? You’re getting married?”
How dare you leave me behind like that.
The last part must have been my imagination.
Even so, why had it sounded so real?
Jeok Igeon was clearly in a foul mood.
Which, honestly, made sense. He had invested time in me, even gone so far as to teach me martial arts, and now suddenly I was supposedly on the verge of marriage.
At that moment, I understood one thing with absolute clarity.
I needed to focus on training my replacement.
Especially when it came to Jeok Igeon’s meals, I had to prepare a proper meal plan to leave behind.
If he saw that there was someone else capable of taking over for me, then surely his fixation on me would fade.
There wasn’t much time left.
I needed to start choosing candidates quickly.
“Are you thinking about something else in the middle of this?”
Jeok Igeon’s cold stare pinned me in place.
I deliberately paused as if I were hesitating, then told him everything without holding anything back.
“…So you invented a fake lover to cover up the fact that you spent the night with me?”
“Yes. I thought the Physician Elder’s explanation would settle everything, but people were still looking at me suspiciously. So I ended up dragging my friend into it too. I never imagined Yang Sobaek would come looking for me here, and at a time like this of all times…”
“You are absolutely certain there is nothing between the two of you?”
“Of course! We’ve been friends since we were little. He’s practically one of the girls to me.”
Me and Yang Sobaek, married?
Just imagining it made me feel like I was breaking out in hives.
“But did you really need to go that far?”
“Pardon?”
“They were only rumors. Why resort to such elaborate lies?”
“Well… for my own survival. And for the Second Young Lord’s honor.”
“Is someone trying to kill you?”
Jeok Igeon’s expression turned cold in an instant.
Afraid he might get the wrong idea and drag innocent people into this, I answered at once.
“No! That’s not what I meant. I only meant that I’d become the target of the maids’ jealousy because they all admire you. And if that happened, it would become exhausting. I told you before, didn’t I? How absurdly popular you are with the maids?”
The truth was probably worse than that, but I tried to make it sound harmless.
“And more than anything, it would affect your reputation. How unpleasant must it have been, getting dragged into that kind of rumor with a mere maid like me? Everything I did was meant to make things easier for you.”
Mostly, I just wanted to survive.
“You only try to improve someone’s mood when they’re angry.”
“…That’s true.”
“But I wasn’t angry. So what you did was pointless.”
Huh?
“Are you close to him?”
“You mean… Yang Sobaek?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, very. We’re best friends, really.”
Was he planning to pull strings for Yang Sobaek in the Blood Shadow Unit?
That didn’t sound like Jeok Igeon at all, but just in case, I added a little more than necessary.
“I don’t have parents, you see. So when I was younger, other children picked on me sometimes. Yang Sobaek always stood up for me. He can be slippery, but he’s loyal.”
I didn’t remember any of it myself, since it happened before my reincarnation, but Shin Geum had told me the story.
Thanks to that old debt, Yang Sobaek still benefited from free noodles and dumplings to this day.
“So you live alone with your grandmother?”
“Yes. My grandmother is my only family.”
But had I ever even told Jeok Igeon about my grandmother?
“What kind of person is she?”
“She’s ordinary. She runs a noodle shop.”
Why was he asking about my grandmother in such a suspicious way?
I snuck a glance at his face, but as usual, I couldn’t read a thing from it.
“I’m curious how her noodles taste.”
Oh.
So that was all?
I’d gotten nervous for nothing.
Jeok Igeon had been trying all kinds of noodle dishes for lunch lately.
It seemed he’d simply grown curious about the sort of noodles sold in the market.
“To me, it’s the most delicious noodle shop in the world, but it’s far too humble a place to bring you, Second Young Lord. I’ll pay closer attention and prepare meals more suited to your taste.”
My head was still bursting with possible menus.
Bibim noodles, banquet noodles, buckwheat noodles, spicy seafood noodles, black bean noodles—
not to mention pasta, udon, and half a dozen other variations.
Just thinking about it made me want a bowl myself.
In any case, I was confident I could keep Jeok Igeon from getting bored until the day I stopped serving as his Personal Maid.
“If it is noodles, this one likes them very much as well. Where is this place you call the most delicious?”
At the sudden voice from behind me, I turned my head and immediately dropped flat to the ground.
“I greet the Heavenly Demon!”
The Heavenly Demon, who had been quiet for a while, had come to find me again.
And once again, I hadn’t sensed his presence at all.
Even with my meridians opened, the Heavenly Demon was still the Heavenly Demon.
“Father, what brings you here?”
“I have always come here from time to time. But are you the one who changed Seolha like this?”
As he questioned Jeok Igeon, the Heavenly Demon personally helped me to my feet.
He looked me over with open surprise.
“The scattered energy has settled nicely into your dantian. I had some concerns, but you handled it well.”
So the Heavenly Demon had known about the state of my body too?
“What martial arts have you learned?”
His eyes, as he looked at me, were full of expectation.
He probably assumed I’d learned at least one art worthy of the internal energy I possessed.
I genuinely wanted to meet those expectations, but I answered honestly.
“The Second Young Lord taught me Demon Birth Sword and Demon Birth Step.”
“You’ve only learned that much?”
“Beginning tomorrow, I intend to teach her Five Elements Demon Sword.”
“Oh?”
At Jeok Igeon’s answer, the Heavenly Demon gave a quiet laugh, as though amused.
Then, without warning, he leaned close enough that his face was right in front of mine.
“What about this one?”
“…Pardon?”
“Would you like to learn martial arts from me as well?”
What?
What did he just say?
The Heavenly Demon wanted to teach martial arts—
to me?
A maid?
Had this father and son pair both lost their minds together?
There was a saying that no favor came without a price.
I was too frightened to answer at once, and the Heavenly Demon lowered his voice into something coaxing, almost seductive.
“I will teach you one thing. Whatever martial art you wish. Of course, not the exclusive arts of the Heavenly Demon.”
“…Whatever I want?”
The phrase possessed by a ghost would have fit me perfectly.
His voice curled into my ear like a demon’s whisper, smooth and tempting enough to steal my reason.
And if there was one martial art I truly wanted—
there was only one.
“A Lightness Skill. I want to learn an incredible Lightness Skill.”