Chapter 18
"That person..."
"He's another one of Lady Raebi's bodyguards. I heard you've already met."
Han Jihye spoke as she watched the tall man run toward us as if he were jogging.
He was a familiar-looking man over 180 centimeters tall, with a slender build and an apparent age in his mid-forties.
‘Of course I knew him. Very intensely.’
Come to think of it, I'd been wondering how they'd silenced him, but I never expected to meet him like this.
The tall man stopped in front of us with a tense expression.
"My name is Ahn Gihwan. I've been assigned to guard Lady Raebi."
Ahn Gihwan quickly crossed and uncrossed his arms. Then he began anxiously glancing in my direction, his pupils trembling.
‘Right... It was only two or three days ago, wasn't it?’
He was probably worried. Whatever the reason, he had ended up with the person he'd tried to kill as his superior.
But he had nothing to worry about.
After all, wasn't I an adult who knew what was what? Even if I was a C-rank Awakened, I still did what I was told.
Having the appearance of a pubescent girl didn't mean my mind had become narrow-minded, too.
I put on a stern expression and opened my mouth.
"Bad person."
"Pardon?"
"You're a bad person, aren't you?"
"......."
Ahn Gihwan began to panic.
His mouth fell slightly open as he repeatedly raised and lowered his arms, twitching helplessly.
He rolled his eyes around without daring to meet my gaze.
‘Hmm... My heart is as fickle as a reed.’
I was just as flustered.
I had definitely thought everything was settled, and I was about to ask how it had happened, but... what was this lingering hurt feeling that had slipped out regardless of my intentions?
The human heart was truly impossible to understand, even when you thought you did.
Still, seeing him flustered helped me feel a little better, and I slowly began to speak.
"Gi..."
"Mr. Gihwan."
At that moment, Han Jihye spoke at the same time. When our eyes met, she bowed her head to me.
"Please, Lady Raebi, go ahead."
"No, it's fine. We were only going to talk briefly, just the two of us. Please take care of your duties first, Ms. Jihye."
"......I see. Understood."
Han Jihye's gaze turned back to Ahn Gihwan. Her eyes were so icy that Ahn Gihwan swallowed hard.
‘I wasn't told he was an Awakened... Is this what happens when you're directly under Douglas Kim?’
"Mr. Gihwan."
"Yes, Ms. Jihye."
"We don't have much time, so I'll get straight to the point. You've done four things wrong."
"Pardon? Four mistakes...?"
Ahn Gihwan's eyes widened slightly. He had expected a scolding, but apparently not the number of offenses.
Han Jihye began extending her fingers one by one.
"First. If a servant keeps their master waiting, apologizing comes first. Regardless of what you were doing that made you late."
"Ah..."
"Second, your greeting posture was incorrect. You should bow your head. Also, you must maintain that posture until your master accepts your greeting. That makes three."
Ahn Gihwan nodded silently.
"Lastly, the fourth. If your master is displeased with you, don't avoid their gaze. Rather than looking for a way out, you should face your mistake and first determine what your problem is."
"……Understood. I'll be more careful from now on."
"This is not a particularly easygoing place, so I hope you adapt as quickly as possible."
"Yes..."
‘P...Poor guy!’
He'd been hit with a barrage of scolding right in front of his colleagues as soon as he arrived.
His workplace had suddenly changed, which must have been confusing enough, yet he was already being lectured. I couldn't help feeling sorry for him.
......Besides, I didn't know proper etiquette either.
With his tall, lanky frame and narrow shoulders looking especially forlorn today, I grabbed his sleeve and spoke.
"Could we talk alone for a moment?"
"Ah, of course...!"
"No."
Why not...?
I swallowed my frustration and turned toward Han Jihye.
"Why?"
"Even if he is your bodyguard, being alone with a man is..."
"Just this once."
I didn't want the conversation to drag on any longer.
Still holding Ahn Gihwan, I headed toward an empty room. I raised my palm toward Han Jihye, who twitched as if she intended to follow.
‘Don't come!’
...Thud!
The door closed behind us.
Since I had no idea how long this private meeting would last, I immediately turned to him.
"What happened?"
"I was recommended by Ambassador Lee Chang-jin."
"That old man did...?"
"Yes."
Hmm... How had this happened?
"Please explain in detail."
"Understood. I should start from the beginning, but, Lady Raebi..."
‘......’
Aha.
This was how his explanation went.
First, Lee Chang-jin had sensed from the beginning that I was the culprit behind the murder case.
However, while baffled by my pitiful mana, he had noticed a great many contradictions in my words and actions.
Because of that, he had guessed that I was hiding my abilities and waited until a stage had been prepared where I could display them.
‘Wait, so that means...’
"He knew about the pursuit team and just stood by while they acted? The ambassador did?"
"That's right. He said the ambassador had never had an opportunity like this before."
"An opportunity...?"
"We're originally an agency directly under the state. No matter what Park Sang-tae and Kim Young-hak did, we couldn't simply lay a hand on them. Not even the ambassador could."
‘......’
"Not 'us,' but 'them.' You just changed jobs."
"Ah...!"
"Anyway, please continue."
"Yes. So the ambassador, aware of the suspicious movements, used Lady Raebi's unusual nature as bait to make a deal with Douglas Kim,"
At the same time, he wanted to deal with Park Sang-tae while guaranteeing my safety.
After successfully driving their faction out, Lee Chang-jin consulted Vincent about how to deal with the tall man who had been caught up in the affair.
"Mr. Vincent voted in favor of killing me, but the ambassador opposed it."
“I see….”
......That sounded about right.
No matter how complicated the situation was, there was no way someone famous for being straightforward would kill an innocent man.
"Hmm... All right, I understand. But..."
"Please, go on."
"Did Big Brother Vincent openly say that while you were listening?"
"......Yes."
"Th-that must have been scary."
At that, he began trembling.
Then he opened his mouth and muttered,
"I-it was freaking terrifying."
"Pfft...!"
Cute.
This man had seemed imposing at first, but the more I saw him, the more of a screwup he seemed.
I began to think that my preconceptions about the pursuit team had been at least a little wrong.
......However.
Unfortunately, I had one piece of bad news for him.
I cautiously opened my mouth.
"...But I have a promise with Big Brother Vincent. So it looks like you'll be seeing him often from now on. Will you be all right?"
"Haha... I'll have to get used to it little by little."
Ahn Gihwan gave me a bitter smile. Despite his words, it seemed the situation was still a burden for him.
I gently rubbed his forearm and spoke.
"Anyway, if this is fate, then it's fate. Let's get along from now on."
"Understood. But have you gotten over your anger?"
Anger?
"Ah-! That was just a little joke. I didn't expect you to actually be scared. I'm sorry."
Only then did Ahn Gihwan's expression relax slightly.
***
After my brief conversation with Ahn Gihwan, I apologized to Han Jihye, who was standing worriedly outside the door.
I knew it too.
In noble society, becoming the subject of gossip was a serious matter that could even cost someone their life.
Of course, I couldn't say for certain that it was exactly the same as medieval noble society, but it was clear that Han Jihye's advice had been for my sake.
So...
"This is the end of it. I won't do it again."
"How admirable, Lady Raebi."
Han Jihye accepted my apology with a gentle smile.
She had remarked that I seemed mature rather than like a pubescent girl. Apparently, she had been worried that I would continue being stubborn in the future.
Since she asked about my origins after saying that my speech was refined, it seemed she didn't know much about me.
"From now on, come in one at a time."
After that, under her direction, I received detailed briefings on each of the temporary attendants.
They were conducted as interviews held in Han Jihye's presence. Since the purpose was what it was, there was no time to hear about their personal histories; I was only briefed on their duties.
The more I listened to them, the more responsibilities I realized I had been given.
For instance, which attendant I needed to bring to which place, how much authority I had to issue orders in each position, their condition and vacation schedules, and so on.
From major and minor matters to things I absolutely couldn't afford to get wrong, I crammed in a fairly broad range of information in a short time.
‘If someone of a higher rank invites you, notify Han Jihye immediately. Always bring the female guard Anna-ri to social events.... And then... Ah-! I don't know!’
My head began to ache.
Even though I pretended to understand everything, not a single bit of it was actually sinking into my mind.
The common sense and etiquette were far too different from anything I'd known until now.
Faced with the dissonance of suddenly falling into another world, I merely nodded with a mechanical smile plastered on my face.
My neurons couldn't keep up with my firm resolve.
"......Should I put some points into Intelligence?"
"Lady Raebi?"
"Ah, no! Anyway, today's schedule is over now, right?"
After I had interviewed everyone, including the chef, I asked Han Jihye, wanting to rest.
But she immediately crushed my hopes.
"An interview with the family head is also scheduled. To ensure you don't make any mistakes, I'll personally train you this time."
"Ah..."
Why was I disappointed...? It was something I'd expected anyway.
I knew Douglas would call for me. The proof was how his mouth had split into a grin up to his ears the moment he saw me, along with the madness in his eyes.
He was probably looking forward to the moment he could formally meet me even now.
"When is the interview?"
"In about an hour."
"A-an hour...?"
“Hehe, that's not a typical arrangement.”
Han Jihye slowly helped me to my feet as I stood there in a daze.
She said that first, I needed to cleanse both body and mind, and took me to the bathhouse.
I refused, saying I still didn't want to show anyone my naked body and would wash alone, but of course my objections fell on deaf ears.
In the end, more than forty minutes were spent just on bathing and grooming. During the remaining time, I received crash courses in posture and greeting etiquette.
At last, an hour later, someone came to fetch me.
"Big Brother Vincent...?"
"Oh, now you're calling me Big Brother?"
At the sound of 'Big Brother,' Vincent reflexively reached a hand toward me.
But when he saw that I had been neatly groomed from head to toe, he slowly withdrew it.
"Hehe, how do I look?"
"Hmm... Well, dressed like that, you look the part."
"Huh? Since when do you praise me so readily, Big Brother?"
"When have I not? We've barely known each other. Anyway, this is a housewarming gift."
"Jiae-ya," Vincent said as he turned around. A female attendant came forward carrying something.
It was an ornamental plant in a ceramic pot thickly coated with gold.
‘What am I supposed to do with a potted plant... Why is it so huge?’
Seeing her struggle to carry the enormous thing, which was about as large as a person's torso, I opened my mouth.
"What's this all of a sudden?"
"What? You don't like it?"
"......No, it's just... I-I like it."
Ugh... I had no interest in growing plants!
Far from growing them, all I'd ever done was kill and prune them. What was I supposed to do with this?
But I had no right to refuse.
The rule of this noble society was that when someone of higher rank gave you a gift, you simply thanked them.
Vincent also seemed to be counting on that rule. He gave me a sly smile as I struggled.
‘This feels ominous...’
"I'll take good care of it..."
"You'd better. All right, let's go! Jiae, leave that there and go rest."
"Understood, Mr. Vincent."
And so I headed toward the main building with Vincent. His unnamed male attendant and Han Jihye came with us.
"......"
‘The more I see, the more incredible it is.’
The main building, which had looked as if it were connected when viewed from a distance, turned out to be farther away than expected once we walked toward it. More precisely, each individual building was simply enormous.
I exclaimed in admiration.
"Wow... Does Vincent live in a place like this?"
"Vincent...?"
"Oops... Big Brother Vincent."
"You're already making mistakes. Are you sure you can really do this?"
...Honestly, I wasn't confident.
Unable to answer, I merely looked at him.
"Well, you'll figure it out. Anyway, to answer your question... no, I don't live here."
"Then where?"
"The annex, obviously. Several households have gathered here; we can't all crowd into one building, can we?"
Vincent led the way into the main building, saying we'd discuss the details later.
After climbing the mansion's enormous central staircase, we entered the family head's reception room at the end of the hall.
"Oh, you're here!"
The moment Douglas saw us, he sent everyone else out. That left only Vincent and me.
I calmly completed the greeting exactly as I'd been taught, and he approached me.
"Hmm... Well done. Now, my daughter, is there perhaps something you wish to give me?"
"Pardon? Ah, well... What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"For instance, those bizarre things that have seeped inside you."
Bwoong-
‘M-mana waves...!? What kind of person skips all the buildup and jumps straight to the conclusion like this?!’
Ding-
[The highest-grade Pygmy 'Set' reacts to the mana waves.]
Ah, no...! If he came out, I'd be in trouble!
"F-Family Head! I'm actually a craftsman! I'll make lots of amazing things for you from now on!"
"I don't need that."
"Pardon?"
"I want a present right now. I have to collect payment for erasing your secret and bringing you into Douglas Kim."
...!
‘So he really is a greedy old man who loses his head at the sight of treasure! Vincent's explanation was exactly right!’
He probably hadn't originally expected this much from me. His past connection with Lee Chang-jin, and the fact that he'd accepted me in exchange for it, had likely been the main reason he'd taken me in.
But... Now that he'd discovered I possessed a great many things, I had no choice but to lend him whatever he wanted.
Otherwise, some absurd monster would burst out right here...
I stared directly into his madness-filled eyes.
‘First!’
But then.
......I felt a hot trail run down my cheek.
"Sob..."
"Huh?"
"Hic...! Sniff!"
‘Ah, no! Damn these insane tear ducts!’
My mental age was in my twenties.
......But my physical age was about eleven.
That was my current reality.
‘I'm screwed...’
There was no way the family head would be susceptible to tears. With the feeling that I'd ruined our first official meeting like this,
I raised my head in despair.
"...Heh! Hahahaha!! This is fun! Just as I thought, you're different from those ordinary noble brats!!"
‘Huh?’
That day, I learned this with absolute certainty.
A beautiful girl in tears was a pitiful creature in anyone's eyes.