Chapter 28
"You look like you're in a good mood, Lady Raebi."
"Huh? Ah..."
Hehe.
I raised the corners of my mouth without answering Kang Hana's question.
How could I tell her?
That I'd defeated a mid-boss in a dungeon only I could enter and gotten a ton of rare loot.
After thinking for a moment, I made up an innocent excuse.
"I feel refreshed after taking a short break. Could you make me a cup of tea?"
"Understood. Please have a seat."
I planted myself in a chair at the table in the middle of the room.
The attendants sitting on the nearby sofa started to rise, but I waved a hand downward to stop them.
They lightly crossed their arms, then turned their attention back to the television.
You should rest when it's time to rest. ......Status Window.
Spot-
[Meticulous Crafter Na Raebi]
LV.33
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Vitality: 90 (+5)
Intelligence: 180 (+50)
Strength: 60 (+5)
Agility: 80 (+5)
Dominance: 27 (+5)
Remaining Stat Points: 0
(+5 upon leveling up)
-----------------------------
HP:1700/1700
MP:391/4850
-----------------------------
......As expected, my MP has been depleted.
This had never happened before.
My HP and MP had always been fully restored when I came out. What on earth had happened?
Right after leaving the dungeon a moment ago, I'd tried to carve a new Pygmy using the special essence.
But when I selected 'Advanced Pygmy Carving' in the skill window, an MP shortage message suddenly appeared and left me flustered.
I searched through the shop, but there didn't seem to be anything like a recovery potion. Since there was no point wasting time, I left the room.
I wanted a cup of tea, too.
So I decided to rest for a while.
It wasn't as though anything serious was going wrong right away.
"Lady Raebi."
"Yes?"
"Would you be all right with tea in the meeting room? You said you had something you were curious about this morning, right?"
Kang Hana's question.
She wore a gentle smile, but her eyes weren't smiling.
Sensing that she had something to say, I naturally nodded.
"Ah, I'd forgotten. All right. I'll drink it inside."
Kang Hana went ahead and opened the meeting-room door for me.
Once I entered, she brought in a serving cart and closed the door.
......A finely crafted cart that doesn't make a rattling sound. No wonder I ended up ruined.
I'd seen it several times already, but every time I saw it, all I could do was let out a hollow laugh. Who'd have thought something like that could come out of a Gate?
I let out a quiet chuckle and opened my mouth.
"I'd like yuzu tea, please."
"Understood."
After experiencing an extreme situation, I found myself craving something sweet.
Kang Hana skillfully prepared the tea and set it down in front of me with a soft clink.
I took a sip, then watched her sit beside the seat of honor.
……What could be the reason?
There could have been a hundred reasons, but...
There was one thing in particular that had caught my attention during the day.
"Let me guess. This is about the housekeeping attendants, right?"
Kang Hana blinked as though surprised.
"How did you know?"
"The two of them seemed uncomfortable during the housekeeping-attendant selection. Ms. Jihye looked downright serious."
"Ah..."
“……”
Kang Hana nodded as though she understood.
Then she gave a small laugh and said,
"I seem to have worried you unintentionally. I'm sorry."
"Oh, forget the apology and tell me already. What is it?"
"......."
Kang Hana didn't answer right away. After meeting my gaze for a while as if we were having a staring contest, she slowly shifted her eyes, seeming to observe my hair and chest.
Her gaze stopped at the hand resting on the table.
"The color of your nails has changed."
......!
I flinched and clenched my fist.
After leveling up in the dungeon, my nails had turned blue. There was no trace left of their former emerald color.
Anyone would have found it strange, but I'd been too busy to notice.
I was careless!
She had even bathed me herself, so there was no way she hadn't noticed.
When I merely opened and closed my mouth, she reached out and gently enclosed my fist.
Then she spoke in a soft, reassuring voice.
"Don't worry. The ambassador sent me."
"Ah..."
So that's what it was.
"......What? Wait a second, whaaat?"
My jaw slowly dropped.
Faced with her completely unexpected statement, I froze, unable even to figure out how to respond.
Kang Hana lightly tapped the back of my hand, withdrew her arm, and continued speaking.
"I owe my life to Detective Lee Chang-jin. Do you know about Im Seongmuk, the famous serial killer?"
......I know, but.
I shook my head. This wasn't something I ought to know.
"I suppose you really don't know... Well, you were very young then, Lady Raebi. You might not even have been born yet."
"Probably."
"Hehe. Still, by now you can probably guess what I'm about to say, right?"
"......You almost became a victim."
Kang Hana nodded. Her mouth was still smiling, but there was a strange emptiness in her eyes.
It couldn't have been a good memory. Even though she'd survived, trauma like that lasted a lifetime.
Kang Hana began telling me about her past connection with Lee Chang-jin, one detail at a time.
She had been stalked by someone when she was young.
She had reported it to the police, but there had been no physical evidence, so she hadn't received any special protection.
When she tearfully begged him because she was afraid, Lee Chang-jin had devoted his personal time to watching over her.
"Although the detective had a family and a life of his own and couldn't come often... he happened to appear at the exact moment I was being kidnapped."
"Ah, he must have been surprised, too. He went to catch a middle-school girl's stalker and found out he was a serial killer."
"Pfft, who wouldn't be? As he investigated, one strange thing after another came to light. They say he almost fainted."
......Now I remembered the details more clearly.
The serial killer Im Seongmuk.
He had no criminal record, and his disposal of the bodies had been so thorough that he might never have been caught.
But after being arrested for stalking and attempted kidnapping, all his previous activities were exposed.
There were thirteen confirmed victims in total.
If not for Kang Hana's persistent requests for help and Lee Chang-jin's sense of duty, the number of victims might have doubled.
"......It must have been hard, Sis."
I murmured with my gaze lowered.
I could sympathize with her a little.
Our circumstances were different, but I had experienced the fear of death myself.
At that moment, I felt a warm touch on my right cheek.
Kang Hana's expression was complicated.
"I could have become your 'mother' instead of your 'older sister.'"
"Huh?"
"Do you remember? I heard the ambassador had put together a list of prospective adoptive homes."
An adoption-placement list...?
Come to think of it, I did remember one thing.
The name 'Kang Hana' had appeared on the list.
When I abruptly raised my head, wondering if that could really be true, she smiled bashfully and caressed both my cheeks.
Then she admitted it plainly.
"Yes. It was me."
"......!"
……No way.
Even setting aside the fact that Kang Hana knew Lee Chang-jin, when had she started planning to adopt me for her name to have ended up on that list?
And she'd even gone so far as to become my attendant...
Unable to understand or accept the situation, I asked her in a babbling rush.
"I thought you were just someone with the same name. Why did you go this far for me...?"
The smile disappeared from her expression.
She gently held my head in place, then spoke in a low voice.
"……I'm about to tell you. Listen carefully."
*
A short while later.
After hearing Kang Hana's story, I let out a disbelieving laugh.
"So that's how it was... I was the only fool who didn't know."
"Yes. So please think over the housekeeping-attendant selection carefully one more time."
"......."
I hadn't known a thing.
While I slept, my nails had repeatedly grown long, then shrunk back.
On top of that, my hair had wrapped itself around people's hands of its own accord.
…No wonder you cared for me yourself at the embassy instead of leaving me to the staff. I never imagined there was a reason like this.
I absently stroked my nails and said,
"......Why did he protect me that much? I'm a complete monster."
"He said he wasn't certain that you were an evil being. Besides, if you were a monster, it would be normal for you not to know much about Korea."
"I see... So pretending not to notice was a test for me, too?"
"Well... That was part of it, but he also said you seemed like you might become agitated. He told me to reveal the truth once he felt you were sufficiently settled."
"Ahh-"
......That was definitely true.
If Lee Chang-jin had come out and said, 'I know everything strange about you!' I would have been too anxious to sleep.
Even after coming to Douglas Kim, it would have been difficult for me to adjust.
"I understand. Thank you for telling me, Ms. Hana."
"Hehe, it was nothing."
Anyway, the gist was simple.
Since my body held so many secrets, if I hired a housekeeping attendant, I had to be prepared to get rid of them in an emergency.
Of course, Oath Magic meant they couldn't blab recklessly. Still, if breaking it didn't cost them their lives, what wouldn't they do?
……But then again.
If she ended up paying the price for talking, that was her fault, not mine, right?
I turned toward Kang Hana and said,
"I'm still going to hire attendants as planned. I'll make sure not to fall asleep during my bath, but if they happen to see a secret, that's their choice and responsibility."
"Hmm. ......I see. Come to think of it, there's one thing I forgot."
"Yes?"
Kang Hana leaned her body toward me.
Then she began speaking in a whisper.
"Lady Raebi, you're far too mature, and your knowledge is far too broad. It's extremely unnatural for you to be a ten-year-old child with amnesia. For instance, you know how to play chess in detail."
"Ah......!"
"There may be plenty of other things that would raise suspicion. You should be careful."
I nodded silently.
Goosebumps rose all over me. I rubbed my arms and swallowed.
What would have happened if Lee Chang-jin and Kang Hana had approached me with malicious intentions?
The thought alone was horrifying.
Come to think of it, was that why Vincent always cut me off and made snide remarks whenever I said anything?
The parts I'd never understood began falling neatly into place.
Honestly, it wasn't as though I'd paid much attention to them, but it felt as though the puzzle pieces I'd tossed down at random were fitting themselves together.
I promised her that I would be careful about what I said.
"So the people who know about me are the detective and Ms. Hana, the head of the household, Brother Vincent, ...and Ms. Jihye, right?"
"Hehe, that's right."
"Haa-"
Seriously.
I'd wondered why such a veteran attendant had been assigned to me from the very beginning.
It seemed precautions had been taken behind the scenes to prevent my secret from leaking. She had volunteered to bathe me on purpose, too.
Vincent had recommended hiring attendants because he had the mindset of, ‘If anyone lets something slip, just kill them.’
He was more than capable of thinking that way.
‘Anyway, you worked hard, Ms. Jihye.’
……But.
There was still one question I couldn't resolve.
……Ms. Hana.
"Yes?"
I stared intently at her face.
"You're still in your twenties, and you wanted to adopt me? You have your whole life ahead of you!"
"......Ah. There wasn't really any particular reason. I had circumstances of my own and had lived mostly alone, without a protective wall to shield me when threats approached."
Kang Hana gazed off into the distance.
Then she looked at me and continued,
"When the detective told me there was a girl with nowhere to go, I was the one who first brought up adoption. That was what set everything in motion and brought you here."
"...So that's how it was?"
......
"But why did you follow me all the way here...?"
"Pfft-! I was curious, and I was worried, too. This isn't an ordinary household, after all. The detective said he felt the same way, and since I'd been a teacher at Douglas Kim, I came here as your attendant."
"Did you know about me?"
"Yes. I only learned the details, like your nails, after my position as your attendant was finalized."
"......So the detective told you about that, too."
"The detective is only human. He should be able to vent a little to someone he trusts."
Well, considering she'd followed me all the way here for those reasons, theirs certainly wasn't an ordinary relationship.
He had literally saved her life.
Over more than ten years, they had clearly built a deep trust in each other.
Perhaps feeling a little jealous, she added,
"......The academy. That's the day after tomorrow, right? You may meet the ambassador soon."
"Huh? I heard it starts at Eight City in Incheon this time."
"His term ends soon. Besides, he wants to see Aiden Cavendish."