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“…That’s how it happened.”

Jeong Ji-hwan finished explaining everything to the three newcomers. Watching him lie without batting an eye, Park Se-hee couldn’t help but admire him inwardly.

This was the second time he had lied to hide his identity from the people of the other world.

It was unavoidable. Even if Jeong Ji-hwan told them the truth, they wouldn’t believe him. For now, he had no choice but to reassure them with a plausible lie.

Even so, seeing him lie so calmly and composedly, it felt like he had reached the pinnacle of artistry. Thanks to that, Park Se-hee only had to play along from the side.

‘Come to think of it…’

Jeong Ji-hwan, who had been discussing how to coordinate their stories with Park Se-hee, smiled bitterly and said, ‘For now, we have no choice but to lie… But someday, the time will come when we can tell them everything. And that day isn’t far off…’

Park Se-hee could guess. During his time in that world, Jeong Ji-hwan had grown attached to the people there. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have expressed regret about lying with such a bitter expression.

But now, seeing Jeong Ji-hwan lie so skillfully, she wondered if she had misjudged him before.

‘Ji-hwan… I didn’t think you were such a scary person.’

When she first met him, she thought he had a somewhat naive side, but now he could lie so effortlessly. Not only that, but he had also brought women with him—beautiful ones at that.

‘At first, I wondered who they were…’

Glancing at the women, Park Se-hee realized who they were. She was somewhat familiar with the world of the novel written by Jeong Ji-hwan’s younger brother.

The mysterious silver-haired woman was Princess Bella Izakhel. The cool-looking woman sitting next to her must be her bodyguard knight, Blanshe.

Lastly, the woman with heterochromatic eyes, sitting with her legs crossed and wearing a mischievous smile, was likely Helga Wolfbert, the bodyguard knight.

Park Se-hee carefully scanned the three while Jeong Ji-hwan spoke.

Bella Izakhel’s appearance was particularly striking. She was so beautiful that it was hard to believe she was human.

Blanshe, sitting next to her, was overshadowed by Bella’s beauty but had the best proportions among the three. Her tall stature and good proportions made her clothes look stunning. She seemed like an unapproachable foreign model.

Similarly, Helga Wolfbert was also flawless in terms of appearance. Her long legs, visible under her short uniform skirt, were so well-defined that even Park Se-hee, a woman, couldn’t help but admire them. Combined with her innocent face, she was quite charming.

Once she had identified them, Park Se-hee couldn’t help but wonder. Helga was a bodyguard knight, so that made sense, but why were Bella and Blanshe here? From what she knew of the novel’s setting, Tristan and Bella didn’t get along. But now, Bella’s attitude seemed almost like…

‘Like she’s with her boyfriend…’

Her woman’s intuition told her so.

And it wasn’t just Park Se-hee who had finished scanning.

“Your name is Park Se-hee, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Then you’re Tristan… no, Jeong Ji-hwan, as you call yourself here? What’s your relationship? Colleagues? Friends?”

“Uh… something like that.”

“Hmm…”

Bella crossed her legs and scanned Park Se-hee from head to toe.

Her long eyelashes and light makeup gave her a sharp, strong-willed impression. Her clothes, while not flashy, had a refined feel.

She wasn’t as beautiful as Bella, but she was still within the range of being considered attractive. That was all Bella thought.

But she couldn’t relax.

Even though she didn’t know much about this world’s culture, Park Se-hee seemed to have dressed up with Tristan in mind.

Women are complicated creatures. Even if they act indifferent on the outside, they might secretly want attention.

So Bella couldn’t help but be wary of Park Se-hee.

And there was one more person who shared similar thoughts.

“Heehee… friends, huh? Excuse me, but how long have you known our Count, Ms. Park Se-hee?”

“Huh?”

Helga grinned as she asked Park Se-hee.

“Uh… about two years?”

“Two years? Pfft…”

“?”

“Ah, sorry. Hehe…”

Helga laughed without trying to hide it. Just two years? Did this woman really think she could call herself the Count’s friend with such a short acquaintance? How laughable.

Of course, Park Se-hee could easily guess what Helga was thinking. But she chose not to point it out or curse back in anger.

‘Stay calm… Park Se-hee.’

According to the novel’s setting, Helga was an unpredictable character. Like an untamed beast, her rough temperament often caused friction with those around her. The only one who could control her was her master, Tristan.

But Park Se-hee wasn’t the type to just take insults either. She had a temper too. As they say, even a worm will turn. Compared to that, Park Se-hee was quite polite.

“The depth of a relationship isn’t determined by how long you’ve known someone, but by how deeply you understand them.”

“What did you say?”

“Just that. Don’t think too deeply about it.”

“Huh? You…”

“That’s enough, Helga.”

Blanshe, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

“Do you plan to pick a fight with the Count’s friend?”

“Hahaha. Blanshe, who said anything about fighting? I’m not that kind of person.”

“No, you definitely are.”

Blanshe’s mind was quite troubled after hearing about Tristan’s hidden past.

The fact that such a highly developed world existed was shocking enough, but even more shocking was the fact that Tristan had stayed here for several years.

Blanshe hadn’t been with the Ruelberta family for long. As a top assassin raised with a demon’s heart, she thought she understood the darkness of the Ruelberta family better than anyone.

But she had never heard of this. The one she had served was Tristan’s father, the former head of the family, William Ruelberta. The ruthless and cold-hearted William had treated Blanshe like a killing machine and used her as a test subject for the demon heart transplant surgery.

Naturally, no one could understand Blanshe’s pain. She believed no one could ever understand her suffering.

But William had sent Tristan to this world as a test subject?

It was fortunate that it had succeeded, but he could have been lost forever. Or worse, the magic formula could have gone wrong, and he could have died.

The fact that Tristan had survived and returned was nothing short of a miracle. It was as unlikely as her body accepting the demon’s heart.

‘Count… why did you hide this fact until now?’

Blanshe wanted to ask him immediately. Why had he hidden this pain? Why hadn’t he shown that he was also a victim?

‘Could it be… because of me?’

Tristan was the head of the Ruelberta family and the son of the infamous Count William. He was both a victim and a perpetrator.

So he couldn’t show his wounds in front of Blanshe, a survivor of the experiments. He couldn’t reveal his pain in front of her. He was carrying the sins of the Ruelberta family.

That’s why, even when Blanshe attacked him on the department store rooftop, Tristan had said:

-You have every right to kill me.

“How foolish…”

“Huh? Blanshe? Are you crying?”

Helga was startled to see tears streaming down Blanshe’s face.

“No, it’s just something in my eye…”

“No way… did I act that foolishly? There’s no need to cry over that.”

“It’s not that… though you are indeed foolish.”

“Ah, I see. You’re picking a fight with me, right?”

“Ah, get a grip. Would you like something to drink?”

Thanks to Blanshe and Helga, the atmosphere lightened. Seizing the opportunity, Park Se-hee decided to offer the guests some drinks.

She opened the fridge, grabbed some drinks, and handed them out to the guests in the living room.

“What’s this…?”

What Park Se-hee brought out were cans of soda. The four of them naturally fell silent at the sight of this unfamiliar form of beverage.

“Wendy hasn’t seen this before either, right? This is called soda. It’s a type of…”

“No, no explanation is needed.”

“Huh?”

It was Bella Izakhel who cut Park Se-hee off. She held out the soda can she was holding to Tristan, who was sitting next to her.

“Take it, Tristan.”

“What?”

“Open this soda or whatever for me.”

Bella said with a shameless face.

“…Don’t you have hands?”

“Huh? What did you say? Isn’t this kind of thing natural between us? Show some manners, man.”

“I’m amazed. You expect manners from someone like me?”

“Who else would expect manners from a man like you?”

“……”

Tristan was about to say something but then closed his mouth and took the soda can from Bella’s hand. He then used a can opener to open it.

“Oh?!”

“…?!”

“Eek?!”

A cheerful sound followed by the fizz of carbonation escaping the can startled the newcomers.

“As you can see, it’s not difficult.”

“Hmm, indeed.”

Bella gracefully accepted the soda can. Or rather, she tried to. But Tristan drank the cola in his hand as if it were his own from the start.

“What are you doing now?”

“Wasn’t it for me?”

“Ha… Are you kidding? I asked you to open it for me.”

“Did you?”

“Yes, I did.”

Tristan smirked and handed Bella the other soda can he was holding.

“It’s better if you do it yourself instead of relying on me.”

“Tch. How petty… Do you think I can’t do it? By the way, what’s this drink called? Soda?”

“That’s the broad category. What you’re holding is called cola.”

“Hmm… It’s quite unique. The material of this can is light yet sturdy… You just put your hand here and open it, right?”

“Yeah. But Bella.”

“What?”

“Let me give you one tip. It’s good to shake the can before opening it.”

“Ji-hwan, what are you…”

Park Se-hee made a puzzled expression at the sudden tip. But seeing Tristan’s expression, she quickly closed her mouth.

“Hmm… Shake it, you say? Like this?”

“You can shake it harder.”

The next moment, unaware of what was about to happen, Bella shook the can vigorously.

“Is this enough?”

“Yeah.”

As Bella placed her finger on the can opener, Tristan subtly stepped back. And then…

Psshhh-!!

“Kyaaaah!!”

*

Of course, Bella got mad.

No, she didn’t just get mad—she even hit him hard.

“You really deserve to be hit. You deserve it!”

“…I didn’t lie. I said shaking it would be good.”

“Huh? Who said it was good?”

“I did.”

Thwack-!

She kicked him under the table. Thankfully, Bella was barefoot. If she had been wearing high heels, his shin would have been pierced.

Bella, her face red with embarrassment, wiped the cola off her hair and clothes with a towel.

“Look what you did to my clothes.”

“…Is that really true?”

“Can’t you see? It’s a complete mess.”

“Is that so? Then I should apologize to the clothes.”

“You’re really annoying!”

Still angry, Bella relentlessly stomped on his foot under the table with her heel. It hurt. What a princess with bad habits.

“This tingling sensation is quite interesting.”

“Hmm. Indeed. It has a strange addictiveness.”

Meanwhile, Blanshe and Helga were savoring the cola and cider with sparkling eyes.

“Ah, I keep burping.”

“Why are you saying that while looking at me?”

“Hehe… I wonder?”

“…Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“What else? Burping at me…”

“Burp.”

“Don’t do that…”

“Sorry. Hehe.”

Like that.

But one person was still holding a cola can, unsure of what to do.

“Wendy? What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the drink?”

“Sniff… Se-hee…”

What Wendy was struggling with was the can’s tab.

“It came off…”

“Eek… That doesn’t usually happen…”

Even though she had become a hero, Wendy was still plagued by misfortune and was once again disheartened.

“Sorry, sorry… Sob… I’ll compensate…”

“No, this isn’t expensive. No need to compensate… Wait a moment. I’ll get you a new can.”

“Tsk. Why bother getting a new one? What a waste.”

Helga grabbed the cola can from Wendy’s hand.

“Wendy, you should be ashamed. Can’t a kid like you open a can without the tab?”

“R-really…?”

In response to Wendy’s question, Helga grinned. As always, that grin was ominous.

“If you don’t have teeth, you use your gums.”

“Huh?”

“But I still have teeth, so I’ll use them.”

Helga opened her mouth wide.

Surely not…

Her fangs sank into the cola can.

Crunch!

The sound of the can crumpling.

The next moment, what would happen was obvious.

Psshhh-!!

The cola, compressed inside the can, sprayed out with ferocious force. Far more than when Bella had opened the can.

This time, it wasn’t just Bella. The cola sprayed evenly over everyone in the living room.

Among them, Park Se-hee, watching her living room get soaked in cola, muttered.

“Haha… F***.”

 

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