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Chapter 518 – Just Give It to Me Once

I was slightly surprised at the words I had blurted out without thinking.

“What the…?”

As Tang Soyeol nearly collapsed upon hearing me, I hurriedly caught her.

Why is she suddenly fainting?

I scooped up the light-as-a-feather Tang Soyeol into my arms. If I had left her like that, she would have fallen to the floor.

With her face flushed bright red, Tang Soyeol was unconscious.

This much was okay.

No, a person fainting is definitely not okay… but there was a bigger problem.

‘… What should I do?’

Now that I had caught her, countless gazes were directed at me from all around.

At the moment of the incident, dozens of martial artists were stationed around Tang Soyeol’s residence.

Among them were her unconscious self and me.

“…”

The timing was perfect for misunderstanding.

The presence around me grew sharper. A slight cold sweat trickled down.

Swish.

The sound of a sword being drawn came from somewhere.

“Hmm.”

Hearing that, I nodded.

It seemed that resolving this misunderstanding peacefully was not in the cards.

Immediately after Tang Soyeol fainted,

dozens of martial artists released their Qi, so I carefully set her down.

After laying her down, I called over the maid who looked worried and instructed her to check on Tang Soyeol, making her freeze for a moment before she rushed to tend to her.

From then on, I had to figure out what to do while facing the martial artists who seemed ready to charge at me.

I had two immediate choices.

Either surrender quietly and explain the situation.

Or subdue them all and leave.

Ideally, the first option would be best, but I couldn’t waste time on that.

So should I go with the second option?

‘That sounds pretty bothersome.’

It would be easy to kill all of them.

But subduing all of them sounded quite tedious.

I needed to be careful not to injure each one of them.

‘… Fifteen elite fighters and four peaks. Plus one seasoned peak.’

True to their prestigious lineage, the martial artists were quite formidable.

They seemed to have dispatched an entire sword team from the Tang Clan as their escort.

If these guys teamed up, I could be in serious trouble.

What the heck am I going to do?

As I clenched my fists and began scanning my surroundings,

I saw someone cautiously approaching me.

It seemed to be the most skilled martial artist among those present.

As I quietly observed him, he stepped closer and suddenly saluted me.

“… I am Seong Uihyeok, the Great Lord of the Tang Clan’s escort. It’s an honor to meet the Gu Family’s Bloodline.”

So he really is the Great Lord.

His skill was higher than I had expected, so I figured he was someone of notable rank.

Sure enough, it seemed he was indeed the commander of the sword team.

“I am Gu Yangcheong.”

While I introduced myself, it was evident that the man was quite tense.

“… May I hear an explanation of the situation?”

Upon hearing that, I internally nodded.

Fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t planning to immediately resort to violence.

“… We were having a conversation, and suddenly the lady from Tang collapsed.”

“The lady suddenly collapsed…?”

“Yes.”

Even explaining it plainly, his eyes didn’t seem to fully believe me.

Of course, who would believe it? I wouldn’t have believed it if I were in his shoes.

If it were me, I might have started twisting his arms.

Conversely, it was unusual for Seong Uihyeok, who was calmly conversing, to be in such a state.

“I know it sounds unbelievable, but it really is the case.”

Upon my awkward attempt at an explanation,

“No, I believe you.”

Seong Uihyeok unexpectedly replied.

He believes me? That caught me off guard.

“… Really?”

“The lady often spoke very highly of you.”

Seong Uihyeok added quietly, as if saying ‘to the point of tiring me out,’ but I pretended not to hear that.

“Did she… say anything bad?”

“Once in a while.”

“…”

I was half-expecting a follow-up like ‘just kidding,’ but it didn’t come. What a bummer.

As I frowned slightly and gazed at Seong Uihyeok, he smiled, unable to contain his amusement.

“More good things than bad, I assure you.”

“… I see.”

By now, I felt a bit hurt.

It seemed somewhat too late for damage control.

Pouting my lips slightly, Seong Uihyeok spoke again.

“… At least from what I’ve heard from her, I don’t believe you’re the kind of person who would harm her.”

Perhaps bothered by that remark, I shot back.

“Can I trust you to judge solely on that? As a guard?”

If he was truly a guard protecting his master, he shouldn’t make conclusions based on that alone.

Regardless of how well things might turn out, I was bothered by the fact that someone in Tang Soyeol’s protection felt that way.

Upon hearing my words, Seong Uihyeok only laughed.

Is he seriously laughing…?

“I didn’t mean to make you laugh.”

“Yes, I appreciate your concern. But hearing that, I feel even more certain about my judgments.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“One can tell simply by the way you look at the lady.”

“…”

“Just as we hold the lady in high regard, I believe you hold the same regard for her.”

I inwardly scoffed at his words.

Damn it, he’s saying he can read my mind through my eyes. What is he, a mind reader?

But I averted my gaze subtly.

It was something I didn’t want to admit, but I couldn’t deny it either.

Even though it seemed laughable in that innocent moment,

this time, Seong Uihyeok turned his face to me with a straight expression and saluted again.

“I look forward to your continued care for our lady.”

“… Yes.”

As I responded, something began to swell in my heart.

What is this feeling?

It’s hard to put into words.

 

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