Chapter 25

Chapter 25

“Ah. Well, something like a shock accompanied by shame, like earlier?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean by ‘earlier,’ Seohee.”

Uh-huh, right. Since it never happened, of course you wouldn’t know.

I gave the shame-prone gardener a slightly pitying look. Avan still kept a perfectly composed smile, but even so, the faintly reddened tips of his ears were apparently impossible to hide.

“Anyway, so I need to startle you, right? And I have to do it by creating some strong emotional element.”

“Yes, you’ve understood correctly.”

It was a relief that I’d understood correctly, but the problem was *how* to do it.

Honestly, how was I supposed to know what made Avan, someone I’d only met today, feel joy, or what made him feel sadness or anger?

As a rule, to draw out someone’s emotions, you had to know their likes and dislikes, but all I’d learned about Avan so far was that he was a normal, sensible person who would feel embarrassed if he suddenly exposed his naked body to someone else.

“Hmm……”

Should I ask Blackie?

The thought crossed my mind for a moment, but then I saw that Avan, unlike when he was a doll, was now a robust human, and I gave up immediately.

Blackie, who was currently snuggled in my arms, didn’t seem like he’d be very effective against Avan. …Even if Avan *did* get startled by Blackie, I doubted it would make him feel a ‘strong emotion.’

“I don’t know…… Hey, Avan. Any hints? Like, something you’d recommend I try?”

“Hmm… Handling this humble servant is by no means difficult. I am a body subjugated solely to Seohee. Fulfilling Seohee’s wishes completely is the very reason for my existence.”

“Stop with that nonsense. I mean, really, something you like, or something you dislike. Don’t you have anything like that?”

“…If it’s something like that……”

Avan stroked his chin as if deep in thought for a moment, then soon answered with a perfectly composed smile.

“What I like is Seohee, and what I dislike is anything that obstructs Seohee’s path.”

“……”

That was an answer that was both embarrassing and exasperating. Honestly, aside from everything else, I wished he’d remember that we’d only met today.

I let out a breath that was almost a sigh while holding Blackie tightly, then, struck by a sudden thought, I immediately rummaged through my inventory.

“Master?”

“Seohee.”

“Yes, Seohee. May I ask what you are doing?”

“Huh? Nothing much.”

I set Blackie, who I’d been holding, down on the ground, then immediately pulled a dagger out of my inventory. The dagger, with its fiercely sharp silver blade, was, of course, one that Mr. Yoon Juyeong had bought for me.

How much had it cost? I think it was over 1,000,000 won. Originally, he’d insisted on buying me a sword enchanted with a fire attribute that cost nearly 5,000,000, but I’d forced him to refuse and barely managed to get this instead.

I pressed the tip of my finger against the blade to test its sharpness.

“Seohee?!”

“It’s nothing, just wait.”

As expected, a sharp sting shot through my fingertip, and then a trickle of blood immediately flowed down. I stared blankly at the sight, then looked at Avan. Avan was watching me with a face that had gone completely pale.

Hmm. It wasn’t exactly pleasant news, but it was certainly effective. It seemed his earlier claim that I was his ‘preference’ hadn’t been a lie.

“Um, Avan.”

“Yes, y-yes, Seohee. Please, just put that dagger down first and then talk to me……”

“I’ll apologize in advance. I’m sorry.”

I didn’t want to do something like this either… but I figured it was still much better than the tactic of turning him back into a doll, then changing him back into a human and exposing his naked body. Though I had no idea how the person in question would feel about it.

I looked at Avan, whose face was still pale, and pulled the dagger away from my fingertip.

Avan’s face, which had relaxed a little at seeing the dagger leave my fingertip, turned even paler than before just moments later.

“Alright, if you want to save Yoon Seohee, hand over the key quietly.”

“L-Lady Seohee?!”

A prickling sensation seemed to rise from the skin of my neck where the dagger touched. I frowned slightly at the stinging feeling from my neck, then stared at Avan again and spoke.

“No negotiations. Hand over the key now!”

After some deliberation, this was the plan I’d chosen. A self-harm bluff.

And the target of my self-harm bluff was none other than Avan Dungardner. Much to my regret, it was the man who had just moments ago mentioned my name as his preferred target.

“S-Seo, Seohee, Seohee, p-please, please calm yourself and…”

“Does my words not sound like words to you? Do you need to hear the hostage scream before you come to your senses?”

“Aaaagh, Lady Seoheeee! The dagger!! Please, just put the dagger down!!”

“If you want the hostage to return to you in one piece, hand over the key now!”

Who knew that in life, I’d end up taking myself hostage. What a truly amazing experience.

I pressed the dagger tight against my neck and glared at Avan with the most vicious eyes I could muster.

“I have only one demand. Hand over the key!”

“Th-the key, I-I’ll give it to you, gladly. I’ll give it gladly, so please! Please stop this!”

“I won’t believe it until I see the real thing.”

I recalled every kidnapper and robber I’d seen in various media and acted as close to that as I could.

Of course, to be honest, if there had been a third party here besides me and Avan, anyone watching would have harshly criticized it as an obvious, overacted performance.

But what did it matter? The important thing was that my acting was working, at least on Avan.

“I’ll give you ten seconds. If you don’t return the key by the time I count to ten…!”

“Aaaagh! I-I’ve given it to you now! I’ve given it, so!”

“Hm? You’ve already given it?”

I kept the dagger still aimed at my neck but scanned Avan with a deliberately thorough gaze.

Of course, Avan was exactly the same as before, unchanged. He was still staring at the dagger pressed against my neck with a face full of anxiety.

“What do you mean, you gave it? And is there a way to prove you’ve given me the key?”

“Th-the key is now entirely with the Master.”

“Seohee.”

“Y-yes, with Lady Seohee. So if you wish, you can leave anytime you want.”

“Hmm.”

So I could leave right this moment?

I kept the dagger still aimed at my neck and looked at Avan.

As if he knew the question in my heart, Avan nodded desperately. It didn’t seem like a lie to get through the immediate crisis.

‘So… do I just have to think it? Uh, I want to get out of here… Oh.’

It seemed what Avan said was true, because the moment I thought about wanting to leave this place, the area around my heart began to feel strangely warm.

It wasn’t the kind of heat that was unpleasant or unsettling. Rather, it was a warmth that felt incredibly familiar, as if I had experienced it since birth.

The heat rising from my heart soon began to spread through my entire body.

Forgetting even the existence of the dagger at my neck, I stared at the golden tattoos spreading across my body as if following the warmth.

A golden vine, rising from my chest, running along my arm to my wrist, finally reached the back of my hand and bloomed into a mysterious, splendid flower.

For some reason, I felt like I instinctively knew the name of that flower. Even though it was a flower that certainly didn’t exist anywhere in my memories of the past, still…

“Lady Seohee.”

*Clink.*

The strength seemed to leave my hand without me realizing it, and the dagger I was holding fell to the floor.

Startled, I looked in the direction the dagger had fallen. Avan, who had somehow come right up in front of me without me noticing, was picking up the dagger I had dropped.

“I pray that we may meet again outside next time.”

“Wai, Avan—”

“May you have a good journey.”

Most honored one.

The last thing I saw in that garden, where everything had now withered and scattered, was the eyes of a black-haired man, smiling with the corners of his eyes drooping, as if happy, and a little sad.

* * *

Whether it is longing or obsession, what does it matter.

Knowing the future that will eventually return, what cannot be given up is the same on either side.

* * *

When I suddenly opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Yoon Juyeong, tears streaming down his face as he looked down at me.

“…Huh?”

I carefully raised my hand and touched my cheek; my fingertips felt wet. The culprit was, needless to say, the tears Yoon Juyeong was still shedding.

I stared blankly at the moisture on my fingertips and at Yoon Juyeong’s face, still streaked with tears as he looked down at me.

‘I have absolutely no idea what’s going on right now.’

Why on earth was Yoon Juyeong holding me, and why was he crying in the middle of it all?

I blatantly wore a bewildered expression I couldn’t even think to hide as I looked up at Yoon Juyeong. He was still crying profusely, yet staring at my face with an intensity as if he were engraving something onto his cornea.

‘Wow, even from this angle looking up, he’s handsome. That’s just unfair.’

I felt a little pathetic for having thoughts like this at a time like this, but I couldn’t help the admiration. I’d thought faces that looked handsome even from this angle only existed on TV.

I gazed at Yoon Juyeong with admiring eyes — his face, even with his eyes all red from crying, had only grown more beautiful instead of ugly — and slowly sat up.

“Um, Yoon Juyeong? Can I ask why exactly you’re crying…?”

“…The Master.”

“That title… no, forget it. So why are you crying?”

“I was afraid the Master wouldn’t come back.”

“…”

Had I been unconscious for that long?

I looked around as I got up with Yoon Juyeong’s help.

At a glance, it didn’t look much different from what I’d seen before I was dragged into that dark space. The trees were still packed densely all around, and beneath my feet stretched a dirt path barren of even a single blade of grass.