Chapter 2 ….
“What are you talking about?”
The Lord made an absurd expression at my words.
Ah. In my haste, I got straight to the point too quickly.
Just then, Baek-ri, who had approached, looked at me and spoke.
“Haha, this is an unrelated child under the care of Cheonsu Temple. She’s still young and immature, so please forgive her rudeness.”
Then, he deliberately used a stern voice.
“What is the meaning of this, Nanyeong? You promised to behave, and yet you pull a prank like this. Go inside at once.”
It was a cheap attempt to gloss over the situation and send me away. But I absolutely couldn’t let that happen!
I looked up at the Lord. His face still held that absurd expression.
Right. He must be bewildered. Suddenly having a strange growth attached to him.
‘But I also have a reason I absolutely cannot back down!’
“Can’t you take me with you too?”
As I held his hand even tighter, he raised one eyebrow. Then, for a moment, he said nothing and looked back and forth between Baek-ri and me.
“You want me to take you with me?”
“Yes!”
“Why?”
I gestured for the Lord to lower his head.
At my gesture, the Lord raised an eyebrow but, without a word, bent his knee and offered an ear.
I leaned close to that ear and whispered secretly.
“I’m… trapped here, unable to move.”
“What? Trapped?”
At my words, the Lord’s brow furrowed.
In response to the Lord’s questioning, Baek-ri smoothly interjected.
“It’s a regrettable situation. She must feel very stifled, but there’s nothing to be done. As you know, for safety reasons, going outside this place is extremely dangerous. It was an unavoidable measure.”
It was a smooth and logical explanation. Not a hint of agitation showed on Baek-ri’s face.
His words were true, in a way. Cheonsu Temple was located deep in the heart of Pacheon Mountain, making travel to and from the outside difficult. Pacheon Mountain was a troublesome area where ghostly creatures that constantly threatened people frequently appeared. Cheonsu Temple was built to suppress the mountain’s energy with divine power, so it naturally ended up almost completely isolated from the outside world.
‘But that’s not the real reason I’m imprisoned.’
The reason Baek-ri kept me confined was simply because I was his test subject.
Seeing Baek-ri’s face making a brazenly ‘regretful’ expression, my hand involuntarily tightened.
“So, you want to go out with me?”
Snapping back to attention at the Lord’s question, I quickly answered.
“Yes!”
“But why are you asking me of all people?”
Ah, that.
I racked my brain.
I couldn’t exactly be honest and say: This world is actually inside a novel, I read it so I knew you were coming, the Baek-ri who raised me is actually a villain who plans to use me as a tool, and while it hasn’t happened yet, I’m scheduled to lose my sense of self and be exploited soon…
‘…Impossible.’
In this moment, with Seol Doha, the person I needed to persuade, and Baek-ri, the person I needed to avoid, both present, I came up with a plausible reason that wouldn’t arouse too much suspicion.
Staring with wide, innocent eyes like a bright, naive child—
“Because you’re handsome!”
In this world, there’s no one who dislikes handsome people!
“…What?”
“You’re handsome, tall, cool, and you seem really strong and righteous…”
I gave a thumbs-up. Then, glancing sideways at Baek-ri, I said,
“They say a good spirit resides in a good face, right?”
“There’s a saying like that?”
Hmm. That might have been a bit over the top.
“Anyway. Because you’re such an amazing person, I thought you could protect me.”
From that villain over there who threatens me.
“So, you’re planning to use me as your bodyguard or something now?”
The Lord let out a disbelieving, scoffing laugh. Bingo.
“Heheh. Is that not okay?”
I gave a sly smile. The Lord narrowed his eyes and looked at me quietly.
“It’s merely the mischief of an immature child. There’s no need to indulge her so much. Nanyeong, stop this and go inside now.”
Just then, Baek-ri approached, placed a hand on my shoulder, and pulled.
The weight on my shoulder felt chilling. Goosebumps rose on my back, and I bit my lip without realizing it.
At that moment, the Lord tightened his grip on my hand again and spoke.
“Alright. I’ll take you, I guess.”
Gasp!
“Really?!”
“…General?”
The Lord said to Baek-ri nonchalantly,
“She can be a talking companion on the way. Why not.”
“But……”
“You said she’s an unrelated child you’re raising, so wouldn’t it be a good thing for Cheonsu Temple too?”
With that, he shrugged, grabbed my hand, and started striding straight towards the temple’s main gate.
My mouth fell open.
‘Escape? Is the escape a success?’
My heart raced on its own.
But the moment our feet reached the gate,
Clank—
The thick, large main gate closed by itself. As if to block my path.
“…What is the meaning of this?”
The Lord frowned and turned to look back.
“You jest excessively, General.”
Baek-ri gave an awkward laugh. But a clear sense of wariness was evident in his voice.
“The child is a possession of Cheonsu Temple. You cannot take her away recklessly. Please let go now.”
“A possession?”
At Baek-ri’s words, the Lord’s voice dropped sharply.
“Ha, that’s ridiculous.”
‘What’s this?’
The air grew heavy, and at the sudden, unusual aura, my eyes widened as I looked up at the Lord.
I felt a pressing, oppressive sensation, and then in an instant, a light flashed—
KWA-BOOM—!
“…Huh?”
Just like that, the gate was shattered to pieces.
Simultaneously, my mouth dropped wide open.
Somehow, a sword was now in the Lord’s other hand. When did he even draw it?
I quickly looked back and saw that even Baek-ri’s face was unusually marked with bewilderment.
“It’s you, Temple Master, who should stop with the pointless tricks. Doing this won’t stop me from leaving anyway.”
Saying this, the Lord smirked. The oppressive feeling vanished in an instant, and the air became light again.
“Ah, sorry about breaking it. I just meant to open it a little. I couldn’t control my strength.”
Wow, the nerve.
My mouth fell open even wider at the sight of the Lord shrugging nonchalantly while saying he was sorry.
“Has this happened before? I think I broke it when I came in last time. Breaking it on the way out is a first, though. Hey, isn’t this gate just too weak?”
Wait, you’ve broken it before?!
“What a predicament. In this mountain valley teeming with ghostly creatures, if even the gate is in this state, it must be too dangerous for a child to stay. I guess I have no choice but to take her to a safer place.”
Shaking his head as if it couldn’t be helped, the Lord brazenly sheathed his sword and said calmly,
“I’ll pay proper compensation. Come to my estate to collect the payment. For the gate… and for the child you called a ‘possession.’ Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned leisurely and walked out. Still holding his hand, I stumbled out of the temple in a daze.
I… I hadn’t anticipated this situation.
Glancing back, I could see the expression on Baek-ri’s face as he watched this place. His face, usually perfect like a mask, was twisted as if cracked.
In contrast, when I looked up at the Lord, he seemed relaxed as if nothing had happened.
I stared at my hand with my mouth agape.
The hand holding mine was firm.
Once outside the temple, an man who appeared to be the Lord’s subordinate approached.
He was almost as tall as the Lord, with a large build, a round nose, and an overall round, soft impression.
The man saw us, and now his eyes grew wide and round too.
The Lord, seeming uninterested and unconcerned by his subordinate’s bulging eyes, said,
“Taewoo, hurry down first and get the kid something to wear.”
“But…”
What followed was a familiar scene. The Lord finished giving the obvious situational explanation and sent Taewoo down the mountain first…
“Before you go, give me that.”
…only to immediately call him back.
“What is it?”
“Your cloak.”
The Lord pointed at the man’s cloak and then at me.
It was winter. Moreover, this was the northern region, especially cold.
But I was only wearing indoor clothes, without even a coat.
‘I’m cold!’
I hadn’t noticed the cold in the chaos, but once I became aware of it, a chill rushed over me like lightning.
As I shivered, the Lord said as if to say ‘I told you so.’
“See. You’re cold. With your size, you stubbornly… You don’t need it, do you?”
“……!”
So right now… is he extorting his subordinate?
Hearing the Lord’s words, Taewoo’s mouth now fell wide open in a perfect ‘O’.
“Still, it’s better than nothing, right?”
“Yeaaah.”
A little while later. I was bundled up head to toe in the subordinate’s cloak.
The man, who had his cloak taken due to the Lord’s abuse of power, looked a bit pitiful, but when he saw me, he let out a sigh and took off his cloak for me.
I felt a little sorry, but I didn’t refuse.
Ahem, the cold of a winter mountain is too harsh for my still-young self to endure. I have no choice!
Anyway, now I’m warmly wrapped in that cloak, riding in front of the Lord as we descend the mountain.
The subordinate’s horse went down the mountain at an incredible speed, but in contrast, we were moving much slower.
“Hold on tight. If you fall, you’re in big trouble.”
“Yeeep.”
That’s because the Lord was slowing his pace, choosing the most even ground to descend.
Thanks to that, it felt comfortable, almost cozy.
I raised my head and looked at the Lord’s face.
Noticing my gaze, the Lord also glanced down at me.
“What. Why. Cold?”
“Nope.”
“Then why?”
I grinned and gave a thumbs-up.
“You, my Lord, are my hero.”
