“I was grateful for the grace of raising me. However, I do not want to use my chastity as a tool for the family.”

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t afraid.

Sweat flowed from Yeoul’s hands and her voice trembled at the end.

But even so, she didn’t want to give up on her will.

“I will take care of my own chastity. So…”

Slap!

Yeoul’s cheek turned bright red.

Along with the stinging sensation, she tasted the metallic flavor of blood inside her mouth.

“Such an insolent wench.”

Han’s face turned red and blue.

“I indulged you and you think you’ve become something? Forgetting the grace of taking you in and talking back?”

Han grabbed Yeoul’s arm with a strong grip.

Then he started dragging Yeoul towards the grain warehouse.

“Fine. I will properly fix that attitude of yours.”

“Let go, please let go…!”

Yeoul’s face turned pale.

“This is why I said not to take in dark-haired beasts.”

“Not there, I don’t want to go in there, Father…!”

Yeoul struggled but to no avail.

Her frail body was helplessly dragged by Han’s strong arm.

That’s when it happened.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

Tae was suddenly standing in front of the two.

Han let go of Yeoul’s arm and smiled awkwardly.

“Haha. What brings you here to bother yourself.”

“You left your seat and didn’t return for a while.”

“I had an urgent matter to discuss between father and daughter. We were just finishing up.”

Yeoul grasped her own arm.

The grasping hand trembled slightly.

The arm that was grabbed by Han still stung.

Tae saw this and shifted his gaze back to Han.

“Haha. I thought you were hitting your future daughter-in-law, Elder.”

“H-hitting? Our Yeoul has no place to be hit, why would I do such a senseless thing.”

Han laughed awkwardly.

“That’s a relief. I almost made you lose face in front of your future son-in-law.”

“Lose face?”

Tae smiled brightly at Han who had an unpleasant expression.

“I’m a man who doesn’t give a damn about age-based hierarchies, you see.”

Han stared at Tae with a flabbergasted look.

Then Han’s face turned red and blue.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It means I don’t need to respect hierarchies with those who don’t uphold the proper relations between parents and children.”

Tae took a step closer to Han.

“Besides.”

Then he looked down at Han.

“I don’t like people touching what’s mine.”

Tae smiled brightly.

A cold smile with no warmth. His mouth smiled but his eyes did not.

Under Tae’s smile, Han felt like his whole body was being suppressed.

“Of course, I’m sure you’re not that kind of person, Elder.”

In the silence that flowed between them,

Yeoul grabbed Tae’s arm.

“I’ll head back in now. I made the young master wait too long.”

Tae quietly looked down at Yeoul’s hand that grabbed his arm.

“Father. Do you happen to have spare clothes for the young master to change into?”

“Uh… yes. I’ll find some.”

“I’ll escort the young master. We’ll head in first.”

Leaving behind a displeased Han, Yeoul escaped to the detached quarters with Tae.

Arriving at the detached quarters, Yeoul sighed.

She felt like all the energy had drained from her body.

“Did you threaten my father?”

“It’s not a threat, it’s persuasion and convincing.”

Just moments ago, Tae had nearly subdued his future father-in-law with just a look.

This man clearly had the wrong idea about the meaning of persuasion and convincing.

“I went easy on him since he’s your father.”

“Still, how could you…”

“Stop pretending. You actually feel refreshed, don’t you?”

Seeing Tae go off on Han made Yeoul anxious, but she also felt a weight lifted from her shoulders.

However, he was an elder. Yeoul wondered if things had to go this far.

“That’s…”

“Don’t tell me you have the naive thought that if you show your true heart, the other person will understand you.”

Yeoul pressed her lips together at those poignant words.

“The moment you have such weak thoughts, you get devoured. If someone takes my flesh, I find them and carve out their bones. If someone makes me shed tears, I make them shed tears of blood.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what’s this?”

Tae lifted Yeoul’s chin.

The cheek that was hit by Han was swollen red.

“Is it a glorious badge obtained through understanding and harmony?”

A small spark ignited in Tae’s eyes.

Yeoul looked at Tae with glistening eyes.

Then she turned her head away from Tae.

“I just… fell.”

“Ha.”

Tae let go of Yeoul’s chin that he was holding.

“Do as you wish.”

Leaving Yeoul there, Tae strode into the room of the detached quarters.

Frustration welled up from the suffocating feeling.

After he helped her out of a difficult situation, all she does is ask why he did it.

The girl was excessively naive.

Why couldn’t she see that optimistic thinking would only hurt her in the end?

Making him worry and then having such naive thoughts.

He thought she was a foolish woman.

“…Then what do you want me to do?”

Tae, who was ascending to the wooden floor, stopped in his tracks.

“Curse at the father who raised me? Or throw punches at him?”

Turning around, he saw Yeoul with reddened eyes.

“I’m not doing this because I want to. Even if it looks pathetic and pitiful to you, I’m struggling in my own way to survive.”

After deciding to change upon meeting Tae,

Yeoul stood up to Han for the first time in her life.

That alone required great courage from Yeoul.

“You probably don’t know. Since you’re a man of power. You can probably get away with wielding some authority. But I’m different.”

Yeoul was also frustrated.

She no longer wanted to be treated like a tool or let others treat her as they pleased.

Tae, born as a man of high social status, could do many things, but Yeoul could not.

There wasn’t much a woman could do.

If not for Tae, Yeoul would have been dragged to the grain warehouse and punished.

Yeoul resented Tae for not understanding her situation, and was also ashamed to show this side of herself to him.

“No matter how much I try, there are things I can’t do. Opponents I can’t win against.”

“The moment you think that way, you lose.”

Tae turned to face Yeoul.

“How can you fight if you have losing in mind from the start? Even if you die fighting, you should die stabbing your opponent’s throat.”

Yeoul’s reddened eyes gleamed with moisture.

Tae quietly looked at her tearful eyes.

Making her upset wasn’t his intention in being harsh.

“And even if you can’t do it…”

Tae descended from the wooden floor.

“Don’t you have a trump card? Use the card you’ve been dealt.”

“What card are you referring to…?”

Yeoul asked in a choked voice.

She couldn’t understand what Tae was saying.

She had no power, status, or authority, so what card could she use?

“The Kang Sung-daegun card.”

Tae approached Yeoul.

Then in a low voice, as if admonishing, he said,

“I’m saying I’ll swing the blade for you.”

The content of his words was brutal, but his voice was gentle.

“I’ll stab your enemy’s throat in your stead.”

Yeoul looked up at Tae, who was much taller than her.

She could feel Tae’s sincerity and twisted affection towards her in his eyes.

“…Why are you doing this for me?”

“Because you’re my card.”

Moonlight reflected in Tae’s dark pupils.

“When the time comes that I need you, just become my blade.”

Yeoul didn’t understand Tae’s words.

“So use it well until then.”

In the pupils reflecting each other, the blue moonlight shimmered.

The blue light reflected eerily on the dark brown irises was so beautifully dangerous,

Yeoul’s doubts quickly crumbled away.

.

.

.

Tae entered the guest room.

In the room, scented candles giving off a subtle fragrance were lit.

On the floor lay two pillows, one blanket, and one mattress.

Tae noticed Yeoul sitting docilely on the mattress and narrowed his eyes.

“I wasn’t expecting a sight like this.”

Tension and discomfort were evident on Yeoul’s face.

After quietly observing Yeoul, Tae passed by her and sat in front of the writing desk.

Then he picked up a book placed on the desk.

“You sleep first.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going to read for a bit before sleeping.”

Yeoul hesitantly stared at Tae.

She entered the room unable to refuse Han’s order, but…

She couldn’t tell what Tae was thinking.

Just then, Yeoul’s eyes, having confirmed the cover of the book in Tae’s hand, trembled finely.

“That’s…!”

The book was the erotic painting collection Han had given Yeoul.

Tae calmly flipped through the erotic painting collection.

“I didn’t know you had such refined tastes.”

“Father gave it to me. Saying I would need it…”

Yeoul lowered her head in embarrassment.

Tae replied nonchalantly.

“Ah. Of course. As expected.”

Then, Tae brought his finger to the edge of the erotic painting collection and swiped it hard.

A red line appeared on Tae’s finger along with a bead of blood.

Yeoul’s eyes widened.

“A-are you alright?!”

Did this man have a hobby of self-harm?

Yeoul approached Tae with a handkerchief to stop the bleeding.

Wrapping the handkerchief around Tae’s injured finger, a red stain spread on the white cloth.

“Why in the world did you do such a thing?”

“This should be enough to convince the old man.”

“What do you mean?”

Unable to understand Tae’s words, Yeoul looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Then Tae lifted and unfolded the handkerchief that had wrapped his finger.

A vivid red bloodstain, like a virgin’s hymen blood, was left on the white handkerchief.

“Evidence that we consummated the marriage.”

Tae seemed to know why Yeoul was sitting here.

“You didn’t have to go this far…!”

“Then shall we actually spend the night together? If you want, I won’t particularly refuse.”

“That’s…!”

If one of them left the room, Yeoul would suffer a terrible fate at Han’s hands.

If not, Yeoul would have to sacrifice her chastity for the family’s use.

Tae seemed to know that pretending to spend the first night was the best option for Yeoul.

“Just go to sleep.”

“You need to finish stopping the bleeding.”

Yeoul wrapped Tae’s hand with the handkerchief again.

Yeoul didn’t understand Tae.

Why was he being so kind to her even injuring his precious body?

What kind of card was she to Tae? What use did she have?

Yeoul, who had been holding and staring at Tae’s injured hand, slowly opened her mouth.

“Why me?”

“What do you mean?”

Yeoul brought up the question she had ever since receiving Tae’s proposal.

“You lack nothing, young master.”

“True. It would be hard to find a man as well-bred, wealthy, and handsome as me.”

“…”

He really had remarkable self-love.

“If it’s someone worthy of being engaged to you, they’d be everywhere. So why did you choose me of all people?”

“Why you? Your face is quite to my tastes though.”

“I have bad rumors. I was cast out by my family after a broken engagement. I’m the worst as a marriage partner, aren’t I?”

“Haha! You’re saying with your own mouth that you’re the worst bride? Amusing.”

Tae let out a low laugh at Yeoul’s words.

Hearing it at night, his calmly subdued laughter sounded quite pleasant.

“Tell me. Why I chose you.”