Chapter 122: The Battlefield Of Proof, Ulleung (8)
Baek Seol-hee was a hero.
And I was a villain.
Therefore, for a villain to seduce a hero was only natural.
If I were to make a comparison, I was like a con artist.
I deceived Baek Seol-hee, and when caught, I retorted with, “It’s the fault of the one who got conned!”
Such con artists had no shame in disguising themselves.
Even if it meant selling out those around them, they wouldn’t hesitate.
Of course, lame excuses wouldn’t work against an S-class hero.
Hence, I cleverly hid about half of the truth, making Baek Seol-hee misunderstand and essentially make a ‘fool’ of herself.
“Miss Seol-hee, what I want most is for my wife to be happy.”
I casually threw the topic, as if just having a regular conversation.
Baek Seol-hee seemed to chew over the words I had said before this, even as she gave me a wary look.
“If it’s for my wife’s happiness, I can do anything. If she wishes, I’d gladly fetch her the stars and the moon from the sky.”
“Stars and moon aren’t two-timing, you know.”
“If those are the stars and moon my wife wants, then I must.”
Confusion crossed Baek Seol-hee’s face.
It was strange, certainly illogical, and definitely irrational.
No matter how different this world was, in the original world, such words would never make sense. Such behavior would earn one the title of a lunatic.
However, the fact that such a person existed was plausible, and this world could explain everything with the phrase ‘anything is possible’.
If there was someone who could stop an airplane’s takeoff with an ice net, wasn’t it possible there was someone who rejoiced at seeing their spouse share love with another?
“My wife is like that.”
“It’s hard to believe, but I understood. I did briefly verify it in our last meeting. However…”
Baek Seol-hee pointed at my left hand.
“Are you just going to stand by while you’re suffering domestic violence?”
“Miss Seol-hee.”
“How did you hurt your left hand? Tell me clearly.”
“……”
“Was it really an accident in the bathroom? Did you accidentally bump into something, or was your hand broken by someone?”
I had no choice but to lie.
Because the truth was impossible to convey.
-It was me. I am the Goblin. I fought with you in Gangwon-do, and my hand broke while blocking a punch. Can I sue you since it’s your fault?
-…I won’t let you escape, Goblin!!
No matter how soft-hearted Baek Seol-hee might be, she would turn more ferocious than anyone else in front of the Goblin.
The moment I revealed that I was the Goblin, she would imprison me in a basement, tying me up until her anger subsided from feeling deceived.
“… It’s difficult to openly discuss matters between a married couple.”
“Tell me the truth. I promise not to say anything. Was it an accident, or were you hit? Be completely honest.”
“……I was hit.”
By you.
“Actually, I got like this while trying to block an incoming blow.”
“No!!”
Baek Seol-hee immediately turned red with anger.
“How could you…!”
“Miss. Seol-hee. Calm down….”
“How can you be with someone like…!”
“Baek Seol-hee.”
When I used her full name, Baek Seol-hee hesitated and sat down.
“To some extent, it’s partly your responsibility, Miss Seol-hee.”
“Me? Oh no, because of…!”
Baek Seol-hee turned pale instantly.
“Because I contacted you…?!”
Whether it was because she’s a hero, or if it was her nature, or both combined in a negative synergy.
Baek Seol-hee believed that I got hit because of her.
…which was true.
“Well, it is because of Miss Seol-hee, but it’s a bit different from what you think. My wife didn’t get angry because of our relationship, but…”
It was time to transcend common sense.
“…Baek Seol-hee contacted me late at night, asking why I came up to Seoul from Sejong Island instead of staying there.”
“Yes?”
Confusion filled her eyes.
“Right? I felt the same way. Haha. My wife is… it’s hard to call her peculiar, but she’s a person with a strong ego and her own world.”
I couldn’t even understand what I was saying, but it felt more genuine because of that.
“When I finally went to Seoul to meet her, she scolded me, saying I should’ve just gone to Baek Seol-hee’s house or the pension in Ulleungdo or secretly invited her home. Haha…”
“No, really…?”
“Yes, she did.”
I sighed with relief.
“…Please don’t speak about it elsewhere. It concerns my wife’s reputation.”
“Well, that kind of reputation…”
“Let me clarify: I love my wife. That’s why I’m truly sorry to Ms. Seol-hee. I feel like I’ve been using her.”
I apologized.
If I ran into her as the Goblin later and got questioned about playing along all this time, I would retort, ‘I apologized back in April when we met in Ulleungdo, remember?!’
Such trashy behavior?
What was the problem with a villain behaving like trash?
“Can you give me your left hand for a moment?”
“Why my left hand?”
“Just let me see it.”
Baek Seol-hee looked at me with a complex expression.
Determination was visible in her deep-set eyes, and I hesitantly extended my left hand.
“……”
Baek Seol-hee immediately grabbed my hand, pressing it with her pale fingers, trying to sense something.
I could feel it.
The flow of Baek Seol-hee’s mana coursed through my left hand.
She wasn’t trying to infiltrate my skin but rather checking if there were traces of her magical power on my hand.
This was probably what she was thinking.
-Would his wife really be that kind of person?
-Isn’t he just spouting nonsense to hide an unbelievable truth from me?
-It makes more sense that Do Ji-hwan is the Goblin than his wife being a pervert who gets thrilled seeing her husband with another woman, right?
-The wound coincidentally is on the same spot.
-Yes, it’s more logical to assume he made up a weird excuse because he’s the Goblin. If Do Ji-hwan is the Goblin, everything falls into place.
-Which woman would hit someone claiming her husband came to her without cheating on her?!
That was probably what she was thinking.
Not just Yumir but Baek Seol-hee’s thought process was also easy to decipher.
She was not only a character in the original novel but also the heroine, and she was the woman I had been talking to as both the Goblin and Do Ji-hwan.
“Ms. Seol-hee?”
“Oh, yes… No, it’s not.”
Baek Seol-hee withdrew her hand from mine, but her face showed a hint of fear.
Of course.
If I was the Goblin, traces of her magic should’ve remained in my hand. But there was no trace.
Baek Seol-hee’s ice magic and power were like shards of glass.
You could pick up the visible shards with tweezers, but it was harder to remove the smaller particles embedded in the skin.
Especially if it was magic.
Baek Seol-hee must have hoped that some of her magic remained on my hand, but unfortunately, the truth was closer to ‘Do Ji-hwan’s wife’s NTR preference’ than the ‘Do Ji-hwan Goblin theory.’
‘I’ve worked hard to cleanse the magic from my left hand.’
Baek Seol-hee wouldn’t know.
How painful her magic’s DOT (Damage Over Time) truly was.
“It’s okay. The bone is healing well, and immersing it in warm water should help it recover quickly.”
“That’s good to hear. Um, Ji-hwan?”
“Yes.”
Her voice softened significantly.
Had she known I was the Goblin, she would’ve restrained me with an ice net immediately, but now that she knew that I was not, her confusion had taken over.
“…Why does your wife have such a preference?”
Now, Baek Seol-hee had completely changed her stance.
Through continuous gaslighting about infidelity, Baek Seol-hee had come to realize that she fit my wife’s preference.
Maybe her prior belief in the ‘Do Ji-hwan Goblin theory’ was an unconscious resistance against the idea that she was an adulterer.
But what now?
Baek Seol-hee was a mistress.
Knowing that I had a wife, she still approached me. A woman who used a married man to alleviate her emotions.
In the eyes of the world, she might be seen as a righteous hero.
But in her relationship with Do Ji-hwan, she could be described this way:
A mistress.
“Seol-hee. Why my wife developed such a taste is not the important thing. The point is that there exists a woman with such a taste, and I love her as my wife.”
It was a twisted form of love.
“If there’s a reason… No, I shouldn’t say this much-”
“Ji-hwan. It’s okay. No matter the situation, I’ll understand. I won’t get angry for no reason. I might be surprised since it’s hard to understand, but…”
Almost giving me a way out, Baek Seol-hee seriously asked while looking straight into my eyes.
“… I’ll do my best to help as much as I can. Please tell me the truth. Since when did your wife become like this?”
“…….”
Misunderstanding.
A mistake.
“My wife,”
All of these things started with words.
“Currently, she cannot get pregnant.”
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