I Became a Scoundrel of a Chaebol Family

"..."

Minji’s message hit me a little after 9 AM.

Just like Seo-ye said, it must've come after she received the morning reports.

"Tsk."

Her words were sharp, furious.

Still... at least she texted instead of calling.

If she was truly pissed, she would have called.

This was... mild rage, comparatively.

Minji curses even on a normal day.

Well... that's...

Seriously, Why does Minji know me so damn well?

Minji went quiet for a moment.

Probably trying to catch her breath.

'Well... She was the top graduate after all.

Of course she would’ve been promoted to general.'

Same as Baekseol.

Baekseol only graduated early because of special circumstances, but originally, she would’ve been promoted somewhere high after finishing as top graduate.

It’s natural that Eun-hwa would be the same.

'Tch.'

No helping it now. I had to appeal to her emotions.

Minji was a psychopath, but she still cared about family... somewhat.

That’s not what I meant...

Minji suddenly exploded,

sending a barrage of middle fingers and rude memes.

After letting it all out for a while—

In the end, Minji let me off generously.

Considering I stole a general-assigned knight’s virginity, her reaction was... incredibly lenient.

I turned to Seo-ye, who was still looking worried.

"It’s all settled."

"Ah... yes..."

"From today on, Eun-hwa will probably be my personal knight. But she was supposed to get commissioned as a general... what happens now? Do they just send the runner-up?"

"...If it's a general assignment, the military would've already been informed. It'll probably involve some negotiations between the military and the Group."

"Hmm."

Definitely a big deal.

Still...

‘Now I have two personal knights.’

I unexpectedly ended up with another exclusive knight.

Truly unexpectedly.

Really.

‘And both are top graduates.’

There was Baekseol, destined to become humanity’s strongest knight, and now Eun-hwa, who started right out with a general’s commission — she was definitely an elite, too.

‘This means I can mobilize 17 knights total: two personal knights plus the 15 Minji gave me. That’s enough to run a small country.’

If I prepared personal gear and armaments for Eun-hwa, I could have her act as my left general while Baekseol was my right general.

And since they’re mine personally, it’s not like Minji could just recall them whenever she wanted.

‘It really is easier to ask forgiveness than permission.’

I was appreciating once again this universal truth when—

- Bzzz.

My phone started buzzing.

- Caller ID: Go Min-young.

"...Huh?"

...

What the hell.

Why was Go Min-young calling me now?

"..."

Had the report already reached Min-young, too?

Was it really that serious?

"Uh...ahem,"

Even if we were screwing partners, Go Min-young wasn't someone you could just brush off casually.

I hurriedly picked up the call.

"Ah, yes... Min-young, how have you been?"

She didn’t say a word.

The silence made my blood run cold, just when I thought I'd settled everything with Minji.

Then came a long sigh.

My heart sank.

"Ah... well, that..."

I did say so...

To Minji...

"Huh? No, not at all."

"Nononono, I never thought that, never! I’m sorry...!"

"Understood. I’m sorry."

And with that, Go Min-young hung up.

"Mmm..."

It didn’t feel like she was mad because I snatched up a knight,

but more because I hadn’t told her first.

‘So complicated... Seriously...’

I immediately texted her to smooth things over.

She didn’t ignore me, and after a bit of back-and-forth, the chilly mood finally thawed.

"Whew."

I feel like I shaved ten years off my life.

++++

Eun-hwa officially became my personal knight.

Even after the graduation ceremony, the academy held another event —

a formal announcement celebrating the birth of the Knight of Muyeol.

The event was compressed due to scheduling issues, but they still kept a proper formality about it.

Everyone congratulated Eun-hwa, and she even gave a speech in front of them all.

‘It feels like she’s been chosen by the emperor or something.’

Would palace maids even be this happy after being selected by the king?

"That girl’s your second personal knight, right?"

"Yeah. She’s the same age as you, but you’re her senior. Look after her, okay?"

"Yes."

Baekseol watched Eun-hwa quietly.

No—

Maybe not quietly.

There was a faint emotion glimmering in her eyes.

"...I’m jealous of Eun-hwa."

"Huh? Why?"

"I... had a chance too."

"Huh?"

What’s she talking about, suddenly mentioning a chance?

"I had that glorious opportunity once. But at the time... I was too corrupted and resentful to truly savor it."

"Ah."

She must be talking about the early graduation ceremony that crowned her as the Knight of Muyeol.

At the time, Baekseol looked like she’d been forced to chew broken glass.

Her mood had been absolutely terrible.

"At a place where everyone celebrated me... I was cursing myself. I regret that."

Baekseol regretted that she hadn’t °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° fully embraced the joy back then.

Honestly, looking at Eun-hwa now, grinning like she owned the world —

If Baekseol later realized how glorious and meaningful that moment should’ve been, of course she would be filled with regret.

"Maybe if we could—"

I almost said maybe we could redo it, but swallowed the words.

Even if we held another ceremony, it wouldn’t be the same.

Baekseol must have sensed it too.

She smiled faintly and spoke:

"I’m sorry, my lord. I spoke too much nonsense."

"Baekseol, I’m glad I have you. I’m happy you’re by my side, even now."

"...Yes. I, too, am honored to serve you, my lord."

I should prepare something nice for her later.