Chapter 439: Chapter-439
She stepped forward, her leather boots stopping right at the edge of his bed, looking down at him with supreme, absolute dominance.
"Well, I might not have been in the capital for the last two years, but let’s see what ’my’ corporate information says about you, Gu Jiyoung."
Jiyoung’s smile stiffened slightly, his eyes narrowing.
"Name: Gu Jiyoung," Heena stated clearly, her voice cutting through the sweet incense. "Born as the illegitimate son of a noble family, the child of a mere concubine. The moment the rightful, true heir took over the estate, they threw you out like garbage and sold you directly to this very brothel at the tender age of seven. You survived the absolute worst of human depravity by learning every single dirty trick from the previous owner. Back then, this place was a disgusting, violent den where you were beaten and tortured on a regular basis."
Jiyoung’s knuckles tightened slightly around his silver pipe.
"Let’s look at the timeline," Heena smiled sharply. "At the age of seventeen, suddenly, the entire noble family that had sold you out... died. Completely wiped off the map. The original heir who took over was conveniently caught committing high treason and executed by the Emperor himself. Not a single soul of your bloodline was left alive to inherit. What a beautiful coincidence."
Jiyoung remained completely silent, the smoke fading from his lips.
"But I’m not finished yet, sweetheart," Heena purred, leaning down until she was eye-to-eye with him. "Let’s look at your grand ascension. At the age of twenty, the previous, notoriously brutal owner of this brothel suddenly died. He ’accidentally’ fell into the river and drowned. Quite strange, considering the official autopsy records notes he was an expert swimmer. Immediately after his death, you took over as the new leader. You revolutionized the entire business, shifting it from a low-class den into the most elite, high-end mixed brothel in the empire, bringing in beautiful male courtesans at the exact same time the Emperor announced that women were officially allowed to hold high political office."
She tapped her finger against his silver pipe, a wicked smirk playing on her lips. "And my absolute favorite piece of data? Exactly during your takeover at age twenty, there happened to be a massive, bloody palace coup that overthrew the old regime. The new Emperor took the throne seamlessly, entirely because a mysterious, ghost-like shadow broker was feeding him flawless, real-time enemy movements. A shadow broker who vanished into thin air the second the coronation was over."
Heena stood up straight, brushing a non-existent speck of dust off her leather coat. "So, tell me, legendary King of the Capital’s Underground... how is my information looking so far?"
Gu Jiyoung’s—or rather, ’Master’s’—eyes instantly turned ice-cold, all traces of the playful, flirting courtesan vanishing to reveal the ruthless underground king beneath. A dark, venomous sneer twisted his handsome face.
"Oh... so you know that much about me," Master murmured, his voice dropping into a chilling, low register. "Then tell me, Lady Seera... how dare you step foot into my territory knowing exactly what I am capable of?"
With a sharp, flicking motion of his wrist, he signaled the shadows.
’Swish! Swish! Swish!’
Five elite shadow guards materialized out of thin air, their figures cutting through the silk curtains, their gleaming, razor-sharp daggers pressed directly against Heena’s neck and heart from all sides. The room’s atmosphere suffocated with lethal intent.
But Heena didn’t even twitch. Instead, she let out a mocking, arrogant sneer, looking around at the blades resting against her skin before locking eyes with Master.
"My, my... I didn’t realize you loved an audience this much, boss," Heena mocked, her voice dripping with sheer amusement. "If you had just told me you had such a perverted, exhibitionist taste, I might have just agreed to it without all the drama."
Master’s eyes narrowed into slits. "I truly do not know whether to call you incredibly brave, or just utterly foolish. You dare to walk into my throat, into the heart of my domain, and threaten me?" He leaned forward, the mask of the playful host completely shattered. "So tell me, dear Lady, what exactly should I do with a reckless little bird like you?"
Heena’s smile turned beautifully wicked. "Hmm... what can you do, you ask? Let me show you."
Before the words even fully left her lips—’BAM!’
With a terrifying, explosive burst of speed that shouldn’t have been humanly possible, Heena’s hand blurred. A concealed dagger slipped into her palm, and she drove it straight into the chest of the guard closest to her. The man gasped, collapsing instantly.
Before the remaining four guards could even process the sudden violence, Heena became a whirlwind of lethal, calculated motion. ’Crack! Thud! Crash!’ Using the close-quarters space to her absolute advantage, she parried a strike, shattered another guard’s jaw with a brutal elbow, swept the legs of the third, and slammed the fourth directly through a heavy wooden privacy screen.
In less than three seconds, all five elite guards were neutralized, groaning in agonizing pain on the floor.
Master didn’t even have time to stand up before a cold, silver blade was pressed firmly against his own throat, drawing a single, microscopic bead of crimson blood from his skin.
Heena stood over him on the bed, her boot pinning down the fabric of his loose robe, looking down at him with the cold, unyielding gaze of a true predator.
"Nothing more than that, sweetheart," Heena purred softly, her breath dangerous and close. "I’m just here to do business. After all, I am a pragmatic businesswoman at heart, and I don’t care for unnecessary murder. But..."
She tilted the blade slightly, forcing his chin up, her eyes flashing with a terrifying, unhinged promise. "...if you keep pushing my hand, believe me, I wouldn’t dream of ignoring a final request from such a beautiful man like you."
Gu Jiyoung’s amber eyes flickered with a brief, instinctual trace of fear, but it vanished in a fraction of a second. He looked up at the blade pressed against his windpipe, his lips curving into a mocking, fearless smile.
"Uh-huh... do you want to kill me?" he challenged softly, his voice completely steady. "Try it. But I don’t think this lowly one’s life is nearly as important as yours, My Lady. Do you really believe you can walk out of here alive after spilling my blood?"
Heena sneered back, her hand holding the dagger completely motionless. "I already knew you didn’t care about your life a single bit. After all, you’re like a twisted lotus that bloomed out of the mud. You have absolutely no interest in seeing what happens to this world after you’re gone."
Jiyoung chuckled softly against the sharp edge of the metal. "You really do not know how to recite a proper poem, My Lady."
"Whether I know poetry or not isn’t the point," Heena replied, her gaze boring into his soul. "The point is, I know exactly why you’re smiling like a man who has already won."
He raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. "Oh, really?"
"You’re thinking that even if I murder you right now, the second I step a single foot out of this room without you by my side, your hidden vipers will tear me to pieces," Heena said, her voice dropping into a dangerously calm purr. "But perhaps you’ve forgotten whose face you’re looking at tonight. The one standing in front of you is still the first daughter and rightful heir of the Marquis family. If you die, and I die, my grandfather will turn this entire district into a mass grave. This whole brothel, everyone inside it—gone by dawn. That wouldn’t be a big deal for you guys, right?"
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