“I said get lost.”
At Bow Ghost’s words, everything around us went quiet.
The air froze cold.
Jin Taeryeong’s expression, after coming over to speak to us, froze the same way.
“......Young lady, what did you just—”
“Are your ears not work—mmph!”
I went over and covered Bow Ghost’s mouth.
What was I supposed to do with this crazy woman?
I should perform an exorcism later.
A starving ghost had clearly possessed her.
There was no other way someone could go this insane.
A person was not supposed to be like this.
After barely stopping her, I spoke to Jin Taeryeong.
“Ah, I apologize for this. The attendant from my household sometimes has her brain short-circuit like this.”
“......Ha?”
“You may take whatever food you would like. We can simply order again.”
I needed to smooth this over.
I hated things getting annoying.
Especially because my instincts were telling me I should not get tangled up with this man.
When I offered that—
“Attendant?”
Jin Taeryeong looked at Bow Ghost and let out a small laugh.
“An attendant, you say. So I was showing courtesy to a lowborn thing like that?”
“Hm?”
What was this?
The atmosphere had changed quite a bit.
“Given the level of this establishment, I assumed otherwise, but—how embarrassing.”
Jin Taeryeong’s expression changed.
Not just his tone.
It was almost fascinating how much a person’s face could transform.
“Are you the master of this attendant?”
“For now, yes?”
“Mmph! Mmph!”
Bow Ghost rebelled when I said that.
I forcibly stopped her.
She was so noisy I could die.
“Then I wonder how you intend to resolve the discourtesy shown to me.”
“Resolve?”
“That is right. An attendant dared tell me to get lost, did she not?”
“She did. The child is clearly lacking sense. I apologize for that. I will apologize in her place.”
I even bowed my head as I spoke.
But—
“That will not do.”
Jin Taeryeong smiled thinly as he said it.
“If this were something that could be solved with a mere apology, I would not be acting like this.”
“......Mm.”
Hearing that, I frowned too.
His attitude was growing more intense by the second.
“Then what would you like done?”
“Cut off her arm.”
“What?”
My eyes narrowed at those words.
Cut off what?
Her arm?
“You want me to cut off her arm?”
“That is right. Cut off her arm. If a mere attendant dares commit such discourtesy, should that degree of punishment not be given?”
“Even so, cutting off an arm seems excessive. I will scold her harshly, so please let this pass peacefully.”
“Ha.”
At my answer, Jin Taeryeong let out a hollow laugh.
“Listen, young master.”
“Yes.”
“Did you not hear who I am?”
“I heard. You are Young Master Jin Taeryeong.”
“That is right. I am that Jin Taeryeong, yet I do not know how many times I must make myself clear.”
“......What?”
“I am telling you that I am that displeased. I have an important schedule ahead. I cannot go there in this mood, so I must somehow resolve it before I leave.”
“......Ah.”
So now—
“You want to cut off my attendant’s arm to make yourself feel better?”
“She did commit discourtesy. There is sufficient justification as well. What is the problem?”
“There are so many problems that I don’t even know where to start.”
I removed the hand covering Bow Ghost’s mouth.
The moment I did, as if she had been waiting, Bow Ghost spoke.
“What is this bastard saying—”
“Shut up. I’m in the middle of a conversation.”
“......!”
I covered Bow Ghost’s mouth again, full of irritation.
Ah.
This was exactly why I had felt things would get annoying.
“I can apologize as much as you want. So can we not just let this pass peacefully?”
“Let it pass? I am far too offended for that. It makes no sense for me to suffer rudeness in a place like this and simply let it go.”
“I’m saying this isn’t at the level of cutting off an arm. I thought it was something that could be settled with an apology. Here. You apologize too.”
“M-Me?”
“Hurry up.”
“......”
Bow Ghost’s eyes trembled.
Then she bit her lip, and finally said,
“I-I apologize.”
She said it in a wilted voice.
Seeing that, I looked back at Jin Taeryeong.
“My attendant was extremely rude. She is still young and has not learned better. If you would please forgive this with a generous heart—”
“......My, my.”
Jin Taeryeong sighed at my words.
That was when it happened.
“It seems words will not be enough for you.”
At that instant, I felt energy.
I saw his hand move to draw his sword.
CLACK.
Just as the sword was about to be drawn—
THUD!
“Hm?”
His sword failed to enter the world.
Because I had blocked the end of its handle with my palm.
“What is this—ugh.”
Jin Taeryeong tried to draw the sword by force.
He put all his strength into it, but the sword did not budge.
“Let’s not do this. If you draw your sword, this gets bigger.”
“You bastard......!”
Flames rose in Jin Taeryeong’s eyes.
In the end, he used his other hand to knock away the hand I had been using to stop him, then widened the distance.
“I thought you were nobody, but apparently you have something. Who are you? State your name.”
“......”
State my name, he said.
Unfortunately, I happened to be covering my face with a hat right now, so I did not particularly want to show him.
“I only want this to pass peacefully. We’re people who will never see each other again, aren’t we?”
I tried persuading him one last time.
I really wanted this to end quietly.
But—
SHING!
“How laughable. After suffering this much, I simply let it pass? The name Jin Taeryeong would weep.”
“Young Master Jin, please go easy.”
“That’s right. He seems not to know anything.”
His companions laughed as they spoke.
Maybe their words gave Jin Taeryeong strength, because he grinned.
“If you will not speak, I will have to find out somehow.”
“......Ah, seriously.”
I had gotten caught by a strange one.
I let out a deep sigh.
As the old saying went, even the road to an inn had to be walked carefully.
I had not expected to get caught on a day like this.
“From what I heard earlier, you have an important schedule after this. Can you really not just go?”
“That is right. I do have a very important schedule.”
Ignoring my words, Jin Taeryeong spoke proudly.
“Because this Jin Taeryeong has come for none other than a marriage arrangement with the Mo Yong Family.”
“......What?”
A marriage arrangement?
I froze without meaning to.
A marriage arrangement?
After hearing that, my thoughts moved a little slowly.
A marriage arrangement?
What did he mean by a marriage arrangement?
How did that work?
Did the White King have another daughter?
No, he should not.
She was the only daughter of that household.
But a marriage arrangement?
SWOOSH!
While I stood there blankly, Jin Taeryeong moved.
He swung his sword.
“Prepare yourself. Whatever you are—!”
THWACK!
“Guh!?”
Before the sword could touch me, his hand was knocked away and he lost the sword he had been holding.
Because I had struck his wrist.
CLANG!
The sword rolled across the floor, and Jin Taeryeong’s eyes widened at the sight.
“How did—ugh!?”
He had no time to react.
I grabbed him and slammed him down onto the table.
“Ghk!”
I seized his arm and restrained him.
After pinning him so he could not move, I looked at him and said,
“......A marriage arrangement with the Mo Yong Family. What does that mean?”
When I asked with my face twisted, he groaned.
“Ugh...... Let...... let go......!”
“Answer me first. I asked what that means.”
“It means...... exactly what it sounds like...... I came to push forward a marriage arrangement between the Jin Family and the Mo Yong Family.”
A marriage arrangement between the Mo Yong Family and the Jin Family?
They were doing that?
My eyes narrowed on their own.
I could not understand it.
If the White King had permitted that—
......No, there is nothing strange about it.
Her engagement to the Bang Family had already been broken.
That meant there was no issue with the Mo Yong Family proceeding with a marriage arrangement with someone else.
I knew that.
But for some reason, it grated on me.
“Let go......!”
Jin Taeryeong kept struggling.
“You bastard......! I am also a guest of the Mo Yong Family. Do you think you will be safe after doing this!?”
“I’ll probably be scolded a little.”
“What?”
“I’m saying that right now, this is something that can still end with me merely getting scolded. But—”
My eyes turned slightly cold.
“If our dear Young Master Jin acts up any more, that may not be where it ends.”
“......What are you saying right now?”
“End it here. I apologized, and my attendant apologized too. If you want, I will give you food as well. So bend that pride of yours a little. Otherwise—”
I tightened my grip.
“Ghk!?”
I put strength into the arm I was holding and said,
“I’ll wreck this arm. Is that what you want?”
“You...... you bastard......! Do you truly think you can do this and—!”
“I hate hearing the same thing repeated. Decide quickly.”
CRACK.
“Ghhh!!”
I put in more strength.
A sound came from his arm, and he screamed.
If I pushed any more here, it would really break.
Keeping that in mind, I spoke.
“I’ll count to three. Say you’ll stop before then.”
“I-I......!”
“One.”
“Even knowing I am Jin Taeryeong of the Jin Family, you dare—!”
“Two.”
“I will not forget this humiliation. I will make sure you—!”
“Three.”
“I will stop!”
At last, after he spat out the words, I released the strength in his arm.
“Ghhhh......!”
Only then did Jin Taeryeong clutch his own shoulder and back away.
I could see his face was covered in cold sweat.
“You bastard...... You......”
“As promised, this ends here. I hope there are no more words.”
“You...... truly.”
“I also have no intention of hearing the same thing. If you happen to have a complaint—”
I lifted the hat I had been wearing.
With Moon Eye opened, I looked at him.
“Huh......?”
Jin Taeryeong flinched after seeing my eyes.
Blue eyes.
White hair.
Seeing them, he seemed to remember something.
Thankfully, he seemed to know my appearance.
“......Bring the claim directly to Bang Seongyeon of the Azure Moon Sect. I’ll accept it.”
“......Bang Seongyeon......? S-Surely.”
The reaction came from the men behind Jin Taeryeong.
“Moon Hero......!”
“The Hero of Henan......? The Sword Saint’s inheritor? How is that person here......!”
“I-I did hear he was from Liaoning. Was that actually true......?”
“......Moon Hero.”
Amid the reactions of the men behind him, Jin Taeryeong’s eyes trembled.
Seeing that, I grabbed Bow Ghost and lifted her up.
“Let’s go. I don’t think we’re in a situation to eat anymore.”
“Gng......”
She looked regretful about leaving all that food behind.
What did she want me to do about it?
This entire mess was her fault.
I carried Bow Ghost and passed by Jin Taeryeong.
“......Kugh......”
I could see his body trembling as he looked at me.
I ignored it.
Bang Seongyeon passed by like that.
“Bang Seongyeon...... That Moon Hero?”
Killing intent gathered in Jin Taeryeong’s eyes.
Cold enough to sting.
*****
Immediately after the incident with Jin Taeryeong, I went to the Mo Yong Family.
As promised, I met the White King.
My original purpose had been to hand over the Sky-Crushing Palace information I had prepared.
But—
“Right.”
“Yes?”
I asked the White King about Jin Taeryeong.
And he answered me.
“The talk of a marriage arrangement with the Jin Family. It is true that it is being discussed.”
The story I had heard at the inn was not wrong.
That was what the White King was telling me.
