"Oh..."
Dang Ayeong listened to her father recount his exploits, marveling at how impressive he was—
Not just sexy, but capable too—truly the perfect husband material—
’His companion was the Sword Empress, huh?’
He’d told her his travel buddy was a guy, but her digging confirmed it was a woman—
The lie irked her, but she could let it slide as cute—
Two grown adults traveling together sparked all sorts of uneasy thoughts—
’But if it’s the Sword Empress, I can trust her.’
That name alone banished her worries—
To the righteous faction, "Sword Empress" carried that kind of weight—
A name that made rude imaginings unthinkable—
That’s the reputation she’d built—
"...Speaking of, I heard you recently reached the peak realm. Did he help...?"
"Not really."
"...Oh?"
"Yeah... less his abilities and more..."
Dang Ayeong recalled that time—
After falling hard for him, he’d left on his journey—leaving her alone, drowning in uncontrollable lust she channeled into relentless training—
"...He helped in a different way."
And it pushed her past the wall—
Though, weirdly, her libido felt even stronger since breaking through—
"Ah, got it. I’ll try to handle things—too late to fix it now, maybe..."
She’d grilled Yeo Socheon for any leverage, then shuffled out of the Martial Alliance, trembling—
Rumors might’ve spread already, so she headed straight for her house—
This morning’s "looking forward to tonight" comment nagged at her, but it still felt safer (?) than wandering out there—
Like Yeo Socheon said, sticking by Dang Ayeong’s side was pretty secure—
++++
[Protagonist’s POV]
Knock knock.
"L-Lady... I’m h—"
Whoosh!
Before I finished, the door flew open—Dang Ayeong yanked me inside—
Bang!
In a blink, I was in, door slammed shut—
Click!
The lock snapped into place before my eyes—
"Good thing you came quick?"
When I snapped out of it, she stood right in front of me—
Gulp.
"O-Of course! I promised I’d come fast—"
"Honestly, I worried you’d bolt again—had people watching just in case—but you came straight here. Good boy."
Pat pat.
"Haha..."
Her soft hand stroked my head—I couldn’t just laugh it off—
She’d had me watched without me knowing—
Gulp.
’Get it together...’
I couldn’t forget I was juggling her like a fish in a net—
Controlling info was key—
If I didn’t fix this stalking, I’d be exposed in no time—
"So, ready to answer now?"
Like Yeo Socheon, she cornered me against the wall, demanding—
Playing dumb wouldn’t help here—
After meeting her dad and talk of marriage, what else could this be about?
’Hoo...’
Tap tap.
I tapped my chest, took a deep breath, and prepped to speak—
My voice shook, nerves jangling, but I had to answer—
No more delaying—
"Lady... the truth is..."
With a trembling mouth, I spat out my prepared response—
I knew it was awful—
Selfish as hell—
But I couldn’t give her what she wanted—
So here’s what I’d cooked up—
"I... don’t have family, but I’ve got someone like it. I told you before, right? My master’s in secluded training."
"...Yeah, you did?"
"Well... as a disciple, I don’t think I can decide something big like marriage without telling my master..."
Gulp.
Her eyes narrowed in real-time—
She didn’t like it—
"For about a year, maybe a year and a half... just wait until my master comes out of seclusion?"
"..."
"I-I mean, right? As a disciple, I can’t decide something this huge without telling my only family-like figure—it’d be unfilial!"
It might sound like an excuse, but in this world’s norms, it held water—
Master-disciple bonds here were near parent-child—sometimes tighter—
To put it simply—
I can’t marry without telling my "parents"—
A solid argument by this world’s standards—
Drip drip.
But whether Dang Ayeong bought it? Questionable—
A good case doesn’t guarantee persuasion—
"...You’re close with your master?"
"Huh? Yeah—took me in when I was a nobody in the alleys, fed me, clothed me, taught me skills and knowledge—a real savior."
"...Haa. Yeah, of course. You’d be close. Sure."
She sighed, hand on her forehead—
Not a happy look—
I debated adding more—
"...Ugh, fine, fine. It’s a cowardly excuse, but one I can’t help falling for."
She threw up her hands—
"S-So..."
"Yeah, do it your way. Marriage is big—gotta tell your master. Can’t drag someone out of seclusion either. Guess I’m stuck waiting."
"...!"
It worked too well—I nearly cheered, barely holding it in—
That’d be insane—
"But what if your master says no?"
"Uh..."
I hadn’t thought that far—
Truth be told, my plan was to buy time, then slip away to the mountains unnoticed—
But since she asked—
’Master...’
How’d Master react hearing I’d lined up a marriage while they were in seclusion?
...
"...Probably fine?"
"Really?"
"Yeah... probably wouldn’t object..."
I couldn’t say the truth—
Ignoring Master’s orders to wait and sneaking out was bad enough—marriage on top?
Tremble tremble.
Master rarely got mad, but I was damn sure they’d erupt—
"I-If they object, I’ll convince them!"
"For real?"
"O-Of course! After making you wait a year—couldn’t back out then!"
Honestly, I wasn’t thinking ahead—
Just stalling—
Irresponsible, sure, but I had no choice—
No other ideas, and failing to dodge meant marriage—
And if I married, no matter how I hid it, the Sword Empress would hear—
’...That’s game over.’
Future or not, my life’d end right there—
So blocking Dang Ayeong now was priority one—
Like rolling over credit card debt—
A dumb move to dodge one debt with another—but people on Earth don’t do it for kicks—
It’s all they’ve got when the heat’s on—
Tremble tremble.
"Why’re you shaking so much? Cold?"
"N-No, just... a little under the weather..."
My head throbbed—needing a plan for this borrowed time—but relief hit too—
’Yeah... rest for now...’
Today sucked—finally solving one thing, I wanted a break—
"Hey... so..."
"...?"
"If... marriage is on hold, we’re basically... engaged now, right?"
Her words snapped me back—
"...Uh..."
’Answer carefully.’
One wrong move, and this hard-earned delay could collapse—
My brain spun, hunting the best response—
Denial? Out—
It’d tank the breathing room I’d just won—
’Delay this too...?’
Pushing it off like marriage crossed my mind—but risky—
Dodging now might work, but managing her runaway train long-term? Another "wait" wouldn’t fly—
One option left—
"...Yeah, sure."
Affirmation—
A step back to leap forward—like carrots and sticks—
Time to give a little—
Grip!
Her hands clamped my shoulders—
Her flushed, wild face huffed inches from mine—
"S-So... if we’re engaged..."
"..."
"It’s... okay, right?"
Her eyes—clear this morning—now burned with lust—
Her red cheeks—emotion or the sunset outside?—
I couldn’t tell—
Rustle.
As I cautiously shed my clothes, a thought crossed my mind: tonight was going to be another exhausting ordeal.