TSWJ 3

Chapter 3

I thought it again.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to go.

Given the situation, I couldn’t help thinking that.

“Look at this bastard, trying to pass out whenever he pleases. Fidel, bring me some water.”

“Yes, Boss.”

A bucket of water appeared from who-knows-where and was dumped over the assassin’s head.

The assassin began coughing and sputtering. However, with his arms and legs tied to the chair, all he could do was tremble.

“Just… cough! Kill….”

“A knife. One that goes in deep.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Well, it was only natural. Who would let an assassin who’d broken in to kill them walk away so easily?

Torturing him to find out who was behind the attack, and canceling the other applicants’ interviews, were both understandable, too.

I understood all that. Really, I did.

But why won’t you let me leave…?

I’d already been waiting quietly for over thirty minutes, yet the male lead hadn’t said a single word about me.

Fortunately, after about forty minutes, someone finally approached me.

It was the manager who had overseen the game.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“N-no, it’s fine….”

“You saved the Boss, so we should give you a proper reward. Ah, come to think of it, I still haven’t even gotten your name properly.”

For a moment, I considered asking him to pay off my debt. But what if his expression suddenly changed and he demanded, How dare you expect compensation?

I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“Would you mind telling me your name?”

I was also afraid of accepting money from shady sources. Wouldn’t I end up suffering some kind of karmic retribution?

So I simply let my eyes wander around the room.

And then, suddenly, my eyes met the male lead’s.

He began walking toward me. There was blood on both his fist and his white shirt.

Eek! Terrifying!

“What are you doing?”

“I was asking for her name. I thought we should offer her a reward.”

He jerked his chin toward me.

“Is there something you want?”

“A hou—”

“A house? You want me to buy you a house?”

“Please send me home….”

“…….”

“My puppy gets scared when I’m not there….”

Of course, there was no dog at my house. I was so desperate to get out of there that, in my fear, I blurted out whatever came to mind.

The male lead, Rashak, simply stared at me.

How much longer did we sit like that?

“Let her go.”

“Pardon? But….”

“Fidel. Take her home yourself.”

At that, some man strode toward me.

When he slipped his hand into the inner pocket of his jacket, I tensed up, wondering if sending me off meant sending me to the afterlife.

Fortunately, what he pulled out was a handkerchief.

After wiping the blood from his hands, Fidel bowed politely to me.

“I am Fidel, the captain of the assassination squad. Please, come with me.”

Listening to an introduction that was terrifying enough to bring tears to my eyes, I practically ran out of the room.

Even I could tell I was walking incredibly fast, but thankfully, Fidel matched my pace.

He even opened the carriage door for me when I got in, and he drove without making a fuss.

After dropping me off in front of my house, he bowed his head.

“Thank you for saving the Boss.”

Once I stepped inside, I let out a deep sigh.

It had been an incredibly long night. Still, I’d saved someone’s life, so I supposed things hadn’t ended too badly.

I washed up and went straight to bed.

The next day, at noon.

I froze when I saw a silver-haired man standing at my front door.

“W-what brings you here…?”

“Your speech got awfully casual overnight.”

“Might I ask what brings you to grace my humble home…?”

Instead of answering, he strode straight inside.

After checking the bedroom, whose door was slightly ajar, he let out a quiet snort.

“So much for the puppy.”

…Had he come because he was curious about the dog?

I wished that were the case.

“Sit down. I have something to discuss.”

It was my house, and I was the homeowner, yet I obediently sat at the dining table he pointed to.

No one else came inside. I’d seen Fidel at the entrance, but he’d merely greeted me with a slight nod before closing the front door and stepping away.

After a brief silence, Rashak took out a stack of papers and placed them on the table.

The name written at the very top was none other than my own.

“You investigated me.”

“Got a problem with that?”

I didn’t deny it.

Because I did have a problem with it.

“I haven’t even… done anything wrong….”

I finally gathered the courage to mutter those words, only to hear a quiet, incredulous chuckle from across the table.

What?

Wasn’t I allowed to say even that much?

“Let’s get straight to the point. You have a debt. One hundred million. I’ll pay it all off for you.”

That line immediately made me correct my rebellious thoughts and adopt a respectful attitude.

Pardon? The esteemed Boss is going to pay off my debt?

“If you accept my proposal.”

“What kind of… proposal?”

“Bait.”

“Excuse me?”

“After what happened yesterday, I get the feeling there’s a rat even among my closest subordinates.”

Tap, tap.

His index finger drummed against the table.

“That abandoned building yesterday wasn’t somewhere just anyone could find. Discovering the meeting place and making it all the way there were both part of the test. I didn’t want any questionable people showing up.”

In my case, a piece of paper with the location written on it had simply blown into my feet.

And the journey there had been perfectly peaceful.

“The fact that I would be conducting the interviews there in person was a top secret. We went to such lengths to keep everything under wraps, and yet… an assassin showed up. As if he’d known I would be there.”

“Are you saying… there was a spy among the people who were there yesterday?”

“That’s right. I’m not talking about applicants like you. Someone inside my organization leaked my schedule.”

“T-that’s terrible….”

“And by now, those bastards probably know about you, too. A woman who suddenly appeared and saved my life. They’re probably furious among themselves, cursing you for ruining their plans.”

“…….”

“Do you understand what that means now?”

I asked cautiously,

“Those people… might try to kill me, too?”

“They won’t kill you right away. They’ll probably capture you first and ask where you’re from, why you saved Rashak Barsen, and all sorts of other questions.”

His words reminded me of the man who’d been tortured yesterday.

“So here’s the deal. For exactly one week, I want you to act as bait.”

“Pardon?”

“You can go about your life as usual. During that time, my men will keep an eye on you. If anyone suspicious approaches, they’ll capture them. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get anything useful out of the bastard from yesterday.”

“…….”

“And if you can land another punch like you did yesterday, I’ll be grateful.”

I mentally organized everything Rashak had told me.

He had a point. If I were the spy, I’d consider myself a thorn in my side, too.

He was offering to protect me in this dangerous situation. On top of that, he was going to pay off my debt.

Getting involved with the male lead was still something I wanted to avoid, but honestly, I had no reason to refuse.

It was only a week, after all.

“You’ll definitely pay off my debt, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

“I like how quickly you make decisions. If there’s anything else you need….”

Just then, there was a sudden knock at the door.

“Who is it?”

This was unexpected.

I rarely had visitors.

Part of it was my timid personality. I wasn’t particularly sociable with my neighbors. But the biggest reason was the rumors surrounding my magic potions.

People said someone had died after taking one of my potions, that I conducted illegal experiments, that I could control people’s minds…

Strange, utterly ridiculous stories had stuck to me like a label, and they were so absurd that I didn’t even know how to respond to them.

Under those circumstances, if someone had come to visit…

No way.

A sense of foreboding washed over me, and my body stiffened on its own.

Whether I was worried or not, Rashak was already heading toward the front door as though he owned the place.

Mr. Male Lead! No, Rashak! No, Boss…!

“…Who the hell is this woman?”

Rashak frowned at the woman standing outside.

The woman at the door was frowning, too.

Brown hair with a reddish tint, much like mine. A face with features similar to my own.

The moment I saw that familiar person, my gaze instinctively dropped to her stomach.

…It isn’t very noticeable yet.

“Do you know her?”

“She’s… Rena. My younger sister.”

“Unni, who’s this man?”

“He’s just… someone I know… through someone else….”

At my vague answer, Rashak raised one eyebrow.

But it’s not as though I could tell the ruler of the underworld, Rashak Barsen, to bow his head and show you some respect…

“I saw that you’d closed your shop. I came by to check.”

As she spoke, Rena naturally tried to step inside the house. Rashak stretched out his long leg and blocked her path.

“Your younger sister?”

He seemed to think for a moment.

“Ah, the one who had an affair with her fiancé?”

My eyes widened as I looked up at him.

Of course, what he’d said was a fact.

And given that he’d investigated me before coming here, I’d assumed he knew.

And sure, people probably talked about it behind our backs…

But this was the first time I’d heard someone say it so bluntly, right in front of both of us!

Rena shouted in confusion.

“Unni! Who on earth is this man?!”

“Enough. What do you want?”

“Excuse me?!”

“Is that all? What a pointless errand. If you’re done, get lost.”

“W-wait! Unni!”

Rena grabbed the door as Rashak started to close it and shouted,

“Mother said you have to come home this weekend!”

At the word Mother, my shoulders flinched before I could stop them.

“Allen’s family will be visiting. You know as well as I do that they’re not easy people to entertain.”

“…….”

“So I want you to come and help prepare the meal. You know their tastes better than I do, after all.”

Her sharp tone softened. Whenever Rena asked me for something like this, I’d always given in.

But…

“I don’t think I can do that.”

At my calm reply, Rena’s eyes wavered.

“Why not? It’s not like you have anything to do anymore!”

I firmly shook my head.

I had no choice.

Allen’s family was coming to visit. It was practically a formal meeting between the two families.

Allen had…

“By Allen, you mean Allen Brent? Your former fiancé?”

At Rashak’s interruption, I clutched the fabric of my skirt and slowly nodded.

His gaze returned to Rena.

“So, let me get this straight. You’re dating your sister’s former fiancé, and his family is coming to visit this time.”

“…….”

“And since both families are meeting, there needs to be food. But there’s no intention of inviting Hiel Caveron, who’s practically an unwanted guest, to sit at the table with them.”

“…….”

“So you’re asking her to work in the kitchen? Like a maid? While you’re off flirting with her former fiancé?”

Rashak let out a disbelieving laugh.

“I’ve seen a lot of crazy things, but this is something else.”

Glare!

Rena shot him a furious look.

But perhaps she didn’t have the courage to pick a fight with a man built like a door, because her gaze soon shifted back to me.

“Father will be angry if he finds out.”

“…I don’t care.”

“How can you not care? He’s your father! He’s family!”

That was when Rashak interrupted again.

“Listening to all this, I’m curious. When your younger daughter had an affair with her older sister’s fiancé, wasn’t he angry then? He’s family, too, isn’t he?”

He raised his index finger and circled it beside his temple.

“Looks like your parents aren’t right in the head, either.”