Don't Take Me for a Fool

"Want to get beaten?"

"What? I can't handle it...?"

By Douglas Kim? Me?

Vincent's words left me momentarily speechless. I searched his face to see if it was some kind of joke, but there was no reversal hiding in those grave eyes.

'This goes beyond what even Korea's fourth-ranked family can cover.'

On the surface, a simple fact. But what it implied was anything but simple.

Beings whose power transcended even the law. Beings the world waited upon hand and foot without their lifting a finger. That was what a 'noble' was, and a collection of nobles was a 'House.' For it to be declared outright that even they were helpless — that was no ordinary statement.

And from one of the five strongest Houses in the country, no less.

"Vi-Vincent. You're joking so you can keep me all to yourself, right...?"

"THIS!"

Vincent squished both of my cheeks flat. My lips popped out like a fish's.

"If you're not gonna believe me, kid, then why the hell do you think I showed you all that?!"

"M-my bad, sir."

"You better be careful."

"Yesh!"

He shook my head this way and that a few times in that state before finally letting go of my cheeks. I rubbed my burning face, thinking it over.

'...It doesn't seem like a lie.'

Granted, it could be a trap to throw me off balance. But was Vincent really the kind of schemer capable of plotting that far ahead from the very start?

If he were, I'd expect to see some of that aristocratic obsession with hierarchy and decorum. I saw none of it. Besides, if he'd been planning to do something to me, he never would have volunteered information like this in the first place.

"Vincent."

"Hm?"

"You seriously can't betray me, right? If you do, I'll haunt your dreams even after I die and tell everyone about every single fart you've ever ripped."

Vincent froze solid. I hadn't actually expected such a simple ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠threat to work, but then he broke into a sly little smile.

"Hmm... now I'm curious."

"About what?"

"Whether you can really haunt dreams from beyond the grave. Come here — let's find out if you can die."

"GHK-! Wait! Sir! There's a fight breaking out over there!!!"

'You lunatic!! This is NOT a guillotine choke!'

I wasn't seriously begging, but still — flexing his strength on a girl more than a head shorter than him? Yep, this guy was genuinely unhinged.

He held the position for not seconds but tens of seconds straight, only releasing me after I'd waved the white flag.

"Ugh... I'm dying here."

"Heh heh. Feel the gap in power? That's why I told you not to get cocky."

"That's just cruel. Why don't you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠try that on the Head of House sometime?"

"Why would I?"

...Fair point.

"Sigh... I guess I just have to be the bigger person."

"Pffht! Why should you? If you're that worked up, go pull that on the Head yourself."

Listen to yourself, man.

I glared at him, stewing in an inexplicable sense of injustice. But his self-satisfied, insufferably smug grin showed no sign of stopping, so I eventually resigned myself to losing and changed the subject.

"Fine, whatever. Speaking of the Head of House, though — how much exactly do I need to keep secret?"

At that, he crossed his arms and leaned back against his seat, tapping his elbow with one finger.

"For starters, we'll have to open everything up to the point the Ambassador already knows. He was careful in his own way, but the Head's eyes and ears are everywhere — more than you'd think. And besides..."

"Besides?"

"From the Ambassador's perspective, there's no reason to gamble away the trust of an S-rank. Not just to protect your little secret."

"......"

I knew that, obviously.

And power aside, it was only natural to prioritize someone you'd known for years over someone you'd met mere days ago. From what Vincent said, he'd at least made an attempt at damage control himself — but even that had collapsed when I ran off without hearing him out.

So in the end, there was no stopping my information from trickling up to the Head of House.

'I'm sorry, old man. I can only imagine how badly you got chewed out.'

A bitter taste rose in my mouth. But time spent doesn't come back, so I swallowed the feeling down and nodded in grudging acceptance.

"Phew... got it. Loud and clear. So the rest stays under wraps, right, Vincent?"

"Right. Though 'the rest' is just the one subspace spell."

"......"

"Hm? What's with that face?"

"Hehe, no, nothing. I just thought, hearing you say 'just the one subspace spell' — yep, that's Douglas Kim for you."

A short while later, we arrived at the airport.

Douglas Kim's attendants were already waiting to receive us, and following them, we found three luxury sedans standing by. And there, I met yet another noble of House Douglas Kim — someone stepping down from a sedan as an attendant held the door open.

Seeing them, Vincent broke into a faint smile.

"April...? What brings you out here?"

A stunning woman in her mid-to-late 160s in centimeters. Meticulously kept hair cascading to her waist, and a frilled red dress that immediately marked her as a daughter of an established bloodline. There was no mistaking it.

She came toward us and answered Vincent with a smile. Her voice was as soft and lovely as her face.

"New family is arriving — of course I'd come to greet them. Especially a pretty gem the Head picked out personally."

"Pffht! Gem or cheap cubic, that remains to be seen."

Vincent rapped me on the head a couple of times. April blinked at him several times in response.

"Hehe, what a joke! As if. You shouldn't say such mischievous things with a lady standing right here, my dear brother."

"Oh? How considerate of you. Well, keep up the good work."

"You too, Vincent, my dear brother."

...Same faction, apparently. They look awfully cozy.

Compared to the grim warnings he'd given me on the way here, the atmosphere was far more relaxed. How close were these two, anyway? The saccharine smiles just would not drop.

The two exchanged light parting greetings, and Vincent headed for a car first. I moved to follow, but his hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"You ride with April. Men and women should travel separately whenever possible."

"And you're just going to dump me in a car alone, right now?"

'At least do introductions or something before you leave me hanging...'

Vincent's face scrunched up slightly.

"Sorry, but I think whatever I ate earlier isn't sitting right. My stomach's off. If you're chattering next to me too, my head's going to split."

"Hey, what did I ever— whatever, fine. Go get some rest in the car, then."

Well, it'd probably be fine. I looked younger than my past self anyway, so I could just butter her up a little and we'd get along. No need to be intimidated by a girl who looked barely older than a high schooler — I decided to send him off without fuss.

When I thanked him for seeing me this far, he turned away and raised a hand in lazy farewell.

And right then—

Tap—

"Hmph... still, he ought to have at least made introductions. That useless older brother of mine has put our little one in an awkward spot."

April had sidled up beside me without my noticing. The slight pout on her face suggested she was a little put out, too.

...It was my fault, so I should cover for him, I supposed.

"Haha... truth is, he overexerted himself because of me, before we even got here."

"Oh dear, he did? And I had no idea..."

"That's only natural. Anyway — allow me to introduce myself. I'm Na Raebi."

No need to linger on someone else's business.

I slowly bowed my head, both arms crossed in an X over my chest. When a lower-ranked noble greeted this way, the superior who received the greeting would extend a handshake in return.

It was the distinctive etiquette of the new era's nobility.

"Na Raebi... what a lovely name. A pleasure — I'm April Li. Let's get along well, shall we?"

Thankfully, she extended her hand exactly as I'd predicted. Relieved, I took it and gave it a light shake.

"Well now, that introductions are out of the way — shall we go? The cars are standing by, one each, but our adorable little one is fine riding with me, yes?"

"But of course!"

'Honestly, forget all of it — I just want to be alone.'

I wanted to go through my skills and shop inventory in detail, and I needed time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to think in peace. And above all, April was just too polished a young lady. It made me uneasy — that feeling that the moment I fumbled anything, she'd look at me with quiet contempt.

...I was missing him already.

'Come back, Vincent Jo! Come baaack!'

"This way, little one."

"...Yes, ma'am."

Thud.

The car pulled away the instant the doors shut. I tilted my head, wondering if seatbelts weren't required, but nobody seemed to care in the slightest.

'So even a crash wouldn't scratch us, huh? Honestly, that tracks.'

"Little one."

In the silence of the gliding car, April spoke up again.

'I should call her unnie, right?'

"Yes, April unnie?"

"...Does the little one have any questions about the family? I hear your mana grade is quite low... anything worrying you, perhaps?"

...So she knew about my grade. That was a bit surprising.

She knew I was E-rank, and yet she wasn't looking down on me.

Then again, it made sense — the caste system had only been officially in place for four years. Even within the same House, such things couldn't simply be ignored, and yet her attitude suggested she couldn't care less.

I answered with an easy smile.

"Vincent already explained all sorts of things for me. The only thing that really bothers me is... being adopted into a family far too good for my level. It weighs on me a little."

"...Hmm?"

At that, the corners of her mouth curled upward.

"Such an adorable little worry! Our little one is positively pure-hearted, isn't she?"

"Ah... I hear that a lot. Thank you."

"......"

April fell into silence for a moment, studying me — eyes fixed on me with her smile in place, as though taking my measure. I returned an equally sociable smile, and before long she lifted a hand to gently pat my head and spoke.

"Don't you worry. I mean, would the Head of House adopt some ordinary E-rank? You'll simply need to learn to recognize your own worth, little one."

"Haha, I suppose so."

"Of course. You must have something special about you. Don't you?"

"Ah... well, nothing really that special, honestly..."

"Now, now — don't be like that. Think hard. You have a special skill, don't you? Tell your big sister all about it. I'll show you off to the family so you can settle in nice and easily!"

Sorry, April, but I already know my worth perfectly well. I just can't tell you about it.

Troublesome. Here she was, being so attentive — how was I supposed to smooth things over later when she found out and sulked?

I was starting to worry about wounding an innocent girl's feelings. Under the unrelenting barrage of her encouragement, all I could manage was an awkward, strained smile.

"Hmm... I see. You really are modest, little one. And confident, too. Perhaps I only burdened you with needless worry."

In the end, she gave up with a slight sulk. It seemed she'd been trying to encourage me and grow close, and my impenetrable wall had left her disappointed.

'Can't have things turning sour from the very start.'

I quickly grabbed her hand.

"N-no, really! I'm genuinely grateful just to have you talking to me like this."

"Hehe, are you? Well then — if you ever run into trouble down the line, come find me. You'll always be welcome."

"Thank you, unnie!"

'Phew... smooth save, me.'

But then, wiping the humor from her face, she looked at me again.

"By the way... Raebi. What did you mean earlier, when you said Vincent overexerted himself? Should I be worried?"

"Oh, that — well, there was a dungeon break in Egypt. I guess the news hasn't reached here yet?"

"No, I heard about that too. But Vincent isn't the sort to stand guard over commoners..."

"Ah, that's—"

Yikes. This was dangerous territory too.

Granted, her point was factually true, but give her one truth and the rest would come spilling out in an endless chain. No harm in being careful, so I decided to gloss over it.

"The situation just called for it. Anyway, he was really impressive, Vincent. Truly."

"Hmm... still, with the little one right there, there was no need to fight like that. He should have gotten you to safety first."

But April kept muttering on about something or other.

I'd thrown in one excuse after another as the conversation seemed to turn against Vincent, but she wasn't buying it. Her chief complaint was that he'd expended effort in Egypt — a matter outside the family's concerns entirely.

Yet even as I kept defending Vincent, the sparks flew somewhere else entirely: the embassy's slow response, the failure to safely evacuate a foreign noble, the Egyptian government's inadequate handling, and on and on.

She still wanted someone to protest to, someone to hold accountable — and she'd settled on the embassy.

Finally, worn down by the endless nitpicking, a flicker of irritation stirred in me.

'I appreciate the concern, but come ON—!'

...No. No, that's not fair.

She was only like this because she doted on the little one. I shouldn't resent her for it. At the end of the day, it came from a good place, didn't it?

Brainwashing myself thus, I added one more defense.

"The embassy did nothing wrong. The Ambassador stepped in and protected me personally."

"That's exactly my point. He shouldn't have just guarded you there — he should have taken you somewhere safe. Civil servants really are hopeless, aren't they? Utter fools."

Zap.

"Um, unnie—"

"A-anyway, you've been through so much, little one! Look how worn out you are, your poor face. It just breaks my heart..."

April pulled me into a tight hug. Sensing that trouble might brew later, I tried to press the point and settle it once and for all — but she kept stealing the conversation away, rubbing her cheek against mine.

...Ha. Would you look at that?

Now that I thought about it, it felt like she was deliberately ignoring my attempts to speak.

Something felt off. Even a fool could have sensed it.

She was picking a fight with me, right here and now. Her expression had been visibly sour ever since she started slagging off Lee Chang-jin — and pretending ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not to notice while "comforting" me? Did she think that passed for a convincing act?

'People can only take being treated like a sucker so far.'

Chime—

Chime—

...If I handled this wrong, things were about to get very ugly.

"Unnie."

"Mmm~?"

"Hey. You crazy bitch."