The Master of the Mansion

"No... seriously, when are they going to give me the money?" I muttered, sighing as I refreshed the Pornhub page for the umpteenth time. My identity verification was still stuck on Pending. I was getting sick of this endless waiting. If this were a Korean company, I would’ve burned their headquarters to the ground by now, but since it was a foreign corporation, there was nothing I could do. I’d earned seventy million won in a month, but it was pure torture to have that much money right in front of me and not be able to withdraw it.

"Ugh! This is so frustrating!"

"Oppa, please don't be so angry."

Charles, who had been sweetly performing oral sex under the covers, crawled up. She rested her head on my arm and kissed my cheeks, trying to soothe me. "Besides, you're getting allowance from Yuda-nuna, aren't you? That's enough for living expenses, right?"

Lately, Yuda-nuna had been giving us about three million won a month. Since she made good money from her tattoo work, it probably wasn't a burden for her, but I hated taking the money! Having sex while taking money from her... it felt like it was drying up the relationship between Yuda-nuna and us. We should just be able to have a 3P because we like each other! I want to have sex without taking money! Am I a gigolo? Huh?

Unfortunately, Pornhub kept messing up our plans. With them delaying the withdrawal over and over, my dream of financial independence was fading away. I muttered to myself while sending a complaint email to Pornhub. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠"If the money doesn't come in by the end of this month, I'm seriously going to fly to America."

I was about to turn off my phone, grumbling, when a Pornhub message suddenly pinged. The DM window flickered.

'What now? Does another subscriber want some weird-concept sex?'

The armpit sex video from last time had been too niche, and the comment section was a disaster. People were up in arms, asking what kind of crazy bastard requested that. To appease the public, I’d decided the next video would be hardcore. I hadn't revealed the concept yet, but I’d teased that it would be a hardcore video they’d like, and the comments had filled with guesses instead of criticism. Success in diverting their attention!

The plan for the next video was a scene involving an outdoor enema followed by the loss of an anal virginity. So, the next video was already decided—but what could this DM be requesting? I opened the message, thinking that if it was a decent idea, I’d produce it.

What? I rubbed my eyes, but the content didn't change. My heart suddenly started pounding. Templars? How did they know Charles was a succubus? Sweat trickled down my back. Charles noticed my expression and asked, "Oppa, are you okay?"

My hands trembling, I held out the phone. "Charles, look at this..."

When she saw the word Templars, Charles's face turned deathly pale. "W-wait a minute. The Templars? Do they still exist?"

At first, I hadn't believed Charles when she mentioned the Templars. I thought things like witch hunts and the Knights Templar were stories of the past. "Charles, that all disappeared a long time ago."

"I don't believe you!"

Charles hadn't believed me either. It was only after she read books on the Crusades, witches, exorcism, and the occult in the library, and looked through all the related materials, that she finally conceded. "They really are gone. It's just like you said, Oppa. Besides, these days people dress up as witches for fun! And with movies coming out about mysticism and demons, how could the Templars possibly still be around?"

So, Charles had been at ease. But for a Pornhub account to suddenly bring up the Templars? Who was this guy? I sent a reply first.

Only the "read" receipt appeared, and there was no response for over a minute. Anxious, I sent another message.

Then, a hesitant reply came back.

An address appeared. A mountain valley in Gangwon-do. It was over 170 kilometers away.

But the reply that came back was even more terrifying.

Sweat poured down my back even more. The Templars monitor packets? They could steal a look at this conversation? If someone had said that two months ago, I would have treated them like a conspiracy-theory-obsessed lunatic. But after meeting a succubus, my common sense had been quite twisted. And now, hearing from someone who had correctly identified a succubus that the Templars were spying on my messages... I felt a chill run down my spine.

Are they reading this message, too? What should I do? Should I say I'll go and listen? As I hesitated, Charles shook her head, overcome with fear. "Don't go, Oppa. It could be a trap."

She was right. A cold dread washed over me. What if I went blindly and ended up being dragged off to some place like the Vatican's basement? I needed a reliable guarantee.

I heard a tap, tap sound at the window. Is it raining? But that wasn't important. I needed to hear more from this person. The tapping sound grew louder. Then, a message arrived.

We looked at the window in surprise. A giant black raven was staring into the house. Ominous black feathers and black eyes. But there was something strange about its body. The raven had a leather bag strapped to its back. It looked like a carrier pigeon. I stood there blankly, walked to the window, and checked. There were only rooks outside the window, and no one was watching our house. When I hesitated and opened the window, the raven politely bowed its head and held out the leather bag.

"W-what is this...?"

"I think it's a familiar, Oppa. Open the bag."

Inside the bag was a rolled-up piece of parchment. Charles picked it up and was shocked. "T-this... it's a contract? I can feel magic!"

We unfolded the parchment and read the contents. It was written in elegant Korean.

And below, two signature lines for Charles and me. Park Sang-yeon. Is he Korean? Suspecting many things, I examined the contents of the contract. Honestly, it was an incredibly unconventional offer. Doubting if it was fake, I asked Charles, "What do you think, Charles? Can we trust this?"

"There's no wordplay. It's simple. I can feel the magic, so it's a formal contract. I think we can be at ease with this..."

If Charles was right, after we signed this, that person couldn't harm us. I typed a reply.

I wanted to go as soon as possible. Hearing about the Templars made me feel like I was suffocating. I wanted to know what on earth he was going to say. I asked Charles, "Charles, do you have any plans?"

"No. Yuda-unni seems busy because she has a lot of work she put off."

Yuda-nuna was paying the price for putting off work to go on vacation. Young-sun-nuna only saw us on weekends for our twice-a-week sex. So, it seemed right to go right now. Every second counted.

And he went offline. His tone was kind, but I didn't trust him. I calmly said to Charles, "Charles, pack your bags. We need to go to Gangwon-do."

"Okay."

Charles quickly packed her things into my bag. She put on a white dress and prepared quickly. I got ready too, and we left the house in five minutes.

"...Are you okay?"

Charles kept looking around outside the house, as if to check if someone was following her. I held her hand tightly. "Don't worry, Charles. It'll be okay."

Honestly, I was anxious too. But since Charles was this scared, I couldn't show it. I could feel her trembling with anxiety. We caught a taxi and headed to the Seoul Bus Terminal. In the taxi, Charles clung to my side. Her voice was filled with worry, asking what we should do. I kept soothing her, telling her it would be fine, and we got off at the terminal.

Ten minutes until the bus departed. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But Charles couldn't regain her energy at all. Sweets are best when you're depressed. When I put a bag of Deli Manjoo in her hands, she looked up at me with concern. Normally, she would have loved it. To see her react like this... her worries must be deep. I sat next to Charles and comforted her slowly. "Charles. Don't worry too much. Since we signed the contract, he can't harm us, and he said the meeting would be beneficial, right? And the Templars haven't even found us yet. Don't worry."

At that, she teared up and hugged me. "Oppa... I'm really scared."

Charles was, at most, a twenty-year-old succubus. It was difficult for her to deal with people who popped out of these conspiracy theories. I patted Charles and muttered, "It's okay. If anything happens, I'll block it all. I won't let you be anxious alone."

My girlfriend, Charles. I wouldn't let the Templars hurt her as they pleased. Besides, Charles hadn't done anything wrong! Anger surged within me. I didn't know what they were planning to do to a succubus who just wanted to live a normal life, but if they wanted to hurt Charles, they'd have to step over my dead body! I steeled my resolve and got on the bus.

While heading to the Gangwon-do terminal, Charles only managed to pick up two Deli Manjoo before stopping. 'Damn... she really must be distressed.'

Nothing happened until we reached the bus terminal. When we arrived and tried to catch ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a taxi, the driver frowned at the address we handed him. "Here? It's deep in the mountains. I don't think I'll be able to pick up any passengers on my way back."

"Are you not going? If you're not, I'll take another taxi."

"No, it's not that..."

The taxi driver smacked his lips and just let us in. It was a distance that would cost almost 80,000 won, so it would be a shame to give up. We drove along the winding mountain roads. Had we driven almost 40 kilometers? When we reached the end of the road, the taxi stopped and let us off. As I handed him 80,000 won, he handed me a business card. "Call me when you're coming back out from here!"

The taxi left, and we examined the end of the road.

"What... is this?"

To be honest, it was a mansion so large it was strange for it to be in a backwater of Gangwon-do. A huge iron-barred gate. A well-manicured lawn visible inside the bars. Three buildings. A stone path laid out along the center. I was staring blankly at the mansion, which looked like something out of The Great Gatsby, when the intercom suddenly clicked.

And the iron gate creaked open.

"...What do we do?"

"We have no choice but to trust the contract and go."

We had no choice but to hold each other's hands in fear and move forward along the path inside. Who on earth was the owner of this house, and what kind of person were they to build a mansion in Gangwon-do and hide away here?