Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Interlude – A New Hope (2)
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“…Hey.”
Ha-eun’s gaze, cold as ice, fell upon Oh-jin.
She gestured toward Isabella with her chin, glaring at Oh-jin.
A silent gesture that seemed to say, *Go on, try to explain what the hell is going on*.
“It wasn't me.”
Oh-jin protested in a voice that sounded like he was the most wronged person in the world.
“Hmph.”
Ha-eun narrowed her eyes and turned her head toward Isabella.
“He says it wasn’t him.”
“Fufu. I suppose Mr. Oh-jin is just shy.”
Isabella shrugged, looking at Oh-jin with alluring eyes.
“You said it yourself, didn’t you, Mr. Oh-jin? That you would become my new hope.”
“…What does that have to do with being a maid?”
Surely, becoming my maid couldn't be her 'new hope'.
“Oh? But that *is* my new hope.”
So she does, goddammit.
“No, what do you mean…”
Oh-jin stared at Isabella, utterly bewildered.
Becoming his maid was her new hope?
This wasn't some cheap adult film; the plot twist was just too random.
“Fufu. I’m kidding.”
Isabella flashed a lovely eye-smile and strode toward Oh-jin.
Her wavy, platinum-blonde hair shimmered like a stream.
“Of course, I’m quite serious about moving into your house, Mr. Oh-jin.”
“Hah. This isn’t Oh-jin’s house. It’s registered in my name.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Ha-eun nodded boastfully.
“So you need to get my permission first, as the homeowner…”
“Speaking of which, you were the one who dropped a fireball on my mansion, weren’t you, Ms. Ha-eun?”
“Huh?”
A flustered expression crossed Ha-eun’s face.
“Y-Yeah? So what?”
“Oh, nothing. I just didn’t know much about the Stigma of the Dragon, but it seems far more powerful than I ever imagined.”
Isabella smiled brightly and continued in a gentle voice.
“The firepower was so immense that all the valuables and artworks inside the mansion were reduced to a pile of ash, you see.”
“Uh, uh, w-well, that’s.”
“Fufu. I know. You had no choice, as you were trying to help me, right?”
“R-Right!”
Ha-eun nodded her head frantically.
In truth, it was less about helping Isabella and more about unthinkingly dropping a fireball on Oh-jin’s command.
“As wealthy as the Colagrande family is, the losses this time are quite significant. At a low estimate, valuables worth at least one trillion won went up in smoke, so we’re in a bit of a predicament.”
“O-One trillion?”
Ha-eun’s jaw dropped.
One trillion won.
‘Just how much is that?’
Her mind went blank at a number she couldn’t even begin to imagine.
She had only ever seen figures in the billions, and even then, only in the news. This was the first time she’d heard such a sum in person.
No matter how much money an Awakened could make, earning in the trillions was no easy feat.
In fact, it was an impossible amount unless you were the head of a major guild or ran your own corporation.
‘So I… burned not billions, but a trillion?’
Ultimately, she had provided support fire to protect Isabella from Demian, so whether she burned billions or trillions, it wasn't her responsibility.
“S-So… sorry.”
The sheer scale of the number momentarily stunned her, and an apology slipped out of her mouth.
“Oh, if you feel that way, then I suppose you wouldn’t mind letting me borrow a room in your house until my mansion is rebuilt, would you?”
“Huh? W-Wait, that’s.”
“Of course, I know you were using your power to help me… but after turning my mansion into a pile of ashes, surely you wouldn’t deny me a single room, right?”
Isabella’s eyes gleamed as she shrewdly pressured Ha-eun.
“W-Well… I guess?”
“Thank you, Ms. Ha-eun. I won’t forget this kindness.”
It was clear why she held the real power in the Colagrande family.
With words that could hardly be called logic, she continued her one-sided gaslighting, yet with small gestures, a look in her eyes, and the tone of her voice, she masterfully manipulated Ha-eun.
“Well then, I’ll come in.”
Isabella slipped off her shoes as naturally as if she were in her own home and stepped inside.
She looked around the twenty-pyeong-or-so apartment and narrowed her eyes.
“It’s a bit small for three people to live in.”
*Snap.*
She snapped her fingers.
“Roberto.”
“You called.”
An elderly man in a neat butler’s uniform walked out from among the bodyguards wearing sunglasses.
“This is the 7th floor, right? Purchase all the units on this floor. No, it would be better to just buy the entire apartment building. I’ll give you a month. Pay a premium, whatever it takes, just buy it all.”
“Understood.”
Roberto bowed with a placid expression.
“W-Wait! What are you going to do after buying the building?”
“Hm? What do you mean? I’m going to renovate the interior to make the apartment a bit more spacious. It’s a little inconvenient for three people to live in this house, isn’t it?”
As Isabella said, it was true that living in an apartment of just over twenty pyeong was a bit cramped for three people.
“…If you want to expand, can’t you just buy the unit next door?”
“I just don’t like the idea of other people living in the same building as you, Mr. Oh-jin.”
Isabella said something completely absurd with a nonchalant expression.
“……”
Was she really going to buy an entire large residential-commercial complex for such a flimsy reason?
“O-Oh-jin, what is wrong with her?”
“I don’t know either.”
“She must’ve taken a shotgun to the head!”
“I think you’re being a bit harsh, sis.”
A shotgun? Seriously?
“Well… that’s one reason.”
Isabella continued in a calm voice.
“Because of what happened, Mr. Oh-jin and I have likely become targets of the Black Star Organization. It would be much safer to have bodyguards on standby in this apartment and turn it into a fortress of sorts.”
“Hmm. Well, that’s true.”
The Black Star Organization was indeed highly likely to target Isabella and Oh-jin, who were at the center of the incident.
While calling it a fortress might be an exaggeration, it was a good idea to have some preparations in place.
“Then I can use this room, right?”
Isabella slightly opened the door to the room they were using for storage.
Though it was a storage room, it wasn't particularly cluttered.
Just a few clothes and some simple daily necessities.
*Snap.*
Isabella flicked her fingers lightly, and the bodyguards waiting in the hallway swarmed into the house and began to unpack her luggage.
Perhaps because each of them was an Awakened with a transcendent physique.
Unpacking and decorating the room with a luxurious interior befitting Isabella took less than ten minutes.
“It is done, my lady.”
“Good work. You may leave now.”
Isabella nodded with satisfaction.
The bodyguards who had swarmed in now swarmed back out.
It felt as if a giant wave had washed in and then receded.
It was Isabella who broke the awkward silence that had settled in the house.
“Has everyone eaten?”
“No, not yet.”
Ha-eun opened the delivery app on her smartphone with an ‘oops’ expression.
“We’re ordering in. What do you want to eat?”
“…Delivery?”
“Yup.”
“Are you saying you’re letting Mr. Oh-jin put such unhealthy food like delivery in his mouth?”
Isabella frowned as if she had heard the most preposterous thing.
Ha-eun nodded with a bewildered look.
“Hah. Really… I didn’t see you that way, Ms. Ha-eun. I’m a little disappointed.”
“B-But Oh-jin likes delivery food…”
“Isn’t that just because you can’t cook, Ms. Ha-eun?”
“Gasp.”
Ha-eun was speechless, as if struck by the truth.
As if she knew this would happen, Isabella took out fresh ingredients stored in an icebox from a trunk she had brought.
“I’ll whip something up right away, so please wait a moment.”
Isabella went to the kitchen and began to cook in no time.
“Oh-jin…”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Do you really like delivery food because I’m a bad cook?”
Spot on.
“Nah, Isabella just doesn’t know the quality of Korean delivery food.”
“Right? It’s not because I’m a bad cook, right?”
“Of course not. The food you make is delicious, too.”
Comforting the dejected Ha-eun, he glanced back at Isabella.
‘Still, she’s gotten a lot better.’
Recalling her tears when she killed Paolo, her recovery was remarkably fast.
Oh-jin watched Isabella’s back with a faint smile.
“Alright, dinner is ready!”
Isabella placed the dishes on the table.
It was a very traditional Korean meal of japchae, pajeon, and sundubu-jjigae.
“I’ve practiced a lot of Korean dishes in the meantime. Please, have a taste.”
Isabella quickly sat down next to Oh-jin and spoke with a confident voice.
“I’ll dig in.”
Her confidence wasn't misplaced; the food she made was excellent, tasting as if it came from a traditional Korean restaurant.
“…This is such a broken fucking game. A rich, busty bitch who can also cook… what am I supposed to do?”
From the opposite seat, he could hear Ha-eun grumbling and complaining.
[By the way.]
Vega, who had been sitting on Oh-jin’s head quietly observing Isabella, slowly flew up.
[I heard that you were an Executor of the Black Star Organization.]
*Flinch.*
Isabella’s shoulders trembled slightly.
“That’s right.”
[Hmm. I have heard of your circumstances from my child.]
“…My child?”
Isabella tilted her head, thinking Vega’s choice of words was strange.
Right, Isabella didn't know that Vega was a Constellation.
[I am the Constellation of Lyra, Vega.]
“What? Y-You were a Constellation, not a guardian spirit?”
Isabella’s eyes widened as she looked at Oh-jin.
Oh-jin gave a slight nod.
“I didn’t know a Constellation could manifest directly on Earth.”
“It’s possible because Vega is the Constellation of the North Star.”
Isabella stared at Vega in amazement.
Vega crossed her arms, looked up at Isabella, and began to speak.
[Your circumstances are pitiful, but it is still vexing that you have deceived my child all this time.]
“I’m sorry.”
[You must atone for this.]
“Of course.”
Isabella pulled on Oh-jin’s arm, her eyes filled with firm resolve.
“I will spend the rest of my life asking for Mr. Oh-jin’s forgiveness.”
[Hmm? No, there is no need to go that far.]
Isabella clung to Oh-jin and rested her head on his shoulder.
“I will devote my body and soul to Mr. Oh-jin.”
[S-Stop! Stop atoning!]
Vega shook her head with a flustered expression.
“Hah. I had a feeling it would turn out like this.”
Ha-eun sighed and shot a glare at Oh-jin.
*Thwack.*
She kicked him in the shin under the table.
Oh-jin lowered his head as if he had no excuse.
* * *
After the meal.
While Ha-eun and Vega were cleaning up, Oh-jin helped Isabella with the rest of her unpacking in her room.
“…Why did you bring a maid outfit?”
Oh-jin asked, pulling a black maid outfit from a trunk and looking at Isabella.
Isabella smiled brightly and held up the maid outfit.
“I told you, didn’t I? From now on, I will be Mr. Oh-jin’s personal maid.”
“You said you were kidding.”
“Fufu. Who knows? Was I really kidding?”
Isabella gave a mischievous smile and wrapped her arms around Oh-jin’s.
“If you want me to… I could really become your maid, you know?”
Isabella, holding his arm, whispered in an alluring voice next to his ear.
While Oh-jin hesitated, unsure how to respond.
“By the way, Mr. Oh-jin. Did you enjoy your meal?”
“Ah, yes. It was delicious.”
“Then… I suppose it’s time for me to have my meal.”
She lightly caressed the nape of his neck and licked her lips.
“May I have a taste of my master?”
Huh?
Me?