15. The Choice of Betrayal (1)
15. The Choice of Betrayal (1)
In the hair-trigger situation, the one who backed down first was Dong Zhuo.
Thanks to Dong Zhuo backing down first,
the situation that looked like it would lead to a direct clash at the Imperial Palace fortunately did not happen.
I plan to entice Lu Bu.
By the order of Li Ru, the military advisor of the Dong Zhuo army, they will send Li Su, who is from Wuyuan Commandery and a fellow hometown native of Lu Bu, to persuade her to collude.
"What would you do if I said to betray Ding Yuan and side with Dong Zhuo?"
I asked Lu Bu.
At that, Lu Bu retorted, asking what kind of nonsense I was spouting.
"That hairy pig wants me?"
"Yeah."
"I mean, it's hard to find a human being worse than Ding Yuan, but that guy Dong Zhuo seems like he's on the same level of 'birds of a feather'."
Does this mean that even if she's ignorant, she has a good eye for people?
I nodded at Lu Bu's words. Just as she said, Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo are guys who can be seen as a package set of human scum, one just as bad as the other.
Ding Yuan, who disguised himself as Black Mountain Bandits to attack civilians.
And Dong Zhuo, the great traitor of the Han Dynasty who will one day be recorded as one of the Mang Zhuo Cao Yi (Four Great Usurpers).
Of all the lords to choose...
Why do such shit-fly humans swarm around? At this point, isn't there room for extenuating circumstances for Lu Bu?
"Then, does Colonel-nim's words mean that we have to choose between the two of them?"
Zhang Liao, who was listening from behind, asked.
She seemed to have subtly realized that success and survival depended on which one we chose between Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan, who were both rampant in Luoyang.
"Dong Zhuo wins."
Lu Bu said.
If those two fight, Dong Zhuo will win. Lu Bu realized that with her excellent intuition.
"A secret envoy from the Dong Zhuo army will be here soon. Shall we make a bet on who comes? If I guess right, let me touch those huge breasts."
"Do you want to die?"
Obviously not.
At Lu Bu's sharp, chilling words, I withdrew my two hands that had been fidgeting.
When will I be able to touch those breasts?
The armor she wore had a design with a very high level of exposure, so her underboob was clearly visible.
What on earth is this armor for?
A desire to put my hands between her breasts squirmed within me.
"Then, will Colonel-nim also choose the Dong Zhuo side, just like Bong-seon-nim?"
"For now, yes. Though I have no intention of swearing complete loyalty to Dong Zhuo."
Betray Ding Yuan and enter under Dong Zhuo's command.
As of now, that is the best option.
For us, who have no connections to any region, the only way to succeed is to bow our heads under Dong Zhuo and then stab him in the back.
'The problem is this girl. It's impossible for her to enter as a general under other lords. Her 'Rebellious Bone' skill will unconditionally activate and she'll end up betraying them. No matter what I say, she'll end up being a traitor.'
Entering under Dong Zhuo is because of Lu Bu.
The Rebellious Bone skill she possesses.
Since it wasn't something that could be suppressed just by trying to suppress it, she couldn't enter under any lord.
Entering under Dong Zhuo is to betray him someday. If it's a relationship like that, a honey-mouthed sword-in-belly, it might be possible to suppress Lu Bu's rebellious nature to some extent.
"But it's really strange."
"What is?"
Lu Bu asked back at my words.
At her words, I explained the doubt that had found its way into my heart.
"I think it was just going with the flow until now, but... at some point, I started following you. If you really look at it, my rank is much higher than yours, you know."
Lu Bu is nothing more than a Zhi Jin Wu of the frontier.
In contrast, I am a Gate Guard Colonel who manages the 12 gates of Luoyang. Even if you compare the scale of our salaries, I am so much higher that it's not even comparable.
Besides...
Is there any reason for me to necessarily follow Lu Bu?
When considering the survival difficulty,
it is a wise decision to follow Colonel of the Vanguard Cao Cao, who seems to have some level of affection for me.
The one who becomes the hegemon of the Central Plains is Cao Cao.
In contrast, Lu Bu was nothing more than a defeated lord who lost in the battle for Yan Province and eventually lost her life at Xiapi Castle in Xuzhou.
"I do have thoughts that maybe I've fallen for you."
I said, staring intently at Lu Bu's face.
At the direct confession, Lu Bu's face turned as bright red as the armor she was wearing.
"My, how bold."
Zhang Liao, who was watching, covered her mouth with her hand.
Hearing the bold confession, she seemed to feel embarrassed herself.
"W-w-w-what...?! You've fallen for me?"
Zero dating experience.
It seemed to have come as a huge shock to Lu Bu, who had only subordinates as men around her.
I had inadvertently thrown a confession-like remark at her.
The reason I said something like this was...
Because no matter how much I thought about it, there was no reason for me to follow Lu Bu. I started to think that maybe I had chosen Lu Bu because I was swept up in my emotions.
'Why are you so flustered just because I expressed a little affection?'
It's not like I've been with her for a long time.
But looking at her shitty personality, a Buddha-like man who would date this woman probably doesn't exist.
"Y-you have an eye for things, don't you...? I may be strong, but I'm not someone who would lose to anyone in terms of beauty either. Perhaps I might be the greatest beauty in this Han Dynasty. Yes, that's right!"
She boasted about herself to the fullest.
She had always felt confident in her martial arts skills, but it seems she also had confidence in her appearance.
Is she trying to cover up her embarrassment?
I couldn't help but burst into a chuckle at the cuteness that didn't fit a woman called Unrivaled Under Heaven.
"Remember that. I'm writing my name down as your number one candidate for a husband."
"Are you trying to be my husband just because you showed a little affection? I'm not that cheap. At the very least, you should try to woo me with a bit more atmosphere."
She turned her head with her face flushed red.
She was twitching the corners of her mouth, as if she didn't hate it entirely. Judging by the fact that her cheek seemed to be having a spasm, she seemed to be trying hard to hold back a smile.
Anyway, she's an easy one to read.
Seeing Lu Bu's simple reaction, I came to think that I could probably follow her a bit more in the future.
"Then, shall I kill Ding Yuan?"
I asked Lu Bu.
When Ding Yuan's name came up, Lu Bu hardened her expression completely and said.
"I will kill him, definitely. It has to be me. Thinking about how I've been insulted and rolled around penniless under that bastard until now, I still get so angry."
Ding Yuan was Lu Bu's foster father.
However, she didn't seem to think of him as a foster father anymore.
Rather, she thought of him as an enemy.
An enemy she wants to kill with her own hands if the opportunity arises.
What happened between her and Ding Yuan,
as someone who is strictly speaking closer to an outsider, I have no way of knowing. But if she wants to kill Ding Yuan, I will accept it.
"But you won't be able to avoid the stigma of having killed your foster father. That's also why I said it would be better if I killed him."
The Han Dynasty is a nation of Confucian thought centered on Benevolence and Righteousness.
Even if he is a foster father, a father is a father.
If she kills Ding Yuan, Lu Bu will be labeled as an immoral child who killed her father, and one day she will have the insult of being a person with three fathers attached to her like a tag.
I am worried about that.
In the future, she will be recorded as the representative of immoral children to the point where she will be given the derogatory nickname 'Daddy Chosen' by people of the 21st century.
"Bong-seon-nim, it clearly seems that Colonel-nim's words have merit. However, since I cannot burden Colonel-nim with such a heavy load, I, this Jang Mun-won, will... handle Ding Yuan instead."
Zhang Liao made an expression of firm determination.
She made a bold decision for Lu Bu.
She would become a subordinate who stabs her master in the back. In other words, Zhang Liao had decided to become the symbol of betrayal on behalf of Lu Bu.
We'll take care of it instead.
When I and Zhang Liao said that in unison, Lu Bu glared at both of us with a menacing expression.
"I know both of you are doing this for me, okay? But Ding Yuan is mine! I won't give him to anyone. If you try to treat me like a child, I won't let it slide, not for you, and not even for you, Jang Mun-won... Remember that clearly."
Lu Bu gritted her teeth.
She had decided that she would execute Ding Yuan, her foster father.
Never raise an objection.
Don't try to coddle me like a child.
Lu Bu's red eyes are saying that.
At the eyes filled with murderous intent like a malevolent spirit, I and Zhang Liao had no choice but to nod reluctantly.
"Alright. But can I take care of the ones under him?"
I asked Lu Bu.
Then Lu Bu nodded.
"Do as you please. I'll leave the underlings to you."
"Is this the best option after all..."
I muttered while shrugging my shoulders.
At that, Lu Bu tried to relax her hardened expression and gave a bitter smile.
"I'm an ignorant bitch, so I don't really know what the 'best' is. I've just fought blindly to survive. Surely, what I'm trying to do now must be a foolish act that is very far from the best."
After catching her breath for a moment,
Lu Bu opened her mouth to continue.
"But even so... because I think I'll regret it greatly someday if I don't act as this heart tells me to, that's why I'm doing it even though I know it's foolish."
She placed her fist on her chest.
As if to speak of her own noble will,
Lu Bu revealed her resolution to execute her foster father with a more serious expression than ever before.
"I can't stop you, really. How are you planning to get married? Though I'll take you, of course."
"Shut up. Don't jump to conclusions. I told you I'm not that easy of a woman."
I honestly revealed my feelings to Lu Bu.
Keeping things bottled up inside doesn't suit my temperament.
I just said that I had fallen for her from the first time I saw her, that I had fallen for her appearance of being afraid that people around her might get hurt, even while having a boisterous and fierce personality.]
"But why are you suddenly saying you've fallen for me?"
"Men are originally like that. They fall for someone easily and love easily. More than half of the countless worries and problems of men are related to women. What would a man's life be without a woman?"
Men are sad yet simple creatures.
Once they meet a woman they love, they blindly convey their feelings and court her.
Even if the result is ruin,
they do not feel fear in acting according to their hearts.
"If you want to marry me, first succeed. Someday, I will be called Unrivaled Under Heaven. Then shouldn't you also become a status worthy of that?"
An astonishing answer.
It's true that there is a difference in status, but wouldn't I be higher?
Is she so stupid that she even forgot the salary rank order?
Well, there's no way this girl would understand the Han Dynasty official rank chart, though.
"I'm already a Gate Guard Colonel! My salary alone is 2,000 shi, 2,000 shi! Do you know that's more than 10 times your income?"
"S-shut up! I'm going to succeed even bigger in the future, so it doesn't matter! Just you wait, I'll rise to a position so high that it can't even be compared to something like a Gate Guard Colonel!"
Lu Bu said as if asserting.
While telling me her pledge, she revealed her ambition that she would definitely become that someday.
I nodded at those words.
Of course, the woman I fell for should be at least that much. It wouldn't really matter if I fed and supported her, but a full-time housewife Lu Bu? I dare not even imagine it.
"Bong-seon-nim."
Cheng Lian, who was standing guard, approached.
He delivered the news that someone had come from outside.
"They said it's a friend from their hometown?"
"What are you talking about? You know I don't have friends."
"Yes, of course I know that, but..."
With such a shitty personality, where would she have friends?
Perhaps because he was frequently nagged by Lu Bu, Cheng Lian answered with excessive honesty.