The Unlucky Heroine Ends Up Living with the Fraudulent Protagonist (1)

"So? Who's going to explain?" ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sosia asked Ju Joyeon and Arty as she walked down the slope toward the emergency room, unwilling to waste any more time than necessary.

"...This woman picked a fight with me." Ju Joyeon spoke first. It looked a bit like tattling after a fight with a friend, but he figured if he stayed quiet, Sosia probably wouldn't take his side.

"I did not pick a fight! If anything, he said something awful to me! He called me a crazy bitch!"

"Hey! When did I ever call you—"

"Enough." At Sosia's low, commanding tone, both Ju Joyeon and Arty immediately shut their mouths.

Sosia decided she wouldn't get a proper explanation from either of them and turned to Tiasia standing beside Ju Joyeon.

"Lara, you'll give me an objective account, won't you? Even if he is your master."

At Sosia's question, Tiasia wore a troubled expression as she recounted what she had seen as objectively as possible.

"...While Master was speaking with his other followers, this woman mistakenly believed he was interested in her and confessed to him. When he rejected her, Master, flustered, said 'What a crazy woman,' and that's when the argument started... I believe both sides simply misunderstood the situation."

Having roughly grasped the situation from Tiasia's explanation, Sosia ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stared at Ju Joyeon and Arty with an incredulous look.

"Please. You two are adults now. Were you really screaming and fighting over something so trivial?"

"I was seriously just lost in thought—"

"Ju Joyeon."

"...Yes, ma'am."

"Mom?"

Under Sosia's intense gaze, Ju Joyeon completely deflated. Arty's eyes widened in shock as she realized the relationship between them.

"Come to think of it, I haven't introduced you yet. Arty, this is my son, Ju Joyeon."

"B-but Saintess, I thought your son had passed away..."

"Apparently he was off playing somewhere else for three months. The nerve."

"I was captured—"

Zap!

"I was playing around..."

-Master really can't do anything when his mother is around.

'What choice do I have? She's been ridiculously strict with me since I was little. It's practically trauma...'

"And this is Arty. From what Lara said, it seems like a mutual misunderstanding led to this situation. Introduce yourselves properly and apologize, then put it behind you."

'...I didn't actually do anything wrong, though.'

Ju Joyeon wore a deeply dissatisfied expression at Sosia's words. Arty looked much the same.

-Master, since things have come to this, why not apologize first and show your generous nature?

-Waiting for the other party to apologize first isn't a good look.

-Distinguishing between public and private matters is important, but in situations like this, making the first move is better.

-Given their apparent closeness to your mother, maintaining a good relationship for the future would be wise!

'...I know that already.'

"I'm Ju Joyeon. Twenty years old."

-You should add a bit of praise as well.

"...If it were you, bugs would probably swarm around all the time, so I can see how you might have mistaken me for being lost in thought. Sorry for calling you a crazy woman."

Ju Joyeon added whatever came to mind after Kan's suggestion.

-70 points. She seems to prefer more direct statements.

-90 points. Considering the lingering bad feelings between you two, this is excellent.

-Hmm~ Since you avoided being too blunt on your first meeting and combined praise with an apology~ I'll give it 85 points!

'Stop seriously scoring this.'

After scolding his followers, Ju Joyeon extended his hand toward Arty. Since he had apologized first, Arty's mood seemed to improve somewhat, and she took his hand without further resistance.

"I'm sorry too. My name is Arty Stria Jewel Heroine. I'm also twenty."

'Arty... what was it again? Was that her name?'

-Master!

'She said Arty Stria Jewel Heroine. She has three middle names! You know you absolutely cannot mess up someone's name, right? Now, repeat after me. Arty Stria Jewel Heroine.'

May, who had memorized the difficult name in one go, kept repeating it to Ju Joyeon, warning him never to get it wrong.

"Arty Stria Jewel Heroine."

When Ju Joyeon recited her full name without difficulty, Arty looked surprised. Though he had only managed it thanks to May's help, Ju Joyeon puffed up a little and shrugged.

"I'm good at remembering names."

"Huuung— Call me whatever you want. I'll just call you Joyeon."

"Suit yourself."

Their first impressions had been terrible, but thanks to Sosia's mediation and Ju Joyeon's initial apology, they managed to return to a somewhat normal relationship. Thinking the introductions and apologies were over, Ju Joyeon and Arty let go of each other's hands.

Thud-thud-thud...

A bad sound came from behind them.

"W-watch out!!!"

A scream followed immediately after.

The group, who had been walking down the slope, turned around. A patient gurney loaded with heavy supplies was barreling down the hill like a runaway horse.

Sosia quickly grabbed Arty and Ju Joyeon, trying to pull them out of the way, but the gurney's erratic bouncing made its path impossible to predict. Trying to stop it with force would be dangerous enough to land them in a coffin rather than on the gurney itself.

"Lara."

"Yes."

But Tiasia could easily withstand the impact and stop the gurney. At Ju Joyeon's call, Tiasia dashed toward it.

Crash!

When Tiasia grabbed the gurney's railing with all her strength, the metal bent to the shape of her hands and came to a halt.

Ting!!

Unable to withstand the sudden stop, five or six syringes flew off and shot straight toward Ju Joyeon and the others.

"Ah! Oh no!"

Tiasia had assumed the gurney would stop, so Ju Joyeon, who hadn't moved, now faced syringes flying at him at tremendous speed.

"Whoa."

As the sharp projectiles came flying, Ju Joyeon instinctively ducked.

Ting-ting.

Because the objects were small compared to their speed, the syringes were easily blocked by Bone Armor.

"Th-that was close..."

"M-Master...! I'm so sorry! This isn't the first time, and yet I failed to protect you again even though I was right beside you...!"

"It's fine, it's fine. Don't worry about it. It's not like these were situations anyone could have prepared for."

Ju Joyeon picked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up the bent syringes from the ground and handed them to the flustered Tiasia rushing over. He then told her to warn whoever had lost the gurney before returning to Sosia and Arty.

"You've got terrible luck today. Be careful too, Mom. This place seems to have a serious lack of safety awareness. Flower pots falling, people moving heavy gurneys alone like that... If it weren't for me, someone would've been seriously hurt."

Ju Joyeon expressed concern while subtly emphasizing that everyone was safe thanks to him. Sosia half-listened, her gaze fixed on the Bone Armor still floating in the air.

"What is that?"

"Huh? Oh... it's one of the spells I mentioned earlier this afternoon."

"Did you activate it yourself?"

"No. It activates automatically when I'm in danger. Without it, I would've died—well, gotten pretty hurt."

"How sturdy is it?"

"How sturdy? Hmm, it depends on my mana. If I used all my mana... maybe it could withstand a punch from Lara?"

He gave a rough estimate since he'd never properly tested it.

"Arty."

"Y-yes?"

"From now on, stay with Joyeon."

"......"

"What? Why me?"

Arty had somewhat expected this and kept her mouth shut, but Ju Joyeon was the one who looked shocked.

"You said you had bad luck today, right?"

"Yeah. My luck's usually pretty bad, but today was especially rough."

"Do you see the bandages all over Arty's body?"

"Yeah, I was going to ask about that... Huh? Wounds... wounds?"

Ju Joyeon stared blankly at the bandages covering Arty's entire body before shaking his head seriously.

"No, even with bad luck, this is too much. You want me to stay with her just because she's unlucky?"

"Yes."

"Her luck might improve a little! Maybe from now on—"

"It's her title. You have one too, don't you? Arty has a title that makes her unlucky. Her luck isn't going to get better."

At Sosia's words, Ju Joyeon gaped, his face twisting. Until now, he'd thought titles only had beneficial or meaningless effects.

"A title that makes her unlucky? Something like that actually exists?"

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

"Are you saying your mother is lying?"

"No, it's just... it's hard to believe... Honestly, without seeing it myself, how could I believe someone's luck gets worse—"

"I saw it. I checked Arty's status window. That settles it, right?"

At Sosia's mention of seeing Arty's status window, Ju Joyeon's gaze shifted to Arty.

"Then show me too."

"Ha? No way. Why should I?"

"Why'd you show Mom but not me?"

"Is the Saintess the same as you? I'd never show it to someone like you."

"Gah! Then I won't ever show you mine either—"

Zap!

"...What kind of nonsense is this!!"

****

In the end, following Sosia's orders, Ju Joyeon was assigned as Arty's bodyguard to protect her from her unlucky situations.

"Damn it... Why did I even come here... I should've just gone to remove my shackles. I should've gone on some heart-pounding adventure in the magic world instead."

Even as he followed Sosia down to the emergency room, Ju Joyeon kept grumbling about the already-decided matter. Arty, annoyed by his obvious reluctance to be her bodyguard, shot him a glare.

"Hey. Why do you hate it so much? Is being my bodyguard really that awful?"

"Isn't it obvious? Who'd be happy about becoming your lackey?"

"A bodyguard for someone as stunningly beautiful as me? It's a job worthy of kneeling in gratitude. Plenty of people have tried to protect me until now, but they were all incompetent. You're the first to actually get the position."

"Beauty or not, what does that matter?"

"...Are you gay?"

"You crazy— What kind of nonsense is that?! How does that even follow?!"

Remembering that Sosia was nearby, Ju Joyeon swallowed the curse that nearly escaped and rephrased it as politely as possible. Arty looked at him skeptically.

"Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? Everyone knows I'm an unparalleled beauty. You admitted it yourself. And yet you'd hate being stuck right next to a woman like me? To protect me, you'd have to stay glued to my side. I even gave you permission to get that close. But you still hate it? If that's not being gay, then what—"

"It's not! I like women in a perfectly normal way!"

"Then why do you hate it?! It's weird!"

"Why are you getting angry?!"

"Because it pisses me off! Why do you hate protecting me?!"

At Arty's outburst, Ju Joyeon looked at Sosia and Tiasia with a dumbfounded expression. Neither of them reacted particularly. They seemed to understand her behavior.

'No, I just said I didn't like her, so why is she acting like this?!'

Eventually, Ju Joyeon had no choice but to ask his other followers for help. May answered as if she'd been waiting for the question.

-Miss Arty is exceptionally beautiful. Anyone can see that. It's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠natural for her pride to be scratched. And if you act like you find it repulsive, of course she'd feel bad as the one being protected.

'That's supposed to be natural?'

-That's why Mother and Tiasia aren't saying anything.

-Master, your behavior lacks basic manners. No matter how unpleasant the task, you shouldn't express it so openly in front of the person involved.

Even Jack joined May in scolding him. With everyone except himself pointing out that his actions were wrong, Ju Joyeon couldn't argue back.

"....Gah!"

But Ju Joyeon was a man who could calculate and separate public from private matters.

"Fine. Listen carefully. I'm not gay. I'm a perfectly normal guy who likes pretty girls."

"Then—"

"Listen! Let me finish! I know my own limits very well, okay?"

"...?"

"In other words, there's zero chance of me ever dating a girl like you. Got it? I don't treat women I could never date as women. That's my principle."

Arty looked as if she'd been struck by a hammer. She stammered, seeking confirmation.

"...So you're saying I'm too beautiful, so you won't even treat me as a woman?"

"Yeah! Feel better now?! I'm leaving! Lara! You protect this woman!"

"Huh? M-Master?!"

Ju Joyeon sprinted toward the emergency room, which they had nearly reached. Tiasia started to chase after him in a panic, but realizing she couldn't leave Arty alone lest she get hurt again, she reluctantly stayed by her side.

Sosia approached Arty, who was staring at Ju Joyeon's retreating figure with an incredulous expression.

"That child really does live a difficult life. Try to understand. He's a rather unique boy."

"...I don't think 'a little' covers it."

"It can't be helped. His friends were all exceptionally good-looking. Look at this."

Sosia showed Arty her phone. It was a photo of Ju Joyeon with his childhood friends, Nam Juin and Han Yeoju.

Arty's eyes widened in surprise. Even to her, Nam Juin and Han Yeoju were extraordinarily handsome and beautiful.

"...He said his friends were really pretty, and he wasn't lying."

"Those two are the best-looking, but they're not the only ones. For some reason, everyone around him seems to be on another level. It's not quite an inferiority complex, but... he's always thought he doesn't belong with them."

"...This isn't meant as comfort, but I don't think Joyeon is that unattractive."

"Of course not. Whose son is he?"

Sosia fiddled with her phone again before showing Arty another photo. It was a man who resembled Ju Joyeon but looked older, smiling with narrowed eyes as he trained soldiers in uniform. Ju Yeon.

"That's his father."

"...The Saintess's husband?"

"Yes. Joyeon takes after me a bit, but since he's that man's son, he isn't ugly."

When Sosia swiped, another photo appeared—this time of Ju Yeon smiling faintly while looking at the screen. It was a captivating smile that could take one's breath away.

"If Joyeon stopped saying unnecessary things and acted more like him, he'd be plenty handsome. Don't you think so too?"

"Of course. Master may be a bit clumsy at times, but he's a wonderful master no matter where you put him."

"That's right, Lara. You've had it hard. I'll be counting on you to take good care of my son from now on."

"Please don't worry, Mother. I'll protect him with my life."

"......"

'The Saintess is an even bigger doting mother than I thought.'

Arty kept the thought to herself.