08. Bad Friend
08. Bad Friend
"These guys...!"
"And you too. What wind blew in that's making a cool and cold-hearted guy like you say stuff like that?"
Originally, Yu Ina was also a very cold and aloof woman.
At least, that was Sihwan's first impression of her.
A woman who agreed with the Tower's physiology based on 'Survival of the Fittest' and 'respect for the strong' more than anyone.
A woman who'd sit quietly in the classroom and, if suddenly punched out of nowhere, scold the one who got hit for not dodging.
That was Yu Ina.
But lately, she seemed to have softened up a lot—was it just his imagination?
"What are you talking about? Even I wouldn't go that far with someone who lost blood kin. And... no matter the reason, it's basically the same as me killing him. It'd be weird if it didn't bother me."
No.
She didn't kill him. Jin Seong-hyeon was alive and well.
But he couldn't exactly say that.
"Fine. If that's how you feel, do it that way. But not me."
"...Does it have to be like that?"
"Yeah."
He crossed his arms and said it firmly.
"Well, I'm human too, so I won't expect too much from someone who lost her son. Just apologize for your son stalking my wife and being rude to me before trying to kill me. Then I'll forgive everything."
"..."
"If you don't like that, get out right now. I don't wanna hear any bullshit."
Now she was speechless.
In this absurd, ridiculous situation she'd never experienced since birth, she had no idea what to do.
She really wanted to kill them all if she could...but this was the Yu Family. If she did something like that, it wouldn't end with just one death.
The whole Jin Family would probably go up in flames.
No matter how much Jin Seong-hyeon's death pissed her off, and no matter how infuriating Ryu Si-hwan's attitude was, she couldn't choose to wipe out the entire family.
Of course, apologizing was out of the question too.
In the end, she only had one option. She glared at Sihwan like she wanted to kill him, stood up from her seat, and left without a greeting.
Slam! She shut the door hard for good measure.
"Whew... You really... Do you have zero basic empathy?"
Yu Ina let out a sigh.
Even if it was powerless compared to the Five Great Families, it was still a family that had made an entire floor its base. Turning them into enemies like this, full of resentment, could cause a real headache.
But along with her worry, she felt gratitude.
After all, he'd fought in her place for her, his wife.
"What are you saying? You keep screwing up, so I had to step in. Did we do anything guilty? That guy died from his own karma."
"..."
She nodded inwardly without showing it.
Honestly, she had zero intention of taking direct responsibility for Jin Seong-hyeon's death.
Her feelings about him hadn't changed at all from back then, and if the same situation happened again, she'd make the exact same choice.
However, separately from that, standing up to a mother who lost her son and bluntly saying what needed to be said was an incredibly tough skill. At least, it wasn't something a social newbie like her could handle skillfully.
But what if the no-filter asshole Ryu Si-hwan showed up?
He was unstoppable today too, even telling someone who came because her son died, 'Your son messed with us, so apologize.'
Cold-blooded to a shocking degree.
You'd need someone on Ha Yeon-seo's level to say that to her face.
"Anyway... Be careful. Don't ever shake off your escorts. If needed, I can contact the main house and get more."
"No way, it's already inconvenient enough—why add more?"
"You stir up all this crap and you're not even anxious?"
"Why should I be anxious? I've got Bari here, and you too."
"Sigh... I don't know how you feel about it, but that woman's still a 'Clan Head' running an entire family. She's one of the strong ones among the Noblesse. Even I couldn't protect you if she came at us for real."
"What about Eun-hye?"
"...Not sure, but she definitely can't guarantee safety."
"It's fine. Bari's way stronger than you think."
"Whew..."
She sighed.
She absolutely wasn't convinced, and she felt acutely that trying to persuade Ryu Si-hwan was pointless.
"By the way, how long have you been dealing with this?"
"...She was already here when I got home."
"Wow... So like 2 hours? No, almost 3 hours? How'd you hold out?"
"......Come to think of it, you're super late. What the hell were you doing?"
A sudden suspicion.
Sure, signing a contract takes time, but Ryu Si-hwan wasn't the type to nitpick every detail.
Even with the previous marriage contract, he'd skimmed it once, tossed out a few big adjustments roughly, and signed.
No matter how complex a money-related contract was with tons of clauses, in Ryu Si-hwan style, it'd take at most an hour. But Sihwan actually came back almost 3 hours after Yu Ina got home.
Of course, suspicion was inevitable.
'No way... With the Chief Instructor...?'
There was plenty of reason to suspect.
Her gaze on Sihwan had been a bit weird lately anyway.
Plus, today she'd said that weird thing like it was fine if he stayed over.
'The bed was full-size too.'
Once the door to suspicion cracked open, doubts flooded out like a dam breaking.
'Telling me to go home in the first place is hilarious. "It's the Yu Family, so it's awkward to see faces"? What kinda nonsense is that!'
Before she knew it, Yeonseo had dug deep into her heart as a romantic rival.
No wonder she'd dropped the honorifics she used to tack on and just called her 'Chief Instructor' now.
'Hmm. Should I say something?'
Meanwhile, Sihwan was pondering.
Whether to tell her about his relationship with Yeonseo.
'Probably too soon for a while?'
He'd already declared to Yu Ina. That he wouldn't be satisfied with just her.
But still, not even having consummated their first night yet, and already saying he'd had sex with another Noblesse—and her superior, no less—would be a massive minus.
"You know I've got the Base underground, right? I was managing that."
"Hmm... Really?"
Fortunately, she didn't suspect much.
Well, her eyes were still full of doubt, but she didn't voice it.
"Yeah. This husband of yours is working hard, you know? Business is getting prepped step by step, so look forward to it."
"Hmph... Not interested."
She forcibly calmed her mind and turned her head away.
"Anyway, I'm gonna wash up now. Don't peek."
"Ha. Who's peeking at you? Your delusions are serious."
"You never know. My wife, who's been in abstinence mode forever, might pounce on me."
"That'll never happen, so relax."
At her cute reaction, Sihwan chuckled and headed to the bathroom.
.
.
Bari came into the bathroom with him.
She was naked like Sihwan.
Her flawless, clear skin and perfectly toned body on full display.
Shwaaa.
She turned on the showerhead and sprayed him.
She even soaped him up, washing every nook and cranny, then finally spread her pussy to soothe his throbbing cock.
"Ahh!"
Insertion while standing.
She took his rock-hard dick straight into her pussy and hugged him.
"Oh. This works pretty nice too."
Sihwan was satisfied.
Bari was always chewy and tight, but standing made it feel extra special.
Someday he'd try it with the slaves too.
Cheolpeok! Cheolpeok!
"Unngh... Master... Haa..."
Bari let out aroused moans.
In front of Sihwan, she turned more slutty than any lewd woman.
Revealing her thick desires without restraint, she shook her hips in place of him just standing there.
After milking three loads of his semen out of him in the bath like that, she smiled in satisfaction and suddenly said something chilling.
"Master, can I use that woman from earlier as the third test subject?"
"Huh? Test subject?"
"Yeah. She's a female Noblesse. It's a chance to get higher concentration and more efficient Nobling. Plus, stuff to experiment with."
"Hmm."
He pondered, watching Bari dry his body with a towel.
A test subject, huh.
Of course, no downside. He thought leaving her alone would be dangerous too.
But was it doable?
According to Yu Ina, she was one of the strong ones among the Noblesse.
"Will it be okay? In all sorts of ways. And if another Noblesse disappears from the 1st floor, it'll put Yeonseo in a tough spot."
"Don't worry about that. I'll grab her when she moves to another floor."
"...Really? But can you catch her? She's strong."
"Hehe. Don't worry. I've already prepared countermeasures for a great Noblesse."
"Oh."
"Mr. Jin Seong-hyeon was a huge help."
A sweet smile.
But for some reason, it was eerie.
What the hell had been done to him?
"If you can do it... then yeah. She's a Noblesse woman, after all."
"As expected."
After drying the last drops, as she dressed him, she suddenly whispered in his ear.
"I'll prepare a delicious Noblesse slave for you."