Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel Chapter 100

Chapter 100

 

I blinked blankly and asked,

“Were you talking to me just now?”

“Yes, please…”

“You want me to help you…”

Wondering if there was any chance I had misunderstood, I asked again.

“Miss, I have to ask just in case. You aren’t here of your own free will, are you?”

“Well, um, that…”

“I heard that you accepted the marriage proposal of the stronghold lord of Yongcheok Stronghold and came here. So I thought you were preparing for the wedding…”

“No!”

The young lady cried out in horror.

“Accept his proposal? There’s no way, there’s no way I would! How could I possibly marry such a shameless bastard…!”

“Then?”

The young lady hesitated for a while. But soon, as though she had made up her mind, she looked up at me again with a resolute expression and spoke.

“I was kidnapped and held here under threat. The stronghold lord of Yongcheok Stronghold… that bastard, Bang Chang-seung, has been holding my younger brother hostage. Please, save my younger brother, save the two of us siblings!”

And so, the circumstances the young lady confessed were as follows.

Originally, the young lady had lived in Sinyeong, a village near Mount Undae. She had lost her parents at a young age and had lived relying solely on her younger brother. They weren’t particularly well-off, but she said they had still been happy.

The problem, however, was that her younger brother had suffered from a chronic illness for a long time. Her younger brother had often fallen ill since he was young. Even the village physician didn’t know what to do, and their circumstances were too poor to seek out a more renowned physician. While she was worrying herself sick over it…

“Who is that woman?”

The young lady was discovered by the stronghold lord of Yongcheok Stronghold, Bang Chang-seung.

At the time, the rumors surrounding Bang Chang-seung were not good. They said that whenever he took a liking to a woman, he would obtain her by whatever means necessary, play with her to his heart’s content, and then discard her once he grew bored.

Having taken a liking to the young lady’s appearance, Bang Chang-seung continually courted her. But the young lady, wary of Bang Chang-seung, refused him, and Bang Chang-seung made her an offer that was difficult to refuse. He promised to cure her younger brother’s chronic illness.

In fact, the medicine Bang Chang-seung prepared was effective. Seeing her younger brother recover considerably after taking the medicine, the young lady was delighted. Then, when Bang Chang-seung said he would continue treating her younger brother if she stayed at the stronghold, she followed him.

“But he didn’t keep his promise.”

Instead, the moment they entered the stronghold, he forcibly separated the young lady from her younger brother.

He then locked the young lady inside the tower and threatened her, saying that her younger brother’s life could not be guaranteed if she did not do as he said.

“He said he would continue giving me medicine as long as I obeyed him. He said he would spare Awi’s life, at least… But I can’t trust him anymore. No matter how much I ask him to let me see Awi, he refuses…”

“……”

“Please, it’s been so long since I last saw Awi. Please help us siblings. Help us escape from that man!”

As she said that, the young lady lowered her head. Tears fell one by one onto the bed.

Watching her, I was left speechless.

‘She was being held here against her will.’

No wonder I had thought that such a beauty was far too good for some bandit to marry. I had wondered how on earth he had managed to win over such a beautiful woman, but who would have thought he had been threatening her by holding her younger brother hostage?

I felt sorry for her. Incredibly sorry for her, but… that was as far as it went.

There was no need for me to step in here.

It would be better to leave this matter to the righteous heroes of the orthodox faction. It would also be better for the young lady’s reputation if she received their help.

Perhaps thinking the same thing as me, Zhuge Ye began speaking to the young lady.

“Miss, there is no need to worry about your younger brother. The Murim Alliance is outside right now. Now that the Alliance has intervened, everyone who has been unjustly imprisoned like you will all be freed…”

“N-no! Then we have to hurry even more. I don’t know what they might do to Awi now that they’re in danger. Please, take me with you!”

“No, Miss. Calm down and listen to me…”

“I know where Awi is. I’ll guide you, so please hurry there. Please, Awi…!”

So, there really was no need for me to step in. I should just leave quickly…

“Just once… Sob, please help me…!”

Why was it that I simply couldn’t bring myself to turn away?

‘Ah, I’m really weak when it comes to a beauty’s tears.’

Perhaps it was because I remembered the sight of the young lady crying so vividly from long ago. Whenever I saw a beauty crying, I thought of my young lady, and before I knew it, my heart softened.

“Fine. Let’s do that.”

“Brother Dan?”

I let out a deep sigh and messed up my hair.

“I’ll take care of this young lady’s matter myself, so you two go take care of your own business. Go capture the stronghold lord or join up with the Murim Alliance, whatever…”

“No. How do you know what might happen if I send you and the young lady off alone…!”

“No, now that things have gone this far, what exactly do you think I’m going to do? Then are the three of us supposed to go rescue the young lady’s younger brother together? What are you going to do if the stronghold lord escapes while we’re at it?”

“……”

The two fell silent, apparently having nothing to say to that. I shook my head and looked down at the young lady again.

“Miss, can you stand?”

“…No. I injured my leg, so it’s a little difficult to move…”

“Either way, it’ll be faster if I carry you and run than if I support you while walking. Would it be all right if I took the liberty of touching your body?”

“Of course.”

As she said that, the young lady obediently opened both arms.

I casually bent down and tried to pick her up. Then, suddenly, I stopped.

‘Wait.’

Something… was strange.

The surroundings were strangely quiet. Even though we had been talking with the young lady for quite some time, not only had no other bandits appeared, but even the stronghold lord himself had not shown up at all.

What was going on? Even if the bandits outside were too preoccupied to notice, why hadn’t the stronghold lord appeared? Had he escaped already?

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

The young lady had clearly said that she was being threatened with her younger brother’s life. She had said that he promised to continue giving her medicine as long as she obediently did as he said.

If she refused to obey him, her access to the medicine would become uncertain. That meant her younger brother’s illness could worsen as well.

Then the young lady…

‘Does she really want to escape?’

I remained frozen in place and quietly asked,

“Miss, before that, there is one thing I’d like to ask.”

“Yes?”

“You said that after being locked inside the tower, you hadn’t seen your younger brother even once… So how do you know where your younger brother is?”

“……”

The young lady’s body stiffened. She took a moment to steady her breathing before finally speaking in a trembling voice.

“That, that’s because… I heard his subordinates talking about it…”

“Even so, it’s strange. You said you were locked in the tower as soon as you arrived here. Then you wouldn’t know the layout of the stronghold at all, would you? So how could you say that you would guide me there yourself?”

The young lady couldn’t answer at all.

The suspicion that had slowly been growing was becoming certainty.

Just as I was about to speak again…

“Could it be that you’re still being threatened…”

Whip!

At that moment, the young lady threw her arms around me.

No, to be precise, she tried to embrace me. Because I had been on guard, I quickly moved my body backward.

But even that was too late. Before I knew it, a fragrant scent entered my nostrils.

I hurriedly covered my nose and mouth with one hand. Then I held my breath and shouted at the top of my lungs,

“It’s poison! Cover your mouths, quickly!”

At my words, the expressions of the other two changed drastically as well, and they hurriedly covered their noses. But apparently they couldn’t stop the poisonous scent that had already spread in an instant, because their faces quickly turned deathly pale.

‘This is bad.’

I immediately raised my inner power.

I intended to use my internal energy to stop the poison spreading through my body. But… My inner power would not rise.

Whenever I tried to circulate even a little of my inner energy, it scattered as though something were blocking it. I tried several more times before finally realizing.

Could the poison I had inhaled be…

‘Sangong Poison’

“Hahahaha! The crafty glutto has fallen into the trap!”

Someone’s laughter came from above. I looked toward the direction of the voice. On the stairs leading from the eighth floor to the ninth floor, someone was standing there.

‘Is that the stronghold lord of Yongcheok Stronghold?’

That man’s build was enormous.

His body looked twice the size of an ordinary adult man, with layers of fat hanging off him and a belly as huge as a mountain.

On top of that, his head was completely bald and gleaming, his broad, flat face resembled a frog, his eyes, nose, and mouth were tiny, and the rolls of fat piled around his neck were enough to make one frown.

A face as ugly as Flower-Glutton’s, along with a filthy temperament that lusted after women. Above all, the pair of chained iron maces strapped to his back clearly…

‘Could that man be…’

Only then did I realize his identity.

‘The Ugly Eighth Pig Monster, Bang Dong-yeong!’

The real lecher who had assaulted and tormented numerous women in the past, before Flower-Glutton.

He was the current stronghold lord of Yongcheok Stronghold, Bang Cheong-seung.