Chapter 26
The Thunderblade Sect.
A martial arts sect that wielded considerable influence in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.
The Manor Lord had been on good terms with martial artists for a long time, and even when he settled down in Guangdong Province, he sent gifts to all the famous sects in the surrounding area.
One of them was the Thunderblade Sect.
In particular, the sect’s leader, Wang Gwan-cheon, the ‘Three Thunderous Blades’, was quite a well-known figure even throughout the martial world of the Central Plains, so they had maintained a good relationship until now.
Apparently, since the Manor Lord had just returned to Guangdong Province, he had sent someone over to pay a visit while he was at it, and that was probably how this situation came about, according to Aso.
I was impressed as I listened.
“Wow, Aso, how do you know all that?”
“It’s weird that you don’t know any of it. But I wonder if this is going to be okay.”
“Hm?”
“He came to propose to the young lady, remember? Honestly, she’s rather young to be getting married. Besides, until recently, she probably couldn’t even think about something like marriage because of her illness. And now, suddenly, a marriage proposal…”
“……”
“Still, he doesn’t seem like a bad-looking man.”
Aso looked toward the Young Sect Leader. I turned my head in that direction too.
Behind a huge servant stood a man who was preening himself like a peacock. His glossy silk robe, various ornaments hanging all over him, and the gold rings on his fingers made it obvious he had gone all out with his appearance.
It wasn’t as though his face was particularly ugly, either. It was passable enough. But there was something about his crooked, self-satisfied smile that I really didn’t like.
I whispered into Aso’s ear.
“I don’t like him.”
“Honestly, neither do I.”
“Frankly, I doubt the young lady will like him either. With our young lady’s personality, do you think she likes someone who tries to climb over her head? She needs someone like a servant who’ll cater to her every whim.”
“Are you talking about yourself?”
“…Ahem. I mean, hypothetically. Anyway, how old is that gentleman? Mid-teens? Late teens? Honestly, he looks pretty old for his age…”
“What are you talking about? I think I heard he was around Irip.”
“Irip?”
Wait, Irip meant…
About thirty years old…
Thirty?
Thirty?!
“Th-th-th-th-thirty?!”
“What’s wrong?”
My mouth fell open. Aso stared at me strangely, but I wanted to scream instead.
‘Isn’t that weird to you?!’
Our young lady was fourteen!
That’s middle school second-year age in Korea!
A man old enough to be some uncle who should be working at a company had come to propose to a kid who was barely in her second year of middle school.
And how big was the age gap, anyway? 30 − 14 = 16. Sixteen years apart. Sixteen years! Wasn’t that an age gap that went way beyond even a twelve-year zodiac-cycle difference, like some kind of black hole?
Was this guy in his right mind?!
‘You deranged old bastard, you child sex offender, how dare you come after—!’
I glared at the Young Sect Leader and his party with eyes blazing with hostility. Fortunately (or unfortunately), they seemed too busy talking to the newly arrived Steward to pay any attention to their surroundings.
“The Young Sect Leader of the Thunderblade Sect has personally graced our Xiao Manor with his presence. It is truly an immeasurable honor. However, as the Manor Lord is currently away, I hope you will kindly understand that he is unable to personally receive you.”
At the Steward’s humble words, the Young Sect Leader smiled arrogantly and nodded.
“I have heard much of the reputation of Manor Lord Xiao. It is unfortunate that I cannot meet him at once, but since the Steward has asked this of me, I suppose I have no choice but to let it pass. So, where is Miss Xiao?”
At that, the Steward’s face became troubled.
“The young lady is currently resting in her quarters as she is not feeling well. As you know, she suffers from an illness and ordinarily does not venture outside very much…”
“I heard that her condition has improved this time. Why does she still not come out? Has there been no improvement after all?”
“Her condition has… indeed improved, but she still requires caution. She must preserve her health as much as possible, so it is difficult for her to come out at present. I ask for your understanding.”
“Difficult for her at present…”
Displeasure flashed across the Young Sect Leader’s face. But he quickly changed his expression and laughed heartily.
“Hahahaha! The young lady must be quite the shy one. There’s nothing wrong with being so demure. If it is difficult for her to come outside, tell her that I shall personally visit her soon, so she should await me!”
With that, he put his hands behind his back and swaggered inside with an imposing air. Watching him, Aso muttered quietly beside me.
“What a joke…”
I nodded vigorously.
It was infuriating to see that bastard who had already rubbed me the wrong way acting like some great man.
At the same time, seeing him only made me more certain.
That was exactly the type the young lady absolutely hated. There was no doubt about it. At most, he’d be driven out within a week after failing to even be treated like a person.
I secretly snorted.
‘Go on, try your luck.’
***
As expected, I had been right. The young lady didn’t treat him like a person at all.
No matter how much he shouted from outside that he had come to meet her, she didn’t even pretend to hear him. She treated him as though he wasn’t even worth the sound of a barking dog. Watching that was satisfying, but at the same time, I felt a little sad.
‘Our young lady… Did she treat me like that whenever I shouted outside too…?’
“Young lady, are you really okay? Is it all right to keep ignoring him like this?”
“It doesn’t matter. If I ignore him, he’ll leave on his own.”
‘So that was your mindset…’
“…Why? Do you want me to meet him?”
I jumped in surprise.
“What? No, no! Absolutely not! Even if you wanted to meet him, I’d try to stop you! Why would I want you to meet him? No! Absolutely not!”
“Hmph… Really?”
“Don’t even get curious about him. I saw him outside, you know? His face is so greasy and shiny, he’s not even worth your toenail grime! You hate ugly things, don’t you? He’s obviously exactly the type you’d hate, so you mustn’t take an interest in him!”
“…It’s not like I hate ugly things…”
Just then, a booming voice came from outside.
“Miss Xiao! Won’t you finally show me your face? I’m dying of impatience waiting for you!”
I made a weary face.
“He’s started again…”
The Young Sect Leader’s one-sided courtship had begun.
Our young lady’s indifference was formidable, but the problem was that the other party was equally persistent. Sending gifts every day was commonplace. He constantly begged her to meet him at the gate, and at some point, he even started shouting noisily outside until she opened the door.
“Miss Xiao, do you know how impressive our Thunderblade Sect is? As the Number One Sect of Guangzhou, we have hundreds of disciples and an enormous fortune. If you marry the Young Sect Leader, you’ll live in comfort and luxury for the rest of your life!”
“As for me, I possess formidable martial arts skills, enough that my father, the Three Thunderous Blades, Hero Wang, recognized me at an early age. I’m also quite handsome, and I’m in the prime of my life, so I’ll be able to entertain you day and night without pause! Hahahahaha!”
“Ahem! Women are attractive when they push and pull just the right amount! If you keep pushing me away like this, even good men will eventually give up and leave. Would you like it if the Young Sect Leader met another woman? Come on, open the door and let’s have a sweet little chat together!”
Hearing things like that every single day, I naturally began to wonder.
‘Is it small?’
This rotten bastard was spouting that sort of crap to a fourteen-year-old. Clearly, women his own age had rejected him, so he had resorted to clinging to a child.
Unlike me, who was fuming, however, the young lady remained perfectly calm.
“Don’t mind him. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Aren’t you angry, young lady? He’s spouting such incredibly rude nonsense…”
“Over a dozen people have acted like that, so I don’t really care.”
‘Over a dozen…’
“They’re all like that. They don’t know a single thing about me, yet the moment they see me, they act as though they’d gladly give me their liver and gallbladder. Then, if I reject them even a little, they get angry or suddenly attack me. They become practically insane.”
‘W-Was she talking about me…?’
“It’s actually better when someone like him is transparent about his desires. It’s obvious that he’s after my wealth or my family, after all. In situations like this, if I don’t give them any attention, they eventually leave on their own.”
“……”
“So you don’t need to worry about him either. He’ll hang around and curse at me like that for a few days, then disappear.”
I felt a little gloomy.
At first, I’d wondered why the young lady was so suspicious of my intentions. But if she had gone through situations like this countless times, then of course I must have looked suspicious to her as well.
‘I really was only thinking about myself…’
I muttered dejectedly.
“I’m sorry about before, young lady…”
“What?”
The young lady looked at me as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but soon seemed to understand and answered with a small laugh.
“You should be careful.”
“What?”
I asked again, but the young lady didn’t bother answering.
There was no chance to ask again anyway, because the Young Sect Leader’s irritating voice rang out once more immediately afterward.
But it wasn’t long before I understood what the young lady had meant.
“Hey, you there. Come here.”
The Young Sect Leader had called me over!
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