“She left behind only a wooden puppet and disappeared, Lady Zhegall-hyang did.”
So the na of the woman I was supposed to have a formal eting with today was Zhegall-hyang.
“What do you an? Didn’t I assign servants to prepare her for the eting?”
The chief steward glanced at cautiously before bowing his head and opening his mouth to respond to the Guild Leader’s question.
“S-She said she needed to ease her mind for a mont, and then...”
So she said she had to go to the restroom and ran off. Don’t tell the woman I ran into earlier was actually the blind date?
“I warned you ti and ti again! Didn’t I say her martial skills were exceptional and not to let your guard down?!”
The Guild Leader’s face twisted in anger as he began to berate the steward.
So, the blind date ran away. Ti to grasp the situation quickly.
Maybe today’s just not my day. Should I say that and leave? No, if I say today’s not the day, they’ll just suggest eting again later.
To think escaping imdiate crisis ans the problem’s solved—that’s rookie thinking. Leaving now would only delay the inevitable. So then... what should I do?
First, pretend to be furious.
Summon the angriest monts I’ve ever had. Like back when I didn’t have a word processor and used Notepad to write manuscripts—then the computer froze. When I rebooted it, the file had reset to the tutorial village.
Or when the gaming community declared a character was a must-pick or the ga was worthless. I even used an adult’s credit card to get it, only for the character to be nerfed days later. I chipped in for the protest truck.
Or when, right as I was about to clock out, my boss handed a stack of docunts with a smile, saying, “Oops, I forgot to ntion this is due tomorrow.” My insides boiled, but I had to smile.
“...Why do you look like that?”
The Guild Leader had finally dismissed the flustered steward and turned his attention to . —who now looked like I was barely holding back an explosion of rage.
“Let’s pretend this eting never happened.”
Rather than lashing out, let the fury inflate. I imagined myself like a balloon, ready to burst with the tiniest prick, holding it back with visible restraint.
I forced myself to speak like soone doing their best to remain composed.
“She disappeared, didn’t she. I was going to go find her and bring her to you, but...”
I cut myself off. It’s rude, but I’m angry—this much should be excusable.
“I believe the young lady already knew about today. Yet she still ran. I can only think of one reason why.”
Now I’ll lay the bait for why I’m angry.
“And what would that be?”
“Because I’m a barbarian.”
And now, I turn my weakness into a weapon.
“Hah...”
A flicker of discomfort passed across the Guild Leader’s face.
“As a black-haired barbarian living in Jungwon, I’ve faced countless scorn and contempt. To any ordinary woman from Jungwon, I must seem like a terrible match. But soone from the main bloodline of the Zhegall Clan? Of course she ran away in horror the mont she heard.”
I spoke as if I understood everything—but I didn’t.
Words aren’t the only part of a conversation. Through expression, gestures, and tone, I must let them feel my indignation.
I am the black-haired barbarian Kang Yun-ho. I understand why the Zhegall Clan’s lady ran off. That’s not the issue. But as the one arranged to et her, I’ve still been insulted and humiliated.
Let’s make sure the Guild Leader understands how I feel.
“She has a habit of hiding when she’s in trouble. It’s not that she ant to insult you, not at all.”
“That makes it worse. Guild Leader—my grandfather by marriage—if she doesn’t even listen to her mother, how would she ever heed the words of a re barbarian husband?”
“Ahem...”
The Guild Leader coughed awkwardly. A rare mont. And of all things, it’s because of his own granddaughter’s blunder. Even the great Guild Leader of the Ten-Thousand Gold rchant Guild was cornered for a mont.
Now that he’s cornered, I need to keep him there by agreeing with his words.
“I understand the need for a good woman to support a man destined for great things. But this was a formal eting. All the family elders were inford, and the suitor was known. And yet she ran. You may think it’s just a little prank, but to , it’s nothing short of grave humiliation.”
I slapped my chest as if overco with grief. I’ll find my own wife to support —it won’t be soone from the Zhegall Clan.
“I understand how you feel.”
“A woman from a good family may be helpful to a man with great ambitions. But I’m carrying on the will of the Baek Family’s master. I truly appreciate your intentions, Guild Leader. However, I’ll consider this eting to have never happened.”
Let’s settle this as if the insult never occurred. I rose from my seat and turned away.
Perfect.
Now if I calmly walk out the door, this absurdity will vanish without a trace.
“Stop. I haven’t stamped your approval docunts yet.”
“...”
This old man, seriously.
Without showing my thoughts, I turned back around.
“I understand your anger and your concerns. A woman who is supposed to support her husband must never beco a burden to his path. I’ll be sure to properly educate Zhegall-hyang.”
“Elder...”
Please let go ho...
“Those who’ve seen my granddaughter say she’s the most beautiful woman in Hubei. And she is the youngest daughter of the Zhegall Clan Head.”
“She’s the Clan Head’s daughter?”
So she’s not even from a collateral branch—she’s direct lineage?
“That’s right. Just as you feel insulted now, the Zhegall Clan would also see the broken eting as an insult.”
too, I guess. The Guild Leader added more.
“However...”
“...I’m not asking you to marry her right away. I just want you to give her a chance to correct the misunderstanding.”
“You’re asking to let Lady Zhegall-hyang apologize?”
“That’s right. And for my own rudeness today, I’ll offer you compensation. If you agree, I’ll stamp your approval here.”
So he’s asking to at least et her.
Zhegall Clan, the Guild Leader, and Daseogak as the hostage. Calling off the eting is too dangerous.
“Will simply eting her be enough?”
Even managing to compromise this far from such an absurd request is already a miracle. I asked the Guild Leader.
“Yes. That will be sufficient.”
I received the stamp on my first set of docunts and headed back to the guesthouse.
------------
Now that I can’t avoid the blind date, I had to give it so thought. I locked myself in the office and fell into contemplation.
“Who the hell is Zhegall-hyang?”
The youngest daughter of the Zhegall Clan Head? No matter how hard I searched my mory, nothing ca to mind.
“The most beautiful woman in Hubei is right next to .”
Hubei’s top courtesan. Shadowless Phantom Thief. Im Ha-yeon.
Though she acts like a finicky stray cat around , when it cos to looks, no matter who stands beside her, she still outshines them.
And yet they’re saying Zhegall-hyang is the most beautiful in Hubei?
Sure, it could be an exaggeration—but even being as pretty as Im Ha-yeon would already be a problem.
“She might be a character from a route I didn’t clear.”
I only cleared one route. If she appeared on the opposite route...
All the heroines in this world were beauties. Not every beauty was a heroine, but if she’s truly as beautiful as Im Ha-yeon, then there’s a high chance she’s a heroine too.
I let out a small sigh.
“...I hope not. She better not be.”
I haven’t even resolved the whole Im Ha-yeon situation yet. A blind date with the Zhegall Clan’s daughter is already trouble enough—but if she’s also a heroine I don’t know? That’s even worse.
“Why the sigh?”
Im Ha-yeon pushed open the office door and stepped inside.
“Ha-yeon, huh? Huh?!”
Why the hell is she dressed like that?
“Want a drink?”
She averted her gaze shyly and held out a bottle of alcohol—
Wearing a black qipao with dangerously high slits.
--------------
"Here, take this."
As I sat down at the drinking table, Im Ha-yeon sat beside and held out a bottle of liquor.
“You could’ve sat across from . Why next to—”
“Just take it.”
As if she hadn’t heard , Im Ha-yeon tilted the bottle and poured the drink into my cup.
I watched the liquor fill the glass and glanced sideways. Why is she wearing a qipao? Sure, I designed it, but now I don’t know where to look.
Face. Chest. Thighs. It’s all too much.
I downed the cup, full of embarrassnt.
“Say ‘ah’.”
As soon as I drank, Im Ha-yeon picked up a side dish with her chopsticks and brought it to my mouth.
She’s good at this. I guess courtesan training really isn’t sothing to take lightly.
“Here, for you.”
“You too.”
We poured each other drinks and sat in silence, just staring at one another.
Why is she wearing a black qipao? Maybe she noticed staring without aning to, because her face flushed.
It really is an embarrassing outfit to wear sober. A qipao with fabric reduced to the extre... whoever invented it should be applauded.
Surely she didn’t co to seduce , right? So what is this about?
She looked at with a mix of regret and intention, then finally opened her mouth.
“I know you gave it your all.”
So it wasn’t seduction—it was comfort for my efforts. That was almost a bad misunderstanding.
“I did try.”
I gave a bitter smile and emptied my glass.
“I know even soone like you can stumble.”
“Hm?”
This sounds... weirdly like a girlfriend consoling her boyfriend during civil service prep.
“I’m okay. You staked your life on this for my sake. I’ll never resent you.”
Im Ha-yeon clutched her glass with both hands and lowered her head, as if in pain.
“Ha-yeon, I’m sorry, but...”
Sothing feels a little off about what she’s saying.
“Don’t apologize. I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m just going back to being a courtesan... but you...”
She looked up at . Her face was full of guilt.
Ah. So that’s what this was all about. I finally realized why she ca here.
“I passed.”
“...What?”
For a mont, Im Ha-yeon froze like her brain had stopped functioning entirely.
“I passed the first round.”
Her eyes flew wide open, and she jumped to her feet.
“What?! Why didn’t you tell sothing that important?!”
“I forgot.”
I was too distracted by the whole blind date ss.
“How could you forget sothing like that?! Seriously! I thought I’d been rejected—hngh...”
Her face flushed red, and she let out a quiet sob.
“Are you okay?”
“You don’t know how I felt... ugh!”
Suddenly embarrassed by her outfit, Im Ha-yeon covered her chest with her arms.
“Haha.”
“Ugh, seriously! Wait right here!”
She stord off, then returned to the room in more comfortable clothes.
“Tell . What was with setting that whole mood then?”
She sat across from this ti, sulking and glaring.
“There are still a lot of hurdles left.”
“Seriously... haah.”
She sighed, probably bitter over how much she worried for nothing.
“Why were you wearing that outfit earlier?”
“The older girls said n sotis cheer up when they’re suffering if they see soone in a dress like that... ngh.”
She looked at with frustration, then took a drink herself. I guess she really was trying to comfort like a courtesan.
“Here. One more.”
“D-Don’t get the wrong idea.”
Im Ha-yeon looked at with eyes glistening, not just from embarrassnt.
I know. It’s just what ca to her because she used to be a courtesan.
“You did well.”
The blind date could wait. Right now, it was ti to be happy about passing the first round.
“...You /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ too. You really did well.”
Im Ha-yeon and I clinked glasses and chatted warmly about what ca next—
All the way until we had to rush out in the middle of the night to subdue a belligerent custor.
---------------
Contrary to my worries, no one from the Ten-Thousand Gold rchant Guild ca looking for to push the blind date in the days that followed.
“Did they fail to find Zhegall Hyang?”
Lady Zhegall Hyang. Has she beco a runaway?
Well, my business is doing fine, so I don’t really mind.
“B-Big trouble!”
What now? Im Ha-yeon threw open the office door.
“What’s wrong?”
“Writer Ho-pil is publishing Storm of the Tang Clan through another bookstore!”
The book in her hands—there’s no doubt about it. It’s Storm of the Tang Clan, and it definitely wasn’t printed by Daseogak.
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