Chapter 89
If You Want to Toy with Someone (2)
“What do you mean?”
Meol Jiryun stared at Baek Socheon in surprise.
“I mean that I know you came here with another purpose in mind.”
Half of it was reasonable suspicion, and half was a calculated bluff.
She tried her best to remain calm, but unrest flickered in Meol Jiryun’s eyes.
“I don’t know what you mean. Are you perhaps trying to tease me?”
She smiled sweetly.
A woman’s smile could be just as powerful as her tears. Hers was the kind of smile that seemed to brighten everything around her.
“You’re beautiful enough to shake a man’s heart, and though I can’t know for certain, I imagine you’re every bit as intelligent as you are beautiful. Your martial arts must also be formidable. Otherwise, your parents would never have sent you here alone. They must trust that you can overcome whatever happens.”
Baek Socheon’s tone remained calm, but the substance of his words was gradually placing more and more pressure on her.
“You probably grew up receiving recognition from a young age. Back home, most things must have gone the way you wanted. Am I wrong?”
“I won’t deny it.”
“But that won’t work on me.”
“I still don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
“You only get one chance. If you don’t tell me now, you won’t get another opportunity to tell me later. I won’t listen then. I’ll simply handle things my own way. So I’ll ask you again.”
Baek Socheon was no longer showing her the gentle demeanor he usually did.
But neither was he threatening her.
He was simply asking her in complete seriousness.
“Why did you come here?”
Under that strange sense of pressure, Meol Jiryun’s gaze wavered.
But she quickly regained her composure.
“I came here to marry you.”
“I understand. It’s late, so you should return for today. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
Baek Socheon politely bowed and turned away.
As he began walking off, Meol Jiryun’s voice came from behind him.
“Stop.”
Baek Socheon halted.
Her somewhat agitated question followed.
“What exactly do you mean by handling things your own way?”
Baek Socheon turned back toward her.
“Exactly what I said. It means I won’t take you into consideration at all. I’ll make whatever choice benefits me and the Martial Alliance. Just as you are currently making choices based solely on what benefits you and the Blood Cult.”
“…!”
He could feel her agitation.
She was still no match for Baek Socheon.
“Let me ask one more thing. Then what did you mean when you said I came here with another purpose?”
“I mean I know you don’t actually want to marry me.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because I can feel it. I can clearly distinguish between genuine affection and merely pretending to have it.”
Perhaps it was because of Cheongeuk.
He had recently been reminded of what genuine affection actually felt like.
And there was one more thing.
He had to question the true intentions of Meolsaeng, who had sent his daughter into such a dangerous place.
She had not simply come here without another reason.
There had to be another objective or intention behind it.
Baek Socheon’s gamble struck home.
Breaking the suffocating tension, Meol Jiryun let out a sigh.
“You’re right. I didn’t come here to marry you.”
“Then why did you come?”
Even after admitting it, she hesitated to answer.
The unexpected turn of events had left her confused.
“Now that it’s already been exposed, speaking honestly will benefit you in more ways than one.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you everything.”
She first explained the circumstances behind the Blood Cult sending a matchmaker.
“As you know, the Cheukcheon Alliance sent a matchmaker to our cult first.”
“I know.”
“But there’s something you don’t know. Because of that matter, my father and Grand Master disagreed.”
That was indeed something Baek Socheon had not known.
“By Grand Master, you mean Jeok Parap?”
“Yes. He’s the only person in the cult capable of opposing my father.”
The elderly master Jeok Parap, who was over a hundred years old, was Meolsaeng’s master.
“One side argued that the marriage should happen, while the other argued that it absolutely should not. Those against it said that if the marriage happened, I would effectively become a hostage and the Blood Cult would be dragged around by the Cheukcheon Alliance. Those in favor feared that if the marriage failed, the alliance would break down and the Cheukcheon Alliance might attack our cult first.”
That fear had probably intensified even further after their attempt to infiltrate Cheonoe Won-go had failed.
Yeomhwasin was the kind of man who always sought revenge.
They had likely wanted to push the marriage through somehow in order to lessen his anger.
“In the end, it caused an internal conflict. Can you believe it? My marriage caused the cult itself to split.”
“Organizations split over matters far more trivial than that. In fact, divisions caused by trivial matters are sometimes harder to repair.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the more trivial something is, the angrier people often become over it.”
“Ah…”
Meol Jiryun let out a short exclamation.
She was reminded of relationships from her own past.
People she had believed herself deeply close to had fallen out over the most insignificant matters.
Some had even died because of them.
“You’re right.”
“Of course, this matter is hardly trivial. Your future and the future of your cult are both at stake.”
“Eventually, the cult split into two factions. Those who followed my father, and those who followed Grand Master.”
“Judging by the fact that you came here, the faction opposing the marriage must have been stronger.”
“That’s right. Thanks to them, I was able to come.”
“Your Grand Master must have been very angry.”
Meol Jiryun’s expression suddenly stiffened.
Then she revealed something unexpected.
“The one who supported the marriage was my father.”
“…!”
“My father said I needed to marry Yeom Sawon for the sake of the cult. He said becoming the wife of the Cheukcheon Alliance’s successor wasn’t exactly a bad deal. I never dreamed my father would react that way.”
Baek Socheon had naturally assumed her father was the one who opposed it.
He had thought there was no way Meolsaeng would push his only daughter into a situation where she could become a hostage.
And could Meolsaeng really have been unaware of the rumors about Yeom Sawon’s character?
He knew.
And yet he had still tried to arrange the marriage.
At that moment, Baek Socheon’s true feelings could be summed up in one thought.
‘These bastards…!’
His anger toward Meolsaeng now piled on top of his anger toward Yeomhwasin.
As though they were competing with one another, both men were willing to use and sacrifice their own children for the sake of their power.
“Grand Master has cherished me like his own granddaughter ever since I was little.”
Perhaps because she missed Jeok Parap, Meol Jiryun’s eyes filled with tears.
Whether those tears came from genuine sadness or were merely crocodile tears, this was precisely when caution was necessary.
Men often let down their guard when a woman showed weakness, only to suffer for it later.
“Even so, would Cult Leader Meol really have let you leave so easily?”
“Grand Master confronted Father directly and settled the matter with him. I imagine Grand Master gave Father something he wanted.”
“Do you know what it was?”
She shook her head.
Even if she knew, she probably would not have revealed it easily.
“Then was it your Grand Master’s idea to send a matchmaker to me?”
“Yes. He said that if we sent one to you, I could avoid marrying Yeom Sawon.”
If what she said was true…
Then perhaps Jeok Parap understood Baek Socheon’s personality and the subtle relationship between him and Yeomhwasin quite well.
Just how far had the old man predicted things?
“What would you have done if I had agreed to the marriage?”
“Grand Master was certain. He said you would never marry the daughter of the Blood Cult Leader.”
Jeok Parap indeed seemed to know Baek Socheon quite well.
And yet the two had never met even once.
How did he know him so well?
Of course, Baek Socheon had lived a life exposed to the entire martial world.
If someone wanted to investigate him, there was certainly plenty to learn.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand.”
“If everything you told me today is true, then you took your final chance. I heard you out.”
“It is the truth.”
“I hope so.”
Baek Socheon believed that most of what she had said was true.
There was only one thing he needed to remain wary of.
The possibility that one carefully concealed lie had been mixed among nine truths.
“In the end, that means you used me as a refuge.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Did you expect Yeom Sawon to come demanding a duel?”
“No. Even Grand Master didn’t expect things to go that far.”
“What will you do if I lose to Yeom Sawon in this duel?”
“…”
She gave no answer.
Apparently, she truly had not thought that far ahead.
She stared directly at Baek Socheon.
“Please win.”
“All right. I’ll defeat Yeom Sawon for you. In return, what will you do for me?”
“What?”
Meol Jiryun was startled.
“You want compensation?”
“Of course. I’m being asked to risk my life. Naturally, I should expect something in return.”
“But you’re…”
Meol Jiryun trailed off.
Baek Socheon finished the thought for her.
“Because I belong to the orthodox faction, I should handle matters without asking for anything in return?”
Meol Jiryun could not deny it.
Her surprise just moments ago had clearly come from exactly that assumption.
“But you’re a hero of the martial world.”
“It seems you’ve lived too comfortably and still don’t understand the martial world.”
Her expression tightened slightly at the implication that she was naive and sheltered.
Baek Socheon pretended not to notice and continued.
“In the martial world, you should never expect anything for free. If you want something, you must pay an appropriate price.”
Baek Socheon was deliberately pushing her.
People revealed their true nature when cornered.
Yeomhwasin alone was already more than enough to deal with.
If Meol Jiryun had come with some other hidden intention as well, he could not afford to be caught off guard.
Meol Jiryun cautiously said,
“If Great Hero Baek were to say that you wished to marry me… I would seriously consider it. Your first impression was much better than I expected.”
She lowered her head, her face reddening.
She knew how to please a man.
If her opponent had been anyone other than Baek Socheon, that gentle gaze and shy demeanor would probably have been extremely effective.
But she had misjudged him.
“Your Grand Master understood me well. I have absolutely no intention of marrying the Blood Cult Leader’s daughter. Offer me something else.”
Her expression immediately stiffened.
She had just been rejected in spectacular fashion.
“What do you want?”
“That’s for you to propose. ‘I’ll give you this, so grant me this request.’ That’s how a transaction works. Think about what you can offer me and let me know. I’ll hear it and decide. Ah, and I don’t accept feelings as payment.”
“What if I refuse?”
Baek Socheon answered coldly.
“Then go back immediately.”
“If I go back, Yeom Sawon won’t simply sit still.”
“I’ll handle that myself.”
Their gazes met in the air.
Meol Jiryun could tell.
Baek Socheon was completely serious.
“Then I’ll wait.”
Baek Socheon was about to turn away when she suddenly shouted sharply.
“Why are you doing this to me? Is this really the price I pay for telling you the truth?”
The instant she lost her composure, her irises glowed red.
‘She really is Meolsaeng’s daughter.’
It was a trait of Meolsaeng’s bloodline that Nasarin had told him about.
When they became angry, their gray eyes glowed red.
He had just accomplished his first objective.
“The truth you told me was merely a choice you made for your own sake. Isn’t that right? You only explained your circumstances because you thought you would suffer a serious disadvantage if you didn’t tell me something.”
Meol Jiryun could not refute him.
Because Baek Socheon had described her reasoning exactly.
She had believed that if she tearfully revealed the truth like this, a rigid orthodox hero would trust her even more deeply.
And once he trusted her, he would become easier to use.
“Yeomhwasin is the same, and so are all of you. You seem to enjoy playing with people. I understand that because you possess power, you think of it as your natural right and ability. But from now on, I intend to collect everything I’m owed.”
“What do you mean, collect?”
“A usage fee. If you want to toy with a person, you should pay an appropriate usage fee.”
“…!”
“I’ll be waiting to see what you offer as your usage fee.”
Baek Socheon politely bowed.
Then he strode away.
Meol Jiryun silently watched his retreating figure with eyes that had already dried.
Sssst.
Someone appeared beside her.
It was Pa jeong, the younger of her two guards.
Meol Jiryun spoke coldly.
“As expected, he’s no ordinary man.”
She gave off a completely different impression from the way she behaved around Rap sa, her older guard.
With Rap sa, she had seemed like a woman who needed protection.
Now, she looked like a cold leader firmly in command of the situation.
“What will you do?”
“We’ll give him what he wants and buy ourselves time. I can’t be driven out of the Martial Alliance yet.”
“What are you thinking of offering him?”
Her gray eyes darkened as she stared in the direction Baek Socheon had disappeared.
“I’ll prepare two things. If the first one works, we can save the second.”