Chapter 54 – First Partner (1)

“Se-Young.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it about time for you to get married?”

At the headquarters of the Orc family.
Se-Young, who was organizing the piled-up documents, furrowed her brow at the words she heard. She put down her pen and glared at her older sister.

“I’m not getting married, remember?”

Lately, Seo-Hyun has become increasingly interested in her younger sister’s marriage.
She should be finishing what she’s been working on, but she just can’t understand why she’s so obsessed with marriage.

Seeing her sister’s reaction, Seo-Hyun chuckled.

“Hey, Se-Young. Marriage really isn’t a big deal. If you try it, you might actually enjoy it.”
“I already said I’m not going, so why are you nagging me?”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to marry someone from a good family and form a connection?”

Lee Se-Young glared at her sister with a disbelief-filled expression.

“Sister, you know what I’m going to say, right?”
“Yep.”
“Get lost, you crazy woman.”

As Lee Se-Young raised her middle finger, Lee Seo-Hyun giggled and approached the office door.

“Give me a call if you change your mind~”
“Nope, never will.”

*Thud.*

The door closed. Overwhelmed by stress, Se-Young sighed and scratched her head.

‘What a ridiculous marriage.’

A union between clans. A peculiar growth strategy unique to the Orc family. Se-Young had her reasons for despising arranged marriages.

This tale was entwined with a myriad of complex circumstances.

Matchmaking, or grafting in professional parlance.

Just as medieval nobles gained political advantages through marriage, the Orc family had reaped various economic benefits through arranged marriages with other families.

An undeniably aggressive approach. It was made possible because the Orc family’s lineage carried the potent blood of the World Tree. Setting aside moral concerns, it was indeed an astute strategy.

Families who wished to further enrich the blood of the World Tree required the blood of the Orc lineage. Consequently, the orc family gained considerable prestige relative to its size.

However, growth demands sacrifices.
All of Lee Se-Young’s sisters were exploited as political instruments.

Since her childhood, she had witnessed the dreadful aspects of her family, which had led her to harbor resentment towards them.
Who could possibly be content with being born as a political pawn?

Se-Young abruptly ripped a document that lay beside her.

– Jjiik! Jjiik!

Only after the meaningless paperwork was torn to shreds did she manage to quell her anger.

‘I reached this position because I didn’t want to marry. And now they want me to get married? They should stop spouting such madness.’

She refused to be a mere tool. More precisely, she didn’t want her life to end as nothing but an instrument.

To escape the quagmire, young Se-Young had to prove her worth.

She closes her eyes and reminisces about those days.

Desperately, she studied history and honed her academic skills. She developed her combat abilities and covertly absorbed the teachings of the elders. To ascend to a high position, she needed to be more ruthless than anyone else.

She had to be cruel.
Take what belonged to others.
It was acceptable to kill.

Her somewhat twisted values spurred her growth. As a result of her ethical transgressions, she committed numerous unscrupulous acts.

Even if it all ended poorly,
escaping the fate imposed by her family was enough.

Indeed, she managed to break free from being a mere pawn. By demonstrating her abilities to her family, she secured a relatively high position.

“Look, I am a capable woman.”
However, her happiness was short-lived. Upon assuming her place, her heart remained uneasy.

Was it since high school?

The guilt that she had been trying to ignore suddenly surged within her. Unlike other criminals who grew accustomed to their wicked deeds, she found herself tormented by them instead.

Every night after her deeds were done, she was plagued by auditory hallucinations and suffered nightmares without fail. Even now, when she slept, the faces of those who had been harmed by her actions would occasionally haunt her thoughts.

Was it the unbearable pain that drove her? Deep down, Se-Young longed for someone to punish her.

At that time, she was in the throes of depression. Her feelings stemmed from the naive belief that if she were to be punished, perhaps the burden on her heart could be alleviated, even if just slightly.

Her unusual sexual inclinations were triggered by an explicit video she had stumbled upon, one that depicted forced submission. This led her to entertain twisted fantasies.

Se-Young thought that it wouldn’t matter if she suffered, given the numerous grudges she had accumulated. Simultaneously, her secretly blossoming sexual desires emerged. As these thoughts intertwined, she might have resigned herself to whatever fate had in store for her.

She must be out of her mind. At least, that’s how Se-Young evaluates herself.

“Even if I die, I won’t get married.”

In truth, as she says this, she secretly thinks that anyone who marries her would likely be unhappy. She’s already a broken woman, so what benefits could they possibly gain by marrying someone like her?

“I’m just feeling down.”

Se-Young decides to wrap up her work for the day. After organizing her papers, she heads to the terrace and nonchalantly puts a cigarette in her mouth.

– Hwareuk.

The flame flickers from her fingertips, igniting the end of the cigarette with a red glow.

A sudden thought crosses her mind.

“I wonder what Si-Heon is up to.”

He could be the first and last man with whom she’d ever intimately entwine her life. As she recalls the metaphorical mask he wears, a bashful laugh escapes her lips.

She isn’t quite sure why she’s thinking about him in this manner. Perhaps it has something to do with the fortress walls.

It was an electrifying encounter at first. As per her usual modus operandi, seeking only her own gain, she caught a whiff of a rare item known as the Tree Ring and attempted to wrest it from him. Her efforts were unsuccessful, and she ended up bound and forcibly penetrated.

In truth, she could have killed him right there, but her lust had reached its zenith, so she relented.

Her mouth sealed shut, she endured until she nearly fainted from exhaustion, just as she had once fantasized. With her eyes rolled back and consciousness slipping away, she unconsciously embraced the man’s body.

For some reason, she felt a wave of embarrassment.

‘Indeed… So this is what they call being dickmatized.’

From that point on, she found herself under the man’s sway. Their paths crossed again by chance, and they discovered they had the academy in common. This connection enabled him to manipulate her.

Yet, oddly enough, from their second encounter onwards, her disdain for him began to ebb away, little by little.

Perhaps his own tiresome defensive walls or fractured values contributed to the situation.

Interest arose. Like a flower atop a pot, I wanted to gaze upon him in silence.

So, I intentionally moved my position from being a 2nd-year homeroom teacher to 1st-year, and covertly observed him. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the man I initially thought to be the worst kind of person was, surprisingly, a decent human being.

Si-heon was considerate enough to serve a cup of tea for guests arriving at his home. Though he must have been tired, he possessed the kindness to support the shoulders of an inebriated person. He was an admirable individual who could easily risk his life for something he aimed to achieve.

The more I observed him, the more his character seemed different from my initial impression.

‘It’s truly strange.’

At times he would appear impulsive, but then suddenly become cold and calculating. He would curse, yet still show tenderness. That inconsistency…

‘It’s as if a personality opposite to his original one has been implanted within him.’

At least that’s how it appeared in Se-Young’s eyes.
She was confident in her ability to read people.
And if her judgment was correct, Si-heon belonged to the side of good.

Perhaps she had fallen in love with that aspect of him.

*Huk.*

She extinguished one cigarette and placed another between her lips.

‘I want to smoke together.’

At some point, she realized she was spending a portion of her 24-hour day thinking about Lee Si-heon.

Right, why deny it?
She liked him. She admitted it.

One could scoff at love resulting from a relationship that began with rape, but what did it matter?
She had liked him for quite some time.
Even before they removed their masks, when they spent more time together.

“Then, would you just get excommunicated and live with me?”

She found his sly, heart-fluttering words endearing. She simply loved everything about him. That’s what love was, after all.

‘I’ve become a real fool too.’

If love was like putting on rose-colored glasses, hers were firmly in place.

Won’t this result in removing the liver and gallbladder?

-Hehe.

“Why do you like such a guy?”

The number of cigarette butts in the ashtray keeps growing.

“Since the unattractive guy suddenly became popular, his face value must be soaring by now, huh? Hahaha.”

It was evident that soon enough, he would be snooping around here and there. He’s the type who seems like he won’t reveal much, but ends up revealing a lot. I just hope he doesn’t get caught messing with someone important.

Se-Young caressed her neck. She slightly slid her choker down and used her phone’s mirror to take a look at the back of her neck. The distinct kiss mark was now faintly blurred.

-Ding!

The sound of an incoming text message. She tapped the screen of her phone and checked the message.

-Si-heon: What are you up to?

A natural smile appeared on her face. A warm atmosphere enveloped her, as if she had never been stressed. With her eyes half-open, Se-Young happily tapped the keyboard.

-Me: What do you want?
-Si-heon: ????
-Me: Didn’t you contact me because you wanted something? ㅡㅡ

Si-heon, perhaps taken aback by the direct message, didn’t reply for a few seconds.

-Si-heon: You know me well.

“Puhuhu”

As if to play along, he said that.

-Si-heon: I contacted you because I have something to say about this quest.

‘Quest? Right, he’s the World Tree’s husband.’

Based on the information provided by Jung Si-woo last time, there’s a penalty if the quest isn’t cleared. Conversely, if it’s cleared, an enticing reward is given. Even if it was a penalty, it wouldn’t be too severe, considering he’s a candidate for the World Tree’s husband. Unless the World Tree deliberately wants him to suffer. Who would do that?

*Tap, tap*

-Me: What quest?
-Si-heon: It’s definitely a quest that cannot fail. (Cat emoji with a mock serious expression)

Se-Young chuckled once more at the adorable emoticons before returning to her office and checking the calendar. The schedule was densely packed, without a single day left open. It was only natural for her, given her prominent position within her Orc family.

“Let’s see…”

Se-Young hummed as she retrieved a pen from her desk and brought the nib to the calendar. Without any hesitation, she smoothly crossed out a portion of her appointments. Satisfied with the now-clean schedule, Se-Young pulled out her phone, tapped the screen, and held the device to her ear.

– Trilling sound.

[Hello?]
“Hey, I have a favor to ask.”
[Oh, yeah?]

Se-Young’s voice was brimming with laughter.

“Instead, let’s go on a wild adventure together!”

She had always wanted to say that someday.

* * * * *

“????”

I stared blankly at my disconnected phone.

“Peep?”

Awakened, the chick Shiba was peeping and cuddling up to me, and I stroked her head while gazing at the messages we had exchanged.

No matter how I look at it, I never asked for anything. The main point was never even brought up. How on earth did she know?

“Shiba.”
“Peep.”
“I’m starting to feel a bit scared of the teacher.”

As if Shiba knew nothing, she innocently nuzzled her cheek into my embrace.

There are two people left.