Quietly Hiding that I am a Man chapter 38- Fake Companion

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Suppressing the curses rising in my throat, I spoke seriously.

“And by the way, that kid is someone I brought here. If you treat him recklessly, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Okay.”

“Did you hear me? Repeat what I just said.”

“Lower your head for a moment.”

Jerome, who had been observing my face, gestured with his hand.

Confused, I lowered my head slightly, and a large hand cupped my cheek.

I felt the throbbing pain gradually subside.

‘What is this? It’s amazing. It doesn’t hurt at all.’

By the time Jerome removed his hand, the throbbing pain in my head had completely vanished.

Astonished, I ran my tongue inside my mouth.

Even a small tooth was growing in the spot where one had been missing.

“How did you do that? Healing magic should only be possible with divine power.”

“It’s not healing magic. I’m manipulating your mind, making you believe it doesn’t hurt.”

Is it like tricking someone into thinking an onion is an apple?

The more I learned, the more this magic seemed tailor-made for scams.

But even if it was possible to dull pain through mental manipulation, I couldn’t explain how a new tooth had grown.

Pondering this, I asked again.

“And what about the new tooth?”

“Mind magic has a broader scope than you might think. It’s not just about controlling thoughts; it can also deceive the body. If I brainwash you into thinking, ‘a tooth is growing,’ your body will react as if it’s true.”

Jerome spoke nonchalantly, but I was quietly amazed.

If what he said was true, mind magic had the potential to evolve into something even greater.

If it could erase pain intense enough to cause shock, or restore lost physical abilities…

“This magic is far more valuable than I thought.”

Jerome, watching my stunned expression, finally spoke.

“Once it’s fully grown, I’ll come take it out again…”

“……”

“Take good care of it until then.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my throbbing forehead.

At this rate, I felt like I might actually die from stress.

“By the way, Master, since we’re on the topic of the lake…”

Bermut, who had been nervously watching, raised his hand and spoke. I nodded with a puzzled expression.

“What is it?”

“Since yesterday, I’ve been sensing an ominous aura from the lake behind the Duke’s mansion.”

“The lake behind the Duke’s mansion?”

A scene from the original story flashed through my mind. I recalled the third heretic that appeared at ‘Marron’s Spring.’ Bermut glanced at Jerome and spoke with disdain.

“It feels similar to Mephisto’s aura I sensed from this watchdog here. It’s vile, filthy, like fish bones discarded in a trash can.”

“……”

“What will you do? Shouldn’t we contact the temple?”

If I contacted the temple, Luke would be dispatched, and the credit for defeating the heretic would go to him. I propped my chin on my hand and tapped my cheek with my finger before speaking.

“Jerome, are you still hungry?”

“Yes, I’d love to eat your butler right now.”

Bermut flinched, but it seemed he had finally realized the difference in power and submitted completely, unlike before. What a cunning guy.

“Perfect timing.”

I stood up from the sofa and looked out the window.

A lake surrounded by dense forest came into view. If I were alone, I would never consider such a reckless idea, but with Jerome and Bermut, it was a different story.

They both clearly possessed extraordinary strength.

If I continued to take away Luke’s achievements like this, the honor he enjoyed in the original story would eventually belong to Jeanne.

And if I kept proving Jeanne’s worth, I was confident I could delay the inevitable bad ending.

“I’m curious to see just how good the hand I’m holding really is.”

Turning around with my hands clasped behind my back, I spoke calmly to the two beasts who were blindly loyal to me.

“Let’s go out for dinner.”

While Bermouth went down to prepare the carriage, Jerome also disappeared after being summoned by his father, Duke Michael.

I slipped away from the maids, returned to my room, and checked my face.

Thanks to Jerome, the pain had lessened, but there was still a large, bluish bruise on my cheek.

I rubbed my split lip and squinted my eyes.

“If either Duke Carlote or Cedric saw this, the whole household would be in an uproar again.”

I had already been scolded to the point of tears for running around barefoot in the marketplace, and with my face in this condition, I was sure to be grounded for at least a month.

And even if it wasn’t because of those two, if a noble lady like me went out looking like this, it would definitely lead to gossip.

I stared at the powder and rouge on the vanity, lost in thought.

If I could skillfully apply makeup to cover the bruises, there wouldn’t be a problem, but I was just an ordinary guy who had served in the South Korean Army as a sergeant.

Even though Jeanne was an exceptionally beautiful girl, the thought of putting on makeup felt strange to me, given my somewhat old-fashioned personality.

“I should start thinking things through before I act…”

Knock, knock.

As I hesitated, unable to do anything, a knock on the door snapped my head around. A faint voice came from beyond the door.

“My Lady, it’s Twitty. I’ve come to help you get ready to go out.”

Though Jerome and I were headed to deal with a heretic, we had told Michael it was a date.

Jeanne was the daughter of a prestigious family, and Jerome was a madman who had only recently been released from prison.

If we had said we were going after a heretic, Duke Michael would have definitely contacted the temple in alarm.

So, I had advised Jerome to say, with the most lovestruck expression he could manage, “I’d like to take a walk around the lakeside with Lady Jeanne.”

After a brief moment of indecision, I made up my mind.

The moment I told her to come in, Twitty flung the door open and entered.

Humming a tune in excitement, she gasped the moment she saw my face.

“Oh my gosh, My Lady! Your, your face…”

“Shh.”

Twitty swallowed hard at my gesture, placing a finger over my lips. With a cold expression, I spoke.

“Twitty, I really hate servants who talk too much. A maid who used to serve me couldn’t keep her mouth shut. So, I punished her by hanging her from the grandfather clock, where the pendulum used to be.”

“…”

“She dangled there, swaying back and forth… it was quite the sight.”

At my faint smile, Twitty’s face went pale. She dropped to her knees and, trembling, shouted in a shaking voice.

“I-I will never speak of this! I won’t tell anyone that you got into a fight with some street thugs and that’s why your face is a mess. I won’t tell anyone that you beat up the gang leader and became the new boss either!”

“That never happened. What kind of wild imagination do you have to come up with that in such a short time?”

When I responded dryly to her sudden promotion of me to gang leader, Twitty squeezed her eyes shut.

Watching her tremble as she lay on the floor, I figured I had scared her enough.

“Anyway, Twitty, can you help me cover this bruise? I’m not good at makeup.”

Looking a bit dazed by my sudden change in tone, Twitty nodded vigorously. I sat at the vanity, waiting for her.

Hesitantly, she picked up the powder and began applying it, focusing on the bruised areas.

Her hands were quite skilled.

Twitty was an ordinary girl who liked to doll herself up and was sensitive to trends.

As I expected, she was Ber adept at concealing my bruise.

As I turned my head back and forth, inspecting the result, Twitty smiled shyly.

“I’ve seen many beautiful young ladies, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as stunning as you, My Lady. Don’t you get surprised sometimes when you look in the mirror?”

“Weren’t you the one who said my eyes were cold and that I gave off a gloomy atmosphere?”

“At the time, I was just jealous for no reason. Since I’m from the outskirts, I guess I felt an inferiority complex toward someone like you, a lady from Sacre. I’m really ashamed of it now.”

She’s unexpectedly honest. I liked that about her.

At least she wasn’t saying anything she didn’t mean. I shook my head gently as she reached for a comb.

“This is enough. You can leave now.”

“Wait! Let me apply some rouge. After all, it is a date. I want to make sure you look beautiful.”

When she suddenly reached out to touch my lips, I froze.

I realized it was probably the first time a girl had ever touched my lips.

Feeling embarrassed, I looked away, and Twitty blinked rapidly. Seeing her cheeks flush, I frowned.

“Why are you blushing?”

“Huh? I don’t know… I just felt a little flutter just now… Could it be that I… like girls?”

“Why does your mind always go in strange directions?”

I took her hand off my lips, puzzled by her reaction.

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