Quietly Hiding that I am a Man chapter 75- Fake Witch

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I checked on the children.

Thankfully, none seemed severely injured.

I gave a slight signal to the girl who met my gaze.

Following her lead, the children all ran in the opposite direction.

I turned my bowstring toward the man who seemed intent on chasing them.

“Don’t move!”

My shoulder throbbed as if it would shatter from holding the bowstring so tightly.

Due to the hit I’d taken to my head earlier, my vision in one eye was blurry.

But I knew that letting go of the string would mean the end.

At the very least, I needed to buy the children some time to escape.

Realizing that I was serious about shooting, the men exchanged glances, looking troubled, and then turned back.

“Hey, Derek! Did you know this girl could shoot a bow?”

The moment I heard the familiar name, my eyes widened.

While I stood frozen in shock, a familiar face emerged from among the men.

As soon as I recognized him, a headache flared.

Derek, now without his robe, stared at me with an amused expression.

“Do you remember what I said to you once?”

“…”

“I told you that you would regret it.”

So, Derek was the one who orchestrated the kidnapping?

It was unexpected.

Sure, I knew he had a grudge against Jeanne, but I never thought he had the nerve for something like this.

Seeing his overly confident face, as if he had already won, filled me with disgust.

Derek, now humming a tune, spoke again, hands behind his back.

“You already know, don’t you? In your condition, you can’t last more than ten minutes. No matter how hard you try, those kids will get caught.”

“…”

“I have no intention of being disrespectful, Miss. The only goal is to keep you from attending the guild assembly in a few days. If you stay quietly with me for just a few days, that’ll be enough.”

What nonsense! Who in their right mind would orchestrate a grand crime just to achieve that?

And kidnapping the adopted daughter of a duke, no less!

Suspicious, I bit my lip, convinced that Derek was hiding his true intentions.

Of course, it was true that the annual guild assembly at the academy was only a few days away.

The assembly served as a type of hearing, where every guild had to prove its merits and resolve any accusations to continue operating.

I had to attend to demonstrate that the Luna Guild met the Three Principles.

But if I wasn’t there, we wouldn’t be able to prove anything, and the Luna Guild would be dismantled.

Glaring at Derek, who was smiling smugly, I spoke in a flat tone.

“Your guild, Pluto… it’s a new guild, right? Not even a year old?”

Derek, startled by my sudden mention of his guild, nodded.

“Yes, but… is there a problem?”

“And you think the other guilds ignored the Rabbit Brothers because they’re weak and incapable?”

“You’re well informed. I’m trying to correct that injustice…”

“Then it’s not me. It’s you.”

Derek narrowed his eyes, confused.

As my vision sharpened slightly, I quickly released the bowstring.

The arrow flew through the air and embedded itself in Derek’s shoulder.

“It’s not me who’ll regret this, idiot. It’s you.”

Derek, who had been glaring at me with trembling eyes, grabbed the arrow stuck in his shoulder.

The mercenaries observing the scene quickly unsheathed their swords.

Derek, now pale, shouted angrily.

“Damn it, catch her!”

I turned and sprinted down the slope, hearing the barking of the released warhounds behind me.

Knowing I’d die if caught, I ran with all my strength until my throat tasted like blood.

“Ugh!”

I tripped on a tree root and fell forward, landing hard on the ground.

Groaning in pain, I turned at the sound of growling.

The dogs, now drooling and surrounding me, had already closed in.

One of the larger hounds slowly approached.

“Stay back.”

I swung the sharp arrowhead wildly, shouting at them.

Derek, who had caught up by then, walked toward me, snatched the arrow from my hand, and slapped me hard across the face.

I fell to the side, realizing how furious he was that I’d shot him.

My vision flashed, and a ringing sound filled my ears.

Derek, who was chuckling softly, grabbed my hair and yanked it upward.

“Contrary to the rumors that you can’t resist men, you seem really reluctant to spend the night with me. I thought you’d be all for it.”

“Ugh…”

“Jeanne, you know what pisses me off about women like you?”

I tried to turn my head away, but Derek grabbed my chin, forcing me to face him.

His hand, which was gripping my hair, trembled with anger.

“You pretend to be all noble, but you’ve earned nothing through your abilities. You’re just lucky, pretending to be a noblewoman because you got adopted into a good family. If I were born into an aristocratic family, you would have loved me!”

Derek shouted, finally showing his true colors.

Now, I understood the situation better.

The guild was just an excuse.

Derek had used the Pluto Guild to orchestrate this kidnapping.

His face was flushed with rage, and though my body ached from the fall and his strike, I stubbornly held back my tears.

Showing him any weakness would hurt my pride.

Trembling, I let out a laugh.

“Hah… I know this isn’t the time to laugh, but…”

“…”

“I used to just dislike you—thought you were annoying. But now, it’s beyond dislike.”

Derek’s grip on my hair faltered slightly. Still smirking, I added,

“I pity you. I genuinely feel sorry for you and the life you’ll spend consumed by that inferiority complex.”

Derek stared at me blankly, then pulled out a dagger from his belt.

Gripping it tightly, he yanked me closer.

Seeing my reflection in the sharp blade sent chills down my spine.

“Fine, Jeanne. Say what you want. You’ll be staying with me, after all.”

“…”

“No man will ever love you after your face is scarred. Even if one does, he’d have to be insane. Remember this: the only place you belong is by my side.”

The barking of the dogs grew louder.

My body trembled instinctively, sensing the danger from the dagger poised to slash my face.

Derek raised the weapon.

‘Is this it?’

As resignation set in, a strange calm washed over me. I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable pain.

But just then, the barking ceased abruptly.

There was no pain, no slash on my face. I opened my eyes slowly, and my body stiffened.

A man in a black robe now stood between Derek and me.

“You shouldn’t speak carelessly of crazy men at night.”

“…”

“Because when you do, they think you’re talking about them and come looking.”

The man, who recited a slightly altered superstition, grabbed Derek’s wrist with force.

There was a sickening crack as Derek’s wrist bent unnaturally, followed by his scream.

“You bastard!”

A gust of wind blew, revealing the face under the man’s robe.

My heart raced.

His signature ominous gaze was the same, but his face looked slightly fatigued.

It was Jerome. As he examined my bloodied face, he let out a sigh of regret.

“Just so you know, don’t cry. If you cry, I’ll have to kill someone again.”

As soon as I heard Jerome’s troubled voice, my nose stung for some reason.

Instead of wondering how he was here, I felt a wave of relief that he survived, and as the tension left me, the pain from my injuries flooded in all at once.

Jerome, who had been anxiously pacing, suddenly shoved Derek backward.

Derek, falling onto the ground, looked between me and Jerome with a dazed expression.

Jerome crouched in front of me and gently brushed a fallen leaf out of my hair.

“Hold on a bit longer, okay? The investigation at the temple is way harsher than you’d think. Do you know how ruthless those people are? They won’t even give you a sip of water during the interrogation, and don’t even think about taking care of yourself.”

“I really thought I was going to die this time…”

“Yeah, I get it. It must’ve been terrifying. You held on well, even without your husband.”

Jerome’s voice was overly kind, and I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

Is he really trying to make sure I don’t cry?

It feels more like he’s setting the stage for me to break down.

But I just felt a lump in my throat—tears weren’t coming, so I sniffed and calmed myself down.

“Of course, I won’t cry. I’m not going to cry over something like this.”

Jerome stared at me for a moment, then, out of nowhere, he bit my earlobe, just like he used to.

The pain was so sharp, like my ear was about to be ripped off, that I screamed and writhed in agony.

I punched his shoulder repeatedly until my strength gave out, leaving me expressionless, tears streaming down my face.

Only after seeing my tears did Jerome let go and mutter quietly.

“Got you to cry.”

You’re the one who made me cry!

Holding my aching ear, I thought about Jerome’s state of mind.

It seemed like he remembered what I told him about not killing people recklessly, but his temperament was such that he wanted to kill Derek right there.

He was likely planning to justify it by saying, ‘It’s not that I’m a crazy murderer, but now that I’ve seen your tears, I had no choice.’

A clever way to dodge my scolding.

Why didn’t he just tell me to cry from the start?

How did he manage to choose the option that caused me the most pain in such a short time?

It was almost impressive.

I staggered to my feet and looked around.

The hellhounds, which had seemed ready to pounce at any moment, were now cowering with their tails tucked between their legs.

One of them had even wet itself.

Hellhounds were one of the few demonic creatures that humans could tame, but they were notorious for being fierce and brutal, rarely backing down from a threat.

The only being I knew capable of subduing hellhounds with just their presence was Jerome.

‘They must have sensed Mephisto inside Jerome. Hellhounds are far more sensitive than humans.’

The mercenaries who had arrived late noticed the hellhounds’ strange behavior and froze.

In the tense atmosphere, Jerome slowly approached Derek.

Just moments ago, Derek had been so confident, but now his face drained of color as he shook his head in denial.

His next words made my blood boil.

“It’s not my fault! That slut seduced me first! I’m just the victim here. You’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you? How many men she’s manipulated with that pretty face of hers?”

Jerome stopped in his tracks at Derek’s words, his foot hovering mid-step.

I felt the need to deny it immediately, but before I could explain, Jerome turned toward me.

Contrary to my expectations that he would lose his mind, Jerome simply made a quiet gesture, pressing a finger to his lips.

“No. From now on, I don’t even want to hear your voice.”

It finally clicked what had been bothering me all along. Jerome’s face was smiling, his voice was calm, but his eyes were dead black.

The murderous intent laced within his cheerful voice wasn’t just something I noticed; even the mercenaries hesitated to approach him.

Jerome stopped right in front of Derek, then made a playful noise toward one of the hellhounds.

The hellhound, still lying flat, wagged its limp tail as it approached Jerome.

Bending down, Jerome gently petted the creature’s head before speaking brightly.

“Let’s make a deal. I tend to have trouble sleeping after killing people. So, if someone volunteers to sacrifice themselves in the next thirty seconds, I’ll only kill them. But if no one steps up, I’ll kill everyone here.”

It was an offer straight out of a deal with the devil.

The hellhound rolled onto its back, completely submissive, while the mercenaries, seeing the tamed beast, let out small sighs of despair.

In the darkness, Jerome’s eyes glowed a deep red.

His voice cut through the air as Derek muttered a curse under his breath.

“Ten seconds have passed.”

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