Quietly Hiding that I am a Man chapter 78- Fake Goods

* * *

“We managed to defeat the monster, but the knights guarding the carriage were killed by it. I’d like you to retrieve their bodies.”

“We’re relieved you’re safe, Lady. If you had been gravely injured, we would have lost our heads. Leave the clean-up to us and get treated first.”

I nodded and entered the mansion.

The maids who checked my condition flinched and quickly averted their eyes.

Returning home covered in blood every time couldn’t have been a comforting sight.

Honestly, I’d be scared of myself too.

The maids whispered among themselves in hushed voices.

“She survived a monster attack that killed the knights?”

“So the rumor about her ruling the back alleys with her fists and becoming the new boss must be true.”

Judging by the detail of the rumor, it was definitely Twitty’s doing.

Seeing the maids trembling, who used to look for every opportunity to pester me just a few months ago, didn’t feel half bad.

Where there is light, there is also shadow; while some maids cowered, others looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“I know. Lady Jeanne must have defeated the monster all by herself. She’s so cool.”

“But why does she only keep Twitty as her servant? I want to help dress her up too.”

Ignoring the disappointed voices of the maids, I climbed the stairs.

As soon as I reached my bedroom, my legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the floor.

Pulling out the Jerry doll that only had three whiskers left, I thought, ‘Little hero, huh.’

Honestly, I was a little jealous of Jerome.

Jerry may have been a small doll, but his love for Jerome was unmatched.

Even when everyone else abandoned Jerome, Jerry had certainly kept loving him.

I stuffed the silly-looking doll into my pocket and stood up.

‘I wonder what it feels like—to be loved unconditionally…’

For some reason, my mouth tasted bitter.

To me, love had always been more of a tool to fill the emptiness.

I thought that the romantic, devoted love described in novels and movies was all a lie.

‘People always asked when Carlisle and Luke were going to start dating in the comments every chapter.’

Suddenly, the thought struck me.

Maybe I’d been so bad at romance because I didn’t believe in love myself.

Everything I ever loved had left me alone.

“…That last sentence is pretty good. I should write it down and use it in a novel.”

I hurriedly reached for my notebook.

My job being what it was, even the sadness I felt eventually turned into material for my writing.

Just as I was getting excited and writing away, a loud crash came from the window, and something rolled across the floor.

Staring blankly at the dragon covered in glass shards and panting heavily, I spoke in a flat voice.

“Can’t you ever just come through the door like a normal person?”

“Grrraahhfft!”

I watched the dragon, Ber, closely, noticing something clamped between his teeth.

It was the insignia of the Pluto Guild, dripping with saliva.

I jumped up and snatched it from Ber’s mouth.

He grinned, baring his fangs.

“I brought what you asked me to steal, Master!”

“You… you little… clever thing!”

“Khehehe. I am clever, yes, I am clever.”

I wiped the slobber-covered insignia on my clothes.

The guild insignia was crucial for processing commissions.

Originally, I had Ber steal it to mess with that nuisance Derek, but now this insignia was as good as evidence to bring down the Pluto Guild.

“Just as I expected.”

I pulled out a piece of paper hidden inside my sleeve and compared it to the insignia.

“The Pluto Guild, despite being a relatively new guild, has an absurd amount of money. It’s thanks to that capital that they could recruit members so aggressively, unlike other new guilds.”

I’d been wondering how Derek could have gotten help from the slave traders.

If he was close enough to hire mercenaries for a kidnapping, they must have built a certain level of trust.

*‘Suspicious, very suspicious.’

It didn’t make sense for Derek, who came from a family that supplied tea sets to the royal court, to be involved with slave traders.

There was only one possible answer.

The Pluto Guild and the slave traders had some connection I wasn’t aware of.

While I was deep in thought, Ber, who had been shaking himself off, tilted his head and asked.

“What does the guild’s money have to do with the insignia?”

“It’s all deeply connected.”

I recalled the conversation I had with the Sacre girl in the carriage.

When I asked if they’d signed a contract with the guildmaster, she had shown me a crumpled contract.

“This is the contract. They took advantage of the fact that the Sacre children don’t know Imperial, and wrote it in Imperial. As long as this contract exists, we can’t escape from them.”

“Could you show me that contract?”

I stared at the tear-stained contract for a while, then smiled quietly.

After being treated so horribly, I wouldn’t be satisfied with just driving Derek insane.

I wanted to destroy those vile people who would use any means necessary to get what they wanted.

Seeing my expression, Ber flinched and quietly retreated.

Clutching the insignia tightly, I muttered in a low, fierce voice.

“Let’s show them. Sometimes, even the hunter gets bitten by the wild dog.”

✽ ✽ ✽

On the day of the guild conference, the top officials of every major guild gathered in the grand hall.

As I hurried to enter on time, I made eye contact with some members of the Pluto Guild coming from the opposite direction.

The moment our eyes met, two men froze and muttered to each other, their faces turning pale.

“Damn it, how is she here?”

“Yeah, and Derek… why the hell hasn’t he contacted us…?”

They all looked like they’d seen a ghost.

Not wanting to cause a scene before the conference even began, I quietly walked past them.

I could feel curious glances being thrown my way from all around the hall.

“Did you hear? There’s a rumor that Lady Layla joined the Luna Guild.”

“They say it was that guild that created the tulip corsage.”

“Ever since Jeanne joined the Luna Guild, hasn’t the atmosphere there changed a bit?”

Was it just his imagination, or had the way people looked at Jeanne subtly changed?

Instead of the usual uneasy stares, curious eyes were now focused on him, making him feel strangely awkward.

He quickly found his seat, pretending not to notice, but his expression soured immediately.

As expected, the Luna Guild’s seating was at the back, where the stage was barely visible.

‘How petty.’

The guild committee ranked each guild based on their achievements every year.

The ranking system was created to encourage students at the academy to participate more actively in guild activities.

The higher the rank, the more support and benefits the guild received.

In addition, well-paying missions often went to the top-ranking guilds, and the prestige of being in one of the top guilds was an added bonus.

‘Let’s see… where is Luna Guild ranked?’

Jeanne squinted at the distant ranking board, and as soon as he saw their rank, his blood pressure spiked.

He clenched the back of his neck, swallowing his frustration.

‘I would’ve been better off not looking.’

He spotted Luke and Mia chatting at the front row.

As soon as he saw Luke, Jeanne was relieved to be seated farther away.

After all, he wasn’t particularly thrilled to see Luke, who clearly disliked him.

Amidst the noise, a man stepped onto the stage and waved his hand.

“It seems like everyone’s here, so let’s start the guild meeting.”

Jeanne froze the moment he saw the man on the stage.

He recognized him as a senior who once flaunted lending a magic defense stone to Cedrick.

What was his name again? Something that sounded like “delivery.” Judging by his role as the chair of the guild meeting, he seemed to hold a rather important position.

“Before we begin the meeting, there’s an announcement for all guilds. Karen, if you would.”

The girl standing next to the senior nodded.

Bringing her hands together as if in prayer, she cast a spell, and three massive illusions appeared in the air above the auditorium.

The freshmen, attending their first guild meeting, gasped and screamed in awe.

The men next to Jeanne whispered to each other.

“Karen’s illusion magic never fails to impress.”

“Seriously, there are only monsters like her in the committee.”

To show such a vivid illusion to everyone—perhaps it was to be expected from academy students, but the level was exceptional.

Jeanne’s mouth fell open as he watched the floating images.

Whoosh!

A huge whale, created from the illusion, swam freely through the air.

The scene was so lifelike that Jeanne’s heart raced. Watching the whale pass overhead, he thought to himself.

‘That’s the sacred beast Belges of the South.’

Ahahaha!

Just as Jeanne was entranced by the sight of the sacred beast, a high-pitched laughter pierced his ears. A fairy king, Oberon, appeared, fluttering his violet wings amidst a swarm of butterflies.

‘That’s… the sacred beast Oberon of the East.’

Oberon smiled mischievously before disappearing into the floor.

Then, a massive flame filled the auditorium, and from within the white fire, a figure emerged.

It was the war god Parak, the sacred beast that guarded the North.

Karen, clearly drained from the spell, stepped down from the stage, exhausted.

The chair, who had winked at her as if to say, “Well done,” spoke up again.

“What you just saw were the sacred beasts of Maya’s territories. These beings have protected the human world from the forces of evil, maintaining the natural order and coexisting with humans for ages.”

The sacred beasts, sent by Maya to protect humanity from Mephisto.

And I needed to obtain the Stone that bore Maya’s power from them to eradicate Mephisto within Jerome.

Luke, seated in the front, nervously raised his hand and asked.

“I’m aware of that, but why are you showing us the sacred beasts now?”

“Good question.”

It wasn’t just Luke who seemed confused—other guild members were also visibly perplexed.

Gripping the pocket watch around their necks tightly, they waited for the chair’s next words.

He surveyed the room with a calm smile before speaking in a low voice.

“There’s been a report from the Northern territory. The sacred beast there has begun to show signs of corruption.”

* * *