His height easily surpassed two meters, and he was impeccably dressed in a neat suit with his short hair perfectly slicked back.
This was the first time I had ever encountered a person with such an overwhelming physique, and my legs wouldn’t move, just like when I had faced a Yeti.
It wasn’t that I was suppressed by his aura, but completely overwhelmed by his sheer size.
What was even more alarming was the fact that a man with such a powerful presence had approached right next to me, and yet I hadn’t noticed him at all.
‘Igor, this bastard… He said there was only the cook and the housekeeper.’
“…”
One shouldn’t judge a person by their appearance, but just by his utterly cold eyes, he was definitely not someone with a common profession.
Perhaps a hunting dog guarding Igor would be more fitting.
“Who are you…”
Before I could break the silence and take a step back, the man’s hand suddenly moved.
Before I could even register that fact, he grabbed my neck, making my face instantly contort.
His speed was so fast that in that brief moment, my body was already suspended in the air.
I immediately recognized him as an Awakened person, but that didn’t change the situation.
“Gah!”
He must have already known that my ability had disappeared, as he didn’t apply a lot of force to his grip from the start.
Otherwise, my neck wouldn’t be attached to my body so soundly.
It would have been separated long ago.
Nevertheless, I thrashed my legs in pain, feeling like I was about to suffocate right away.
I’d had many experiences being choked unintentionally, but this was the first time it was so painful.
Back then, my body was S-Rank, and I was certain that Do Soohyuk or Cha Rui wouldn’t kill me.
The man in front of me was undoubtedly A-Rank.
Without even an item pouch, let alone a weapon, the possibility of escaping his grasp was close to zero.
“Cough…!”
“Stop.”
And just as my vision was gradually blurring, a clear sound of footsteps echoed from somewhere.
The hand gripping my neck instantly dropped the moment the command to stop was given.
Simultaneously, I collapsed onto the floor and was forced to cough violently.
Due to the intense pressure on my throat, a harsh, metallic sound mixed with every breath I inhaled.
‘That monstrous man…’
The man who appeared at the most critical timing was Igor, as expected.
He slowly knelt down on one knee and gently lifted my chin.
“Didn’t I tell you to wait in the drawing room?”
“…”
My face was surely a sight, but I didn’t care and met his gaze.
As I glared at him, clenching my jaw so hard that the veins on my neck bulged, Igor chuckled, a low sound in his throat.
Perhaps because I now knew the whole truth, his demeanor felt entirely different from when I first saw him.
“Oh dear… Your beautiful skin has turned red.”
He unpleasantly stroked my cheek without warning, and I turned my head away, showing my disgust.
Ordinarily, my fist would have flown, but the warning about the Slave Bug if I resisted suddenly came to mind, and I barely managed to hold myself back.
Despite my cold reaction, Igor looked at me with what seemed like affection and stood up.
“As I said, I will provide you with clothes first. Escort him to the room.”
With those words, his expression completely shifted, and he gestured with his chin toward the man who was silently standing.
When dealing with the housekeeper, he had shown basic respect, but now, his eyes and tone were commanding, treating the man as a trivial existence.
Despite this, the man’s attitude was strangely submissive.
Without showing any emotion, he bowed deeply to Igor, then approached me, who was still sprawled on the floor.
“Ugh, this crazy bastard.”
He then lightly slung me over one shoulder and began to head somewhere.
We passed by several housekeepers while traversing countless stairs and corridors, but every one of them pretended not to see me and looked away.
Their natural reaction showed that this wasn’t the first time this had happened.
“Put me down right now!”
I knew it was useless, but I didn’t stop struggling the entire time we were moving.
I flailed my legs and twisted my waist this way and that, trying to break free somehow.
After hitting his back with my elbow about ten times, the man finally stopped and threw me down.
He practically tossed me like luggage, giving me no time to brace for impact.
Thump.
But despite tightly closing my eyes, the place where I lay was a soft bed, not the floor.
We had arrived at the room Igor had mentioned.
“Put them on and come out.”
With that final instruction, the man left the room as if his business was concluded.
Even at a glance, the interior of the room was quite luxurious.
The bed I was lying on was so antiquated, it looked like it had been just moved from a royal chamber, and the tables and other furniture were so opulent they were almost dazzling.
It even seemed to have a large, separate bathroom attached.
The atmosphere was completely opposite to the bleak mansion, and this scene was deeply unsettling.
It felt like a space that had been prepared for ‘Seo Inho’ specifically, for a long time.
‘He’s not really suggesting that, is he…?’
As I tried to maintain a calm expression and surveyed my surroundings, my eyes caught the neatly folded clothes on the bed.
My brows furrowed at the sight, and Chirpy cautiously crept up toward my neck.
It whimpered and immediately clung to me, so it seemed scared too.
I thought the situation had been genuinely perilous, so I slowly stroked its round head.
“I’m okay. You did well to stay quiet.”
‘Chirp…’
I stroked the gloomy Chirpy and walked toward the window, just in case.
But there was no need to even touch it; the color of the glass alone confirmed it was a specially made window.
‘Of course, he wouldn’t just let me escape.’
I put Chirpy, who was still rubbing against my cheek, back into my pocket and quietly stood in front of the door.
Click.
I slowly turned the doorknob, and unexpectedly, it smoothly turned without catching.
I inwardly cheered, thinking the foolish man had forgotten to lock it, but my eyes immediately met the man’s through the small gap in the door.
“If you don’t put them on, I will dress you myself.”
“…”
That was absolutely not an option, so I closed the door as if nothing had happened.
In the end, I gave up on escaping the room for the time being, ran a hand over my face, and slumped onto the bed.
“That damn bastard…”
It was truly a situation where cursing was unavoidable.
No matter how I thought about it, only one realistic way to escape from here came to mind.
Act obediently, then run away when a chance arises.
The problem was that I absolutely did not want to act obediently.
The mere thought of having to do as that trashy man commanded already made the back of my neck tense.
“This is the worst, seriously.”
Even as I clutched my head and berated myself, my eyes darted toward the door.
If I delayed any longer, the man might actually break in.
I’d rather put the clothes on myself than suffer the humiliation of being forcibly dressed by his hands.
“How am I supposed to wear something like this?”
But as soon as I unfolded the clothes neatly folded on the bed, a groan escaped my lips.
Just like a pervert would, it was a sheer, see-through shirt and tight leather pants.
I would prefer if he were openly stripping me; this felt like genuine perversion and was incredibly offensive.
At least they were long-sleeved and long-legged, considering the cold weather, which was a small mercy in misfortune.
“It fits perfectly, somehow.”
A moment later, I stood in front of the full-length mirror, my haggard face drooping.
I had planned to use the excuse that the size didn’t fit even slightly, but that was now useless.
The prickly-looking man in the mirror boasted a perfect fit, from the shoulder line to the trouser hems, as if the clothes had been tailored for me from the start.
The only difference was that a lot of skin was visible, and my body’s outline was even more accentuated.
“Did he deliberately cut off the phone signal too?”
A rational suspicion crossed my mind, and I glared sharply at the phone in my hand.
But even if that were the case, what could I do now?
Soon, I let out a deep sigh and trudged toward the door with reluctant steps.
I felt like a cow being led to the marketplace must feel this way.
