ETHTKE chapter 24

“Baek Yigang, don’t you have something to say to me?”

After restoring the forest earlier, I spent the entire afternoon following Baek Yigang around, eagerly waiting for a chance to talk to him.

But even though he clearly knew I was right behind him, Baek Yigang pretended not to notice and slyly avoided my gaze.

Not only that, he gave me no opportunity at all, leaving me with no choice but to keep my mouth shut.

“Looks like you’re the one with something to say.”

It wasn’t until night fell, and I followed him to the bedroom, that I finally got a concise answer from Baek Yigang.

I’ve been feeling it since earlier today… Baek Yigang, doesn’t he seem kind of mad at me?

Maybe he’s even a bit sulky.

Since restoring the forest, he’s been acting all cold, even though he seemed to care about me during the day, so I thought everything was fine, but maybe not?

He didn’t say anything specific, but his expressions and attitude were quite different from usual.

Even though he’s pretending not to, I could clearly see that he’s got some kind of grudge against me.

“I heard everything from the seniors in the Magic Department. You’ve been suffering in the imperial meetings because of me, haven’t you? Why didn’t you say anything?”

But regardless of his situation, I decided to deal with my own issues first.

Now that I knew the truth, I couldn’t just pretend anymore. It’s not just you who’s got things piled up, you know.

“If I had told you, would anything have changed?”

But Baek Yigang, despite having his secret discovered, responded with an oddly calm expression.

And what do you mean, ‘would anything have changed’…?

Are you seriously asking that?

After all the times you’ve used me to get help with this and that?!

“Of course, it would change! I’d help you.”

If Baek Yigang asked for my help, I was willing to do whatever it took without a second thought.

That way, I’d get a thank you and finally wake up from this damn… no, this troublesome transmigration!

Especially since Baek Yigang was the type of inherently evil person who saw every problem’s solution as leading to death.

Given that he’s the mastermind, there’s no reason to find such methods strange.

But since his ultimate goal is the emperor, I can’t just sit back and watch things get bloody.

This means I’m the person who has to cover Baek Yigang’s every move right now.

So if Baek Yigang is hiding something from me, whatever it is, it’s a big problem.

A very big problem.

“That’s not your concern. Why?”

“What do you mean, ‘why’? You’ve suffered because of me, so of course, I should help you.”

At my firm response, questioning why he’d ask something so obvious, Baek Yigang seemed to fall into thought for a moment before extending his hand toward me, gesturing for me to come closer.

What the heck?

Does he really think I’m going to come just because he’s sitting on the bed in just a thin nightshirt, telling me to come over?

What does he think I am, a dog that comes when called?

“Cheong Dowoon, are you coming or not?”

“…Fine.”

There’s no way I can refuse when he says it with such a scary face.

If only he wasn’t the mastermind, I wouldn’t have to comply like this, damn it.

Pouting, I slowly approached, and Baek Yigang gestured to the spot beside him with his eyes.

“Right now, your job is to put me to sleep. Nothing else matters.”

“If you keep changing the subject like this—”

“Cheong Dowoon, don’t kid yourself. You’re the subordinate in this contract. You don’t need to worry about anything outside of what’s written in the contract. That’s my concern.”

With those cold words, Baek Yigang suddenly grabbed my hand and tossed me onto the bed beside him.

I ended up face-planting into the bed sheets, completely stunned by the absurdity of it all.

I offered to help, and what do I get?

‘My concern’?

So you’re really going to insist on drawing these boundaries?

And you’re even resorting to physical force when words don’t work?!

Seriously, who else but a mastermind would have such a foul temper?

How hard would it be to just live peacefully together?

But there’s no point in arguing any further.

After all, if Baek Yigang were the type to answer honestly when asked, I wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble in the first place.

“…But, are you mad at me or something?”

I slowly picked myself up and leaned in closer to Baek Yigang, who was lying there with his eyes closed.

Seriously, no matter how many times I see him, it’s hard to get used to that face.

Is it really okay for the mastermind to be this pretty? No matter how I look at it, he doesn’t fit the iWizard of a ruthless villain.

If only he spoke a bit more kindly and stopped acting like a demon, he’d be the best groom in the empire, just like Asel said.

As I asked, Baek Yigang’s closed eyes slowly opened.

Our gazes met at close range, lingering in silence for a moment.

“Why are you asking something like that?”

His voice soon followed, throwing a strange question my way.

It felt like he knew everything but was asking just to mess with me.

But Baek Yigang always spoke in such an unfriendly manner, so figuring out what he was really thinking was no easy task.

“Well… after you came back from the Magic Department meeting, it seemed like you were avoiding my eyes…”

“So, are you upset?”

If it’s not just my imagination, he seemed to be waiting for my answer.

It was as if he expected me to say I was upset here…

But I wasn’t going to admit it, of course.

But seriously, why is he asking such weird questions?

Shouldn’t you normally ask if someone’s angry in this situation?

“Of course not! I was just asking because it’s unfair. What did I do so wrong?”

As I strongly denied it and waved my hands in protest, a chilling gleam flashed over Baek Yigang’s dark eyes.

His narrowed gaze suddenly seemed even more menacing.

“You still don’t know what you did wrong. That’s unfortunate.”

“What did I do? Wow, I’m really—”

Before I could finish, I felt a strong pull.

Before I could even gasp, my body lurched forward.

Since I was already half-turned toward Baek Yigang, I lost my balance completely.

Before I knew it, I realized that I’d ended up in Baek Yigang’s arms.

“Wh-what are you…?”

“Shut up. Stay still.”

Wait, isn’t this more like I’m the one pinning Baek Yigang down?

Of course, that’s not what’s really happening, but from an outsider’s perspective, it sure could be misunderstood…

“Finally, some peace and quiet.”

“…Can’t you just tell me what I did? I really don’t know.”

“No. Figure it out yourself.”

How can he be so firm about refusing? I don’t even know what I did wrong, so how can I apologize?

He’s not really blaming me for what happened at the Magic Department meeting, is he? That would be completely unreasonable…

No, it couldn’t be that.

“Fine, just let go of me for now. I’ll let you sleep however you want.”

“I told you to be quiet.”

In the end, I lost the argument with Baek Yigang and had to spend the night in his arms.

“Your Highness, the movements of the Second Prince have been suspicious lately.”

Yigang, who was busy working, instinctively glanced at Dowoon.

Dowoon was sprawled out on the office sofa, mouth slightly open, sleeping soundly as if the world didn’t exist.

This morning, when Yigang opened his eyes, feeling refreshed for the first time in a while, he saw Dowoon lying on the bed, dark circles under his eyes, glaring at him sideways.

As their eyes met in the dazzling morning sunlight, Dowoon suddenly cried out to Yigang in a desperate voice.

“Baek Yigang, I couldn’t sleep at all because of you!”

“Hmm? I slept well, though.”

It seemed that while Yigang slept soundly, Dowoon couldn’t sleep at all.

When Yigang asked what the problem was, Dowoon hesitated, his lips trembling as he struggled to answer.

After a moment, as if making up his mind, Dowoon yelled out loud, his voice echoing through the bedroom.

“You… I was worried you’d crush me to death…!”

“…What?”

Crush him to death? Who?

…Me?

Yigang couldn’t hide his disbelief at Dowoon’s words and ended up laughing quietly. He couldn’t stop the ridiculous laughter from escaping.

Where on earth did such a fool come from? Crush him to death, really?

After laughing so hard that his stomach hurt, Yigang finally managed to stop. He wasn’t used to laughing so uproariously, so it felt strange to him.

“You’re responsible. Give me back my precious sleep.”

Dowoon kept whining like a child, demanding compensation for not getting any sleep all night.

Because of that pitiful sight, Yigang teased Dowoon for a while before finally allowing him to sleep in the office.

So as soon as Dowoon arrived at the office, he threw himself onto the sofa and fell asleep immediately.

Recalling the morning’s events, Yigang stood up with a faint smile and approached the deeply sleeping Dowoon, gently closing his slightly open mouth.

“Report.”

Only after finishing an important task did Yigang finally give his slow approval. Asel bowed his head and continued to report what he had seen and heard.