So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 49: Punishment (1)

After nearly two hours of discussing the psychiatric ward, Master left Windrock Palace to attend to other matters.

The sky had already darkened by then, and I collapsed right after receiving a bath and massage treatment from Jin Hayeon.

From sparring with Master to his not-so-subtle threats, and then continuously refining the plan for building the psychiatric ward while battling the side effects—I had exhausted my mental energy.

For the first time in a while, I fell asleep without being plagued by the side effects.

‘Ah… I’ve been knocked out and sleeping for the past few days.’

This thought crossed my mind as soon as I opened my eyes.

I had been continuously knocked unconscious by Jin Hayeon while in the medical ward.

Remembering that, I turned my head to the side and saw that Jin Hayeon’s bedding had already been tidied up. Bright sunlight was even streaming through the window.

‘It feels like I just closed my eyes for a moment, but a whole day has already passed.’

Feeling a sense of emptiness, I was tidying up the blanket when I heard footsteps outside.

‘What’s going on?’

Jin Hayeon wouldn’t normally make such loud footsteps.

As expected, the owner of the footsteps wasn’t Jin Hayeon.

“Big Brother!!”

The door flung open, and a little girl with a face full of mixed emotions appeared.

A Seon-ah-shaped missile launched herself into my arms.

I patted the head of the little girl, who looked like a drenched kitten, and said, “I’m sorry for making you worry.”

Seon-ah looked up at me with teary eyes, as if she was about to cry.

“I’m fine now, so don’t worry.”

“I’ll kill everyone who bullies Big Brother!”

“Don’t… What?”

What kind of kid says something like that?

‘How do those Hyeokyeon Family bastards raise their children?’

Then again, I’m the fool for expecting anything from those fanatical psychopaths.

Letting out a deep sigh, I scolded the little girl.

No! You can’t just kill everyone. You shouldn’t have such dangerous thoughts.”

“But…”

“Seon-ah, you’re still young.”

“There are bad people targeting Big Brother! And we learn martial arts to kill bad people, right?”

How shocking! The little one who used to follow me so obediently was now talking back.

But the child’s words were somewhat correct. I wasn’t surprised at her talk of killing people either.

“That’s why I’m saying you’re too young. Many of those targeting me are master martial artists. If you try to kill them now, you might end up getting killed instead. That’s why it’s dangerous.”

Unable to counter my argument, Seon-ah hung her head dejectedly.

Feeling a bit soft-hearted, I decided to offer a carrot instead of a stick.

“Still, it’s nice to see that our Seon-ah is so diligent.”

At my praise, the little one slightly raised her lowered head to look at me. I smiled and continued, “You must have been worried when you heard I was hurt, but you diligently continued your training. You held back until today.”

During my recovery period in the medical ward, I hadn’t seen Seon-ah once. That meant she had been holding back her desire to visit me and focusing on her training.

‘Well, it seems she couldn’t hold back anymore today.’

Seeing her come early in the morning rather than her usual afternoon visits suggested she had reached her limit of patience.

But for some reason, the little one turned her head slightly at my praise, avoiding my gaze.

“???”

While I was puzzled, Jin Hayeon entered with breakfast through the door Seon-ah had left open.

Upon noticing Seon-ah beside me, she spoke in her blunt tone, “You’ve come again?”

“…Again?”

As I questioned this, Jin Hayeon set down my breakfast in front of me and said, “She’s been coming every day while you were in the hospital ward. I simply didn’t wake you for the sake of your rest.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen her during meals, though?”

“They chased me away when I came during meal times, saying I’d disturb Big Brother’s rest.”

Seon-ah pouted and confessed.

While it was cute, it wasn’t something I could just let slide.

Spoiling a child just because they’re cute is a surefire way to ruin their future.

“Seon-ah, You should keep your promises.”

“I, I am! I finished all the training Auntie told me to do before coming!”

Before I could question Seon-ahh further, Jin Hayeon unexpectedly came up in the child’s defense.

“It’s probably true.”

Although the premise ‘likely’ was attached.

Intrigued by Jin Ha-yeon’s unexpected support, I glanced at her. She elaborated, “The fact that the Hyeokyeon Family hasn’t said anything to you so far, means that the young lady’s training has gone smoothly.”

I couldn’t help but agree with her explanation.

Indeed, they were the kind of people who would barge in just because I played with the kid a little. The fact that they’ve been quiet so far means there’s no problem.

“Since time is running out, perhaps you should have breakfast first, Young Master.”

As expected of Jin Hayeon the Drillmaster, she urged me to eat as if the time I wasted was her lifespan.

But the day didn’t go as she hoped.

Just as I finished breakfast with the little girl who had come early in the morning, two more guests arrived at Windrock Palace.

“Hahaha! How’s your body, Young Master?”

“Youngest, how are you feeling?”

This time, it was the positive-negative duo—Ouyang Mun and Third Brother.

“Thanks to resting well in the medical ward, my body is fine. By the way, what is that bundle in your hand Young Warrior Ouyang?”

Did he have prepared another bundle of gifts for Jin Hayeon?

Unfortunately, my assumption was wrong. He had something far more troublesome in mind.

“Hahaha. Actually, I’ll be staying here for a while, Young Master.”

“…Staying here? What do you mean staying here?”

Third Brother answered my question on his behalf.

“Due to the recent incident, Master was concerned about your safety, so I recommended Young Warrior Ouyang here. He’s been expressing his desire to become your guard for days now and I thought he’s someone we can trust.”

As he said this, Third Brother glanced at Ouyang Mun, and the two shared a brief smile before quickly straightening their faces.

It seemed they had already become close brothers.

Third Brother, now the older brother, had gone so far as to involve Master to get his love-struck younger brother assigned as my guard.

And I knew exactly why he was so desperate to become my guard.

“…Are you that worried about Miss Jin sharing a room with me?”

“W-w-what are you talking about, Young Master! I was just c-concerned because I heard you were attacked again…”

“That sounds like you don’t trust me as his guard.”

Ouyang Mun floundered under Jin Hayeon’s cold stare.

“N-no, that’s not it…”

Feeling sorry for his flustered younger brother, Third Brother stepped forward and said, “It’s a misunderstanding, Miss Jin. I’m the one who recommended Young Warrior Ouyang. Even with Miss Jin present, how could one person handle the guard duty that was previously divided among three?”

Unable to direct her anger at Third Brother, Jin Hayeon responded with her characteristically indifferent expression.

“I understand, Third Young Master.”

And I had nothing more to say either.

‘If I say anything more here, Third Brother might fall into his paranoia again.’

If he went on a rampage, claiming he was being belittled, I might end up staring at the ceiling in the hospital ward again.

Besides, I felt a little sorry for him too.

‘The fact that the woman you have a crush on is sharing a room with another man is enough to drive anyone crazy.’

Though the fact that the other man was me was a bit of a problem.

***

After some minor bickering, Ouyang Mun ended up unpacking his belongings in my room.

Around that time, Eldest Brother, Hang Geon, and Sixth Brother who suffered from schizophrenia also visited, making the Windrock Palace quite lively for a while.

“Young master has a lot of studying to catch up on today. Please leave now.”

Thanks to Jin Hayeon’s cold dismissal, everyone soon left the Windrock Palace. Except for Ouyang Mun.

After that, things proceeded much like usual, aside from a change in the order.

Since I had guests in the morning, I started studying and martial arts training in the afternoon. Then, right on schedule, Master visited, and we conducted sparring matches as usual.

In other words, I struggled desperately to survive amid the terrible killing intent and demonic energy.

After Master left, I did some light training on my own, followed by a bath and a massage.

This time, it was Ouyang Mun who took care of it instead of Jin Hayeon.

It felt strange.

‘He really is good at his job, I must say.’

Although it felt awkward receiving a bath and massage from a man, he was certainly efficient.

It made me wonder how someone so competent could lose his mind over Jin Hayeon.

And that night.

By chance, I ended up sharing a room with a lovesick patient, and I asked him, “How did you fall so hard for her?”

To be honest, I was asking because I wondered if it was the side effect of his Demonic Arts.

At my question, Ouyang Mun quickly looked around to make sure no one was nearby and let out a sigh of relief.

Then, with a nostalgic expression, he began to speak.

“I first met her on the day I entered Hall of the Demonic Way.”

And so began Ouyang Mun’s long, detailed story of his unrequited love.

From the first time they met at the Hall of the Demonic Way to the various situations they faced together as fellow disciples.

“Contrary to her cold and haughty appearance, Hayeon was a passionate person, Young Master. She always trained until late at night and fiercely competed with me for the top seat.”

“But she never wanted to depend on anyone. She always tried to stand on her own. How should I put it? She appeared strong on the outside, but when you look closely, she seems fragile, which made her seem even more pitiful.”

“So I occasionally offered a helping hand, but each time she refused in order to stand on her own, and that dignified appearance was as beautiful as a noble crane.”

After listening to his endless praise of Jin Hayeon for a while, I found myself tuning out the story.

It wasn’t simply because it was boring. It was because I’d gotten the gist of it.

‘What? So you just fell for her face at first sight?’

The story started with him being struck by her beautiful face when they first met.

What followed was even more ridiculous.

If Jin Hayeon did something, he found it pretty and liked it. If she did something else, he found it haughty and liked that too. It was like he liked her first and then came up with reasons afterward.

“Ahem. That’s enough. I understand Young Warrior Ouyang’s feelings well.”

“There’s still a lot more to the story, Young Master.”

“I have matters to attend to tomorrow, so I’ll sleep now.”

Listening to his rambling would be pointless, so I simply turned my back on him.

I thought it was the side effect of his Demonic Art, but it turned out just the typical first crush of a lifelong bachelor.

***

The next morning.

Unlike yesterday, after breakfast, I began my morning studies with Jin Hayeon as usual.

It was time to review the doctrinal texts, historical records, and law books that I had already studied once before.

While I was focused on reading, I glanced toward the door to make sure it was closed, then turned to Jin Hayeon.

“Miss Jin, may I ask you something?”

“Please do.”

“Why do you dislike Young Warrior Ouyang so much?”

Maybe it was because of what I heard from Ouyang Mun last night, but I was curious.

Not that I cared much whether Ouyang Mun’s love succeeded or failed. Just that…

‘Come to think of it, it feels less like Jin Hayeon is uninterested in Ouyang Mun and more like she outright dislikes him.’

It wasn’t very noticeable because Jin Hayeon rarely showed any emotional fluctuations.

I hadn’t paid much attention before either. It was something I realized belatedly because of yesterday’s events.

“It’s study time now, Young Master. Please ask questions relevant to your studies.”

“I don’t particularly want to meddle either, but since we’ll be living together for a while, it’s uncomfortable for me if the two of you don’t get along.”

Perhaps because the person she was supposed to serve was experiencing discomfort because of her, or perhaps due to her strong sense of responsibility, Jin Hayeon let out a faint sigh and opened her mouth.

“I disliked him from the beginning.”

And so began a story that would likely reduce Ouyang Mun to tears.