The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

50 – Ruthless

“Was this supposed to be mint?”

He’d seen it used occasionally as a side treat, but he never imagined putting it into a chocolate cake like this.

“This feels like a scam.”

If this cake had been named Mint Chocolate Cake instead of Blueberry Chocolate Cake, Logan would have never ordered it.

“Try it once. They say it’s delicious.”

“Mint and chocolate together… no matter how you think about it, they don’t seem to match…”

If they were separate, he was confident he could eat them well enough. Chocolate cake was so precious in Logan’s life that he couldn’t just not eat it, and mint was decent enough to eat.

But together?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand.

“I thought the same way, but once you try it, your opinion changes. Let’s just pretend and try it once.”

For Ara, it was a sincere suggestion, but for Logan, it was an utterly baffling proposition.

If Logan was trying to provoke her by saying such things, then Logan could probably handle it. But in her own way, Ara was just introducing Logan to the food she enjoyed. She didn’t want to say anything harsh.

“Phew… If I eat it and it’s not good, I’ll give it all to you.”

Ara was a prosecutor.

Saying she could handle a little more cake meant there was still space in her stomach.

“It’s unlikely, right? It’s definitely going to be delicious.”

Logan cautiously picked up a fork and approached the blueberry chocolate cake.

No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like it would taste good, but Ara was staring at him so intently that he felt it was only polite to take a bite.

“Mmm…”

And so, the blueberry chocolate cake and Logan’s tongue made their first contact.

“It’s… not bad.”

It wasn’t completely inedible.

The unique sharpness of mint mixed with the sweet taste of the chocolate cake created a remarkable dissonance, but it was not something he couldn’t put in his mouth.

After all, back when Logan was really struggling, he had put things in his mouth that were no different from mud, so there was no such thing as food he couldn’t eat in this world.

“I don’t understand why you like it.”

“How is it? It’s probably worth chewing once it’s in your mouth.”

That was about it.

If the purpose was to supply nutrients, he could probably put it in his mouth, but it wasn’t a taste he particularly wanted to seek out.

It was at the level where he wouldn’t eat it even if it were free, and if someone gave it to him as a gift, he would only eat it out of courtesy.

“Try some more. Maybe your opinion will change?”

“Help yourself. It’s not to my taste.”

Back when Logan was poor, he might have devoured a blueberry chocolate cake with the mindset of ‘Nutrition for me!’ But now, he was wealthy enough to be recognized even by the system.

It was more profitable to discard this tasteless food and eat something else.

“Wow, this is delicious.”

In the end, Logan decided to let Ara and the others finish the blueberry chocolate cake, and he ordered another one for himself.

‘Is this really a cake?’

As the wave of sweetness covered his mouth with the first bite, Logan couldn’t help but nod in approval.

The blueberry chocolate cake was sweet, but it had a strange taste that prevented him from fully enjoying it.

“It’s quite famous and delicious.”

Despite earning a lot of money, Logan, who was not one to indulge, rarely had the opportunity to eat such luxurious desserts.

Even for Logan, there was something different about the taste when he ate it, which made him understand why Ara brought him to this dessert shop.

‘She must have come to treat me to something delicious.’

Although it was a completely baseless assumption, Logan couldn’t help but think that way.

From Logan’s perspective, who couldn’t even imagine Ara having a liking for him, it was inevitable to develop a prejudice that Ara wanted to feed him the delicious food he liked, just by seeing her recommend the blueberry chocolate cake.

“Thanks for the introduction. I should come with my mentor sometime.”

Even Ara, who had no experience in dating, could realize that Logan had no interest in her with this line.

What kind of man in this world would bring a woman he liked to a dessert shop and then say he would come with his mentor later?

‘He’s clueless.’

Logan’s astonishing obtuseness only fueled Ara’s determination.

If Logan had been a bit clueless, she might have played hard to get, but since he was completely putting up walls, she began to feel the urge to approach him first.

“Oppa, you don’t have any plans after this, do you?”

“Well, most of the busy work is roughly settled.”

Logan was someone who knew how to balance work and life.

Having been busy traveling here and there during the peak of expanding his business, he started building a system that could run even without him, as he never wanted to spend his whole life working tirelessly. With considerable talent in the overall business, he successfully built the entire system within a month, now creating a work-life balance that allowed him to attend an academy.

Until the silent carriage, now named “car,” is officially released, there shouldn’t be any major variables.

“In that case, follow me.”

What is she going to introduce this time?

Although being introduced to a delicious dessert place was nice, the shock of the Blueberry Chocolate Cake still lingered in Logan’s mind, so he followed Ara with both anticipation and anxiety.

“I know a great restaurant.”

“You’re going to eat dessert and then go to a restaurant?”

Logan’s question was purely out of curiosity, but it hit Ara with such force that it almost paralyzed him instantly.

“Am I really that clueless?”

As he struggled with embarrassment, something warm touched his back.

“We can have a meal after dessert, right? Introduce me. I’m not familiar with local eateries.”

“… Okay.”

Thanks to Logan’s consideration, Ara could barely suppress her embarrassment and walk to the restaurant.

“Huh? Are you by any chance Asrian?”

If they could have smoothly made their way to the restaurant, it would have been so much happier, but there were people blocking their path.

“Who are you pretending to know?”

This wasn’t a sound coming from Logan’s mouth.

Having observed Logan’s expression stiffening, Arha spoke naturally, blocking Logan and a group of people.

“It has nothing to do with Shohel. I’m interested in Asrian behind him.”

As the Shohel family was quite a prominent clan, the other party quickly recognized Shohel.

“Have you been hearing rumors lately? Making a lot of money, rumored to be the disciple of Master Geomsung, and also rumored to be cursed.”

Arha could immediately discern that the people in front of him were of low quality.

When Logan was cursed, many people had thrown all sorts of curses at him. Yet, Logan only responded with a cold demeanor and harsh words to those who tormented him, never displaying an angry expression.

‘In the end, it was all because of the curse.’

Anna alone, dealing with Logan harshly due to the curse, forgave him to some extent since his nature wasn’t inherently malicious.

‘It’s the same case every day.’

Every day, there were undoubtedly cases where people were inherently bad, like that damn woman.

Regardless of Logan’s curse playing a role, there were groups of people who enjoyed tormenting others even without it.

“It seems the rumor about the curse is true. Seeing that disgusting smell that used to linger every time, it seems to be gone now.”

“Shut your mouth and get lost.”

The tone was so cold it could freeze.

“But is the rumor about making a lot of money a lie? I see you carrying the belongings of Shohel family ladies like that. Well, it’s impossible for you to accomplish such a great feat.”

Arha wanted to smack the insolent man in the face, but no matter how low-ranking a noble he was compared to her, a noble-on-noble violence would tarnish her status.

“The rumor about being the disciple of Master Geomsung is undoubtedly a lie. The great Master wouldn’t take someone like you as a disciple.”

“Enough of that.”

The man holding his posture at the very back finally spoke.

“The rumors must be true.”

Unlike the thoughtless remarks of the troublemaker up front, he, observing the situation from the rear, concluded his assessment.

“It’s too clean to dismiss as baseless gossip.”

It was a loss to provoke Logan any further.

“Sorry. Asrian, we might’ve treated you pretty harshly because of the curse.”

The voice had no trace of guilt.

Though it seemed polite, the intention within the sentence was hardly different from the troublemaker’s.

“So, I apologize. Let’s be on good terms from now on.”

The man extended his hand to Logan.

From his perspective, it was dignified.

He genuinely believed he had harmed him because of Logan’s curse, and Logan naturally expected him to think so.

While the man rambled nonsense, Logan finished his calculations.

-Smack!

And he landed a punch on the man’s face.