59.
Having reached that conclusion, Yu Jin naturally changed his expression. He pulled up the corners of his mouth into a kind smile, putting on his most beautiful expression. He had been practicing this recently while looking in the mirror, and it had been quite painful during practice due to his lack of narcissism.
“I see. It’s impressive that you’re already handling guild affairs.”
“I’m still just a novice.”
“Not at all. You have overflowing talent. Just look at the clothing, for instance. No one has thought of it until now, right?”
When Yu Jin flattered her appropriately, Marilyn pouted her lips.
“Even though I know it’s just flattery, it still sounds nice.”
“Flattery? It’s the truth.”
“Then tell me about what you mentioned earlier. The part you said was lacking.”
“Alright. That’s not difficult. But promise you won’t get upset after hearing it?”
“I’m not that narrow-minded.”
Only then did Yu Jin tell Marilyn what he had been thinking.
“Lace? You mean what’s added to the end when making a bride’s veil. But would that suit this?”
Lace existed in this era too, but it was only used to decorate special occasions. Moreover, compared to modern lace, its appearance was rather crude.
“There’s a different kind of lace that would suit this.”
“What kind of lace?”
“Hmm, are you free next week by any chance?”
“I do have some free time.”
“Then I’ll show you then.”
“Can I look forward to it?”
“Of course.”
The conversation that followed was trivial. Marilyn, as if knowing Yu Jin’s purpose, introduced him to a few nobles around his age, and then left to find her friend.
Most of the nobles around Yu Jin’s age hadn’t inherited their titles yet, so they didn’t match Yu Jin’s purpose. In the end, Yu Jin spent the rest of the party just making casual conversation before returning.
Lace. With technological advancements, even lace is machine-made in modern times. But even so, there was still lace made by hand – bobbin lace. All that’s needed is a board to fix the lace, pins, tools called bobbins, and thread.
‘Tatting lace made with a shuttle is pretty too. Or using a crochet hook would be good.’
He wasn’t sure if the clothes Marilyn made would really turn out well. Still, it wasn’t bad to try something and gain her favor. The best would be to replace the lace, but if that was too much, he could try approaching in a different way. There were many ways to decorate clothes besides lace.
For example, things like embroidery or knots. Just adding a little embroidery to clothes, or just attaching knots, can significantly change the atmosphere. Nobles might not need things like knots since they wear jewels, but how about people from classes who can’t do that? Yu Jin tilted his head.
Why does Yu Jin, who was ground down in a black company, know these things? If you ask if the company he worked for in his previous life was related to this business, the answer is no. His knowledge of lace was a trace of his struggle to survive in a different sense. During his time living as Suho, he became depressed from endless overtime and his boss’s scolding, and his mood dropped lower with each passing day.
After realizing this, he tried various things. He went to the hospital, tried to pick up hobbies. Handicrafts were a hobby he learned then, and it was the one he had done for the longest time. Because he didn’t have to go out anywhere, it was easy to carry around, and he could work on it whenever he had time.
He felt quite proud when he saw the finished products.
“I still remember how to make them, so I should start by making the tools.”
They weren’t special tools, so it shouldn’t be difficult to make them.
‘The problem is that.’
Keith and Haruna had grown up with Yu Jin since childhood. Especially Keith, who had stuck with Yu Jin even during his rogue days, knew well what Yu Jin could and couldn’t do. If Keith saw Yu Jin making lace that he had never learned before, what would he think? The thought made Yu Jin’s chest feel cold.
He knew it was something he would have to reveal someday, but he didn’t have the courage right now. As he was lost in thought wondering what to do, suddenly something dropped onto his head. Wondering what it was, he looked up to see Jinhyeon. He had said earlier that he was going to the training ground, and it seemed he had finished training in the meantime.
It seemed he had just washed, as water droplets fell from his not fully dried hair onto Yu Jin’s cheek. When Yu Jin flinched at the cold sensation, Jinhyeon wiped away the water droplet with his thumb, smiling mischievously.
“What were you doing?”
Jinhyeon asked.
“Just thinking?”
“What about?”
As he questioned Yu Jin, another water droplet fell. This time, Yu Jin wiped away the water droplet himself and then pulled on Jinhyeon’s clothes.
“Sit here.”
When Jinhyeon sat on the sofa as Yu Jin led him, Yu Jin then snatched the towel he was holding. Then he started vigorously rubbing Jinhyeon’s wet hair with the towel.
“Ugh!”
Although Yu Jin deliberately moved the towel more roughly out of spite, Jinhyeon burst out laughing, finding something amusing.
“I told you to dry your hair before coming out!”
“This much will dry naturally if you leave it.”
This is all because he’s young. He must not know the fear of hair loss to treat his hair so carelessly. Yu Jin diligently moved his hands to dry Jinhyeon’s hair.
At first, he moved his hands with spite, but midway through, he gently just wiped away the moisture from the hair. Then, thinking it was probably fine now, he removed his hands, and Jinhyeon turned his head to look at Yu Jin. Moonlight seeped into him with his back to the window. When still, his appearance was like a sculpture, but when he smiled, he sometimes looked like a mischievous child.
‘It would have been nice if I had such an appearance and body too.’
What good is outstanding beauty? There’s almost nothing he can do with it.
‘No, it’s not completely useless.’
Yu Jin had memorized the social information Keith had provided, and thanks to that, he knew all of Marilyn’s connections. Marilyn, who managed a part of the guild, had a maternal family behind her that no one could treat carelessly.
Tullin. Born a commoner but gaining enormous power and wealth through innate talent. Some people who disliked him called him a ghost-like figure obsessed with money, but Yu Jin knew. No matter what insulting words people might utter, Tullin’s achievements would not fade.
This Tullin had an only daughter, who married a widowed count, and Marilyn was the daughter born from that marriage. Tullin was an eccentric person, but he gave unlimited affection only to his family.
So for Yu Jin, it was beneficial to become close with Marilyn. But why was he hesitating so much? As Yu Jin became gloomy, feeling pathetic about his weak self, Jinhyeon’s hand touched his cheek. Looking at him with suspicious eyes, wondering what he was up to, soon after, a stinging pain was felt on his cheek.
“Why did you pinch me!”
“You looked like you wanted to be pinched.”
“What?”
As Yu Jin glared at him in disbelief, Jinhyeon stroked the reddening, swollen cheek. It wasn’t like giving medicine after causing illness, and Yu Jin couldn’t understand what he was doing.
“I don’t know what you’re worrying about, but don’t hesitate.”
At these unexpected words, Yu Jin just blinked.
“Just go for it. I’ll clean up after you.”
How can you clean up anything when you’ve just escaped from being a slave? There was a lot Yu Jin wanted to say, but what came out was not words but a small laugh. Right, what would change by worrying? Let’s just do it and see. Thinking like that, his mind became much more at ease. And he gained the composure to look around.
“Do you like the new swordsmanship teacher I assigned you?”
“Yes, it’s fun. But I think I might need to change again soon.”
“Again?”
Jinhyeon was growing at a terrifying rate and quickly going through the teachers assigned to him. This time, they had assigned a knight who had quite a reputation in the past, but even he didn’t last long.
“Why is it so hard to find people?”
To be honest, it is difficult. Among those with high skills, few moved just for money, and Yu Jin’s notorious reputation meant that most knights wouldn’t come. Add to that the condition of needing someone who could keep Jinhyeon’s secret, and it wasn’t easy.
“Then I could just learn on my own.”
“No, I’ll try to find someone somehow.”
Yu Jin clenched his fist.
Recently, Yu Jin had promised a friendly relationship with Blando and entrusted him with cleaning up the back alleys. In that process, Yu Jin gave Jinhyeon a choice. Whether to go to the back alleys and continue what he was doing, or to stay here.
Even as he asked, Yu Jin expected Jinhyeon to go to the back alleys. Because that’s what happened in the novel. He wanted Blando as his subordinate, and because of that, despite Roena’s dissuasion, he jumped back into the back alleys. The process wasn’t easy, but nevertheless, Jinhyeon got everything he wanted. A newly organized information group and the highly loyal Blando.
Although he was staying in the back alleys now, Blando’s skills were more impressive than expected. If his first lord hadn’t been a fool with only jealousy, his family would have grown more thanks to Blando.
‘A well-raised knight is amazing after all.’
In a world where humans who could cut down dragons single-handedly existed, someone like Blando was precious. But Jinhyeon’s choice was different from what Yu Jin expected.
