76.
Now that the date was set, the next step was to attract more people. To be honest, Yu Jin wasn’t in a physical condition to go out due to Jinhyeon, but he couldn’t just wait here doing nothing.
‘I’ll crawl out if I have to.’
As he was scanning the invitation Haruna had given him in the morning to try and do something, a familiar name caught his eye.
Lyunne of the Roeng Duchy.
It seemed she was inviting Yu Jin because the atmosphere was good when they met at the previous party. Although it shouldn’t be strange at all when thought of that way, he felt oddly reluctant. She was the daughter of a powerful ducal family, so it was natural to attend, but still. He fiddled with the invitation, pondering, but he couldn’t miss such a good opportunity. In the end, Yu Jin decided to accept Lyunne’s invitation.
“Since it’s a birthday party, I should prepare a gift.”
Someone born and raised with all sorts of rare things wouldn’t be satisfied with an ordinary gift. So he needed to start moving busily from now. He had to prepare a gift valuable enough to attract the attention of everyone at the party. And it would be even better if the gift was related to the department store.
Now, it was time to overcome the biggest hurdle. He had to tell the person who had spanked his precious bottom for being close to Lyunne that he was attending the party.
‘No, should I even tell him?’
He would surely get angry again. Should I really tell him this? Yu Jin was lost in thought.
Recently, Yu Jin had been acting strange. At a glance, he seemed no different from usual, but he couldn’t fool Jinhyeon’s eyes. He was hiding something. And he was acting with all his might to avoid being found out.
‘Well, fine.’
It was quite cute to see him struggling and being cautious. The problem was that Jinhyeon had just realized why Yu Jin was acting this way. As the network of informants in the back alleys was somewhat established, Jinhyeon often gave them tasks. Starting with information that could be obtained with just effort, they were now beginning to touch on the secrets of nobles.
Blando and his colleagues were quite clever and did that job quite well. And they reported the information they found out to Jinhyeon, which is how he learned. This time, Yu Jin had been invited to Lyunne’s birthday party. That woman who had clung to Yu Jin strangely at the previous party. Jinhyeon lifted the corner of his mouth in a sneer.
It’s not that he didn’t understand Yu Jin’s feelings. Currently, he was stepping up to move to the next level, and in such a situation, becoming close to those in power was important.
Even if it was someone Jinhyeon disliked, Yu Jin couldn’t just keep his distance. Knowing this, Jinhyeon still felt twisted inside. The fact that Yu Jin was hiding the truth for fear of Jinhyeon’s opposition, and that he was dressing up so prettily to meet her, all became fuel for his anger. With Yu Jin acting like this, no matter how much they had sex or embraced, Jinhyeon didn’t feel like he fully possessed him.
Whether he knew Jinhyeon’s feelings or not, when their eyes met, Yu Jin smiled with his eyes. Jinhyeon covered his mouth with his hand and returned an eye smile. In the end, Yu Jin only confessed where he was going after getting into the carriage.
“So, the place we’re going today is the Roeng Duchy.”
“Yeah.”
“The family of that woman Lyunne from before?”
“Uh-huh.”
Yu Jin’s answers dragged on as if he had something to feel guilty about. Jinhyeon deliberately folded his arms and looked straight ahead. He could feel Yu Jin beside him squirming, but this much couldn’t even be called spitefulness. Yu Jin seemed to have a lot he wanted to say but didn’t. And after riding for quite some time, the carriage arrived at its destination.
They said it was a ducal mansion, and the scale was impressive. Several carriages were waiting in front of the gate, but even those passed through quickly. Everything seemed to be systematically well-organized. As they entered, a waiting servant attached himself to them and informed them of the entry time. Although Yu Jin was from the Lucid family, he didn’t hold any title himself, so his entry time was early. It seemed that in any era, important people liked to appear late.
The hall often used for parties was very large and spacious. The young people who had already entered were engaging in conversation and building friendships. And among them were faces Yu Jin knew.
“Mr. Yu Jin!”
It was Marilyn. She led Yu Jin to where her friends were talking. As Yu Jin approached, young girls looked at him with sparkling eyes.
“Hello!”
“I’ve heard a lot of rumors, but this is the first time meeting you in person.”
“Hello. I’m curious about what rumors you’ve heard.”
When Yu Jin asked, the girl who had spoken burst into laughter and answered.
“Of course, rumors about your beauty that surpasses anyone else! You’re truly beautiful today as well.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Though it wasn’t anything special, the girls couldn’t stop smiling for some reason. And among them, some showed interest in the accessories Yu Jin was wearing.
“It’s such a unique design. But it’s cute and lovely.”
“It’s a product that will be available at the department store that’s opening soon. If you’re interested, would you like me to send you a pamphlet?”
“There’s even a pamphlet?”
“Yes, it contains information about the items that will be sold on opening day.”
“Then please send it to me!”
“Me too!”
The girls quickly told their family names. Perhaps because they were friends of Marilyn, most were from families related to merchant groups. They all clung to Yu Jin and chattered away, but since they were still young girls, Yu Jin didn’t feel any particular threat.
As they were talking like this, the hall soon filled with people. And finally, the people of the ducal family entered the hall. At that moment, the noisy hall suddenly fell silent.
The duke, enjoying the silence, only opened his mouth after a long while.
“Thank you to everyone who has participated in my beloved daughter’s party today. Please enjoy yourselves to the fullest.”
Then, as the duke snapped his fingers, music began to flow in the hall. The center cleared, and those who wanted to dance began to move. Marilyn’s friends also started to move quietly.
“Aren’t you going to dance, Miss Marilyn?”
“I’m trying to refrain today. Instead, I decided to help my grandfather.”
Saying this, Marilyn continued to introduce Yu Jin to nobles she knew. As he promoted the department store and its products to them, time flew by and the first part ended. If the first part was a party for socializing, the second part was time for Lyunne, whose birthday it was today. Many people gathered in front of her, seated at the highest place.
“This is a necklace prepared for Lady Lyunne.”
Yes, it was the gift-giving time often seen in powerful noble families. The first man to step forward, with a greasy-looking impression, confidently opened the necklace box. It was certainly an expensive and precious-looking item, but Lyunne only smiled gently and replied.
“Thank you for the gift.”
That was it. The man retreated in disappointment, and another person stood in front. Gifts poured out endlessly. Among them were some for Lyunne, and rarely, some for the duke. And finally, it was Yu Jin’s turn.
Lyunne, looking more tired than at first, looked down at Yu Jin. Her expression seemed to say, “Now, what will you present?” Yu Jin brought the box Jinhyeon had carried and opened it. What was inside was a bit different from the gifts so far.
“…It’s a sword.”
For the first time, Lyunne stood up from her chair and came down. She carefully examined the sword and then spoke.
“May I take it out?”
“Of course. It’s yours now, Lady Lyunne.”
A hand in a white lace glove took out the sword. Lyunne drew the sword from its scabbard and exclaimed in admiration.
“It has mithril in it. I heard this is a difficult metal to obtain.”
“Somehow, I was able to get my hands on it.”
“Is it okay for me to receive such a precious thing?”
“It will be more helpful to you, Lady Lyunne, than to me who can’t even wield a sword.”
“Thank you.”
Lyunne happily accepted the gift.
“But since I’ve received a sword, may I ask for one more thing?”
“Anything.”
“I’ve been into sword dueling lately. Because of that, I need someone to face off against. If it’s alright, could I borrow that person for a few days?”
Her slender finger pointed at Jinhyeon standing behind Yu Jin. Yu Jin turned to look at Jinhyeon with a surprised expression. Jinhyeon nodded as if it was okay, then looked straight at Lyunne and spoke politely.
“I’m not skilled in swordsmanship, but is that alright?”
“I heard you were a promising talent in the Colosseum. How could the swordsmanship of such a person be unskilled?”
“If that’s the case, I’ll be your sparring partner with my lacking skills.”
“Thank you.”
Jinhyeon smiled at Lyunne. Whatever they were plotting behind the scenes to do this, he had no intention of letting it slide easily.
