CH 30

When I feigned illness, Iprus’ eyes lit up with flames of anger.

And that anger was directed precisely at that man.

“How dare you do that to our delicate lady! Why didn’t you say so when you knew this would happen?”

“Huh, what are you saying? Didn’t I warn you that they would definitely be denied entry?”

“Nowadays, do you replace refusing a person entry with taking him or her to the underworld?”

In the face of Iprus’ great might, the man staggered back, then shouted when he realized something.

“Wait, did you just say ‘lady’? Didn’t you say that she’s your servant?”

“You, who knew where I came from and yet believed it, is stupid. Is the level of an information guild member just this much?”

Seemingly unable to find anything to say, the man kept his mouth shut.

It sort of seemed that he didn’t feel good about not being able to go against Iprus, and so he tried to pin her ‘servants’ down.

But it was the wrong choice.

Of all things, he touched me, not Hanu, and Iprus was now very angry.

“Okay, Jack is responsible for your mistakes. Take the lead.”

“M-Miss Iprus…!”

Her fighting power was further enhanced by her stomping steps.

With certainty, I knew who was at the top of this place, so I decided to enjoy the situation comfortably.

Thinking that things would soon be more interesting, I followed them in a hurry.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Around the time I thought I was going round and round in the same place…

The man stopped walking in front of an ordinary door that was not much different from other doors he had passed.

He turned his back and looked at us.

“The Master is behind the door. It’s fortunate, you came when there were no other guests, Miss Iprus.”

“Even if there were guests, Jack would skip over everyone and try to see me first.”

“It’s undeniable…”

It was then. Someone’s voice was heard along with a commotion from inside.

“What do you think? Is this outfit better? Or the previous one?”

“Both looks good.”

“Ah! If I knew Iprus would be coming today, I would’ve cared a little more in the morning…!”

“You look great even without dressing up.”

“I haven’t seen her in a while, what should I say as a greeting?”

“Just say hello normally, please.”

“Do I look like I have a lot of lingering feelings?”

“Yes. very much.”

Upon overhearing an unusual conversation, Hanu and I quietly looked at Iprus.

She was holding her fists tightly with her head down, probably embarrassed.

I had only heard stories about him, so I never imagined he had such a personality.

Prejudice was prejudice, but my image of a master of an information guild was cold and stern.

“Well, then I hope you find out everything you wanted here.”

The man who guided us gave a business greeting and quickly blended into the darkness.

Apparently, he, too, was embarrassed. Of his boss.

“Will I look better looking at the papers, or…”

Was it hard to keep listening to an ex-boyfriend’s nonsense?

Iprus kicked the door with her foot and boldly entered.

Bang-!

“You’re still pitiful, Jack.”

The blond, half-masked man stared blankly at her with her enlarged pupils.

“I-Iprus…”

While Iprus confronted her ex-lover, I whispered to Hanu, sharing my first impressions of Jack.

“He’s fine, but a bit pathetic. Iprus is a waste on him.”

“Has she been dating a man like this…”

“Oh, are you worried about your older sister?”

“It’s a pity that her eye for men seems to be at the bottom. And Lady Lia, didn’t I say that she’s the younger one…”

Iprus glared at Jack for a long time, then smirked and sneered, speaking in a sarcastic tone.

“No. I made a mistake. Your real name might not be Jack, right?”

Jack quickly denied it, correcting his cowering posture.

“Oh no, Iprus. I swear, I didn’t lie about my name. And the reason I couldn’t be honest with you, you know…”

Iprus cut off his words as if they were annoying.

“It’s an excuse I’ve heard dozens of times. I’m not here to try to get along with you again, just accept the request.”

Iprus pulled me, who was hiding behind her, and placed me in the front.

When I saw Jack for the first time, I shook his hand in the sense that it was nice to meet him.

Then, as if it was too much of a waste to hear me say hello to Jack, Iprus quickly continued.

“Judging by how you’re still chasing after me, more or less, you know who this is right? She is the one who will be requesting information.”

Jack squinted at me for a second, then responded to Iprus.

“Even if I’m not, I was curious.”

“What?”

“What did that killer whale say to trick the Iprus who was withering away?”

I blinked my eyes in bewilderment.

‘Oh god. Is he jealous of me now?’

Iprus’ face was also distorted.

“Jack, how ugly are you going to get?”

“I was really happy when Iprus wrote to me after Lord Reynos’ penguin went missing.”

Upon hearing this for the first time, I looked at Iprus with a surprised expression.

Not only this, but also the fact that she contacted Jack who she broke up with just to find me, was very touching.

When the topic of the penguin came out of Jack’s mouth, Iprus’ face grew even more bitter.

“Why? Did you hope that Lady Adelia would never appear?”

“No. I was wondering if you would forgive me if I just found the penguin… So I did my best to find it.”

Slowly, he placed his hand on his chest and muttered with a distressed expression.

“But at some point you stopped searching and was happy hanging out with that killer whale.”

‘That’s because I’m the missing penguin…’

“What kind of thing did that killer whale threaten you with? How can you forget a penguin that made you unable to live and want to die at once?”

Threat? I tried to process what Jack was saying, but the more I listened, the more dumbfounded I became. 

‘This is the ‘ex-boyfriend’ she broke up with. What a jealous personality.’

I prodded Iprus lightly, to let Jack know his position.

“Iprus. It’s your ex-boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend.”

“I have to compare what I want to compare. To me, the young lady is a precious person that cannot be replaced with anything.”

Satisfied with the answer, I lifted my chin and parted my lips with an arrogant expression.

“That’s what Iprus said.”

Jack clung desperately to the unhesitating answer.

“I-Iprus, didn’t you promise to marry me, saying that you would be with me for the rest of your life? Without hesitation, saying this about a person whom you haven’t known for more than 15 days…!”

“When did we break up? You’re still talking about that?”

“Isn’t it an unchanging fact that we loved each other…”

“What? I’ve already brushed it all off.”

As if shocked by Iprus’ words, Jack’s lips trembled.

“I don’t even know what kind of demibeast you are in the first place, how the hell am I supposed to trust you and continue dating?”

“That’s, that’s the nature of my job…”

“I didn’t come here to listen to your excuse. If you don’t want to accept her request, I’ll go.”

Then, as if to leave at any moment, Iprus turned her back. Jack quickly grabbed her hand.

“I’ll accept it! I’ll give you any information, please. I’m free for a little while. Please chat with me briefly, Iprus…”

Iprus turned back and sighed deeply.

Even though she initiated the break up, it was still true that she loved him enough to have a tattoo and even thought about getting married.

If he clinged so desperately, of course she would be shaken.

If Iprus had a partner she was dating right now, she would have resolutely knocked him down no matter how hard he tried, but that wasn’t the case.

Once Jack established the belief that Iprus wouldn’t go out, he timidly spoke up.

“However, according to guild policy, consultation on requests is conducted one-on-one with the client. I can’t make exceptions for this even for Iprus.”

“You are strict with those rules… No, I know that you are stubborn.”

Iprus turned to me and asked cautiously.

“Will you be okay by yourself?”

“If anything goes wrong, please feel free to get revenge, Iprus.”

A smile came to Iprus’ lips. I guess she had noticed that I was joking to lighten the mood.

“Of course. I’ll make Jack’s damned life go from shitty to f*cked.”

Hanu hurriedly covered both of my ears at the dizzying remarks that could be caught in deliberation. But I had already heard everything she had to say.

“Iprus. It’s true that I was joking, but shouldn’t you reassure me that nothing will go wrong…?”

“Oh, is that so? Then I shall do so in the future.”

“Ahem, hmm!”

While I was having a light conversation with Iprus, I heard another person’s voice.

“If you two have come to an agreement, this way. The master went in first.”

It was the voice of the guild member who listened to Jack’s whining earlier.

I walked to where he was. It was another room connected to the one I had just been in.

“There is soundproofing magic on the inside, so only you and the master will know the details of the conversation.”

“Great.”

I looked back at Hanu and Iprus and smiled, meaning that I would have a good trip.

‘Getting an exclusive meeting with Jack. Success!’

Tachak.

As the door closed, Jack, who had been keeping his distance from me, drew closer to me in an instant as if he had been waiting.

“What…”

Shocked, I stepped back and hurriedly looked for the platinum ring.

Jack bowed deeply in front of me. Then he parted his lips, speaking in a desperate voice.

“Please. Please help me get back together with Iprus.”