By Zephyria At those words, Mrs. Campbell cleared her throat. Yu-jin noticed that she had gracefully suppressed what was almost an outburst of laughter.
It would have been good if he had stopped there, but Gordon, encouraged by Mrs. Campbell’s reaction, continued to rant.
“I heard you brought a child, is it just one? That can’t be true. You were planning to give birth to a string of bastards and lie that they were the father’s children, weren’t you? If so, too bad. These days, there’s something called a DNA test, and those scammers all go to jail. If you do something stupid, you’ll go to jail and your rootless bastard will go to an orphanage. Your bastard, whose father no one knows, won’t be adopted because their parent is a scammer, and they’ll end up selling their body like you, addicted to drugs, and dying on the street? So get your act together and take this and leave, right now. Then we’ll pretend this never happened.”
Gordon, who had relentlessly spewed out malicious words about the child, banged the envelope on the table with his hand, making a loud noise twice in a row.
They were filled with confidence in their victory and were therefore extremely arrogant. When the image of the lowly beast in front of them taking the envelope and hurriedly leaving this mansion was as clear as reality in their minds, Yu-jin, who had been listening silently, opened his mouth.
“I refuse.”
For a moment, they froze with their smiles still on their faces. The surroundings became silent in an instant, and to them, who seemed as if time had stopped, Yu-jin said again.
“Thank you for the offer, but I refuse.”
“What?”Gordon spat out in a rough voice, and Mrs. Campbell frowned. Seeing this, Yu-jin released the hands he had been clasping behind his back.
Tasting a small victory, he continued coldly.
“Is that all you have to say? Then I’ll be on my way. I want to rest, as I’ve come a long distance.”
“Wa, wait a minute!”
Belatedly regaining his senses, Gordon jumped up and hurriedly called out to Yu-jin, who was about to leave.
“Didn’t you hear what I said? Your shallow tricks won’t work! I’m going to throw you in jail for fraud! You won’t get away with it as easily as you did last time!”
He roared like a beast, but Yu-jin only became more composed because of it.
“That’s good. If I’m trying to commit such fraud, please do a DNA test right away. Fraud is bad, so I should definitely go to jail.”
At Yu-jin’s reaction, Mrs. Campbell and Gordon exchanged glances, seemingly flustered. If they were to do the test, they would be the ones who would be shocked. Yu-jin inwardly looked forward to that moment, but he knew that it would never happen. They, too, would know very well that if it were true, they would be the ones in trouble, so it would be difficult to proceed rashly. If they were to do the test, the result would be a much greater disaster than they imagined.
Mrs. Campbell would probably think it would be better if he were Harold’s child.
“If you think Harold left you something great, you’re mistaken.”
Mrs. Campbell finally opened her mouth. Meeting her eyes filled with anger, Yu-jin replied.
“Then wouldn’t it be better for Mrs. Campbell if I’m the one who regrets missing this opportunity?”
“Goodbye,” he said, turning around and quickly leaving the drawing room. It was to prevent them from having any more opportunities to attack, but his heart was pounding as if it would burst until he stepped out into the hallway. Barely getting outside and hurriedly closing the door, a sigh of relief escaped him involuntarily.
I did it.
He couldn’t believe it. That he had poured out all the words he had kept inside towards them like that. His voice didn’t even tremble. He didn’t panic or sob.
I did it.
He forgot his fatigue for a moment with overwhelming emotion. “Hoo,” Yu-jin exhaled a large, satisfying breath again and paused as he lifted his head. The Butler was standing in the hallway, looking at him. The man glanced at his empty hands before returning his gaze to Yu-jin’s face.
“If you are finished with your business, I will guide you to your room.”
The Butler, still speaking in an almost emotionless tone, glanced behind him. Yu-jin belatedly realized that a maid was standing there. After handing Yu-jin over to the maid, the Butler readily entered the drawing room, as if the person he was to serve was there. Yu-jin turned his head and hurriedly followed the maid, who had already walked ahead.
Walking back down the long hallway, he opened the side door, and stairs were soon revealed. It was the staircase used by the employees, just like before. Yu-jin silently followed the maid, who walked on without looking back as if it were natural.
When the maid, who had climbed the endlessly long stairs, finally opened another door and stepped back into the hallway, Yu-jin felt a slight dizziness.
He had lost his sense of direction and couldn’t even tell where he was.
The maid didn’t say a word, just like the Butler, as she walked straight down the long hallway. As the continued silence calmed the earlier excitement and he felt a fatigue that made him want to collapse, the maid finally stood in front of a room. I can finally rest. The thought of seeing Angela’s face already seemed to make the fatigue disappear.
Unlike the Butler, the maid readily grabbed the doorknob, turned it, opened the door, and stepped back. It was then that Yu-jin realized that the door to the room was different from before.
……Huh?
The size of the room inside, which was wide open, was enormous at a glance. Yu-jin, momentarily flustered, turned to the maid, as if to ask what was going on. The maid opened her mouth in an extremely businesslike voice.
“Then, please rest comfortably.”
“Wa, wait a minute.”
Yu-jin hurriedly called out to her. Yu-jin quickly asked the maid, who stopped and turned around.
“Isn’t my daughter… aren’t I staying in the same room as my daughter? What is this room?”
“Sleeping in the same room as a child?”
The maid revealed emotion for the first time. But all she did was raise the end of her sentence slightly, as if surprised. At those words, Yu-jin soon realized the situation. No one in this mansion would sleep with a child. From the moment they were born, children slept in their own rooms.
But Yu-jin was not a member of this family.
“Angie will be anxious when she wakes up. I will sleep with my daughter.”
“That is not allowed.”
He was prepared to throw the door wide open, but the maid blocked him with a firm tone.
“It is forbidden to make a disturbance in the mansion. If you do this, we will have no choice but to guide you to the annex.”
Her face was stern. It was clear that he would be dragged out immediately if he made even a small commotion. Yu-jin had already experienced that once, and he knew better than anyone that they could do it. The maid spoke to Yu-jin, who was momentarily frightened.
“Don’t worry, I will guide you to the child in the morning. There were orders to use this place today.”
At those words, Yu-jin realized that this had been planned from the beginning. Perhaps this was prepared to happen if Yu-jin refused the offer. Thinking about it that way, everything from the Butler looking at his empty hands to this point made sense.
So, they’re going to play a trick on me like this.
Yu-jin bit his lip and lifted his head. It’s still the same, humiliating people in such a childish way. Maybe they’re waiting for me to make a fuss. To kick me out on that pretext? No way.
“I understand. Then there’s nothing I can do.”
Before entering the room, he asked the maid again.
“Angela, please let me know when my daughter wakes up. Please.”
Even though he had left a message, Yu-jin still couldn’t shake his worry about the child. Angela was calm and mature for her age, but she was still just a child. She would definitely be anxious if she woke up alone in a place she had never seen before. But there was nothing else he could do right now.
“I understand.”
The maid replied briefly without any change in expression, then closed her mouth. Yu-jin said to her reaction, which seemed to be waiting for something.
“Thank you. That’s all.”
After speaking and closing the door, the surroundings soon became quiet. Yu-jin stood there for a while, counted to 1000 in his head, and then carefully opened the door. As if to mock his expectations, he met the maid’s eyes.