Chapter 400: Side Story 14 - Final Decision
Translator: miraclerifle
Jaeha’s eyes opened wide after seeing her appearance.
It was hard to tell it was Irene because she seemed to have disguised herself, but Jaeha had drawn many pictures of Irene at Ju-Heon’s request.
His eyes were sharp enough to look through such disguise. Well...a part of it was that her figure was so sexy, but...
‘Why is Irene here?! Shouldn't she be at home struggling to make a decision as well?’
Actually, she had been doing that.
Irene was at home struggling with her decision, similar to how Seol-A was struggling here in the cafe.
Why?
Ju-Heon had given them a little bit of time to make up their minds. They had said yes during the proposal because it looked as if Ju-Heon would really take the ring back, but...
‘It’ll definitely not be a regular wedding. Think hard about it.’
As a part of the Majesty's risk... Ju-Heon needed a minimum of one partner for the Treasures to protect him.
They would use the special Treasures and rule over the 7 Constellations (subordinates) to protect Ju-Heon.
No matter what, the path of being Ju-Heon's partner would not be normal(?) in many ways.
‘You can say no if you don’t want to.’
It forced Seol-A and Irene to frantically think things through. So why was Irene here?
‘She’s not here to PK, is she?!’
Irene just continued to tap on Seol-A's family members’ shoulders.
“Excuse me.”
They did not recognize Irene at all. In fact, they seemed used to such a situation.
"What is it? You think we are being too loud? You're being even louder so get lost.”
“We're in the middle of some important business.”
They walked into a group of people and started shouting.
"Everyone! This girl is my niece and apparently she’s getting married to the Majesty. But she didn't say anything to us. Is a wedding something that can happen just because two people agree to it?!”
“That’s right! This is a family vs family issue! Furthermore, I heard that he’s visited the Holtens but he fucking ignores us?! This is our family being looked down upon, don’t you agree?”
The people in the café started whispering. Seol-A became anxious and grabbed them.
“Stop it! Why are you being like this again?!”
Seol-A could feel a migraine brewing.
She had not seen these family members for a few years but she would rather not see them ever again.
‘They didn’t even care if I died or not...!’
"Get out right now! I'm not getting married! There’s nothing that’s going to come to you, so get out!”
Seol-A dragged her eight family members out.
She didn't want weird rumors circling around Ju-Heon because of such shitty people.
‘After I finally got a ring from the Captain-nim!’
Seol-A clenched her eyes closed.
She thought that Ju-Heon might have been planning on marrying Irene from the beginning. He did tell her that, ‘you can go your own way in this life,’ when she first got her memories back.
That was probably what he meant.
Of course, Ju-Heon meant something completely different, but......
‘I, I can’t let this continue!’
“Jaeha, help me!”
Jaeha, who was trying to call Ju-Heon, ran over after Seol-A called out to him. He might not know how to fight, but he sure could give them some kicks.
“Hey! Seol-A said she’s not getting married! Hurry up and get lost! Get out! Get out!”
However...
Slap!
“Seol-A!”
Seol-A was slapped by her older cousin.
“Why would you not get married? Are you fucking crazy?!”
“......!”
"Seo Ju-Heon is one of the wealthiest men in the world. Why would you not marry such a cash cow? Are you crazy?”
Seol-A’s older brother said she was crazy as well.
"She’s gone nuts. Whatever. Get married and make sure that he sends the dowry and wedding gifts to us properly.”
“W, what did you say?”
"What?! This bitch has no tact or brains. Why can’t you process such simple thoughts? What are you going to do if the Holtens get more gifts because you don’t do anything?!”
Jaeha clenched his fists.
“You fuckers! You waited until the Captain-nim wasn't around on purpose!”
He became angry and was about to use his artifact but Seol-A stopped him. It was not because she was worried about her family.
“No! They’re trying to rip money off of you while doing nothing!” They’re extremely shitty people!”
“...What?!”
“Then I can just send them off to Chaos.”
“!”
The pretty girl(?) June was the one to respond.
As an artifact, June hated humans and didn't care if people died. But she(?) seemed angry that her team member was hurt.
“I'm sure my king would forgive me for using my power without his permission for this issue.”
June’s gaze soon changed.
The power of destruction started seeping out.
However...
“Sure, do whatever you want! Whether it is you, the Monarch of Pushoverness, or you, the girl who looks like the Monarch of Silence! Articles will go up even on the other side of the world if you even lay a finger on us!”
“!”
The saying about how people who have nothing to lose are scary seemed true, as these people, who had been chased for their lives for so long, were extremely confident.
Seol-A's older brother, Seol-Woo, pushed back his younger sister’s forehead as she glared at him.
He was a different kind of brother compared to Ju-Heon, Julian, or George.
"What the hell? Lower your gaze. Are you angry? We’re not even scared about dying! But if you guys use artifacts on regular people like us......”
It was at that moment.
Crack!
“Aaah!”
Seol-Woo, who was pushing Seol-A back by poking at her forehead, fell down.
“M, my finger!”
The cousins became excited and took out their cameras.
“Hey, take pictures! Take pictures!”
“Now!”
They glared at Jaeha while taking quite a lot of pictures.
"We got you now. You just used an artifact, didn't you? You're going to get sued! Get ready to pay up!”
“Huh, what the hell are these idiots saying?”
"What?! Try breaking my finger too why don’t you! I dare you!”
They seemed to think that things were going according to plan now that Seol-Woo had fallen down.
They were Seol-A’s family members after all. They didn't think that Ju-Heon’s team would dare to lay a finger on them.
“Okay! Do it! I dare you!”
However...
Crack! Crack! Crack!
It sounded as if their bones really broke and they all fell down.
“Aaah!”
“Holy shit...it’s really bro...ahh!”
“What the hell? Seol-Woo, you! It wasn't an act...ugh!”
They finally seemed to realize the situation.
“Ambulance! Call an ambulaaaaance! These fuckers really broke our fingeeeers!”
“100 million isn’t enough to settle something like thiiiiiis!”
“What the hell? I didn't do anything.”
“What?!”
Jaeha snickered and looked toward the group of people instead of responding again. A familiar face appeared from the crowd.
“That person is......!”
“Irene!”
Seol-A was especially shocked. An angry Irene was tying her long hair up as she walked through the group of people.
Seol-A's family members’ eyes opened wide after seeing who they were dealing with.
"What the hell? It was the Monarch of Destitution?!”
“Why is the Monarch of Destitution here?!”
Seol-A's eyes sparkled as if she found an opening.
She had no idea why Irene was here, but...!
“What's wrong? I called her! You all know how scary the Monarch of Destitution is, right? So leave!”
“What? You crazy bitch! How can you do that to your family...!”
As Seol-Woo was trying to make Seol-A feel bad...
Crack!
‘!’
Seol-Woo was slapped and sent flying.
Boom!
It sounded as if some bone broke. It definitely did not sound like a normal slap.
It must have been an artifact!
The slap must have had the power of destitution as Seol-Woo coughed up blood. His jacket then ripped!
Riiiiiiiip!
‘!’
It led to the skirts, pants, and clothes of the other family members to rip as well.
They thought that clothes were being considered as wealth as usual and were ripping, but it was a bit different this time.
"What the hell? These fuckers had quite the plan before coming here! How did they manage to get all of these?”
Jaeha scoffed while looking at the scraps of clothes.
That was right.
They must have planned on making a giant ruckus as they all had multiple artifacts on them.
For example, there was an artifact to make a person look sick, a disguise tool to create fake bruises, one for stopping traffic, lying down, panhandling, etc.
They must have had a plan to use against Ju-Heon.
‘They're actually pretty high-grade artifacts too?’
These were not things that people could easily get.
Was someone who was envious of Ju-Heon trying to use them to take him down?
Irene finished tying her hair and spoke.
“Don’t try any funny business. The people who hired you guys have all been sent to the hospital as well.”
“......!”
Seol-A's cousin shouted in anger.
“What the hell?! Get lost! Why the fuck are you doing this to us? We don't have any business with you...kyaaa!”
SLAP!
Irene slapped Seol-A's cousin in the face.
“You slapped Miss Seol-A earlier, right?”
Irene had a smile on her pretty face. The aura of destitution then chaotically spread out of her body.
Although they growled at each other over Ju-Heon, they had a pretty good relationship with each other even if it was a love-hate relationship.
It would be best described by saying that they couldn't see the other girl crying unless they were the one who caused it.
Seol-A's family started shaking in fear and shouted as Irene got closer.
“D, don’t do this! The Majesty’s reputation will go down if you guys do this to us!”
It was at that moment.
“Since when did I care about something like that?”
“!”
Everybody was shocked to hear that voice.
“Seo Ju-Heon!”
“It’s the Artifact Tamer, the Majesty!”
Ju-Heon had rushed over after Jaeha reported the situation to him.
Seol-A's family smiled once they saw Ju-Heon.
“Look who it is, my brother-in-law!”
However...
“Ugh!”
"Since when did you act your part? You guys somehow made it off that deserted island? It shouldn’t have been that easy to leave there.”
Ju-Heon had taken care of Seol-A's family members when he got Seol-A out of China.
The reason was simple.
Ever since Seol-A's father, the diplomat, stole some secret information and ran away...
China had taken Seol-A's family members as hostage even after her father was murdered. They wanted to find out where her father had hid the information.
These bastards were useless parasites that just wasted all of their money gambling or made Seol-A feel guilty by saying that they would all die if she didn't do a good job.
That was why he had cut this useless tail off a long time ago.
“Did I go too easy on you guys since you guys were her family?”
He didn't think that he had gone that easy on them at all.
They shouted as if they were wronged as Ju-Heon got closer.
“C, cousin-in-law, you can’t do this! How can you do this to your wife’s family?”
“That’s right! It was a problem when you took my niece away from China as you pleased! Seol-A was the head of our household!”
“Yeah! You took someone's head of household because you wanted to do so, so there should have been some compensation for that too!”
“Ah, that’s true. I'm sorry I wasn’t very thorough with that.”
Ju-Heon nonchalantly flicked his fingers. The men who were standing behind him offered him some 007-style briefcases.
There were many of them.
“I was in a rush so I didn't have time to pick things out. Just take cash.”
"C, Captain-nim! No!”
Seol-A's family members’ faces lit up after opening the briefcases. They were full of dollar bills!
“T, there’s probably a billion dollars in here!”
“You really need to get a rich son-in-law. We should be full of money now......!”
“However, this is the price for your lives.”
“......What?”
They felt chills down their backs and gulped.
And then....
“Seol-A will not have any more blood relatives as of today.”
Ju-Heon had an evil smile on his face and screams echoed through the cafe.
“C, Captain-nim, I'm really sorry!”
Seol-A lowered her head while saying that all of this happened because of her. Ju-Heon just gently caressed Seol-A's cheek that was slapped.
“It's fine, you don’t need to apologize.”
Seol-A sulked. She really didn't seem like a fitting wife for Ju-Heon, especially with the chaos that was her family.
Because of that...
“Captain-nim. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. But umm... I don’t think...ow ow ow!”
She couldn't finish her sentence and had to scream because Jaeha pinched her.
Seol-A glared at Jaeha but he ignored it and whispered in her ear.
“Hey, you should be happy since you rejected me! Also, don’t you remember how the Captain bastard was like a pimp mooching off of you in the past? It was when our tomb raiding team was temporarily disbanded!”
Ju-Heon had rejected a mission once because he was tired of Chairman Kwon’s tyranny. Ju-Heon ended up being framed for something and the tomb raiding team ended up disbanded.
After getting fired from TKBM, Ju-Heon spent the next few months as a mess, and even got kicked out of his place because he had no money.
He ended up parasitizing(?) in Seol-A's one bedroom place. The team called that Ju-Heon's pimp days.
“The Captain was totally a dirty hikikomori and a useless slacker at that time!”
Of course, those few months were the so-called ‘dating period’ with Seol-A as well.
“Don’t you feel wronged for paying for the Captain-nim’s necessities, his living expenses, medical expenses, allowance, and everything else?”
“......T, that.”
She didn't feel that wronged at all, but...
As Seol-A was fidgeting around...
“I'd like to start planning for the wedding, what do you think? What is your response? We can cancel it if both of you don't like it.”
The two women looked at each other.
‘Now that I think about it, there should have been a reason Irene came here.’
Irene had not just come here by coincidence.
Irene suddenly pulled something out. Seol-A was shocked to see what it was.
“This is...?!”
Ju-Heon was shocked as well.
"Why do you have this...”
The item Irene took out of her bag was the Majesty’s Guardian’s Treasures!
Basically, this was the Treasure for the Majesty’s partner.
“The doggies should be guarding these.”
“I told them I was taking it!”
Irene looked at Seol-A with a determined gaze.
“I won't tell you to give up. You were a special person to Mr. Ju-Heon in the past, Miss Seol-A. However, let’s use this to determine qualifications.”
“Excuse me?”
This was something that involved their pride.
They didn't even want to think about both brides walking into the ceremony together!
“We need to be able to handle these artifacts if we marry Mr. Ju-Heon, right? Mr. Ju-Heon's life will depend on it.”
“That is true, but...”
“That is why let’s decide that whoever can completely handle this first will be the one who gets to walk down the aisle! That person will be the official wife! In addition, the person who cannot handle this will not be able to marry him until they can handle this!”
“?!”
Seol-A thought it was a good idea but smiled thinking that Irene pulled one over her.
That was to be expected.
This Treasure was no ordinary item. Even the mighty Ju-Heon had clicked his tongue at it saying it was difficult to handle!
Ju-Heon laughed, thinking that this was unexpected.
“That’s a clean way to do it. Okay, let’s do that.”
“Excuse me?!”
He seemed quite amused.
“I will marry the one who can handle it first. Jaeha, schedule the wedding planner and the reception hall first.”
“Ah, I already did that. I'm glad we will be able to decide who will be the important first wife.
“Hmm, will the second wedding be in about 50 years...?”
‘?!’
‘I, I might not even be able to walk down the aisle if this goes wrong...!’
“Alright, now then!”
Irene put her hand on the artifact and Seol-A quickly did the same.
Irene then said the following.
"We will activate it on three. One, two-”
The results were...surprising.
“Wow, is this for real?”
Jaeha’s jaw dropped at what happened.
It couldn't be helped, since......
“W, why can't I use it?!”
“This makes no sense! Why?!”
Neither of them could use the Treasure that easily. Both Irene and Seol-A seemed to be having mental breakdowns.
historical
On the other hand...
[#$&#!]
I did it! I did it!
The rope was jumping up and down with joy.
Both Irene and Seol-A had failed. While they were groveling in defeat, the rope had slithered over and successfully activated the partner’s Treasure!
A suspicious gate had appeared as proof that it really did activate it.
[##&#!]
I'm the one who will walk down the aisle! It’s me!
The rope seemed extremely happy.