Salvation Through Delusion C27

Chapter 27

 

As expected, you can’t judge a person by seeing only a part of them.

 

“What? A friend? Rue has a friend?”

 

I had to ask again because I couldn’t believe my ears. Standing before me was Solongo, who had come to inform me that Rue’s “friend” had come to visit.

 

He was supposed to be busy assisting Dr. Kim, but ever since he found out who I truly was, he’d started personally taking care of even trivial matters like this.

 

“Yes, he does. The visitor, Ma Hoiga, is one of Lord Rue’s academy classmates—an exceptionally sociable man who can befriend almost anyone. He’s one of the rare few who actually count Lord Rue among their friends.”

 

To back up his statement, Mo projected a quick summary.

 

[Ma Hoiga – Third son of the Ma family, one of the five great commercial houses of the continent.

 

Due to his family’s mercantile culture that prizes information and connections—and his own insatiable curiosity—he maintained good relations even with the notoriously unapproachable Adeye Rue.

 

Rue considered Hoiga’s appearance safely below the level of temptation, and thus never pushed him away. Thanks to this, Rue frequently obtained social gossip through Hoiga.]

 

So Rue befriended the man because his looks were “safely unappealing”? What kind of ridiculous logic was that?

 

Still, one part of the description caught my attention—insatiably curious. I turned to Solongo at once.

 

“Would you say Hoiga has a loose tongue?”

 

“Yes. Extremely. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say every rumor in high society begins with him.”

 

Ah, perfect. My interest was immediately piqued—but Solongo’s face turned grim.

 

“That’s exactly why I advise you to delay meeting him. Though he may seem like a harmless chatterbox, he’s part of the Ma Merchant Guild—often called the ‘Fox Guild.’”

 

“The Ma Guild—isn’t that the one almost as large as Adeye?”

 

“Yes. In fact, before Adeye rose to power, they were the richest house on the continent. They’ve since fallen to second place.”

 

“Then they must hate us.”

 

“Most likely. Though they’ve accepted the power gap, they’ve started modeling their operations after the Adeye system. But no matter how much they imitate, they’ll never surpass us.”

 

Watching Solongo sneer made one thing clear—Adeye had enemies everywhere.

 

“There’s no way someone from such a cunning house would maintain ties with Lord Rue out of sentiment. Hoiga’s curiosity is matched only by his sharp eyes. If he senses anything strange about you, he’ll notice immediately.”

 

“Which is exactly why I need to meet him. If he’s the only one who notices something’s off, then the game’s already over.”

 

I said it confidently, but inwardly, I knew deceiving someone familiar with Rue would be no small feat.

 

However, things turned out easier than expected.

 

“Rue! Are you okay? I heard you were sick!”

 

The moment I stepped into the receiving room, my name rang out loudly.

 

I froze mid-step, eyeing the man hurrying toward me. He wasn’t particularly short—and honestly, he wasn’t as “unattractive” as Rue’s memories suggested. He was even… kind of handsome.

 

The problem was his fashion.

 

His long bangs fell across one eye like a curtain—straight out of an old shoujo manga. The strands didn’t move at all, no matter how much he did.

 

…Did he cement that with glue?

 

In contrast to the statue-like stillness above his neck, everything below it was chaos.

 

His shirt was drowning in frills—on the sleeves, the collar, even the hem. I briefly wondered if he was auditioning for the role of “Human Pom-Pom.”

 

And his pants… if you could even call them pants. They were basically skin-tight stockings.

 

I stared in disbelief before my gaze landed on the cluster of brooches pinned to his chest.

 

Wait. How many are there?

 

Even at a glance, there were over ten. And the brooches weren’t even the whole story—he sparkled everywhere, from head to toe. If “excessive wealth syndrome” had a uniform, this would be it.

 

It was rude, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from sweeping him up and down. That’s when I heard something unexpected.

 

“Oh? They said you’d changed, but you haven’t! You’re still staring at my jewelry just like always!”

 

Hoiga puffed his chest proudly, laughing in delight, causing the frills to flutter wildly. But I didn’t let his loudness or his glittering disaster of an outfit throw me off.

 

He laughed like he was performing on stage—but beneath that laughter, I could see his eyes studying me carefully.

 

If I hadn’t been warned by Solongo, I might’ve dropped my guard and relied on Rue’s memories. I quickly whispered to Mo in my mind.

 

Did Rue ever buy jewelry from this guy?

 

[He purchased something every time they met.]

 

Rue wasn’t just a pervert—he was also a complete pushover.

 

“Rue, are you alright?”

 

When I stayed silent too long, Hoiga’s tone softened with concern. I slowly shook my head.

 

Alright. Just fool this one man. You can do it.

 

I took a deep breath, summoning every ounce of nonexistent acting skill I had.

 

“No. I’m not alright. Not at all.”

 

“What? What happened?”

 

“Sigh… I can’t even feel any desire when I look at your jewelry.”

 

I pressed a hand to my forehead dramatically, hiding my face.

 

“Ever since I nearly died from that monster attack, I just… don’t care about jewels anymore.”

 

Maybe it was the shock of hearing “no” from a habitual buyer, but he didn’t question me—he just accepted it instantly.

 

“You… don’t want jewelry? You? Impossible— Wait, you said you almost died? From a monster? When? Where?”

 

“That’s not the point. I just—after that, everything changed. My greed vanished. Even my lust is gone.”

 

“You? Lost your lust? Are you sure you’re Adeye Rue?”

 

Crap. Maybe I overplayed that one. But then my “ally” chimed in.

 

[1. Ha! Of course I am! Look at me! Who could resist worshiping my divine beauty? Every man wants to—

2. Are you doubting me? (Quickly gropes Hoiga’s crotch multiple times.)]

 

Not helpful. At all.

 

I forced a frustrated sigh and improvised.

 

“Who else could I be?! You’ll never find another person this damn—handsome! Every man who sees me ends up completely… overwhelmed!”

 

It was terrible acting, but I peeked through my fingers anyway. To my relief, Hoiga nodded, albeit awkwardly.

 

“Yeah… hearing you talk like that, you’re definitely Rue.”

 

Thank God.

 

“But why did your libido disappear?”

 

You’re seriously asking that right now? You just lost a loyal customer, man!

 

“I don’t know. After I escaped the monster, I was drenched in its bodily fluids. Ever since then, touching anyone’s skin makes me itch all over—it’s disgusting. Must be some kind of side effect.”

 

“I’ve never heard of such an aftereffect before.”

 

“Of course you haven’t. Everyone else who got covered in monster fluids died.”

 

Maybe I’d sounded too cold, because Hoiga froze, horrified. I quickly added some drama for effect.

 

“You can’t imagine how filthy it was. Sticky like glue, clinging to my skin no matter how much I scrubbed. And the smell—ugh! Like being buried alive in compost!”

 

I shuddered so convincingly that Hoiga instinctively took a step back.

 

“So you really did face a monster…”

 

“Obviously. I told you—I almost died.”

 

That part was true, and my sincerity must’ve shown, because he nodded in sympathy.

 

“No wonder you’ve been hiding at home these past weeks. And now, you’ve changed so much…”

 

“I came back from the dead. That’ll do it.”

 

“I never thought I’d see the day you avoided men…”

 

“When you nearly die, that happens.”

 

“And not even coveting my jewels…”

 

“They’re tacky.”

 

“…What?”

 

“I said, I came back from the dead, so I don’t sweat the small stuff.”

 

He tilted his head, clearly confused, but before he could think too much, I changed the topic.

 

“So, why are you here?”

 

“I was worried about you, of course! And actually, I came with good news. Lord Gumber is reopening his summer villa.”

 

His eyes gleamed as he said it. What was so special about that villa?

 

[Lord Gumber’s Summer Villa – Nine years ago, Lord Gumber, whose only asset was his good looks, married the only daughter of the wealthy Bamboa family. True to form, he turned their famous summer villa into a social hotspot, hosting lavish parties every year.

 

Two years ago, however, he was caught cheating—with seven partners simultaneously. One of his lovers assaulted him in revenge, resulting in the tragic loss of both testicles. Since then, he fell into despair and stopped holding parties.]

 

Seven partners. Even by this world’s standards, that was… ambitious. Honestly, losing only two balls seemed merciful.

 

While I was processing that, Hoiga pressed on eagerly.

 

“Well? Aren’t you happy? It used to be your favorite party of the year! Rue, you sure you’re alright?”

 

“I’m just… speechless with joy.”

 

Suspicious little fox.

 

“He hadn’t opened it for two years because of that, remember?”

 

“It seems he’s finally ready to move on. Though, he still gets sad sometimes, thinking about… what he’s lost.”

 

Please. What’s there to mourn? It’s not like testicles were a dear childhood friend.

 

“It’s not like you die from losing them.”

 

“Still, Lord Gumber was famous for their size and… weight, you know.”

 

I blinked. Famous? What possible use could that be?

 

Even Mo stayed silent, apparently unable to find any “relevant data.”

 

“He was?”

 

“Of course! Do you know how many people in society fantasized about being taken by him—just to feel those hefty jewels bouncing?”

 

That was officially the most revolting thing I’d ever heard. My face strained as I tried not to grimace.

 

“Rue, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten—you were his favorite lover among them!”

 

What the—Rue was one of the seven?!

 

“As you can see, I’ve… lost interest in such things.”

 

“No way…”

 

“I died, remember?”

 

I brushed it off quickly, changing the subject.

 

“So, he’s reopening the villa?”

 

“Yes, and you’ll come, right? I don’t care if you claim your libido’s gone—I can’t imagine a summer party without you. That wouldn’t be Adeye Rue at all.”

 

Hoiga nodded firmly, as if my attendance were already guaranteed.