Chapter 26: Not a Shepherd Boy, But a Girl (2)
“Voice phishing… seriously?”
The girl tilted her head in confusion, either shocked by my sudden change in tone or because she genuinely didn’t understand what “voice phishing” meant.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“Even if the Empire doesn’t have laws punishing voice phishing, how could you be so blatant about it? And so obvious, too.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about! Voice phishing?!”
Her feigned innocence and ignorance were irritating.
And it was equally annoying that Jinjer had fallen for such a cheap trick.
“If you’re going to run a scam, at least put some effort into it. This is just lazy.”
“Jin-a, what are you talking about? I don’t—”
Flustered, she tried to wrap her arms around my shoulders.
Only then did I notice how delicate this body was—too soft to belong to a healthy South Korean office worker.
I brushed her arms off effortlessly and sat on the bed, legs crossed.
“It’d be better if you told the truth now.”
“Jin-a!”
Her face was now not only confused, but also laced with irritation.
She clearly didn’t want to play along with my games anymore.
Or maybe… she just wanted me to leave already.
That could be it too.
There was an 80% chance that I was stuck in this mansion, looking perfectly healthy, because of Jinjer’s influence.
So why did Jinjer lock me up?
Simple. He probably wanted to keep watching an amusing person a little longer.
Then I remembered the question she had asked me earlier.
“Think about it carefully.”
“About what…?”
“What drives people mad? Odelia’s face? Or Odelia herself?”
“Well, obviously—”
“Obviously, it’s Odelia herself.”
She fell silent at my answer.
Because deep down, she knew it too.
Just because I had Odelia’s face didn’t mean I was Odelia.
And no matter how many times she paraded around with that name, she wasn’t Odelia either.
“Neither of us is the one Jinjer Stourwood truly loves.”
“…”
“You get what I’m saying, right? So stop acting like a fool—”
“Hah…”
She let out a low chuckle.
Then suddenly, she reached out for me.
But who was I?
The one who’d kicked that muscle-bound Baizen in the chest and even made Jinjer bleed.
Avoiding the desperate grasp of a girl like her was child’s play.
I twisted my body deeper into the bed to dodge, and she scowled at me.
Her face, partially hidden by black hair, contorted in rage.
It was the first time I saw her angry face.
People always said I looked scary when I was mad, and now I understood why.
She looked like one of those creepy cat monsters in horror collections.
“Damn, I really do look terrifying. No wonder the department head always told me to smile more.”
“You little…!”
“Oh? That ‘you’… you mean me?”
“Who else is in this room besides you?!”
Maybe it was because we were alone, or maybe I had pushed her too far, but she was finally dropping the act.
Her palm—about the size of a pot lid, if not a cauldron—grabbed my shoulder.
Startled, I flinched, and she smiled wickedly, as if to say, “Scared now?”
Wow. I really do look scary.
Why do I look like this?! Now I just feel sad.
I was only surprised by my own face, but she thought she’d frightened me and looked smugly victorious.
“What? Are you scared now?”
“Yeah. My face is really terrifying. No wonder the manager told me to smile more.”
Her face instantly froze at my teasing reply.
“Are you joking? Do you not realize what kind of situation you’re in, you lowly—”
“What kind of situation? It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? No matter how pretty Odelia’s face is, if you act like this, her brothers will get jealous. You should be careful.”
“You wretched brat!!”
That pushed her over the edge. She swung at me.
There was a loud slap, and my head snapped to the side.
Ow. Who knew she was this strong?
She really hit like she looked.
She looked pleased with the red mark now blooming on my cheek.
The smug satisfaction on her face was ridiculous.
I clenched my fist tightly.
There was only one saying from my mom in my past life that I really liked:
“Revenge and repayment must always come back twice as strong.”
It wasn’t my place to complain if she got mad and slapped me.
But I wasn’t the type to take a hit without giving one back.
I swung my clenched fist and landed it squarely on her face.
Watching my fist sink deep into her cheek was oddly satisfying.
When she staggered back up, blood dripped from beneath her nose.
“Wow, that must’ve hurt.”
“You crazy—!”
I clicked my tongue in mock concern, and she shrieked in fury.
She reached out like she was going to grab my hair.
But she didn’t even touch a strand.
Sadly for her, I wasn’t the one who stopped her.
“You alright, Odelia?”
With his usual calm smile, Jinjer brushed back his red hair as he approached.
“I think it was just a few hours ago that you called her a fake.”
“Was it?”
Jinjer shrugged, casually brushing off the woman’s arm.
His attitude made it seem like he had heard everything we said, but he didn’t look surprised or upset.
Of course he knew.
That man is more snake than human.
“…So you knew?”
“If I may answer the young lady’s earlier question—my answer is the latter.”
“What do you mean?”
“What drives me mad is Odelia’s face.”
Ah-ha! So you’ll prioritize the one with the face.
If the real Odelia had heard that, she probably would’ve burst into tears.
I just clicked my tongue.
“Duke…!”
The woman, thrown to the floor by Jinjer, went pale.
Her face—my face—was twisted in misery.
“Well then, shall we have an honest talk—”
“Duke, she just said something weird! I clearly heard her call herself Jin-a earlier! She doesn’t even seem comfortable being called ‘Lady’—she’s obviously a lowly commoner! Please believe me!”
She cried out desperately, crawling toward Jinjer on her knees.
But Jinjer didn’t spare her even a glance.
He was cruel to the end.
Instead, he playfully wrapped his arm around my waist.
“Well, fake Lady, care to explain?”
She was no longer of interest to Jinjer.
But to me, she was still important.
She might know how I could go back.
I shrugged off Jinjer and walked over to the woman slumped on the floor.
Her eyes were red with shock from seeing me and Jinjer together.
“You’re right. I’m not Odelia. I’m not even a noble.”
“See?! You heard that, right?! I was right all along! You’ll believe me now, won’t you?”
She shouted in triumph and crawled back toward Jinjer.
Pitifully, he still didn’t look at her.
Seeing that, I figured approaching Jinjer would only bring her more despair, so I spoke again.
“But I’m not from this world either.”
“…What?”
“Here’s my first question: are you from this world, or from mine?”
Her black eyes trembled at the question.
“I-I’m Odel—”
“Thought so. You’re from this world. A noble, right?”
“No! I’m not… I’m not…”
She shook her head as if trying to deny the truth.
“No, you are. Lady Studibach.”
Jinjer called her by a name I’d never heard before and glanced at me, as if to confirm.
“Lying is wrong, you know.”
Ha. As if he can talk.
I turned my gaze away, annoyed at how he acted like he was from another world too.
Then Jinjer explained the situation, as if finally realizing I was confused.
“Recently, Baron Studibach suddenly adopted his niece. Conveniently, his own daughter fell ill and left to recover. Then, this woman appeared and started calling herself Odelia.”
“So this woman—no, Lady Studibach—is the imposter.”
“Correct.”
Jinjer ruffled my hair like I’d answered a quiz correctly.
Hey! Not even my brother gets to touch my hair like that!
I slapped his hand away and looked down at Lady Studibach.
Tears welled up in her now ghostly pale face.
“How… how do you know all this?”
“I don’t like suspicious things.”
I pushed Jinjer aside and knelt in front of her.
But that wasn’t what I wanted to know right now.
“So, tell me. Was that face… originally yours?”
“Why… should I tell you anything?”
She looked away, her face twisting with resentment.
Wow, she’s really pissed.
But I had to know.
I took her hand and pulled her up.
“Someone changed your face, didn’t they?”
“…I don’t know.”
Her defiant answer made my irritation bubble up again.
How many times do I have to be nice?
“You’d better tell me the truth. That face is definitely mine. Maybe it was Odelia herself who gave it to you.”
“Hah! You think I’ll spill everything just because you said that? I’ll never bow to you.”
“You don’t have to bow.”
My pent-up frustration exploded, and I pulled her close.
I hugged her tightly to stop her from escaping and whispered in her ear.
“But I can let you die at the hands of the man you love.”
I whispered quietly, so no one else could hear—but behind me, Jinjer let out a small, intrigued gasp.
I had no intention of actually letting her die.
No matter how much she messed with me, death was too harsh a punishment.
But I knew only fear would loosen her tongue.
“How…”
Her face turned red. She looked at me like she couldn’t believe I knew.
I wanted to ask her how she thought I wouldn’t.
But that wasn’t important now.
She owed me an answer.
“So? Are you ready to answer my question?”
Come on. Grab my hand.
If you don’t want to die at the hands of the man you love.
Or if you just want to survive.
Even if it’s a rotten rope or the hand of a jealous rival—grab it and live.
