"Seo-jun, say ‘ah~’!"

Seomun Ye-jin held a snack between her fingers and brought it to Baek Seo-jun’s lips.

Instead of opening his mouth obediently, Baek Seo-jun fixed his gaze on her lips.

"Rather than feeding me with your hand, wouldn’t it be better to feed me with your lips?"

At his confident words, Seomun Ye-jin barely managed to stop herself from blushing again.

Feeling like she was gradually building a resistance to his teasing, she brushed her soft lavender hair behind her ear with her left hand and gave him a coy smile.

Making a deliberate effort to look as beautiful and alluring as possible, she playfully asked,

"If that’s what you want, Seo-jun, I’ll feed you with my lips as much as you’d like. But… do you really like my lips that much?"

"To be honest, yes. No matter how many times I kiss you, I never get tired of it."

"Is it because my lips are delicious?"

"That’s part of it, but it’s also because you’re so lovely."

Hearing the sincerity in Baek Seo-jun’s voice, Seomun Ye-jin’s expression faltered slightly.

She tried to maintain her composure, but every time he spoke, her heart raced, and her face softened involuntarily.

"I love you too, Seo-jun."

Seomun Ye-jin openly expressed her feelings just as honestly.

Although speaking so directly was a bit embarrassing, it wasn’t unpleasant.

Having been rescued by him from despair after being kidnapped by villains and seeing his righteous fury toward the women’s organizations that had maliciously slandered her, Seomun Ye-jin couldn’t help but see Baek Seo-jun as her hero.

Calling him a "black knight" might have fit, but Baek Seo-jun didn’t seem to care much for the term.

‘I prefer “my husband” over “knight.”’

Seeing how far he was willing to go for her—so much so that he would even abandon his meticulously planned revenge—Seomun Ye-jin knew her world had been decided.

She couldn’t imagine herself being anything other than Baek Seo-jun’s woman.

"Seo-jun, then get ready. I’ll feed you with my lips."

"I’m ready whenever you are."

"Alright, then…"

Seomun Ye-jin placed the snack between her lips and leaned forward to offer it to him.

As Baek Seo-jun pressed his lips against hers, eating the snack in a single bite, he passionately claimed her lips again. Feeling his fervent kiss, Seomun Ye-jin closed her eyes.

It was her first time being in a relationship, but she believed this would be her only one in life.

Even if Baek Seo-jun were to touch the most intimate parts of her body, she would welcome his touch with joy.

‘My husband, the one who will stand by me even if the whole world becomes my enemy.’

Though she was too shy to say it aloud, Seomun Ye-jin held the thought in her heart as she shared a heated kiss with him.

When the kiss finally ended, Baek Seo-jun gently caressed her face with his hand.

"Alright, Miss. I’m heading out for a bit."

"To deal with the villains?"

"Yeah, the ones who hurt you."

Seomun Ye-jin no longer cared how those villains met their end.

Baek Seo-jun had promised to show them all the depths of hell. She trusted him completely and left the method up to him.

What bothered her more… was the fact that she was still only 15 years old.

‘At times like this, saying I’ll take a bath and wait for him… would be inappropriate, right?’

She felt a pang of disappointment that he wasn’t wearing a tie. If he were, she could have tied it for him, playing the role of a dutiful wife.

Unable to mimic the image of a wife seeing her husband off, she offered another gesture instead.

"Seo-jun, is there anything you’d like to eat when you get back?"

"Hm? Let’s see… anything you make will be perfect for me."

"That’s your usual answer. Are you sure there’s nothing specific you’re craving?"

"Then I’ll leave it to you. Something made with your care and love."

"Alright! I’ll prepare it with plenty of care and love!"

"Good. I’ll be back soon."

***

As I left, Seomun Ye-jin seeing me off, Ramisa wrapped around my shoulders spoke up.

• "Why did you bring me along?"

Ramisa, dragged out in the middle of watching a movie, voiced her displeasure.

"What’s the big deal about skipping a movie for a bit? Besides, Ramisa, wouldn’t hunting villains be something you’d enjoy?"

• "Aren’t these people not even Mana Awakeners? They look like they were cursed by the entirety of the world’s malice when they were made."

"That’s just discrimination based on appearance."

• "Seo-jun, ugly ones should die and have their souls consumed, while the pretty ones provide quality souls and bodies for synchronization. That’s all humans have ever been to me."

Even though she cooperates with me, Ramisa’s view of humanity hadn’t fundamentally changed.

To her, the only human who stood out was me—the one who absorbed her power and possessed the potential to kill The Fox That Devours Worlds.

In her eyes, humans were no different from livestock living in a small world, much like how humans view ants.

And yet, even this was an improvement.

"Still, for someone who’s obsessed with human TV shows and movies, you’re in no position to talk."

• "Mmm, I’ll concede that. I’ve come to enjoy something I never knew about before. Considering my current reliance on you, I’ve been forced to feel a few things."

As she collaborated with me to avoid the wrath of The Fox That Devours Worlds, Ramisa’s perspective on humans was shifting, albeit slightly.

• "But, ultimately, aren’t these the ones who harmed that little girl you care so much about? What’s the problem with looking down on such insignificant beings?"

"That’s just confirmation bias. Not everyone who looks a certain way is bad. Even if only one or two out of a hundred are exceptions, it’s wrong to make blanket statements."

• "But wasn’t it those with such appearances who grouped together to torment Seomun Ye-jin? Isn’t that a characteristic of people like them?"

"Well, I can’t deny that. It’s true that such people tend to gather."

With that casual conversation, I made my way to Choi Kang-in.

Without any interference, I arrived at his mansion in Gyeongseong and met him directly.

"It’s good to see you. What brings you here without prior notice?"

Choi Kang-in greeted me with a business-like smile, but I had no intention of engaging in a long conversation.

To him, I was probably a hopeful figure he needed to recruit for the future, but to me, Choi Kang-in’s purpose ended the moment his relationship with Baek Seo-jin was severed.

‘I don’t need to run the Kangin Guild myself.’

If offered, I wouldn’t refuse, but I wasn’t interested in being controlled by it either.

Beyond saving the world, seeking revenge, and living alongside Seomun Ye-jin, I had no ambitions.

‘If it were Yoo-chun, he’d probably have crafted some grand identity and influence for himself.’

My old friend from a past life, Seo Mun-yoo-chun, would have relished building a high status and enjoying it subtly.

But unlike him, I didn’t see the need for such things.

If power was necessary, it was far more convenient to delegate it to the elderly man in front of me.

"You’re looking at me like King Sejong gazing at his Prime Minister Hwang Hee," he said with a wry grin.

"You’re surprisingly aware of such things, Elder."

"I keep up with the internet, you know. How could I hope to save the world if I ignored its changes just because I’m old?"

Choi Kang-in’s glib response made me nod.

"Right, right. Then, Elder Choi Kang-in, it’s time to collect those villains—those creatures so vile they don’t even deserve to be called by that term—who hurt my lady."

"By ‘collect,’ do you mean the ones currently in prison?"

"Yes. It feels too lenient to let them stay there, so I’m sending them to a lovely hell I’ve prepared. There are senior villains already waiting there; it’ll be perfect for them."

"Hmm, the villains are all gathered in the prison, so do as you wish. You know where to find them?"

"Yes. Just make sure no one questions their sudden disappearance."

"That won’t be a problem."

No one would care if a bunch of villains simply vanished.

Even if their families noticed, there was no reason to accommodate them for the sake of those villains.

***

"Haah…"

The villains impaled on the walls sighed as they looked at the researchers writhing in agony from the ongoing torture. Strangely, they found solace in knowing their own predicament wasn’t as bad as the researchers’.

But their brief relief quickly turned to dread as they saw a crowd of women—numbering in the thousands—flood into the area.

Even as villains who had committed heinous crimes such as rape without remorse, they felt an eerie revulsion toward these women.

The thought of doing anything to these particular women didn’t even cross their minds.

No, they’d rather die than entertain the idea of having any kind of physical interaction with them.

"AAAHHH! Where is this place?"

"Let me go right now! I didn’t do anything wrong! This is a violation of my human rights!"

"I’ll sue you! WAAAHH! I’ll sue all of you, you male bastards!"

"This is all because of those male-sympathizing traitors!"

The chaotic cacophony from the grotesquely ugly women, shouting insane nonsense, filled the air. One of the villains nailed to the wall couldn’t help but groan in despair.

"My eyes feel like they’re rotting…"

It was a sentiment shared by all the villains, their bodies pierced and displayed on the walls like macabre decorations.