My Childhood Friend Told Me to Go Marry the Most Beautiful Woman in the Kingdom, So I Seriously Started Improving Myself—and Somehow Ended Up Making Women Fall Hard - Chapter 36 & 37

Chapter 36: Purge and Attention

Side: Hort Rubel

I woke up in darkness.

The first thing that returned was pain.

Deep in my chest, it burned like fire. Every time I drew a breath, it felt like something was being torn open. A metallic taste spread at the back of my throat, and a moment later, I realized I had coughed up blood.

My back was pressed against cold stone.

A damp smell. Dirt, sweat, leather.

There was no light. Only the faint after-scent of a magic lamp.

My vision blurred.

Beyond that blur, I saw the eyes of a beast. 

Short orange hair. Cat ears twitching once. 

A clenched fist, claws extended.

Oren was looking down at me.

“…Looks like there really is nothing here.”

“I told you already… I don’t know anything.”

My voice came out rough. 

I swallowed down the cough trying to force its way up.

Captain Oren’s mouth twisted.

“That’s rich, coming from the idiot who picked a fight with the Third Knight Order.”

“Haha, I don’t remember picking a fight. I’ve got no talent, so I just did what I could.”

“Same thing.”

A fist slammed into my stomach.

“Guh…!”

The air was knocked out of my lungs. My vision flashed white for a moment.

Even so, I breathed out and forced a grin.

“…Ah, Captain, when you make that scary face, you’re even cuter. Makes me wanna fluff you.”

“Shut up. You’re seriously cheeky. Where’d that serious face from earlier go? Or is this your true nature?”

Pain shot through my shoulder from another blow.

“Haha, there’s no way I can stay calm in a situation like this. Ugh…! Cough!”

A kick slammed into my throat.

“Really looks like there’s nothing here.”

“…I already told you. I don’t know anything. Back then too, I just did it to get on the Second Knight Order commander’s good side.”

Oren narrowed her eyes.

It was the look of a cat measuring the thickness of its prey’s neck.

“Hmph. Just a woman-chaser? So you were really just an idiot. You didn’t get favored, got kicked out, and then got tossed straight into the hell of the Third Knight Order?”

“Yeah, seems that way. I’m aware of it. I’ve always been bad at judging people—spent my whole life on a childhood friend and got betrayed for it. And I also learned that trying to look cool in moments like this usually ends with me getting hurt.”

“You learn slow.”

Oren’s claws reached for my chest.

The sound of fabric tearing.

The burning heat of skin being cut.

“Guh…!”

How many times had it been?

Punches, kicks, claws—hours of it. Pure torture.

I clenched my teeth.

I didn’t let my voice out. Letting it out meant losing.

Still, something trembled deep in my chest.

This was a rite of passage.

Oren snorted in amusement.

“Hah, what’s with you? Do you actually think you’re cool or something? You’re weak trash, you know.”

“I don’t think I’m cool at all. That’s why I’m desperate. If I thought I was cool, I wouldn’t be lying here right now.”

“I’m the one letting you lie there.”

“Then… I’m honored. Getting handled by such a beautiful woman.”

“You can still joke around? I almost respect your mental toughness.”

The next moment, she flicked my forehead.

“That’s an honor.”

“Don’t get carried away.”

“I’m not. I’m lying on the ground, remember?”

Oren took a step back and unclenched her fist.

“…Hmph. That’s enough.”

“So it’s over?”

“For now, you’re being treated as gray.”

“Gray?”

At the end of those words, Captain Oren’s face twisted with pain.

She hadn’t done this because she wanted to.

She had probably forced herself to be cruel while accusing me.

This was a check.

The Third Knight Order’s way of deciding whether someone was an enemy or an ally.

“Why go this far?”

“You’re an idiot, so I’ll explain.”

Oren crouched down, bringing her face close to mine.

Her cat-like eyes glowed in the dark.

“The Third Knight Order does give responsibility to each unit.”

“…”

“But that doesn’t mean we’re separate. It means the captains carry that much weight. We manage things properly.”

The word manage settled heavily in my chest.

“We don’t leave around dogs that look like they’ll bite. Ones with biting habits get trained.”

“…So I’m a biting dog?”

“Shut up. Your true nature is just a womanizing idiot.”

Oren’s finger pressed lightly against the wound on my chest.

“—ngh…!”

“And taking you in means… I’ve been chosen as the one to keep an eye on the problem child.”

An overseer.

In other words, she wasn’t some helper the Marshal prepared for me. Not an ally, either.

“There’s no way we wouldn’t investigate you. The moment you joined the Fifth Unit, you became the one being investigated. You already caused trouble before even stepping in.”

“…I see.”

I steadied my breathing. When it got shallow, the pain flared up, so I forced myself to breathe deep.

Oren stood up.

“Can you move?”

“I can.”

The wounds weren’t as deep as I’d thought.

“Surprisingly tough.”

Her cat ears twitched once.

“You’re not cleared yet. You’re my secretary. Walk behind me. Don’t step out in front on your own.”

“Yes.”

I stared up at the dark ceiling.

One thing was crystal clear now.

The Third Knight Order wasn’t a soft organization.

♢

I felt sunlight on my skin for the first time in several days.

Counting from the first day, I’d gone about three days without food—given only water, and beaten the whole time.

Coming to the Third Knight Order and having “nothing happen” had never been an option.

They made that painfully clear.

“Fufufu, my my… haven’t you become quite the handsome man?”

A sweet scent sent a shiver through me, perfume stinging my nose.

“Captain Skoll Shadowblow.”

“Fufufu, just Skoll is fine. Oren really went all out on you, didn’t she?”

As she spoke, her slender white finger traced along the wound on my chest.

“—Tss!!!”

“Fufu, Oren. Isn’t it cruel to leave such marks on him?”

“Leave it be. Hort is under my watch.”

“I suppose so.”

Captain Oren stepped forward, slipping her body between Skoll and me.

“…There’s no need to touch him.”

“Oh? Jealous?”

“No. Work.”

The sharpness in her voice made the air tense.

Captain Skoll shrugged, her glossy smile never fading.

“Scary, so scary. The Fifth Unit is pretty strict, huh?”

“Not as bad as the Third Unit.”

“Fufu, bold words.”

I listened to their exchange in silence.

I didn’t have the leeway to butt in—and more importantly, there was information hidden in their words.

Captain Skoll’s gaze ran over me from head to toe again.

“So then… how is it? The famous problem child.”

“Who knows… I can’t really judge myself.”

“So honest. I don’t dislike that.”

Her finger moved toward the wound on my chest again.

This time, Captain Oren shot her a sharp glare.

Captain Skoll chuckled softly and pulled her hand back.

“Just kidding. I’d rather not get bitten by Oren.”

“I don’t bite.”

“Even though you use your claws?”

Captain Oren didn’t answer.

Captain Skoll took a step back, putting some distance between us.

“Well, whatever. I only came today to take a look.”

“Take a look?”

“Yes. I wanted to see what kind of face the man who moved from the Second Knight Order to the Third was wearing.”

I gave a wry smile.

“Was I a disappointment?”

“No. You’re more… interesting than I expected.”

I couldn’t tell if that was praise or not.

Captain Skoll’s eyes sharpened just a little.

“Listen well, Hort. Remember this.”

“…Yes.”

“The most dangerous thing in the Third Knight Order isn’t violence.”

Her perfume drifted away on the breeze.

A strange feeling made my chest thump.

“Right now, you are…”

Captain Skoll smiled.

“Oren’s property. That’s why the other captains can’t easily touch you.”

“…What?”

Captain Oren snorted irritably.

“That’s a bad way to put it.”

“But it’s the truth, isn’t it?”

Their gazes clashed.

Standing between them, I finally understood.

This was the Fifth Unit—but I wasn’t just someone of the Fifth Unit anymore.

I was being watched. Measured. Talked about.

Maybe I should accept it.

I was now someone the entire knight order had its eyes on.

“Then I’ll be heading back.”

Captain Skoll turned on her heel, then looked back just before leaving.

“Survive, Hort. If you do… things will get interesting.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“That’s the answer I wanted.”

Leaving behind only the lingering scent of perfume, the Third Unit’s captain walked away.

Silence followed.

The sunlight felt strangely blinding.

“…Be careful.”

“Huh?”

“Skoll uses poison. If your heart’s still pounding, you probably inhaled an aphrodisiac.”

The perfume she’d leaned in with earlier—that was an aphrodisiac!?

“Alright, we’re heading back. Time to work.”

Captain Oren turned her back and started walking.

“You slept for three days already. That’s more than enough.”

“…I think most people would call that workplace harassment.”

“In the Fifth Unit, it’s training.”

It really felt like I’d ended up in an absolutely terrible place.

The Third Knight Order was no joke.

Chapter 37: How Do I Break Out of This Situation?

The situation was pretty harsh.

Inside the Third Knight Order, I was treated as someone under surveillance.

No matter where I went, someone was always watching.

I was officially Captain Oren’s secretary, but that just meant I was being kept under watch.

On top of that, the scar carved into my chest on the first day acted like a mark.

Because of it, knights from other units didn’t say much to me.

But the knights of the Fifth Unit were a different story.

“Hey, womanizer. Do this next.”

“A rabid dog like you’s dangerous. We can’t leave the citizens to someone like that.”

“Don’t get cocky in the Third Knight Order.”

I was told not to do anything unnecessary and got dumped with all the menial work.

“Phew… this never ends.”

When exhaustion suddenly hit me, worn down by nonstop chores, my thoughts drifted to my big sister.

♢

On the mansion’s terrace, my sister was always drinking tea.

She was the kind of person who never lost her composure or elegant air.

When I removed my sword from my waist and sat down, she placed her cup aside and looked at me.

“Now then, Hort.”

“…Yes.”

“If the most beautiful woman in the kingdom were on the enemy’s side, what would you do?”

“Huh? The most beautiful woman on the enemy’s side? At that point, wouldn’t it stop being the kingdom?”

“Why? There are plenty of rival nobles in this world. They all belong to the same kingdom, yet their houses oppose each other. You hear stories like that all the time, don’t you?”

I’d seen a stage play once about the son and daughter of rival noble families who ran away together and met a tragic end.

Opera was a noble pastime.

It was a story my sister knew well—and so did I.

“That might be true, but…”

My sister’s talks were always instructive.

Still, could you really think of a noble lady on the enemy’s side as the most beautiful woman in the kingdom?

“Situations change by the moment. You need to become a man who can adapt to those changes.”

“And is that also for the sake of winning over the most beautiful woman in the kingdom?”

“Yes. A strong and kind man. And on top of that—someone smart and useful.”

“Smart and useful?”

Another challenge had been added.

Without meaning to, I started comparing my sister’s words with my current situation in the Third Knight Order.

“What do you think I should do, Sis?”

I stayed quiet and tried to recall my sister’s lessons.

“I want you to remember this—women on the opposing side always have two faces.”

“That got scary real fast. What do you mean, two faces?”

“They’re truly scary. Women are.”

“Eh?”

My sister continued calmly.

“Listen. If a woman is opposing you, that means she’s paying attention to you—in both good and bad ways. It means you’re taking up space in her thoughts.”

“Even if she hates me?”

“Even if she hates you. Even if she’s wary, watching you, irritated with you—she’s still thinking about you.”

She set her teacup on the table with a soft clink.

“The moment a woman is watching you, you’re already in her head. Remember this—it’s actually a very strong position.”

“A strong position…?”

“Yes. Even if the surface evaluation is terrible, underneath it means she cares enough to think about you.”

My sister pointed at me.

“What you need to do next is control emotions.”

“Control emotions?”

“Yes. If someone is hostile or dislikes you, they’re directing negative feelings at you. And yet, they can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Isn’t it weird to think about someone you hate?”

“Not at all. The opposite of love isn’t hate—it’s indifference.”

“Indifference…?”

Suddenly, Rina’s face came to mind.

To her, had I just been a kind but completely irrelevant presence?

“That’s right. As long as they hate you, they’re still thinking about you. In that state, if you show actions that benefit them—or show future potential—the feeling of ‘I want to hate him’ can be rewritten into ‘maybe this man is actually good.’ That’s when a reversal happens.”

My sister’s lessons always taught me important things, but this time it felt like a stretch.

“Rewrite? Reversal? Is that really possible?”

“If the moment you met, she felt you were physically incompatible and didn’t even want you in her sight, then no—once you’re treated with pure indifference, it’s impossible. But if she’s annoyed yet can’t look away, hates you yet keeps caring—if that state continues, there’s a chance.”

Up until now, my sister had explained things gently.

This time, she wore a wicked smile.

“If you manage to flip that state, your value after success skyrockets. The deeper the hate, the heavier it becomes when it turns into affection. If you can change the evaluation of someone who held hostility toward you, the effect is tremendous.”

I swallowed without realizing it.

“You will marry the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. For that, be a man who understands the necessary knowledge, the other person’s position, and how they think. That’s what it means to be a smart man.”

My sister raised a second finger.

“Second point. Women value factions and territory.”

“Factions… you mean noble social circles?”

“No. I mean something far more instinctive.”

My sister picked up one of the baked sweets.

“For example—let’s see. I married into a new house and now live there. That place is my home, my family, my new territory.”

“Yeah, I can picture that.”

“But this family home is also a home. You could say it’s my territory too.”

“That’s true.”

“However, I don’t want Mother and Father coming into my new territory.”

“???”

I couldn’t grasp what my sister was trying to say.

This was the hardest talk she’d ever given me.

“This family home is Mother’s territory, and Father stands as its main pillar.”

“That makes sense.”

“It’s fine to return here to rest. But in my territory, where my husband is the pillar, I can’t live while letting Mother and Father step in. Having another ‘owner’ enter my territory is disruptive. That’s how women think about territory.”

I wasn’t sure I fully understood it correctly.

But one thing was clear—to step into a territory where a woman is the one in charge, there are rules.

“Next is factions. Family. Close friends. A place where she belongs. People she has equal, close relationships with—that’s what I mean by a faction. In other words, human relationships. Figure out the relationships that woman values.”

“Reading relationships… that’s at least easier to understand.”

“When there are people she wants to protect or cherish, words coming from those people become ‘important words.’”

“Important words?”

My sister leaned in and peered at my face.

“That’s right. On the flip side, if you hurt someone from her faction, or mess with the home or place she considers her territory, then no matter what you say, she won’t listen. Those words become meaningless.”

“Mess with… how?”

“Ignore her feelings. Don’t think about her emotions. Take control on your own. Decide things on your own. Wave your sense of justice around. Try to stand out on your own. All of that is trampling over her territory.”

Something pricked in my chest.

What had I been doing all this time?

“Do you understand what it means when a woman who treasures her territory invites you into her home?”

“That she trusts you?”

“Exactly. Letting someone into her territory means she’s opening her heart. And if she allows you to be alone with her, it’s already starting to turn into affection.”

My sister lifted her cup and smiled.

I recalled everything she’d taught me so far.

1) A woman who is hostile has two sides—control emotions and flip them.

2) Understand her faction—her relationships. Know who she values. Never hurt them. Instead, earn their favor.

3) Understand her territory. Figure out the line you’re allowed to step over—and the line you’re not.

My sister’s eyes narrowed.

“Finally, the method to turn her feelings around.”

“A method?”

“Yes. Fill in the outer moat.”

“Outer moat?”

“Her friends, her subordinates, the people around her. If you try to make her like you directly while you’re enemies, she’ll just stay guarded and it’ll end there.”

She tapped the table lightly with her fingertip.

“You see, people tend to believe something has value when others say it does. If a famous noble lady advertises that a certain shop’s tea is delicious, everyone rushes to buy it. Whether it truly has value doesn’t even matter. People believe it because everyone says so, because someone famous said it, because someone close to them said it.”

I let out a breath.

“…I get it. So instead of trying to change the person directly, you change how the people around them evaluate you?”

“Exactly. And the most important thing of all is this.”

My sister’s expression turned serious.

“Don’t overdo it. Don’t give too much. Let them decide. Return responsibility to them. Your role is to prepare the stage—make the other person the star.”

“…”

“A man who can do that is smart… and useful.”

My sister’s challenges were always difficult.

But they helped me organize the way forward inside my head.

“Thank you, Sis.”

I decided to move—to break out of my current situation.