The Poison Demon’s Strategy for the Martial Tower Chapter 111

Chapter 111: A Matter of Faith

The next morning.

I had decided to rest for the day.

Bo-reum wore a slightly dazed expression.

Just yesterday she had seed to be in good spirits, so seeing her with that blank look now felt strange.

I could already guess the reason.

The overwhelming talent she had witnessed in Min-jeong yesterday. It had been nothing short of violence.

In just 6 months, Min-jeong had beaten Louise—a genius who had received proper training since childhood—and had, in effect, surpassed even the professors who had spent their entire lives making chocolate.

Faced with that imnse talent, Bo-reum, who had done her best to study and live earnestly, must have felt the entire world she knew crumbling beneath her.

‘I wonder if it feels similar to when I first saw Park Je-hwang.’

I gave a light smile and greeted Bo-reum for the morning.

"How could you eat up all the breakfast? You pig."

"I only had an olette and so fruit!"

Bo-reum pouted her lips as she welcod .

"Min-jeong was incredible yesterday, wasn't she?"

"Really, a 20-year-old. In that mont, she looked like the protagonist of the world."

"Get close to Min-jeong."

"Why?"

She looked at .

"You saw Min-jeong's skills. The girl's a chocolate artisan. And that's her level now—how much more incredible will she beco down the road?"

"And why does that an I need to get close to her?"

"You saw Michel Renaud yesterday, that old fox, eyeing Min-jeong, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to build a chocolate empire with Min-jeong."

"You want to keep watch so Michel Renaud doesn't poach her?"

"Sothing like that."

Bo-reum leaned back against her chair.

"If it's sothing you're asking to do, I suppose I have to—but I have my own life plans, you know."

"Like what?"

"I should put my major to use. I'm good at Japanese, so I need to find a job with it. I can't keep living off your allowance forever."

I smiled and said to her,

"That's exactly why I'm telling you to get close to her."

"……What do you an?"

"What's your major?"

"Japanese language."

"Where's the top of the Asian dessert world?"

"Japan? Oh!"

"Right. The first colony of the chocolate empire I'll build with Min-jeong will be Japan."

"Now that's intriguing."

Bo-reum's eyes lit up.

"The corporation to be established in Japan. Who should I entrust its branch director position to? Soone capable—and above all, soone I can trust."

"Division Manager Jeong from Baekgyeong Departnt Store?"

"No."

I pointed at Bo-reum.

"You. Kim Bo-reum."

"……Oppa!"

"You saw the journalists who ca to cover the test event, right? The French dia handled the marketing themselves. In monetary terms, that's billions—possibly hundreds of billions worth of marketing. I'm going to ride that and build a chocolate empire. And for that—"

I took Bo-reum's hand.

"I need your strength."

Bo-reum's pupils wavered.

"Will you help ?"

"I don't have that kind of talent."

"You do. You just don't know it. Did you forget that your mother runs that handso Bungeoppang stall all on her own?"

"Even so……"

"Whatever you're lacking, I'll fill in. You just fill in what I'm lacking."

I t her eyes.

"Will you do it?"

Bo-reum stared at quietly for a mont before opening her mouth.

"……Let go of this hand first."

Pfft.

【Kim Tae-yang demands you wipe your hand with a wet wipe imdiately. 500 Happiness】

I let go of her hand and studied her expression.

Bo-reum had her head bowed.

"Ah, this—I think sothing got in my eye."

Bo-reum blinked, avoiding my gaze. The corners of her eyes glistened with light.

"Well then. I hereby issue the first project to our Branch Director Kim of the Japan office."

"Yes! Chairman!"

"Go shopping with Min-jeong."

"……All of a sudden, shopping? I don't have anything left to buy."

"Who said it's for you? Looking at her, Min-jeong's outfits are just so-so. She's about to beco the most acclaid chocolatier in the dia—what's she doing wearing those clothes? When I stopped by her place last night, her wardrobe was almost completely empty."

"And when exactly did you get to see that?"

Bo-reum shot a look.

"Go buy her sothing nice. Nothing gets won close faster than shopping."

Bo-reum gaped at and asked,

"Oppa, what do you actually think of her?"

"She's my employee."

"Doesn't seem like it—the way you look after her."

"A VIP-level employee, let's say. Like a godmother."

"Huh? Who's that?"

"Soone I know."

I got up from my seat and said,

"Anyway, take good care of her."

"Where are you going?"

"To the Tower."

"The Eiffel Tower?"

I gave her a smile and handed her an envelope containing a hefty sum of 5,000 euros.

* * *

"Unni. You really didn't have to do all this."

Min-jeong held an armful of shopping bags and said to Bo-reum with an apologetic look.

"Now, now! It's fine. When an adult says they'll buy you sothing, just speak up and ask for what you want."

"There's nothing more I need."

"Oh! That leather jacket over there is so pretty!"

They had shopped until there was nothing left to carry.

As she shopped, Bo-reum began to understand why her brother had given her this task.

It wasn't simply about getting close—it was about establishing a relationship and a hierarchy, with herself as the one spending money and giving gifts.

She had realized it was a plan to make Min-jeong look up to her, at least a little, by showing that she was the one who valued and treated her well.

'My oppa—how did he even think this far ahead?'

‘Is this even the oppa I knew?’

Bo-reum shook her head in disbelief.

They finished shopping and had a delicious lunch.

They had tea, and visited a dessert café Min-jeong had recomnded.

They laughed, chatted, and talked for a long while.

The two were already beautiful to begin with, and with their distinctly bright smiles added on top, even the handso French passersby took notice.

There were n who tried to talk to them or sent glances their way.

"Oh my. No thank you. rci."

Bo-reum turned down a French young man asking for her contact.

Shortly after, another young man approached Min-jeong and tried to start a conversation.

"Non, you're beneath ."

Min-jeong sent the man on his way.

Bo-reum then asked her,

"Min-jeong, your pronunciation is pretty good. Is that really how you say rci? It sounded a little like 'beneath '. Beneath . rci."

As Bo-reum practiced copying her pronunciation, Min-jeong chuckled to herself.

"Why?"

"Actually, oppa taught . Beneath ."

"Huh?"

"It's really funny, isn't it? I slip it in sotis, and it's my small-scale revenge. The French can't catch it."

Min-jeong kept laughing to herself about sothing.

Bo-reum watched her quietly for a mont, then said,

"Min-jeong."

"Yes, Unni."

"You like my oppa, don't you?"

"Oh!"

"Oh? What."

"……"

Min-jeong stirred her teacup, which still had so cream left in it, with a teaspoon.

"It's obvious. I can tell just by looking."

"Well, that's true……"

"True, but what?"

"I do have a conscience……. Soone like falls far short. Tae-yang oppa is a person who shines, just like his na. Blindingly so. I'm just soone so ordinary—"

Bo-reum gave a faint, bitter smile.

"You don't know a thing about my oppa."

Min-jeong lifted her eyes to look at Bo-reum.

"Is there sothing?"

Bo-reum let out a short sigh before speaking.

"My oppa is a victim of school violence."

"What?"

"When he was in school, he suffered terribly. To a degree I can barely put into words……"

"Ah…… Re-really……"

Min-jeong's face was one of shock.

"Oppa tried to hold on till the end. He thought, ‘what right do I have to give up when I'm the pillar of this family’. He tried sohow to graduate, go to university, and beco a son to be proud of. But…… The bullying was too cruel……"

Bo-reum tapped the table uneasily, as if the mories of that ti had co rushing back.

"In the end, oppa ran away. I don't bla him. No—who could dare bla him? I was just more grateful that he hadn't died. After that, oppa cut himself off from society. He locked himself away. And alone in his room, he sank."

"Tae-yang oppa……?"

"Yes."

Bo-reum clicked her tongue bitterly and continued.

"He didn't co out of his room for years. I forgot about him too……. And then it seems he ca close to making a really terrible choice."

"……Really?"

"He did. It even made the news."

Min-jeong teared up without realizing it.

Bo-reum seed the sa, and wiped her own tears away with her hand.

"But by so stroke of great fortune, sothing changed inside him. He ca back out into the world. And now, he only shows us this truly wonderful side of himself."

Min-jeong, having heard sothing so utterly unexpected, listened with her mouth open.

"It's not for nothing that I say oppa's gone crazy. He's changed so much. To the point where I wonder if this is even the person I knew. That's exactly why I'm worried too—to the point of going mad."

"……Why?"

Bo-reum looked out the window and said,

"He looks like soone wringing out every last ounce of strength he has—burning even his very soul to stay alive."

"……"

"Just watching him feels precarious. Like that fla of his could be burning so brightly at any mont, and then just—snuff out. A few months ago, he went to Japan and suddenly disappeared, and you have no idea how worried Mom and I were. We've been deliberately not bringing it up aloud."

Min-jeong fell silent.

"Oppa is soone who carries a lot of wounds. Young as he is, the pain and rage he's silently digested inside him must be beyond what even a 70-year-old who has seen everything life has to offer could bear. He's smiling—but I can see it…… The image of oppa crying, living behind that smile."

Bo-reum dropped her gaze and stared quietly at the table.

Then she slowly raised her head and said to Min-jeong,

"So Min-jeong, can you promise just 1 thing?"

"……What is it?"

"Don't make my oppa suffer."

Min-jeong stared at Bo-reum quietly.

Then, from one eye, a single tear stread down.

"Okay, Unni."

"……"

"I'll really stay quiet. I won't let anything show from now on."

At that, Bo-reum said with slight flustered surprise,

"I think you misunderstood. I'm not saying don't like him. It's not like you can control that sort of thing anyway. And I like you. I'd be in favor of you dating oppa."

"Re-really?"

"Oppa's been single his whole life and doesn't know what's what—the hopeless guy—but anyway, my words are exactly as I said them. What I an is, don't make my oppa cry."

"Ahh."

Min-jeong's expression brightened again.

"Then what should I do?"

"We just do our parts well, from where we stand. That alone will be enough for oppa. He'll find the strength to keep going."

"Understood. I'll do my best."

【A 26-year-old who resembles Napoleon gets drunk on her own maturity. 100 Happiness】

Min-jeong nodded.

She seed to be quietly letting the shocking news settle, turning over in her mind what it was she needed to do.

Then, working up her courage, she asked again,

"By the way, Unni—is it true that oppa has really never dated anyone?"

* * *

That evening.

Michel Renaud had deliberately sought Min-jeong out at her ho.

The sun was dipping low, and the streets near Min-jeong's apartnt were bathed entirely in golden light.

He walked alongside Min-jeong and said with a gentle expression,

"You worked very hard yesterday."

"Thank you. I'm honored you ca all this way."

"What are you saying. It was such a delicious and joyful chocolate."

"My skills still have a long way to go. Thank you for thinking so highly of it. President."

Michel Renaud gave his white moustache a twirl, then asked her,

"Min-jeong, you're in your 2nd year, correct?"

"No, I'm in my 1st year."

Hearing the answer, he stopped walking and asked again with a look of astonishnt,

"Is that so? You were talking about a diploma earlier."

"Yes."

"Then you must have trained properly in Korea before enrolling at École de Cuisine. Let think…… Who would the famous chocolatiers in Korea be?"

"No. Enrolling here was the first ti. I've been learning chocolate-making for about half a year."

"……!"

Michel Renaud's nostrils flared wide.

"Ha ha. Well……"

"I'm sorry."

"What are you always apologizing for?"

"It's, um—a habit……"

Michel Renaud made eye contact with Min-jeong and said,

"Min-jeong, you are my student now. Do you know what that ans?"

He placed his hands on Min-jeong's shoulders.

"It ans you no longer need to say sorry."

Words delivered with sincerity by the world's greatest chocolatier.

Min-jeong's heart raced—and yet, there was sothing else weighing on her mind.

"Why that expression? You don't want this?"

"No, President. Of course—naturally, I'm so honored and thrilled. It's just……"

Michel Renaud waited patiently for her answer.

"I have a debt of gratitude I must repay."

"That must be referring to the young man I saw yesterday."

"You noticed?"

"With applause that passionate thundering away, how could I not? And your gaze kept lingering on him too."

Min-jeong said, a little embarrassed,

"Thank you for the opportunity. But I am that person's employee. Once I receive my diploma, I must return."

"It seems you're already under contract. The penalty fee is sothing I could more than cover for you."

"It's not a matter of a penalty fee. There isn't one anyway."

"Then?"

"It's a matter of……faith, I suppose."

He looked at Min-jeong for a long mont, then pinched the bridge of his nose and pressed the corners of his eyes.

"Hmm……. What a sha."

Min-jeong bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, President."

At that, Michel Renaud pressed her no further.

"I understand your feelings well."

"Thank you."

Min-jeong gave him a soft smile.

"May I ask you for 1 favor in return?"

"What is it?"

"I need to board a plane to Saudi Arabia tomorrow. Before that—"

He gave a light shrug.

"I'd like to taste Min-jeong's chocolate one more ti."

"Of course!"

Min-jeong bead.

"Then head ho and get started? I'm old, so my steps are slow."

"Yes! Please take your ti. I'll make sothing delicious for you."

Min-jeong bowed and hurried off.

When Min-jeong had gone far enough to be out of sight.

A secretary who had been quietly following behind him spoke up.

"Shall I have the car brought around? President."

"No. I'll walk slowly. I have so things to think about."

"I'm sorry—I happened to overhear your conversation. You ntioned the flight is tomorrow, but it's actually tonight, isn't it? Are you perhaps misrembering……?"

"It's the Crown Prince's private jet anyway. If I'm late, they'll wait."

At his words, the secretary smiled.

"I see. Though, to be fair, he did invite you so desperately just to taste your chocolate. I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll reach out separately to let them know."

It was said the Saudi Crown Prince lived madly for sweets.

He suffered from an incurable illness, and sugar was practically poison to that condition.

And so, just once a month—

The Crown Prince had made it his sole joy in life to eat Michel Renaud's chocolate.

An astronomical sum had been proposed long ago, along with a request to hire Michel Renaud as the royal household's personal chef—

But Michel had refused.

And so they had always flown his chocolate in by plane—

Until this ti, when Michel Renaud had made the grand gesture of deciding to go in person and make the chocolate there.

Michel walked with his hands clasped behind his back, unhurried.

The secretary watched his expression, then asked carefully,

"You don't look well."

"Ha ha ha. Is that so."

"Yes. You look very regretful."

Michel Renaud looked in the direction Min-jeong had run off to.

"……I don't think it's a matter of faith."

"Pardon?"

"You know what I an. Say you walked into a shop by chance and found sothing that truly caught your eye—sothing you couldn't have right away. What would you do?"

"I suppose it depends on how much I liked it."

"To the point of nearly losing your mind. Like if you let it go, it would haunt your dreams forever."

His secretary answered,

"I'd pitch a tent right outside the shop and wait. Until the day I could buy it."

"Hmm."

Michel Renaud gazed at the sun—now no more than a sliver left—and the sky growing steadily darker, and smoothed his moustache.

Then he asked his secretary,

"How many hours does it take from here to Korea?"