Hehhehkh—hehhhehhheh....
Dang Eunbi’s laughter rapidly faded into the distance.
And since the atmosphere had already been uncomfortable, it only beca more uncomfortable, so a few of the household mbers started tidying up and getting to their feet.
The Dang twins also made us an offer.
“The tea you drank just now probably didn’t taste very good.”
“I received a gift of excellent tea leaves earlier.”
“And so pastries to go with it.”
“If it’s alright with you, join us.”
Naturally, dessert wasn’t the main objective—they clearly had sothing they wanted to say.
There was a high chance it was connected to what had just happened.
And, going further, to Dang Gyu-young as well.
So we readily accepted the offer and moved to the Dang brothers’ quarters.
Dang Ilbi brewed the tea with practiced skill and poured a cup for .
“They say it’s Longjing from the Jegal family—grown and blended by them. What do you think?”
“It has a very deep flavor.”
And it was extrely familiar, too.
Because Show-Show used to give this all the ti.
When I glanced at Dang Gyu-young, they looked like they were thinking the sa thing.
Still, the fact it was good tea didn’t change, so there was no need to add an unnecessary comnt.
After we’d been tilting our cups for a while, Dang Ilbi brought up what had happened at the formal dinner.
“...You knew?”
“I’m a bit more observant than most.”
Even if soone at elder rank or higher had poisoned it, I would’ve caught it imdiately—but Dang Eunbi was far below that.
They still had a lot of rough edges.
Though for soone enrolling next year, they were fairly decent.
The twins coughed awkwardly, then spoke one line at a ti.
“Ahem. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner.”
“I’ll bring that colt of a brat and make them apologize properly.”
“As their older brother, I bear responsibility for failing to stop it.”
I answered lightly.
“It’s fine. It wasn’t your fault. And I didn’t suffer any harm.”
The twins exchanged looks.
“...You seem pretty confident.”
“Since you drank it even after noticing.”
“You didn’t hesitate even a little.”
“Are you immune to all poisons or sothing?”
It was probably half a joke for them, but in reality, I was immune to all poisons.
It was probably half a joke for them, but in reality, I was immune to all poisons.
Dang Gyu-young and Seo Ye-in, who shared Traits with through [Bond], were the sa.
That was why I’d watched Dang Eunbi poison it and let it happen.
But it # Nоvеlight # was still too early to reveal that fact, so I just smiled.
“I do have a useful Trait.”
“Of course you do. May I ask one more thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“I want to hear why you drank it on purpose.”
If you realize soone has poisoned sothing, the normal response is to switch to a new cup, or not touch it at all.
anwhile, I’d conspicuously gulped down the poisoned tea.
They had every reason to be curious whether I’d done it just to show off, or if I had another intention.
I smiled again and replied.
“When the stage is already set, isn’t it a loss to let it pass? I had to drink it.”
“...You knew that much, too?”
Both of them lifted their brows.
It seed unexpected that I’d grasped the clan head’s intent.
‘To be blunt, this wasn’t a triumphant hocoming.’
It was closer to Uncle Gyu inviting Dang Gyu-young in order to reconnect family ties that had nearly been severed.
But while Dang Gunak and Dang Munhyeong treasured them as a daughter and a niece, the rest of the household would each feel that distance differently.
It was a massive clan, and emotions could sour with ti, after all.
‘It’s practically like they see them as a traitor.’
And Seo Ye-in and I were being treated like uninvited guests.
And considering the Dang family’s temperant, there was no way they’d just sit back while an eyesore camped here for the entire break.
They’d want to drive us out as quickly as possible—so they’d make a move, one way or another.
Of course, Gyu’s dad and Uncle Gyu would’ve predicted that too, but no matter how much authority the clan head had, they couldn’t completely ignore opposing opinion and side only with their child.
‘In the end, they have no choice but to leave it to us, to so extent.’
Still, to help indirectly, they’d held a formal dinner from the very first day and shown us.
Who among the household felt goodwill toward us, and who felt hostility.
The Dang twins looked very pleased.
“I was 고민ing how to explain it.”
“Seems like you’ve already figured it all out, so it got easier.”
“But I hope there’s no misunderstanding about Eunbi.”
“They weren’t ordered to poison anything—it was sothing they did on their own.”
I nodded.
“That was my guess as well. Still, the timing was so perfect that I had no choice but to use it.”
The twins alternated again.
“Poisoning was going to happen sooner or later anyway.”
“If you remove poison from the Dang family, what’s left?”
“Still, it was unlikely they’d stir things up on day one.”
“So Eunbi’s poisoning attempt ended up being an opportunity.”
“Not sothing to praise, but thanks to it, we could show them.”
Anyone with a certain level of discernnt would have noticed Dang Eunbi’s poisoning attempt.
Not just the twins, but the clan head and elders seated at the seat of honor as well.
And drinking the poisoned cup in front of them was a kind of warning.
That diocre poisons wouldn’t work—so if they planned to pull sothing, they’d better prepare sothing stronger.
And that they’d need to be prepared for the consequences, too.
Worry showed on Dang Ilbi and Dang Hanbi’s faces.
“But will you be alright?”
“The main family isn’t so depraved they’d use extre poison for sothing like this, but...”
“You never know with people.”
“Depending on the type, it can act more lethally than expected.”
Then Dang Gyu-young, who’d been listening quietly, cut in.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve got sothing in mind.”
In truth, I had nothing in mind—I was just immune to all poisons.
But the twins reached a completely different conclusion and seed convinced.
“Right. Gyu-young used to handle poison well, too.”
“Even if they left ho, that skill wouldn’t just disappear.”
“And after graduating from Dragonslayer Academy, they’ve probably improved even more.”
“It’s not good to underestimate them.”
Dang Gyu-young’s expression turned sour, but there was no way to admit the truth now, so they just played dumb and changed the subject.
Dang Ilbi and Dang Hanbi continued.
“There’s also the possibility of a spar.”
“They can always slap a pretext on it.”
“Like testing hands with a Dragonslayer Academy student.”
Of course, I’d expected that too.
But I was curious what they thought, so I asked.
“If it’s just a spar, isn’t that a fairly wholeso approach? It’d be good experience for both sides.”
And I could farm ranks while I was at it.
But the twins shook their heads.
“If it were only testing hands, there’d be no problem. But the intent is impure.”
“They’ll definitely try sothing.”
“Sohow, they’ll try to humiliate you.”
I understood the point, though part of felt they were overthinking it.
There was no way elderly seniors would co out against us—at most, it would be graduates.
And nine tis out of ten, they’d use poison as their main weapon.
‘Which ans we’re already one step ahead.’
At the very least, I didn’t expect us to lose easily.
Still, since it ca up, I decided to hear them out to the end.
“Then what do you think we should do?”
The Dang twins answered imdiately.
“For the ti being, spar with us.”
“If you already have a prior appointnt, they won’t be able to make careless moves.”
“If you already have a prior appointnt, they won’t be able to make careless moves.”
They ant they’d serve as a shield under the pretext of sparring.
The other side wasn’t stupid, so it couldn’t last forever—but it would buy a lot of ti.
They added:
“Even so, we won’t do it half-heartedly.”
“Wouldn’t that be against a warrior’s code?”
“Losing to us is fine.”
“Given the gap in skill, it’s only natural.”
“And you won’t be humiliated in the process.”
Their tone was brimming with pride.
‘They’ve earned the right to talk big.’
They’d graduated when Dang Gyu-young enrolled, so they were probably three years older—and they seed to already be mid-tier A-rank.
Not quite at the level of Lee Sudok or Seo Cheongyong, but close to a fully polished master.
Sparring with fighters like that would help Seo Ye-in and Dang Gyu-young, of course—and it would help a lot, too.
There was no reason to refuse.
So I slowly nodded.
“Let’s do that. Please teach us a lot.”
Dang Ilbi and Dang Hanbi looked a little embarrassed, but also not exactly displeased.
“Of course. I think you’ll take a lot away from it.”
“I can’t say I’m good at teaching, but I’m fairly confident in my skill.”
Then they subtly looked to Dang Gyu-young, like they wanted a bit of explanation added.
No matter how much you praise yourself, it’s less objective than praise from soone else’s mouth.
As the president of the Thief Club, Dang Gyu-young would’ve been well-inford about outside news, and they’d probably heard about their cousins’ exploits from ti to ti.
Catching what they wanted, Dang Gyu-young pointed at them and said:
“They even have a nickna. The Twin Heroes of the Dang Family.”
The twins restrained the corners of their mouths that were trying to rise, and spoke one line at a ti.
“Our peers in Murim gave us an undeserved na.”
“Still, we consider it sothing aningful.”
It really was rare for soone from the Dang family to have “hero” in their nickna.
When people heard you were from the Dang family, you tended to start with a negative image from the very first eting.
Poison and hidden weapons were still treated as synonyms for cowardice.
So earning a nickna like that ant they’d built a reputation strong enough to overco the stereotype.
That was worthy of respect, so I laid on the flattery.
“From the mont we t, I could feel your fairness and integrity. Murim’s evaluation was spot-on.”
“Kuh—Ahem! There’s no need to praise us that much.”
But unlike their waving hands, the corners of their mouths had lost all control and were lting upward.
Yeah. Maybe it ran in the family.
After that, the conversation stayed relatively light.
Back in the day, Gyu-young used to love these Dang sweets. I wonder if they still do.
I’m curious what happened at school.
Tell us in detail about how you got close with Kim Ho.
In the middle of that, we sensed soone outside.
Dang Hanbi spoke as if they could see through the wall.
“Stop standing there. Co in.”
The door opened, and Dang Eunbi shuffled in, creeping like a thief.
One hand was pressed to their lower belly.
The detox would’ve finished long ago, but they’d laughed so much that they still seed sore.
At their brothers’ look, Dang Eunbi bowed deeply to .
“...I’m sorry.”
As if that wasn’t enough, Dang Hanbi asked with a stern expression.
“Say it. Why did you do it?”
“I just... wanted to pull a prank....”
“You’re not a child. Haven’t you already passed the age where you do whatever you feel like?”
“...I have.”
“You must always think. About the consequences your actions bring.”
“Understood.”
Only then did Dang Hanbi stop scolding them, and Dang Eunbi quickly sat down next to Dang Gyu-young and started grabbing pastries.
But one part still didn’t add up.
On our first eting, they’d singled out—specifically —and tried to poison twice.
Was that really just because they “wanted to pull a prank”?
More likely, I’d been the target from the start.
‘And it doesn’t look like they’ve given up, either.’
You could tell from the defiant looks they threw my way from ti to ti.
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