Raon stepped out of the car behind him, answering in a relaxed tone.“Yeah.”“Y-Young Master, what is—”Fear had already stripped Youngho back to using the old form of address. Raon looked at him with a mocking chill.“What happened to calling me a lunatic earlier?”“H-ha… Please, we— we’re on the same side—”Facing an S-rank Esper, Youngho looked like a dog with its tail between its legs. Pathetic, groveling. Raon observed him with dull, unaffected eyes.He had originally brought Youngho here to use the secret he knew and threaten him—to make sure he never tried anything again. That was why he dragged him into a Gate with no CCTV. But seeing how terrified he was, Raon reconsidered.If Youngho failed to do his part, Raon’s brothers would sense something was wrong. Then they would simply discard Youngho—just a pawn—and apply pressure again through someone else. It would all repeat.Better to use him to stall for time.Raon recalled the things Youngho had said in the car, before panic swallowed him.“Secretary Jeon. You understand the situation now, right?”“S-spare me, Young Master. Please.”Youngho’s face was drained of blood as he dropped to his knees. Clever, as expected. There was no help out here—only the yawning Gate behind them, and ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Siwoo standing at its entrance like a silent executioner.“I-I’ll do everything you ask. Anything—just—”“Hm.”He submitted even faster than expected. But Raon did not trust people. A person could be terrified now, then forget the fear the moment they stepped outside. Then he would run back to those brothers and take their side again.That couldn’t be allowed.“Hyung. He didn’t do anything to you, right?”“Hm? Oh. No, nothing happened.”Raon answered without thinking. Siwoo’s eyes sharpened immediately—cold, cutting.“He touched you, didn’t he?”“…What?”Raon blinked, startled.Youngho had groped his thigh and hip in the car, but how the hell did Siwoo know? Raon hesitated for a split second—and that was enough.Siwoo’s expression confirmed it.He strode forward.“This bastard—”“Heek!”“W-wait!”Raon grabbed Siwoo around the waist, holding him back. Even if Youngho was an Esper, he was only E-rank. If Siwoo—an S-rank—put any real force into a punch, Youngho could die.“No, Siwoo. You can’t kill him.”“He’s not S-rank.”“Right. Yes. Our Siwoo listens really w— I mean—no. If he dies, it’s troublesome for me.”Raon tried to explain quickly. Siwoo scowled, unhappy, but he stopped moving toward Youngho and crossed his arms, posture still radiating danger.Raon patted his shoulder as if praising him. Then he turned to the trembling Youngho.“Secretary Jeon.”“Y-yes! Young Master!”Satisfied with his response, Raon nodded and reached into his jacket.Youngho paled at the sight of what came out.“T-this is…”“You’ve been skimming quite a lot.”“Ghk!”As the representative’s secretary, Youngho had more access than ordinary employees—but he had still just been the lowest of the secretaries, assigned specifically to handle illegitimate children like Raon. The only reason he had risen at all was because Raon awakened as an S-rank Guide, allowing Youngho to borrow Raon’s name for company dealings.He hadn’t wasted that opportunity. Instead, he used Raon’s identity to embezzle funds.The original Raon had been too stupid to notice. And Myeonghun and the brothers hadn’t noticed because Youngho’s method was subtle.But the reincarnated Raon had known from the start. He had always been used to checking things behind the System’s back. He had known about Youngho’s embezzlement before the regression—but couldn’t use it at that time.Now, there was no reason not to.Raon held up bankbooks and transaction logs—accounts opened in his name.“You registered everything suspicious under my identity. I was deliberately pretending not to notice. Did you realize?”“Y-Young Master, listen—!”“What do you think will happen when my father or brothers find out? They won’t overlook it like I do.”“P-please—!”Youngho sprawled forward, begging.In the original storyline, no one ever learned about the embezzlement—because the original Raon died in a Gate. The evidence disappeared with him.But in this timeline, Raon had kept the receipts.He smiled down at the terrified Youngho.“You remember what you said in the car?”“Wh-what…?”“You said you could stall for time with my brothers. So you’ll do it. Perfectly. Understand?”“I—I understand! I’ll do everything I can!”Youngho bobbed his head up and down like a puppet. Raon’s smile widened slightly.You couldn’t trust people—but you could trust leverage.As long as Raon held this, Youngho would obey like a trained dog.“Let’s go, Siwoo.”“It’s done?”“Yeah.”Raon got in the car first. Even a dormant Gate wasn’t a place to linger. As soon as Siwoo closed the passenger door, Raon hit the accelerator.In the rearview mirror, Youngho stood frozen—staring blankly.It was satisfying.Before the regression, Raon had had to endure that man hovering around him, but now he didn’t have to hold back.He hummed lightly, tapping the steering wheel with his fingers.Still… maybe he should have let Siwoo hit him once. That might’ve been nice. He kinda regretted stopping him so quickly.“Mm.”Then his eyes slid toward Siwoo’s forearms—the defined muscle under his thin shirt, veins raised across the back of his hand. If a fist like that landed, the minimum outcome was death.…Yeah. Stopping him was correct.“That was because of your brothers, right?”“Oh, so you knew.”“Of course.”Siwoo’s quick grasp of the situation made Raon smile faintly. Siwoo’s expression, however, was serious.“Do I have anything I should do next?”“Something you should do?”“Yes.”Raon fell silent.Using Youngho would buy some time. But only some. His brothers weren’t fools. They would notice sooner or later. They would simply push again, harder, through someone else.So another plan would be needed eventually.But Raon considered this enough for now. When the System returned, or when he cleared the Black Gate and reached the ending of this world’s story, everything would be over. Hanmyung, brothers—none of it would matter then. Maybe the reward would even send him back to his original world.That thought left a strange ache in his chest.He had been avoiding thinking about it.Raon swallowed the sigh rising in his throat and replied lightly.“It’ll be quiet for a while. It’s fine.”“I’m worried.”“You don’t need to be.”He made his tone easy, casual—hiding the sinking weight inside. But Siwoo looked at him with an unreadable expression.“If you tell me to, I’ll do anything. Even if it’s killing someone. Anything.”“…What?”Raon stared.This wasn’t a joke. Siwoo was perfectly serious—cold, unwavering. The dark road ahead was empty, silent. Raon pulled over and turned to him.“Look—what I did back there was blackmail, yes, but I had a reason. I’m not going around committing crimes. I’m not—”“I know. I know you’re not like that. I just mean—my feelings are like that.”Siwoo reached out and wrapped his hand around Raon’s, still gripping the wheel—gentle, but unshakeable.“So keep trusting me. Tell me everything. I’ll do anything for you.”“….”Something surged inside Raon—hot and sudden, from deep in his chest.In this life and the last, Raon had always been alone. As villain Han Raon—alone. As Min Raon—surrounded by people, yet alone. No one had ever truly stood on his side.So he learned to rely only on himself.But now—Siwoo was here.Even if this time was fleeting, even if it was temporary—right now, Raon was simply happy.He placed his other hand gently over Siwoo’s.

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