“Someone’s here to cause trouble!”

Worried the idiots hadn’t heard her, Ken Barbie shouted it again.

In an instant, several burly men rushed out and surrounded Lin Ge. They cracked their knuckles, eager to give it a try.

“Sigh. So it really did come to this.”

Lin Ge glanced around at the people surrounding him, shook his head helplessly, and shrugged.

Hearing that sigh and seeing how dejected Lin Ge looked, the burly men led by Ken Barbie assumed he’d chickened out and was scared. They all grinned even more smugly.

Ken Barbie licked his lips and said:

“Just beat him half to death, okay? If he’s like a puppet when we get down to business later, it won’t be any fun.”

At Ken Barbie’s words, nearly all the burly men clenched up in the rear at once and instinctively reached back to check.

Their boss was great in every way. It was just that he had sex way too often and loved dressing up as a woman.

But that wasn’t really his fault. His deadbeat dad was to blame. When he was young, his father couldn’t produce a daughter through mating, so he was always at the bottom of the household pecking order. Getting beaten senseless by his wife was the least of it. That was what twisted his mind and turned Ken Barbie into a proud cross-dresser…

And he loved group sex, too…

If you’re going to put on an act, you might as well go all the way. Since they were raising him as a girl, naturally they had to steer his interests in that direction.

Still, you had to give credit where it was due: Ken Barbie was pretty skilled.

Every burly man there who’d ever gotten down to business with him had been completely swept up in it. After all, they were a bunch of losers with no looks and no skills.

It had been years. No one was willing to marry them, and no one would have them as a spouse, either.

With their sex drives going unsatisfied, and Ken Barbie so practiced at what he did, it was only natural that they’d get more and more hooked.

Sure, Lin Ge was a brat who’d insulted their boss, but he had the looks for it. Once they’d gotten down to business together, he could probably become one of the guys.

The thought made them stand a little straighter. They could feel themselves stirring down below again.

At that moment, everyone thought Lin Ge was done for. Then the door to the inner room swung open, and Carnegie came rushing out in a furious rage. That gave them even more confidence.

It was hard not to feel emboldened when their boss was that mad.

But before they could start undoing their belts and grabbing weapons—

Carnegie, who usually only bowed and scraped before his wife and his superiors, now bent over backward to flatter the kid in front of him, who wasn’t even twenty.

“Lord Lin Ge, forgive me for not welcoming you sooner! You should’ve let me know you were coming. Look at me—I haven’t prepared a thing. Please don’t hold it against me.”

As soon as Carnegie finished speaking, the whole place fell silent.

Their jaws dropped. Nobody could get a word out.

After a long moment, they finally began whispering among themselves.

“Who is that pretty-faced kid, anyway? How’d he get the boss to treat him with so much respect?”

“No, that can’t be right. Why would Carnegie, who’s never bowed to another man, act like this…? Unless he’s not a man?”

“That’s it! I’ve never seen Carnegie bow and scrape to anyone but a woman. This man—no, she must be a high-ranking woman.”

“Well, no wonder he’s so pretty. That explains it.”

……

Everyone started whispering at once, and little by little, they began to regard Lin Ge with awe.

If the person in front of them really was a woman of high standing, they might all lose their heads today.

At this point, even if Lin Ge merely cleared his throat, they’d all turn their toes inward.

“What are you all babbling about? Shut up already!”

Carnegie’s roar was enough to make even Ken Barbie fall silent and step back.

Once everyone had quieted down, Carnegie rubbed his hands together and flashed Lin Ge another fawning smile.

“Lord Lin Ge, please don’t take offense. They’re all lowlifes who hang around the slums and know nothing of proper manners. I hope you’ll be the bigger person. If that’s not enough, we can…”

“All right, all right. Quit sucking up. Here—this guy. You know what to do, right?”

Lin Ge didn’t waste time explaining. He gave Carnegie a look and pointed, almost casually, at Ken Barbie, who’d retreated to the back.

Carnegie understood at once.

“You guys, take him away. Don’t let this thing that’s neither man nor beast out to hurt anyone again.”

“Lord Carnegie, let me explain! Please, let me explain! It’s not what you think—it really isn’t…”

The voice faded into the distance, then disappeared altogether.

Seeing Carnegie order even Ken Barbie to be taken away just like that only convinced the others even more that Lin Ge was a bigwig of a woman they couldn’t afford to offend.

Their awe of Lin Ge deepened even further.

“Does this meet with your approval?”

After dealing with Ken Barbie, Carnegie asked with a fawning smile.

“Mm.” Lin Ge nodded in satisfaction.

Seeing that, Carnegie hurried to ask:

“I heard you came to discuss our partnership again. So…”

“Mm. I thought it over carefully after I got back, and I realized what I said then really wasn’t appropriate.”

“Exactly! Not appropriate at all. You’re absolutely right—it was very inappropriate.”

Hearing Lin Ge say that, Carnegie grinned even more broadly than before.

Better to have his support than not. Even without the backing of Lin Ge’s family, the Earl’s household, they’d have no real trouble in the current situation. Still, an extra safeguard was always welcome.

The beastfolk leaders had already made their move, and now Lin Ge had ‘seen the light’ and joined their side. In less than three days, Bota City—and even the whole Grayshawa Territory—would be transformed.

At the thought, Carnegie could hardly wait to belt out a song.

“Then we’ll settle the matter like this…”

“By the way, there’s something I don’t understand. Could you explain it first?”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

Carnegie would’ve gladly done ten things for him right now, let alone one.

“Your place…” Lin Ge’s eyes drifted toward the beastfolk nearby who’d been staring at him. “Why are there so many beastfolk here? They can’t be merchants, can they?”

“You have a sharp eye, Lord Lin Ge. They’re indeed not merchants.”

Carnegie glanced behind him, too. Now that Lin Ge was one of them, there was no need to hide anything.

“They’re actually contacts I found on the inside. I’ve already made an agreement with the beastfolk general. If we give them enough grain each year from now on, they’ll help us get rid of Rosetti and Alice.”

“You’re serious?” Lin Ge’s brow lifted slightly.

“You don’t need to worry, Lord Lin Ge. The beastfolk won’t just break an agreement for no reason. They’re trustworthy.”

Seeing Lin Ge look a little confused, Carnegie thought he was worried the beastfolk might stab them in the back, so he quickly reassured him.

Then he went on:

“In fact, to show their goodwill, they’ve already sent some experts ahead to help us get rid of Rosetti. By now, they’ve probably reached the orphanage.”

……

Carnegie wore a devilish smile, as if Rosetti were already dead and he were already the new lord of Bota City.

His underlings clasped their hands and offered congratulations, and the whole place was filled with cheerful camaraderie.

Looking at that fat pig, Lin Ge smiled gently and beckoned him over.

“I see. Then let’s talk about the conclusion I reached after thinking it over carefully.”

“Of course!”

Still smiling, Carnegie leaned in without a second thought.

And then…

Bam—

A sharp crack rang out. Before anyone could process what was happening, Carnegie was slapped clean into the air.

He sailed through the air like a little piglet, twirling as he went.

The little flying pig crashed down onto the tables and chairs, smashing them to bits. He himself was knocked unconscious.

Lin Ge shot a cold glance at the people around him, who were frozen in confusion at this sudden turn of events, and said:

“That’s the answer I reached after thinking it over.”

Leaving those words behind, Lin Ge hurried toward the orphanage to make sure his ‘wife’ was safe.

At the same time, in another out-of-the-way corner, a brown-haired woman watched it all in silence, then followed close behind Lin Ge…