Chapter 10 …
“……”
“Wow, it’s delicious…!”
Moreover, the awkward silence was amplified by Woon-yeom’s gaze, fixed intently on me as I ate the yakgwa without a word!
After diligently filming my solo mukbang of yakgwa in that tense, first-day-of-school atmosphere, I was finally able to leave Woon-yeom’s quarters.
“Phew…….”
It was truly a moment where every minute felt like an hour.
‘Still, it doesn’t seem like he dislikes me as much as I thought he might?’
[Yeah, maybe?]
On my way back to my room.
Although I had been a bit nervous, thankfully, I felt lighter than when I had arrived. I swung the hand holding the box.
“He even packed me a snack…”
Beeeeep—
Just then, a sound came from above me.
Huh?
A sound all too familiar to me.
As if entranced, I looked up.
That night.
Naeuri came to my room again today.
Except for the first day we arrived in Geum-aseong, he had been coming to see me at least once a day for the past few days.
Well, it was nice not to be bored.
“Did you eat a lot?”
“Yes.”
“What did you have?”
“Galbi, seasoned bean sprouts, bulgogi, kkakdugi, I also had tteok, and for snacks, I had dried persimmons, yakgwa, yugwa……”
“Alright, alright, you ate a lot. You’re going to turn into a pig.”
“I’m a growing child, so it’s fine.”
“Right. Eat a lot and grow big.”
As I confidently puffed out my chest while listing the foods I’d eaten that day, Naeuri chuckled softly.
I casually asked,
“Did you eat a lot, Naeuri?”
“Me? Just, you know, something quick?”
As expected.
Judging by how he evaded the question, it seemed he’d had another day of skipping proper meals.
He said he was busy with work, so it seems he didn’t even have time to eat properly.
“Are you done with work for today?”
“Not yet. A little left.”
Naeuri fluttered the documents he was holding in one hand.
“If you’re busy with work, you don’t have to come. Why do you go out of your way to come to my room to work?”
Leaving a perfectly good office behind, how troublesome.
At my question, Naeuri raised one eyebrow.
“It’s my choice. It’s my house, so I can work wherever I want, right?”
Then, squinting his eyes, he asked,
“What? Are you already tired of me? How disappointing. Wasn’t it just the other day you were grabbing onto my pant leg, begging me to take you with me?”
“What did you say?”
“How heartbreaking, heartbreaking. They say there’s no use raising children after all.”
Hah! I was so dumbfounded my mouth dropped open.
“What! That’s not what I meant! And I never grabbed your pant leg!”
“Oh, how heartbreaking. Now you’re even talking back.”
“Eek!”
He’s teasing me!
As I clenched my fists, Naeuri giggled as if he found it amusing. So childish, really childish…!
I let out a deep sigh and lifted the cloth covering the bowl on the table.
“Stop joking and at least eat this.”
“What is it?”
“You said you didn’t eat.”
Inside the bowl were snacks, neatly packed, including yakgwa, tteok, and dried persimmons.
I had set aside a little of the yakgwa that Woon-yeom had given me and the snacks from today’s meal.
“Someone of your size, Naeuri, will lose muscle mass if you starve yourself.”
“Wha-, what loss?”
“I had a feeling you might not have eaten, so I prepared this just for you.”
As I proudly held out the bowl, Naeuri made a bewildered expression.
Then, after a quick glance at the bowl, he frowned and lowered his head.
“Wow… I’m going crazy.”
“Huh?”
Ah, maybe he doesn’t eat sweet things?
“Why is everything you do so… Are all little girls this cute? I’m kind of touched. Thank you. I’ll eat it well.”
Then he picked up a dried persimmon and put it straight into his mouth.
I nodded as I watched him. Hmm. How satisfying!
As Naeuri picked at the snacks and looked over his documents, I fidgeted beside him.
‘Should I ask, or not?’
I suppose it’s better to ask?
Because there was something I wanted to ask Naeuri.
Perhaps noticing this, Naeuri, who was reviewing the documents, glanced at me.
“What? Do you have something to say?”
“Um. Well……”
After hesitating for a moment, I finally asked.
“By any chance, did Lord Baekri Gwanju send you a letter?”
At my question, Naeuri paused for a moment before speaking.
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“I saw Lord Gwanju’s messenger bird earlier.”
On my way back to my room after leaving Woon-yeom’s quarters.
I had heard a familiar cry then.
Following the sound, I looked up and saw a bird with a small tube tied to one of its legs.
That bird was definitely,
‘Baekri Gwanju’s messenger bird.’
A white bird with black feathers only in the center of its head. It was the messenger bird that Baekri Gwanju cherished.
As soon as I saw that bird, I knew Baekri had sent a message to Naeuri.
“……It wasn’t anything important. He just said he’d be coming to the fortress soon.”
“To Geum-aseong?”
He must be coming to take me back.
At the thought of Baekri coming here, I unconsciously gulped.
‘Well, in a way, it’s only natural. Baekri isn’t the kind of person to give up on me so easily.’
It was an expected development. He wasn’t the type to easily abandon the only test subject who withstood his experiments.
I’m just worried about what he might do to get me back.
Perhaps noticing the serious look on my face, Naeuri spoke.
“Well, you don’t need to worry. I’ll handle it.”
His tone was light, as if telling me not to worry.
Naeuri ruffled my hair roughly (this counts as ruffling, right?) and got up from his seat.
“Don’t waste your thoughts on unnecessary things and get some sleep. The snacks were good.”
Then he quickly left the room.
‘Geez. How on earth did they raise that child?’
Doha clicked his tongue as he entered his office.
How must she have lived at the divine temple for her expression to harden like that at the news that the person who raised her was coming?
Then again, perhaps it was natural, considering that person had called her his ‘possession’.
‘It feels kind of…’
Disgusting.
Seeing the child’s pale face tighten with tension in real time right before his eyes was more unpleasant and bitter than he had expected.
‘As expected, he’s an unlikeable man.’
Baekri Gwanju’s face.
A man who seemed gentle at first glance, but upon closer inspection, had something snake-like about him—that image came to Doha’s mind.
He was a man Doha instinctively rejected.
Doha roughly threw the documents he was holding onto the desk and sat down. Then he took out a sheet of paper and a brush.
He had received Baekri’s letter earlier today. He hadn’t sent a reply yet.
After frowning for a moment, Doha immediately began writing his reply without delay.
— I have decided to become the child’s guardian, so do not interfere any further. —
…He scrawled a reply that was essentially a neatly packaged version of that message, and just as he was about to call a servant, one happened to knock on the door.
“Oh. Perfect timing. Please send this letter to Cheonsu Temple. First thing tomorrow morning.”
Doha handed the servant the reply he had just written.
“Ah, yes, Family Head. And……”
The servant, who had taken the reply, handed something else to Doha.
“A letter has arrived for you.”
“From where?”
“From Seolmu Palace.”
Doha raised an eyebrow as he opened the letter he received. The contents, written in a familiar handwriting, came into view.
“Hmm.”
The corner of his mouth curled up in satisfaction as he read the letter.
The next day, for some reason, the fortress was bustling from the morning.
“Today? Who did you say is coming?”
At the unexpected news delivered by the maid who had woken me up early in the morning, my eyes widened.
Someone’s coming today?
At my question, the maid who was brushing my hair smiled and opened her mouth.
“The Elder and the Young Master will be returning. A letter arrived last night.”
“The Elder and the Young Master?”
“Yes. You haven’t met them yet, have you, Miss?”
“No.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll make you incredibly pretty today.”
The hands brushing my hair seemed unusually excited.
Another maid, who had brought clothes to change into, added to the conversation.
“That’s right. From the clothes to the pendants and hair accessories, we’ve prepared them all with great care.”
“Oh my, look at this hair accessory. Doesn’t it already look like it’ll suit her perfectly?”
“Finally, we have the chance to dress her up with cute accessories to our heart’s content!”
“I was so jealous before!”
Uh… Somehow, it seems like the two of them are even more excited.
I cautiously asked the chattering maids who were buzzing with excitement.
“But, about the Elder and the Young Master……”
“Ah, Elder Damdeok is the Family Head’s father. The Young Master is his son.”
“They went to provide relief to the territory’s villages before you arrived, Miss. It seems they’re returning now.”
So, the person named Elder Damdeok seemed to be Naeuri’s father.
The Young Master must be Seol Hohyeon. He’s probably a character from the original story.
Only after hearing that explanation did I remember.
‘Now that I think about it, I haven’t met Hohyeon yet.’
I recalled the progression of the original story in my head.
Seol Hohyeon, Naeuri’s adopted son, was an important character who later becomes a companion of the protagonist, San.
He is the future successor of the North, who will inherit Naeuri’s army, ‘Jeongmyeol’.
‘Originally, he was said to be a son from a collateral branch of the Seol family.’
After Naeuri’s wife went missing, he was adopted because there was no child to succeed him.
‘And……’
I was recalling the story I heard from Uncle Taewoo last time and the contents from the book, when I heard someone calling me.
“Miss?”
“Yes, yes?”
“We’ll help you get dressed now. Could you please stand up for a moment?”
“Ah, yes!”
I gathered my wits and stood in place.
The maid took off the sleepwear I was wearing and helped me put on the newly brought clothes.
First, the undershorts and underskirt.
Over that, a skirt as red as a camellia flower was wrapped around me.
The hem of the skirt was embroidered with a vine pattern in gold leaf. The soft silk brushed smoothly against my skin.
“Could you stretch out your arms, please?”
As I stretched out my arms to the sides as instructed, the maid helped me into a long jeogori over them.
It was a light pink jeogori, like a drop of flower water had fallen onto white fabric.
The sleeves had godeulji attached, embroidered with small, pretty flowers.
Her movements were quick and without fuss.
‘Now that I think about it, I’ve gotten quite used to this.’
I obediently let her handle my body, only blinking my eyes.
I don’t know how flustered I was when I first came to the fortress.
I was even startled enough to scream when the maids started taking off my clothes as if it were the most natural thing.
Not that I’m completely used to it even now.
‘But still, I’ve gained a little composure.’
[Why don’t you try breathing?]
Ah. Was I not?
