Chapter 60
“Welcome!”
Business must not have been good, as there was no waiter in sight. The innkeeper and chef, who was sitting at the table, personally came out to greet the guest.
“Are you alone?”
The woman’s cheerful words barely registered with Namgung Uigyeol, who crossed his arms and took a slow look around the inn.
As expected from an inn with almost no customers, there didn’t seem to be any dangerous people…
“What? Isn’t that the adulterer from before?”
At that moment, a lively voice from a woman wearing a black hat rang out.
“What!”
Namgung Uigyeol jumped in shock.
The woman in the black hat was sitting by the window, lifting a glass to her lips.
Perhaps because the ingredients weren’t fresh, the food on her plate remained mostly untouched.
Sensing an unusual presence, the warriors in the inn darted inside like arrows.
“Master! What’s going on?”
But Namgung Uigyeol didn’t even glance at them. He only glared daggers at the woman. His face was flushed red, like iron heated in a forge.
“Ha! W-what, exactly, are you talking about?”
Unlike the boiling anger of Namgung Uigyeol, the woman seemed utterly puzzled.
“Isn’t it true? You fell for me back then at the storyteller’s place and followed me. Did I misjudge someone?”
“Uh… uh…”
Namgung Uigyeol froze like a statue. The woman tilted her head and muttered under her breath.
“Did I misjudge him? No… There can’t be two such big-headed people in Hapbi.”
The subordinates trailing him began whispering among themselves.
“Come to think of it, last time the master went out to the market with Lady Gaju, right?”
“They said they overheard the love story between Lady Gaju and the pharmacist at the market. Could it be that day?”
Though whispered low, Namgung Uigyeol’s finely honed senses caught every word.
The woman went even further.
“But I found out you’re married? A married man chasing after another woman—what else is that if not adultery?”
Namgung Uigyeol’s face went pale, as if he might crumble into dust.
“Th-that’s—!”
He wanted to explain that he had no choice but to follow her because he was caught spying! But if he told the truth, the daughter of that prominent family would surely throw herself at him, risking everything to settle the matter.
No matter how he turned it, Namgung Uigyeol couldn’t reveal the truth, and his anxiety burned black inside him.
“Enough. I have someone waiting anyway. Could you leave now?”
The woman lazily spread her hand, sharpening her nails. Then she suddenly placed her hand on the table and said,
“Huh? The little one who was outside just disappeared?”
In that instant, Namgung Uigyeol’s head, boiling with rage, suddenly felt icy cold, like a waterfall.
The warriors in the inn looked at each other.
Pop!
Without anyone waiting for a cue, the men from Changcheon Hall shot outside.
“Miss!”
“Miss Hongseol!”
But the streets were already empty.
Hongseol, unconscious, had been tossed onto the damp, dusty ground like a clump of dirt.
Above her, someone whispered quietly.
“Is… she dead?”
“No. Her blood points must have been pressed; she seems to have fallen asleep. I’ll try to release them.”
A small hand pressed firmly on some spot on Hongseol’s body.
After some time, a faint groan escaped from her lips.
“Ugh…”
It was pitch-dark all around, with a musty, moldy smell.
Where am I…?
She had been walking lightly toward the <Minstrel Inn> moments ago.
Something had pressed on several parts of her body, and then she had fainted.
I guess someone pressed my blood points and put me to sleep. But who? And why?
Hongseol barely opened her hazy eyes.
“Eek!”
Startled, she let out a shrill scream, as several scruffy faces peered down at her.
“Wh-who are you guys?”
Hongseol sat up abruptly.
Lying on the cold ground, her entire body ached.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see the children’s faces around her—at least a dozen.
What… their clothes are all different.
Some were decently dressed, while others wore ragged, patched-up clothes. But all of them were gaunt, as thin as sticks.
“Do you have any food?”
A ragged boy, slightly taller than her, spoke first. His half-closed eyes gave him a sleepy look, and he clutched his stomach, clearly very hungry.
“No, I don’t,” Hongseol replied apologetically. The boy’s head drooped, and he slumped into a corner, burying his face in his knees.
“That’s Yang Dojin. He’s been here the longest, so he’s always looking for food,” explained a pretty but sharp-looking girl.
“Oh… you’re…”
Hongseol recognized the girl’s face from somewhere, even though she had appeared as a Namgung before.
“Are you… Deng Soso?”
“You know me?”
Oops! Hongseol quickly tried to explain.
“I’ve heard rumors about the talented only daughter of the Deng family. She’s skilled in point-blood techniques…”
It was true she had heard that from Namgung Uigyeol.
She hesitated, then added,
“…and she’s very pretty.”
“Oh really?”
Deng Soso’s cheeks flushed as she playfully smacked Hongseol’s shoulder.
She’s really cheerful, Hongseol thought.
But Soso’s expression immediately soured.
“Hah, but why doesn’t Lord Namgung Baek even look at me?”
Her face looked like it had dug a hole straight into the ground.
Hongseol blinked and thought,
Cancel my comment about her being cheerful! Her mood swings like crazy.
Soso continued, undeterred.
“If I die here… maybe Lord Namgung Baek will finally notice me…?”
Hongseol changed the topic.
“I’m Hongseol. You released my blood points, right? Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
Behind Soso, the other children’s innocent faces could be seen. Most seemed younger than Hongseol.
She felt a little relief knowing she wasn’t alone.
“How did you all end up here? Where is this place? Who brought us here?”
The children spoke one by one.
“No one knows. I was taken three days ago by a traveler while my parents were out working in the fields.”
“I was caught a week ago while peeing in a back alley!”
“I was caught the day before yesterday while washing my feet in the stream!”
All of them had their stories, except for the ragged boy, too hungry to speak.
Sighing, Hongseol realized that no one knew why or who had brought them here.
“Is there any way out?”
The children all shook their heads.
“How old are you all?”
“I’m six.”
“Seven.”
“Five… Waaah! I want my mom!”
Hongseol hugged the crying little one tightly.
I’m eight, the oldest here. I have to calm them down, she thought, recalling how Namgung Baek had comforted her when she cried.
She held back her own tears and asked the child,
“What’s your name?”
“So-rang. So-rang.”
“Shh! Don’t worry, So-rang. I’m eight, your big sister!”
“R-really?”
Her little bluff worked. As Hongseol gently stroked her back, the child stopped crying.
“I’m also eight, and you’re really responsible,” Deng Soso said admiringly.
Hongseol wiped So-rang’s grimy face and looked around.
“This place is like a burrow. All walls are dirt, and there’s only one door.”
“That’s right,” Soso explained.
Indeed, feeling along the walls, Hongseol found a rusted iron door.
“When does this open?”
“Usually, it doesn’t,” Soso replied.
“How do they give water and food then?”
Hongseol asked. Even after a week, they were alive, meaning someone must be feeding them. She knew from experience what it was like to be locked up while hungry.
“Once a day, they give us really awful oatmeal. That’s when it opens,” Soso said, pointing to the bottom of the door. A small hatch, just big enough for an adult’s head, was attached with iron hinges.
“Not big enough to escape, but maybe if we get thinner from hunger, we could fit,” Soso sighed.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed from afar.
