Chapter 30
Feeling as though he were facing a gigantic black panther, Seonggang found it difficult to open his mouth.
Muryeon took out a badge engraved with a black bead from his robes and tossed it to Seonggang.
— Once you’ve finished here, give this to Seongho and have him hold the Muoh Pavilion.
— Understood, my lord.
Seonggang bowed his head.
Only then did the killing intent radiating from Muryeon subside.
Letting out a shallow sigh, Seonggang added,
— While I’m gone, please take good care of yourself… and do not take out more than small change from your coin pouch. Especially not yuanbao. Absolutely not.
At Seonggang’s earnest plea, Muryeon tilted his head slightly.
— …Do you find me that unreliable?
— Yes. You haven’t much experience traveling alone, have you?
Muryeon let out a sigh, clearly displeased by the remark.
The bluish hue that had filled his eyes faded, returning them to a pitch-black like the night.
❖ ❖ ❖
I slipped back into the Ihwa Fabric Shop through a window.
Thankfully, there weren’t many people inside.
Euna should still be choosing fabrics, right?
But Euna was nowhere to be seen. Neither were Honga nor Madam Yi.
Don’t tell me something happened to Euna while I was gone…
A sudden wave of anxiety washed over me. What if something had happened to her?
A child with severed meridians like Euna was practically devoid of internal energy, so even using harmonic resonance wouldn’t help me find her. But Honga and Madam Yi would be another matter.
Just as I was about to let out a quiet whistle to locate them, I spotted Honga hurrying along with a teapot in her hands.
“Honga!”
“Ah, Miss!”
Honga turned around, her face drained of color.
“Where’s Euna…?”
I asked, forcing my trembling lips to steady.
“Lady Soun is in the VIP room right now.”
Clutching the teapot tightly, Honga answered in a soothing tone.
“She seemed a little fatigued, so we let her rest. Madam Yi is with her.”
It seemed Honga had gone to fetch water for Euna.
Despite coming to the Ihwa Fabric Shop many times, this was my first visit to the VIP room.
“Some young master helped when Lady Soun became dizzy. He even offered up the VIP room he was using.”
I followed Honga to the door of the VIP room.
From inside, I sensed Madam Yi’s presence—along with the aura of someone unfamiliar.
“Sis!”
Euna, who had been lying against Madam Yi’s lap, spotted me and sprang upright.
“Euna!”
I rushed over and pressed my hand to her forehead. It was warm. She’d mentioned she hadn’t slept well last night—perhaps that was why she had a fever.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
I asked worriedly. Euna glanced around, then hesitantly parted her lips.
“…I was just a little dizzy.”
She must have been afraid I’d insist on going straight home after this rare outing.
“Drink some water and rest a bit more, miss.”
Honga brought the teacup to Euna’s lips.
Seeing Euna’s complexion improve, it seemed we didn’t need to return to the residence immediately—as long as she rested enough.
“Sorry, Sis. I scared you, didn’t I?”
“I was startled, yes… but it’s not your fault. I’m glad there’s a place you can rest.”
Euna leaned into me, visibly relieved.
“The pretty gray-eyed brother helped me.”
Pretty gray-eyed brother?
Only then did I notice the man seated across from us.
He looked about twenty, wearing a pale blue robe.
Light-colored hair, skin so pale it was almost bloodless.
His finely sculpted features looked as though they’d been carved by a master artisan, and his cool gray eyes complemented them perfectly. Sharpness and delicate beauty coexisted in his appearance.
There was a reason people said some individuals shone merely by existing—this man was one of them.
Who is he?
For some reason, the aura he carried felt familiar.
A face like that would be hard to forget…
Which meant I’d never met him directly before.
Then a memory flickered through my mind.
Ah—wasn’t he the man with Seol Hwa-ryeong at the Nakwa Teahouse?
Another expert, aside from Muryeon.
Despite possessing formidable internal energy, the flow of his qi had been unstable. I was certain of it.
Come to think of it, this shop does carry a lot of silk from the Cheongho Trading Company.
If the shop belonged to the Cheongho Trading Company, it wouldn’t be strange for him to be here.
“Young Master, thank you for providing a place of rest for my frail sister.”
I cupped my hands and greeted him first.
“I am Eun Seha of the Eunri Escort Bureau.”
The man in the pale blue robe smiled gently, folding his eyes as he returned the greeting.
“I am Seol Cheongyeon of the Cheongho Trading Company. I merely offered the room when Lady Eun Soun appeared tired.”
Seol Cheongyeon.
I hadn’t met him before, but the name was familiar.
Seol Chungho, the head of the Cheongho Trading Company—the greatest merchant house in the martial world—had five sons and three daughters.
Among them, the third son, Seol Cheongyeon, was known as a prodigy who excelled in both civil and martial pursuits.
I heard he’d been living in seclusion for years, barely showing his face…
Rumors had run rampant. Some said he’d contracted a terminal illness; others claimed he’d been gravely injured and left crippled.
Yet a year ago, Seol Cheongyeon had reappeared at a public gathering—as if nothing had ever happened.
Though he hadn’t taken on a major role within the company yet, I’d heard he was assisting Seol Hwa-ryeong, the branch head of the Luoyang division, with transactions and documentation.
The Seol Cheongyeon before me looked pale, but he didn’t give off the frail aura of an invalid.
Still, his internal energy remains unstable.
Likely damage to his meridians caused by an external factor. I had some theories, but without taking his pulse, I couldn’t be certain.
“It seems Euna caused you trouble, Young Master Seol.”
“Not at all. If anything, I’m the one who was helped by Lady Eun Soun.”
His voice sounded gentle in my ears—like the contented purr of a well-fed cat.
“Helped?”
“I made a personal request of Lady Soun. I fear that may have caused her some fatigue.”
Seol Cheongyeon replied with a soft, curved smile. Thanks to it, his sharp features appeared noticeably gentler.
❖ ❖ ❖
After Eun Seha left the Ihwa Fabric Shop, saying she had urgent business to attend to, Eun Soun was deep in serious contemplation.
She was choosing fabric for the person she loved most in the world—her older sister. To the child, the task was as weighty as bearing all the worries of the world.
In her eyes, her sister looked good in anything—but still, there were things that suited her better.
Calm colors suited her. So did vivid ones.
Then perhaps a calm color with a vivid flair would be best.
Anything too light felt like a waste for her sister.
Fine, luxurious fabric would be best.
The pattern, too—elegant, and the more ornate, the better.
After agonizing for a long while over how to combine all those conditions, a thought suddenly struck her.
Then… what if the color is calm, but the pattern is embroidered with something splendid?
Something her sister didn’t usually wear, but would still suit her.
A series of lightning-like realizations flashed through the child’s mind.
Deep navy blue… with shimmering gold embroidery!
That was it.
Her sister wore red often, after all.
A thrill ran through her.
Reaching up even to fabrics higher than her own height, Soun carefully examined each one.
“Nanny, that one!”
Her eyes sparkled as though she’d finally found the perfect fabric.
“It’ll match my sister’s hair color!”
“Yes, indeed. To think you’d find something that suits Lady Seha so well… Our young miss has grown so much.”
Seeing Soun so deeply engrossed in thought as she chose fabric, Madam Yi’s eyes welled with tears.
“Over there too.”
Soun pointed toward the section displaying silk from the Jiangnan region.
There, luxurious silk embroidered with brilliant crabapple blossoms was on display.
“It’ll look great on my sister!”
Soun smiled brightly, imagining Seha wearing it.
“Lady Seha does suit vibrant fabrics very well.”
Yeohong clapped her hands in admiration at Soun’s discerning eye.
Soun had been sickly since childhood and rarely able to go out, yet her sense of taste far surpassed that of ordinary children. Yeohong suddenly thought that Soun might be a genius.
“And alsooo—”
Just as Soun took a step back and spotted another bolt of fabric—
Thump.
She bumped into someone behind her.
Startled, Soun looked up.
It was a tall man.
His hair was a pale shade she’d never seen before—lighter even than brown—causing her mouth to fall slightly open. His gray eyes looking down at her were fascinating as well.
“I—I’m sorry!”
Soun apologized absentmindedly.
“It’s quite all right.”
The man smiled gently at her, folding his eyes.
Dressed in a pale blue robe, his white face and extraordinary beauty made him look like an immortal who’d stepped out of a painting.
His gray eyes and the small tear mole beneath one eye caught Soun’s gaze in particular.
Such a pretty brother…
Aside from her mother and her sister Seha, she’d never seen anyone so beautiful. Soun couldn’t close her open mouth.
“You were speaking of something interesting, so without realizing it, I was drawn this way.”
His manner was exceedingly polite and refined. Still, no matter how beautiful he was, a stranger was a stranger, and Soun found herself growing tense.
“Miss.”
“Miss, are you all right?”
The nanny and Yeohong, thinking the same, moved to Soun’s side, wary of the unfamiliar man.
At that, the man knelt on one knee, lowering himself to Soun’s eye level.
“My apologies for the late introduction. I am Cheongyeon of the Seol family.”
