Chapter 27: Conditional Permission
When Cheong returned to her quarters, she found the head court lady and the palace maids still camped outside.
They were in a standoff with Gahwa.
Gahwa stood protectively in front of the cart carrying Cheong’s belongings, arms crossed and chin raised arrogantly like a fierce gatekeeper.
Despite being outnumbered, her confidence was reassuring.
“Everyone, please leave,” Cheong said as she stood beside Gahwa, addressing the head court lady and the maids.
But none of them budged.
“We cannot disobey His Majesty’s orders.”
“I’ve just returned after receiving His Majesty’s permission to remain here.”
“Even so, we can’t leave until we verify it ourselves.”
The head court lady glanced Cheong up and down.
She clearly didn’t believe her.
To her, the king’s orders mattered far more than a mere human’s words.
Making the wrong decision could mean death.
“Suit yourselves.”
Neither Cheong nor the head court lady yielded an inch.
They stared each other down, locked in a silent standoff.
Just then—
“Head court lady…!”
A maid came running.
She leaned in and whispered something into the head court lady’s ear.
As soon as she finished, the head court lady whipped around to face the other maids.
“We’re leaving!”
Without so much as a goodbye to Cheong or Gahwa, she turned and left with a stiff expression.
The maids followed in a clump, leaving just as quickly.
Suddenly, the front yard of the quarters was empty, save for the lonely cart holding Cheong’s belongings.
“They could’ve at least cleaned up after themselves!”
Fuming, Gahwa began pulling out Cheong’s things, which had been carelessly thrown into the cart.
Not only had they messed with her stuff, but they’d also left the cleanup to someone else.
Of course she was angry.
“Still, it all worked out, so don’t let it get to you,” Cheong said, helping Gahwa organize the luggage.
She was upset too, but she decided not to dwell on it.
Wasting energy on pointless things was just exhausting.
“You’re too soft,” Gahwa muttered, clicking her tongue.
Cheong just shrugged.
“So His Majesty really said you could stay?”
“Yes… for now.”
Gahwa frowned at the vague answer.
“What do you mean, ‘for now’?”
Her creased brow hinted at worry—was Cheong in trouble again?
“It’s nothing serious. I’ll handle it.”
Cheong’s bright tone and cheerful face made it seem like everything was fine.
“Really?”
Gahwa still looked doubtful.
“Would I lie about something like this? Let’s just finish unpacking and head inside.”
At Cheong’s reassurances, Gahwa finally nodded and focused on the task at hand.
Once Gahwa’s intense stare lifted, Cheong let out a small sigh of relief.
Contrary to what she told Gahwa, her mind was spinning.
It was all because of Haewon.
“If you fail to meet the conditions I gave you, you must obey my command.”
Haewon’s words kept echoing in her head.
He had agreed to revoke the order to move her quarters—but on two conditions.
First, she must wholeheartedly devote herself to treating his illness every day.
Second, she must arrive within one ‘ill-gak’ (15 minutes) of being summoned.
At first glance, they sounded simple.
But they weren’t.
“Wholeheartedly” was far too subjective.
Even if Cheong gave her all, Haewon could just claim it wasn’t enough.
And getting to him within 15 minutes? That would only work if she was in her quarters.
If she happened to be elsewhere, she’d likely miss the deadline.
In other words, these conditions, while seemingly considerate, were actually ridiculous.
“Hah… I’ll fulfill them no matter what.”
Grinding her teeth, Cheong hauled in her luggage.
“Do you really need to go this far for something brand new?” Gahwa asked, sounding puzzled.
“All the more reason to sterilize it before use.”
Cheong pulled out precious medicinal herbs she’d worked hard to acquire.
She steeped houttuynia, purslane, rhubarb, coptis, and amur cork tree bark in water for their anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects.
She intended to sterilize the gold acupuncture needles she had received from Palcho.
Though brand new, they still needed to be disinfected.
“They look clean to me…”
“Sure, on the outside. But the manufacturing process leaves microscopic impurities.”
Cheong’s explanation made Gahwa lean in to inspect the neatly arranged needles.
“If you use them without sterilizing, bacteria can enter the body and cause inflammation.”
“But how do you know about bacteria if you can’t even see them?”
Gahwa looked at Cheong in amazement.
Apparently, the Dragon Palace had no concept of sterilization, bacteria, or germs.
Well, this was a fantasy novel setting, after all.
“I learned it where I used to live.”
Cheong grinned and shrugged.
“Now we just have to wait for the herbs to steep.”
With that, she flopped down on the bed.
“Your way of waiting is so arrogant.”
“What, should I kneel while I wait?”
Cheong pouted at Gahwa, who was still curiously examining the needles.
“You’ll be using those on His Majesty, right? You should show some respect.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like he’s watching.”
Gahwa’s expression turned unreadable at that.
And for some reason, it made Cheong uneasy.
“…Don’t tell me His Majesty can see me right now?”
Chilled by the thought, Cheong swallowed nervously.
“Well… if he really wanted to, I don’t see why not?”
“….”
“He’s the master of the sea and a divine being. He could probably observe anything happening in the palace…”
Before Gahwa could finish, Cheong sprang up from the bed.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m on standby.”
Not only did she sit up, but she arranged her hands on her knees like a soldier waiting for inspection.
“…Standby?”
“I didn’t go through all that to win my freedom just to lose it the next day.”
Gahwa tilted her head, clearly still confused.
“He’s probably waiting for me to let my guard down before calling me. But I won’t be caught that easily.”
If Haewon really could see everything in the palace, he could call her out at any moment.
So she needed to be ready.
After that, Cheong stayed alert and waited in her quarters—but Haewon never summoned her.
“Well, he wouldn’t call me the same day he said that.”
After all, this would be when she was most tense.
In the meantime, sterilizing the gold needles kept her occupied.
“Ah, finally done!”
Cheong set down the last clean needle just as—
Deng— Deng— Deng— Deng—
The bell announcing the start of the sulsi (7–9 p.m.) rang.
The day’s official duties were over.
Since no one could come or go after sulsi, there was no worry about Haewon calling her now.
Cheong stretched with satisfaction and flopped onto the bed.
“Ugh, walking around all day made my whole body sore.”
