Chapter 7
‘Did I imagine it?’
Tilting her head, she stared at the herb bush again.
She had spent over a week diligently gathering things from here and there, rummaging through the empty room for what she needed.
But it still wasn’t enough.
‘The second medicine is fine. But after that, I’ll probably have to go to the market.’
Would Uncle go with her?
‘He seems to be awake for longer now.’
But she wasn’t sure he was up for going to the market yet.
This city had one of the top three medicinal herb markets in the entire empire. She had frequented it often in her past life.
But taking her uncle there… What if he fell asleep again?
She shook her head firmly.
It had been a week since she gave her uncle the medicine. He should have noticed the effects by now…
‘Is he just too embarrassed to say anything at this point?’
Well, people were always like that.
‘What does a little girl know?’
‘You’re saying you’re an apothecary? You?’
‘We can’t trust such a young healer like you…’
Prejudice was something she was used to.
That’s why she needed a backstory.
A story that would force people to believe in her despite her young age.
‘I already have overwhelming talent.’
People always looked for a believable excuse to trust someone. Was there any totem or element she could use this time around…?
She was walking down the corridor, having just left the bush, when—
Thud-thud-thud.
It sounded like an elephant charging down the hallway.
“Hey!”
She turned halfway and jumped in surprise.
“W-what the—?!”
The person running from the end of the hallway was definitely Heuk Birang.
But he looked…
‘Like a madman!’
Did she do something wrong? All she did was give him some medicine!
Anyone would get scared if someone ran at them like that for no reason!
By the time she came to her senses, she was already running away.
‘Ugh, my stamina sucks!’
“Hey!”
“Wh-why, kid?!”
Heuk Birang was definitely crazy. Otherwise, why would a grown man chase after a little kid who was running for her life?
“Why are you running away?”
She glanced back and was dumbfounded by the confusion on his face.
“You’re—huff, huff—chasing me!”
“Oh.”
Oh?
What the hell does he mean by “Oh”?!
Did she not look scary enough?! He had been terrifying during their first meeting!
“But I’m not chasing you, though?”
“What?”
That was the last thing she saw before Heuk Birang’s face disappeared from view.
He easily overtook her, spun around, and blocked her path.
Wait. Hold on. Hold on.
Collision alert!
Thud.
“I caught you gently this time, didn’t I?”
When she looked up, she saw his face lifting her lightly by the armpits.
Heuk Birang grinned.
‘What is he saying?’
She was too busy gasping for air to respond.
“Cough, cough—COUGH!”
“W-what’s wrong with you…?”
She couldn’t breathe. Damn it, her stamina really was the worst. Did he not realize how weak her body was?!
“Hey, kid…?”
Heuk Birang’s face turned serious as he stared at her, clearly not understanding what was going on.
“You dying or something?”
What was he even saying?
She pushed his face away. Even when squished like clay, he was annoyingly handsome.
Finally, she stopped coughing and wiped her tears, looking at Heuk Birang who was now squatting in front of her.
“What, you’re not crying?”
“Why would I?”
“No, your expression… never mind. But really, why not?”
Heuk Birang looked at her with fascination.
What was he expecting?
“Whatever. Why were you chasing me?”
He scratched the back of his neck.
He looked like he was thinking for a moment, then suddenly raised his head.
“Ha, f***. Whatever. I’m not good with beating around the bush, okay?”
Clearly.
“What did you feed me?”
Her eyes widened. Then, she smiled brightly.
He finally noticed!
‘If he noticed the effects, everything should go smoothly from now on!’
If the female lead’s dad took her side, there were a lot of things she could do. He was a powerful ally.
Alright, time to explain—
Thud.
Thud?
Wait a minute!
“Uncle?”
“…….”
She couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Aaaagh!”
She ground her teeth.
How could he just fall asleep like that?!
He completely collapsed, arms spread wide. There are two things more infuriating than anything else:
Getting cut off right before someone says something important.
‘What were you going to say next?!’
She screamed internally.
‘Now I’ll have to wait days to hear the rest!’
She had spent over two weeks tailing Heuk Birang and had roughly figured out his sleep cycle…
Unfortunately, this was one of those times when he’d sleep for days.
‘If you’re unlucky, you’ll even break your nose when you fall flat on your face!’
The sleeping beauty—no, her uncle—had fallen sound asleep. She had to come up with her next plan.
‘Can’t give him the second medicine until he wakes up.’
Until her bodyguard was awake, there were other things to do.
Of course, overexerting her frail body could mean her life would end at age three, so she had to be cautious.
She organized her priorities.
‘First, I need to take over this building.’
The west wing housed top-tier physicians, apothecaries, and the warriors who guarded them.
Among them was someone she’d have to surpass one day.
‘Aunt… the eldest aunt in particular…’
Lost in thought, she entered a new building.
It was one of the old east wing buildings—places she rarely visited.
Thud!
“Waaah…”
She had turned a corner, too deep in thought to see what was ahead.
Rubbing her sore head, she looked up to see a boy. Around nine years old?
His black hair was messy and unkempt.
His lips were tightly pressed together.
He was handsome, but the fierce expression made him look very stubborn.
‘Is he really nine? My memory’s fuzzy…’
But she wasn’t surprised.
Because this was the person she came to see.
This was Heuk Gyewon. The son of her uncle—her cousin.
Like her other uncle, his father also had an incurable disease. He was a side character in the novel.
“You… what are you?”
She smiled brightly, unphased.
“I’m Biyu!”
He flinched.
“…Biyu?”
“Biyu! You’re Gyewon, right?”
“…How do you know my name?”
“Because we’re cousins!”
“Cousins? Guns?”
What the heck?
It’s cousins, you brat.
He finally understood what she meant and scowled.
“So what?”
She didn’t mind his rudeness at all.
‘As if anyone can be grumpier than Uncle. That man cursed at me first thing!’
This boy had lived in the east wing since he was five, taking care of his sick father.
‘Caregivers are often as sensitive as the patients.’
Now that he was nine, he was probably better at caregiving than most adults.
‘It’s kind of pitiful, really…’
“I came to see you!”
“Ha! Why? Because your dad’s sick too, and you wanna bond over misery?”
“……”
She paused. Wow, that’s cold.
‘Well… my dad is sick, isn’t he?’
The current head of the family had five sons and three daughters.
In the past, the three sons who were renowned warriors ended up with different incurable diseases.
They went mad, had seizures, and caused accidents.
Eventually, their mother—Heuk Moran—locked them away in the east wing.
That’s the background story of the female lead’s father, Heuk Birang.
As for her own father’s illness…
Nope. Don’t wanna think about that.
Anyway, she didn’t come here to bond over misery.
“Huh?”
When she turned her head, the boy was already far away.
He briefly turned back.
“I’m busy. I don’t have time to listen to your whining about your sick dad. Take care of it yourself.”
“……”
She stood there in a daze as he disappeared. What a brat.
‘I came here to heal your dad, you know…’
Scratching her cheek, she got up.
Ouch. She’d bumped her head.
“Ugh… being a baby is such a pain.”
She marched forward again.
‘Judging by Heuk Birang’s diagnosis, it’s going to take a long time to heal him. Same with Big Uncle.’
If both would take a long time anyway, she might as well start here too.
‘I was hoping to bring Heuk Birang as a bodyguard because this place is kind of scary… but that’s shot now.’
Soon, she found Heuk Gyewon again.
He was surrounded by some other boys.
“Wow, so dedicated, huh?”
With their gray hair and matching blue outfits, they were clearly collateral relatives of the Heuk family.
“Why bother doing something useless? Hehehe. Still haven’t given up?”
She recognized the one laughing.
‘Heuk Daewi.’
The eldest aunt’s son.
‘The most ambitious, yet the worst apothecary ever…!’
Wow, of all people to run into again…
