WBDS CH 04

Chapter 4

After finishing her evening porridge, So-ye received a bowl of medicine from Nanny Sa Gong-hee.

“Hm?”

The smell was a little different from the medicine she had drunk earlier that day.

“What’s wrong?” Gong-hee asked.

So-ye quickly shook her head.
“Do I have to drink it? I don’t like bitter things.”

She spoke in a pouty, childlike tone. Gong-hee just laughed softly.

“If you finish it all, I’ll give you a sugar candy.”

“Candy!”

So-ye’s eyes sparkled.

This was the first time her nanny had offered her a treat. Without hesitation, she gulped down the bitter medicine.

“Oh my, you must really like sweets.”

Gong-hee brought out a small plate with sugar candy, almost as if she had prepared it in advance.

“Mmm… mmh!”

As soon as So-ye took a bite, her head bobbed up and down happily.

This is the taste!

Then Gong-hee carefully asked:

“Miss… don’t you miss your father?”

“F–Father?”

So-ye almost choked on her candy.

“Yes. Your father, the Second Young Master.”

So-ye’s eyes darted sideways.

She had accepted that she’d been reborn, but the idea of having parents still didn’t feel real.

In her past life, she had no memories of her parents. One side effect of the demonic cultivation technique she had trained was memory loss.

But she knew one thing: her parents had sold her to the Demonic Sect.

That sect bought children and raised them into weapons of war. Before So-ye became the feared Moon Shadow Assassin, she had been one of those children.

How could I possibly miss a father I’ve never met?

Besides, what kind of father abandons his daughter in some branch family house?

So-ye sneered inwardly.

“I don’t need a father. I just need my nanny!”

“…I see.”
Gong-hee smiled gently and hugged her close.

So-ye blinked, caught off guard by the warmth.

It feels… warm.

Her chest tickled strangely.

Until she met Gong-hee, she never realized how weak she was against the affection of an “adult.”

At least I have her as my guardian. Compared to my past life, that’s already lucky.

Gong-hee then stood up.
“I’ll prepare your bed.”

She tucked So-ye in, pulled a quilt over her, then blew out the candle.

Her soft voice sang a lullaby in the darkness.

So-ye closed her eyes and pretended to fall asleep.

After a long while, the lullaby stopped. Suddenly, Gong-hee shook her gently.

“Miss. Miss.”

Wouldn’t this normally wake someone up?

So-ye wondered, but she kept her breathing steady and slow, pretending to be fast asleep.

Footsteps moved away.

Ah, she’s leaving to rest now.

Thinking that, So-ye slowly opened her eyes.

On the ceiling, shadows flickered against the paper windows.

The night was silent.

Then—

A long, thin shadow appeared.

A person?

So-ye held her breath.

“…Nim.”

Who?

She carefully slid the quilt down, straining her ears.

If birds overhear daytime words and mice overhear nighttime ones, thieves hear both.

The shadow called out again:
“Nanny.”

Another shadow appeared on the ceiling.

So-ye’s whole body tensed.

She recognized that voice.

It’s that servant from earlier!

The one who had bullied her after pretending to be polite.

Why is he meeting my nanny?

So-ye frowned.

“Geum-a.”

To her shock, it was Gong-hee’s voice that answered.

But it wasn’t the warm tone she always used—it carried a cold warning.

“…Is it really safe to meet here?” the servant whispered nervously, glancing around.

“As long as the young miss is asleep, who would come here?” Gong-hee replied, her tone icy.

“She’s just a child her own father abandoned.”

So-ye nearly gasped aloud.

Her chest felt like it had been pierced with a blade of ice.

“Still… isn’t it dangerous? Children sleep deeply, but what if she notices?”

“Of course not. I made sure of it.”

So-ye flinched.

The strange smell of her evening medicine flashed in her mind.

She had drunk it all… but she was still wide awake.

So this body resists sleeping drugs…?

She bit her lip.

“Besides, the girl has no memory and no sense. What could she possibly do? Anyway…”

Thud!

A dull impact rang out.

The servant groaned, trying to hold back his pain.

“You’re not in a position to question me. The item?” Gong-hee’s voice was sharp.

“T-the thing… well…” the servant stammered, struggling.

“I swear I stole it… but it’s gone!”

From her bed, So-ye thought of the little bottle she had hidden under her mattress.

Wait… was Nanny the one who ordered him to steal that?
Why?

“I told you,” Gong-hee’s cold voice said, “if you don’t bring it back, I’ll tell the Branch Leader you stole the young miss’s jewelry.”

The servant girl whimpered.

“B-but… you gave it to me, Nanny…”

“Did I?” Gong-hee tilted her head.

“Imagine this—something left behind by a runaway mother, stolen from her daughter, and handed to a mere servant.”

So-ye froze.

What? My mother didn’t die? She… left?

“You’re joking, right?”

One of the shadows leaned forward, and the smaller shadow stumbled back in fear.

“Ugh…”

“Do you think I’m such a bad person?” Gong-hee’s tone was chillingly unfamiliar.

So-ye blinked rapidly. This doesn’t sound like my nanny at all.

“Three days,” Gong-hee said at last.

“I don’t care where you lost it. You’d better find it before time’s up.”

“T-that’s too soon!” The servant—called Geum-a—let out a half-scream.

“Geum-a. I’ve already covered for you once, haven’t I?”

“…Hngh.”

“You know well enough this isn’t the first time you’ve touched your master’s belongings. I can prove it anytime.”

Her voice flowed like a cruel lullaby.
“Bring me the item used in the young miss’s poisoning.”

Poisoning?

So-ye’s eyes widened.

She had always been told she nearly died from a mistake while training in poison techniques.

But now… you’re telling me someone poisoned me on purpose?

“If you fail,” Gong-hee warned, “I’ll make sure you take the blame for the attempt on her life.”

Her shadow reached out and seized Geum-a’s.

“Now nod. Good girl.”

The smaller shadow jerked as if forced to nod.

“Go now.”

Geum-a stifled sobs, then ran off in a panic.

For a while, Gong-hee’s shadow lingered, standing tall in the moonlight.

Then it melted slowly into the darkness, slipping out through the window frame.

***

What is this…?

So-ye lay stiff under her quilt, as though she had just watched some eerie shadow play straight out of a nightmare.

She finally understood.
Her near-death from poison hadn’t been an accident.

The servant’s stolen item was evidence of the crime.

That’s why Gong-hee wanted it destroyed before anyone from the main family arrived.

Which meant…

Was Nanny the one who tried to kill me?

So-ye let out a hollow laugh in her throat.

The moment she gave her heart to someone, it was repaid with betrayal.

No… Gong-hee’s betrayal had come first, before So-ye ever gave her trust.

She clenched her fists tightly on the wide bed.

Solving problems alone wasn’t new to her.

Even if she was just a child again, she was still an experienced survivor in disguise.

Time to stir up some discord.

With her mind made up, So-ye hugged her blanket tightly and closed her eyes.

It’s just the night breeze making me feel cold… that’s all.

***

Elsewhere—

A dark room was lit by dozens of candles.

Though it wasn’t a temple, the air was heavy with incense, smoke curling in the dim light.

A man sat quietly amid it all.

Despite his plain clothes, his handsome features couldn’t be hidden.

He leaned forward, holding a small piece of jade in one hand and a fine feather needle in the other.

Normally, such needles were used as hidden weapons—but in his hands, it was a precise carving tool.

His brows were drawn in focus, lips pressed tight.

A single beauty mark beneath his eye gave him a strangely sorrowful charm.

Around him, countless jade figurines filled the room.

Children, maidens, grown women—even middle-aged matrons and elderly ladies.

Different ages, yet all bore the same face.

Every stroke of his hand transformed raw jade into delicate shapes—flowing skirts, slender fingers, serene features, phoenix-like eyes.

His craftsmanship rivaled the finest artisans.

Clearly, he had carved all the figures himself.

Just before finishing the smile of another jade fairy, his hand stopped suddenly.

“…You’ve come.”