Chapter 27: An Unfathomable Dream
Cha-eon slipped his hand under the blanket, checking the warmth.
As the days grew colder, it was the season to pay attention to heating. Even though Seohyo’s room was already warm from the fire, Cha-eon meticulously checked inside the blanket too—truly the way of a devoted butler.
If a heated stone is wrapped in cloth and placed under the covers, it becomes perfectly warm by the time one lies down.
Though the flat stone must have been heavy, Cha-eon folded it neatly like a towel and set it aside.
Seohyo had never seen him actually use that stone.
It was meant solely for her.
She hung her indigo robe on the hanger and slipped off her soft indoor slippers.
Sliding into the plush blanket, she could hear her body melting into warmth.
“Today felt incredibly long.”
Cha-eon adjusted his robe and shot a side glance at his mistress.
It was clearly meant to be heard.
“I’m the one who’s been put through it every time. Why do you look so tired, Miss?”
“Someone might think I did something terribly bad.”
“You little kiss thief.”
Cha-eon spoke the four syllables slowly, then shook his head as if dissatisfied with the sound.
“Compared to the crime you committed, it’s excessively cute.”
“What’s cute… me?”
The butler’s gaze had grown particularly sharp.
“Miss.”
“Yes, Cha-eon?”
“Humans should know their limits and maintain decorum.”
She couldn’t help but respond.
“I’m not human, though.”
“Do you think being a god makes any difference?”
“Tch.”
“Modesty, humility, and courtesy are important.”
She had thought of showing a little charm, but a mountain of scolding returned instead. Ah, better not. Seohyo secretly sighed.
So the saying that men fall for charm only applied to lively, pretty girls like Ahee—or did one have to be as young as Lady Mira?
The Goddess of Love didn’t need to act cute…
No, that wasn’t it.
She possessed a transcendent beauty and needed no such tricks.
So in the end, Seohyo wasn’t cute enough, and her butler was far too strict.
It was a bit disheartening.
Seohyo pouted her lips, only for Cha-eon’s fingers to pinch them, calling them “naughty lips.” The butler made sure she understood his point.
“The nickname ‘kiss thief’ is what’s cute.”
Why had she come to like such a rocklike man?
Whenever she tried to receive even a bit of affection, he built a wall around himself that no weapon in the world could break.
She recalled the rejection letters from potential marriage candidates—so polite, so uniform, almost copied from each other, all keeping their distance.
And right next to her, the ultimate fortress stood.
“Go to sleep.”
“Cha-eon…”
Reluctant to let him go, she grabbed at his departing figure.
The calm, still expression he turned back with looked like quiet water.
“Aren’t you going to stay until I fall asleep? Or maybe sing me a lullaby?”
“Since when have I sung you lullabies?”
Cha-eon smiled faintly, as if to say “enough with the nonsense.”
Seohyo’s heart fluttered—not in the same way as neighborhood girls swooning over the pharmacist’s handsome butler—but in a different, more intense way.
Why did she like this chilling man?
A single word from him carried the kind of coldness that could hang her upside down on a castle wall.
“Good night.”
Cha-eon stood at the door and extinguished the lamp on the table. His breath barely shifted the flame. Ever since the day Ahee’s group left and he shattered the wall, he no longer bothered to hide his abilities.
The distance from the door to the table was four long steps.
How could he put out the lamp from that far?
Did he shoot something from his fingers?
If so, what?
“…A chi wave?”
Seohyo mumbled to herself before laughing quietly.
Cha-eon shooting chi waves from his fingertips—it was hilarious to imagine.
In reality, he had just flicked his fingertips as naturally as breathing.
“Breaking walls, putting out lamps… what can’t our butler do?”
She didn’t need him to have incredible powers. She only wished that tomorrow, he might be a little gentler to his mistress.
Slowly, sleep crept back, pulling her into a deep dream.
Where am I?
Seohyo looked around, dazed. Her eyes struggled to open, still heavy with sleep. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, she blinked several times.
She was standing in a magnificent mansion.
A place she had never been before.
Where on earth am I? Why am I here?
She couldn’t make sense of the situation. Thinking it might be a dream, she pinched her cheek hard. It hurt—but not painfully, nor not at all.
What am I supposed to do?
She decided to move her legs.
It felt like walking on clouds.
Or perhaps like wearing a feathered gown.
Her feet were on the ground, but her whole body felt light, almost floating.
“Miss.”
A strange voice called out.
“So you were here all along. The young master has returned.”
Turning toward it, she saw a woman she had never met speaking.
“Oh, Miss, have you finished all your embroidery?”
Another voice spoke—there were several, all addressing Seohyo.
Do they really mean “Miss” for me, right now?
“You were napping, I suppose. Why so dazed?”
“Truly, our lady is so carefree.”
They laughed lightly at her, without malice, allowing Seohyo to lower her guard.
“The young master…?”
Where am I?
This person isn’t my butler, so why the honorific?
Her mind swirled with questions, yet her lips formed the awkward word, “Young master.”
“Yes, your cousin has returned. The young master has come.”
“You were waiting eagerly, weren’t you?”
“Now that he’s arrived, we can finally relax. Watching you mark the calendar, wondering each day when he would return, it worried us.”
Seohyo still felt confused, and she didn’t even know who this “young master” was. More importantly, she didn’t have a cousin.
Is this… a dream?
It seemed like one, but something about it was strange.
“I’m sorry, but where is Cha-eon?”
Dream or not, she wanted to find her butler first.
If something felt off, she needed Cha-eon.
Even if this were a dream, she imagined him appearing as if on cue, ready to scold her for troubling him in his sleep.
Hearing that familiar scolding would soothe her.
Yet the maids looked at her as if she were speaking nonsense.
“Cha-eon? What is that?”
“Surely, Miss, you haven’t brought another stray dog from outside?”
One maid asked sharply, and another drew a quick breath.
“Last time, you brought a bird with a broken leg!”
“No, Cha-eon is my…”
“Let’s keep it from the elders. Though, of course, the young master would side with you anyway.”
Communication failed. Calling Cha-eon in a dream was hopeless.
Yes, the poor butler who’d been ambushed with a surprise kiss should at least rest safely in her dream.
Seohyo twisted the ends of her braided hair around her fingers out of habit.
“Huh?”
Her dream-self didn’t have braids.
Her hair usually cascaded naturally in waves, without ribbons, yet now it was adorned with beads and jewels.
A complex hairstyle she couldn’t do alone, clearly styled by multiple maids.
And her clothing was completely different—layers of delicate silk, cinched at the waist with a slender belt, decorated with fine ornaments.
Even without a mirror, she could sense her appearance.
Like a noble young lady of a grand household in the human world.
“You’re adjusting your hair to meet the young master,” one maid teased.
“Be careful, or it’ll get ruined,” another added.
They kept talking about the young master so much that Seohyo’s ears almost grew numb.
Who exactly was this “young master”?
“Could it… be Cha-eon as the young master?”
If so, this would be interesting. Dream rules meant anything was possible.
If the young master took Cha-eon’s form, she could have some fun teasing him.
From what the maids said, he seemed weak toward his cousin.
“Where’s Cha-eon, or rather… the young master?”
“You’re being overly polite. He’s in the garden.”
Perfect—the garden.
Seohyo lifted her skirts, ready to run, but the maids stopped her.
“Remember, the young master said not to enter the garden for now.”
“Oh, right! Almost forgot.”
“What’s going on?”
They explained that a few new slaves had arrived, one of whom was dangerously violent.
A beast, a monster.
Did they actually see it? They shook their heads, clicking their tongues.
Calling a human a monster sounded terrible.
Even in the realm of the gods, servants existed. Cha-eon had been sent by the Celestial Emperor to serve Seohyo.
Yet they were unlike the human world’s lowly slaves.
In Seohyo’s eyes, every one of them was precious. Deciding their fate based on status or the master’s will felt cruel.
In her heart, the young master was already Cha-eon.
Even in a dream, the man repeatedly mentioned could only be him.
And yet this “young master” brought slaves?
Naturally, she felt uneasy.
“The garden, you said?”
“Miss, are you trying to go against the young master again?”
Ignoring the maids’ warnings, she ran. Her skirts fluttered in the wind.
Even in a dream, it was remarkable that she knew the way to this unfamiliar mansion’s garden.
Her head was blank, yet her body knew the path.
“Ropes! No, bring shackles!”
“Chains too!”
“Isn’t there something in the storage? The ones used when the young master raised the wolfdogs!”
“Damn it! Someone knock him out!”
The closer she got to the garden, the louder the commotion became.
Harsh sounds clashed with the elegance of the mansion.
Seohyo paused.
A broad-shouldered man stood with his hands behind his back. His cloak, dusted with white, shimmered with embroidered silver threads—clearly a noble gentleman.
The young master and Cha-eon—what a strange combination.
The garden felt dangerous, yet she smiled despite herself.
“Brother?”
She called playfully. The man turned, smiling.
“Uh….”
Not Cha-eon.
“You won’t listen to your elder brother, huh?”
The stranger looked at her warmly. Seohyo, stunned, realized even in dreams, she couldn’t do whatever she pleased.
“What….”
“I brought him as a strong servant, but he’s like a mad dog.”
The man misinterpreted her dazed muttering as something else.
“But as you know, your brother likes to train.”
The man smiled at her.
“He tamed wild horses, wolfdogs, and hawks. Why not him?”
“Oh, young master! This crazy thing!”
“He’ll bite! He will bite!”
“Take this, a stick for you!”
The men’s underlings began thrashing the bound, growling slave with sticks. Seohyo finally looked at the creature.
Her blood ran cold.
“Cha-eon?”
Their eyes met.
A wounded, untamed gaze, unlike anything she’d seen before. But it was certainly Cha-eon.
“How dare you… grr… to me…!”
“Oh? He can talk?”
“So what if he can? Hey, hey, he’s acting up again!”
“Hit him!”
They struck relentlessly with sticks. Even when Cha-eon’s fist sent one flying, others brought whips.
What is happening?
Even in a dream, why this? Why to Cha-eon?
“Stop!”
Seohyo tried to run to him. Blood ran down his forehead, his lips were cracked and dried, his clothes tattered. Every detail tugged at her heart.
Even in a dream, she didn’t want to see him like this.
“Stop it! Tell them to stop!”
“The young master says it’s dangerous.”
The man holding the title “young master” embraced her.
“He’s no ordinary man. If you bite his arm, how could you face your uncle?”
“Stop! Tell them to stop!”
“It’s alright. He’s teaching him hierarchy.”
“Let go! I said stop!”
Cha-eon… why are you just taking it?
He could destroy walls with bare hands, tear chains effortlessly.
Stop, everyone. Don’t hit Cha-eon!
“Miss.”
In the next moment, Seohyo opened her eyes.
“Miss, are you alright?”
She lay still for a moment, staring at the familiar ceiling, breathing heavily. She felt someone massage her stiff hands.
“Miss.”
A worried voice. Calm, low, reassuring.
She turned her head slowly. Trying to sit up, she found her strength gone. Only with Cha-eon’s help could she raise herself.
Cha-eon, in his white robe, had come running so quickly his hair was messy.
Moonlight through the window revealed his expression as her eyes adjusted to the dark.
“Cha-eon…”
“You cried out suddenly. That’s why I came.”
His large hands massaged her tense shoulders and arms.
“Isn’t this similar to when you collapsed on the street before?”
“Cha-eon.”
Seohyo instinctively reached out to touch his face, confirming his uninjured lips and flawless skin, nearly loosening her robe in relief.
The dream had been terrifyingly vivid.
She needed to see Cha-eon safe with her own eyes.
Seeing her concern, Cha-eon gently stopped her hand.
Her trembling eyes met his gaze.
Warm, kind, reassuring.
“Miss?”
“Cha-eon, I had a dream.”
She tried not to sound tearful, but couldn’t help it.
“A scary… very strange dream.”
“Seems it was a nightmare.”
“Yes, a strange dream.”
She avoided the word “nightmare” because it didn’t capture the lingering unease.
Why did it feel so vivid, even though she’d awakened?
“Cha-eon, don’t go.”
She clutched his sturdy waist. The familiar embrace, comforting scent, gentle shoulders—she needed them.
She didn’t want him leaving, as if saying “it was just a dream.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Cha-eon didn’t scold her, simply smoothed her back with his hand.
He quietly gave her what she needed.
“Don’t worry. I’m right here.”
“Stay with me until I fall asleep again…”
“Of course.”
Seohyo burrowed deeper into his embrace. Cha-eon smiled faintly, pulling the blanket over them. Warm and safe, listening to his low voice, drowsiness returned.
She wasn’t ready to sleep yet.
Perhaps it was the sudden awakening.
Cha-eon’s embrace was warm and comforting, and she wanted to hold onto it a little longer.
Together.
Her eyelids grew heavy.
Even as she drifted back into sleep, she whispered his name softly.
“Always by your side…”
This time, Seohyo finally sank into a peaceful dream.
