Chapter 5
5
There was a playful tone in the voice that tickled my ear.
Feeling my feet touch the ground, I slowly opened my eyes. The one who had caught me was a familiar face.
"Young Master?"
Then, a stern rebuke followed.
"How dare you! Young Master? Who are you trying to disrespect!"
I flinched at the booming shout of the man beside him. His voice was as impressive as his physique.
"Tsk. Geun-myeong, that's enough."
"But... I understand."
The man, who seemed about to say something more, obediently shut his mouth when the child frowned.
Seeing him subdue someone with just a look, our Young Master might be more important than I thought.
He'd have to be at least the Patriarch's son to call a grown man by his name and order him around like that.
...Could he really be the Heir Apparent?
I hurriedly looked back to see if I had made any mistakes with the Young Master.
Like a thief with a guilty conscience, I suddenly felt uneasy. I hope I didn't say anything weird.
The Young Master, who had let go of me, asked,
"Where did you get lost on your way to today?"
"I was told to clean the training grounds."
"The inner training grounds? You're being bullied quite a bit. Follow me."
The Young Master chuckled and started walking ahead. The startled man tried to follow him, but the child waved his hand.
"Geun-myeong, stay here."
"Yes."
Then, the man called Geun-myeong glared at me. It was a fierce look, as if telling me to behave myself.
I didn't do anything. Complain to the Young Master.
When I hesitated, the Young Master urged me.
"What are you doing? Hurry up."
I felt the piercing gaze, but I ignored it and moved my feet.
It's not my fault. I'm just going because the Young Master called me.
* * *
The pond where I had lost my way was in the backyard of a ten-room mansion. And it happened to be the Young Master's residence.
"Maids are not allowed to enter this residence without permission. Be careful."
As he said, there was a black flag hanging at the entrance of the mansion, prohibiting entry. I nodded.
It was understandable why Geun-myeong had shouted. I had done something that could easily be mistaken for trespassing.
I almost died.
I let out a sigh of relief and reevaluated the child.
Instead of punishing the Maid who had entered his residence without permission, he was even taking me to the training grounds himself. Our Young Master is so generous.
Just as my fondness for the child was about to increase, he spoke again.
"But tell me. Are you really lost, or are you pretending to be lost?"
"Excuse me?"
I couldn't help but frown at the sarcastic question. Why would I do that?
I was about to retort, asking what he meant, but I quickly shut my mouth at his cold expression.
His calmly sunken eyes were staring at me. It was a sharp gaze, as if trying to see through me.
I felt a chill run down my spine, like prey in front of a beast. My whole body was trembling, and I felt like I was standing in the middle of Antarctica, greeting penguins.
It wasn't a joke; it was really hard to breathe. An invisible, immense Qi was pressing down on me.
Is this what Martial Artists call killing intent? I instinctively felt that I had to run away.
"I can't quite figure it out. She seems like an ordinary Maid."
He tilted his head and reached out to lift my chin. Even though he held it lightly, my jaw felt numb.
"But she also seems like a suspicious spy."
I'm an ordinary Maid!
His hand, turning my face this way and that, was rough. What mistake did I make? I couldn't understand why he had suddenly turned hostile.
Tears streamed down my face from the distress.
"Oh."
A look of embarrassment crossed his face when he saw the tears. I felt the strength slowly leaving his hand that was holding my chin.
But I couldn't muster any strength in my body. The moment he let go, I collapsed to the floor.
The Qi that had been pressing down on my whole body was gone, but the terror that I couldn't resist remained vivid. Tears and snot streamed down my face, leaving a salty taste on my tongue.
Only now did I realize that I had fallen into Jianghu. This was a world where even a kid I thought was friendly could suddenly try to kill me.
As I trembled and wiped my face, I heard a sheepish mumble.
"I didn't mean to make you cry."
When I raised my head with bloodshot eyes, I saw him awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
"Tsk. Your crying face resembles Hwa-yeon, which makes me feel uneasy. Can you get up?"
Is that what you have to say? Who made me like this?
I sniffled. Tears kept welling up from sorrow.
"Hic, hic..."
"Oh dear."
The damned Young Master sighed deeply. Afraid of offending him, I covered my mouth, but he shook his head.
"Just cry. You'll get sick if you hold it in."
You give me the disease and then the cure?
The Young Master, looking troubled at my sobbing, bent down.
A look of longing briefly flashed across his dark eyes. It wasn't directed at me. He was reminded of someone as he looked at me.
He gave a bitter smile and slowly picked me up. To be exact, he slung me over his shoulder like a sack.
I wriggled at the precarious angle, as if I was about to hit the floor, and he patted my back as if to soothe me.
"Stay still. I'll take you to the training grounds."
Like this, like a sack?
My tears disappeared at the absurdity. But I couldn't dare to argue. I held onto the hem of the Young Master's robe tightly so I wouldn't fall.
He's not a bad guy, seeing as he's carrying me because I can't walk. I have no idea what he didn't like about me.
Even if he didn't like it, couldn't he have resolved it through conversation like a civilized person? Seeing him threaten people out of the blue, the Tang Clan's family education is hopeless.
As I was being carried around like a scarecrow, I suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.
"...Young Master."
"That's enough. Don't say anything."
"That's, sniff. No, I left the broom behind."
"..."
The Young Master stopped and turned around. In the distance, the broom was lying alone. He let out a hollow laugh.
* * *
"Eat."
"Yes."
"Eat this too."
I nodded and put the rice cake that the Young Master offered into my mouth. The Young Master, who had been staring at me as I chewed, took out a new rice cake.
I was full, but I couldn't say that I couldn't eat anymore. It was clear that he was giving me food, no, snacks, as an apology.
...How long are you going to keep feeding me?
I swallowed the question that was rising to my throat and looked at the Young Master, who was diligently rummaging through his sleeves.
The Young Master's sleeves were like a magician's hat, with endless items coming out. I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled a dove out of his pocket.
Maybe the Tang Clan's true calling is to be magicians.
How did he carry all that? Does he actually have a Doraemon pocket in his sleeve?
As I looked up in wonder, I saw suspicious colorful powders floating in the air.
I wondered if it was poison powder, but I didn't bother asking. It would only make me uncomfortable to have it confirmed.
That's right. We were waiting near the training grounds for the training to end.
I could hear the sound of blades clashing and shouts from over the wall.
"I won't let you get away with this!"
"Third Young Master. You've been saying that for days. You need to dodge faster."
"Vice Captain, you bastard...!"
The sound of gnashing teeth was loud. How brutal. When I glanced at the wall, the Young Master shrugged.
"We'll have to wait another half hour."
The Third Young Master over there is rampaging like a rhinoceros. It looks like it will take longer. I smacked my lips and swallowed the snack I was chewing.
I didn't know, but the rule was that cleaning the training grounds could only be done after everyone had finished training. The reason was that a Martial Artist's training could not be shown to others.
So, to clean, you had to wait until the Tang Clan members' daily training was over. If you were lucky, you could clean while the sun was still up, but if you were unlucky, you would have to wait endlessly and clean in the middle of the night.
If that's the case, shouldn't the people who use the training grounds clean it themselves, you Tang Clan bastards? Do it yourself.
It was absurd, but there was nothing I could do. I was a powerless Maid, so I had to wait quietly.
At that moment, something flew quickly towards me. Before I could even think, my body moved reflexively.
"Oh ho. You have quite the reflexes."
The Young Master, who had exclaimed in admiration as if he was surprised, sat up straight and looked at me. I followed the Young Master's gaze.
I was holding a throwing knife that I had never seen before in my hand.
Huh. What is this?
As I realized the existence of the throwing knife, I felt a tingling pain in my palm. Blood droplets were forming on the skin that had been grazed as I snatched it.
My eyes widened involuntarily. Did a throwing knife just fly at my face from the training grounds?
I almost died just now?
I threw the throwing knife away in horror, and the Young Master chuckled.
"You caught it well, but you're still making a fuss."
But I couldn't laugh along with the Young Master.
What just happened was nothing more than an implication that if you're unlucky, you could be killed instantly by a Hidden Weapon flying at you while walking down the street.
Is this kind of harsh working environment okay? Shouldn't you give me extra hazard pay?
As I was gaping in bewilderment, the Young Master poked me.
"You won't die from that kind of injury. Hey. Let me see your hand."
When I hesitantly held out my hand, he rolled up my sleeve and took my pulse.
When he lightly pressed down on my wrist with his index and middle fingers, a strange Qi penetrated my body.
It felt like I had dipped my fingertips in warm water, or like a slimy jelly was wrapping around my hand.
The Qi that flowed into my fingertips traveled through my blood vessels and spread throughout my body in an instant.
I felt like throwing up at the sensation of being touched all over my body. When I couldn't stand it and covered my mouth, he patted my back.
"You're quite sensitive to Qi. You'll build up Inner Energy quickly."
His voice sounded somehow proud. The Young Master, who had slowly withdrawn his Qi, said,
"Hey. Would you like to learn Martial Arts Technique from me?"
"Excuse me?"
...I think I heard something strange.
