Chapter 63
63
Kyung-ah bit her lip tightly. She was so wronged and indignant that she couldn't speak properly.
"Why, why……! It's not, not ready…… yet?"
"I told you, there were no hands to make congee."
"Still……. So-hye, Young Miss was going to…… eat it……! H, how could you……."
Kyung-ah's face flushed red as she protested.
It wasn't a big deal that the kitchen cooks ignored Kyung-ah; it had been happening for a day or two.
But this was too much. Ignoring a sick Young Miss's meal?
Kyung-ah tried to calm her excitement and opened her mouth again.
"E, even now…… quickly……. P, please prepare it……. Young Miss's body is…… not well……."
"Ugh, frustrating. What are you saying? If you're dissatisfied, make it yourself and bring it!"
"T, then……. Give me the ingredients……! I, I'll do it……."
"Enough. Stop it."
Just as Kyung-ah was about to raise her voice, someone grabbed the back of her neck.
"I'll make it, so come out here. Kyung-ah, go to Third Madam's residence and organize the dishes for me."
"M, Moon-young…… Sister……!"
Kyung-ah's face brightened at the welcome face. Moon-young was the only one in the kitchen who treated Kyung-ah normally.
"Don't make things difficult for Kyung-ah, you guys. Don't you know that the Chief of Medicine Hall and the Chief of Poison King Hall are desperate to serve the youngest Young Miss these days? You better behave yourselves and not regret it later."
At Moon-young's advice, the cooks flinched and looked away.
Moon-young, who glared at the cooks as if they were pathetic, asked Kyung-ah.
"Okay. What should I make? The youngest Young Miss is sick, right? Should I boil a chicken for her?"
"C, chicken congee……. would be good……."
"Okay. I'll prepare chicken congee, so don't worry and go."
Moon-young smiled and patted Kyung-ah on the back. Kyung-ah nodded and left the kitchen.
The meal was somehow resolved, but she kept sighing.
'How long do I have to argue…….'
It had been almost three months since Kyung-ah followed Dang So-hye and moved her residence, taking charge of the meals at the detached palace.
However, the household members did not want to accept Dang So-hye, who had been working as a Maid until recently, as a direct line Young Miss.
The cooks in the kitchen were the same. If Kyung-ah didn't supervise, they were negligent in preparing meals, and there were days like today when they didn't prepare at all, making things difficult for Kyung-ah.
Kyung-ah swallowed a sigh and thought.
'Let's not show it to Young Miss.'
Young Miss's life suddenly changed when she was registered in the direct line. She didn't want to give Young Miss, who was struggling with training and studying from dawn to late at night, any other worries.
"What's going on?"
At the thick voice, she raised her head and realized she was already in front of Third Madam's residence. The Gatekeeper was staring at Kyung-ah.
Kyung-ah, shrinking her shoulders, answered hesitantly.
"I'm……. F, from the kitchen…… with the dishes……."
"Go in."
The Gatekeeper pointed to the side door without saying much. Kyung-ah bowed her head and slowly opened the side door.
She noticed the dishes that the Maids of the residence had organized in the corner. Kyung-ah began to move the dishes to a small cart.
It was then that she heard a sharp voice.
"Why are you making me wait? She has already begun to be taught the Poison Clan Martial Arts Technique. If we leave her alone, we won't be able to touch her."
"Now is not the time, Madam. The world's attention is focused on that illegitimate child. Let's watch a little longer."
Kyung-ah's heart sank at the ominous conversation.
The illegitimate child who had begun to be taught the Poison Clan Martial Arts Technique. It was the story of Dang So-hye.
Her fingertips trembled, but Kyung-ah quietly held her breath. She wanted to know who was talking to Third Madam.
"Don't forget the promise, Grand Elder. Hwa-yeop must become the Young Patriarch……."
"I know, so don't rush me. This old man wants to get rid of that child more than anyone else."
'Get rid of Young Miss?'
Surprised, Kyung-ah dropped the dish she was holding. She reflexively grabbed the dish, but she couldn't completely stop the clatter.
The man who had been scolding Madam Jo noticed the faint noise and shouted fiercely.
"A rat has crawled in. Who is it?"
Kyung-ah pretended not to hear and lowered her body, moving the dishes to the cart. She mustn't show that she was surprised.
In the meantime, the man, who had leaped the distance of hundreds of steps at once, roughly grabbed Kyung-ah's shoulder.
"You."
"Y, yes? Did you……. C, call me?"
Kyung-ah tried to appear calm as she looked at him. Her heart was pounding with fear.
The man who had been plotting with Madam Jo was Grand Elder Dang Gak.
Dang Gak shook Kyung-ah's shoulder with an angry face.
"What were you doing there? Did you dare to eavesdrop?"
Kyung-ah answered slowly.
"I'm, I'm sorry……. Grand Elder. I, I……. Can't hear, well……. Could you, speak a little, louder……?"
Only then did Dang Gak's expression relax.
"That's enough. Don't be so slow and get lost."
But Madam Jo didn't seem to want to let it go easily. He glared at Dang Gak irritably.
"Will that be enough? She might go somewhere and blab."
"She said she can't hear well, and she seems to have a stutter, so who would listen to her? What does a lowly thing know? We're short on hands, so just leave her alone."
Dang Gak waved his hand as if he was annoyed. Madam Jo did not change his attitude even with the roundabout refusal. He glared with his long eyes.
"You shouldn't leave any loose ends. If you're going to let her live, you have to cut out her tongue."
Madam Jo said coldly.
\ \ \
I was exhausted after sending all the noisy visitors away. I slumped on the bed and wriggled like a jellyfish.
"Songji. I want to wash my face."
"Please wait a moment. I'll wipe it with a wet towel."
"Okay. By the way, Kyung-ah is late."
"That's right. She said she was going to get the congee, but she hasn't come yet. Should I go?"
"Will you? Wipe my face after you come back."
"Yes. Young Miss."
After sending Songji away, I buried my face in the pillow. It wasn't as bad as yesterday, but my body was still heavy.
At this rate, I felt like I would fall asleep before Kyung-ah brought the congee.
Just as my consciousness was fading with a languid sensation, I heard Songji's scream.
"Young Miss, Young Miss!"
Surprised, I raised my head and saw Songji running towards me, shedding tears.
"Y, Young Miss! Something terrible has happened!"
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Kyung-ah, Kyung-ah……!"
"What about Kyung-ah?"
I jumped up from the bed.
\ \ \
Even after the suffocatingly strong anesthetic scent faded, Kyung-ah did not regain consciousness.
Her bloodless face was as pale as a wax doll.
I held Kyung-ah's hand tightly. My heart fluttered at her ice-cold hand.
The child who had been perfectly fine this morning, fetching water to wet the facecloth and combing my hair, was now going back and forth between life and death.
"Young Miss……."
Songji sniffled and wiped her eyes. Tears were constantly falling from Songji's swollen eyes.
Dang Juhee, glancing at Songji, said bluntly.
"She won't die from having her tongue cut off. It won't affect her life, so stop crying. Youngest, go back to your residence. Why is a sick child wandering around?"
"I'll stay by her side a little longer."
I replied and wiped Kyung-ah's sweat with a cotton cloth. My heart ached at the sight of her suffering without even being able to groan.
"When will she wake up?"
"Tomorrow at the earliest. Or the day after. It'll take a while for the anesthesia to wear off."
Nodding, I slowly washed my face with my dry hands. The current situation did not feel real.
"What happened? Why Kyung-ah……."
"It's obvious. She heard something she shouldn't have."
"Yes?"
"They cut out her tongue to prevent her from revealing it. I don't know what she heard, though. I taught her quite a bit, but Youngest was unlucky. I'll have to get a new Maid."
Dang Juhee shrugged and replied.
Was it because my head was hazy? I didn't quite understand what Dang Juhee was saying.
I was unlucky?
I had to get a new Maid?
When I was speechless with embarrassment, Dang Juhee said soothingly.
"I understand that you're angry that they touched your things, but let's just pretend it didn't happen. Judging by the way things were handled, it was Little Madam's doing, right? You'll only hurt yourself if you pick a fight with her. You can't handle Little Madam. I'll give you a Maid who's good at her job, so calm down."
It was an attitude of discussing a broken object, not a person.
The hair on my whole body stood on end.
I had known that Dang Juhee was not ordinary since he had tried to feed me poison so casually. But it didn't really hit me.
Because I was immune to poison. It was just like eating fish sauce as a punishment; it was unpleasant and made me feel bad, but there was no big problem. So I could just brush it off as him being a strange person.
But now, Dang Juhee felt terrifyingly scary.
It's human nature to feel sorry even when an animal is bleeding and collapsing. Not to mention when a person is hurt.
Isn't there a sense of compassion that humans should have, regardless of their status?
Dang Juhee didn't feel any emotion. The way he looked at Kyung-ah was no more or less than a rolling stone.
His way of thinking itself was different. To Dang Juhee, Kyung-ah was not a person.
To him, Kyung-ah, the servants who served him, were merely assets that could be replaced at any time.
What if I hadn't been registered in the direct line? What if I was still working as a Maid?
It could have been me, not Kyung-ah, lying down with my tongue cut off.
I hurriedly covered my mouth.
"Ugh!"
"Are you feeling nauseous? Should I get you some Omae tea? That's why I told you to go back. Martial Artists are all the same. They think they're better when they feel a little better, and then they get sick again. It's annoying for the doctor."
Dang Juhee supported me and grumbled something, but I couldn't hear him properly.
A bodily fluid that I couldn't tell whether it was sweat or tears kept pouring out. At the same time, whitish gastric acid churned inside me and came up into my throat.
It was a huge delusion that I had adapted to this world quite well. I had not adapted to the Martial Arts World or the Tang Clan at all.
I was a person who did not belong to this barbarism.
