Ch#10
“S-spare my life! This lowly one was short-sighted and failed to grasp the Young Master’s deep intentions!”
Naturally, I couldn’t die like this.
Prostrated flat on the floor, I immediately began to beg Jeok I-geon.
“When did I ever say I would kill you?”
Jeok I-geon scoffed, as if amused by my absurdity.
“I’ve noticed this since this afternoon, but you seem excessively afraid of me. Has a rumor spread in the meantime that I devour maids?”
“N-no, of course not! Ever since I became a maid in the castle, my ears have grown weary from hearing of the Second Young Master’s noble character.”
“Is that so?”
“This lowly one deserves death for daring to disturb the peace of mind of such a noble person, but please grant me a chance to explain.”
Stealing a glance upward, I saw Jeok I-geon had turned completely to face me.
The slight smirk on his lips suggested he found this situation quite entertaining.
Bastard.
My blood is running cold, and he’s smiling?
I was utterly dumbfounded, but showing even a hint of it would mean saying a permanent farewell to this world.
Taking a deep breath, I tried my best to explain calmly.
“Originally, rice balls are merely food that servants eat quickly to stave off hunger. Naturally, they do not suit a noble person like the Young Master. They are made hastily by mixing leftover rice and side dishes, so how could I dare present such a thing to you?”
“Cheon Gang seemed to find them quite delicious, though.”
“If you are curious about the taste, although it is unbecoming of the Young Master’s status, shall I serve some with your dinner? I will prepare them using entirely fresh ingredients, not leftover rice and sides.”
“Very well. Do so.”
Seeing Jeok I-geon turn away as if he had been waiting for those exact words, I finally realized.
This was the answer he wanted from me.
He frightened me just to hear this.
If he wanted rice balls, he could have just ordered me to bring some. Why threaten a person’s life over it?
It was a good thing I knew Jeok I-geon was a madman. If I hadn’t, I would have been dazed and ended up dead.
From ice water to hand-cut noodles, and now rice balls.
Did I spoil him?
The original novel never mentioned him having a gluttonous streak.
“This servant will excuse herself now so that you may dine immediately after your bath.”
I didn’t want to spend another second with Jeok I-geon. As soon as his permission was granted, I quickly backed out and escaped the bathhouse.
“Phew!”
There was no strength in my legs.
Perhaps because the tension had drained away, I couldn’t even walk a few steps before collapsing right onto the floor.
I really almost died this time.
If I hadn’t begged for my life, I would probably be a cold corpse lying on the freezing floor right now.
That slurred way of speaking he had right before committing an act.
He pretended otherwise, but if I hadn’t caught on, there would have been only one end.
“Sniff, Grandmother…”
The joy of survival was brief.
I desperately missed Madam Sin-geum, who would be busy rolling noodles at the shop.
Grandmother wouldn’t know.
How many times I crossed the threshold of death today.
Once I escape the Demonic Cult and Jeok I-geon invades the Murim in the future, I will tell her my heroic tales.
I will definitely tell her how terrifyingly I endured these two months.
I’ll boast that I saved her life too.
Steel-plating my resolve, which I could share with no one, I picked myself up.
There was no time to delay. If I wanted to add rice balls to his dinner, I had to hurry.
Jamigwan is going to be turned upside down again.
“What? You want me to make rice balls for the Second Young Master? Me?”
As expected, So-ok was on the verge of fainting.
Even though she could make rice balls with her eyes closed, she was trembling and in a state of near panic.
Still, with my prompting, the rice balls were somehow completed, and I safely served Jeok I-geon his dinner.
Remembering the hand-cut noodles from lunch, making extra rice balls proved to be the right decision.
Jeok I-geon didn’t even look at the formal side dishes and just kept stuffing rice balls into his mouth.
I wish those were stones.
If they were, he would have broken three or four teeth, right?
Just imagining it made me feel quite satisfied.
But it would be a disaster if that actually happened.
Because I have to survive.
It was frustrating and miserable, but serving him well was my only way to live.
“Whew, is only the late-night snack left now?”
Returning after delivering the dinner table to Jamigwan, a long sigh escaped my lips.
Today has been so long. It’s only the first day, and I’m already this exhausted…
I didn’t even want to imagine how the remaining days would go.
I wish they would at least be like today.
Because then, I think I could manage to hold on somehow.
“Seol-ha!”
It was when I was lost in ridiculous thoughts, my mind and body weakened by extreme stress.
Someone was waiting for me in front of the main gate of Geonyeonggak.
“Senior Ga-ye?”
She was a third-year senior whom I only knew by name, not very close.
“What brings you here, Senior?”
When I asked in wonder, she approached with a smile and suddenly linked her arm with mine.
“What do you mean ‘what brings me’? I came to congratulate you.”
“Congratulate me?”
“It’s your first day as the Second Young Master’s personal maid. We usually celebrate among ourselves on days like this. Let’s go quickly.”
“…Uh, I shouldn’t leave my post…”
Although there was nothing immediate to do, I was in a position where I had to be on standby for Jeok I-geon’s call.
All the other maids had finished their work and left, so there was no one in Geonyeonggak who could replace me.
“It’s time for the Second Young Master to read, so it’s fine. Would we take you without knowing that?”
Reassuring me as I hesitated, Senior Ga-ye pulled me toward the wall.
Her grip was surprisingly strong, and in my hesitation, I ended up following her.
“Are you finally here?”
They said it was a congratulatory party, so why were we heading to such a secluded place?
My doubt didn’t last long.
At the edge of the wall, a woman who had been crouching by a tree trunk chewing on something stood up swaggeringly as soon as she saw me.
Behind her, a familiar face caught my eye.
“Didn’t I say I’d see you later?”
The one waving her hand and greeting me as if she were glad to see me was Senior Do-ae.
Her parting words earlier had been ominous, and it seemed she had been plotting this.
“How dare you lay a hand on my younger sister?”
Younger sister?
As I tilted my head and looked back and forth between them, Senior Do-ae raised her chin triumphantly.
I had heard that sisters sometimes got jobs as maids together, and it seemed they were one of those cases.
Was it because I knew now?
Their spiteful and nasty looks were identical.
“Is this bitch’s ears clogged? A senior high as the heavens is asking, and you keep your mouth shut?”
“Ji-ae, Seol-ha is scared. Don’t push her too hard.”
Senior Ga-ye, who had brought me here, had already joined their side.
I hadn’t done anything wrong to her particularly, but her gaze toward me was filled with substantial hostility.
“Seol-ha, you seem to think you can act up just because you have a pretty face, but do you think the Second Young Master will look at you any differently because of that?”
Ah, so that was it?
It was embarrassing that I had briefly wondered if I had unintentionally upset her.
Senior Ga-ye, just like the other maids, simply didn’t like the fact that I had become Jeok I-geon’s personal maid.
“And there is a strict hierarchy and rules among us maids. Even if you’ve become a personal maid, how could you hit a senior?”
“She was the one who attacked first.”
It was even three against one. I was acting in self-defense.
Isn’t it more pathetic to run to your sister after getting hit a few times?
“Oh, she’s finally opening her mouth.”
Senior Do-ae’s older sister spat on the ground in front of me. When I frowned, a slap suddenly flew toward my face.
I couldn’t just take a slap when I saw it coming, so I quickly took a step back.
“You’re dodging this?”
As her hand hit empty air, her expression instantly crumpled.
“I was going to end this with just a slap, but I can’t. You’re going to get beaten by me today!”
Once again, her hand swung toward me.
But this time, too, I easily escaped her grasp.
Uh?
However, I was honestly a bit taken aback by her next step.
Because the movement of her following me was somehow different.
It wasn’t simply a matter of closing the distance.
She was subtly obstructing my steps, driving me in a certain direction like a rabbit hunt.
It’s a footwork technique!
Unlike her younger sister, the older sister had clearly trained in martial arts.
No wonder she had the confidence to drag me here.
But what to do?
I’m not one to take this meekly.
Although I hadn’t learned grand martial arts like the protagonists of other martial arts novels, I was skilled enough to easily defeat a mere maid.
Our Madam Sin-geum didn’t raise me poorly!
