Ch#14
“Anyway, now that I’ve seen you looking so healthy, Seol-ha, this granny of yours had better get going. I can’t keep holding up a busy girl like you.”
“Yeah, I have gotten busier since becoming his personal maid. But I can still talk for a bit longer, Grandmother.”
It had only been a few days since I became Jeok I-geon’s personal maid, but to me, it felt like more than a month had passed.
So, meeting my grandmother in such a state, how could I not react this way?
For the first time in a while, I buried my face in her chest, acting like a spoiled child.
“It feels so good to smell my grandmother’s scent! I feel like all my worries are just melting away.”
“Is there something else going on, aside from that wretched scoundrel?”
“Huh? No… it’s not a big deal, but…”
“What is it? Spill it to your granny.”
As expected, Madam Sin-geum was incredibly sharp.
The moment I denied it, her eyes narrowed instantly, functioning like a human lie detector.
Yesterday, the Heavenly Demon came to find me and asked me something strange.
Today, he even gave me a hairpin.
I don’t know why his eyes looked so full of pity when he looked at me.
So it’s been weighing on my mind.
I didn’t want to lie to my grandmother, but I couldn’t exactly tell her the truth about my encounter with the Heavenly Demon.
I didn’t want to cause any more worry for her, especially since she had already rushed over here in a panic.
“It’s just that, working as the Second Young Master’s personal maid, I end up meeting other high-ranking people. Maybe it’s because I get so tense every time, but I feel much more tired than usual.”
“It’s only because you’re not used to it yet. That’ll get better with time.”
“I hope so too, hehe.”
“So, who did you meet? It’s not the Cult Leader, is it?”
“…Of course not! Gosh, to see the Cult Leader, I’d have to go near Macheonjeon (The Heavenly Demon Pavilion), but a maid like me can’t even set foot there, Grandmother!”
“Right?”
“Yeah, but I did see someone pretty high up. The Pavilion Master of the Ghost Soul Pavilion!”
“…Who?”
“It’s called the Ghost Soul Pavilion, the place in charge of the Demonic Cult’s intelligence, and he’s the boss there. He looked just like a scholar. He seemed super smart.”
Although he died early in the novel, there were occasional additional descriptions of Gong Paecheon later on.
The numerous plans Jeok I-geon executed to conquer the Murim were, in fact, things Gong Paecheon had prepared for the Heavenly Demon of that generation.
The plans must have been incredibly flawless for him to use them exactly as they were, even after killing the man with his own hands.
I didn’t know much about Gong Paecheon, but I think I had always considered him quite a pitiful character.
“Grandmother, why did you suddenly go quiet? Are you worried about me?”
“…I worry about my beautiful granddaughter every single day. But seeing you like this puts my mind at ease. Your granny really must go now. You should head back inside!”
“You’re going straight home, right, Grandmother?”
“Of course. I have to hurry and open the shop for the evening rush.”
“Alright, Grandmother. Thank you so much for coming today. I feel so much better because of you!”
“If anything else happens, you make sure to tell your granny. Got it? This granny will tear them all to pieces!”
“Yes! There’s really no one like our Madam Sin-geum!”
I hugged my grandmother tightly.
Perhaps because we were meeting somewhere other than home, she felt exceptionally precious to me.
“Grandmother, I’ll head back first then. Bye!”
I waved as I walked backward, reluctant to part.
“You’re going to trip doing that! Turn around and walk properly!”
She always talked so tough, but she was a total softie for her granddaughter.
I chuckled, spun around, and began to walk forward.
“Hehe, I feel great.”
My steps, now infused with my grandmother’s warmth, were undeniably lighter than before.
“Oh, right! The noodle shop!”
I suddenly came to a screeching halt as a memory flashed through my mind.
Gong Paecheon, the Pavilion Master of the Ghost Soul Pavilion.
When first saw him a few days ago, I thought he looked strangely familiar.
I felt like I had seen him somewhere before, but since I couldn’t recall where, I had just let it go.
But now, it finally clicked.
Absurdly enough, the first place I had ever seen him was at my own home.
Or more precisely, at my grandmother’s noodle shop.
It was a day off for me, so I was helping out at her shop.
I remembered serving noodles to a customer who looked entirely out of place in that worn-down shop, and I couldn’t help but steal glances at him.
I had been quite shocked when he recognized my grandmother and even struck up a conversation with her.
Why did Gong Paecheon pretend not to know me?
Was it because so much time had passed that he simply didn’t remember my face?
What exactly was his relationship with my grandmother?
To call him a mere customer, the atmosphere between them had felt far too familiar.
Yet, judging by my grandmother’s reaction just now, she didn’t seem to have any idea what the Pavilion Master of the Ghost Soul Pavilion even was.
“Ugh, this Gong Paecheon guy is incredibly suspicious.”
My heart, which had just grown lighter, became tangled and complicated once more because of him.
I would have to ask my grandmother directly during my next break; otherwise, this lingering unease would drive me crazy.
“Are you just returning now?”
I was counting down the days left until my next break on my fingers when I stepped through the main gate.
As if he had been waiting for me, Cheon Gang approached and spoke.
“I was on my way back from Jamigwan.”
I bowed politely and explained where I had been.
“Did something bad happen?”
“…Pardon?”
“You look pale.”
“Ah, I’m just a bit tired…”
“It does seem like you’ve been overworking yourself these past few days. You went through such an ordeal and haven’t even been able to rest properly, tsk tsk.”
“No, not at all. It’s only my duty. Thanks to the ointment you gave me, Cheon Gang-nim, my wounds are almost completely healed. Thank you once again.”
The morning after the incident, Cheon Gang had suddenly handed me some ointment, having heard from somewhere that I was injured.
It wasn’t a major injury, so even I, the victim, hadn’t thought to apply any medicine, yet he had gone out of his way to worry about a scar forming on my neck.
His thoughtfulness made my heart swell with pride for my favorite character.
I must have screamed internally at least a hundred times that Cheon Gang, not Jeok I-geon, should have been the main character of the novel.
“As much as I’d like to tell you to rest now, the Young Master is looking for you.”
“…Me?”
“Yes. He is waiting for you inside.”
“Has he already finished his afternoon training?”
At this hour, Jeok I-geon should have been at the training grounds.
I thought I wouldn’t have to face him until dinner, so what on earth was this sudden bolt from the blue?
“Even the Young Master needs to rest occasionally. Go on in quickly.”
At Cheon Gang’s urging, I headed toward the inner chambers, my nerves wound tight.
Jeok I-geon had always moved in a predictable pattern.
This sudden summons today was a major variable for me.
Did I make some kind of mistake?
No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of anything he could find fault with.
I had served him different kinds of noodles at every meal, and for late-night snacks, I mostly brought him dumplings.
He ate those freshly steamed dumplings so heartily that my own mouth would water just watching him.
Aside from accidentally getting caught up in that incident on the first day, I was confident that I was performing my duties as his personal maid flawlessly.
So don’t chicken out, Shin Seol-ha.
“Young Master, you wished to see me?”
Jeok I-geon was sitting with his legs crossed, reading a book.
He looked like he belonged in a pictorial.
The fact that I admired him every single day despite seeing him daily only proved that I was a hopeless sucker for a handsome face.
I had officially admitted to myself that I was a sucker for good looks on my third day as Jeok I-geon’s personal maid—which was, in fact, yesterday.
While it remained an undeniable fact that he was terrifying and dangerous, it was equally true that he was a feast for the eyes.
Snap!
Jeok I-geon closed the book he was reading and set it down beside him.
Now he’s going to look at me.
As I steeled myself and waited, Jeok I-geon’s gaze fell upon me. It was his signature terrifying stare, making it utterly impossible to gauge what he was thinking. Still, since this was my fourth day on the job, I wasn’t quite as frightened as before.
“I summoned you because I have a question. From whom did you learn martial arts?”
“…I beg your pardon? What do you mean by that all of a sudden…?”
I was terrified by the unexpected question, but for now, I played dumb.
“This servant has never learned martial arts. How could a lowly maid like myself ever learn such things? You saw it yourself that day, Young Master. I was held hostage by a spy from the Murim Alliance and couldn’t do a single thing.”
“Is that so? You truly know absolutely nothing of martial arts?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Then how do you explain this?”
Huh? Explain what?
In truth, I didn’t even have time to ask. In the blink of an eye, Jeok I-geon closed the distance and snatched my wrist.
What… what? Why is he grabbing my wrist?
I gasped at this first physical contact with Jeok I-geon, screaming internally.
A wave of terror washed over me, making me wonder if he was about to strike me.
“You claim to know no martial arts, yet what is this immense energy inside you?”
“…Energy?”
What energy in me?
“Do you truly not know the state of your own body?”
Perhaps reading the sincerity in my eyes, Jeok I-geon’s tone softened slightly.
“This servant truly has no idea what you are talking about, Young Master.”
“Then I have no choice. Starting tomorrow, you will train for four hours every day.”
“Tr-Training?”
“I will have you undergo training to completely master the energy you possess.”
Wh-Who?
Surely not you, Jeok I-geon?
As I stood there dumbfounded, my mouth hanging open in sheer disbelief, Jeok I-geon added:
“What will you do if a similar incident occurs again? There is no guarantee I will be there to save you every time. You must at least know how to defend yourself.”
This is crazy.
What did I just hear?
Jeok I-geon… is worried about me?
