Wandering Through – Vol. 1 Chapter 10 – Simple, First Night

Author: Nikss

“My daughter was given in marriage to a great prince and died there.”

These words were spoken after Yiseo had been kneeling in the courtyard of the family home for a long time.

Yiseo finally pulled away from her kneeling position as her Nanny shook her.

“My Lady.”

Youngsun, who had rushed to her side in tears, pushed past her mother and picked her up instead.

Yiseo smiled faintly at the face she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Youngsun.”

“Don’t laugh, my lady.”

Youngsun muttered, looking like she was about to cry.

It was strange to hear her call me ‘lady’ as if I had returned to my childhood.

Of course, there was no other word to call her, since she was no longer Madam.

“I heard you had a fever. Why don’t you rest? You seem to be doing well.”

“This is ridiculous, really. This is ridiculous…!”

Pushing back from Youngsun, whose stern demeanor had been so fierce, Nanny Yeongseon tugged at her arm with a grim look.

The whispers and stares of the surrounding servants were not pleasant.

“There’s a room in the back that the Madame wants to give you.”

From the sound of it, I thought they were going to kick her out, but they didn’t.

Yiseo walked with her nanny and Youngsun to the backyard.

It was in the very back of the house, attached to the outer door. It was just one room, with a storage room attached to the side.

Youngsun smiled enviously and opened the door.

“I cleaned it up this morning, so if you want to lay down the sheets and futon here…”

“…Since the morning? How do you know?”

“…”

When Youngsun remained silent, as if she had made a mistake, her mother finally let her go.

After sending her away to get some food, she took Yiseo into the room and led her inside.

The room where the servants slept was not much to begin with.

The room was empty, making it look spacious. After sitting Yiseo down, she opened her arms and hugged her.

Just like when she was a child.

“It’s not your fault, my lady.”

“…”

“The old master was dismissed from his post and sent into exile on an island, so the palace said they would send you back to your family.”

Yiseo buried her face in her nanny’s arms and nodded slightly.

The face of her father, whom she had only seen a few times, flashed into her mind and then disappeared.

“Is Father okay?”

“Yes, he’ll be fine, and from what the Madam says, it looks like he’ll be able to return home after a few years of hard labor.”

Nanny Yeongseon whispered the rumors she had picked up along the way into Yiseo’s ear, assuring her that it was no big deal, that everything would be okay.

Yiseo just nodded slowly.

“So it’s not your fault, then.”

“…Yeah.”

“Don’t think about it badly.”

“Yes.”

“Youngsun, and I are going to stay together. We’re in the same house now. Just think about that.”

“Yes.”

The reality of what had seemed like a stranger’s story suddenly became real.

And then the tears came.

Yiseo buried her face in Nanny Yeongseon’s arms and cried silently for a long time.

With her lips pressed tightly together, her tears soaked the collar of her dress. She never made a sound, even when Mother Rongsun stroked her back.

From a young age, Yiseo was supposed to be a handful.

Being born with half a body was already annoying enough. She wasn’t supposed to cry out, or fuss, or do anything else.

I didn’t want anything, I just did what I was told. I was quiet and did what others told me to do.

When I was told to marry, I did; when I was told to leave, I left.

— “My Lord. Do you hate me so much? What sin have I committed? Our marriage was not of my choosing.”

That was what the spirit that stole the body of her daughter said.

I wonder if I would have said those words to the man I had never called my husband, except for that first night ten years ago.

Would he have laughed at her, ignored her, or said something?

‘I will never know.’

After all, even though I had been his wife for the past ten years, I’d seen him more often in these few days than in all those years.

But instead of going mad with resentment at her husband for abandoning her like a ghost, Yiseo just went along with it. If she was to blame, she should blame her own frail body.

And yet…

‘You were cruel to me.’

Not that I blame him, but still…

Yiseo muttered to herself.

‘Yes, you were hard on me…’

💫

A chest, a futon, and a writing table, and the small room in the outer courtyard was filled to capacity.

Youngsun winced at the redness of Yiseo’s eyes as she sat in the small room. The redness stood out against her otherwise white face.

At the sight of her sobbing face, Yiseo hurriedly straightened the futon and laughed.

“Your arm must be sore. Young Sun, put the baby down.”

No master would give a servant’s child a place to lie down. Youngsun thought as she put the baby down like she couldn’t win.

My sweet lady. Poor lady at the same time.

“Healthy and beautiful. How cheerful he is on this cold day.”

“It’s early spring and the ground is cold.”

“He’s healthy, that’s why you can say that.”

Yiseo’s praise for her son was sincere. Youngsun stole a glance at Yiseo’s face as she smiled at the baby.

She was indeed a beautiful child. Her skin was whiter than freshly cooked rice, and his eyes, nose, and mouth looked perfectly aligned.

In Youngsun’s eyes, Yiseo was truly beautiful.

It wasn’t just her eyes, though, because when servants gathered to talk among themselves, they said that no matter how weak they were, if they were that beautiful, they deserved to be blinded once in a while.

The other man said that the Great Prince was probably blind as well.

A beautiful woman has a fierce heart, perhaps that’s why. I thought there was no way the fearsome Lord would let his wife leave.

“Youngsun, let’s sleep together tonight. We used to do that a lot when we were kids. If the child cries, I’ll soothe him, okay? I’ll call the nanny, and we’ll sleep together, the four of us.”

A small, white hand grabbed Young-sun’s sleeve and shook it.

The touch made clear that she didn’t want to be alone, but Youngsun could only shake her head.

“He’s still young…”

As she stammered out her excuse, Yiseo held out her hand apologetically.

The redness of Yiseo’s eyes continued to bother Youngsun until she walked out of the room with her child in her arms.

But as they slept together like children, as Yiseo had said they would, she was haunted by what had happened five years ago.

The way the frightening Great Prince glared at her.

Youngsun struggled to shake the ghostly eyes of the Great Prince out of her head, which still haunted her dreams.

Even though it was five years ago, it still lingered in the back of her mind.

It might not seem like a big deal if it wasn’t.

Five years ago, Yiseo was gravely ill, to the point where it wouldn’t have been strange if she had died immediately.

There was no sign of her husband, except for a few servants wandering about.

Youngsun stayed with Yiseo’s side day and night, tending to her with her mother. Her feverish body was so severe that it was almost impossible for her to live.

Fearing that she would pass away in her sleep, the mother, and daughter took turns holding her every night.

That night, it was Youngsun’s turn.

After dozing off briefly with Yiseo’s skinny little body in her arms, she woke up to find that she was no longer warm in her arms.

Youngsun was met with glistening blue eyes that stared back at her.

The boy carrying her was the same boy she’d seen a few times in the past, with the same face as the Great Prince, but with a completely different expression.

His face was eerie, like a grim reaper.

Goosebumps rose on her skin as she stared at him, as if he saw her not as a human being, but as an animal to be slaughtered.

Feverish and delirious, Yiseo could barely keep her eyes open as she fell into the boy’s arms and mumbled, “Young-sun, please, help me. It hurts. Youngsun, it’s hot. Youngsun…”

The boy drank water from the bowl and pressed his lips to Yiseo’s parched lips.

Again and again, until the bowl was empty, the boy’s lips met Yiseo’s, and finally his eyes met Youngsun’s, who was frozen in place.

— “My, my lord.”

The hand that patted Yiseo’s back was large for a boy who hadn’t yet grown up.

The young boy once said to Youngsun.

— “You will be childless for the rest of your life. I’ll make you a deal.”

So she made a deal with the boy.

The boy allowed her to marry the man of her dreams. He gave her the son she hadn’t had for three years.

In return, she would leave Yiseo. As the boy wishes.

— “Why, why do you do this?”

— “I didn’t want to see my wife calling another’s name in my arms.”

Then, when sick, when asleep, when awake and healthy, he could see her face and hold her hand in affection.