Wandering Through – Vol. 2 Chapter 51 – Capture, Oblivion

Author: Nikss

The familiar scent of medicinal broth lingered at the tip of her nose.

Yiseo blankly opened her eyes.

As her senses returned, the pain rushed in belatedly. It felt as if she had fallen from a rooftop.

Every joint in her body ached.

The thought of sitting up made her feel as though her body would shatter, so she barely managed to move only her head.

The room was spacious and tidy.

It resembled the guest quarters of a nobleman’s estate.

Yiseo lay on clean bedding, with no one else around.

Outside, it seemed to be daytime, as sunlight streamed into the silent room. The excessive tranquility felt oddly unsettling.

A ghostly man in the mountains was assaulting the last thing Yiseo remembered before losing consciousness…

The image of his crimson eyes flashed in her mind, and her body stiffened rigidly.

Swallowing hard, Yiseo forced her battered body to sit up. She had no idea what had happened.

Where was this place, and why was I here?

“Ugh…”

A sharp pain shot through her ankle, piercing her mind.

Yiseo lifted the blanket and immediately understood why. Whether it was sprained or fractured, a splint had been applied, and bandages were tightly wrapped around it.

When that man had attacked her, she had only noticed her legs going weak—she hadn’t realized the pain would be this severe.

Now, even the slightest movement brought tears to her eyes.

How out of her mind had she been not to feel such agony?

Then again, at that moment, even if she had been stabbed, she wouldn’t have noticed. She had been half-insane, pinned down and ravaged by that monstrous man…

Yiseo recalled the arms that had held her so tightly, as if they would never let her go, even in death.

Could it be that he was the one who brought me here…?

Suddenly, the door swung open.

The face that appeared was so unexpected that Yiseo wondered if she was dreaming.

“…Nanny?”

Nanny Yeongseon stood at the doorway, holding a medicine bowl.

Tears streamed down her wrinkled face. She rushed into the room as if collapsing forward, set the bowl down, and pulled Yiseo into a tight embrace.

“My lady, oh dear, my precious lady…”

Nanny Yeongseon held Yiseo in her arms and cried for a long time.

At first, Yiseo was frozen in surprise, but then she hugged her back. She gently patted Nanny Yeongseon’s back and murmured,

“Why are you crying, Nanny? Don’t cry…”

It felt strangely heartwarming to have someone cry for her.

Sniffling, Nanny Yeongseon finally let go of Yiseo and wiped her tear-streaked face.

Seeing her nanny’s familiar face after so long, Yiseo smiled without realizing it. That smile nearly made Nanny Yeongseon burst into tears again, but she managed to hold them back.

Yiseo held Nanny Yeongseon’s wrinkled hand and asked,

“Where is this, Nanny?”

“The guest quarters of Scholar Park’s residence in Gaeseong.”

“…Huh?”

Was all of this a dream?

Why had I suddenly arrived in Gaeseong? Who was Scholar Park? And why was Nanny Yeongseon here in the guest quarters of Scholar Park’s residence in Gaeseong?

None of this made any sense.

She had fainted in the mountains, and now suddenly… what was all this?

“May I come in?”

A young woman’s voice came from the door Nanny Yeongseon had left wide open.

Nanny Yeongseon stood up first and bowed her head.

“Madam, our young lady needs to take her medicine first.”

“Then I’ll come back later.”

“No, no, it’s fine. Come in.”

At Yiseo’s words, the hesitant face that stepped inside looked familiar. It was Huishan. Which meant she was now Leegwang’s new wife.

Yiseo glanced sideways at Nanny Yeongseon. The nanny’s eyes weren’t sharp as she watched Huishan walk gracefully over and sit down. If anything, she looked respectful.

“Ah, I was the one who brought her here. I thought you might want to see her.”

At Huishan’s words, Yiseo froze, realizing it was her who had brought her here.

Why? She couldn’t understand the reason.

Studying Huishan’s slightly nervous face, Yiseo then turned to Nanny Yeongseon and said,

“Nanny, I have something to ask the Madam. Could you give us a moment alone?”

Surprisingly, Nanny Yeongseon easily got up from her seat, as if she believed Huishan would not harm Yiseo.

Yiseo wondered how she had managed to persuade the nanny.

“I’ll be right outside. Call me when you’re done talking.”

As Yiseo watched Nanny Yeongseon’s retreating back with curiosity, the door soon closed, leaving only the two of them in the room. The sudden silence was unbearably awkward.

Unsure of what to say first, Yiseo hesitated before finally speaking up.

“Was it the Madam who brought me here?”

Instead of answering, the woman who had been staring intently at Yiseo responded with something entirely different.

“There’s no need to address me so formally. Just call me by my name.”

Her tone suggested she would only answer Yiseo’s question if addressed informally. Feeling awkward, Yiseo parted her lips slightly.

“Hui—”

But before Yiseo could finish, the woman added, “Ah, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Eunbi of the Park family. This house belongs to a distant relative of mine.”

“…”

“You can call me Eunbi.”

This woman was not Huishan.

Yiseo felt the same way she had when looking at Suyeong—a mix of familiarity and strangeness. Someone she knew, yet also someone she didn’t.

Now, Yiseo calmly accepted the contradiction.

“Understood. Eunbi.”

Eunbi’s tense expression softened slightly.

With a faint smile, she continued, “It was indeed I who brought you from the mountains to this place. I had servants carry you here in a palanquin. The scholar traveling with you mentioned he was heading to Gaeseong, so I arranged for you to come here.”

At the mention of Suyeong, Yiseo’s expression darkened slightly. The last time she had seen him, he had collapsed in the room.

Noticing Yiseo’s change in demeanor, Eunbi added,

“That scholar had some bruises, but he wasn’t seriously hurt. Don’t worry. The physician examined him and said he’ll be fine.”

So now, this woman named Eunbi had called a physician to treat Yiseo and Suyeong and even brought Gaeseong along.

On top of that, worried that Yiseo might want to see her, she even brought Nanny Yeongseon.

It was impossible to tell what she was hoping to gain by doing all this.

And if she had brought Yiseo back from that mountain, then surely…

“I wasn’t… alone in the mountains…”

“Ah, if you mean the Grand Prince, Lady Gwak, the Court Lady took him back. I didn’t see them leave since we exited the mountain first, but since he was unconscious, she must have carried him back herself.”

Eunbi’s tone was icy cold. Anyone listening could tell how much she disliked Leegwang.

Yiseo cautiously asked, “How did Court Lady Gwak end up in that mountain?”

“Do you really think the Grand Prince would go on an excursion without a single attendant?”

Though ‘Grand Prince’ was a stretch—more like a madman—but was he really in that state even with people following him?

“Of course, the moment anyone looked away, he’d bolt off on his own, leaving those trailing behind in quite a struggle.”

“Did you come with the Grand Prince?”

“No. I just followed from behind.”

Something didn’t sound right. Yiseo doubted her ears and stared at Eunbi.

But Eunbi proudly added, “Thanks to his high fever, he wasn’t in his right mind, so he didn’t even notice being followed. That’s how I was lucky enough to rescue you, madam.”

“…What?”

“As soon as I heard from the Minister, I brought your nanny and followed.”

“…Why go that far?”

She genuinely couldn’t understand. But Eunbi, in turn, countered,

“Is there any reason not to? The Minister told me you would make us forget our past lives. Since I’d be in your debt, I thought I should repay it in advance.”

“Ah. So that’s why.”

Yiseo finally understood Eunbi’s actions. Truthfully, it was Leegwang—obsessed with his past life—who was strange.

Most people, like the Minister or Eunbi, would rather forget.

As Yiseo nodded in understanding, Eunbi corrected her thoughts.

“Even if that weren’t the case, I would have done the same. To save Madam.”

Eunbi’s gaze momentarily blurred, as if lost in the past, before sharpening again as she stared at Yiseo.

“I’m not Huishan. I’m not trying to evade responsibility—if I were truly Huishan, her memories wouldn’t be a punishment to me.”

Eunbi was right.

“Because I’m Park Eunbi, not Han Huishan, her memories are my retribution… So I can’t apologize for what Huishan did, nor can I beg for forgiveness.”

“…”

“But I can still help you. Because I’m a better person than Huishan.”

Eunbi smiled bitterly. Then, lowering her eyes, she murmured as if talking to herself.

“I don’t know how to explain it. Whether I want to prove I’m better than Huishan or insist I’m completely different from her…”

Raising her head, Eunbi met Yiseo’s gaze.

“He abandoned Huishan, and Huishan killed His lover. One thing is certain—in the past, we were a cursed bond, but…”

“…”

“Now, we’re not.”

Sometimes, a cursed bond could become a connection, and a connection could turn into a cursed bond.

Nothing was eternal.

Not in the cycle of reincarnation.

Looking at Eunbi’s relieved expression, Yiseo suddenly felt emptiness.