Flower Dream Chapter 2

“To me?”

At the unexpected words, Dan Yuha’s brow furrowed. That was only natural, as Hong Haehwa had never once entrusted him with work on the small island or requested anything of him, even after Yuha passed with top honors and became a special-grade perfumer.

Because of that, Dan Yuha made his living by traveling around the five-day markets in nearby villages and, once every half-month, supplying handmade scented candles, ointments, and herbs gathered from the mountain to the medical clinics and apothecaries in the provincial capital.

“Yeah, from what I overheard the servants saying, it seems a distinguished guest is coming from the imperial capital.”

“A guest?”

“Seems like a fairly high-ranking person. Well, the people who visit our small island are obvious enough. Probably some noble lord or a large merchant guild? Seeing how much fuss everyone is making, maybe even royalty?”

Ju Cheongwoo murmured in a voice that carried little interest. As he said, the regular visitors to the small island where the flower people lived were mostly god-men searching for a mate, or merchants looking to purchase the various plants, local goods, rouge and powder, perfumes, scented candles, and other things they produced.

“Anyway, go to the clan leader’s house.”

“Alright… After I change my clothes.”

Dan Yuha answered with a reluctant air, setting down his bag. Knowing Hong Haehwa’s personality, she would surely find fault if he went wearing clothes dirtied from gathering herbs.

“Must you? Your clothes now are fine. If you delay too long, you’ll be given a harsh order.”

“It’ll only take a moment.”

Yuha went into his room and soon came out changed. Adjusting his attire by hand, he moved his steps with a tense face.

“Let’s go.”

The clan leader’s mansion was situated in the very center of the small island, so it was quite a distance from Dan Yuha’s house on the outskirts. The moment he entered the central area with Cheongwoo, eyes immediately converged on him.

“What? What business does that guy have coming all the way here?”

“Tch, what bad luck…”

Everyone who recognized Dan Yuha reacted with hostility. Someone even spat on the ground where Yuha had passed.

“Those people…!”

“Hold back.”

As Ju Cheongwoo, incensed by the villagers’ actions, was about to say something, Dan Yuha grabbed onto his clothes. In times like this, ignoring them was the best course of action. If any commotion broke out for nothing, it would be Yuha who suffered.

“Sheesh, I really don’t know why grown adults act so childishly.”

Knowing that if he stepped in here, his precious friend might end up in a difficult position, Ju Cheongwoo forced down his anger. Irritably sweeping his hair back, he narrowed his eyes and glared behind them.

“It can’t be helped. I’m the child of sinners.”

A bitter smile lingered at the corners of Dan Yuha’s powerlessly upturned lips. It was close to resignation about something that had been repeated for a long time. To that extent, the cold treatment from the villagers was already practically a part of Yuha’s everyday life.

But just because he was used to it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. That was why he rarely entered the central area unless there was a special reason, like a summons from the clan leader. Meeting people only hurt his feelings; no good ever came of it.

“What do you mean, sinners! How much longer are they going to act like this over something that happened nearly twenty years ago?”

Ju Cheongwoo raised his voice as if he truly couldn’t understand. In fact, everyone among the Honghwa clan, adults and children alike, knew about the mistakes Dan Yuha’s parents had committed in the past.

Cheongwoo, too, had heard it so often since childhood that his ears were calloused—about the two’s elopement and the damage the clan suffered as a result. However, he believed it wasn’t right for Yuha, the child, to be ostracized because of his parents’ sins.

“Many people were harmed back then because of my parents…”

“No, even if they committed a wrong, it was your parents who did it, not you. Even His Majesty prohibits the application of guilt-by-association except in cases of treason… Who do they think they are to act that way?”

Ju Cheongwoo grumbled with a face that showed he was getting angrier the more he thought about it. Then he turned his arrows toward Hong Haehwa.

“This is all the clan leader’s fault, I tell you. Honestly, she’s so small-minded. I wonder how much longer she plans to milk this.”

“Watch your mouth, people will hear.”

“Hmph, let them hear if they want!”

Though Yuha cautioned him, Ju Cheongwoo snorted as if he wasn’t the least bit afraid. It was because he knew Hong Haehwa couldn’t treat him recklessly as he was a deep-scented person.

“Everyone really needs to come to their senses. What will the children see and learn?”

Ju Cheongwoo shot a glare at the village children who were whispering while looking at Dan Yuha. Because the clan adults openly persecuted Yuha, their children, influenced by them, naturally shunned and despised him as well.

If they only avoided him and whispered behind his back, that was fortunate; at its worst, they used to follow Dan Yuha around and curse at him, or scribble “child of sinners” on the walls of his house. A few years ago, one child, irritated that Yuha showed no reaction no matter how much he was teased, even threw a rock and injured him.

Since Dan Yuha passed the examination held this year, the open harassment had stopped, but the nasty glares and gossip behind his back remained.

“Pay them no mind. They aren’t people I’ll be seeing forever anyway.”

Yuha walked on, ignoring the gazes that persistently clung to him. He planned to aim for a position as a government perfumer or pharmacist through the higher examination to be held the year after next. If he became affiliated with the palace or a government office, he could receive a title and rise in status.

In other words, if he just passed, he would become a low-ranking official and be set for life. It was a single-generation title recognized only for the individual, so he couldn’t establish a family line, and high-ranking officials or prestigious aristocratic families wouldn’t even regard him as being of the same class, but still, it was lower nobility.

If that happened, neither the clan leader nor the villagers would be able to ignore Dan Yuha any longer. Wasn’t the reason the villagers could no longer lay hands on him as before precisely because he had become a special-grade artisan qualified to hold public office?

Of course, the higher examination was a far more difficult test than the ordinary examination to acquire an artisan’s license, so he couldn’t recklessly guarantee passing.

That was why Dan Yuha had also set up a backup plan in case of an unfavorable outcome. Even if he failed the higher examination, he intended to leave the Honghwa clan’s small island and become independent. If he went to the provincial capital or a regional city and opened a perfumery workshop and herbal medicine shop, he could at least earn a living.

Securing a house and opening a shop in the city would require a lot of money, but it wasn’t impossible. He had been gradually preparing to leave this place ever since before his father passed away.

Above all, outside the small island, Dan Yuha was a fairly well-recognized perfumer. As a talent who had passed with the highest score an examination that only selected thirty people a year, that was only natural.

What he desired most was to freely run his own shop without interference or orders from others, but if that truly didn’t work out, there was also the option of getting a job at a large merchant guild or medical clinic.

Thump, thump.

Arriving in front of the largest mansion on the small island, Dan Yuha and Ju Cheongwoo grasped the door ring and knocked. A moment later, a woman with an elegant appearance appeared.

“Oh my, Yuha!”

“Sister Cheongran.”

Dan Yuha, who had been standing with a tense face, smiled faintly at the person who appeared after opening the door. She was Cheongwoo’s older sister, Ju Cheongran, one of Dan Yuha’s few allies.

“Our Yuha, it’s been a while!”

Ju Cheongran brightened and embraced Dan Yuha. Since the year before last, she had been working as the deputy steward of the clan leader’s mansion.

“Goodness, anyone watching would think Yuha is your real younger brother. Hey, sister, I’m here too, you know?”

“Be quiet, you think you’re the same as Yuha?”

Regardless of whether Ju Cheongwoo felt hurt beside them, Cheongran was busy doting on Yuha, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.

“You came because the clan leader summoned you, right?”

“Yes.”

“Come this way. She’s in her office.”

“Do you happen to know what matter she called me for?”

“Mm, I do know, but… I think I’d get scolded if I said it first. It’s nothing bad for you, so don’t worry.”

Ju Cheongran smiled reassuringly as she guided Dan Yuha to the main building. Arriving in front of the office, she cleared her throat and then announced Yuha’s visit.

“Clan leader, Yuha has arrived.”

“Send him in.”

No sooner had Cheongran finished speaking than a cold voice came from within. Opening the door, she stepped aside and gestured with her eyes for Dan Yuha to enter.

“Greetings, clan leader.”

“Right.”

Hong Haehwa didn’t even glance at Dan Yuha as he greeted her. It was blatant coldness.

“I heard you were looking for me. Have you been well in the meantime?”

“Hoo, we are not on such terms as to exchange pleasantries, so let us get straight to the point.”

Setting down the letter in her hand, Hong Haehwa finally gave Dan Yuha her attention. In her red eyes, like rubies, there was not a single trace of warmth.

“In ten days, His Highness the Third Prince will be visiting our small island. You will attend to him during his stay.”

“…Excuse me?”

At the unexpected order, Dan Yuha’s eyes widened. Attending to royalty was not something just anyone could do. That such an important task would be entrusted to him, of all people—it was the sort of thing that would happen when the sun rose in the west.

Moreover, the identity of the guest made Yuha’s heart race. It couldn’t be helped. The Third Prince of the Empire was his benefactor, the one who had saved Dan Yuha’s life twice in the past.