Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel – Chapter 124

Author: Cireng

Chapter 124

‘Ah, damn, it’s starting again.’

I frowned with my eyes closed.

The familiar headache had come back… A hangover.

‘I drank that much yesterday, after all… What happened yesterday?’

I had definitely been drinking with the members of the Inspection Team. We sang songs and played drinking games, laughing and making a drunken fool of myself.

And then the pain came.

I barely endured it until the drinking session was over, before hurriedly leaving. Then, deep in a forest without even knowing where I was, I took some medicine, drank again…

‘That’s right. I got to see my lady again after so long.’

It had been like a dream… And it actually was a dream.

The young lady I saw after so long was wearing a pink outfit dyed with flower colors, and she was smiling gently with a face even more flower-like than her clothes. And whenever I rambled on, she would nod her head.

I think I got even more excited and talked even more because I liked seeing her like that.

Then I sensed someone’s presence nearby. Given the presence I could feel at that moment, it must have been one of the people from the Xiao family.

I happily turned my head, only to blink in confusion.

‘Young Master Lee?’

It was Yeon. I was confused again.

Why was Yeon here?

Even I didn’t know where this place was. How had he found his way here…?

‘Wait, there’s no way Young Master Lee could be here, right?’

That thought suddenly occurred to me.

Young Master Lee, who wasn’t interested in anyone, wouldn’t go out of his way to come looking for me.

Wouldn’t he be the kind of person who would just leave without waiting even if I didn’t return for a long time?

If so, then this was…

‘An illusion!’

I think that’s what I concluded.

That silent man standing there was an illusion too. Because he was far too quiet to be real.

So I think I ended up saying all sorts of things.

Without even realizing that the scenery of the Xiao family estate or the young lady had disappeared.

I laughed by myself, acted spoiled, lamented my situation… and sometimes even let bits and pieces of the feelings I’d kept hidden slip out.

Yeon listened to all of my drunken ramblings without saying a word… Just like the young lady used to.

He didn’t give much of a response, but his attention remained focused on me, and every now and then he reacted to what I said and listened.

I think I really liked that.

That time felt particularly comfortable…

‘I’m sleepy.’

And then… I fell asleep.

Honestly, it was extremely alarming.

I wasn’t supposed to fall asleep there. Even if the pain had subsided, it would only be temporary, and normally the pain would come back several more times.

Falling asleep while enduring the pain could only mean one thing.

Death.

‘Did I die?’

But apparently not. I had definitely felt the familiar hangover when I woke up.

There was no way a dead person could have a hangover.

I felt somewhat relieved and finally opened my eyes.

“Ugh…”

A familiar sight came into view.

The forest.

‘Right.’

Of course it was the forest. I’d come this far yesterday, lost consciousness, and fallen asleep. I must have been sleeping on the ground or a rock…

‘…’

‘…Wait, I don’t think so?’

‘W-What is this sensation?’

The feeling of whatever I was resting my head on was strangely peculiar.

What was this?

A rock?

But it wasn’t that hard for a rock.

No, it wasn’t exactly soft either.

The sensation against my cheek was strangely soft yet warm, almost like a person’s body.

‘A body?’

“Gasp.”

Only then did I hurriedly look down at what I had been resting my head on.

I saw white fabric.

‘Th-This is a leg.’

More precisely, a person’s thigh…

“If you’re awake, move.”

“Gasp…!”

Startled, I hurriedly looked up… And there was a familiar face.

A man with his eyes covered by a white cloth and a face as cold as ice.

Yeon.

“Y-Young Master Lee?!”

It was Yeon!

No, why was Yeon here?

I practically rolled away from him.

Regardless, once I moved aside, Yeon casually brushed off his thigh with a ‘pat’, as though it were nothing important.

Watching him do that, my mouth gradually fell open.

Without realizing it, my face turned bright red.

I mean, I…

Surely I…

‘Did I sleep with my head on Young Master Lee’s thigh?! What the hell!’

I think I even drooled while sleeping…

Unable to bear looking at the round mark left on his thigh, I desperately turned my head away.

Then, thinking I had to say something, I babbled out excuses.

“I, uh, I didn’t mean to do that. Why was I lying there? D-Did I force my way there? I don’t usually have such bad sleeping habits…”

“…….”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Haha, s-sorry. It must have been really uncomfortable, right? But thanks to you, I slept really well… Was that something I shouldn’t say right now? But why is Young Master Lee here…”

I rambled on with whatever words came to mind, then suddenly realized something and froze.

Wait.

This wasn’t the time to be saying things like that.

O-Of course, I should apologize for borrowing someone else’s thigh, but wasn’t there something more important?

And that was…

“…Why is Young Master Lee here?”

Why had he appeared here?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand.

I had been absolutely convinced yesterday that he was an illusion. Because there was no way he would come all the way here looking for me.

That’s why I’d said all sorts of things. Because there was absolutely no way he could be real.

…

‘But he’s actually here?’

Yeon suddenly froze.

I froze too.

For a while, neither of us said anything.

I waited anxiously for his answer.

He also remained still for quite some time, seemingly lost in thought.

The first to move was Yeon.

He calmly stood up. At the same time, he abruptly turned around and said one thing.

“…Because you didn’t come back.”

“Huh?”

And just like that, he walked away ahead of me.

I stood there dumbfounded, my mouth hanging open.

“Huh…?”

Slowly, the reality of it began to sink in.

‘R-Right.’

I see.

So… He came looking for me.

Personally.

Because I hadn’t come back.

Then did everything that happened yesterday really happen?

Him sitting beside me?

Me grabbing him and babbling all sorts of bizarre things?

Me leaning against his shoulder and asking him to bury me?

All of it…

All of it was real…?

“AAAAAGH!”

‘I just want to die!’

***

…I wanted to bury my face in the ground and die right there, but I endured it.

Because for now, we had to return.

We went back to where the rest of the group was. The entire Inspection Team was already awake. Even though I had slept and woken up, it was still early.

Dawn had only just broken. Yet they had already gotten up, cleaned up the area, and were waiting for us.

In fact, as soon as Yeon and I approached, they even ran over as though they had been worried.

“Brother Dan!”

“Master Dan, Squad Leader!”

I hurriedly began explaining the situation on Yeon’s behalf, since he merely nodded without saying anything.

“Sorry. I’m sorry, Daoist. I said I’d sober up and come right back, but I didn’t realize I’d gone so far. I got lost wandering around, but Young Master Lee came and found me.”

“So the two of you were together the whole time?”

“Yes, well. It was an awkward time to return, so we just rested our eyes there for a little while. Were you very worried?”

“Of course…”

Master Woonhak looked at the two of us in turn with a displeased expression.

‘W-Was he suspicious?’

Still, I had been with Yeon, so it shouldn’t look suspicious, right?

He soon let out a deep sigh and said,

“Of course I was worried. You suddenly disappeared, didn’t you? I can understand Master Dan, but even the squad leader…”

“Haha.”

“Of course, wherever you go is your own business, Master Dan, but if you’re going to leave, I would appreciate it if you told us beforehand. It’s not as though we’re strangers, and when you suddenly disappear, we can’t help but worry.”

I nodded and pondered the words ‘can’t help but worry.’

It felt strange.

“I will.”

We set out again.

Although Yeon and I had disappeared for a while, we had returned without being too late, so there was no delay to the schedule.

As planned, we descended the mountain. After traveling a little farther, we reached the foot of the mountain and soon realized that we were getting close to the place Igwi had mentioned.

Master Woonhak looked around and said,

“He said there was a village hidden somewhere connected to this mountain’s foothills. There should be a tree with a red string tied around it. From there, if we go all the way around toward the northeast and find the same marker…”

“Then we just need to find the tree first, right? A red string should stand out pretty clearly at a glance…”

I half-listened to them while stealing a glance at someone.

It was Yeon, looking no different from usual.

To be honest, I couldn’t say this situation was particularly good for me. If Yeon had been watching me from the beginning, then he must have noticed that I wasn’t in my right mind.

In other words, it was practically the same as having my weakness exposed. I didn’t know how this might come back to bite me.

I should be worried.

I really should.

But…

‘Did he put honey on his thigh or something?’

Why was that the only thing I could think about?

How had I managed to fall asleep like that?

And the pain hadn’t lasted very long, either.

Did he really have some kind of secret technique?

What did he do while I was asleep?

I should interrogate him properly about it later…

“Hm?”