Chapter 38
“…She’s dead?”
Xiao Cheong-ja’s face hardened.
Chief Steward Jeok continued.
“As you instructed, we initially searched the surrounding area, thinking the courtesan had fled. However, while searching the hills, we found a corpse presumed to belong to that courtesan.”
“…”
“Judging from the words of the people from the pleasure house and the belongings she had on her, it appears to be her for certain. However, the condition of the corpse is so badly mutilated that…”
Chief Steward Jeok trailed off, prompting Namgung Jeong to quickly interject.
“How bad is it? Are there any sword marks or other evidence on the body?”
“…She was butchered so thoroughly that we couldn’t even make out any traces. Her dismembered remains were scattered around the hills, as though someone had deliberately left them there for wild animals to eat.”
“How far has the decomposition progressed?”
“It seems she has been dead for at least a full day. The people at the pleasure house said she hadn’t shown up for several days, so we suspect she may have been dead for quite some time.”
“Then the possibility of the Thunderblade Sect being involved is low. They only became involved in this matter recently…”
“I think so as well. Then this matter…”
Xiao Cheong-ja quietly listened to Namgung Jeong and Chief Steward Jeok’s conversation.
Then he let out a deep sigh before finally speaking.
“…Little Brother, there is something I failed to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“They say the ingredients of the Monghonyak used by Second Young Master contained Manghoncho. It was a small amount, but if taken continuously, it causes a person to lose their reason and eventually even forget who they are.”
“Manghoncho…”
“Yes. That is why I was even more determined to find that courtesan. She must certainly have been acting at the behest of someone with ill intentions. But if things have gone this far…”
Namgung Jeong picked up the thread.
“We can consider the possibility that this was the work of the Demonic Cult.”
At the words Demonic Cult, both Xiao Cheong-ja and Chief Steward Jeok froze. For a while, a tense silence hung over the study.
Namgung Jeong, who had been silent as though deep in thought, finally spoke slowly.
“Elder Brother, I think you should make your decision quickly.”
“Decision?”
“Yes. I have a bad feeling about this. I have pursued the Demonic Cult for a long time and witnessed various situations. But recently, there has been one thing the sects attacked by the Demonic Cult have had in common.”
“…”
“Whenever they thought their tail might be exposed, they immediately butchered the bodies of their spies and threw them away. Almost as though they were deliberately trying to make an example of them. For the Demonic Cult, which used to operate so secretly, it seems like an unusually bold move, but…”
“If what you say is true…”
Namgung Jeong answered.
“It is dangerous. It means they are no longer hesitating to use any means necessary.”
“…”
“You should move your residence as soon as possible.”
Xiao Cheong-ja squeezed his eyes shut.
He had considered going to the Namgung Family, but he hadn’t expected things to become this urgent.
They had not even been settled here for very long, and now they had to move again…
Perhaps enough time had passed for one cup of tea to be drunk before Xiao Cheong-ja opened his eyes.
Then he spoke firmly.
“…Let us do that. It would be better to prepare to leave as soon as possible.”
“Elder Brother.”
Namgung Jeong’s face brightened considerably.
“That is a wise decision. I will also tell my family to treat you with the utmost hospitality so that you can live as comfortably there as you have here.”
Xiao Cheong-ja merely smiled bitterly.
“Simply treating me as a guest will be more than enough. Then, will you be coming with us?”
“That…”
Namgung Jeong’s expression suddenly clouded.
“That may be difficult. Unfortunately, there is a task Father has ordered me to carry out, so I must resolve that first.”
“I see.”
“I’m sorry, Elder Brother. I should be accompanying you until the very end, and I truly have no face to show you. Instead, I will send several elite members of the family with you. They are all capable men, so they will escort you safely to the family estate.”
“I understand.”
“I will also finish my task as quickly as possible and join you afterward. If that proves impossible, I will wait for you somewhere along the road…”
“Little Brother.”
Xiao Cheong-ja reached out and took Namgung Jeong’s hand. As he always did, he wore a gentle smile as he reassured Namgung Jeong.
“I am already grateful that you have taken this much care of me. Focus on your own affairs. This elder brother will also take care of his own business.”
“Elder Brother…”
Namgung Jeong quietly looked at his sworn elder brother before nodding.
The two continued to discuss various matters concerning what lay ahead. When the long night had passed, and dawn was about to break, Namgung Jeong, his eyes somehow filled with unease, said to Xiao Cheong-ja,
“…Elder Brother, you must take good care of yourself.”
“You take care as well. Next time, let us meet there.”
Xiao Cheong-ja said,
“At the Namgung Family.”
***
After the matter with Wang Ju-geon was settled for the time being. Not long afterward, Namgung Jeong announced that he would be leaving.
I was secretly surprised.
I hadn’t expected Namgung Jeong to stay here for very long, but I hadn’t thought he would leave this quickly either.
In front of the main gate of Sonangwon, Namgung Jeong was talking with the Manor Lord.
The two seemed quite reluctant to part, judging by how they embraced tightly and clasped each other’s hands. After finishing his conversation with the Manor Lord, Namgung Jeong turned toward the young lady and me.
He looked at me and smiled mischievously.
“I heard you pulled off another big one?”
I tilted my head, then soon realized that by another big one, he meant what had happened with Wang Ju-geon.
I grinned.
“Of course. It’s all thanks to you, Hero.”
Surprisingly, Namgung Jeong wanted to hear the details of what had happened.
Thinking that I could finally tell someone about my heroic performance, I excitedly explained everything, gesturing with both my hands and feet.
“Second Young Master happened to charge at me while he was agitated, and at that moment, the life-saving technique you taught me…”
“Wait.”
Namgung Jeong hesitated, then said seriously,
“Tell me that part in more detail.”
I was bewildered, but eventually I had to explain every detail of what I had done.
Namgung Jeong showed little reaction when I told him that I had struck behind Wang Ju-geon’s knee and knocked him down. But when I said that I had used a tree as a stepping stone, jumped up, and kicked him between the eyebrows, he burst out laughing.
“Gwahahaha! You little brat. Even when I was teaching you martial arts, you moved you however pleased, and now you’ve gone and modified the technique however you wanted in actual combat too?”
“Hehe.”
“That’s not a compliment, you brat! Do you have any idea how much of a fluke that was? Even if he wasn’t a second-rate martial artist, if he had merely been a somewhat experienced third-rate martial artist, a trick like that wouldn’t have worked. You would have been counterattacked instead. You left yourself wide open!”
“Really…?”
“Of course. Besides, do you know how incredible Hero Wang, the Thunderclap Three Blades, is? If that bastard had properly learned martial arts, you wouldn’t have been worth even one punch to him.”
“Hmph…”
When I became dejected, Namgung Jeong soon chuckled and roughly ruffled my hair.
“Still, you did well. There aren’t many children who could display that much quick thinking. Even the children of prestigious families panic terribly when it comes to actual combat.”
At Namgung Jeong’s words, I grinned.
Namgung Jeong smiled at me as well, then finally turned toward the young lady and casually asked after her.
“Ari, are you feeling all right now? Something unpleasant happened recently. Is everything all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Good. You really have changed, haven’t you? It feels like only yesterday that you were trying so hard not to show me your face, and now you’re even coming out to see me off yourself. This uncle is deeply moved. Hmm?”
“…”
“Ahem. But how long are you planning to keep wearing that myeokri? Isn’t it uncomfortable?”
“…”
“…You really are still a girl of few words.”
“Is it a problem?”
“It’s not a problem, but…”
Namgung Jeong scratched his neck awkwardly.
Then, with a kind smile, he said,
“You seem to be doing well. Much better than before.”
“…”
“That must be because you’ve found your person, right?”
At Namgung Jeong’s words, I felt embarrassed. I knew that the person he was referring to was me.
The young lady remained silent for a moment before answering simply.
“…Yes.”
Namgung Jeong clapped his hands with a bright expression.
“Good, good! Now I can leave without worrying.”
“It’s a shame. It feels like we only just met, but I didn’t expect you to leave so soon…”
At my disappointed words, Namgung Jeong calmly replied,
“Hoejajeongni geojapilban. When there is a meeting, there will be a parting, and when there is a departure, there will surely be a return. As long as we are alive, the day will come when we meet again.”
“Hoe… what?”
“I’m saying we’ll see each other again, you brat.”
As he said that, he gave me a subtle smile.
“Well… we might see each other again soon.”
I could only tilt my head in confusion.
Namgung Jeong exchanged a few more farewells with several people before finally mounting his horse and taking hold of the reins. Just as he was about to leave, Namgung Jeong suddenly turned around and said one thing to us.
“Treasure your connections.”
Before I could even answer, Namgung Jeong left Sonangwon just like that.
We watched his retreating figure grow farther away. He really was like the wind.
***
We returned to our daily lives.
I attended to the young lady, while the young lady spent her time reading books or taking walks through the flower garden.
Things around us became a little more hectic. For some reason, the Manor Lord had greatly increased the guards around the manor.
Apparently, they were elite warriors from the Namgung Family sent by Namgung Jeong, and perhaps because of that, people wearing blue clothes could occasionally be seen around the manor.
‘Is something going on?’
But since it wasn’t something a mere servant like me needed to worry about, I deliberately pretended not to notice.
My daily routine continued as usual.
When I woke up, I went to work at the Xiao Family Manor, attended to the young lady, left work around sunset, then returned home and took care of Mother.
There was only one thing that had changed…
“Mother, I’m home!”
“Danna, welcome home.”
“…”
I stopped in place with the door still open.
Mother, who always greeted me with a warm smile, was nowhere to be seen.
She was simply lying on the bed, asleep as though she were dead.
I wiped the smile from my face and closed the door.
Then, as I always did, I sat down in the chair beside her bed, took her hand, and said,
“I’m home, Mother. Have you been well?”
At some point, Mother had fallen into a long sleep.
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