Chapter 8
The head steward, Jeok Sun-chung, closed the door and entered the room.
The man who had followed him inside spoke.
“Are you really sure this is all right?”
Jeok Sun-chung turned around. The man looking at him with worried eyes was Hwang San-pung, a man who had devoted himself to the Xiao Family Estate for many years since Shandong.
Jeok Sun-chung let out a hollow laugh.
“You recommended him yourself, and now you’re worried?”
“Even so, I was surprised that you allowed it so readily. Shouldn’t you investigate the boy a little more…?”
“I’ve already found out everything there is to know.”
“Pardon?”
Jeok Sun-chung said nothing. Hwang San-pung read the unspoken words from his silence. The background investigation had already been completed.
‘Seo Dan, was it…?’
There was nothing particularly remarkable about the boy Seo Dan’s background.
He was simply a poor boy living in Bakrahyeon with his widowed mother. If there was anything worth adding, it was that he was a filial child who would do anything for his sick mother. There was nothing else noteworthy, so Jeok Sun-chung had not paid much attention to Seo Dan.
It was the same when he heard what had happened. He assumed it was merely a young boy acting rashly because he wanted to make a good impression on a girl around his age.
But the boy he actually encountered was different.
‘He didn’t cry?’
Of course, there had been maidservants who did not cry even while serving the Young Master. But children of that age cried nine times out of ten. And if they had even seen blood, there was no need to say more.
Yet that strangely carefree appearance, as though he were carefully watching the situation…
“Have you perhaps learned martial arts?”
Jeok Sun-chung had asked without realizing it, even though he thought the wound on the boy’s neck clearly showed that he had never trained.
Though the Young Master was physically weak, he had learned the family martial arts from the Estate Master. As such, he was well versed in acupoints and meridians, and it was clear that this wound had been inflicted by throwing the hidden weapon slightly off course while pretending to aim for the vital point in the neck.
A peak master at the pinnacle of martial arts might have anticipated even that and remained still, but an ordinary martial artist would have reacted somehow, whether by dodging or snatching the hidden weapon out of the air.
‘But this wound…’
It was a wound from someone who had done nothing at all. A wound as though the person had not even realized a hidden weapon was flying toward him and had simply taken the hit…
‘He doesn’t seem like a peak master.’
Just in case, he had checked personally, but it was indeed so. Even when the boy’s wrist, an important vital point for a martial artist, was grabbed, he remained still.
Even when Jeok Sun-chung sent internal energy into his body to examine him, or suddenly pushed his body to see whether he had trained his physical strength, he could detect no sign of anything.
Jeok Sun-chung had no choice but to admit it.
‘…If that’s the case, then he’s truly remarkable.’
If that boy was an ordinary person who knew nothing at all, it was remarkable. Even adults frequently wet themselves when caught in such an ambush, yet despite being startled, the boy had regained his composure in such a short time.
On top of that, hadn’t he immediately noticed that he was being suspected when Jeok Sun-chung questioned him? His ability to improvise wasn’t bad either…
‘He’s bold, adaptable, and quick-witted.’
Wasn’t he a suitable candidate to serve the Young Master?
In the end, Jeok Sun-chung chose Seo Dan. The boy had done something wrong, so he would not be able to refuse, and since he liked money, he would surely be satisfied if he was given sufficient compensation.
Jeok Sun-chung was worried about whether the Young Master would be all right with it… But in truth, it was the boy’s safety that should be worried about rather than the Young Master’s.
Still, since they were both boys of the same age, perhaps the Young Master would feel more comfortable around him.
‘The Young Master has been alone for so long.’
If he gained a friend through this opportunity, there could hardly be anything better, Jeok Sun-chung thought with a hearty laugh.
“It should be fine. We can only hope so.”
***
I became Xiao Yanli’s servant in a single day.
It was absurd.
‘It was this easy?’
In fact, I had even prepared myself to be beaten and kicked out, just as the head steward had warned.
Not only had I failed to become acquainted with the Young Lady, but the fact that I had entered her residence without permission had been exposed. I thought that regardless of everything I had done until then, I would immediately be thrown out of the So Family Estate.
“You are to serve the Young Lady.”
…I certainly hadn’t expected to hear that.
He hadn’t even asked, ‘Would you like to serve the Young Lady?’ He had said, ‘You are to serve the Young Lady.’ Wasn’t that basically saying the answer had already been decided and all I had to do was answer?
‘Is there really no one willing to do it?’
Yeah… I suppose not.
The moment those words came out, everyone around me, even Madam Ma, looked at me with pity… The reactions around me varied.
“Aw, you were pretty darn good at cleaning up shit, too. Now where are we supposed to find another person…”
Uncle Hwang was the first to show his regret. After working hard to train me and turning me into a proper shit hauler, he seemed to think it was a shame that I was suddenly changing jobs.
“No matter how I think about it, I don’t understand! You’re putting a kid who nearly got stabbed back in there? Isn’t that too much? Can’t you just say you won’t do it?”
Aso was furious. Perhaps because she had been the most shocked when she saw me get hurt, she was horrified by the head steward’s decision and vented her anger. I had to sweat for quite a while calming Aso down.
And then…
“So you’ve come to serve the Young Lady? I see.”
Mother accepted it.
When I returned home, I told Mother in detail about what had happened that day. Of course, I left out the part about almost getting stabbed. I vaguely explained away the bandage around my neck by saying that I had fallen while running away.
Mother stared intently at the bandage. I broke out in a cold sweat, afraid she might lift it up to look underneath.
After a brief silence, Mother said one thing.
“You’re all right, aren’t you?”
I answered brightly.
“Of course! It’s nothing.”
For a moment, Mother’s face seemed to cloud over. But she quickly changed her expression and said,
“Then that’s enough. Danna is smart, so you’ll do well serving the Young Lady too. Don’t worry and… Cough, cough!”
I hurriedly supported Mother.
“Mother, please lie down for now. You haven’t been feeling well lately, either.”
“I’m fine. I’m just a little tired. I wanted to talk with Danna a little longer…”
“We can talk anytime. And if you’re disappointed, I’ll stay beside you and keep talking to you. Wouldn’t that be all right?”
Mother gave a faint smile and murmured,
“I just hope our Danna doesn’t have to suffer…”
I merely smiled without saying anything.
Mother told me not to suffer, but I knew. This wasn’t the time to shy away from hardship.
Mother’s illness was getting worse. Mother’s illness was an incurable disease, just like Xiao Yanli’s. No one knew its cause or its cure.
All we could do was prescribe medicine to strengthen her body and keep watching, but even that was gradually reaching its limits these days. No matter how many physicians we brought in, it was useless. If we wanted to slow the illness at least somewhat, we needed better medicine, but the cost was by no means small.
‘I need money.’
Fortunately, the salary for being Xiao Yanli’s servant was twice that of a shit hauler. Moreover, if I could earn the trust of both Xiao Yanli and the Xiao Family Estate Master, I might even be able to obtain rare medicinal ingredients or find a renowned physician.
Yes, perhaps this was an opportunity.
An opportunity to use my knowledge of the original work to save someone’s life. Not only Xiao Yanli’s life, but my mother’s as well…
‘I’m sorry, Mother.’
In order to do that, now was the time for me to endure hardship.
I looked at my sleeping mother before stepping outside. The midnight sky was dark, but it wasn’t completely black thanks to the stars surrounding it.
I stared blankly at the sky before clenching my fist.
‘Yeah. I’ll do whatever it takes.’
Even if that meant taking a beating from Xiao Yanli.
Just wait, Xiao Yanli.
I’ll definitely become friends with you!
***
[Such-and-such day, such-and-such month.
I started writing a diary because I’m so frustrated I feel like my insides are bursting.
It’s not like much comes of it. I’m just scribbling in Hangul on the dirt floor. I lied to Mother and told her I was being treated well, so I don’t have anyone to talk to about this.
Anyway, it’s been three days since I started serving the Young Lady.
The Young Lady is completely ignoring me.
At first, I understood.
Right, I had been rude during our first meeting. So, to make up for it, I sent word politely this time and decided to wait until the Young Lady told me to come in.
She’s a person too, so if I waited all day, wouldn’t she eventually open the door at least once out of pity? That’s what I thought, but…
Uh, nope. Nothing like that.
Whether I waited one shichen, two shichen, went to reheat the medicine, came back after eating, went to prepare the evening medicine again, or waited until the sun went down, she never once answered me.
That’s when I realized.
Ah, the Young Lady isn’t human!
No, even so, isn’t completely ignoring someone for three whole days a little too much? At this point, I’m starting to get stubborn about it.
Fine, Xiao Yanli.
Let’s see who wins!]
.
.
.
[Such-and-such day, such-and-such month.
Young Lady, I lost.]
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