“What is it?”
I hesitated for a moment before squeezing my eyes shut and blurting out,
“I want to go outside the family estate!”
“…What?”
Grandfather blinked.
“By outside the family estate… Do you mean the marketplace?”
“Yes!”
I nodded vigorously.
“I’ve never been outside the Medicine King’s household even once.”
Afraid Grandfather would immediately scold me and say no, I hurriedly added without even taking a breath.
“I-I heard there’s a medicinal herb market operated by the Medicine King’s household. It’s really big, with lots of people, and tons of medicinal herbs…”
I subtly glanced at Grandfather.
“I want to look around there toooo…”
I used the excuse of wanting to see the marketplace like a child would, but of course, that wasn’t my real purpose.
‘I need to obtain good medicinal ingredients and finish the medicine as soon as possible.’
The Medicine King’s central medicinal herb storehouse was a place inaccessible to anyone who wasn’t a physician.
But the medicinal herb market operated by the Medicine King’s household was a different story.
Since it was a place where all the medicinal herbs distributed by the family were gathered together, there was a much higher chance of finding the ingredients I needed.
“And…”
I quickly added,
“I heard there are also lots of sweet snacks like this at the market!”
I held up the Milhwan in my hand.
“I want to try them! Just once. Please?”
At my earnest request, Grandfather fell silent for a moment.
He pondered while lightly tapping his knee with his wrinkled fingers, then finally opened his mouth.
“Then, would you like to go with me?”
“Huh?”
At his completely unexpected words, I almost jumped to my feet.
Grandfather raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“N-No, I’m not!”
“Do you not want to?”
“It’s, it’s not that.”
It felt as though cold sweat was trickling down the back of my neck.
It would be troublesome if Grandfather came with me.
He would surely become suspicious from the moment I started choosing medicinal ingredients.
I desperately racked my brain. Then, I clung to the excuse that barely came to mind.
“Th-That’s…”
“Hmm?”
“I-I want to buy you a gift for your return. So, I can’t go with you!”
The moment I finished speaking, silence fell.
“……”
“……”
I looked up at Grandfather, tense from head to toe.
It was unlikely that he would fall for such a flimsy excuse, but for now, it was the best I could come up with.
But then—
“Huh.”
Grandfather drew in a short breath. Soon, the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
“Hoho.”
Then, he suddenly began laughing loudly.
“Hoho hohoo!”
I was bewildered.
“G-Grandfather?”
Grandfather cleared his throat once and finally managed to compose himself.
“So. You’re saying you want to buy me a gift.”
“…Yes.”
However, he couldn’t quite hide the twitching corners of his lips.
What on earth was he so happy about? It was hard to believe this was the same dignified person who had been so stern just moments ago.
Grandfather suddenly looked at me warmly and said,
“How could I possibly stop my granddaughter when she’s thinking of me that much?”
“……”
“Very well. Go and have a look around. However, I’ll have Heo Jinbyeok accompany you, so you must go with him. Understood?”
“Yes. I understand.”
I had gotten permission, but somehow I felt uneasy.
‘Did I just make Grandfather expect way too much from me…?’
“Good. Besides that, is there anything else you need?”
Whether he knew about my uneasiness or not, Grandfather asked with a pleased smile.
“Anything else I need?”
Surprised, I widened my eyes.
Of course, there were other things I wanted, but I had been thinking that I should retreat for today.
“Why are you so surprised? I’ve already received a precious medicine from you, and I’m going to receive a gift as well. Is there anything I could possibly refuse you?”
Ah, right.
In the Medicine King’s household, there was a custom of giving an appropriate return gift whenever one received a precious medicine as a present.
‘As expected, Grandfather really is a man of principles.’
Not wanting to miss this opportunity, I quickly answered.
“Th-Then…”
The face of one person vividly appeared in my mind.
Someone I had never been able to forget, even through countless regressions.
“There’s someone I want to find.”
I had to meet that person.
***
The quarters behind the Inner Servant Quarters, where the servants stayed, were much gloomier and more cramped than the detached residence.
Even though the sun had yet to set, a faint darkness had already settled deep inside the corridor.
“Please come inside.”
“Okay.”
I headed toward the Inner Servant Quarters with Heo Jinbyeok accompanying me.
“If you wait here, I’ll go find the head maid. If you tell me the name or characteristics of the servant you’re looking for, I’ll bring them here immediately.”
Heo Jinbyeok spoke quietly, but I shook my head.
“There’s no need. I think I know where she is.”
I walked past Heo Jinbyeok and stopped in front of a shabby door.
A dull thudding sound could be heard from inside.
Thud!
“You orphan who doesn’t even know where you came from—how dare you look at me with those eyes without knowing your place?”
“I told you to fix that damn way of speaking!”
In an instant, a chill ran down my spine.
Without hesitation, I flung the door open.
BANG!
The servants inside were startled and turned their heads.
In one corner of the floor, a small girl lay collapsed.
Her short black hair was disheveled, partially covering her face, while her thin shoulders were so slender they looked as though they might snap at any moment.
She looked to be around thirteen.
Smaller than the other children her age, the backs of her hands and her arms were covered in numerous small wounds.
Even while being beaten in her curled-up position, she gritted her teeth as she tried not to cry. There was still a sharp, unyielding spirit about her that refused to be broken.
She looked like a wary wild animal.
‘Thank goodness. I found her quickly this time.’
Her name was Ryu Jin.
Orphaned by war as a newborn, Ryu Jin had wandered through the slums until my father found her and took her into the Medicine King’s household.
But because she was an orphan whose origins were unknown, she suffered all kinds of discrimination and abuse from the servants.
Then, one day, Ryu Jin learned about the way I was being treated within the family.
She tried to tell my father, the young family head, about it, but instead, she was driven out of the Medicine King’s household.
With no means of making a living, Ryu Jin headed to the front lines.
With no one to back her, she was sent into the most dangerous retreat battle. She barely survived and returned, but suffered severe internal injuries to her right leg.
Although she could still wield a sword, her body was no longer capable of fighting as she once had.
And the place she eventually returned to was the Medicine King’s household.
“……I’m sorry. I should have protected you, Young Lady.”
One year before my father died.
She came looking for me, who knew nothing about what had happened, and from then on, she silently served me and stayed by my side until the very end.
It was the first time.
The first time someone had gone through such a tragic ordeal because of me and yet still pitied me and tried to protect me.
If I ever returned, she was someone I had resolved to keep by my side from the very beginning and protect no matter what.
Just as she had tried to protect me.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
Having witnessed the situation, Heo Jinbyeok stepped forward and raised his voice.
Only then did the servants realize who we were. They hurriedly backed away in fright.
As they did, Ryu Jin’s fallen figure was fully revealed.
“Young Lady, is this the child?”
“Yes. That’s her.”
I slowly nodded, unable to take my eyes off Ryu Jin.
“Heo Jinbyeok.”
“Yes.”
“Investigate every servant who was here. Find out who laid a hand on that child and how often this happened. Leave nothing out.”
At my command, the servants’ faces turned deathly pale.
After entrusting the matter to Heo Jinbyeok, I approached Ryu Jin.
Feeling my footsteps, Ryu Jin slowly raised her head.
Long, fierce eyes like a cat’s.
A face that neither cried nor begged.
She simply sat there frozen, as though she had witnessed something she could never have imagined.
There was a split mark at the corner of her lips, and her cheek was swollen and red.
Beneath her thin clothes, her exposed shoulders and wrists were covered with a mixture of old bruises and fresh wounds.
Seeing her like that, something tightened painfully inside my chest.
Looking like this.
Even in such circumstances, the fact that she had still tried to save me struck my heart all over again.
I slowly crouched down in front of her.
“…Ryu Jin.”
The child’s eyes trembled ever so slightly.
Up close, she looked even more miserable.
The wounds were terrible enough, but what hurt my heart even more was the expression she wore, as though she had already grown accustomed to everything.
The face of someone who no longer found it surprising for someone to raise a hand against her.
Without a word, I untied the strings of my outer garment. Then I carefully took off my coat and draped it over her shoulders.
Her small, slender shoulders trembled slightly.
Suddenly, I remembered the moment at the funeral when Ryu Jin had taken off her own outer garment and covered me with it as I was collapsing all alone.
“Young Lady, the wind is cold.”
I spoke very softly, but clearly.
“I’m sorry I was late.”
Ryu Jin looked up at me.
“Come. With me.”
When I held out my hand, a small, rough hand covered in wounds cautiously took mine, as if still wary of me.
Comments (0)