As True as a Dream Chapter 63

She scanned the room and went to the desk where the child had been sitting.

 

On it were some drawings and pieces of charcoal rolling around.

 

She didn’t know where he went to play while he was drawing.

 

The woman pressed the edge of the paper to the desk with a hand as dry as a log of firewood.

 

The rough charcoal drawing was easy to recognize.

 

A gentle island floating in the sea with a snake hatching on it.

 

It was the only drawing she knew the child she called Kyung-in could make.

 

The woman stood there for a while like a tombstone.

 

She wondered how long it had been.

 

“[Sae-san? Sae-san, are you here?]”

 

Her fingers twitched as she pressed the painting.

 

The man stood in front of the half-open door and spoke rather rudely.

 

“[Master is looking for him, he’s in the garden, please go there]”.

 

“[I see.]”

 

The woman named Sae-san replied, then stepped away from the desk and walked out of the room.

 

He frowned and watched Sae-san’s back as she walked down the hall, then stepped into the room.

 

“[I don’t like it every time I see her. Even though she’s his biological mother, they let such a worthless woman into the residence. Look at her uptight, uptight face. She’s a bastard.]”

 

Murmuring to himself, Yongin approached the desk where Sae had just stood.

 

“[Did he draw this again?]”

 

Yongin looked at the drawing on the desk and frowned.

 

It was a couple of weeks ago.

 

His master, Governor Saito, had brought Master Kyung-in and his mother, Sae-san, because he wanted to adopt them.

 

Knowing about Governor Saito’s interest in Master Kyung-in, the people at the residence were respectful of him, even though he was Korean.

 

But inwardly, everyone was confused.

 

Even his biological mother changed her name to the Japanese name Sae, but Master Kyung-in insisted on using his Korean name.

 

Not even Governor Saito said anything about it.

 

That’s all.

 

Master Kyung-in was blind in his right eye and wore an eye patch, so his drawings were limited to seas, islands, and snakes.

 

He wasn’t particularly clever or talented.

 

Nowhere in his life did he show the qualities that would make him a worthy successor to Governor Saito.

 

The only child he had was Miss Mao, so he needed a son, but did it have to be that master?

 

Yongin didn’t understand, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask the question.

 

As he folded the picture on his desk in half and put it away, he suddenly frowned.

 

“[…Yikes! What is this?]”

 

He put the picture down and rubbed his hands on his clothes.

 

In one corner of the picture, there was a drop of water that hadn’t dried, and he touched it with his hand.

 

With a disgusted look on his face, Yongin roughly crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash.

 

At the same time, Governor Saito listened to his subordinate’s report in his study.

 

More than a week had passed, and Mao’s condition had not improved.

 

Finally, Governor Saito instructed Dr. Yamato to use an ointment made by the Koreans and to search for folk remedies that might help his condition.

 

Dr. Yamato showed him the recipes for various folk remedies that he had collected, and he said that the only ones that were useful were those that contained ginseng and yukhwa bath.

 

Governor Saito’s face was flushed with the hot temper he’d been having lately, but he managed to suppress it.

 

The man in front of him was Inspector Sasaki of the Jongno Police Station, who had been his aide for more than twenty years.

 

This wasn’t someone he could just brush aside because he was angry.

 

“[And… this time, the informants have told me something that might be of interest to His Excellency].”

 

Saito’s brow furrowed in irritation at his subordinate’s cautious report.

 

‘What could he possibly be interested in at a time like this, when Mao’s illness is not improving?’

 

“[There is someone in the province who is looking for the Guishan Dao painting for a large sum of money. Isn’t this the painting that His Excellency the Governor General sent people to Joseon to look for ten years ago?]”

 

Inspector Sasaki, who had been anxiously watching Governor Saito’s mood, put his anxiety aside when he noticed the look on the Governor’s face.

 

“[Since we came to Joseon, I have been busy with internal organization and planning, as well as various events, so I have not been able to pay much attention to this side of things, so I am sorry for the delay in reporting.]”

 

Inspector Sasaki looked at the Viceroy, who seemed to be lost in thought, and said nothing.

 

*Knock! Knock! Knock!*

 

Breaking the brief silence, someone knocked on the door of the study, and soon a polite voice was heard.

 

“[Your Excellency, Dr. Yamato asked me to quickly inform you that Lady Mao’s illness has finally improved.]”

Governor Saito jumped up from his seat, afraid to finish his sentence, and walked around his desk.

 

He walked past his subordinate standing in the middle of the study and paused at the door.

 

“[Find out who’s looking for Guishan Dao and report to me.]”

 

“[Yes, Your Excellency].”

 

Governor Saito pushed open the door to his study and walked briskly down the hall to Mao’s room.

 

As he casually glanced out the window, Saito’s eyes caught sight of a squat figure in the corner of the garden.

 

A corner of the gardener’s carefully tended garden had been dug up, and the embers of whatever he had placed in it were burning brightly.

 

The gardener was enjoying himself as he took something from the bowl beside him and threw it into the fire.

 

Standing by his side was his mother, Sae, her face more leaden than usual.

 

“[Your Excellency?]”

 

Yongin, who had come to speak with Saito, called to him cautiously.

 

Saito turned away from the window and started walking again.

 

He soon reached Mao’s room, and as he entered, the faces of the busy users and medical staff turned white.

 

Saito squinted at the inside of the draped bed.

 

“[Right now, a nurse is putting a plaster on Miss Mao.]”

 

Dr. Yamato reported as he hurried over.

 

“[Is her condition improving?]”

 

“[Yes, she is, the medicine seems to have taken effect late. The young lady is still unconscious, but she will wake up soon].”

 

Suddenly, the deep furrow in Saito’s brow that had been there for the past few days became shallower.

 

Saito sat in the one-man chair outside the curtain and waited for the nurse to finish applying the medication.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a long needle lying at the foot of the bed.

 

“[What is this?]”

 

Saito asked himself, and Dr. Yamato, who was nearby, rushed over to answer.

 

He looked at the needle in Saito’s hand and saw the blood on the tip, and his face immediately turned white.

 

“[I, we were discussing Miss Mao’s illness and only came in a little while ago, and I saw that her condition had improved somewhat].”

 

Yamato, who had spoken hastily, immediately turned to the nurses in the room with a sharp tone.

 

“[Gentlemen, what is this needle, so dangerous, why is it lying at the foot of Miss Mao’s bed, and whose blood is here?]”

 

Dr. Yamato’s sudden shout caught the attention of the busy nurses, and they all knelt on the floor, with one person leading the way.

 

“[The lady sent us all out, saying she couldn’t sleep because of the noise, and the needle wasn’t there before we left].”

 

“[When was that?]”

 

Saito asked, looking at the kneeling group.

 

“[Not long ago, we were out of the room for about ten minutes].”

 

“[Is it possible that someone entered the room during that time?]”

 

Saito’s question caused the room to go eerily quiet.

 

Saito glanced at the stiffened medical staff and then stood up.

 

“[Focus on Mao’s treatment and call me when she wakes up].”

 

Saito quickly left the room and stood in the hallway, looking out at the garden.

 

Only Sae remained there, pouring water into the pit to extinguish the embers.

 

* * *

 

Sogok Village.

 

When she was left alone with Yi Ho, who had sent Myung-ho back, she picked at her nails numbly.

 

Sitting on the edge of the great hall, she couldn’t even look inside where Yi Ho was sitting.

 

The drunkenness that had made her head tingle flew away when he kissed her.

 

Arrogance raced through her mind.

 

If Yi Ho was right, she was the first to kiss him yesterday.

 

Three times.

 

“I did it the fourth time, just like that.”

 

Her cheeks flushed as she remembered Yi Ho’s somewhat grumpy yet seductive face that had filled her vision.

 

He had said himself that the fourth time was the first time he had kissed her.

 

‘Why would he do that? Does he have a black heart like hers?’

 

Hae-Joo finally overcame her embarrassment and glanced at Yi Ho out of the corner of her eye.

 

But for some reason, he didn’t move, his forehead twitching.

 

“…Boss?”

 

She called out to him, but there was no answer.