Chapter ~ 05
On the road to Muk Castle.
The sound of the carriage wheels echoed through the road.
The gaze beneath the myeokri quietly turned toward the carriage.
“Thanks to Your Highness, I was able to escape with my life.”
He had expected resentment.
Everyone who encountered a monster would turn pale and become terrified.
He thought she would believe that she would never have gone through something like this if she had not come to the Muk King’s residence.
Yet instead, he received words of gratitude.
Does she not fear monsters?
No.
He had seen it.
Her mud-covered hands trembling faintly.
The Soyohyang did not seem to be hers either.
Then who had placed the Soyohyang there?
His questions had only increased against his will.
This is why I had no intention of taking in a jaein.
There was only one thing he wanted from a jaein.
Not to become deeply entangled.
He had no intention of giving affection to someone from King Wei’s side, so he had planned not to form any sort of connection with her at all.
Yet the woman inside the carriage kept intruding into his thoughts.
What is she planning?
His fingertips tightened around the reins.
In the meantime, the capital of the Muk King’s domain, Hanju, came into view in the distance.
“Welcome back, Your Highness! You have worked hard on your long journey!”
An elderly man wearing glasses had come out to greet him together with his subordinates.
“I was wondering how Your Highness would bring back a jaein, but fortunately, everything went well.”
He gave a wrinkled smile as he looked at the carriage following behind his master.
Seo Heon quietly gestured to him.
【Chief Steward Noh.】
Chief Steward Noh immediately understood and handed him a slate and a brush.
Seo Heon dipped the tip of the brush in water and wrote a short line.
[Have someone investigate the background of that jaein.]
Black letters appeared on the slate, then soon disappeared in the wind.
“You will be staying here from now on, Jaein.”
The place Chief Steward Noh led her to was a small courtyard with a pond.
Black pillars and white lime-plastered walls.
The Muk King’s Palace, which had yet to be touched by the colors of spring, was desolate to the extreme.
They said she was from the Jin family…….
It certainly was not a landscape that a noble young lady who had grown up delicately in the warm climate of the south would find easy to endure.
Chief Steward Noh had already prepared himself to hear complaints from the jaein.
But then—
“The old pine tree is quite beautiful.”
Huh?
Chief Steward Noh adjusted his glasses.
“Th-that is right. It is over five hundred years old, you know. When the snow piles up, it is truly a magnificent sight!”
“I imagine so. I saw it on the way here, and the snowy scenery was incredibly beautiful.”
“Of course! What has fallen now can hardly even be called snow. In the middle of winter, the snow piles all the way up to one’s head!”
Chief Steward Noh’s tension gradually melted away, and his voice rose excitedly.
“When our King was young, whenever it snowed, he would stomp through it just like a puppy with freezing paws—hup! No, like a noble wolf of the snowy mountains. Very dignified, of course.”
So that was how it had been.
Even that quiet man had once had such days.
Soa looked at Chief Steward Noh’s deeply creased face as he spoke happily and became certain.
For him, the Muk King’s residence was his entire life.
He was a loyal subject who stayed by His Highness’s side until the very end in my previous life as well.
He handled all sorts of matters inside and outside the Muk King’s residence, so there was nothing to lose by becoming close to him.
“Jin Jaein, His Highness the King of Muk wishes to see you for a moment.”
Following Chief Steward Noh’s guidance, Soa arrived at the Muk King’s private audience hall.
As she entered, a masked man was sitting there.
The private hall was so quiet that even dust seemed as though it could settle undisturbed.
There must have been something important he wanted to say, considering he had called her here separately instead of simply conveying his words through Chief Steward Noh.
“Please sit.”
A place prepared for written conversation.
Soa sat across from Seo Heon.
On the desk were an inkstone filled with water, brushes, and other writing implements, all neatly arranged.
Then Seo Heon handed her a written agreement.
The characters were powerful yet neat.
Soa read through Seo Heon’s handwriting.
Though written in polite language, his intentions were clear.
[First. Do not ask about the curse.
Second. Do not complain about the harsh conditions of the Muk King’s residence.
Third. Leave the King’s residence at the age of twenty-three in accordance with the regulations governing jaein.]
Soa’s gaze stopped at the final sentence.
A common regulation applied to jaein.
A jaein who had not received the King’s favor by the age of twenty-three could leave the palace.
In other words, this clause was a declaration that he had no intention of showing Soa any interest whatsoever.
Seo Heon knew how cruel his proposal was.
He was essentially driving a nail into the coffin of her hopes of becoming one of his official consorts.
Moreover, jaein who left the palace at the age of twenty-three had difficulty finding a good marriage prospect.
That was why Seo Heon secretly hoped—
【If you do not want this, I will send you back to the Jin family at any time.】
That Soa would reject his conditions.
That the connection forced upon them against both their wishes would be severed.
But then—
“Very well.”
Soa raised her eyes after reading through the document.
Seo Heon’s fingertips trembled.
“May I write down my own conditions as well?”
It was an unexpectedly audacious answer.
……Is she doing this for King Wei after all?
For a moment, Seo Heon’s lips held an unfamiliar expression, but he soon handed the brush to Soa.
【Write them down.】
Soa then began writing beneath Seo Heon’s conditions, as though she had already thought of what she wanted.
[Fourth. Guarantee my safety.]
It was not a difficult condition.
After all, she was a jaein belonging to the Muk King’s residence.
Though he had brought her here without affection, she had no intention of abandoning even the minimum obligations that came with her position.
[Fifth. Allow me to leave the palace freely.]
Seo Heon shook his head.
【This place is close to Yogok. I cannot guarantee your safety if you go out carelessly.】
After he wrote his words down, Soa spoke.
“If my safety is guaranteed, would that be acceptable?”
After thinking for a moment, Seo Heon nodded.
If she wanted to go outside, he could simply assign someone to accompany and watch over her.
[When leaving the palace, obtain permission through Chief Steward Noh.]
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Soa bowed her head slightly and moved the tip of the brush one last time.
[Sixth. Do not ask anything about me.]
Seo Heon’s brow furrowed.
“I will not pry into Your Highness’s curse or secrets either, so please do not be curious about me.”
Soa quietly handed the agreement back to Seo Heon.
Is she saying that we should each draw a line around the other’s life?
Beneath the mask, his eyes narrowed.
【If you do anything that harms the Muk King’s residence, I cannot simply stand by and watch.】
If she was acting as King Wei’s spy……
As he wrote his words, Soa bowed her head.
“I understand what you are concerned about.”
The warning was sufficient.
Other than that, he had no reason to reject her proposal either.
I have already ordered an investigation into her background.
Chief Steward Noh glanced at Seo Heon.
After considering it for a moment, Seo Heon nodded.
【So be it.】
Seo Heon willingly stamped the agreement with his official seal.
Beside it, Soa stamped her red seal.
She had brought no servant from the Jin family.
Nor did she have a maidservant close enough to accompany her.
Even the belongings she had brought were sparse.
Soa dismissed everyone and walked around the palace alone.
Then a hawk flying across the sky landed beside her.
【I made a round of the place, Soa. Those little mice bowed their heads the moment they saw me.】
“You worked hard, Unjo.”
Soa gently stroked Unjo beneath his chin.
Unjo closed his eyes contentedly.
The first thing Soa had done after arriving here was to win over the small animals wandering around the palace.
【The animals around here are extremely weak to food.】
“Really? But you’re weak to food too.”
【What are you talking about! When have I ever been weak to food……!】
Soa took a piece of meat from a small pouch and tossed it.
Unjo promptly opened his beak, caught it, and swallowed it.
See?
Soa snickered, and Unjo awkwardly swallowed the dried meat.
【This is merely payment for my hard work.】
“Of course it is.”
【Anyway, it’s true! Food is scarce around here, so if you give them something to eat, they’ll bring you anything you want.】
That made sense.
The harsher the land, the more easily beasts became dependent on human goodwill.
They were better than people.
At least beasts did not harbor dark intentions.
What they wanted was clear, and their reactions to what they received were honest.
“Thank you as always, Unjo.”
When she scratched his head again, Unjo puffed up his feathers proudly.
Just then—
“Why are all of you standing around like idiots?”
A rough voice drifted over from the direction of the military barracks’ storehouse.
“But His Highness ordered that the coal be distributed evenly among all the barracks……”
“Ordered? Ha. Are you saying that mute actually gave an order?”
The rough voice gave a mocking snort.
How dare someone refer to the King of Muk like that? Who on earth is he……?
Soa hid beneath the eaves and tilted her head.
Behind the storehouse.
Soldiers stood in a line before a heavily bearded general.
“That’s not what I meant. According to the order that came down the other day……”
“An order? Think carefully.”
The general roughly struck the soldier on the shoulder.
“Do you think that mute will save you in wartime? What can a man who doesn’t even have a mouth capable of shouting out a single command do on a battlefield? I am the one holding your lives in my hands. Understand?”
“Yes, General Maeng!”
General Maeng.
Soa’s eyes slowly narrowed.
So this is why the Muk King’s residence was constantly unstable in my previous life.
People who used Seo Heon’s silence as an excuse to intercept their ruler’s commands.
The reason Seo Gon had been able to cut down Seo Heon must have been because he had received help and tacit cooperation from people inside the Muk King’s residence.
“Unjo. We have something to do.”
【Phew, Soa, what would you do without me!】
Proudly puffing himself up, Unjo spread his wings and flew into the sky.
