HSM 14

Chapter 14

“Anyway, Seolha, now that I’ve seen you looking fine, this old woman should get going. I can’t keep holding onto a busy girl any longer.”

“Yeah, I have gotten busier since becoming a personal maid. But I can still talk a little more, Grandmother.”

It had only been a few days since I became Eok I-geon’s personal maid, but to me it felt like at least a month had passed.

Meeting Grandmother in such a state, how could I not feel this way?

I rubbed my face against her chest and acted spoiled after such a long time.

“It feels so good to smell our Grandmother’s scent! It feels like all my worries are disappearing.”

“Is there something else going on besides that damn bastard?”

“Huh? No… well, it’s nothing big…”

“What is it? Tell this old woman everything.”

As expected, our Shin Geum’s intuition was at the hundredth level.

The moment I said no, her eyes narrowed like a lie detector.

Yesterday Cheonma came to find me and asked strange things.

Today he even gave me a hairpin.

The way he looked at me was so pitiful.

So I was a bit concerned.

I didn’t want to lie to Grandmother, but I couldn’t tell her about my meeting with Cheonma straight out either.

I didn’t want to give her, who had already come running in surprise, even greater worry.

“It’s just that working as Prince Lee’s personal maid, I end up meeting other high-ranking people too. I get nervous each time, so maybe that’s why I’m more tired than usual.”

“You’re just not used to it yet. That will gradually get better.”

“I hope that happens soon, hehe.”

“So who did you meet? It wasn’t the Cult Leader, was it?”

“…Of course not! Geez, to see the Cult Leader I’d have to go near Macheondeon, but a maid like me can’t even set foot there, Grandmother!”

“Right?”

“Yeah, but I did see someone quite high-ranking. The Lord of Gwihongak!”

“…Who?”

“Gwihongak is the place that handles Maegyo’s information, and he’s the head there. He looked exactly like a scholar. He seemed incredibly smart.”

Though he died early in the novel, there were occasional additional explanations about Gong Pae-cheon even afterward.

The countless plans that Eok I-geon carried out for conquering the Martial Arts World were actually things that Gong Pae-cheon had prepared for the current Cheonma.

How perfect must those plans have been for him to kill the man with his own hands and then use them as they were.

Though I didn’t know much about Gong Pae-cheon, I think I considered him quite a pitiful character.

“Grandmother, why are you suddenly quiet? Are you worried about me?”

“…I’m always worried about my pretty granddaughter. But now that I’ve seen you, I’m relieved. I’ll really go now. You hurry inside!”

“Grandmother, you’re going straight home, right?”

“Of course. I need to hurry and open the shop to do evening business.”

“Okay, Grandmother. Thank you so much for coming today. Thanks to you, I feel energized!”

“If anything else happens, make sure to tell this old woman. Got it? This old woman will beat them all up!”

“Yes! As expected, there’s no one but our Shin Geum!”

I hugged Grandmother tightly.

Perhaps because I was seeing her somewhere other than home, she felt especially more precious.

“Grandmother, I’ll go first then. Take care!”

I waved my hand while walking backward in reluctance.

“You’ll fall like that! Turn around quickly!”

She only talks tough, but she’s completely a granddaughter fool.

I chuckled and turned around sharply to start walking properly.

“Hehe, I feel good.”

My steps, having received plenty of Grandmother’s affection, were definitely lighter than before.

“That’s right! The Noodle Shop!”

I stopped abruptly because of a memory that suddenly came to mind.

The Lord of Gwihongak, Gong Pae-cheon.

When I first saw him a few days ago, I thought he looked strangely familiar.

I felt like I’d seen him somewhere, but I couldn’t remember where, so I just let it pass.

But now I remember.

Absurdly enough, the first time I saw him was at our house.

More precisely, I should say at Grandmother’s Noodle Shop.

It was a day when I was helping with Grandmother’s shop work since it happened to be my day off.

The appearance of a customer who was quite different from the old shop’s atmosphere made me glance at him unconsciously as I served noodles.

I was quite surprised when he recognized Grandmother and even had a conversation with her.

Why did Gong Pae-cheon pretend not to know me?

Was it because it happened so long ago that he didn’t remember my face?

What kind of relationship does he have with our Grandmother?

To call him just a simple customer, the atmosphere between them felt quite friendly.

But judging from Grandmother’s reaction just now, she seemed to have no idea what the Lord of Gwihongak was.

“Ugh, that Gong Pae-cheon guy is really suspicious.”

My heart, which had finally become light, became complicated and subtle again because of him.

Next time I have a day off, I’ll have to ask Grandmother directly, or I won’t be able to stand this uncomfortable feeling.

“Are you just getting back now?”

I was counting the remaining vacation days on my fingers as I crossed the gate.

Cheon-gang approached and spoke to me as if he’d been waiting.

“I’m on my way back from Jami-gwan.”

I bowed in greeting while revealing my whereabouts.

“Did something bad happen?”

“…Pardon?”

“You look pale.”

“Ah, this is just because I’m a bit tired…”

“You do seem to be overworking these past few days. You went through a rough incident and can’t even rest, tsk tsk.”

“No, it’s not. This is originally what I should be doing. Thanks to the ointment you gave me, my wound has almost healed. Thank you once again.”

The morning after the accident, Cheon-gang suddenly handed me ointment after hearing somewhere that I was injured.

Since it wasn’t a big wound, even I, the person involved, hadn’t thought of applying any medicine, but he even worried that I might get a scar on my neck.

How proud I felt at my favorite character’s consideration.

I think I silently exclaimed about a hundred times that Cheon-gang should have been the protagonist of the novel, not Eok I-geon.

“I’d like to tell you to rest even now, but the Young Master is looking for you.”

“…For me?”

“Yes, he’s waiting inside.”

“Did he already finish his afternoon training?”

At this time, Eok I-geon should have been at the Training Grounds.

I thought I wouldn’t have to face him until dinner time, but what kind of bolt from the blue is this?

“The Young Master also needs rest occasionally. Go in quickly.”

At Cheon-gang’s urging, I headed to the Inner Chamber with great tension.

Eok I-geon had moved according to a consistent pattern until now.

Today’s summons is a big variable from my perspective.

Did I make some mistake?

No matter how much I think about it, there’s nothing particularly worth finding fault with.

I served different types of noodles well at every meal, and mainly prepared dumplings for late-night snacks.

He ate the freshly steamed dumplings so well that watching him made my mouth water.

Except for the accident I got involved in by chance on the first day, I was confident that I was doing an excellent job as a personal maid.

So don’t be scared, Seolha.

“Young Master, I heard you were looking for me.”

Eok I-geon was sitting with his legs crossed, reading a book.

He’s like a living pictorial.

Even though I see him every day, I still find myself admiring him daily because I’m helplessly face-obsessed.

I decided to accept that I’m face-obsessed on the third day of being Eok I-geon’s personal maid—that is, as of yesterday.

While it remains an unchanging fact that he’s scary and frightening, it was also an undeniable reality that my eyes found pleasure in looking at him.

Thud!

Eok I-geon closed the book he was reading and set it down beside him.

Now he’s going to look at me.

As I waited with steeled resolve, Eok I-geon’s gaze reached me. Those same terrifying eyes that gave no hint of what he was thinking. Still, this being my fourth day, I wasn’t as scared as before.

“I called you because I have something to ask. Who taught you martial arts?”

“…What do you mean by that all of a sudden….”

I was startled by the unexpected question, but for now I played dumb.

“I have not learned martial arts. How could someone of my lowly status as a maid have learned martial arts? You saw it yourself that day, my lord. You saw me being held hostage by the Martial Arts Alliance spy, unable to do anything.”

“Is that so? Do you truly know nothing about martial arts?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Then how will you explain this?”

Huh? Explain what?

Actually, I didn’t have time to ask back. Eok I-geon approached me in an instant and grabbed my wrist.

Wh-what? Why is he grabbing my wrist?

At this first contact with Eok I-geon, I screamed internally in shock.

I felt a surge of fear that I might get hit.

“You claim not to know martial arts, yet what is this tremendous energy?”

“…Energy?”

What energy from me?

“Do you truly not know the state of your own body?”

Perhaps reading sincerity in my eyes, Eok I-geon’s tone softened somewhat.

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, my lord.”

“Then there’s no choice. Starting tomorrow, you’ll train for two hours each day.”

“Tr-training?”

“I will have you undergo cultivation to make the energy you possess completely your own.”

Wh-who will?

Surely not you, Eok I-geon?

As I stood there dumbfounded and stuttering in bewilderment, Eok I-geon added:

“What if a similar incident to last time happens again? There’s no guarantee I’ll be there to save you every time. You should at least know how to protect yourself.”

This is ridiculous.

What did I just hear?

Eok I-geon is worried about me?