"Are you insane?"
Seolyeong blurted out, rising as if he were about to grab Yeoil by the collar.
However, Yeoil's eyes were focused solely on the servant girl's greatly flustered face.
"I-I'm too foolish to understand what you mean, Hero. How could you say such a thing...?"
"Didn't Namgung Soyo have a dying wish that she entrusted to you?"
Small, dirt-stained hands fumbled for the crystal necklace around her neck.
"It would be difficult for you to achieve it alone. But if Namgung Soyo were alive, the opportunity to find her birth mother would come at any time."
If you were lucky, her birth mother might even come looking for her.
Yeoil briefly returned to the carriage, retrieved a scroll from the pouch she always carried, and returned. She sat next to the servant girl and spread it out on the floor.
"See?"
"...What is all this?"
"It's the last will and testament of my benefactor. It's also the reason I roam the world."
The servant girl craned her neck and read the writing on the scroll. Judging by her increasingly distorted expression, she seemed to be stifling a laugh.
"So, what you said earlier... Th-those, uh, wills are a little... unusual."
"Just say it seems crazy. It's okay. Now, read here."
The servant girl's eyes followed Yeoil's white finger.
If you meet someone who has lost their parents, grant them one request.
It was a high-priority item on the will.
However, there had never really been an opportunity to fulfill it. There are plenty of orphans in the world, but Yeoil doesn't have the ability to spot them at a glance.
"Then... Hero, according to this person's will, you mean to grant my request, as someone who has lost her parents? And that request is to find Miss Soyo's mother, right?"
To the cautious question, Yeoil stroked the servant girl's head and replied.
"You, too, have lost your parents. But the one whose request I will grant is Namgung Soyo. She lost her mother and was abandoned by her father, so you could say she's lost both."
"..."
"If you doubt my motives later, you can tell the Namgung family the truth anytime. I'll run away so fast they won't know what hit them."
"...No, I do not doubt your intentions. You're my savior, Hero! Besides, you're a powerful warrior who could cut my head off right now and steal Miss Soyo's identity."
With that answer, the servant girl grasped Namgung Soyo's hand even tighter.
Then, after contemplating for a long time, she nodded with a face that seemed to have made a firm decision.
"That's right. I can't do anything without Miss Soyo... The Namgung family won't take me in, and I'll be thrown back out on the streets."
Complex emotions tangled on her young face, making her look as if she was about to cry.
Seolyeong, who had been watching silently for once, put his hand on his hip and clicked his tongue.
"Huh. This is ridiculous. You're going to steal the identity of a noble family's daughter? What kind of crazy talk is that, Sister?!"
"Is it any crazier than that eccentric old man's will?"
"It's just absurd because you're doing something so out of character. Are you really the type to go to such lengths, risking so much, just to fulfill a will? What will you do if the family recognizes you?"
"I have her mother's only keepsake, and the only surviving servant will swear I'm the real young lady. Who would dare question my identity?"
"The assassins you just let go know what Namgung Soyo looks like, don't they?"
"Seolyeong, who would believe the word of a common assassin? Anyone who believes them wouldn't be believed by anyone else."
At her resolute tone, different from before, Seolyeong's lips closed.
After patting his disgruntled, twitching face for a moment, the servant girl's soft voice caught Yeoil's attention.
"If, Hero, you find the young lady's mother, what happens then...?"
"I'll vanish without a trace and go back to my travels."
Answering lightly, Yeoil took the servant girl's hand and slowly raised her up. From the gaps between her small, dust-covered fingers, the hand of the dead woman slipped away like the tide.
"Namgung Soyo achieves what she wanted, and I fulfill that old man's will..."
"..."
"And finally, you'll have to find a way to survive without Namgung Soyo."
What had she resolved so firmly?
The servant girl, who had bitten her lip so hard it bled, suddenly pushed Yeoil's hand away and bowed deeply.
"I understand, Hero. I'll help you. Please, grant our deceased Miss Soyo's wish!"
It was a day for Seolyeong to sigh deeply enough to shake the earth.
An old carriage stopped in the middle of a bustling street, crowded with people.
Yeoil, a woman inside the carriage, quietly watched the lively street scene before calling out to the young servant girl sitting beside her.
"Changa."
"Yes, Young Lady."
Changa, Namgung Soyo's servant, who looked up at Yeoil somewhat awkwardly, seemed quite nervous.
"Is that shop over there the one that has been selling tanghulu in this area for 70 years?"
"S-seventy years? I'm not sure about that."
"Anyway, what difference does it make whose tanghulu you eat? Go buy three and get the information I told you about earlier. You can eat one of them."
"Me too? Really? Thank you, Young Lady! I'll go buy them right away!"
Yeoil quietly watched the round back of Changa's head as she, thrilled with the money, ran off.
Changa had been crying for the past two days, but starting this morning, she began to show a slightly more composed attitude. Perhaps because the Namgung family's main estate was so close, she looked deep in thought.
No sooner had Changa moved away than a disgruntled voice came from the driver's seat.
"I still don't get it, Sister."
"Young Lady."
At Yeoil's correction, Seolyeong twitched his eyebrows.
"Y-yes, that damn Namgung Soyo..."
Yeoil swallowed a laugh and replied.
"The sulker finally speaks. If you're going to ask what you don't understand, I guess I'll listen."
Yeoil was fully prepared to return to the family as Namgung Soyo.
She had changed into a suitably faded dress, not at all fitting for a noble family, let down her long hair, and even made a cut on her left arm to gain the family head's sympathy.
Finally, she had arranged for the bodies of Namgung Soyo and her servants to be buried in a suitable spot near Cheonju Mountain, thanks to Seolyeong's brothers.
With this much preparation, she should be able to get by for a few days without raising much suspicion, but what was the problem?
"Why are you going to all this trouble?"
"Hmm."
So, he was questioning this action itself.
"Y-yes, Young Lady, I know you're compassionate, but you're not the type to get mixed up in something this big. Sure, you mentioned that dead person's will, but does it really make sense to steal a woman's identity – and the identity of a Namgung family daughter, no less – just because of one will? There are tons of orphans all over the place!"
Seolyeong leaned his face close to the carriage window and whispered, clearly worried about being overheard.
Yeoil clicked her tongue at his attitude.
"Sometimes, a person just has to take a leap of faith and help someone less fortunate. Like you said, I'm just being compassionate."
However, the person in front of her wasn't even listening to Yeoil's scolding. Rather, he just asked back with eyes as if he had caught a good deal.
"You've got something else up your sleeve, don't you?"
"Of course not."
"Haa. How dangerous is this ulterior motive?"
"I said there isn't one."
"It's not that I'm worried about your safety, Young Lady, but you never know what might happen. Just tell me what you're really up to. That way, I can relax a little."
"I said there isn't one."
Actually, I do.
Right, it's because of the death ledger in the Namgung family. But Yeoil had no intention of telling Seolyeong about it.
Seolyeong did not know that her past was closely connected to the assassin organization.
Even though the assassin organization disappeared a few years ago, just being connected to Yeoil was enough to put Seolyeong in danger.
So, she didn't want to give him any more reason to worry. It was her way of protecting him.
Just in time, Changa's figure, running back vigorously, came into view, so Yeoil lightly waved her right hand and sent Seolyeong back to the driver's seat.
'Meh.'
The tanghulu wasn't all that impressive.
Whether it was just a bad batch or if tanghulu was just a weird mix of sweet and sour, she probably wouldn't be buying it again.
'Making me eat this sugary crap as part of his will. What a mean, crazy old coot.'
Anyway, that's one important thing off the list.
While feeding the remaining tanghulu to Changa and listening to the information she had asked for, the carriage suddenly stopped abruptly. At this point, there was only one reason for Seolyeong to stop the carriage.
"We're here. The Namgung estate."
"Gulp."
No sooner had Changa swallowed the hawthorn berry she was diligently chewing than a man's voice was heard from outside the carriage.
"Who's there?”
