Chapter 28
I wonder if that's the reason? The man's warning felt like it was directed at me.
Maybe it was simply a guilty conscience. Yes, maybe that's it. Honestly, I can't make a rational judgment. It was the first time I'd fought back against someone like him, so it makes sense.
I think I heard this awful sound, like bones cracking.
[Kill her. Now.]
As the man released his hand, the woman's head fell limply. She was still breathing, but her face was contorted in terrible pain.
[I'll say it again. Kill her.]
Right when he gave the order, the glass on the table shattered.
Without thinking, I rose to my feet... I didn't understand it at first. The woman must have poured cheongju, not poison.
I could see the expectation in his eyes.
That expectation was belief, trust...trust that I would never go against him.
I'd forgotten, but I'm really just a puppet, here to do what Salmak wants.
I can't try to change. I can't have a sense of self.
All this time, it's been for this. So why am I hesitating? No one's going to remember me. My place is here. This is it. With others like me...
[Yeo-il.]
[...]
[Kill her.]
...That's not my fate.
I killed him.
When I caught my breath and opened my eyes,
maybe it was because I'd focused so hard, but I was drenched in sweat. It was sticky, but it didn't bother me.
'He just won't quit.'
My body and mind felt clear and light...but maybe seeing that unwelcome face again is why I feel so uneasy.
Right after I finished the tea, I heard a lazy voice behind me, thick with the night.
"You're something else,"
It was Jin Cheong-ak.
"You hit the peak at, like, no age. So why do you almost get taken over by your inner demon every single time you circulate your Qi?"
"Well, duh, I only train when Jin Cheong-ak's around."
"If I did this every day, at least while I'm here at the estate like Namgung Hui-myeong, it'd be easier to control my mind, body, and Qi."
But for Yeo-il, the Namgung family estate was not a safe haven.
No matter where I am, Jin Cheong-ak is the only one I can trust to watch my back. So I just have to deal with the fallout. It's the truth, even if we don't talk about it.
Yeo-il took off her top, revealing her bare back, soaked a cloth in water, and wiped herself down.
Her skin looked completely fine, but when she wiped over her left shoulder blade, she felt a strange, indescribable sensation.
When she reached the highest level, her body should have been perfect.
Only this area where the Salmak brand was engraved was an exception.
Perhaps because she was wiping so slowly, Jin Cheong-ak, who'd been watching without a word, came over and grabbed the cloth.
He expertly wiped Yeo-il's body.
He even lifted her arms like he was taking care of a child and washed them carefully. When it was time for her front, he wet the cloth again and handed it back.
"I've said it a million times, but sometimes you just gotta talk about what's causing your Qi problems, even to someone like me. Stuff like that gets lighter when you let it out."
Yeo-il swallowed a scoff.
"A lump in my chest? To you of all people? You're like a cat guarding fish."
Jin Cheong-ak chuckled lowly and made a meow sound.
Soon, he placed neatly folded clothes next to Yeo-il. She wondered what they were, and it turned out to be a woman's dansam, as crisp as new.
"Seol-yeong left these an hour ago. I heard Young Master got a pretty jade-green dansam for Young Miss Namgung?"
"Namgung Jeok-myeong?"
Just hearing his name made her not want to touch it.
"He's a weird guy. He seems to know you're a fake, but he acts just like a real brother. What's he up to?"
"Probably."
She raised her hand and stroked the beautiful jade-colored dansam.
There were no special markings on the outside, and after slowly unfolding the clothes and checking each part that touched the skin, no poison had been applied.
"Wait. If you're going to change right away, I'll leave the room..."
She got up, untying her belt. Jin Cheong-ak sighed and headed for the door.
"...I can leave right away. I'll rest in Seol-yeong's room, so don't come looking for me unless it's a matter of life or death. Please."
Alone in the room, Yeo-il skillfully began to change her clothes.
It was the kind of clothing she'd always worn before pretending to be Namgung So-yo. The kind of thing rich women in the estate would never wear.
It was the perfect attire to hide Namgung So-yo's identity.
'Young Master's definitely got a good head on his shoulders.'
She'd noticed it back when she was running wild in Gangho; most heirs to family estates were terrible at going incognito or hiding who they were. They just had a different vibe, you know?
Even Namgung Hui-myeong is like that.
He managed to get rid of those unwanted guests at the inn partly because he was intimidating, but mostly because he looked incredibly wealthy.
But Namgung Jeok-myeong, whom she'd met up with again here, looked like a total Gangho veteran.
In an instant, a familiar voice echoed in her head.
[If you're awake, come out for a moment, So-yo.]
Namgung Jeok-myeong.
Yeo-il gazed at the window, swaying in the night breeze, with a strange look in her eyes.
'Was he watching?'
He must have sent the message with his mind the second the light came on.
Yeo-il left the inn.
It sounded noisy outside, and sure enough, a storm was raging.
A man was standing in the empty street. It was the one who'd sent her the message.
Namgung Jeok-myeong's face, under a black hat and a black cloak, was obscured by the hazy fog and not clearly visible. If she wasn't mistaken, she could smell a faint scent of blood on him that hadn't been washed away by the rain.
Namgung Jeok-myeong, who had been silently staring at her, chuckled softly.
"You chose the color well. Jade green suits you; it's like a part of you."
His voice cut through the pounding rain.
Soon, he threw something in front of Yeo-il. It was an oiled paper umbrella, used to keep off the rain on a day like today.
Yeo-il pretended not to see it and groped for the umbrella with her head bowed.
"Where are you trying to take me in this nasty weather?"
"It's not far. We'll be there soon."
"With everything going on, I'm worried something bad might happen."
"Anyone listening would think I'm some shameless kidnapper."
"I wasn't talking about you, Young Master Jeok-myeong."
The other person slightly raised his head. Black eyes, hidden in the darkness, flickered meaningfully.
"How about this, then? I'll tell you something you'll want to hear. Follow me if you're interested."
After finishing speaking, Namgung Jeok-myeong turned around without hesitation and started walking. She shouted loudly at his back.
"Young Master Jeok-myeong! Did you forget? I'm blind. I can't walk around a strange place like this unless you hold my hand."
The person, who had stopped, hesitated and belatedly returned to take Yeo-il's hand. Then he slowly pulled her along; it was a gentle movement that contradicted his hostile attitude.
Perhaps because of that attitude, she thought that Namgung Jeok-myeong thoroughly believed that she was blind, if nothing else.
