🚨 Warning: This chapter includes depictions of sexual assault. Please remain mindful of this as you read. If you feel uncomfortable, do not hesitate to stop reading. 🚨
【Book Chapter 1 】
The Yoon household had a male and female servant.
However, the male servant who had been helping with the writing just days before was nowhere to be found, and the female servant lay there, appearing as if she had been beaten by her master.
‘What a great fate I have,’ Nokhee thought wryly as she lay covered in a silk blanket, finding her situation laughable. She opened her drowsy eyes and glanced around.
“...Eokbun, where did Kijoon go?”
“I heard he went to the lower village at the command of the Grand Shaman.”
“Right. That's what happened.”
In truth, she already knew. The elders had deliberately sent him away when the timing was right. Although she was aware of this, his abrupt departure without a word left her feeling somewhat resentful towards the servant, and a sigh escaped her lips.
“Are you in a lot of pain, My Lady? You always end up lying sick like this. You should be as healthy as Lady Bohee...”
Swish―.
Eokbun murmured something as she soaked the already warm wet towel in cold water again. Normally, Nokhee would have snapped back at her, but her ears were ringing, and she couldn't hear a word.
Her fever was raging. This time it was particularly severe. No, in fact, it had never been mild.
As the heat rose to her eyes, Nokhee simply closed them. It was a bad choice. Immediately, the events of a few days ago vividly came flooding back.
Lately, there was an old man from the household who had been looking at her with lecherous eyes. She couldn't remember his name, something like Jongsook. What good would it do to know the entire family tree of the Yoon household?
It seemed he had a rough idea about her position in this household, so she desperately tried to avoid him. But they ran into each other along a path leading to the back garden after she visited the Grand Sharman. As the saying goes, bad luck comes in threes [1], and of all times, there were no servants around.
The old man, who received Nokhee's greeting, looked around with a strange smile and suddenly grabbed her wrist. Then he dragged her to a secluded alley.
The old man was so strong that no matter how much she struggled and resisted, she was dragged like a rag doll. She scratched, pinched, and screamed, but he didn't budge an inch.
Just as he threw Nokhee down into the dark shadow of the wall and was about to climb on top of her and unfasten his pants...
―Ah! Ahh!
Suddenly, his eyes widened and he let out a final scream, then immediately began to transform.
Right before her eyes, the old man’s pupils narrowed into a slit, and his tongue split into two. With a 'crack, crack' sound, rough scales began to protrude from his skin…
Had it not been for the Grand Sharman rushing out just in time upon hearing her screams, it would have surely been catastrophic.
While she had seen members of the transformed Yoon family being killed on numerous occasions, this was the first time she had witnessed it up close.
The old man's head, which had just begun to transform into a snake, was sliced off like a radish by the cleaver wielded by the Grand Sharman, soaring through the air…
Even in that fleeting moment, her heart sank. She was deeply disappointed to find that it wasn't Kijoon who had come to her rescue. She couldn't help but think that she was truly a foolish girl.
The old man's dismembered body was quickly burned by the servants summoned by the Grand Sharman.
Afterwards, they sifted through the piles of ashes, managing to find a black fragment. The Grand Sharman handed it to her, and then…
This was the outcome. As soon as Nokhee returned to her quarters, she coughed up blood several times and then collapsed.
She knew her body was growing weaker, but there was nothing she could do. After all, dying in such a miserable state was practically the fate of the servant girl in the Yoon family.
Every time she fell ill and confined to bed, Nokhee thought:
“...Eokbun, when that guy, Kijoon returns, tell him first…”
Tell him to come to my quarters first.
Even if it was just before she died, she would like to see Kijoon's handsome face one last time.
・・・・・
After three days passed, the frighteningly high fever that had been raging began to subside.
“...I survived again.”
Nokhee muttered as she struggled to take off her damp undergarments soaked in sweat.
In the end, that guy, Kijoon did not come. She didn't even know if he had returned to Hwangju while she was ill. This realisation made her feel more depressed than the fact that she had survived.
Nokhee firmly suppressed her feelings of despair. She rose from her spot. It was time to pull herself together and fulfil her duties.
Who was she? Wasn’t she the cherished daughter of the Yoon family, said to be so beautiful that even birds would fall from the sky? How could the mood of such a precious lady, raised so delicately that she might fly away if touched or break if handled, be swayed by a mere servant?
Swallowing her self-mockery, Nokhee wiped her body with the cool water that Eokbun had left in the basin and then took out a fresh set of clothes.
Just as she was tying her skirt, something caught her eye. Nokhee’s hand, which had been making the knot, came to an abrupt halt.
On her right side, there was a black spot the size of a thumbnail against her fair skin. At first glance, it resembled a scar or a mole, but its angular shape and the way it shimmered in the light made it evident that it was far from an ordinary blemish.
Nokhee reached out and slowly ran her fingers over it. The rough, prickly texture akin to touching a dried thorn, sent a shiver through her fingertips. The cold, hardened expression on Nokhee's face crumbled without a moment's hesitation.
“...How disgusting.”
A shrill scream escaped her lips.
She knew all too well that marriage was out of the question since she became a member of this household, but she never imagined she would have to live with such repulsive things on her otherwise healthy body.
‘Six of them.’
On her left breast, beside her shoulder blade, on her lower back, the inside of her thigh, and on her ankle bone. And now, on her side, which she found today. Six of these disgusting snake-like scales were scattered across her body. Furthermore, she had no idea how many more might appear in the future.
Nokhee had reached a point where she could no longer bear to look directly at her own body. It was revolting, grotesque, and hideous.
Shaking her hand away, she shut her eyes and completed tying the knot on her skirt.
・・・・・
Just as she sat down at her desk after barely touching her breakfast, Eokbun called her from outside the door.
“My Lady, the Grand Sharman is looking for you.”
Since it was a routine after her illness, Nokhee calmly got up and stepped outside.
The servants who tended to her quarters hurriedly greeted her, asking if she had risen and if she was feeling better. Their worried expressions seemed genuinely sincere.
Despite her sinking spirits, Hwangju Castle welcomed another lively morning.
“Oh, this happens every first day of the month. Whenever I wake up, at least a bundle of carrots and cabbage goes missing from the ingredients we’ve received. It's like there's a ghost in the kitchen… Oh my, My Lady! When did you get up? I was just preparing a snack for you...”
Osan, the maid in charge of the kitchen, was chattering animatedly when she spotted Nokhee passing by and greeted her warmly.
“It's fine.”
Nokhee responded curtly, and Eokbun hurriedly followed her. Behind them, Osan muttered, “What is that Eokbun doing, neglecting the young lady like that?” accompanied by the sound of her clucking tongue.
Eokbun looked aggrieved as she saw Nokhee off, feeling unfairly blamed.
“Take care, My Lady.”
Everything here felt warm and cherished. It gave the impression of a tranquil everyday life. Yet, this place was undoubtedly in the heart of hell.
・・・・・
The Grand Sharman's private residence was situated within the shrine and was located far from the centre of the castle. Despite the frequent visits, the distance was considerable, and Nokhee had been scolded several times for dawdling when she was young.
Yet, as she grew older, she found it increasingly puzzling why the distance felt so close.
“My Lady, you have arrived.”
The servants sweeping the front courtyard greeted Nokhee with respect as she approached. The head servant, who seemed to be supervising the cleaning, welcomed her warmly.
“Oh, isn’t it Lady Nokhee? I heard you were unwell a few days ago. How are you feeling now? You should have come in a palanquin…[2]”
It seemed no one knew about the near-assault by one of the relatives. Nokhee suppressed her churning stomach and replied coldly.
“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”
“You’ve come to see the Grand Sharman, haven’t you? His Excellency is also inside, so this works out well.”
“...Father?”
“Yes, His Excellency must be worried about your health and came to ask the Grand Sharman for a prayer. It hasn’t even been three days since the funeral of the distant relative, so His Excellency's concern for you is truly profound.”
It was known that the Lord of Hwangju doted on Nokhee, the eldest of the twins.
Unlike the second daughter, the eldest had been frail since birth. Fearing that she might fall victim to the curse haunting the household, she was sent to recuperate in a distant village. Only when she turned twelve did she return back home.
Having grown up in a remote village and experienced all manner of hardships, Nokhee had matured early. Even when she arrived here at the age of twelve, she couldn't understand how anyone could believe such a ridiculous story.
Yet, the curse that plagued the Yoon family was so terrifying that even the servants who had been born and raised there believed it wholeheartedly and treated Nokhee like a precious jewel. At times, her situation felt so absurd that she couldn't help but laugh.
“Oh dear, it’s still chilly, and here I am thoughtlessly holding you up. I’ll announce your arrival right away.”
Nokhee found the shrine even more daunting knowing that Yoon Jucheol was there. The head servant announced her arrival before she could hesitate any further.
Translator's Corner:
[1] The belief that “bad luck comes in threes” is not limited to specific events but extends to various aspects of life. For example, superstition suggests that deaths, accidents, or even personal misfortunes tend to occur in threes. If two unfortunate events have already occurred, a third is likely to follow.
[2] A palanquin is a structure formerly used in East Asia for transporting one person. It consists of a box that is carried by four or six people by means of two long poles.
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