Two days later, Nokhee’s biological mother arrived at Hwangju Castle in the morning.
Just as he said, Yoon Jucheol had prepared a rather large, antique, detached villa with a tranquil lake for her mother’s quarters.
Although the place was worn and dilapidated from years of disuse, it was something that could be gradually repaired, and she hardly noticed those flaws upon seeing her mother’s face again after such a long time.
“Mum!”
“Oh my goodness, my daughter! Our Hee-ya, oh, my precious baby.”
As soon as Nokhee heard that they had arrived, she rushed out to embrace her mother, Yeojin, who had come running out in her socks.
After a year apart, Nokhee finally saw her mother's face again and noticed that new wrinkles had formed. As she hugged her mother, who had remained thin after not gaining weight since the traumatic event a decade ago, Nokhee struggled to hold back her tears.
“Are you alright? Are you in any pain? You must have had a tough time travelling such a long distance.”
“What hardships are there in travelling by palanquin? Thanks to my daughter, I'm enjoying a comfortable life in my old age.”
“I should have insisted Father send you a flower palanquin.” [1]
"Don’t be so embarrassing."
Yeojin burst into a clear, bright laugh at Nokhee's playful remark. Nokhee couldn't help but smile widely in response.
Yeojin was completely unaware. She had no idea what kind of humiliation Nokhee was enduring in this household, with her mother and younger sibling held as hostages.
All she knew was that her deceased husband's family turned out to be a prestigious noble household, and she lived on, believing it was heaven's blessing that they had taken Nokhee in. She had completely forgotten that Yoon Hocheol had run away because he didn’t want to be part of that family.
Of course, her younger half-brother, Seonghyeon, was equally unaware. However, as he grew older, he began picking up on the household dynamics and seemed to sense something was amiss. Still, both Nokhee and Seonghyeon tacitly chose not to bring it up.
“So, how’s Seonghyeon doing?”
"He's been busy hanging around with the noble kids lately, so he doesn’t even pay attention to his sister."
Knowing that Yeojin would inevitably ask about Seonghyeon, Nokhee responded as if she had been waiting for it.
Relief spread across her mother’s face when she heard that her only son was doing well without any issues. However, while Nokhee could mask her words, she couldn’t hide the visible signs. Despite urging Eokbun to apply some powder to her face, Yeojin noticed immediately.
“But my daughter, why does your face look so pale? Are you really doing okay?”
While she could evade ghosts, it was impossible to escape her mother’s watchful gaze.
After receiving the order from Yoon Jucheol to serve as a prostitute in place of his daughter, Nokhee had nearly stopped eating altogether. Eokbun had been pacing anxiously, saying that she had already lost too much weight. Even a sip of water wouldn’t go down her throat.
Nonetheless, Nokhee smiled effortlessly, concealing all her emotions.
"Lately, all I've been hearing is that I’ve gained weight because I’ve been eating so well."
“Gained weight? You’re nothing but skin and bones. By the way, how is the Lord doing?”
“He’s fine. Well, I was wondering if he might have gone senile in the meantime.”
At the mention of someone she couldn’t stand, Nokhee’s face involuntarily turned sour even in front of her mother.
She was struggling to swallow the words that she wished he would get struck by lightning and die when Yeojin slapped her on the forearm and scolded her.
“Hey! What kind of attitude is that toward the Lord? No matter how good he is to you, you must always behave with respect and never forget the kindness he has shown you...”
“Ouch, that hurts! It’s been a year, so can you please cut back on the nagging, Mum?”
As she grabbed her arm and pretended to be in pain, Yeojin finally took Nokhee’s hand and led her inside.
“Come on, let’s not dawdle and go inside. I’ve prepared a lot of my daughter’s favourite dishes, and they’ll get cold.”
Being led by her mother into the detached villa prepared by Yoon Jucheol, Nokhee noticed that the crown of her mother’s head was now noticeably greyer, and for some reason, she suddenly felt like crying.
・・・・・
After eating until her stomach was full from the delicious meals her mother had prepared, lying on the warm floor felt like pure bliss.
After a sleepless night, sleep began to settle in like a gentle lullaby. As she dozed off, her eyes fluttering open and closed like a drowsy toad, her mother, Yeojin, who was peeling a tangerine and feeding it to her, also lay down next to her, clearly feeling tired as well.
“Mum’s scent.”
Nokhee turned as if she had been waiting for this moment and burrowed into her mother’s embrace. Yeojin burst out laughing and said, “You’re all grown up, yet you’re so clingy. It tickles! You won't let go!”
After tossing and turning a few times, they both finally settled into a comfortable position. While playfully complaining about being clingy, Yeojin began to pat Nokhee’s back like she would for a child and suddenly spoke up.
“...When are you going to get married?”
“Married?”
“Yeah. You’re at the age where you should be thinking about marriage.”
Nokhui replied with a baffled expression as if she had heard something absurd.
“Why would someone like me ever get married...”
"This one… what do you mean? You're so beautiful and lovely. Just step outside. All those guys will be drooling over you. Do you know how many boys followed me around when I was your age?"
“Is that so?”
Nokhee's mother, being a former courtesan, was undeniably beautiful. Despite having inherited a large, unsightly scar on her neck from Yoon Hocheol, her graceful figure could not be hidden, and there were even some madmen who suggested raising Seonghyeon and Nokhee together, similar to the customary adoption.
Though everyone fell silent at the Grand Sharman’s warning about what could happen if they touched a woman bitten by a snake that had turned from the curse, they couldn’t even squeak and kept their mouths shut.
Nokhee muttered unconsciously as she gazed at the scar still clearly visible on Yeojin's neck, even though it had healed significantly compared to ten years ago.
“...That guy didn’t seem to think so.”
“That guy? What kind of person would dare to hurt my daughter’s feelings?”
As soon as she blurted that out, she realised her mistake, but it was already spilled water. Since Yeojin was getting worked up, Nokhee had no choice but to speak ill of that guy.
“There is… a disrespectful jerk. He always ignores me and barely speaks…”
“You like him, don’t you?”
Yeojin struck a chord with uncanny precision. Nokhee was momentarily at a loss for words but soon asked herself, as if in a daze.
"...Is it that I like him?”
Could such a complicated feeling really be summed up in such simple words? She wasn’t sure. Of course, Nokhee had liked Kijoon. She had liked him, but...
“I’m not sure.”
The more she saw him, the harder it became. Her heart wavered thousands of times a day. One moment she felt happy, then sad, angry, and ultimately, everything felt meaningless.
But Yeojin, who had no way of knowing these feelings, asked with sparkling eyes.
“Is he good-looking?”
“Yeah, he’s good-looking.”
Nokhee affirmed that statement with a smile. She could now easily picture his handsome face, even with her eyes closed.
“When he walks by, all the girls stare at him.”
“So why don’t you know if you like him?”
“I don’t know. Sometimes I feel a sense of kinship because our situations are similar. Other times, I think I feel sorry for him and care about him...?”
“If you like him, then you like him. What’s the big deal about the reason?”
Frustrated by her daughter's lack of confidence, Yeojin banged her fist against her chest twice.
“Your stepfather was like that too. He said he had never seen anyone more pitiful and unfortunate than me. He gave up on all his possessions to rescue me from the courtesan house and look — in the end, he built a household with me and we even had Seonghyeon."
“Did that happen?”
Nokhee’s eyes widened in surprise at the revelation about her stepfather, Yoon Hocheol, of whom she had been unaware. Then Yeojin laughed, “Oh my, didn’t I tell you?” as she reached out to smooth Nokhee’s dishevelled hair, the warmth of her touch feeling truly comforting.
“Don’t pretend you’re not interested; just follow your heart, Hee-ya. From what I’ve learned in life, it’s much shorter than you think.”
“Why do you speak like an old person who has seen it all?”
“It’s true. You never know when misfortune will strike, even when things are going well. Moreover, even if you have something you want to pursue, it often doesn’t go as planned. How tough would life be if you couldn’t even follow your passions?
Upon hearing this, Nokhee nodded in agreement.
In truth, after the last time she saw him, Nokhee didn’t want to see that guy’s face anymore. At some point, the pain of seeing him became greater than the frustration of not being able to see him.
In just a few days, she would be the one-night prostitute of the Crown Prince, and she found herself contemplating her feelings for Kijoon. Yeojin’s words made her realise that this might be why she was struggling so much that she could hardly eat.
“So don’t act timidly for no reason, okay? Hurry up and take the initiative before some other girl does. All men are the same. Once you get physical with them, they’ll fall for you completely...”
“Mum! You shouldn’t say such things to your daughter.”
“Then do you think you and Seonghyeon were born just by looking at the sky?”
Yeojin burst into laughter ― even Nokhee found it funny.
Indeed, Yoon Jucheol had not acted foolishly. Seeing her mother remain unchanged despite the hardships she had faced gave Nokhee a sense of relief. She hugged her mother, who was smiling brightly and whispered to her.
“Mum, please don’t get sick and live with me for a long time.”
“Of course. The Lord told me to stay in the castle from now on, so let’s live together for a long time.”
Yeojin started to gently pat her daughter’s back again.
For today, she did not think of the Grand Shaman, Yoon Jucheol, or Kijoon. Nokhee fell into a deep sleep, free from nightmares for the first time in a while, as if she were in a death-like slumber.
Translator's Corner:
Hello, apologies for the delayed updates! I mentioned this in my IHBTHR post already, but just to keep you all updated as well: I have changed my chapter posting frequently to just Fridays and Sundays so it fits in my schedule better. (This was meant to be a Sunday post but it took me longer than I expected to translate and edit >_< so sorry!)
If I ever have a busy week and can't translate and post anything, I'll make sure to post extra chapters the following week to make up for it! Currently goal is to post 2-4 chapters per week as a minimum~ and if I manage to translate and edit more, I'll post those too as a bonus!
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[1] A "flower palanquin" is also known as a "bridal palanquin" where the bride would sit during a post-wedding journey to the groom's house. These are typically heavily decorated.
"The choice of materials for cushions varied according to official rank, ranging from leopard skin to tiger, dog, and lamb. However, the bridal palanquin was adorned with tiger skin, typically reserved for high-ranking officials."
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