【Book Chapter 7 】
This time, the one who transformed into a snake was the child of Yoon Jucheol's sixth cousin and was the only one close in age to Seonghyeon.
Due to the child’s young age, the parents hesitated to take action and were unsure what to do. In a split second, the child bit and killed his whole family, including his newborn sister.
With the death of the last male descendant of the direct bloodline, Seonghyeon's position as the family heir was firmly established.
In the Yoon family, this was a common tragedy, so the funeral was held quickly.
Despite the commotion of four people dying overnight, the representatives from the imperial palace showed no particular reaction. Only a few of the selected representatives attended the funeral, and their indifferent expressions upon witnessing the bizarre cremation ceremony suggested that they had already heard the story.
'Aren't they afraid?'
Nokhee watched them from a distance with a strange expression. If it were her, she would have stubbornly refused to go to a place where a person turned into a snake, biting and killing people — even if it was a royal command.
Indeed, the rumour that those born and raised in the imperial palace have blue blood instead of red seemed to be true, as even the female court ladies did not bat an eye. As she observed them, she could vividly imagine life in the imperial palace, and a sigh escaped her lips involuntarily.
At last, the blazing firewood was extinguished. As usual, the Grand Sharman, with a thick layer of powder on her face, began to sift through the ashes. However, she seemed greatly disappointed as she threw down the poker she was holding and disappeared. The reverse scale had not emerged.
Nokhee, who had been waiting with a sense of anticipation, also felt a pang of disappointment. She didn't want to be sick, but if it was in her body, she could at least hand over one more to Kijoon.
The day for Bohee to leave for the imperial palace due to her marriage was now only five days away.
Thanks to the continuous intimacy over the past ten days, only two were left, but Nokhee felt an inexplicable sense of anxiety.
Recently, the castle had been bustling with activity. The two young ladies they served were soon to depart for the imperial palace, and in celebration of this double auspicious occasion, the Lord ordered a grand feast to be held the day before their departure.
A few days ago, there had been a funeral, and now, just a few days later, there would be a feast. Truly, this household was insane.
Paying no mind to Eokbun's mention of plans to slaughter even the prized cow, Nokhee finished dressing up and rose from her seat. As she stepped out of her room, a flower palanquin and several imposing young men were waiting for her.
Today, for the first time in nearly two years, Nokhee was about to step outside the castle gates. She intended to visit the marketplace. The only time she had ever gone outside was for an annual trip to Mount Bohyeon to see her mother, Yeojin, during which she was carried in a palanquin to and from the temple. So, in truth, it had been more than ten years since she had truly ventured out on her own.
When she expressed her desire to go to the market, Yoon Jucheol naturally rolled his eyes and flew into a rage.
—Ha! You must truly have lost your mind! Going to the imperial palace has made you feel invincible! Do you no longer care about your mother and younger brother's lives?
—This is likely the last time I’ll see Mother and Seonghyeon. I may never have the chance to see them again, so I would like to give each of them a gift. Please grant me this request.
—What’s the big deal? Just give them any piece of jewellery you have! If you really need something, I’ll call a merchant to come to your quarters.
—How can offering something that has already been used be considered a heartfelt gift? Due to the celebration at the Lord’s estate, lively festivals have sprung up all over Hwangju. If neither of the two young ladies from our household goes out to see them, the people of the royal court will surely find it strange.
At those words, Yoon Jucheol let out a groan. Although it was an excuse she had prepared in advance, it was undeniably true.
Since the arrival of the royal envoys, a notable positive outcome was the enhanced dignity of Yoon Jucheol and the Grand Sharman’s behaviour. With the possibility of the Yoon family's only daughter becoming the Crown Princess, they appeared to have grasped the importance of decorum. Given that the family's hereditary illness was already a significant flaw, they likely recognised that any further misbehaviour would be counterproductive.
Seeing Yoon Jucheol deep in thought, Nokhee resolutely asserted her position.
—For over ten years, I’ve endured living for my mother and Seonghyeon; where could I possibly run away to now? If you’re so worried, then just assign more guards to accompany me.
While she called them "guards," it really meant surveillance, and perhaps, persuaded by her words, Yoon Jucheol reluctantly agreed.
Not only that, but he also begrudgingly tossed her a pouch of coins, which moved her to the point of tears. So, Nokhee deeply bowed in gratitude before turning to leave.
“My lady, have fun and enjoy yourself.”
Nokhee was jolted back to reality by a sudden voice. Eokbun had come out to the front courtyard and was warmly seeing her off as she stepped into the palanquin. On any other day, Nokhee would have passed by without a word, but perhaps she felt more uplifted today because she was finally going out.
“...Okay.”
Nokhee replied to Eokbun with a smile.
・・・・・
The day was exceptionally bright and sunny.
The saying 'the day you go out is market day' [1] couldn’t have been more accurate. On any other day, that bastard Kijoon would have stormed into her quarters and tried to force himself on her. But today, the Grand Shaman had sent him on a distant errand.
The outside world, which she was seeing for the first time in over a decade, seemed both different and the same. The bustling marketplace, especially, was as noisy and crowded as ever.
Ten years ago, she was just a ragged little girl running an errand for her mother to deliver lunch to her adoptive father, who was selling writing materials at the corner of the market. Now, dressed in fine silk clothes and shoes, she stepped down from a flower palanquin, and the hawkers, mistaking her for a noblewoman, eagerly called out, “Miss, come this way!”
However, the guards standing nearby made it difficult for anyone to approach her easily. To complicate matters, burly men cleared a path through the crowded marketplace for her, making it both convenient and inconvenient… Regardless, playing the role of a noble lady always felt strange to her.
Thanks to the guards, who were protecting and monitoring her, Nokhee was able to find the shop selling the items she wanted with relative ease. The first item she purchased was a piece of jewellery for Eokbun and her mother, Yeojin.
A yellow ornament would suit Eokbun, who was always full of life, perfectly. After paying for it, Nokhee pondered for a moment about what to give to Yeojin, as her mother had once been a renowned Kisaeng (courtesan) in her youth.
Yeojin often took young Nokhee to the market, teaching her how to tell whether the jewels sold at various stalls were real or fake. Nokhee was always amazed at how her mother seemed to know these things so well.
However, now that she was older, she realised that her mother could tell whether something was genuine at a glance due to seeing and using so many of them.
Having received early training from her mother, Nokhee was now capable of at least distinguishing between genuine items and imitations. So, she carefully selected and purchased a jade ring with a faint green hue. If her mother woke up, she hoped she could carry the jade ring as a token in her place.
In fact, Nokhee's name wasn't considered particularly auspicious. Yeojin, who had refused to abort the child and insisted on giving birth, fell out of favour with the Madam of the Kisaeng House. It was said that the Madam named her after a pleasure house called 'Chunghee Pavilion,' which had a distinctive green roof.
Thus, her name, Nokhee, meant "the child born under the green roof of the pleasure house," but her mother, Yeojin, disliked that name. Instead, she would simply call her "Our Hee-ya."
But Nokhee liked her name. After all, it was a testament to her mother’s fight to bring her into the world and allow her to see the light of day.
On the day she received permission from Yoon Jucheol to go outside, Nokhee visited the detached villa where her mother was staying.
Yeojin's husband had transformed into a monster right before her, biting her neck. Perhaps, because the shock of nearly dying again at the hands of the same snake monster was still so fresh, Yeojin had yet to regain her consciousness.
Her mother’s face, which had always been beautiful, now looked gaunt and worn, with her eyes tightly shut. Despite knowing she shouldn’t, Nokhee couldn’t hold back the tears that escaped her.
The physician said that no one could predict when she would wake up. It was possible that she remained in this state because she did not want to return to reality.
How could life be so cruel? After spending her entire life selling her body in the pleasure house, she finally found a husband, only to have him transform into a monster and die, leaving her to possibly live on as a living corpse.
And now, even the only child she had left was about to do something that would drive a nail into her heart. She could only imagine how devastated and angry her mother would feel once she woke up.
—...Mum. I did what you told me and vigorously rode that bastard's manhood.
Nokhee spoke incoherently to the motionless Yeojin. If her mother were awake, she would surely exclaim, "You shameless girl, how dare you say such things to your mother!" and likely smack her on the back.
—I was unsure at first, but that bastard really seemed crazy about me. Ever since we first shared a bed, he sneaks into my room every day, and I feel like I might just die from it.”
—...But, Mum, they say all men are the same, and that after a few encounters, your feelings would cool off, but that’s not the case. I still feel anxious when I see him, and when I don’t see him, I miss him and think about him. I just hope that bastard can live well without worrying about dying.
Maybe, as Yoon Jucheol said, she could go to the imperial palace quietly and live better than expected. The chubby, toad-like Crown Prince might actually be surprisingly kind and gentle, and she couldn’t continue living forever under the oppression of the Yoon family...
But regardless of everything else, she could no longer stand seeing that bastard, Kijoon, living as a slave in this house. To him, Nokhee would seem like just another pathetic woman, who, like the rest of the Yoon family, swallowed the same reverse scales and deserved to drop dead right then and there. But Nokhee was more than that.
Even if she died, she hoped Kijoon could escape from this place and live well.
If Yeojin suddenly opened her eyes and scolded her for being infatuated with a man and even slapping her face, she wouldn’t have a word to say in response. She had worried endlessly about who would care for her mother if she were gone, trembling at the thought. However, as it became increasingly clear that Seonghyeon would inherit the family head position, she could ease her mind a little.
Nokhee apologised to her mother with a surprising sense of calm.
—You told me to follow my heart, didn’t you? Well, that’s exactly what I’m doing... Will you forgive me?
She wondered if things would have been different if she hadn’t heard her mother say to follow her heart back then. She really didn’t know.
“In total, it’s five hundred nyang, Miss.”
Nokhee was pulled from her thoughts by the shopkeeper, who had finished tallying the total. As she was taking out coins from the bundle Yoon Jucheol had given her, the shopkeeper neatly packed the items she had purchased into a box after wrapping them in colourful paper. Suddenly, just as he was about to add something else to a box, Nokhee stopped him.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll hold onto it.”
“Oh, was this something you intended to use, Miss? Then, what shall I do with it?”
“Give it to me.”
At Nokhee's words, the shopkeeper extended what he had in his hand and made an additional remark.
“You’ve truly made an excellent choice. Lately, all the young ladies in the marketplace have been buying one of these. Compared to the others, it’s smaller and has a sharp blade, making it sell like hotcakes. The craftsmanship on the handle is also exquisite, crafted with care stitch by stitch by a master artisan. Just look at this intricate floral pattern.”
"Is that so?"
What she purchased to carry was a small silver dagger the size of her palm.
Urged by the shopkeeper’s gesture to try it out, Nokhee gripped the handle and drew the blade from its sheath. Whether or not everything else was true, it was indeed sharp; her own eye reflected clearly on the cold, gleaming edge of the blade. This would be more than sufficient for its intended purpose.
After carefully tucking it inside her garment, Nokhee finished paying and continued on her way.
As noon approached, the market became even more bustling with people coming out for lunch. Perhaps due to the crowd, even the guards who usually cleared a path struggled. Regardless, Nokhee was too absorbed in browsing the stalls selling various goods to pay them any mind.
Then her gaze landed on something that made her stop. It was an annex next to a paper shop, where piles of various types of paper were stacked like mountains. Above it, the characters ‘Book Rental' were written on it.
“...So it's here too.”
Nokhee stood before the sign, staring at it with a bewildered expression as she murmured to herself.
"There's one in Hwangju too."
Well, Hwangju was vast and had a large population, so it would have been more surprising if it weren't there.
Not realising it was so close, she had spoken about it as if it were something far away and unattainable… But rather than feeling embarrassed, Nokhee felt a slight urge to cry.
At that moment, a group of people rushed out of the paper shop. Before the guards could react, someone hurried past Nokhee, roughly bumping her shoulder.
"Ugh."
The narrow path and the crowd caused her to lose her balance and stumble helplessly. That was when it happened.
Someone behind her caught her firmly just as she was about to fall. They wrapped their strong arms around her tightly to shield her from the jostling crowd. Before she could even process what kind of lascivious person they were, a familiar voice drifted into her ears.
"You need to be careful."
“...Ki-Kijoon?"
As she stuttered and lifted her head, she saw the servant, Kijoon, looking down at her with his head bowed, as if he had truly sprung up from the ground itself.
“Ho-how did you get here…?”
“Come this way."
While she was dazed and stammering, Kijoon suddenly yanked her arm. He then pushed his way through the crowd recklessly, leaving Nokhee with no choice but to be dragged along helplessly.
“Wh-where are you taking me, Kijoon?"
The guy who hadn’t answered even when she asked finally stopped once they exited the bustling market and reached a deserted alley. Breathless from keeping up with him, Nokhee hurriedly spoke up.
"There are guards.”
“I know.”
Even though he knew the guards would soon be following, he seemed unfazed and replied in a casual tone. Suddenly, he took off the robe he was wearing and carelessly draped it over Nokhee's head.
Kijoon scooped her up as if to wrap her like bossam, [2] then kicked off the ground, propelling himself into the air with her in his arms.
"Ugh! Wh-what is this...?!”
Even though her vision was darkened and she couldn’t see anything, Nokhee sensed that the man who was holding her had leapt over the wall and was racing away with incredible speed.
The sound of the wind whipping past the robe was so intense that it felt less like running and more like weightlessly soaring through the air.
Translator's Corner:
[1] The Korean phrase "가는 날이 장날이" translates literally to "the day you go out is market day," but its idiomatic meaning is closer to "when it rains, it pours" or "troubles come in bundles." Ultimately, the saying serves as a reminder that important moments can often be disrupted by unexpected interruptions, illustrating that bad luck tends to strike when it is least welcome.
[2] Bossam is a Korean dish (Korean Boiled Pork Belly Wrap) where meat is wrapped in vegetables, and it’s often used metaphorically to imply lifting or carrying something as if it were being bundled up.
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