Chapter 12
Jibong
It seemed she had once again felt that terrible sensation she had experienced before losing consciousness in the forest yesterday.
However, she decided that perhaps she was still not entirely free from the influence of the formation called a barrier.
Even while thinking such things, she kept moving without rest.
Considering the eldest young master’s appetite yesterday, it was better to hurry even a little.
Jeong-ah opened her eyes at precisely the same time she always did.
She could only judge it through the influence of her “eye,” but her ability to sense time was also extraordinarily sharp.
Her sleeping arrangements had been comfortable.
Unlike the maid quarters of the reception hall, the night-shift maids did not come and go, and there was no security captain constantly making patrols.
Moreover, the room was spacious, and the facilities were excellent.
Just from the lodging, she could tell how much Yeon Sang-hyeon normally cared for those beneath him.
She had woken once because of a nightmare, but it had not been anything serious.
***
In less than a full day, she had already grasped several things about this person called the eldest young master and this place called Wongak Pavilion.
The first among them was this.
The eldest young master enjoyed eccentric behavior that broke etiquette.
“Now, now. Let us begin the morning with a cheerful heart today as well.”
“E-Eldest Young Master…?!”
Sure enough, today as well, the eldest young master barged into the kitchen with vegetables he had personally harvested tucked under his arm.
Then he made a fuss about helping prepare breakfast.
Of course, he was surprisingly accustomed to kitchen work, so he was helpful rather than a hindrance.
However, there was an enormous difference in status between him and her.
When someone like that moved around beside her, she could not help feeling as though her nerves were being worn down.
“…Are you telling me to eat at the same table again today?”
The eldest young master looked at her as though wondering what nonsense she was saying.
“Not ‘again today.’ Always. From now on, always.”
The two-story main building where the eldest young master’s bedroom was located was dangerous.
“Eldest Young Master, it is Jeong-a. I have brought tea and refreshments.”
Before entering the main building, she announced herself in a clear voice.
Soon, Yeon Sang-hyeon’s reply came from inside.
“Mm, leave it there by the entrance. I’ll come get it later.”
“How could I dare do that?”
Jeong-ah shook her head, opened the door to the main building, and carefully stepped inside.
“Come now. Don’t just stand there blankly. Try this braised dish. I made it myself, but it turned out wonderfully.”
The second thing.
The moment she entered the main building, she immediately turned around and came back out.
“…I will leave it here by the entrance.”
“Very well.”
What she had seen the instant she stepped inside were bamboo slips scattered across the floor.
She had caught a glimpse of their titles, and they were unmistakably martial arts manuals.
Martial arts manuals recorded on bamboo slips.
They were clearly incredibly ancient martial arts texts, and if so, their value must have been beyond imagination.
Leaving aside the first two matters, it was extremely surprising that he showed no curiosity toward them.
And that was not all.
There were also famous martial arts secret manuals lying carelessly around the floor—manuals whose names she had heard at least once while working in a martial household.
If she so much as glanced at their contents, she would surely disappear that very day without even a mouse or bird knowing.
If she was lucky, it might end with only her eyes gouged out and her tongue cut off.
‘I’m certain there weren’t this many dangerous books lying around yesterday…’
Apparently, the eldest young master’s interest today was martial arts.
‘It may be better not to go inside for a while.’
And the third thing.
The third was the most important issue for her.
The eldest young master had no interest in her whatsoever.
Truly, not the slightest bit.
He showed no interest in her personal life, her thoughts or opinions, or even the most basic sexual curiosity.
The Luoyang Sword Clan entrusted all discreet entertainment to carefully selected and thoroughly vetted outside contractors.
Because of that, the women of the reception hall, who were all extraordinarily beautiful, received an excessive amount of attention.
And among them, Jeong-ah possessed enough beauty to be called a “flower”—an ice flower.
For as long as she could remember, she had lived her entire life under the gazes of men, and she was just as accustomed to ignoring those gazes.
Yet this eldest young master almost never even looked at her.
It was not that she failed to notice his gaze from a blind spot because he was a strange person her “eye” could not properly grasp.
No matter how one looked at it, he was plainly uninterested in her.
Had she not seen spring paintings and erotic books scattered here and there around Wongak Pavilion—and that sight had been shocking in its own way—she might even have suspected his sexual preferences.
“This book is interesting.”
Even now, as they ate lunch, he was chuckling while reading an erotic book.
“…Yes, Eldest Young Master.”
Jeong-ah deliberately ignored the sight and focused on the meal.
‘…This is truly confusing.’
She swallowed a sigh inwardly.
On one hand, she felt relieved that the eldest young master had no interest in her body, but that was not necessarily only a good thing.
It was not because of some maidenly heart that rejected him while still leaving room for possibility.
It was a matter of her own survival.
The reason she had tried to escape the hands of the second young master and third young master in the first place was not to protect something as trivial as the chastity of a middle-aged woman.
They were people accustomed to taking women into their hands simply for amusement, then throwing them away once they broke.
Whether that was because of some vile sexual preference, or because they were so intoxicated by their own status that they regarded every woman within reach as less than an object, she did not know.
But one thing was clear.
Every woman they took an interest in and held in their hands had disappeared.
Others believed those women had simply been transferred to better positions.
But Jeong-a, having learned the truth from the Steward’s Office Chief, knew very well that was not the case.
From the moment she came to Wongak Pavilion, she had already made up her mind.
If the eldest young master truly was as remarkable as everyone claimed, then seeking refuge in his embrace and securing her safety would be an excellent choice.
However, it seemed that option had never existed in the first place.
And if he had no interest in her personally, either...
Could she really be said to have come under the eldest young master's protection?
The answer to that question came sooner than she expected.
“Excuse me, Eldest Young Master.”
Before lunch at Wongak Pavilion's elegant pavilion had even finished, someone dressed as a member of the estate guard cautiously appeared.
He was the guard captain whom Jeong-ah had noticed yesterday among the experts stationed at Wongak Pavilion's entrance.
“The Eldest Young Master is currently dining. What is your business?”
Jeong-ah rose from her seat and asked.
“Ah... well, someone has come looking for you.”
His expression made it abundantly clear that he found the matter bothersome.
She knew he was concealing his true identity at the moment, but even taking that into account, his manner was disrespectful.
She had clearly stated that the eldest young master was eating, yet he seemed not to care in the slightest.
A mountain of reprimands rose to the tip of her tongue, but she was still only a newcomer here.
Suppressing her irritation, she asked,
“…Who has come?”
The guard captain let out an obvious sigh before answering.
“What was it again? I think they said they were one of the Three Elite Warriors of the main house.”
The Three Elite Warriors…!
Jeong-ah was stunned.
The Luoyang Sword Clan possessed countless martial forces, large and small, but among them only one organization used the title Elite as its rank.
The Third Young Master's personal force.
Jeong-ah swallowed dryly before speaking.
“What business would one of the Three Elite Warriors have with the Eldest Young Master?”
“No... not with the Eldest Young Master...”
The guard captain sighed again.
“Well... they said they were here to summon the maid who arrived yesterday.”
So they had finally come.
Jeong-ah bit her lip.
She quietly glanced toward Yeon Sang-hyeon.
He was still reading an erotic novel while calmly eating his meal.
Quickly organizing her thoughts, she reached a conclusion.
Whatever their purpose, the best course of action was to avoid meeting them entirely.
Fortunately, Wongak Pavilion was a place where no one could enter freely, giving her plenty of room to take advantage of that fact.
“…I am that maid. But on what grounds does one of the Three Elite Warriors presume to summon the Eldest Young Master's maid?”
It was a perfectly reasonable question.
Ordinarily, a member of the Three Elite Warriors naturally outranked an ordinary maid.
But once that maid belonged to the eldest young master, matters were no longer so simple.
The guard captain sighed heavily.
“I said as much myself... but they claim they've come under the Third Young Master's direct orders. I can't simply refuse them on my own authority...”
At the mention of the Third Young Master's command, Jeong-ah clenched her teeth.
“Even so, I serve the Eldest Young Master. Simply because they claim to carry the Third Young Master's orders, they cannot command me directly, can they?”
“Well... even then...”
At that moment, Yeon Sang-hyeon set his chopsticks down with a soft tap.
“Go.”
Those single words decided that she had never truly come under the eldest young master's protection.
“…Eldest Young Master?”
Without taking his eyes off the erotic novel, Yeon Sang-hyeon continued,
“They're making too much noise. Go hear what they want and come back.”
For a moment, Jeong-ah nearly lost the strength in her legs, but she forced herself to remain standing.
Even if the Third Young Master is arrogant, he can't simply ignore every procedure and drag me away immediately.
And even if they tried to follow those procedures, the Steward’s Office Chief—who was on her side—would delay things for as long as possible.
“…Very well, Eldest Young Master. I shall return shortly.”
She concealed the trembling in her legs as best she could and had just stepped down from the pavilion when Yeon Sang-hyeon's voice stopped her.
“Wait.”
A tiny spark of hope rose within her as she turned around.
“Yes, Eldest Young Master.”
But his gaze was not directed at her.
“You. I'm talking to you.”
He pointed his chopsticks at the guard captain.
“Me...?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon asked in an indifferent tone,
“Who gave you permission to enter this place as you pleased?”
Startled, the guard captain hurriedly answered,
“W-well... I know no one is allowed to enter without permission, but...”
Yeon Sang-hyeon looked down at him from the pavilion with utterly emotionless eyes.
“So you knew you weren't allowed in without permission... and entered anyway?”
“N-no! It's not like that! Normally there's always a messenger stationed at the front gate, but after yesterday's incident...”
Yeon Sang-hyeon's expression did not change in the slightest.
“So if no one's there, you just come in whenever you feel like it?”
“N-not at all!”
It was the same oppressive pressure that Jeong-ah herself had felt yesterday.
Yeon Sang-hyeon calmly continued speaking.
His words allowed no excuses, no clever arguments, no attempts at reasoning.
Before anyone noticed, the guard captain had dropped to both knees.
“I-I'm sorry, Eldest Young Master! It won't happen again!”
The Three Elite Warriors were undoubtedly powerful.
But they were far beneath those mysterious experts stationed here.
And yet Yeon Sang-hyeon had effortlessly reduced even such a guard captain to trembling apologies.
Watching him, Jeong-ah unconsciously tightened the hand she had clenched into a fist.
“I see. Then I'll forgive you this once.”
“But from now on, you're the front gate messenger.”
“You'll remain stationed at the main gate indefinitely.”
The guard captain, whose forehead was pressed against the ground, jerked his head up in shock.
“Wh-What?!”