Chapter 7

Face-to-Face

Yeon Sohyeon looked down at Jeong-ah , who was lying on the bedding in his bedchamber.

She had not a shred of internal energy, yet she had seen through a barrier-grade formation and had even glimpsed his Dark Domain.

Those golden eyes... I'm certain I've seen them somewhere before...

He briefly closed his eyes and searched through the memories of his previous life.

Then a faint exclamation escaped his lips.

"...I see. So you were that woman."

He and she had never met face-to-face.

Moreover, her current appearance was so different from the one he remembered that he had failed to recognize her immediately.

"How could you have been a member of this clan...?"

In his hand was the directive from the Head Steward that Jeong-ah  had brought with her.

"...What a terribly strange fate."

With careful fingers, he brushed aside the strands of hair that had fallen over her face.

"Fate truly is a wondrous thing."

All he had done was drive away the servants that morning.

And as a result, in less than half a day, someone he had never met directly in his previous life had suddenly appeared before him as his maid.

He smiled and shook his head.

The unexpected.

Was that not precisely why the affairs of the world could still remain interesting to him?

He rose from his seat and left the bedchamber.

Before anything else, he needed to find a way to conceal his demonic energy perfectly in preparation for her eyes.

If he could not only hide it but control it as well, all the better.

Half a day at most.

Even a full day would be more than enough.

After all, it was merely a matter of suitably modifying and creating a mental cultivation method capable of perfectly concealing demonic energy.

Why would something like that take any longer?

Calmly entertaining a thought that no grandmaster of martial studies would ever agree with, Yeon Sohyeon entered his study.

"...Sleep well. I'll see you later, Golden-Eyed Witch."

***

The events before she lost consciousness felt like nothing more than a nightmare.

Jeong-ah  woke from her sleep feeling astonishingly refreshed.

How long had it been since she had slept so deeply?

She had forgotten the Luoyang Sword Clan.

Forgotten the Second and Third Young Masters.

It felt as though she had returned to her childhood, back when she still lived with her family.

How long had it been since she had opened her eyes without worry, fear, or anxiety?

She pushed aside the blanket that had wrapped warmly around her body and sat up.

Beside her pillow were a teapot and a cup.

She drank the cold-brewed tea, savoring its fragrance, and felt as though there was nothing in the world she could envy.

While working at the clan's Reception Hall, she had tasted countless expensive teas.

Yet this was the first tea she had ever drunk that could make a person feel so at ease.

The bedding she had slept in was old and worn from use, but it was clearly of the highest quality—far beyond anything she had ever used before.

Even the teacup in her hand, though slightly chipped, was unmistakably a rare piece of celadon porcelain.

Where am I...?

The room she lay in was old-fashioned and modest, yet it carried an effortless dignity.

Her attention wandered to the hanging scroll on the wall, its calligraphy terrifyingly elegant, the sandalwood carving of mountains and fields, and the ceramic vessel filled with dried flower petals giving off a gentle fragrance.

Then she carefully rose and tidied the bedding.

Afterward, she lifted the ebony shade that blocked the intense sunset light from pouring through the paper window and opened it.

"Ah..."

The scenery before her drew a natural sigh from her lips.

The vast grounds surrounded by forest were so wide that she could not take them all in at once.

Wongak Pavilion, located at the farthest edge of the Luoyang Sword Clan, bordered nature itself as it stretched outward beyond the estate.

And that nature had been drawn inward and shaped into a garden.

A broad meadow.

Low hills.

A stream and wetlands.

Even ponds and lakes.

Together with the glow of the setting sun, the view was breathtaking.

And more than anything...

It was currently February.

Luoyang was still in winter.

Yet here, within Wongak Pavilion...

It was spring.

As she stood there, entranced by the astonishing scenery, a strangely playful voice reached her ears.

"What do you think? Beautiful, isn't it?"

The voice pulled her back to reality.

"Ah...!"

The one speaking to her from the courtyard was dressed in an old, plain white robe.

"So, did you sleep well?"

He gave her a small wave.

"Ah, yes. Thanks to you..."

He had the slender build of a delicate young man and the soft face of a boy.

His pale skin and gentle features left such a strong impression on her that she thought it more accurate to call him a beautiful boy rather than a handsome young man.

"Good. I'm glad."

Then he smiled mischievously.

"My neck is starting to hurt from looking up while talking to you, so get yourself ready and come down to the first floor."

Without even waiting for her reply, he casually turned the corner and walked away.

"Ah...!"

Only then did Jeong-ah  realize it.

That beautiful boy just now was Yeon Sohyeon, the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan, scornfully called the Swordless One.

She also realized that the place she was standing in was his bedchamber.

And during their very first meeting, she had dared to look down at her master while speaking to him.

***

"...So, your name is Jeong-ah ?"

Yeon Sohyeon asked lazily, leaning back in his seat.

Having regained her usual composure, Jeong-ah  answered calmly.

"That is correct, my lord."

Seeing this, Yeon Sohyeon smiled mischievously.

"You were rather heavy earlier."

Of course, he was joking.

Having obtained the power of the Jeapjin Heavenly Scripture, there was no way the weight of a single woman could have felt heavy to him.

"Ah, I... I apologize."

Only then did she realize something.

There was not a single servant currently in Wongak Pavilion.

The one who had carried her after she fainted...

...was none other than the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan himself.

Jeong-ah 's mind spun in confusion.

Come to think of it, I fainted in that forest. First, I met those experts disguised as guards, then that terrifying formation, and then...

It was like waking from a horrible nightmare and being unable to remember it clearly.

I'm sure I saw something. Was it really just a dream...?

The shock had exceeded the limits of what she could endure, scrambling her memories and erasing the parts she could not bear.

Watching Jeong-ah 's confusion, Yeon Sohyeon spoke again.

"Fortunately, I found you collapsed while I was out for a walk. Even in Wongak Pavilion, where it's warm, things could have gone badly if I'd found you any later."

At his words, Jeong-ah  rose from her chair, knelt on the floor, and bowed her head.

"I will never forget the grace you have shown by saving this lowly one's life."

Yeon Sohyeon waved his hand.

"Fine, fine. Get up."

Then he unfolded the directive on the table.

But Jeong-ah  showed no sign of rising.

"From now on, as I serve you, I will spare no effort and devote my life to—"

"Enough. I said that's enough."

Cutting her off, Yeon Sohyeon looked at her over the directive.

There was no emotion in his gaze.

"Besides, I never said I would accept you. Did you decide on your own that you would serve me?"

Then he waved the directive slightly.

"Or is this order from the Head Steward supposed to command me, the Eldest Young Master?"

His words struck Jeong-ah  like lightning.

Now that she thought about it, she had simply assumed she would be serving the Eldest Young Master.

"...Please kill this lowly one!"

No.

She had clearly expected to be interviewed by him first.

But fainting in the forest had thrown everything into disarray.

"Hah. I saved your life, and first you decide to serve me on your own, then you ask me to kill you?"

Jeong-ah  bowed even lower.

"...I apologize."

Yeon Sohyeon clicked his tongue, took a sip of tea, and spoke again.

"I never asked for a maid in the first place. I only needed a servant who could handle chores."

Jeong-ah  hurriedly replied,

"I also began working in the great Luoyang Sword Clan by doing all kinds of menial work. I may not satisfy your standards, but I will do my utmost to—"

"Is that so?"

Yeon Sohyeon gave a small nod and spoke in a grave tone.

"Then only the most important question remains."

Jeong-ah  swallowed dryly.

Though obscured by the scornful title Swordless One, the Eldest Young Master was said to be unmatched not only in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, but also in every refined art.

What condition would he set?

"Can you cook rice?"

"...Pardon?"

Jeong-ah  unconsciously raised her head to look at Yeon Sohyeon's face, then quickly lowered it again.

"Rice. Food. Can you cook?"

His voice was utterly serious.

"I can, but compared to a professional chef, I would hardly dare claim—"

As she stammered in bewilderment, Yeon Sohyeon slapped his knee.

"So are you confident or not?!"

Jeong-ah  answered instinctively.

"I am confident!"

"Good! You pass!"

***

Jeong-ah  stared blankly at the flames inside the small stove.

Dressed in shabby work clothes she had found in the servants' quarters, with soot on her face and soup stains on her apron, she looked nothing like the noble young lady she had resembled earlier.

It had been so long since she had worked in a kitchen that the whole process had been dizzying.

But with her excellent memory, her widely praised skill at work, and her eyes, the rice was now on the stove, waiting to finish cooking.

That was exhausting...

She warmed her hands before the fire and let out a small sigh.

It had all started when she fainted in the forest because of the formation.

Then she had been personally carried by the Eldest Young Master and awakened in his bedchamber.

And after that...

What followed had been one disgrace after another.

Just thinking back on it made her face burn.

She had once been called the Ice Flower by eccentric masters and high officials who visited the Luoyang Sword Clan.

How could someone like her lose her composure so easily?

I was confident I could remain calm even if a blade suddenly touched my throat...

Even the experts capable of using Qi Sense had not realized that she had noticed their scrutiny.

How could she have been swayed so absurdly?

This is all because I suddenly fainted in the forest path...

Her hands, which had been rubbing together in front of the fire, came to a stop.

"...No."

When she woke in the Eldest Young Master's bedchamber, she had felt perfectly refreshed, and her mind had been exceptionally clear.

Though she had not understood the situation, that alone should not have been enough to make her lose composure afterward.

Looking down at the Eldest Young Master from above had been improper, yes, but it was not enough to make her panic.

With her many years of experience working in the Reception Hall, she should have been able to handle a mistake of that level with ease.

And what about the conversation afterward?

With only a few light remarks, the Eldest Young Master had made her act like a new maid being hazed on her first day.

Her panic.

Her mistakes.

The fact that only now was she looking back and realizing something had been strange.

All of it had come from...

...the Eldest Young Master.

From the first moment until the last, he had never once lost control.

He had shaped the flow of conversation exactly as he wished.

And he had shaken even her, a woman calm enough to be called the Ice Flower.

That man is the Swordless One...?

The same man whose servants had grown so lax that he had no choice but to drive them out that very morning?

The image of Yeon Sohyeon speaking with her resurfaced in her mind.

He had leaned back in a soft, wide chair, relaxed and completely at ease.

And unlike the smile on his lips, his eyes had seemed endlessly indifferent.

That appearance was not that of some Swordless One.

It was more like...

Goosebumps ran over her entire body.

"Is the rice still not ready?"

"Aah!"

Startled by his sudden voice from behind, Jeong-ah  sprang to her feet as if she had been launched into the air.

"Ah, sorry. I must have startled you."

Standing by the doorway, the Eldest Young Master gave her an awkward smile, as though apologetic.

But in that moment, Jeong-ah  could not answer at all.

Only then did she realize it.

Her eyes could read absolutely nothing from him.