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Chapter 08
“What are you talking about? I told you to bring Eunseol. Then why… did you come alone?”
Geum Seolha’s voice rose as she tried to suppress her anxiety. A chilling sensation crept up her spine.
“Eunseol questioned Cook Yu, asking whether the young lady’s meals had been inadequate. Madam Hong witnessed it and, claiming she was insolent, ordered her beaten.”
Barely restrained fury flickered across Ha Dowoon’s face, already stained with worry and unease.
“They also accused her of being the one who had been stealing food from the kitchen… and even found maids who claimed they had seen it.”
“…”
“But, Young Lady, Eunseol would never do such a thing.”
At the words that Yu Eunseol had been falsely accused, Geum Seolha drew a sharp breath.
“If it were only the maids, that would be one thing, but since Madam Hong herself stepped in, there’s little I can do.”
Though he spoke calmly, the veins on the back of Ha Dowoon’s hand stood out sharply.
“Where is she?”
Geum Seolha’s dry lips parted.
They had only spent a few days together, but that had been enough for her to understand what kind of person Yu Eunseol was.
She was kind.
Someone who cared for Geum Seolha with all her heart, despite sharing no blood with her.
Any intention Geum Seolha had of lying low until she could leave this place had long since melted away.
She clearly remembered the arms that had wrapped around her to protect her on that roadside. The hands that had cared for her day and night when she had been delirious with fever.
Even when she had become a fool with no memories, Eunseol and Dowoon had always protected and cared for her.
So now it was her turn.
“Where is Eunseol right now?”
Truthfully, even she didn’t feel as though she was being treated properly as a member of this family.
But if Ha Dowoon had chosen her as the only person who could resolve this situation—
I have to do it.
Where this place was.
Who she was.
Neither mattered anymore.
Just as they had reached out a hand to Geum Seolha—
Now it was her turn to do the same.
“Where do I need to go?”
“It’s far. I’ll carry you.”
Aware of her injury, Ha Dowoon lifted her into his arms. The moment he burst from the room, his quick strides turned into a run.
Geum Seolha slowly took in everything around her.
The worn wooden corridors she had never walked before, having never left her residence.
Women in unfamiliar clothing passing by with their arms full of things.
The distant sounds of shouted martial training commands.
Everything she saw and heard, every inch of the land beneath her feet, was proof that this world was different from the one she had known.
Amid the unfamiliar scenery, Ha Dowoon gradually slowed.
Geum Seolha followed his gaze.
Then she sucked in a breath.
“Eunseol?”
The sight before her was unimaginably horrific.
She doubted her own eyes.
“You wretched thing! Do you still refuse to confess? So many people testify to your crime, and yet you dare continue lying!”
A vicious voice rang out.
Between servants holding torches, a woman lay sprawled on the ground, covered in blood.
Geum Seolha’s face twisted.
“Put me down.”
Ha Dowoon immediately set her on her feet.
Ignoring the pain in her ankle, Geum Seolha strode forward and pushed her way through the crowd.
“How dare you! Which courtyard do you belong to, barging into this place without permission?”
Ignoring the woman’s shout, Geum Seolha knelt and gently brushed the blood-matted hair from the woman’s face with trembling fingers.
“Eunseol.”
“Yo… Young Lady? Your an… ankle is still…”
The moment those words escaped Yu Eunseol’s lips, chaos erupted.
She had remained silent through all the brutality.
Yet now, her first concern was Geum Seolha.
“You’re worried about me… at a time like this?”
Who was worrying about whom here?
A blood-soaked person was worrying about her.
Blue fury flared in Geum Seolha’s eyes.
Even with blurred vision and fading consciousness, Eunseol’s gaze remained fixed on her injured ankle.
“That’s enough.”
“Y-Young Lady?”
“Leave it to me.”
As though those words were a signal, Eunseol’s head suddenly drooped.
Geum Seolha caught her before she hit the ground.
“I was trying not to stand out.”
Even now, knowing this might truly be the world of Cheoncheonmuje, she had worried about becoming entangled in the original story and had constantly tried to keep a low profile.
“It was all stupid.”
The moment she saw Yu Eunseol covered in blood, her mind cleared completely.
Running away?
To hell with that.
I’ll make every one of the people who did this pay.
“Dowoon.”
Geum Seolha spoke to the tall shadow standing beside her.
“Take Eunseol to a physician.”
“Yes.”
“Whatever it takes, keep her alive.”
“…”
“If not, tell them I won’t forgive them.”
The chilling gaze accompanying the word forgive swept over everyone present.
“Go.”
Geum Seolha gently pushed Ha Dowoon’s back as he carefully lifted Yu Eunseol into his arms.
“I still have something to do here.”
She looked toward the woman who appeared to have orchestrated the entire situation and curled her lips into a smile.
Though her insides burned with rage, her mind remained cold.
This happened because I had no power.
At last, Geum Seolha admitted it.
She could never live like the original Geum Seolha.
Especially not if that meant walking willingly toward the death awaiting her.
She had intended to stay silent, live unnoticed, and escape the future where death was already decided.
But if doing that endangered the people she cared about—
Then I’ll fight.
She would protect them.
Her people.
And herself.
Even if that meant becoming more deeply entangled with the original story.
Geum Seolha clenched her teeth.
“I won’t repeat myself. Go, Ha Dowoon.”
Ha Dowoon bowed his head to her and moved to leave.
Panicked servants hurriedly blocked his path.
“Stop me, and I’ll cut you down.”
His cold warning sent them recoiling at the sight of his hand resting on his sword.
Taking advantage of their hesitation, he quickly departed.
Only after watching him disappear did Geum Seolha slowly turn around.
She stood face-to-face with the woman who had interrogated Eunseol.
For the first time, she was grateful this truly was the world of Cheoncheonmuje.
Because if it was, she knew she would not lose this fight.
“How dare you! Do you even know where you are?”
The woman shouted at her.
Geum Seolha curled one corner of her mouth upward.
“How dare I? Are you truly of such high status that you dare call me insolent?”
Beneath the torchlight, her unusually pale brown eyes burned like flames.
“In the Geum Clan, there are only a handful of people entitled to speak to me like that.”
She remembered how Yu Eunseol always hesitated whenever family was mentioned.
—I’m a young lady? What kind of young lady lives in such a shabby, worn-down place?
—Y-You truly are a noble young lady! It’s just… it’s just…
—Is it because of my mother’s background?
—No, nothing like that! The Clan Head grieved so deeply over your parents’ deaths. That’s all. That’s why things are like this for now.
She remembered how carefully Eunseol had chosen every word, trying not to hurt her.
And how troubled she had felt then, because the familiar names and explanations had made it harder to deny that this really was Cheoncheonmuje.
Eunseol described me as delicate as a dandelion seed.
It was quite different from the image Ha Dowoon had painted.
Not because Eunseol misunderstood Geum Seolha, but because she cherished her.
That much was obvious.
The eyes that always curved warmly whenever she looked at her.
The original Geum Seolha must have treasured Yu Eunseol too.
Which was exactly why—
“The state of this household is truly pathetic.”
She had to protect that girl.
Now that she was Geum Seolha, it was her responsibility.
Her words, spoken while standing in simple sleeping clothes amidst the chaos, spread through the crowd like wildfire.
“She can’t even recognize her master’s bloodline, yet she dares wag her tongue. That tells me all I need to know.”
Shock rippled through those who finally realized who she was.
“C-Could that be the young lady from the detached residence?”
“No way! She never leaves her quarters unless absolutely necessary!”
“I heard she was frail…”
Realizing something had gone terribly wrong, the household members slowly stepped back.
After all, Geum Seolha never left her residence no matter what happened.
The fact that she had appeared here at all meant something was very wrong.
Among them, Madam Hong—Hong Yeongryeong—pressed her lips together.
But only briefly.
“It seems there has been some misunderstanding.”
Though her voice sounded gentle and conciliatory, Geum Seolha immediately caught the condescension in her gaze.
She smiled crookedly.
Right.
If things ended easily, where would the fun be?
