TDTC 10

Chapter 10

 A Bad Premonition (3)

Seoyo was wearing an old-style outfit that was said to be popular these days among the courtesans. The clothes exposed the upper part of her chest, and long earrings hung down from her ears. She wore a blue-gray top and a red skirt that was pulled up above her chest.

Her whole cheeks were red, probably because of rouge. She had a slender body, very pale skin, and cat-like eyes. Her face was filled with a lazy, languid expression.

She walked as if she might collapse at any moment, swaying slightly. On her feet were shoes with high wooden supports, similar to clogs. Of course, they were luxury goods—red silk decorated with fine embroidery, pearls, and even amber.

Even the wood was gilded. The shoes were beautiful, but the woman wearing them looked dangerously unsteady. Together with her flushed face and sleepy eyes, she gave off a mysterious and fragile air.

Clearly, it was a carefully created atmosphere.

‘It’s a little uncomfortable.’

Another peerless beauty Blanca knew clenched her teeth every day to become stronger. But a beauty pretending to be weak?

Hiding her uneasy expression, Blanca sat across from Seoyo and drank the tea she had asked for instead of wine. It was ordinary leaf tea. After living in the Imperial Palace and enjoying many famous teas, it did not suit Blanca’s taste at all. Still, she did not complain.

Seoyo smiled faintly and sat down in front of Blanca. Beside her stood a small girl. The girl’s clothes were tightly wrapped up to her neck, and her face was dark. Her hair was braided into one plait, and she wore no accessories. She looked like an ordinary lowborn child.

But after looking at the child carefully, Blanca smiled and asked,

“Are you real sisters?”

For a moment, a sharp light flashed in Seoyo’s eyes. Then Blanca burst into laughter.

“Your ears are perfectly fine, Miss. Then I suppose your voice works well too?”

Seoyo glared at her with troubled eyes.

A foreigner… Could she be on the same side as that arrogant man who had come a few days ago? The thought made her uneasy.

That man had not looked like a good person. He did not seem worthy of being called a gentleman at all. Yet such a man had spent a great sum of money to buy her for an entire month.

And he had not touched her even once, only making her entertain him. There was surely some hidden scheme. It was likely that he had chosen her because she was known to be mute and deaf.

“You are not very careful, Madam. There are things you should not point out in a place like this.”

At Seoyo’s words, Blanca set down her teacup.

“How could I pretend not to notice when your maid shares your exact features? I am not blind.”

“Paying attention to a servant’s face is hardly refined behavior.”

“To think I would receive a lecture on manners from a courtesan. Very well. Let us say I lack caution, and you lack a sense of your own position.”

Even though she was a foreigner, this woman spoke the language of this country fluently. Seoyo realized she would not be easy to deal with. She wondered whether she should send her younger sister out to call the strong men who helped manage the establishment.

At that moment, Blanca placed a pouch on the table.

“My master desires your help. Whether you accept or refuse is entirely your choice. But I promise two things. Whether you accept or refuse, you will not suffer harm. The only difference is whether you gain what is inside this pouch or not.”

“May I know who your master is?”

“I will only say that he is someone too noble for you to meet in person.”

The laziness had already disappeared from Seoyo’s eyes. She straightened her back and whispered to her sister, “Bring water.”

The girl hesitated, knowing it was just an excuse to send her away. Seoyo’s voice turned sharp.

“What did I say would happen if you did not listen to your sister?”

Only then did the child leave the room. With a glance, Seoyo asked Blanca to send her own attendant away as well.

Blanca did not refuse. She sent the palace maid out, pressing ten coins into her hand first. That would be enough to buy almost anything in this expensive pleasure district.

The child quickly slipped the coins into her pocket and left without delay, closing the door behind her. Watching this, Seoyo let out a sigh.

“You must belong to a high household. How burdensome.”

“What is there to feel burdened about? Miss, you may act as you wish. I have no intention of forcing you.”

“…Casella, you said.”

Seoyo suddenly spoke the name.

Blanca tried not to show any reaction, but she realized she had failed. Some small movement on her face had betrayed her. And Seoyo did not miss that brief loss of composure.

“So you are not on intimate terms.”

“….”

“Do you want information about that person?”

Blanca looked down at the tea in her cup. A poet had once died trying to gaze at the moon reflected in a pond. She raised her head.

“Yes.”

“If I bring what you want, can you truly protect us?”

“What kind of protection do you seek?”

The word protection was very vague. Protecting the Seoyo sisters from the Ausis envoys would not be difficult.

But what if Seoyo wanted protection while still receiving guests? If she wished to stay alone in a private room with a man and yet remain unharmed—who could guarantee that?

“Of course, safety. That our lives will not be harmed. That we will be safe. Especially…”

“Do you mean that if you stay alone in a private room with an unknown man simply because he pays well, you must not suffer even the slightest injury? That is impossible. For anyone.”

Seoyo flinched at Blanca’s cold words. From her embarrassed expression, Blanca realized that was exactly what she wanted—guarantee that nothing would happen while she herself did nothing.

“It is possible—and natural—that Casella will not learn what you have done. But if you desire more than that, you must make efforts yourself. Otherwise, I cannot help you.”

When Blanca first came to this country and made deals with many people, she had once taken the words “Please protect me” at face value. After hearing several complaints, she developed the habit of making everything clear.

“What must I do myself?”

“Leave the courtesan house and decide to live with your sister. If you become an ordinary woman, there will be no reason for you to be left alone in a private room with any man. In that case, I can at least assign guards to you.”

Seoyo suddenly burst into laughter. The high sound carried both self-mockery and contempt for Blanca.

Blanca knew she had spoken poorly, but she did not correct herself. There must have been some misunderstanding in her words.

But so what? In relationships, misunderstanding is natural. To become aggressive because one is misunderstood is no different from arrogance—the belief that everyone must understand you.

“Then I shall take that as a refus—”

“No.”

Seoyo snatched the pouch from the table. She opened it, looked inside, and smiled in satisfaction before turning her gaze to Blanca.

“Tell me what you want. This is a transaction. If the price does not match the request, there will be additional payment.”

Blanca realized she had briefly stepped inside Seoyo’s boundary. By noticing her sister and uncovering her secret, she had been allowed in.

But the moment Blanca spoke of becoming an ordinary woman, Seoyo pushed her out of that boundary.

Why? She did not know. But there was no need to dig deeper. The conversation had gone smoothly, and the deal was made.

A spy had been planted in her father’s affairs. Now she would learn what he wanted.

Blanca was very satisfied with this transaction. Ana Rosa would surely be satisfied as well. Yet she could not forget the momentary contempt Seoyo had shown.

It does not matter. I only need to do my part.

Even so, the thought lingered, and she said to the palace maid,

“About Miss Seoyo. If she truly thinks of her sister, would it not be better to leave the courtesan house and live an honorable life? What good can come from continuing like this? When her beauty fades, will they treat her as they do now?”

I am right, am I not? A courtesan who cannot speak or hear, possessing only beauty. It was obvious what she was selling.

If she caught some terrible disease, her sister would be left alone. And if that sister, raised in such a pleasure district, were left alone—how dangerous would that be?

That was what Blanca believed—until she heard the palace maid’s reply.

“Oh, Madam.”

The maid waved her hands.

“With Miss Seoyo’s beauty, how could she become an ordinary woman?”

Her face clearly said it was impossible. Why? Blanca looked puzzled, and the maid answered as if it were obvious.

“With such beauty, if she were an ordinary woman… would men leave her alone?”

“And if they did not?”

“They would kidnap her, or do terrible things. Unless she belonged to a powerful household, her life would likely be miserable. If she becomes a courtesan and serves noble guests, no one can touch her. That is the safest path available.”

Blanca was stunned.

The safest path for Seoyo was to sell her body. Only by selling it herself could she receive proper payment and secure protection. Her lips parted like a fish.

Even a fourteen-year-old child knew this, yet she did not. Not because she was foolish—but because she, too, was a flower raised in a greenhouse.

Even though she had suffered in some ways, she had been born the eldest daughter of the Count Lepho family and raised as a priestess in the temple. She had never experienced a life where hunger, death, and the loss of chastity were constant threats.

She felt she finally understood why Seoyo had smiled with contempt—and what that brief shadow of betrayal in her eyes had meant.

Seoyo had met someone who understood her situation and felt hope. And the moment that person spoke foolishly, she realized she had relied on a ridiculous chance and formed an impossible expectation.

Her contempt had been directed both at Blanca—and at herself.

Blanca clicked her tongue.

To be so beautiful that there was no choice but to become a courtesan.

It was too absurd.

For the first time in a long while, everything tasted bitter.