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Chapter 07
Before long, the sun had set.
Throughout the Namgung Clan estate, torches were lit to drive away the darkness.
Inside the guest chamber attached to Changcheon Pavilion, the lantern light glowed warmly.
Hongseol sat hugging her knees inside a wooden tub filled with hot water. She was so small that she did not even take up a third of the tub.
Splash, splash.
The room was quiet.
The only sound was Maeran diligently pouring warm water over the child’s small body and scrubbing her clean.
“Now then, I’ll pour water over your back this time.”
“I-I’ll do it myself!”
At the sudden outburst, the ladle in the maid Maeran’s hand froze midair. She blinked in confusion.
“My lady, have I made you uncomfortable somehow?”
“No, it’s not that……”
“If that’s not it, then please leave it to me. I may look like this, but I have two younger siblings, so I’m used to taking care of children. I’ll make you the softest and loveliest young lady in all of Hefei—no, in all of Anhui Province!”
“B-but.”
“Yes?”
“I’m making you work too hard, Maeran. I’m not even a young lady of this household.”
Maeran, who had been busily moving her hands, paused.
Hongseol lowered her head deeply and continued while staring at her own toes.
“A-and I’m even using hot water so freely. It’s not even New Year’s Day.”
Surely this little girl had not only bathed with hot water on New Year’s Day all this time?
Maeran felt her chest tighten painfully.
“My lady.”
“Yes?”
“First, you should stop speaking so formally. Just call me Maeran.”
“Maeran……”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Maeran smiled brightly.
“You are an honored guest of the Namgung Clan’s Supreme Elder. So you may comfortably ask me for anything.”
“An honored guest? Me?”
“Yes. It’s extremely rare for a guest of the Namgung Clan to stay in Changcheon Pavilion rather than the guest quarters. So you must surely be someone important.”
And you’re this adorable too.
For a while now, Maeran had been desperately holding herself back from poking Hongseol’s soft little nose bridge. It would be troublesome if rumors spread that a mere maid had dared to play around with the Supreme Elder’s precious guest without permission.
“So please relax now, and stay still for just a little longer. I’m almost done.”
“I will. No, I will…….”
Hongseol liked Maeran.
She worked quickly, and her tone was gentle.
She was completely different from Cheongok, the maid of the Myo family estate, who sometimes even hit Hongseol when no one was watching.
Feeling somewhat at ease, Hongseol slowly sank deeper into the hot water. It felt wonderful to bathe again after so long.
“Now then, could you give me your right arm this time?”
Maeran gently rubbed the arm Hongseol held out with a soft wet cloth. Then suddenly, she stared at Hongseol’s arm for quite a while.
“My lady, you have two red snowflake-shaped birthmarks here. They’re pretty.”
“Huh?”
Startled, Hongseol looked down at her own arm.
She already knew she had red snowflake-shaped birthmarks on her arm. Even her name, Hongseol, had been given because of them.
But the reason she was surprised was something else entirely.
‘Two? She said two?’
As far as Hongseol remembered, there had definitely been three snowflake-shaped marks on her arm.
‘Why did one of them disappear?’
While she sank deep into thought, the diligent Maeran wrapped Hongseol snugly in a large cloth. At the moment when only Hongseol’s eyes, nose, and mouth peeked out from the soft bundle and she blinked her eyelashes—
“Now then, try choosing the clothes you like!”
Hongseol’s eyes widened like apricot seeds when she saw what Maeran had brought.
It looked as though every silk outfit Hongseol had ever seen in her life had been gathered there.
There were glossy white garments embroidered with brilliant red flowers, outfits scattered with delicate yellow patterns, and pale violet robes layered with flowing fabric.
“I picked clothes that looked like they would fit you. Do you like them?”
Hongseol nodded frantically.
There was no reason not to like them. Every silk outfit there was more luxurious than the clothes her younger sister Garyeong wore when entertaining guests. And judging by the complete lack of wrinkles, they were all brand new and untouched.
‘They couldn’t possibly have been made for me. Then who is the real owner of these clothes?’
If the girl who truly owned them found out Hongseol had tried them on first, she might feel upset. Uneasy about it, Hongseol carefully asked,
“Maeran, does Grandpa Supreme Elder have a granddaughter? No, does he?”
Seeing Maeran’s lips stiffen in displeasure, Hongseol hurriedly corrected herself. Maeran immediately broke into a bright smile.
“No. All of the Namgung Clan’s current direct descendants are grandsons.”
“Then whose clothes are these?”
“Ah, well, these are……”
For the first time, Maeran’s ever-present gentle smile faltered awkwardly.
“My lady, I’m sorry, but it’s a little difficult for me to speak about that. A mere maid cannot recklessly discuss the affairs of those above her.”
Maeran curved her brows apologetically and gave a sheepish smile.
Hongseol was curious, but she did not ask any further. She did not want to trouble kind Maeran unnecessarily.
In the middle of the night, before dawn had even begun to break—
Hongseol suddenly opened her eyes while lying in bed.
She was wrapped snugly beneath the blanket Maeran had tucked tightly up to her neck.
‘Huh? Where am I?’
Startled out of her wits, Hongseol hurriedly looked around. Her pounding heart only calmed after she spotted the soft sleeve of the sleeping robe she was wearing.
‘Right, I was allowed to stay at the Namgung Clan…….’
Even now, it still felt unreal, like a dream.
Only then did Hongseol relax a little and carefully stretch herself.
‘My whole body feels refreshed.’
Was it because she had eaten her fill, bathed in hot water, and slept in a warm bed?
Or perhaps because of the “Ten-Thousand-Year Hasuo” that her benefactor had fed her?
It seemed she had slept deeply without dreaming for the first time in ages.
Now fully awake, Hongseol glanced toward the dark window.
“I feel like I slept enough…… Is the sun still not up yet?”
Yesterday, everything had happened so quickly—she had eaten, washed, and fallen asleep in a daze.
Now that she had time to think, it finally felt real that she was actually staying in the famous Namgung Clan she had only ever heard about.
‘Is the Namgung Clan estate really as huge as a palace, like the rumors say?’
Hongseol had spent her entire life inside the walls of the Myo family estate, knowing nothing of the outside world. Naturally, she was curious about the place where she was staying.
‘Yesterday, Benefactor definitely said I could wander freely around the area near Changcheon Pavilion.’
And at this hour, most people were probably asleep.
Still, going outside alone was frightening.
‘Wouldn’t it be okay if I just peeked outside through the window for a moment?’
Unable to suppress her curiosity, Hongseol threw off the blanket and climbed out of bed.
Swish.
Standing on tiptoe, she pulled aside the hanging curtain, revealing the rear garden attached to Changcheon Pavilion.
Even in the darkness, the stone lanterns glowing here and there, along with the rare plants and flowering trees, drew her gaze.
But—
“What is that……?”
Hongseol narrowed her eyes.
Far away, one pale and enormous figure stood out conspicuously.
At first, she thought she had mistaken a decorative stone statue for something else.
But that was not it.
‘It’s definitely moving slowly, like it’s taking a walk.’
The figure was carrying nothing in its hands.
If it were guards on patrol, they would be carrying torches and weapons.
If it were maids running errands, they would be holding lanterns.
There was no reason for anyone to wander the rear garden empty-handed at this hour.
Then could it be……
‘A-a-a ghost?’
“M-Mother!”
Terrified that the ghost might meet her eyes, Hongseol bolted back toward the bed.
Then she hid beneath the thick blanket with only her nose sticking out and trembled until dawn.
“My lady, are you awake?”
The person who came to wake Hongseol was none other than the maid Maeran. The moment Hongseol saw a familiar face, she scampered over and tightly clung to Maeran’s leg.
“My lady?”
Holding a kettle of hot water for tea, Maeran looked puzzled.
Unlike yesterday, Hongseol was clinging to her without hesitation, which clearly surprised her.
“Did something happen during the night?”
Hongseol had been so frightened that her lips would not part easily. Only after Maeran comforted her several times did she finally manage to speak.
“I-I-I saw a ghost.”
“Huh?”
At the absurd statement, Maeran looked as though she was about to burst out laughing.
She probably thought Hongseol was no different from any other child afraid of sleeping alone.
Hongseol felt slightly wronged.
“It’s true. It was definitely a ghost!”
Maeran bent down and reassured her gently.
“There are no ghosts in the Namgung Clan.”
“Why not?”
“Well, because the Supreme Elder is much scarier than any ghost.”
Though Maeran’s voice was teasing, Hongseol’s face turned even paler.
‘D-did I act too familiar with such a terrifying grandfather yesterday? What if he throws me out for being rude?’
Frightened, Hongseol clamped her little mouth shut.
“Even if the Supreme Elder merely shouted while using his internal energy, any ghost would flee ten li away. So there’s no way ghosts could exist in the Namgung Clan.”
Since Maeran clearly did not believe her, Hongseol nearly looked ready to cry.
“But Maeran, I really did see a ghost.”
“Where?”
“Outside the window over there. It was wearing white clothes and wandering around in the middle of the night.”
Maeran looked toward the direction Hongseol pointed. Her expression had gradually darkened with concern.
“What kind of atmosphere did the ghost have?”
“Atmosphere?”
At Maeran’s words, Hongseol recalled what she had seen at dawn.
Come to think of it, the way it wandered around had looked somewhat lonely.
“It looked a little lonely…… At least, that’s how it felt.”
After finishing, Hongseol looked up at Maeran. Maeran gazed back at her with pitying eyes.
“Then it probably wasn’t a ghost. It was likely the Supreme Elder.”
“Huh? Benefactor?”
“Yes. He developed insomnia a few years ago and can hardly sleep at all. On nights like that, he often walks alone through the rear garden.”
“Insomnia?”
