LCSB 08

Chapter 8

that doll from earlier—what is it for?”

Inside the sleeping quarters of Chwiseondang.

Seated across from Jang Hui-bin, Sukjeong answered as though it were nothing important.

“It’s nothing worth troubling yourself over. I’ll explain in time.”

“Really?”

Hui-bin asked suspiciously.

But Sukjeong simply smiled and changed the subject.

“More importantly, this talisman is what matters. Please keep it carefully. You must sleep with it beneath your pillow for one full month.”

“You truly mean this charm can win back a man’s heart?”

“Of course. Have you already forgotten how my sincere efforts completely cured the Crown Prince’s smallpox last time?”

“I understand. I’ve already seen its effectiveness myself, so how could I doubt your words?”

After pocketing the silver coins Hui-bin handed over, Sukjeong’s face brightened.

“By the way, Lady Hui-bin. That little court maid…”

“You mean Bong-bong?”

“Yes. We nearly gave that wench Sukbin a reason to make trouble, but the child managed to smooth things over with quick thinking. She’s rather crafty.”

“She only came to Chwiseondang a few days ago. Come to think of it, even during her initiation she seemed strangely calm for a child.”

“Is that so?”

Sukjeong seemed to ponder for a moment before adding:

“A child who doesn’t act like a child… That may not necessarily be a good thing. Don’t you think?”

Hui-bin stared at Sukjeong.

Her elder brother’s concubine.

Sukjeong was a useful subordinate who had become Hui-bin’s hands and feet in place of her exiled brother.

‘She’s useful, certainly… though at times she forgets her place.’

Unable to withstand Hui-bin’s piercing gaze, Sukjeong lowered her eyes.

“Whether she acts like a child or not, why should it matter? A servant merely needs to do her assigned work properly.”

Hui-bin smiled.

“Anyway, Sukjeong. You’ve worked hard. You may go now.”

“But, Head Court Lady.”

After returning to the room, I cautiously spoke to Seolhyang, who was folding clothes.

“That Lady Sukjeong who came earlier… does she visit often?”

“Ah, the younger madam from Lord Jang Huijae’s household… Why?”

Seolhyang asked with a reluctant expression.

“Well… she’s kinda scary…”

“She acted that way even toward you? She’s always been like that…”

“She’s scary to you too?”

Thwack, thwack.

Shaking out a starched jeogori jacket, Seolhyang answered:

“Hm. She likes tormenting the court ladies with all kinds of superstitious nonsense. Saying facing away from the sunrise brings bad luck, killing spiders is terribly ominous, you must sprinkle salt on nights with a full moon or new moon… She’s always bothering people with bizarre things.”

“Ah. I see…”

I hadn’t expected much when I asked, but I’d gotten valuable information.

‘Sukjeong is someone who blindly believes in superstition.’

The implication was obvious.

‘From the moment she carried out the curse incident, she was already determined to kill Queen Inhyeon.’

Her husband, Jang Huijae, had been exiled, so perhaps she was desperate—but she might be even more vicious than I thought.

“Bong-bong. What are you thinking about so hard?”

“Huh? Ah, nothing.”

“Anyway, I’ll be gone for an hour or two. Don’t wander anywhere and stay here reading your hangul book. Got it?”

“Why the hangul book?”

“What do you mean why? You need to learn to read and write before you turn five. You’ll be another year older in a few days, so five will come quickly.”

“Learn to read and write by age five?”

Naturally, since I was pretending to be illiterate, I made a shocked expression.

“I’m not some kind of super genius! How could I already memorize ga-gya-geo-gyeo?”

I knew perfectly well she was teasing me, but I had no choice except to play along.

“Why can’t you? Even a baby court maid should know basic hangul. Do you know what happens if you can’t read in the palace?”

“…What happens?”

“You get kicked out of Chwiseondang and end up cleaning latrines.”

“Eek!”

To express extreme terror, I widened my eyes and let my mouth hang open.

“So study hard. Unless you want to clean toilets!”

“No way! I hate toilets!”

Seeing me hurriedly open the hangul primer, Seolhyang snickered and left the room.

‘More importantly… what should I do with this monstrosity?’

Left alone in the room, I sank deep into thought.

‘Should I throw it into the privy?’

Bzzz— Wrong answer.

Human waste was recycled as fertilizer.

In Joseon, it was a precious resource.

So the privy was out.

‘Then maybe tie it to a rock and sink it in the pond?’

Bzzz bzzz bzzz! Absolutely not.

If something like this floated back up, the entire palace would erupt into chaos.

The pond was out too.

‘Should I burn it?’

But where would I get fire?

In Joseon, fire was treated as something so precious that there were even officials assigned solely to manage embers.

‘Ah! I can just toss it into the furnace when they heat the ondol floors!’

I scampered over to the kitchen furnace, but—

“Goodness! What if you got hurt? Why is a child poking around here?”

…I was immediately chased away.

So burning it was impossible too.

In the end, only one answer remained.

‘Bury it.’

There was some risk involved, but it seemed like the best option.

‘I should go to the northern forest.’

The northern side of Changgyeong Palace connected to the rear garden of Changdeok Palace—a forested area with little actual use.

‘Should I sneak out at night and bury it? Or wait a few days and see?’

I hesitated briefly, then made up my mind.

Strike while the iron is hot.

Keeping something like this around and risking misunderstanding would be foolish. Getting rid of it immediately was the safest choice.

‘Now’s my chance while Seolhyang is away.’

Taking a deep breath, I tucked the doll into my clothes and quietly slipped out of the quarters.

Just as I expected, the northern forest of Changgyeong Palace was silent and desolate.

The dry branches rustled in the wind. Somewhere, late-afternoon birds cried eerily.

Other than that, the only sound was—

Scrape.

Scrape.

Scritch, scritch.

The sound of a tiny child using all her strength to dig into the earth.

My tool had been acquired on-site.

A thick, sturdy branch I’d found while searching the forest.

‘Just a little deeper.’

Who knew digging one tiny hole would be this exhausting?

Sweat beaded on my forehead, and my arms trembled, but I gritted my teeth and kept going.

Then—

Rustle—

‘Gah.’

That sound was different from the natural noises around me.

Something had definitely stepped on the ground.

I froze.

A person? A patrol guard? A palace servant? An intruder?

Or… an animal?

‘There are plenty of records of tigers entering palace grounds.’

Whether it was human or beast, both were bad.

Goosebumps prickled across my skin. It felt like my hair stood on end.

Then came the crunch of dry leaves again.

Extreme terror swept over me so hard I could barely breathe.

Crunch, crunch.

Tatadadada—

“Uwah!”

Startled by the rapidly approaching sound, I jerked my head up—

“Meow!”

…Meow?

Whew. I nearly died from fright.

“Jeez! You scared me!”

“Mrrrow?”

Clutching my pounding heart, I stared at the unexpected intruder.

A pair of blankly blinking eyes looking straight at me.

A golden-brown body that resembled perfectly toasted bread.

It was what people commonly called a cheese-colored cat.

But…

“What the heck have you been eating to get this chubby?”

My personality wasn’t bad enough not to realize how rude that sounded.

Yet the words slipped out anyway.

“Arrowroot?”

No—wait. A leopard cat?

No matter how I looked at it, it just seemed like an ordinary Korean shorthair.

But its physique was unbelievably massive.

While scratching its ear furiously, the fat cat suddenly approached me.

“Hey, don’t do that!”

Its target was the red ribbon tied in my hair.

The cat swiped repeatedly at my head with its paws.

…You little punk.

Starting a hair-pulling fight the first time we met? Clearly this cat’s personality was rotten.

“You feline thug. I said stop…!”

But the cat completely ignored my desperate cries.

In the end, I raised my secret weapon high into the air—the stick I’d been holding.

“Hey kitty! Look over here!”

Whoosh, whoosh!

I swung the branch like a fishing rod.

“That’s right! Good job! Isn’t this way more fun?”

“Meeeow!”

My dazzling technique immediately captivated the cat.

To the right, then left again—it darted around excitedly before springing into the air with giant leaps.

In my previous life, I’d loved cats, though I’d never dared raise one myself.

‘Instead, I survived as an online cat servant, obsessively watching cat videos.’

I never imagined those skills would become useful after being transported to Joseon.

“Alright, enough. Let’s stop now, okay?”

“Mrow!”

“How are you so friendly? What’s your name?”

The question slipped out unconsciously, but I quickly shook my head.

There was no way a tiny palace animal like this would have a name.

…Or did it?

Suddenly, I remembered an important fact I’d forgotten.

King Sukjong.

‘Sukjong was an enormous cat lover.’

A true cat fanatic.

Records even stated that he adored cats so much he kept them beside him while conducting state affairs and personally fed them meat dishes at every meal.

Was that cat’s name Geumdeok? Or Geumson?

“Meow?”

Perhaps sensing my sudden silence, the cat looked up at me and cried.

As I examined the cat, a thought crossed my mind.

Could its heavily bulked-up physique be the result of eating meat personally fed by Sukjong?

‘No way. That can’t be it. There must be countless cats in the palace.’

Anyway, I’d already wasted too much precious time playing with a cat. I needed to finish my business and return to Chwiseondang—

“Meeow!”

Tatadadat!

“Hey! No! Come back!”

The disaster happened the instant I let my guard down.

The feline delinquent snatched the cursed doll in its mouth and bolted at full speed!

“Hey! Hey! Give that back!”

I had no time to think about anything else. I immediately sprinted after the cat.

The cat seemed to think we were playing a thrilling hunting game, bouncing around me just out of reach.

“Give it back already! Hurry!”

I finally managed to grab one of the doll’s legs, but the cat clamped tightly onto the doll’s head and refused to let go.

After a fierce tug-of-war in which neither side yielded an inch, I finally snatched the doll back.

And at that very moment—

‘…What? Did the sun already set?’

Suddenly, the surroundings dimmed as though dusk had fallen.

It didn’t take long to realize a massive shadow had fallen over me.

“……”

A strange chill crept over me as I slowly raised my head.

And what entered my vision was—

Crimson silk shimmering like ominous blood.

The king’s symbol itself:

The dragon robe.