🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 14
The first Lunar New Year morning I greeted as a Joseon court maid.
Naturally, the day began with New Year bows.
“May you receive many blessings in the new year, Lady Hui-bin.”
“Yes. Bongbong is already four years old now. Be a healthy child who listens well this year too.”
Lady Hui-bin’s makeup was lighter than usual as she offered her blessing.
Seeing her face, bright and lovely like a pale pink peach blossom, lifted my mood too.
‘But… where’s my New Year’s money?’
At my sparkling-eyed stare, Hui-bin handed me a lucky pouch.
The moment I received it, I knew. Instead of coins, it was filled with traditional sweets.
‘Tch. Just give me cash…’
Then again, even court maids mostly received grain and fabric instead of money as salary, so there was no way they’d hand coins to a child.
After the New Year bow, we had a special meal.
Tteokguk.
‘Tteokguk with pheasant meat? It’s my first time trying it, and it’s insanely good.’
As I patted my full stomach and sipped sweet rice punch, Chwiseondang grew busier and busier.
The court ladies, always dressed in identical uniforms with their braided hairstyles, changed into plain clothes and styled their hair into buns.
‘Because it’s New Year’s, everyone’s going home.’
The maids leaving Chwiseondang all wore excited expressions, each carrying a heavy bundle in their hands.
Inside were bolts of cotton cloth and rice bestowed by Hui-bin as New Year gifts.
Court palace welfare wasn’t half bad, honestly.
“Lady Seolhyang, why aren’t you going home?”
“I already visited last month in advance. Someone has to stay behind at Chwiseondang.”
“Ah, I see…”
I glanced sideways at Seolhyang.
‘Your Ladyship, I’ll take the holiday duty shift this New Year.’
‘You, Seolhyang? You hate duty shifts, so what’s gotten into you?’
‘Well… Bongbong would be left alone. I just felt bad about it.’
A few days ago, I had accidentally overheard a conversation between Seolhyang and one of the senior court ladies.
‘Honestly, I was hoping to end up alone anyway.’
Even so, I genuinely appreciated Seolhyang’s consideration.
“Hwang Bongbong. Why the face? Are you upset because you can’t go home?”
“No! Not upset at all!”
Naturally. The truth was, I didn’t even know where my home was.
“Then for the next two days, let’s stuff ourselves and sleep like logs! Most of the senior court ladies are gone anyway.”
“Sounds good!”
“Great! From now on, this place is ours!”
“Yay!”
I hopped around like an excited child and cheered along.
Of course, I had a completely different goal for this New Year holiday.
‘During the holiday break, Chwiseondang belongs to me!’
With most of the court ladies gone, Chwiseondang was silent as a grave.
Exhausted from all the holiday preparations, even Seolhyang had fallen into a deep nap.
After confirming she was sound asleep, I quietly slipped outside.
In truth, I had been waiting eagerly for today.
Not just Chwiseondang—the majority of palace servants were absent today.
‘There’s no way I’d waste an opportunity this perfect.’
I intended to thoroughly inspect the places I hadn’t been able to check before, search for overlooked clues, and neatly organize my future plans.
I was crossing the courtyard while mentally reviewing my packed schedule when—
A woman’s shadow stood at the entrance to Chwiseondang.
‘Who is that?’
Even before seeing her face, an inexplicable sense of dread washed over me.
As expected, my instincts weren’t wrong.
“So it was you. The clever little court maid.”
…Good grief. Why did it have to be today of all days?
“Ah, hello.”
Trying to hide my flustered expression, I hurriedly lowered my head.
“Yes. Go inform Lady Hui-bin that Sukjeong requests an audience.”
“…Yes, Little Lady.”
When I carefully raised my head, I met Sukjeong’s gaze fixed intently on me.
It looked like a glare, but in truth, her eyes were hollow and empty.
Seeing her dry, cracked lips instantly reminded me of the sight of her chewing and swallowing the talisman poster, and I unconsciously swallowed hard.
“Ah, wait.”
Just as I was about to head toward Hui-bin’s chambers, Sukjeong stopped me.
She set down the silk bundle she had been carrying.
Whatever she had packed, the bundle was suspiciously bulky.
“Child. I believe I once promised to bring you something.”
…That had happened.
‘Little one. Next time, I’ll bring you a pretty bride doll.’
The day I first met Sukjeong.
She had shoved that cursed doll onto me while saying those words.
“I can’t quite remember what it was, so you may as well take this instead.”
Rummaging through the bundle, Sukjeong pulled something out and held it toward me.
“Take it.”
“…”
Honestly, I couldn’t even force out a fake thank-you.
What Sukjeong offered me was a stick of taffy so shattered it was practically powder.
‘Does this woman think I’m some beggar?’
Or was she telling me to “eat shit”?
“Be grateful. Children like you rarely get to taste such things.”
“…Thank you, Little Lady.”
I answered halfheartedly, wanting no further conversation, and turned away—
Then something caught my eye through the loosened knot of the bundle.
Objects far from ordinary seized my attention.
‘Those are… shamanic tools?’
Five-colored ritual flags, a child-shaped figurine, and all sorts of objects whose purposes I couldn’t even guess—things only a shaman would use.
“Now hurry along and either summon the court lady or inform Lady Hui-bin yourself.”
“Y-Yes.”
As I hurried off, I bit my lip.
‘That warning meant absolutely nothing after all.’
The painful realization hit me.
Sukjeong wasn’t someone who would change her mind over a single warning.
If anything, she had returned fully prepared—a genuine villain.
The first mountain I absolutely had to overcome.
“What are all these?”
Lady Hui-bin’s expression subtly stiffened upon seeing the ritual items Sukjeong laid out.
“These are precious objects obtained from a powerful shaman. With these five-colored flags, we shall divine Your Ladyship’s fortune for the new year.”
Hui-bin looked down at the vividly colored flags before her.
Red, yellow, blue, white, and black.
The colors were dazzlingly intense.
“Shamanic objects… somehow, this feels a bit…”
“My Lady, what concerns you? This shaman’s name is Orye, and she prays day and night for Your Ladyship, insisting there cannot be two queens beneath the heavens.”
“There cannot be two queens beneath the heavens?”
“Yes. Her spiritual power is beyond description. Please, draw a flag.”
‘Make sure she draws exactly three times, then tell me the colors. The child spirit will surely provide an answer.’
Recalling her conversation with the shaman Orye, Sukjeong presented the bundle of flags.
“You need only draw three times, My Lady. Surely it will be a great omen.”
“Hmm. Then…”
Hui-bin pulled out a flag.
“Yellow. What does yellow signify?”
“A fortunate omen! It usually represents the protection of one’s ancestors or the heavens.”
Relief flickered across Hui-bin’s face.
“Please draw once more.”
“Let’s see… Oh, yellow again.”
“How remarkable. One final time…”
“…Yellow again!”
Hui-bin’s eyes widened dramatically.
“My Lady! This is truly astonishing. Never once have I seen the same color appear three times consecutively. Surely this is the will of Heaven itself.”
“You said yellow signifies the blessings of ancestors or Heaven. Then…”
Could this divination signify heavenly fortune?
Expectation bloomed across Hui-bin’s face.
“I shall visit Orye and inquire about the full meaning of this omen.”
“Do so. I too am curious. Three yellows in a row…”
Looking far more at ease, Hui-bin spoke again.
“Then Sukjeong, why don’t you draw as well?”
“Ah, shall I?”
“Yes. These flags seem truly spiritual, so you should test your fortune too.”
“Very well.”
As someone deeply superstitious, Sukjeong drew a flag with a tense expression.
“…Yellow.”
Once more.
“…Yellow!”
Yellow appeared again and again.
Finally, Sukjeong drew the last flag.
“…Black!”
Sukjeong’s face turned deathly pale.
In the five-colored divination, black signified misfortune—a very ominous sign.
“Sukjeong. Are you all right?”
“…My Lady. May this servant step outside for some fresh air?”
“Go ahead.”
Sukjeong rose and headed out of the chamber.
Her hands trembled violently.
Three yellows for Hui-bin. Two yellows for herself.
A total of five yellows.
This was no coincidence to casually dismiss.
It was clearly the will of the gods.
‘But for the final one to be black… what could this possibly mean?’
And then there was that bizarre talisman poster she had encountered near the western side of Chwiseondang several days ago.
‘So many yellows, followed by black… what kind of omen is this?’
At that moment—
“—Gasp!”
Not far away in one corner of the courtyard, Sukjeong spotted the little court maid crouching on the ground, scratching something into the dirt with a stick.
“You startled me!”
“Huh?”
Bongbong blinked at Sukjeong’s sudden shout.
“I’ve been practicing writing letters this whole time.”
“You should make some noise if you’re there!”
Sukjeong snapped harshly, then suddenly froze.
A memory flashed through her mind—something the shaman Orye had said the day she received the five-colored flags.
‘You must beware of the child. If you underestimate the child, great disaster will befall you.’
“Child…”
Until now, she had assumed Orye meant the divine child spirit shamans served.
But—
‘“Dongja” also means an actual child… doesn’t it?’
A shiver crawled down her spine for no reason, and Sukjeong trembled.
Driven by an inexplicable curiosity, she approached Bongbong.
“What are you writing?”
“I’m practicing writing my name.”
“Your name?”
Repeating the words absentmindedly, Sukjeong lowered her gaze.
On the yellow dirt ground, crudely scribbled letters sprawled unevenly.
“…Hwang?”
Sukjeong’s face turned blue.
“H-Hwang? Why would you write that? Why?”
“Hwang…? It’s just my surname.”
“Your surname is Hwang? But your name is…”
Only then did Sukjeong remember the child maid’s full name.
The little maid’s given name was Bongbong, and her family name was—
“Hwang…”
“Yes. I’m from the Hwang family.”
“Hwang!”
Sukjeong let out something between a shriek and a scream.
“…?”
Watching Sukjeong stagger away, Bongbong calmly picked at her ear.
Then, using her foot, she casually rubbed out the crookedly written character “黃” in the dirt.
At the corners of Bongbong’s lips, a faint smile twitched into existence.
