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chapter 10
Perhaps the reason no one had noticed her long-harbored intention to return to the Celestial Palace was because the retainers were rarely allowed to leave the Gyuhoje except for special occasions.
For the Mountain Lord, it might have been a burden that Da-om, who knew everything, came and went from the house every day.
“I thought I’d be able to return home in the evenings, but I didn’t even get a chance to properly greet my father before coming here.”
“Your father will understand.”
The Mountain Lord said with a sly smile.
“As someone said, your being here is the way to neither bring ruin to your clan nor betray your country.”
He sneered slowly at Da-om, then sharply turned his body.
“Bihyeongrang!”
At his call, Bihyeong appeared at the main gate almost instantly. As if he had been there all along, he naturally stood next to Da-om.
“Guide the new retainer to her quarters. And make sure you tell her this—if she so much as comes near the front gate without my permission, she will be severely punished.”
The Mountain Lord said it loudly, making sure Da-om heard. She realized he had no intention whatsoever of letting her out.
Like all the previous retainers, she would only be thrown out of the palace when she was on the brink of wasting away—just so they wouldn’t have to deal with a corpse inside.
“But didn’t you demolish the hall used as the retainers’ quarters, Mountain Lord? You remember, don’t you?”
The Mountain Lord, who had been about to leave things to Bihyeong, froze and turned back with a face that said, When did I ever do that?
Bihyeong shrugged, as if he’d expected this.
“You smashed down all the walls yourself because you couldn’t stand seeing Yu Jakyum sleep so warmly, didn’t you?”
He even added, glancing up to gauge the Mountain Lord’s reaction, that thanks to him, Yu Jakyum had had to sleep out in a room open to wind, rain, and snow.
“Rain and snow only come here at most three or four times a year—what’s the problem?”
After a pause, the Mountain Lord wore his usual sneer again.
“All the better, isn’t it? We’ll see just how sincere that silver tongue of yours really is.”
He jerked his chin at Da-om.
“If you truly can’t endure it, speak up. I’ll personally dismiss you from service.”
Da-om did not avoid his yellow eyes.
“They say sleeping cold is good for one’s health. How could I betray a lord who even worries about the health of his retainers? Please, do not worry.”
At her gentle reply, the Mountain Lord bit his lip.
“From dinner on, you’ll prepare the whole meal yourself! Tell me, aside from defying me today, what have you done well?”
“About that meal, Mountain Lord…”
“Silence, Bihyeongrang!”
The Mountain Lord stormed off in a rage.
Bihyeong had clearly been about to mention Da-om’s cooking skills, but now he only scratched the back of his head, looking troubled.
“Is he planning to skip dinner entirely today? Anyway, come along.”
Following Bihyeong down the leaf-strewn path, Da-om felt as though she were clocking in for work a second time.
She glanced back toward the main gate, but the massive doors and stone stele blocked any view of Yoonjeong.
Images flashed through her mind—her father’s worried face as he’d personally put shoes on her feet and sent her off in the palanquin, the nursemaid promising to prepare all her favorite foods and wait for her.
The thought of being completely cut off from the outside made Da-om heavy-hearted.
“Here we are.”
As Bihyeong said, the place was hardly worthy of being called a hall anymore.
The timbers and stones the Mountain Lord had torn down still lay scattered across the floor, and weeds had sprouted thickly between the stones as if years had passed, making the place look like a war-torn ruin.
In front of the one remaining pillar base, the ground was especially hollowed out. Thinking of Yu Jakyum curled up and sleeping there, Da-om let out a sigh of pity.
But she was in no position to pity anyone. Starting tonight, this would be her own sleeping place.
“If you ever need more night water, the Mountain Lord calls through the window. You can see his bedchamber there, right?”
Indeed, the bedchamber was not far off.
“We can give you a blanket and a mat, but they won’t help much.”
Bihyeong said frankly, and Da-om agreed.
In a place like this, sheltering from rain and snow was the least of it—wild animals attacking at night seemed the bigger worry.
On their way to the small kitchen, the two ran into Onta. Seeing him carrying dragon-shaped candlesticks in both hands, Da-om guessed the Mountain Lord had lost another wager.
“You actually took all of those?”
Bihyeong asked in surprise. Onta grinned mischievously.
“Took them? I won them fair and square.”
“Then where will the Mountain Lord light his candles now?”
“That guy sees better at night anyway. He’ll be fine without candles.”
Then Onta looked Da-om up and down, his gaze as sharp and piercing as his divine power.
“Things are going to get interesting.”
“Interesting? I’m scared stiff I’ll end up a corpse here this time.”
Bihyeong sighed heavily.
“Still, watching the mountain erupt every moment is quite a spectacle. He came stomping in just now like he’d smash Yeoningjeong itself. You caused that, didn’t you?”
Onta grinned at Da-om.
“He wants to send you home because you’re a nuisance and an irritant by his side, but since you know all his secrets, he can’t easily let you go. This is the first time things haven’t gone his way—he can’t say it, but inside he’s burning black.”
Chuckling like a madman, he tucked the dragon candlesticks firmly under his arms.
“I’ll come watch from time to time. Don’t die too soon.”
Da-om didn’t know how to take that.
Onta soon vanished as silently as he’d come, his overwhelming divine power dissipating until she couldn’t feel it at all.
“You know he’s joking, right?”
Bihyeong raised his voice deliberately to speak to Da-om.
With an awkward smile, he whispered under his breath, “He’d better be joking…” It wasn’t much of a comfort, Da-om thought, for someone who’d just said he was terrified of ending up a corpse.
And at the hour of the Dog, Da-om nearly died indeed.
Her cooking skills could not have magically improved in a matter of hours, so the dinner table was a disaster no one could imagine eating from.
But since the Mountain Lord had ordered her to prepare the meal, Bihyeong couldn’t help her.
The two carried the meal to the Yeonjin Pavilion with heavy hearts.
The Mountain Lord’s anger and irritation were already at the limit from losing both dragon candlesticks, and Da-om’s dinner table only poured oil on the fire.
“So you’ve been planning to kill me since this afternoon, I see.”
Compared to what Bihyeong hadn’t dared put on the table at lunch, it was slightly better, but the dishes now served still looked dreadful.
The Mountain Lord lifted his face, full of exasperation, as if unsure what to say first.
“You meant to poison me, didn’t you? That’s why you’ve been chasing me around to eat, huh?”
“There’s no poison in it.”
“Of course not. Why add poison when you can make such a splendid toxin just with ingredients?”
He’d been about to scold her more but stopped; he didn’t have the energy to keep up the tirade.
In truth, he’d only had a single persimmon for lunch and nothing since, so he was hungry himself.
He was the sort of person who, when anything displeased him, would refuse to eat at all—but missing even one meal upset his stomach.
“Despite how it looks, it should taste fine. Please eat before it gets cold.”
Bihyeong soothed him and handed him chopsticks. The Mountain Lord grumbled, poking at the side dishes.
“Every time a retainer comes, I have to teach everything from scratch. All the burden falls on me. No wonder I want to give up being treated like a fool and go up to the Celestial Palace.”
Picking at the blackened, limp side dishes, he tried a bite of the one that looked least ruined—then promptly spat it out.
“If you’re going to the Celestial Palace, you’d better ascend there dead!”
