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Chapter 36
“Oh—of course I know I should be lying down…!”
“Miss, shall I warm some water for you? Warm water will make you feel drowsy and help you sleep.”
No — I really don’t want to sleep.
Of course I know the rule: a patient must lie still.
But!
“Aunt’s husband’s expression was really strange!”
It looked like something serious had happened.
And on top of that—
“The Manhyeolsa is gone too.”
It didn’t come back when I called!
This was a pretty big problem in its own right.
If word got out that the Manhyeolsa ignored my orders and left, the Dangpaejin would be overjoyed and start celebrating.
I wanted to chase after the disappearing Manhyeolsa and grab it immediately, but I couldn’t.
If I showed any great agitation, everyone here would realize the Manhyeolsa wasn’t obeying me.
In other words, it would reveal that the Manhyeolsa was outside my control.
Thankfully, the servants seemed to think I had sent the Manhyeolsa out.
Because I used to send the Manhyeolsa outside from time to time for the servants, who usually feared it.
They didn’t find the fact that the Manhyeolsa had left to be particularly strange.
In any case, now that things were like this,
“I have to go out.”
I couldn’t lie still among the attendants who were discussing how it would be best to warm some water.
Since my uncle had left, the wound hardly hurt at all.
I couldn’t tell if it was because of the painkiller or because I’d been distracted by everything that had happened.
Then,
there was a little commotion outside.
Had my uncle come back?
I lay still for a moment and then sprang up.
“Miss!”
“Ah.”
Of course I was restrained by a servant’s hand and was laid back down immediately.
Not long after—
Bang.
The door opened and my father came in.
“Biaya!”
And after him—
“Aren’t you Bia? Haven’t we met before?”
A sharp-featured woman entered with him.
I recognized her as soon as I saw her.
“Aunt…?”
“Yes.”
Dang Soyong smiled gently.
Grand Princess Dang Soyong.
She was my father’s older sister — my aunt.
And the wife of Dang Sagyuk, mother of Dang Ho and Dang Rip!
This was the first time I’d seen her so close since the Elders’ Council.
Dang Soyong was stunningly beautiful, hardly believable for a woman who had three grown children.
No wonder she had once been called the most beautiful woman in the Four Provinces.
When I tried to get up and greet her, my aunt quickly approached and held me down.
“No need to get up. Sit still.”
She whispered softly.
“Actually, I met him on the way here. He asked me to make sure you don’t get up.”
Oh dear.
“My uncle is so meticulous it’s exasperating…”
I gave up trying to stand and sank back down.
By the way—
“I wanted to tell Father something.”
The power I’d felt inside me.
I thought Father might know what it was.
I wanted to tell him, but it felt awkward with my aunt present.
Not because I didn’t trust her, but because it was something I wanted to tell only my father.
Just then—
“Bia, are you really all right? Does it hurt?”
Father scooped me up and hugged me tightly.
He checked me over from head to toe, but he didn’t recklessly pry at the wound.
It was considerate — no one likes having their wound carelessly exposed.
I nodded and lifted the bandaged part of my stomach to show him.
“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt at all.”
Really — thanks to the painkillers, even the pain of the blade’s graze was barely noticeable now.
Only then did Father let out a breath of relief.
“Then that’s good. When you see your grandfather, be sure to thank him. He went to great lengths for you.”
Father kept stroking my head while holding me.
His big, thick hand covered my head completely.
“Yes, Father. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“What do you have to be sorry for?”
“But still, I must have worried you by collapsing.”
I hugged Father’s neck and pressed my cheek to his.
I didn’t want to upset him.
Why does this keep happening?
Father hesitated for a moment, then patted my back gently.
“If you’re all right, that’s what matters.”
“……”
“I will catch whoever did this to you and punish them.”
Each word he spoke was as if he were grinding it out.
His voice held anger, sorrow, and worry all at once.
Aunt watched him quietly, then tapped his shoulder.
“Speaking of which, there’s something to discuss, Jinhyeon.”
“Oh.”
Father opened his mouth slightly.
He turned me to sit up.
“Bia.”
“Yes.”
“Where is the Manhyeolsa?”
“The Manhyeolsa?”
Why were they asking about the Manhyeolsa?
Had they perhaps encountered the Manhyeolsa slipping away just now?
I tried to hide my unease.
But I couldn’t hide the shaking in my eyes.
“The Manhyeolsa left a little while ago.”
I watched my aunt and father carefully and asked again.
“Do you need the Manhyeolsa?”
“The Manhyeolsa left?”
“Yes, just a little while ago…”
“When exactly did it leave?”
“Just before you and Auntie came in.”
Father and aunt exchanged looks.
Their expressions grew grave.
Had the Manhyeolsa caused some kind of accident in the meantime?
A wave of anxiety crept up my body.
It was certainly my fault that I had hidden the Manhyeolsa’s disappearance.
It’s the most dangerous venomous snake in the world.
It shouldn’t be roaming freely around the Danggata.
But there was a reason I hadn’t told them right away.
When it first disappeared—
“I passed out and couldn’t tell anyone immediately.”
And when it disappeared the second time—
Before I had time to worry, Father and Aunt walked into the room.
So I couldn’t say anything.
That the Manhyeolsa had gone out of the room earlier.
And to be honest—
“I wasn’t without fear.”
The Manhyeolsa had slipped out of my sleeve beyond my will.
The moment I said that aloud, someone might snatch it away from me.
I didn’t want it taken.
“But—”
“I know how foolish that sounds.”
Even if I didn’t want it taken, I should have reported the Manhyeolsa’s disappearance the instant I saw it.
But the Manhyeolsa had slipped out of my sleeve and returned even when I collapsed before.
So I vaguely thought it would come back this time as well…
“I missed the chance to tell them.”
I glanced at their stern faces and said quickly,
“If you need it, I’ll go find it now.”
“……”
“If I call it, it will come, I swear.”
Father thought for a moment, then looked at me.
“Yes, we should search for it. It’s dangerous for the Manhyeolsa to be wandering around the Danggata.”
“Hmm, he said Bia should rest….”
Father reached out his hand to me.
“But there’s no choice, sister. The Manhyeolsa won’t listen to us.”
“Father…?”
“May I hold her? I’ll carry her. If she’s in my arms she won’t struggle as much.”
Father spoke in a gentle voice.
“Yes!”
I answered bravely and jumped into his arms.
Father lifted me effortlessly.
He pressed my back gently so I could lean my head on his shoulder.
“I have a rough idea where your Manhyeolsa went.”
Father said.
“That’s quite serious. We must find it before anything happens.”
Aunt’s voice held worry.
I lifted my head in Father’s arms.
“You know where it went?”
“I have an idea.”
“How…?”
Father sighed.
“There’s only one place the snake would go in this situation.”
“A young disciple was killed—no, murdered.”
“Yes.”
Dang Cheonggi squeezed his eyes shut.
He looked like he was holding back his anger.
“There must not be a murder inside the Danggata.”
“Yes, Lord Gaju.”
“That must never happen. Investigate thoroughly! And bring the bastard who did it before me!”
When the lord thundered, the guards all nodded at once.
