🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 42
“Why? But why…?”
My aunt grabbed me, her face full of disappointment.
“If you join the Sahwa Garden, you’ll be able to learn much more. You can raise all sorts of poisonous creatures yourself, even bring them in freely,” my aunt said.
“If you enter the Sahwa Garden, you’ll become my disciple.”
“But…”
Of course, the Sahwa Garden was an amazing place.
‘It’s a really good opportunity, too.’
My aunt was second only to Grandfather when it came to handling poisons.
And since she also had excellent business sense, there would be a lot I could learn under her guidance.
‘But until Father recovers, and until Uncle isn’t driven out…’
Until then, I couldn’t.
If I joined the Sahwa Garden and started studying in earnest, I’d be too busy.
Then I wouldn’t have time to keep an eye on whatever schemes Dang Pae-jin was plotting.
And I wouldn’t be able to protect Father and Uncle from his dark, grasping hands either!
‘I heard that in my past life, Aunt lost her mind halfway after what happened to Uncle.’
Even within the residence, that much was known.
So in the long run, this was for the peace of the family.
‘And in the short run, it’s for Aunt’s household’s safety!’
My uncle, the head of the Medical Hall, as well as Aunt, Dang Rip, and Dang Ho — they were all so kind and gentle to me.
I couldn’t just watch while they were destroyed by one of Dang Pae-jin’s ridiculous schemes.
So, for now — no!
I gently took hold of Aunt’s hand, which was still reaching toward me with a wistful look.
“I’m really, really grateful for the offer, Auntie…”
“But?”
“It’s just that… I’m still a bit young, and I promised to study under Grandfather for now…”
I clasped her hand tightly in both of mine.
“But I’ll think about it positively!”
“Really?”
“Yes! I really like the Sahwa Garden too, and, um… I like you, Auntie!”
As I spoke carefully and smiled, Aunt smiled brightly back at me.
“Good. Then, between Jaegyunggak, the Medical Hall, the Martial Pavilion — you’ll think of the Sahwa Garden first, right?”
“Huh? Y-yes…!”
“With your level of talent, many places will want you.”
As Aunt stood up, the poison butterflies around her fluttered into the air in a cluster.
Their faint glow shimmered across her face.
“But since you have the body of a Poison Spirit Vessel, I don’t think anywhere suits you better than the Sahwa Garden.”
She lowered her gaze and softly patted my head.
“I’d love to teach you myself someday.”
Aunt took me around the Sahwa Garden, showing me many fascinating medicinal herbs.
She also promised that once Grandfather gave permission, she’d take me to visit the Thousand Poisons Forest.
As I held her hand and looked around, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
“By the way, shouldn’t we greet the Head of the Garden?”
“Well, the Head…”
Aunt gave a troubled smile.
“She’s a little unwell right now, so she can’t receive guests. For the time being, I’m acting as interim head.”
“Oh—! Is she very sick?”
“Yes… not doing so well. But we all believe she’ll recover soon.”
She smiled gently.
“It must feel strange for you with all this happening so suddenly. Once she’s better, let’s go greet her together.”
“Okay, I will.”
I took Aunt’s hand as we left the garden.
And just as we were about to head back to my quarters—
“Uh…?”
I saw a boy standing alone in front of the Sahwa Garden gate, in this secluded area.
Jet-black hair. Jet-black eyes.
He wore bright blue robes and a headband of the same vivid blue.
It wasn’t Dang family clothing.
It belonged to another noble house.
“……”
“……?”
I stared at him for a long moment, then noticed a cloud pattern embroidered on his blue headband.
That…?
Just as I parted my lips—
“Nangong Cheong-hyeon of the Nangong Clan greets the eldest young lady of the Dang family.”
Nangong Cheong-hyeon!
So he really was from the Nangong family.
‘Father told me the Nangong family’s garments are embroidered with cloud patterns.’
But what was he doing here, inside the Dang estate?
Puzzled, I looked up at Aunt.
She smiled brightly.
“Oh my, you recognized him right away.”
“I heard a lot about him from my father,” the boy said calmly, without a hint of nervousness.
“I heard the Nangong clan was visiting today. Is your father well?”
“Yes, he’s as usual.”
“Good. Still, Cheong-hyeon, what are you doing here? This is the outskirts of the estate — far from where guests are received.”
“Well…”
Nangong Cheong-hyeon hesitated before speaking.
“…I got lost.”
“Hm?”
“I wandered around… and lost my way back.”
He hung his head low, embarrassed.
“Oh, that happens. It’s easy to get confused if you’ve never been here before.”
“Yes, the Clan Head told me to step outside for a bit while he spoke with the Patriarch… and then I couldn’t find my way back.”
“I see — that works out nicely, then.”
At that, Aunt gently nudged my back.
“Ah—!”
“Go on, say hello. This is my youngest niece.”
I could feel Nangong Cheong-hyeon’s gaze fix on me.
I hesitated, clutching the edge of my sleeve, and finally spoke.
“H-hello, Lord Cheong-hyeon…? I’m Dang Bi.”
The moment our eyes met, I flinched and quickly looked away.
‘Oh no, what do I do?’
It was the first time in my life I’d met someone from another clan.
I hadn’t even met everyone within the Dang family yet — so how could I have ever met an outsider before?
Then Cheong-hyeon spoke.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Dang. I’m Nangong Cheong-hyeon. Please, feel free to call me Cheong-hyeon.”
“Good. Since introductions are done, how about Bi-ah spends some time with Cheong-hyeon while his father speaks with the Clan Head?”
“Eh? M-me?”
“Yes. It’s a good opportunity to build a friendly connection.”
“But Father—?”
“I’ll speak to him myself, don’t worry. Oh, by the way,” Aunt whispered,
“Does your injury still hurt?”
I shook my head.
It was healing astonishingly fast — almost completely gone now.
“It’s fine! It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“Then, would you spend a little time with Young Master Cheong-hyeon?”
At Aunt’s signal, a servant from the Sahwa Garden hurried over.
“Guide them to the pavilion by Sojeong Pond and bring them some refreshments.”
Children of noble houses often befriended those from other noble families.
Even my cousins Dang Rip and Dang Ho had close friends in the Nangong clan.
But I’d never had the chance to make such a connection.
So the idea of a “friend” still felt completely foreign to me.
Yet strangely, I didn’t feel like running away.
‘A friend…’
It was a word that made my stomach feel all tingly just saying it.
So in a way, Aunt’s suggestion made me happy.
Cheong-hyeon looked between me and Aunt, then nodded politely.
“Then I’ll be in your care.”
“Such good manners. I like him,” Aunt said with a soft, mischievous laugh.
“If I could, I’d join you both — but I wouldn’t want to steal away this rare chance for you two to spend time together.”
She smiled brightly.
I glanced between her and Cheong-hyeon, then awkwardly nodded.
Thankfully, the snake hidden in my sleeve — Manhyulsa — stayed still.
The servant guided Cheong-hyeon and me to the pavilion by Sojeong Pond.
Sojeong Pond was the smallest of the four ponds in the Dang estate — not very large, but incredibly beautiful.
“I’ll bring your refreshments shortly,” the smiling servant said before scurrying away.
“……”
“……”
Now, only the two of us remained in the pavilion.
We glanced at each other awkwardly, then turned to stare at the pond.
Ahh… what do I even say?
‘What do you talk about with a friend?’
Talking to adults wasn’t hard — there were always set things to say.
But meeting someone my own age like this — that was completely new!
And there wasn’t even a specific topic to follow.
Silence filled the pavilion.
Even the Manhyulsa hidden in my robes started to squirm, seemingly unable to stand the stillness.
‘Not now! You can’t come out now!’
I couldn’t exactly pull out a snake in front of a guest!
But Manhyulsa kept wriggling, as if eager to poke its head out of my sleeve.
And then—
“……!”
“Ah—haha…”
Our eyes met.
Unable to hide it any longer, I fidgeted and blurted out,
“Um, Lord Cheong-hyeon.”
“Yes?”
“…Do you, by any chance, like snakes?”
