🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 03
“Do you have any idea how shocked I was?”
“Because I… disappeared?”
Geum Seolha asked uncertainly.
The woman’s desperation and the respectful gaze in the man’s eyes after subduing Mr. Hwang—who had been about to strike her—felt too genuine to be dismissed as an act meant to help her.
This is excessive.
“Are you hurt anywhere, Miss? That man didn’t hit you or harm you, did he?”
The eyes that looked sorrowful whenever they rested on Geum Seolha turned frighteningly fierce whenever they turned toward Mr. Hwang.
“I think I may have twisted my wrist.”
“Your wrist? Let me see!”
Geum Seolha stopped the woman from reaching for her hand.
“It’s fine. There’s something more urgent than that.”
She walked toward Mr. Hwang.
The young man restraining him spoke firmly.
“I will deal with this man, Miss.”
“No. There’s no need.”
She still needed to figure out why she had been wandering the streets looking like this, but something else was more pressing.
“We haven’t finished talking yet.”
Standing before the man who had shoved and threatened her, she said,
“You never answered me, Mister. What are you going to do if I’m not a thief?”
Only then did Mr. Hwang finally begin to understand the situation, and his face turned pale.
The people surrounding them were clearly no ordinary individuals, yet they were addressing that ragged little beggar girl with utmost respect, calling her Miss.
“W-What do you want?”
“First, an apology.”
Geum Seolha’s voice was cold.
A proper apology naturally came with material compensation.
And if he refuses, I’ll just take it from him.
Her eyes flashed sharply.
Mr. Hwang looked around nervously, but no one among the onlookers seemed willing to support him.
Remembering the whispers she had heard earlier, Geum Seolha smiled.
“What? When I looked shabby and pitiful, you had no problem calling me a thief. But now that I look a little different, what’s changed?”
Mr. Hwang hesitated before gritting his teeth.
At this point, he might as well go all in.
“Damn it! I know what I saw!”
“…”
“I hear you’re some noble family’s young lady, but you should correct your habit of stealing from other people’s shops!”
The woman and the swordsman standing beside Geum Seolha stiffened and were about to step forward.
Geum Seolha slowly shook her head.
“No need.”
She knew people like him.
Even out of sheer pride, he would never back down.
Talking won’t work on someone like this.
People like him repeated the same mistakes unless they were taught a proper lesson.
I may be able to get through this situation, but those beggar children can’t.
She had found trash.
And since she had the power to clean it up, she should do so.
“But Miss!”
The woman stomped her foot anxiously.
Geum Seolha silenced her with a firm look before turning back to Mr. Hwang.
“You keep insisting you saw it with your own eyes and refuse to believe me. Then I should show you properly, shouldn’t I?”
She untied the crude cord around her waist.
“Miss! W-Why are you undoing the cord?!”
Ignoring the woman’s scream, Geum Seolha boldly opened her outer robe.
At last, she stood there wearing only a stained white undergarment clinging to her body.
There was nowhere on her person where anything could be hidden.
Nor was there any trace of sticky candy syrup.
Holding up her tattered outer robe for everyone to see, she said,
“I think I’ve sufficiently proven that I didn’t steal anything. So isn’t it your turn now?”
Mr. Hwang faltered.
Nothing was going according to his expectations.
Watching him desperately trying to think of something, Geum Seolha warned coldly,
“Forget any foolish ideas and give a proper apology.”
“…”
“Unless you want to pay a much steeper price.”
At the words steeper price, Mr. Hwang swallowed nervously.
“I-I suppose there may have been some misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding? Sure. Those happen.”
Geum Seolha nodded.
Seeing her unexpectedly mild reaction, hope appeared on Mr. Hwang’s face.
“But this apology doesn’t seem very sincere.”
“S-Sincere?”
“Because you shoved me while accusing me of being a thief, I twisted my wrist and ruined my clothes.”
Mr. Hwang blinked blankly.
Then, finally understanding, he exploded.
“What nonsense! Your clothes were already a mess!”
That was exactly why he had mistaken her for a beggar in the first place.
But Geum Seolha shamelessly shook her head.
“No. They weren’t this bad before.”
The crowd looked at the rag-like clothing in her hand.
No matter how they looked at it, it seemed impossible for a single fall to have caused that much damage.
“She’s right. Look at all that dirt.”
“Of course. With Mr. Hwang’s strength, he could turn clothes into rags easily.”
Laughter spread through the crowd.
No one wanted to side with Mr. Hwang.
If anything, they found Geum Seolha’s actions refreshing.
Her eyes widened slightly at the favorable response.
Then she smiled leisurely.
“My sleeves were torn because of you, and I rolled around in mud. They’re impossible to wear again.”
“What? Then what do you want from me? Are you saying I should buy you new clothes?”
“Good. At least you understand what I’m saying. You damaged my clothes, so shouldn’t you compensate me?”
She smiled brightly, making it clear she would accept no objections.
Only then did Mr. Hwang realize her goal.
His face twisted with disbelief.
Buy her new clothes?
Those rags had looked terrible from the start.
The reason he had been so certain she was a thief was because of that very outfit.
“Why? You don’t want to?”
“Of course I don’t—!”
“Then maybe you’d like to discuss it with the people who came to pick me up instead.”
Geum Seolha casually stepped backward.
Immediately, the woman and the swordsman glared at him.
“I-I’ll buy them! Fine, I’ll buy them!”
“And treatment fees. My wrist hurts quite a bit.”
“T-Treatment fees too?”
“You don’t want to?”
She gestured toward the two behind her.
The moment Mr. Hwang saw the swordsman place a hand on his sword, his face crumpled.
“I’ll pay! I’ll pay, all right?!”
Clap!
Geum Seolha applauded.
“See? That worked out nicely.”
The crowd burst into laughter.
“I always knew that man would get himself into trouble someday.”
“Feels good seeing him get what he deserves.”
“Don’t even get me started. He was always cruel to those beggar children.”
“Maybe he’ll finally stop raising his hand against kids.”
Geum Seolha clicked her tongue.
Apparently he was even worse than she’d thought.
Then I should squeeze him for even more.
She didn’t know the local currency yet, but the people who came for her seemed capable enough.
One by one, the spectators dispersed.
A large cloak was suddenly draped over her shoulders.
“You didn’t need to go that far.”
The man knelt before her and carefully wrapped the cloak around her.
Geum Seolha blinked.
“No. It’s better to settle things thoroughly. People like that hold grudges and try to stab you in the back if you don’t.”
That was the kind of world she had lived in.
If you looked weak, people bit.
If they could, they ignored you.
“Thanks to me, he’ll probably stop falsely accusing beggar children of stealing.”
“…”
“If I let him off easily, he’d only think he was right and become even more arrogant.”
The man sighed.
“We worry that you might put yourself in danger if you continue acting this way when we’re not around, Miss.”
Only then did Geum Seolha pause.
He’s right. I should be more careful.
This wasn’t the world she came from.
Judging by appearances, fists mattered more than laws here.
If I’m not careful, I could end up in danger like earlier.
Seeing understanding appear on her face, the man relaxed.
Meanwhile, the woman had somehow retrieved Geum Seolha’s missing shoes.
She crouched before her.
“Your feet are covered in wounds too.”
The gentle touch against her feet made Geum Seolha flinch.
“I’d like to return to the estate immediately and treat them, but…”
After carefully cleaning her feet with her sleeve and helping her put on her shoes, the woman stopped.
“You’re not going to agree to that, are you?”
“I still have something to collect.”
Geum Seolha nodded casually.
The woman sighed repeatedly before standing.
“What are you doing, Dowoon? Carry Miss.”
“Carry me? I’m fine.”
“You said only your wrist was injured, but your ankle is swollen too.”
Geum Seolha blinked.
Was it?
The next moment, her viewpoint rose sharply.
Ha Dowoon had picked her up.
“Please endure the inconvenience for a little while.”
Though it sounded like a request, she could tell he had no intention of compromising.
She nodded.
At least she was now certain these people were on her side.
“What are you doing? Why haven’t you handed over the money yet?”
The woman’s icy voice made Mr. Hwang frantically reach into his clothes.
“R-Right now! I’ll do it right now!”
As he searched for money, the woman—Yoo Eunsul—narrowed her eyes.
“Our Miss’s clothes are very expensive.”
Mr. Hwang blinked.
Not understanding, he looked blankly at her.
Geum Seolha helpfully added,
“She means you should pay the proper price.”
Only then did he realize this wouldn’t end with a few coins.
His face turned pale.
“Do you have a complaint?”
Ha Dowoon shifted, revealing the sword at his waist.
Mr. Hwang immediately gave up.
“No. I’ll pay.”
Finally, he pulled out three silver coins.
Yoo Eunsul glared.
Under her burning gaze, his hand trembled.
More?
“Would you rather take this to the magistrate after falsely accusing and assaulting an innocent person?”
Yoo Eunsul snapped.
His face darkened.
Ordinarily, officials wouldn’t concern themselves with such trivial disputes.
But—
They called her Miss.
He didn’t know why she had looked like that, but judging by the appearance of the woman and man serving her, she clearly wasn’t ordinary.
Even servants dressed in such fine fabrics.
That alone said enough.
If he ended up before the authorities, nothing good would come of it.
Mr. Hwang reluctantly produced emergency funds hidden inside his shoe.
Yoo Eunsul remained expressionless.
So he produced another hidden stash.
Then another.
And another.
Only after surrendering even the money hidden inside his undergarments did he finally stop.
Tears welled in his eyes.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
Yoo Eunsul judged that he truly had nothing left and finally looked toward Geum Seolha.
Geum Seolha stared at her in admiration.
That level of pressure and timing was a skill in itself.
“That should be enough.”
“You may go. But if I ever see you causing trouble again, I won’t let it slide.”
At Yoo Eunsul’s warning, Mr. Hwang fled immediately.
Yoo Eunsul stared uneasily at the silver they had taken.
“Why? Is something wrong?”
At Geum Seolha’s question, Yoo Eunsul slowly shook her head.
“No. It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
“I just wanted to tell you that you don’t need to do things like this anymore, Miss.”
Geum Seolha blinked.
What?
Extorting bad people?
What was she talking about?
But asking that outright would probably seem strange.
That would definitely look suspicious.
While she hesitated, Yoo Eunsul studied her with dark eyes before changing the subject.
“We’re done here now, right? Let’s go home, Miss.”
Geum Seolha nodded.
There would be time later to figure everything out.
I didn’t even know I had a home. What a lucky break.
Suppressing her excitement, she stayed silent.
One careless remark could expose her.
Nestled in Ha Dowoon’s arms, her eyelids gradually grew heavy.
Wrapped in warmth, all her tension melted away.
Soon, darkness claimed her consciousness.
After returning to the estate in Ha Dowoon’s arms, Geum Seolha remained bedridden for four straight days.
“Miss, please take some medicine.”
“Mmm.”
The blazing fever caused her to drift in and out of consciousness.
She lost all sense of time.
She couldn’t tell whether it was day or night.
Only one thing remained clear.
Someone was always at her bedside.
Whenever she felt a cool hand against her forehead, she was reminded that this was not the world she once knew.
“Our Miss must recover soon.”
The voice, filled with worry and sadness, faded away.
And once again, Geum Seolha slipped into darkness.
She surrendered herself to the gentle hands caring for her.
Four days later, Geum Seolha finally regained consciousness.
A few more days passed, and rumors spread that Geum Seolha had lost her memories from the high fever and become a fool.
While everyone focused their attention on her, Geum Seolha was struggling with an entirely different problem.
“This is driving me crazy. Seriously.”
Staring at the object before her, Geum Seolha muttered under her breath.
