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Chapter 07
“How did I know this wasn’t a one-time thing?”
At the look that seemed to ask how did you figure that out, Geum Seolha rested her chin on her hand indifferently.
“For one thing, Eunseol changed clothes and came back without making it obvious, like this kind of thing was familiar to her. And Dowoon, who never leaves my side, already seems to know the situation roughly.”
You could infer all that from just that?
At the questioning gaze, Geum Seolha smirked.
“Besides, Geum Jugang knew too.”
“……”
“He said my cousins stopped coming around my residence much after I beat them black and blue.”
If even Geum Jugang knew, then it had definitely been going on for a long time.
“If he knows, then doesn’t that mean everyone who could know already knows?”
“Th-that… I suppose that’s true.”
“That’s exactly it.”
Nodding, Geum Seolha suddenly clapped her hands.
“Since things have turned out like this, I think you need to explain a few more things in detail, Dowoon.”
“What more is there to say?”
Feeling something ominous, Ha Dowoon’s eyes trembled slightly. Looking at him, Geum Seolha smiled brightly.
“Tell me who bullied Eunseol. And if you were bullied too, tell me who was leading it all.”
She quickly grabbed the paper she had tossed into a corner of the room and the brush whose ink had not yet dried. As she stroked the brush handle, she grinned.
“A blacklist… no, that won’t do, since it’s only us getting beaten up. What should I call it?”
Humming cheerfully, Geum Seolha declared loudly,
“Right, a death list! Let’s write a death list!”
Ha Dowoon stared at her with a face full of things he wanted to say.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Geum Jugang clicked his tongue earlier and said my personality hadn’t changed. Did the old me just sit around quietly taking things like this?”
“No. You dealt with them severely.”
Ha Dowoon smiled bitterly.
No one knew where such strength and spirit came from in such a small body. Every time things like this happened, Geum Seolha turned everything upside down.
But Geum Seolha focused on a different part of his words.
“Really? So even after I turned things upside down once, they still didn’t learn and did it again?”
She rubbed her chin.
If I want to pull this out by the roots, this could get complicated.
Abandoning her simple plan of just wrecking things, Geum Seolha’s eyes lit up.
“Hurry up and explain more, Dowoon.”
When Ha Dowoon remained silent with a reluctant expression, Geum Seolha grinned.
“You know the things you’ve already told me?”
“My lady?”
“If I’m not mistaken, I think you deliberately avoided telling Eunseol.”
Realizing what she was about to say, panic erupted in Ha Dowoon’s eyes.
“So do you want me to tell Eunseol everything and get you scolded by her? Or do you want to tell me and pretend nothing happened?”
Ha Dowoon stared blankly with his mouth hanging open.
“Are… are you threatening me right now?”
“A threat? Don’t say something so hurtful. Let’s call it persuasion.”
“And if I don’t comply, it becomes a threat?”
Geum Seolha simply smiled sweetly instead of answering.
He catches on fast. Makes things easier.
Looking at Geum Seolha, who was grinning like some villain, Ha Dowoon let out a hollow laugh.
Something had gone seriously wrong here.
In the end, under her piercing gaze and very realistic threat, Ha Dowoon surrendered. He began spilling everything Geum Seolha wanted to know.
“…And among those in charge of preparing your meals, there are also Unhyang and Soso, who treat Eunseol terribly.”
“No more?”
“These are all the maids I know of. But rather than the maids themselves, the real problem is Madam Hong, who controls them.”
“Madam Hong?”
“She’s the Second Madam’s right hand. Madam Baek is also at fault for overlooking all of this, but Madam Hong is the one directly making things happen.”
Having completely given up on stopping Geum Seolha, Ha Dowoon continued explaining.
“Madam Baek?”
Feeling a strange sense of familiarity, Geum Seolha asked again.
“Yes. Although your aunt, as a blood relative of the Geum family head, oversees the household, Madam Baek is the one actually responsible for all the family’s internal affairs.”
At Ha Dowoon’s detailed explanation, Geum Seolha thought for a moment before speaking.
“So the Chief Steward handles external matters like things involving the family head or outsiders, while Madam Baek manages all internal household affairs?”
“That’s correct.”
Geum Seolha tilted her head.
So if I think of it in Western terms, Madam Baek is like the head maid, and Steward Do is like the butler.
He said Madam Baek came from a loyal family that had served the Geum household for generations.
Then why would she overlook this?
Something felt off.
“What’s Madam Baek’s reputation like?”
“People say she’s very loyal to the Geum family. She’s also highly capable.”
“The second part is probably true, at least.”
Geum Seolha agreed flatly.
Someone needed exceptional competence to hold that position.
She tilted her head.
If she’s truly loyal, why would she let this happen?
The answer came easily.
Either someone has leverage over her… or she was only pretending to be loyal.
It had to be one of those.
In any case, she’d only know for certain after meeting her in person.
After organizing her thoughts, Geum Seolha smiled brightly.
Things were more complicated than expected, but—
“If it were easy, it wouldn’t be fun.”
She intended to wring every last bit of compensation out of them.
Leaving the house is one thing, but while I’m still here, I should at least live comfortably.
And I’ll charge extra for the audacity tax too.
Watching Geum Seolha silently plotting revenge, Ha Dowoon smiled bitterly.
Maybe it was because she had lost her memories.
“You’ve become brighter.”
“Hm?”
Not hearing him properly, Geum Seolha asked again, but he simply shook his head.
“It’s nothing.”
“Anyway, Dowoon, if there are people you want payback against too, tell me now.”
I’ll write them all down, and I’ll squeeze every bit of information and method from the original story if I have to.
“I’m fine.”
“Tch, what do you mean you’re fine? You’re way too soft!”
Geum Seolha smacked the table repeatedly, complaining that this was no fun.
“No. I’m not actually a very kind person.”
“Hm?”
“After having a few conversations with my sword when they tried pulling tricks, they quieted down.”
Geum Seolha’s mouth slowly fell open.
So he had basically given arrogant idiots a taste of his blade.
“You’ve got more personality than I thought.”
At her impressed murmur, Ha Dowoon smiled quietly.
“When one’s master has such an unusual temperament, perhaps one starts resembling them.”
“No, I think that’s just your personality, not because you resemble me.”
“There’s a saying: if you stay near ink, you become black.”
Geum Seolha shook her head at his refusal to lose the argument.
“Well, fine then.”
“But why is Eunseol so late? Don’t tell me something happened again?”
Worry furrowed Geum Seolha’s brows deeply.
Ha Dowoon also looked toward the window. The red sunset from earlier had long disappeared, leaving only darkness outside.
“I think something happened again. What do you think?”
“I’ll go check.”
“I want to go too.”
“Eunseol… probably wouldn’t want you to see her like that.”
Geum Seolha let out a groan.
He had a point.
Yoo Eunseol definitely wouldn’t want her to see that side of her.
“Fine. But come back quickly. If you’re late too, I’ll go myself just like before.”
At her casually threatening words, Ha Dowoon smiled bitterly.
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“If anyone acts arrogant or gives you trouble, feel free to use my name.”
“Yes.”
Once Ha Dowoon left the room, Geum Seolha, alone once again, sighed.
“I hope nothing happened.”
Stretching lazily, she muttered.
Things really never stayed quiet.
Looking at the death list she had created by squeezing Ha Dowoon for information, Geum Seolha rested her chin on her hand.
“There are so many.”
She didn’t understand why people treated such a tiny child so horribly.
“Whether it’s here or where I used to live.”
Food, clothing… even if the times were different, things like this were annoyingly similar.
“How do I clean all this up properly?”
She absentmindedly fiddled with the paper stained with dried ink.
She wanted to do something drastic, but she knew far too little.
“The easiest way would be to force things with status.”
But judging by the meals Eunseol had been bringing, that clearly wasn’t working.
Geum Seolha slumped back into her chair.
“No wonder Eunseol looked all teary-eyed while taking the silver and saying I didn’t need to go this far.”
Instead of stopping her, Eunseol had been surprisingly skilled at squeezing out even more money.
There had been a reason for that.
“I can’t even grasp how much of a disaster this situation is.”
The money she had extorted intending to keep for herself looked like it would end up being spent elsewhere.
The more she thought about it, the heavier her chest felt.
“Even if I run away later…”
She had to make sure Ha Dowoon and Yoo Eunseol wouldn’t be burdened or suffer hardships before she left.
“If this really is The Heavenly Martial Emperor, shouldn’t some useful information come to mind? Isn’t that basic decency?”
She could recite details about Yeon Socheon, the original protagonist she had no interest in, endlessly—but nothing about Geum Seolha herself came to mind.
“Damn it, Yeon Socheon.”
If he was going to freeload at someone else’s house, he could’ve at least remembered something useful.
It would’ve been nice if the original story had described something.
As Geum Seolha pouted and grumbled—
Tap. Tap.
She heard someone running across the wooden floor.
Geum Seolha perked up her ears and raised her head.
Crash!
The old wooden door burst open noisily.
Geum Seolha’s eyes widened when she saw that the person who had thrown the door open was none other than Ha Dowoon.
“Dowoon?”
For the first time, the man who never lost his composure was breathing heavily.
Striding into the room, Ha Dowoon dropped to his knees before Geum Seolha.
“Please help us, My Lady.”
Unable to understand the situation, Geum Seolha’s face hardened.
