The Poison That Touches the Emotions
The dawn air was cold, but the inner quarters of the Wonju Yang Family Estate always maintained a constant temperature. Though the wind slipping beneath the eaves clearly descended from the mountains carrying a chill, the warmth circulating under the corridor floors, the thick wooden beams, and the insulated doors filtered it just enough. Inside, Kang Ha-ri lay awake, watching the dawn break. Until yesterday, she would have risen in the cramped servants’ quarters, splashed her face with cold water, and hurried out. Now she was in the private maid’s room attached to Yang Ha-yeon’s personal residence. And it wasn’t just the room that had changed.
The strange sensation beneath the blankets. She wanted to believe it was only the lingering traces of her dream, but the unfamiliar weight and sensitivity between her legs was all too real.
What if someone finds out?
In her mind, a voice laughed softly—clearer and more familiar than it had been the night before.
Ha-ri answered through gritted teeth inside her own mind. Of course I am.
If that was meant to be comforting, it failed miserably. Ha-ri threw back the covers and sat up. When she pressed a hand to her lower abdomen, a faint heat still lingered there. Even while changing into her maid uniform, her gaze kept drifting downward. Would extra layers hide it? Would it show when she walked? Would Ha-yeon notice if she came close? The worries multiplied, each one biting the tail of the last.
Just then, a maid’s cautious voice came from outside the door.
“Kang Ha-ri. The young miss is calling for you.”
Ha-ri answered by reflex. “Yes, I’ll be there right away.”
There was no time to collect herself. She hastily tightened her sash, smoothed her hair into neat order, and stepped out. The corridor was quiet. Yang Ha-yeon’s residence had fewer people than the other wings, which only made the tension feel thicker, harder to breathe through. Ha-ri kept her eyes lowered as she made her way to the inner chamber.
Ha-yeon was already awake. Morning sunlight streaming through the windows caught at the ends of her glossy black hair. The moment she saw Ha-ri, she spoke.
“From now on, you will remain at my side at all times as my personal maid.”
Ha-ri bowed at once. “Yes, Miss.”
“With the exception of Gate incidents.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Ha-yeon’s gaze flicked slightly aside. She could not bring herself to say the rest—that she was afraid of dragging Ha-ri out again only for something terrible to happen. Instead she deliberately made her voice colder and harsher.
“Yesterday was nothing but luck. There is no guarantee you will survive next time. So behave yourself and focus on your maid duties. Just because Unit Leader Won Yeon-jung praised you, don’t let it go to your head.”
Ha-ri listened with her head bowed. On the surface she appeared obedient, but inside everything had changed. Since last night she had learned many things. She had felt real power, survived, and killed an enemy to claim her reward. She might pretend to return to being a maid who simply followed orders, but she already knew, deep down, that she could never truly go back.
And into that thought the snake goddess slipped.
The voice was not gentle. It carried the weight of command, quite apart from the warmth that had coiled around her in the dream.
Ha-ri’s fingertips trembled. The goddess’s divinity and authority had been poured into her last night, and with them had come a deeper domination.
Ha-ri bit the inside of her lip. Only yesterday she had been overwhelmed simply trying to process what had happened. But after a night’s distance, her heart had begun to change. Slowly she lifted her head.
“I do not delude myself into thinking I have become strong.”
Ha-yeon’s gaze sharpened on her. Ha-ri deliberately took a breath and chose her words like someone who was afraid.
“Even now, remembering it terrifies me. If something like that happened again, I don’t know if I could fight. Nevertheless… I want to stay by your side, Miss.”
Ha-yeon’s eyebrows twitched.
“It frightens me more to be somewhere I cannot see you. From what the martial artists said yesterday, even your senses were fooled by the troll that rules that Gate.”
She lowered her eyes, then raised them again with effort.
“It is presumptuous of me to worry, and of course nothing will happen to you, but… if anything were to happen to you, Miss…”
None of it was entirely an act. She had lived her entire life in servitude to Yang Ha-yeon. Even when summoned to her bedroom, moving according to her commands, constantly reading her mood and watching her expression, Ha-ri had felt a kind of stability. Ha-yeon was cold and frightening, but at least she was predictable. At least by her side, Ha-ri would not be casually sold or thrown away. To Ha-ri, Ha-yeon was both an object of reverence and the most familiar fence she had.
Ha-yeon could not answer immediately. She forced her expression into stiffness.
“How truly presumptuous. Do you even know who is worrying about whom?”
Ha-ri bowed even deeper at once. “Yes. As a mere maid, I have harbored an impossible delusion.”
At that moment, something subtle shifted inside Ha-yeon’s heart. Could she be in love with me?
Until now, of all her many maids, she had taken only Ha-ri into her bed. Even if she told herself it was merely for stress relief and satisfying desire, such exclusive repetition would not have continued without meaning. Yesterday at the Gate she had shown far too much concern—rushing out in fear that Ha-ri might have died, entering the bath to check her wounds, even moving the girl’s quarters beside her own. It would have been strange if the other party had not misunderstood. And that misunderstanding… felt a little pleasant.
Unwilling to acknowledge that fact, Ha-yeon tightened her jaw. Ha-ri took one step further.
“It’s fine if I’m nothing but baggage. If you tell me not to fight, I won’t. So please… don’t throw me away.”
The moment those words fell, several emotions surged inside Ha-yeon at once—guilt, protectiveness, possessiveness, responsibility, and beneath them all, desire. Ha-ri had always been a maid beneath her, and now she was willingly offering her own leash, begging not to be discarded. Ha-yeon felt a strange tightening somewhere beneath her breast.
At last she let out a low breath.
“That’s true. There is probably no safer place than by my side.”
Still bowing, Ha-ri answered, “Thank you, Miss.”
Ha-yeon looked away and added, “…And don’t you dare die without my permission.”
Ha-ri bowed her head even lower. The snake goddess fell silent, seemingly satisfied.
But the calm did not last. The moment the morning’s work began, things went awry. Ha-ri had barely started moving at Ha-yeon’s side when another maid delivered a separate summons. The matriarch wished to see her. No reason was given. It seemed the call had been timed for the moment Ha-yeon was forced to step away for a task that a mere maid could not attend.
As Ha-ri walked, a chill ran down her spine. Ham Ji-yu. The true mistress of the Wonju Yang Family, Yang Ha-yeon’s mother, and the woman who held the real power in this house. Among the servants she was said to appear gentle and elegant, like a refined noblewoman. Appear.
A person who smiled without smiling. A person no one dared approach though they had almost never seen her truly angry. That was Ham Ji-yu.
Her residence was as tidy as Ha-yeon’s, yet the atmosphere was far softer. That very softness only heightened the tension. After being announced at the door and entering, Ha-ri found Ji-yu waiting, calmly sipping tea. Up close she looked so young one could believe she and Ha-yeon were sisters rather than mother and daughter, as if time had simply paused around her. She gave the impression of a tranquil lake—though how deep the water truly ran, no one could guess.
When Ji-yu saw her, she set her cup down and spoke gently.
“You’re here. I heard what happened yesterday. For a maid who has never learned martial arts, you did quite well. Still, it must have been very frightening.”
Ha-ri quickly knelt and lowered her head. “You flatter me, Madam.”
“There’s no need to be so formal. Come closer.”
Other maids were present in the room, but with a single gesture Ji-yu dismissed them. The door closed, leaving only the two of them. She herself pushed another teacup forward.
“Drink. I had a cup prepared for you.”
Ha-ri hesitated a moment before accepting it. Her fingertips trembled faintly. Ji-yu observed the sight with a slow smile.
“Especially since Ha-yeon seems quite worried about you. It’s rare for that child to keep anyone so close.”
Her words were soft, yet they were nothing less than an interrogation. Ji-yu did not strike directly. She let Ha-ri drink, allowed her to steady her breathing, then continued in the most natural tone.
“How did you fight?”
Ha-ri carefully offered the answer she had prepared. “Everything happened so fast that I don’t remember clearly. I rolled to avoid being caught, thrust my hands out so I wouldn’t be grabbed, and then somehow…”
“Your body moved on its own.”
“Yes.”
“What did you feel? Any strange sensations, anything different?”
At that question Ha-ri’s heart sank. The goddess’s voice brushed past her, low and sharp.
Ji-yu did not miss the flicker in Ha-ri’s eyes.
“How is your physical condition? When you woke this morning, was there anything unusual?”
“…Nothing except feeling a little tired.”
“Any strange dreams?”
Ha-ri’s fingers tightened around the cup. “I don’t remember.”
“Any unusual symptoms? Suddenly hearing better, skin becoming more sensitive, emotions swinging wildly?”
Each question sounded casual, but Ha-ri understood that this woman was not simply fishing. She already knew something and was narrowing down the possibilities with every word. Ha-ri felt as if she might suffocate. Seeing this, Ji-yu only softened her voice further.
“Don’t be afraid. Anyone would think I was about to devour you.”
She reached out as if to comfort her. But behind that hand lay another intention. As a Peak Master, she was sensitive to the flow of qi. She planned to touch her under the guise of reassurance and scan her from within. Ha-ri froze. If she avoided the hand it would look suspicious, yet if she allowed the contact she would surely be discovered. At that exact moment the door burst open.
“Mother!”
The atmosphere in the room turned to ice. It was Yang Ha-yeon. Irritation showed openly on her face, and beneath it boiled something far more intense. The very fact that she had been forced to separate from Ha-ri for a task that did not require her personal attention had already grated on her. Learning that the order had come from Ji-yu, she had come straight here. The scene that greeted her was Ha-ri trembling and Ji-yu reaching toward her.
Ha-yeon’s eyes sharpened like blades. “What exactly are you doing with my personal maid?”
Ji-yu withdrew her hand with a gentle laugh. “Oh dear, did you think I was going to eat your maid?”
Ha-yeon had no intention of playing along with the joke. She strode forward, seized Ha-ri’s wrist, pulled her to her feet, and drew her behind her own back. There was no hesitation in the motion. The smile vanished from Ji-yu’s lips.
“I manage my personal maid. Therefore, do not touch her.”
Ha-yeon’s words were far too aggressive. Ji-yu gazed at her daughter for a quiet moment, then asked slowly.
“You seem quite attached to a single maid.”
“I am merely rewarding someone who rendered a service.”
“A reward that included personally carrying her into the bath, I hear?”
For the briefest instant Ha-yeon’s words failed her. In that moment, through the place where Ha-yeon’s hand touched Ha-ri’s wrist, something cold and subtle seeped in. Only Ha-ri noticed it. It was the trace of the snake goddess.
Startled, she asked inwardly, What are you—
The goddess’s laughter rang low.
Ha-yeon and Ji-yu were now glaring at each other, so neither noticed the tiny intervention. Ji-yu’s voice grew sharper.
“Don’t tell me you’ve developed feelings for a mere maid—and a powerless one at that?”
Normally Ha-yeon would have deflected with roundabout words, hiding her emotions, blurring meaning, leaving no openings. But the snake goddess’s poison had invaded her. The protectiveness, possessiveness, and attachment she herself refused to acknowledge surged upward all at once.
Ha-yeon answered reflexively. “And what if I have?”
For the first time, Ji-yu was rendered speechless. “…What?”
Even Ha-ri swallowed. Ha-yeon could not stop the words now; the emotions rising from within poured straight out of her mouth.
“The age has changed. Technology has advanced. It is possible to extract sperm and eggs and create a child through a test tube without ever sharing a marital bed. Unlike Mother’s generation, which had to lie with men inferior to them.”
“In any case, a political marriage without love. These days young couples have test-tube babies, take separate lovers, and simply do not interfere with each other. Since I am with another woman, there is no worry of pregnancy. There is no problem at all. So do not concern yourself.”
The atmosphere in the room had completely transformed. Ji-yu stared at her daughter’s face. The Ha-yeon she knew was not the sort of person to lay her heart bare like this—especially not in front of her own mother. For a moment, several possibilities flashed through her mind. Had her feelings truly deepened? Was this deliberate defiance? Or had something she did not know taken place within Ha-yeon?
Ha-yeon grabbed Ha-ri’s wrist as if she had no intention of continuing the conversation. “We’re leaving.”
“Ha-yeon.”
Ji-yu called her daughter’s name, but Ha-yeon did not stop. She opened the door and pulled Ha-ri out with her. As they hurried down the corridor, Ha-ri belatedly came to her senses and tried to smooth things over.
“Ah, Miss, leaving without properly greeting Madam—”
“Be quiet.” Ha-yeon growled. “Your owner is me. Not my mother.”
Ha-ri could only close her mouth. That was a small side effect of the goddess’s poison. For a very short time, Ha-yeon’s obsession with her grew stronger. She was more sensitive than usual now, and the grip on Ha-ri’s wrist was a little tighter. Within that pressure, Ha-ri sensed another crisis. She had just confirmed, in front of the matriarch, that there was something between them. If the two of them were left alone in this state, she could easily imagine what would happen.
The moment they entered the inner part of the residence, Ha-yeon issued orders to a waiting servant.
“Cancel all my remaining schedule. Clear everyone out and do not let anyone approach.”
“Pardon? Ah—yes, Miss.”
The servant withdrew in obvious surprise. Ha-ri could not hide her anxiety. “Miss?”
Ha-yeon stopped and turned to look at her. Her eyes were calm, yet beneath them the emotions stirred by the confrontation with Ji-yu still seethed.
“Attend to me.”
Ha-ri froze on the spot. “It—it is still midday.”
“That is not my concern.”
The answer was immediate. Ha-ri suddenly felt her throat go dry. She was familiar with serving in the bedroom, but Ha-yeon did not yet know that the goddess had caused a male organ to grow on her body. She had no idea what excuse she could possibly give when it was discovered. Yet the snake goddess remained perfectly relaxed.
The voice was soft, as if amused.
Did the goddess’s idea of “well” apply equally to humans? It seemed unlikely. Nevertheless, the situation was already moving forward. Ha-yeon was clearly intent on taking her to her own room, and until the poison’s effects fully subsided she would not listen to anyone. The daylight outside was still bright, yet as the doors of Ha-yeon’s residence closed, the building gradually fell into silence. Every sound from the outside world was shut away. In that stillness, Ha-ri felt her heart pound violently.