Shadow Duel
Thrown off by feelings she had never experienced before, Cheongwol kept walking with her gaze fixed on the tips of her shoes.
Seomun Hwi had certainly been gentle before they parted, but not this gentle. At least, that was how it seemed.
Whether he had changed as much over the past two years as she had, or whether this had always been his nature, she had no way of knowing.
...Still, maybe I was a little too harsh leaving him behind on his own.
Feeling the warmth Seomun Hwi had left behind in her hand, Cheongwol stopped in her tracks.
Had she not secretly worried about what he would think of her after she became a woman?
Thankfully, judging by his reaction today, it seemed they could remain friends as before without too much trouble.
So rather than shouting and storming off in a fury, she ought to have said at least one word of thanks.
I do favor you, after all, so I suppose you’ll have to bear with a little of it.
As those embarrassing words rose again in her mind, Cheongwol lowered her head before she knew it.
If he could say such things to her when she had been a man, then he had surely said even more to women.
By any sensible measure, there was nothing to be ashamed of, and yet a short sigh still escaped her lips.
"Haah..."
She sat down where she was and looked at the clear pond before her.
The water was so transparent that she could make out even the pebbles at the bottom.
-plop
She picked up a nearby stone and tossed it in, and ripples spread softly across the surface.
For some reason, the sight made her feel lighter, so Cheongwol reached for another pebble.
"Young miss!"
At that instant, a desperate cry flew to her ears from somewhere nearby.
"...?"
She turned, and a bent-backed old woman was trembling all over as she stared at her.
Only then did Cheongwol realize her mistake and hurry to her feet.
She had thought that, since no one was guarding the area, it was a place she could enter, but judging from the old woman’s reaction, that clearly was not the case.
"I took the wrong path and got lost, then wandered in here. I’m truly sorry. I’ll leave at once."
Cheongwol bowed politely in apology and began to withdraw quickly, lest she bring trouble to Ak Seo-ah.
But just as she tried to pass the old woman by, a frail hand suddenly clutched at her collar.
"Where do you think you’re going off alone again and leaving me behind? This time, please, take this old one with you too..."
The old woman spilled out words no one could understand, and then, suddenly bursting into loud sobs, sank down where she stood.
"Young miss... our kind and pitiful young miss..."
Her crying was so loud that Cheongwol hurriedly looked around, but there was nothing she could do.
If she yanked her hand away carelessly, she might injure the old woman’s body.
"No, that’s not..."
While Cheongwol stood there at a loss, Dang Sohye, who had been passing nearby and heard the commotion, spotted the two of them.
"Granny, I told you not to go outside alone. What on earth are the other maids doing?"
Frowning at once upon seeing the old woman, Dang Sohye stepped forward to pull her away from Cheongwol, but unlike usual, the old woman resisted with desperate force, clinging to the collar with all her strength.
"I can’t let you go! This time, I absolutely can’t let the young miss go alone! I’d rather...!"
But perhaps she had overdone it, straining herself too much for an aging body.
The old woman was unable to finish what she was saying and collapsed where she stood.
"Granny!"
"Grandmother!"
---
"She has merely exhausted herself and fallen asleep from overstraining her strength. If she rests, she will recover soon enough, so there is no need for excessive worry."
When the physician finished his examination and smiled, Dang Sohye, who had been watching with a stiff face, finally let out a breath of relief.
"Thank you for your trouble. Still, I’m worried because Granny seems to have less strength than before these days."
"She is no worse than before, but since you are concerned, I will try adjusting the medicinal ingredients. "
"Thank you. Please keep an eye on her a little more from now on."
"Of course. Granny is precious to us as well, so you need not worry so much. Then I shall take my leave."
After the physician, having done his duty, bowed and left the room, Dang Sohye glanced sidelong at Cheongwol.
She had ended up coming in with them by chance because everything had been such a blur, but who exactly was this woman?
Sensing Dang Sohye’s gaze, Cheongwol gave an awkward smile and spoke.
"I’m Cheongwol. I came into the inner residence today with Seo-ah."
Cheongwol?
Wasn’t that the one Ak Seo-ah had mentioned—the person looking for Seomun Hwi?
The moment she heard the name, she had rushed out with a face like someone risen from the dead.
She said they were friends, so I assumed he was a man. I didn’t expect he’d been hiding a lover after all.
Feeling somehow cheated, Dang Sohye found Seomun Hwi even more detestable than Ak Seo-ah.
He never so much as glanced at women, even when he occasionally attended gatherings of the younger generation, and yet it turned out he hadn’t been pretending to be ascetic at all—he simply had no need to look.
Still, however much she hated to admit it, the woman before her was indeed quite beautiful.
So beautiful that just having her nearby made it hard to think of any other woman.
"Tsk."
Dang Sohye clicked her tongue so softly it could not be heard.
Even if she did not like her, this woman was a guest of the Tang Clan and a friend of both Ak Seo-ah and Seomun Hwi, so she could not be treated carelessly.
"I’m Dang Sohye. Seo-ah told me roughly what happened."
Cheongwol’s eyes went wide.
"Ah! The one whose marriage talks with Hwi were mentioned? Right? You really are as beautiful as I imagined."
Hwi?
Was she deliberately showing off by calling him by his given name so casually?
And to openly praise the appearance of a romantic rival while acting so composed—how absurd was that?
How dare she act insolent in front of Dang Sohye, the Tang Clan’s precious jewel?
Here, in the Sichuan Tang Clan itself?
Cheongwol meant nothing by it, but Dang Sohye misread her entirely and narrowed her eyes.
At a time like this, it was only proper to show the dignity of the lawful wife.
With a smile still lingering on her lips, Dang Sohye quickly sized Cheongwol up from head to toe.
The features are too close to call. The chest is about the same. The waist and legs are...
Like a martial artist gauging an opponent before a duel, she finished her assessment and reached only one conclusion.
"A woman should refine her inner self more than her looks. Only then can she serve her husband well and keep the household harmonious, don’t you think?"
"...Pardon?"
It was a fair statement, but why was she suddenly saying this to her?
"That’s true enough. Still, if possible, it’s better when someone looks pleasant too."
Cheongwol didn’t really understand, but thinking that she would like her future beloved to be that way as well, she smiled softly.
Seeing that smile, Dang Sohye’s eyes grew even heavier.
...She’s no easy opponent. I can’t afford to take her lightly.
---
Why had he said something so transparently obvious?
Seomun Hwi sat alone on the edge of his bed, feeling the emptiness left behind by Cheongwol’s departure.
He had only meant to ease the mood with a light joke, and yet somehow things had turned out this way.
Of course, when he thought back on it, it had not exactly been something one could dismiss as minor.
Pressing a hand to his forehead and closing his eyes, he found Cheongwol’s smiling face from moments ago rising vividly before him.
I only thought she was somewhat similar, but after seeing her today, there are certainly more than a few resemblances.
It was not the sort of likeness one could state with confidence, and yet Dang Sohye and Cheongwol overlapped strangely, from their auras to their features.
Dang Sohye’s eyes tilted up just a little, while Cheongwol’s carried a softer, rounder feeling.
This is not the time for that. I should go apologize and talk with her more.
Two years ago, he had failed because she insisted on staying in the Kongdong Sect, but this time he would do everything he could to bring her into the family estate.
Cheongwol was practically no different from a junior disciple of the Kongdong Sect’s sect leader, So Gayul, and what a help she would be to the Seomun Clan.
Seomun Hwi convinced himself that keeping Cheongwol by his side was by no means a selfish desire, but rather something for the good of the clan.
Just as he steeled himself and was about to rise, a single book protruding from beneath the blanket caught his eye.
...She still hasn’t thrown it away?
He could not understand what on earth about that obscene book she found appealing enough to keep it all this time.
Could it be that, contrary to appearances, she had a taste for such things?
But now she was not a man—she was a woman.
He still thought of himself as a man, but the world would certainly not see him that way.
I’m old enough now to be mindful of my conduct. Even if she weren’t a woman, it would still be the same.
No one had said a word, and yet Seomun Hwi added the remark as though defending himself.
As he pushed the book back beneath the blankets, a dangerous thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Wait. Now that she’s become a woman, what does she intend to do from here on? Things like marriage, for example...
He had no reason to meddle in someone else’s marriage prospects, and yet Cheongwol was his first friend.
Was it not possible that some handsome, empty-headed fellow would start circling around Cheongwol, who knew nothing of the ways of the world?
Cheongwol, laughing in the arms of another woman—or another man.
"..."
Somehow, even imagining it was enough to send his mood plunging all at once.
Come to think of it, she seemed to be quite close with Ak Seo-ah.
Could Cheongwol have feelings for her?
The more the thought went on, the more tangled it became, and Seomun Hwi swept his hair back with a hand, suppressing the frustration in his chest.