The Poison Flower's First Affection
It had already been a month since I started working as a servant in the Dokgo Clan. At first, life in the Dokgo Clan felt completely foreign, but after a full month, I could confidently say I had grown somewhat accustomed to it. I had exchanged names with most of the people working inside the clan and even made sure to leave a strong impression on their faces.
"Hello!"
As I entered the kitchen with a cheerful greeting, the head cook greeted me warmly.
"Ah, it's you again. Running another snack errand for the young lady?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Want me to pack you some rice balls or something?"
"I'm fine, thanks. I ate breakfast not too long ago, so I'm not really hungry."
After answering like that, I picked up the refreshments tray the head cook had prepared and headed toward the detached building where Dokgo Rin's room was located.
"I'm back, Lady Rin."
"Good work, Chilbok. I'll be done soon, so could you wait just a little?"
When I stepped into the room with the tray, my eyes fell on Dokgo Rin sitting cross-legged on the bed. It was incredibly surreal to see a girl who looked no older than ten sitting in a proper cultivation stance, but knowing she would one day become a master of the Transcendent realm, it seemed perfectly natural to me.
So Dokgo Rin started learning martial arts from a very young age.
In the novel, her past was only ever mentioned in passing, so I hadn't realized she was already practicing martial arts until I saw it myself. Since she was the daughter of a martial family, her father had probably taught her some self-defense techniques.
Sssssss—
After confirming I had entered the room, Dokgo Rin closed her eyes again and began taking deep breaths. The cultivation method she was using right now was most likely the Great Void Mind Method, one of the Dokgo Clan's hereditary arts. It was originally a technique reserved only for direct descendants of the clan, created by the founder, the Nine Heavens Sword Dokgo Pae.
Wind gathered and scattered repeatedly around her small body. I didn't know exactly what she was doing, but I could tell from instinct that it was no ordinary task.
Genius really shows from the very beginning, huh.
No matter how good the martial arts or internal energy method, without talent, you couldn't survive in the Murim world. Even though she had used every means possible, reaching the Transcendent realm at the mere age of fifteen and entering the ranks of the Ten Great Masters of the World meant Dokgo Rin's talent was truly extraordinary.
Of course, that hasn't happened yet.
I set the refreshments tray on the table, sat down in a chair, and watched Dokgo Rin cultivate. Without thinking, I picked up a cookie and put it in my mouth before freezing and quickly setting it back on the plate.
I've been eating too much of these lately. It's become a habit.
Because Dokgo Rin kept feeding me snacks saying I was too skinny, I had somehow developed the habit even though I didn't particularly like sweets. I placed the cookie back on the plate and decided to wait quietly until her cultivation was finished.
It was about ten minutes later when Dokgo Rin finished her cultivation. She opened her eyes, drenched in cold sweat, and complained that she was hungry from using up her stamina. She sat down across from me and began eating the snacks.
I quietly observed her for a moment before asking.
"Lady Rin, is it really that difficult?"
"Mmm? What is?"
"Ah, you can answer after you finish eating."
When I poured tea into her empty cup, Dokgo Rin—with her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel—thanked me and gulped it down. She looked like a delicate beauty who couldn't even pluck a single flower, yet in moments like this she seemed just like a little boy.
Anyway, that wasn't the important part right now, so I waited until everything in her mouth had disappeared. After using the tea to swallow all the snacks, Dokgo Rin spoke with cookie crumbs still on her lips.
"If you're asking whether it's hard or not, of course it's hard. After one session of cultivation, my whole body feels completely exhausted, like I just ran with all my might. When that happens, my blood sugar drops and I crave something sweet."
With that, Dokgo Rin took a big bite out of a still-warm cookie. She looked exactly like a child craving sweets, which made my thoughts grow more complicated.
Right now, Dokgo Rin had both mature composure and childlike innocence coexisting within her. It was probably because she had learned martial arts far too early.
"But why are you suddenly asking about that?"
"Ah, it's because you always sweat so much after cultivating."
At that, Dokgo Rin naturally looked down at her own body, then blushed as she asked.
"Do I smell?"
"No, you don't smell at all."
"Liar. I'm this wet with sweat."
With those words, Dokgo Rin suddenly began taking off the clothes she was wearing.
"W-what are you doing?!"
"Hmm? I'm just changing out of these sweat-soaked clothes. Was it too stimulating for my dear Chilbok?"
She said this while giving me a cat-like smile. No matter how I looked at it, she was clearly doing it on purpose, but she had no intention of admitting it.
I'm going crazy.
I wasn't some kind of lolicon. Honestly, seeing Dokgo Rin take off her clothes didn't excite me at all. I was just startled because if someone saw her acting like this, it would put me—the servant employed by this household—in a very awkward position.
But it seemed Dokgo Rin had gotten a taste for teasing me. She giggled and proceeded to take everything off. The sight of her bare shoulders would have been considered extremely indecent by the standards of this era, but as a modern person confident that he wouldn't even blink at moderate exposure, I simply let out a small sigh and spoke.
"Lady Rin, there's a saying that men and women should not sit together after the age of seven. You shouldn't show your skin so easily to an unrelated man."
Then Dokgo Rin answered with a shameless face.
"I'm going to marry you, Chilbok, so it's fine."
"No, I'm not fine with it."
I had no idea how many times this argument had happened already. I didn't know what kind of spell had been cast on Dokgo Rin, but ever since I saved her from drowning, she had been sending me unwavering affection.
However, I knew from my previous life's childhood friend that you shouldn't take a child's words at face value, so I didn't believe her. Besides the difference in status, if this world followed the original story's flow, Dokgo Rin would later develop a strong aversion to men.
I took out new clothes from the wardrobe, draped them over her shoulders, and said, "You'll catch a cold, so put them on quickly," before turning my back.
Then I heard the rustling of clothes from behind. It seemed Dokgo Rin was obediently changing as I had asked. I was looking out the window of the detached building with relief when—
"Chilbok, can I ask you one thing?"
Dokgo Rin suddenly spoke to me.
"What are you curious about this time?"
"Well..."
Unlike her usual assertive attitude, Dokgo Rin suddenly hesitated.
?
I almost turned around out of curiosity, but with superhuman patience I suppressed the urge and waited for her next words.
Finally, Dokgo Rin spoke in a voice that lacked confidence.
"Chilbok, in your eyes... am I really that unattractive?"
"Pardon?"
I wondered what on earth she was talking about, but there was a reason she had come to think that way.
"Usually, boys my age try to talk to me no matter what when they see me, but you don't seem to do that."
Hearing those words, I felt completely dumbfounded. To think that a girl with beauty so rare it might appear once in a century even in modern times was worrying about something like this.
Since it seemed she hadn't finished changing yet, I couldn't turn my head. I kept looking out the window and answered.
"I'm a man too, so how could that be? It's just that you feel like a flower on a cliff to me. Even if I look at you from the side, all I can feel is 'beautiful.'"
Of course, the 'beautiful' I meant was closer to 'pretty' than 'hot,' but I had no intention of ruining the mood by pointing that out. I had some tact, after all.
"Chilbok..."
It seemed my honest feelings had gotten through to her. Dokgo Rin murmured in a touched voice. I was thinking it would be nice if she stopped asking questions now and was about to ask if she had finished changing when—
She suddenly hugged me tightly.
"?!"
When I panicked and tried to turn my head, Dokgo Rin buried her face in my back and said,
"Mmm, I don't want to show you my face right now."
As she spoke, she tightened her arms around my torso with surprising strength. How could a little girl have such monstrous power? I couldn't move an inch.
"L-Lady Rin."
Feeling like my lungs were being crushed and struggling to breathe, I urgently tried to ask her to loosen her grip when Dokgo Rin spoke in a choked voice.
"You don't have to say it. I know. You're deliberately keeping your distance because you're worried about me, right?"
No! That's not it! Can you please listen to what I'm saying?!
My mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as I felt my breath gradually being cut off.
Ah, this is dangerous.
The moment I crossed the critical threshold, I felt the sky rapidly turning yellow and lost strength in my limbs.
"Chilbok! Chilbok?!"
I could hear Dokgo Rin's panicked voice in my ear, but I no longer had the energy to answer.
I'm sleepy right now, so I'll talk when I wake up. Good night—