Just a Little Honest (3)
I never imagined the meal where Sohwi personally fed me would drag on forever. I was at fault for slurping down everything he offered without complaint, but even humans have their limits.
The portion was always more than enough for two people, who still left half behind each time. Yet he kept relentlessly scooping food right up to my mouth until I'd polished off that much alone. Any more, and it wouldn't be overeating—it'd be outright torture.
Feeling like disaster loomed if I took one more bite, I desperately grabbed his arm, shook my head, and only then did he finally set his chopsticks down on the table. Even so, Sohwi's expression was one of lingering regret, which left me utterly dumbfounded.
After stuffing me that much, what could he possibly regret? Why do the foxes in this mansion get such a kick out of feeding me?
Sohwi and Hwaya, both of them.
...Come to think of it, I still need to talk to Hwaya. From my perspective, I'd panicked and blocked her when she confronted Jeongi about my "mistake" out of the blue. But looking back, her emotions must have run high from her side.
She'd left the lady quietly browsing books, only to find her vanished. And when they finally located her, there she was, curled up in some dingy alley corner, clothes disheveled, sobbing her heart out.
"We care for you as much as we do, so you should think of us too, my lady."
Sohwi's parting words as he left the room with the maids clearing the table echoed in my mind.
From my viewpoint, I'd been thrust into an unfamiliar place with zero knowledge. But to everyone else, their precious lady had lain comatose for a full month before finally waking.
How agonizing must it have been to watch her frail condition day after day? They'd hidden their worry out of consideration for me, but that didn't make it disappear.
Above all, I had a gut feeling I couldn't just let this slide.
"Hwaya. Are you there right now?"
I hauled my digestion-weary body up from the floor and called out to her.
"Yes. Did you call for me, milady?"
As if it were the most natural thing, her reply came immediately from beyond the door. Even without any communication tools, she always responded instantly whenever I called.
I had no idea if she had some trick up her sleeve or simply stood guard outside my room all day.
But right now, I had more pressing words for her.
"Hwaya. I have something to say. Would you come in?"
At my summons, Hwaya cautiously opened the door and stepped inside.
Her reddish-brown hair, tinged with red, was neatly pinned up; her sunset-orange eyes gleamed softly; she stood a touch taller than my current frame; and her poised figure in her tidy attire exuded an inexplicably seductive aura.
It hit me anew how I'd somehow overlooked such a striking beauty until now.
"Hwaya. I'm sorry about earlier today."
"No, milady. There's no need for you to apologize."
Her immediate wave of dismissal at my apology left a bittersweet pang in my chest.
"I didn't listen and acted on my own. Thinking back, you weren't wrong at all."
"Even so, for milady to apologize..."
To cut her off as she started to respond, I raised one hand in a stopping gesture, just like Sohwi had done when telling me not to get up.
Thankfully, she got the message, fell silent, and dipped her head slightly.
"Truth is, I still don't fully get it. I still think it was too harsh on Jeongi, and I'm not entirely sure about my position here."
As I laid out my thoughts one by one,
"From my side, the kindness that feels excessive—what would you call it, your devoted care? Even that feels burdensome."
Hwaya's bowed head slowly lifted.
"But I also think it's wrong for me to arbitrarily deem it 'too much' when I have no memories and no clue how dangerous the outside world is."
Her head rose fully now, our eyes meeting.
"So please, keep guiding me properly from the side. Otherwise, I'll just worry you all to death again."
Hwaya, always so composed and gentle, looked on the verge of bursting into tears.
"You said I could do as I please. If you don't stop me, I'll really go off on my own, you know?"
"Of course, milady. In this mansion, is there anything that can't bend to your will?"
Her tearful eyes contrasted with the smile curving her lips—one brighter than I'd ever seen. I felt truly relieved.
"Then, could you call me something other than milady? It doesn't feel real and it's a bit overwhelming."
With her giving me free rein over everything, I figured it was worth trying to ditch the burdensome title.
"Shall I call you miss, then?"
"I think milady is fine after all."
"Understood. Miss."
"Hwaya, my bad..."
I hadn't even broken even. Milady was way better. "Miss" sent chills down my spine the moment I heard it.
"Oh, right— what happened to Jeongi? He must've had a rough time because of me."
I hurriedly changed the subject to keep her from harping on the title.
"I assigned him a simple errand. He won't face any severe punishment or repercussions."
She played along this once, answering my question straightforwardly.
"That's a relief."
A sigh of relief escaped me unbidden. I wouldn't have felt at ease if he'd suffered major fallout on my account.
I had no idea what the errand was, but as long as it blew over without issue, that was good enough.
With my nagging worries resolved— or maybe from that overpacked dinner— drowsiness started crashing over me.
Even sitting there, my eyes kept drooping, my head nodding repeatedly.
"Milady. If you're tired, shall I prepare your bed?"
"Yeah... please do."
Unable to fight the overwhelming sleepiness, I turned in a bit earlier than usual.
I gently laid the dozing milady down and slipped quietly out of the room.
Her expression, which had darkened noticeably in the village, now looked far more at peace.
Compared to before the outing—full of boredom and frustration—she brimmed with vitality.
Master must have soothed her well during dinner...
"Don't you have anything to say to me?"
As if waiting outside, Master approached with an irritated smirk the moment I closed the door.
He didn't need to flaunt it like this; I would've thanked him anyway. But his needless jab made me want to withhold it.
Tomorrow I had plenty to ask her, and with milady eager to learn embroidery from me for real, I'd been in high spirits—only for it to sour this quickly.
"Thank you for lifting milady's spirits, Master."
"It was only natural."
Then why seek bows of gratitude for something "natural"? He must still be nursing a grudge from when I told him last time that if milady ran off, he could mind the house alone. How petty, Master.
"Anyway. I ordered a search for the fool who flapped his mouth at Jeongi."
His satisfied grin from the teasing vanished into a grave expression. Playtime over, it seemed.
"No trace. He never left the village, yet no one's caught wind of him anywhere."
"Jeongi saw him with his own eyes—not some random report?"
"Exactly."
Jeongi had been overly stern in the village, but he was sharp, rarely erred, and excelled at intel. For him to draw a blank...
This wasn't some ordinary man. More likely, someone who'd deliberately approached milady.
"Instead, they gathered rumors centered on what he said."
The note Master pulled from his robes and handed over bore rumors in small, neat script. Summarizing the duplicates: On the last market day of the month, someone distributed black wooden tokens promising free meat stew to bearers. The tokens were plain dyed wood, nothing special. And lately, merchant caravans had been going missing frequently—though the link was unclear.
Three points in all.
"Doesn't seem like a big issue on the surface."
"True. Maybe some scum trafficking people cropped up, and the guy lost contact."
Something nagged at me as Master mused about scouting the village perimeter. His expression mirrored mine—we both sensed it, but couldn't pinpoint what, so we left it unsaid.
"Then I'll take my leave, Master. I need to prepare to teach milady embroidery tomorrow."
I opted to extract myself instead. Things were getting messy; getting tangled up would cut into my time tending milady.
"Hwaya. You know why I brought this up, yet you..."
"Yes, of course. I'll ensure it never reaches milady's ears! I'll handle it thoroughly."
"Hwaya!"
Handle such matters yourself like a proper master. Unlike you, I have little private time with milady, so until she regains her memories, I want to stay as close as possible.
"Milady. Won't you join me for a stroll to the village?"
It took me ages to grasp what Sohwi said the next day.
The moment realization hit, heat flooded my face.
D-did he just... ask me out on a date?!