A Feast Fit to Break the Table
With the first banquet fast approaching, the kitchen maids and older servants in the largest kitchen of Cheonsaryeon's outer courtyard moved in a blur of ceaseless activity.
"In all my years, I never thought I'd see the day I'd cook for people from the Orthodox sects," one of the older kitchen maids muttered.
Another maid chuckled in agreement.
"Tell me about it. But they aren't just anyone—they're our Lady's family. We can't exactly give them the usual cold shoulder."
"Of course not. The reputation of the Thousand Death Alliance is at stake, after all."
A younger maid, who had been prepping ingredients for the past hour, chimed in.
"But have you two seen the Lady's brother yet? Geum-ok said she ran right into the young master yesterday while sweeping the front gate. Said her eyes have never been so blessed."
"Of course we did. Haven't you?"
"Oh, come on! So I really am the only one who hasn't seen him?"
And they say he's incredibly handsome, too. Frustrated, the young maid slammed her broad cleaver into the cutting board with a sharp thud.
The older maids cackled and nudged her, suggesting she sneak along when the dishes were served later.
"I'm telling you, both Young Master Baekri and Young Master Seo look like immortals descended from the heavens!"
Seated before a dinner table groaning under the weight of mouthwatering dishes, Banya offered a drink to his brother-in-law, Yeong-hyeok.
"By all rights, we should have dined together yesterday when you arrived at Cheonsaryeon. However, my wife insisted we postpone it until today, fearing you might still be weary from your travels."
"I appreciate the consideration." Yeong-hyeok emptied his cup in a single draft. "It seems my brother-in-law is quite attentive to our youngest's wishes."
"They say a peaceful home brings prosperity to all things. For a household to be harmonious, a husband must listen closely to his wife." Banya offered Yeong-hyeok a bright, easy smile.
"You should keep that in mind when you marry, brother-in-law."
Though I have no idea which lucky lady of what household will end up with you, Banya added inwardly, keeping his tone light and teasing.
"If you happen to displease your wife, you might just end up dead without a soul ever knowing."
Yeongso, who had just picked up a stuffed mushroom ball, nearly dropped it from her chopsticks. The eyes of the three men gathered around the table instantly locked onto her.
"Is something the matter, my love?" Banya asked, wearing a shamelessly innocent smile.
Unable to muster even an awkward laugh, Yeongso carefully transferred the rescued mushroom ball to her plate. Then, she picked up a fresh one and placed it onto her husband's plate.
She wants me to stuff my face and shut up.
Deliberately feigning ignorance of her silent command, Banya gently clasped his wife's hand, which was still holding the chopsticks.
"Do not worry about me, my love. You must eat first."
"I am eating."
"Liar. You haven't touched a single bite yet."
Banya picked up a piece of stir-fried tofu, sliced so thinly it was almost translucent, and brought it to Yeongso's lips.
"It is your favorite."
Did you really think you could pull such a cute trick on me, Baekri Yeongso?
"Are you embarrassed because we are in front of your family? We are all well-acquainted here. Come now, say 'ah'."
Did you honestly think you could silence me by offering me food? If you were going to flinch this easily, you shouldn't have killed me in the first place.
Banya shook his head inwardly.
Honestly, murder is a business best left to those accustomed to it. Look at you. A gentle soul like you closes her eyes, does the deed, and three years later, you're still trembling in fear of being found out.
"Al-Alliance Leader. I haven't even eaten my mushroom ball yet."
"Then eat this first, and you can have that next."
Banya pressed the tofu closer, until the glistening oil nearly touched her lips.
"Well?"
Realizing there was no escape, Yeongso offered a strained smile and accepted the bite.
There's a good girl.
"Is it delicious?"
Yeongso nodded. Fearing her husband might utter another outrageous remark while her mouth was full, she chewed with frantic, desperate diligence.
Banya found the sight rather adorable and had to suppress a chuckle.
She really is a rewarding woman to tease.
As he had mentioned to Ma Ryun yesterday, Banya had recently grown quite fond of the fact that he had once died at his wife's hands. It felt as though he had acquired the ultimate, everlasting leverage to tease Baekri Yeongso for the rest of their lives.
"Did Sister Yeongso always like stir-fried tofu?"
Jang-gyeong, seated to Banya's right, casually interjected.
"If I recall correctly, she preferred the spicy mung bean jelly salad..."
"Is that so? Thank you for letting me know, Young Master Seo."
Fearing Jang-gyeong might try to serve his wife, Banya swiftly extended his chopsticks toward the dish. To his surprise, however, Jang-gyeong's chopsticks reached the mung bean jelly first.
"It seems Young Master Seo is quite fond of this as well. Please, help yourself."
But I was faster with my words, wasn't I?
Banya deftly snatched a slippery piece of mung bean jelly and brought it to Yeongso's mouth.
Yeongso, who had just finished chewing her mushroom ball with utmost diligence to avoid giving him any further openings, stared at her husband with eyes that asked, Are you seriously doing this?
Who knew feeding a fully grown adult could be this entertaining?
"My love?"
"..."
"Ah."
Yeongso glared at her husband as she slowly opened her mouth.
Getting annoyed, are we? Then you shouldn't have killed me, darling.
"It seems Sister Yeongso would prefer to eat on her own. Please stop, Alliance Leader, and tend to your own meal."
Once again, Jang-gyeong had ruined his simple pleasure. Banya suppressed the sudden, violent urge to shove his chopsticks down the man's throat and maintained his smile.
"Young Master Seo, being unmarried, might not understand. But for a happily married couple, just watching food enter one's partner's mouth is enough to make one feel full."
Banya spoke with smooth confidence, completely ignoring the fact that he was the primary reason Seo Jang-gyeong remained unmarried to this day.
The jab hit its mark; Jang-gyeong's expression turned icy.
"I can certainly see the Alliance Leader's happiness."
"Haha."
"However, my sister looks entirely uncomfortable."
"Is the mung bean jelly too spicy...?"
Banya took a bite of the cold mung bean jelly, which was tossed with various garnishes. His mouth tingled slightly from the heat, but it was far from inedible.
Shall I offer my wife some soup next?
After ladling a generous portion of short rib soup into his own bowl, Banya placed it in front of Yeongso and took her empty soup bowl in exchange.
Yeongso seemed to have resigned herself to her fate. Or perhaps she realized Banya's current amusement lay entirely in feeding her. She quietly ate and drank whatever her husband offered.
Only then did a satisfied smile spread across Banya's lips.
"Does the Alliance Leader always dote on Sister Yeongso like this?" Jang-gyeong asked, tipping his cup back.
"I wonder if you are overexerting yourself simply because we are here."
"There is a sharp edge to your words, Young Master Seo."
Banya turned his head to the right. According to proper etiquette, the host should sit with his wife on one side and his brother-in-law on the other. However, doing so would have placed his wife right next to Seo Jang-gyeong.
There is absolutely no way I am letting that happen.
Banya decided to disregard etiquette just this once. Besides, the other party had crossed the line first. Who told him to show up in front of his former fiancée's notoriously ill-tempered husband?
"During the three years I was dead, even when the trash of Cheonsaryeon pressured my wife to pack up and return to her family, she remained here, guarding my ancestral shrine."
"Perhaps," Banya let out a soft sigh, "it was her deep devotion that brought me back from the grave."
Jang-gyeong emptied his cup without a word.
Does the alcohol even go down on an empty stomach, Seo Jang-gyeong? Banya smirked inwardly.
Of course it does. Your throat must be parched, and your insides must be burning. But what can you do? This is a misery of your own making.
"In any case, my wife and I have crossed the threshold of life and death together. It means we are one body, recognized by the heavens themselves. In fact, we are so much of one body that..."
As Banya trailed off suggestively, Yeongso, who had been quietly eating, paled with anxiety.
"...we do everything together, whether it is dining or bathing."
Yeongso's eyes widened in sheer shock. In the very next instant, Banya felt a sharp, stinging pain in his calf.
No way.
Prick. Prick. And then prick-prick-prick.
Is she seriously stabbing my leg with needles right now?
He could hardly believe it. She had gone to such lengths to hide her martial arts, yet here she was, drawing the very needles she had used to kill him. And she was doing this right in front of her brother, a man renowned for his peerless martial prowess, and her former fiancé?
"Brother, please ignore what he just said. It was a completely failed attempt at a joke."
Yeongso hurriedly reached for Yeong-hyeok's bowl and ladled some soup into it.
"Try this. It is exactly the kind of flavor you like."
Even as Yeongso desperately tried to steer the conversation away, Banya's calf remained under relentless assault from her needles.
Just where did she pull those out from, and how many does she have?