Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Face-to-Face
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Yeon So-hyeon gazed down at Jeong-a, who lay sleeping on the bedding in his private chamber.
She had no internal energy to speak of, yet she had discerned a barrier-level formation and even peeked into his "dark domain."
'Those eyes that shone with golden light... they were definitely from somewhere...'
He closed his eyes for a moment, reflecting on his previous life, and a gasp of realization escaped his lips unbidden.
"...I see. So you were 'that woman.'"
He and she had never met face-to-face.
Moreover, her appearance was so different from what he remembered that he hadn't recognized her right away.
"How could you be from this family...?"
In his hand was the directive from the head steward that Jeong-a had brought.
"...What a twisted fate."
With careful fingers, he brushed back the hair that had fallen across Jeong-a's face.
"Fate is truly strange."
All he had done that morning was chase out the servants below him.
And as a result, in just half a day, this woman—whom he had never even met directly in his previous life—had suddenly appeared as his maid.
A faint smile crossed his lips as he shook his head.
Unexpected events like this.
Wasn't that precisely why the world still held some interest for him?
He rose from his seat and left the chamber.
To confront her eyes, he first needed a way to perfectly conceal his demonic energy.
If he could not only hide it but also control it, that would be ideal.
Probably half a day.
At most a full day would suffice.
Modifying and creating a technique sufficient to perfectly mask his demonic energy—what need was there for more time than that?
With thoughts that no master of any martial art would endorse, Yeon So-hyeon calmly entered his study.
"...Sleep well, and we'll talk later, Golden-Eyed Witch."
* * *
The moments before she fainted felt like nothing more than a nightmare.
Jeong-a awoke feeling remarkably refreshed.
How long had it been since she'd slept so deeply?
Forgetting the Luoyang Sword Clan, forgetting the Second Young Master and Third Young Master, it was as if she'd returned to her childhood, living with her family.
How long had it been since she'd opened her eyes without a single worry, fear, or anxiety?
She pushed aside the blanket that had warmly enveloped her and sat up, noticing a teapot and cup placed by her bedside.
She sipped the tea brewed from cooled water, inhaling its aroma, and felt as though she lacked for nothing in the world.
She had tasted countless fine teas while working at the Sword Clan's guest quarters, but none had ever soothed her like these leaves she was trying for the first time.
The bedding she had lain upon was worn and bore the marks of use, yet it was of the highest quality she had never experienced.
And the teacup she held—even with its small chip—was a precious celadon piece.
'Where am I...?'
The room where she lay was quaint and cozy, exuding an effortless elegance.
Distracted by the terrifyingly refined calligraphy on the wall scroll, the sandalwood carving of mountains and fields, and the pottery vessel filled with dried petals emitting a gentle fragrance, she carefully rose and straightened the bedding.
She then lifted the blackwood blind that blocked the intense sunset light seeping through the paper window and opened it.
"Ah..."
The view that unfolded before her drew an involuntary gasp from her lips.
The vast expanse, surrounded by forest, was too broad to take in at a glance.
Yuanjiao Pavilion, perched at the farthest edge of the Luoyang Sword Clan grounds, bordered raw nature on its outer side.
And that nature had been drawn into its embrace, transformed into a garden.
Broad meadows, gentle hills, streams and marshes. Even ponds and lakes.
It was a breathtaking scene, harmonizing with the sunset.
And above all.
It was February now.
Luoyang was in winter, yet Yuanjiao Pavilion was in spring.
Lost in the astonishing vista, she heard a voice that was oddly playful in her ears.
"How is it? Beautiful, isn't it?"
The voice snapped her back to reality.
"Ah...!"
The one speaking to her from the courtyard, dressed in worn plain white robes, was...
"Yes. Did you sleep well?"
He gave her a small wave.
"Ah, yes. Thanks to you..."
He had the slender build of a young man and the soft face of a boy.
His pale skin and gentle features struck her as more "beautiful youth" than "beautiful boy," but she settled on the latter.
"Good. I'm glad."
Then he flashed a mischievous smile.
"My neck hurts craning up to talk to you, so get ready and come down to the first floor."
Without waiting for a reply, he sauntered around the corner.
"Ah...!"
Only then did Jeong-a realize.
That beautiful boy was none other than the Luoyang Sword Clan's Eldest Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon—mocked as the Swordless One.
And the place where she now stood was his private chamber, where she had just looked down upon her master during their first meeting and conversed with him.
* * *
"...So, your name is Jeong-a?"
Reclining leisurely, Yeon So-hyeon asked, and Jeong-a, having regained her composure, answered steadily.
"Yes, it is."
At her demeanor, Yeon So-hyeon grinned mischievously.
"You were quite heavy earlier."
Of course, it was a joke on his part.
With the power of the Jeam Jincheon Scripture, the weight of one woman was nothing to him.
"Ah, uh. I-I'm sorry."
She realized something.
Yuanjiao Pavilion currently had no servants.
The one who had carried her unconscious form was none other than the Luoyang Sword Clan's Eldest Young Master.
Jeong-a's mind reeled.
'Come to think of it, I fainted in that forest. First I met those experts in guard uniforms, then that horrifying formation, and...'
She had clearly had a terrible nightmare, yet upon waking, she couldn't recall it.
'I definitely saw something, but was it a dream...?'
The shock had exceeded her capacity to process, scrambling her memories and erasing the unbearable parts.
Watching her confusion, Yeon So-hyeon spoke again.
"Fortunately, I found you collapsed during my walk. Even in this warm Yuanjiao Pavilion, it could have been serious if I'd been later."
At his words, Jeong-a rose from her chair, knelt on the floor, and bowed her head low.
"I will never forget the grace of saving this lowly one's life."
Yeon So-hyeon waved her off.
"I know. Get up."
He unfolded the directive on the table.
But Jeong-a showed no sign of rising.
"From now on, as I serve you, I will spare no effort for my body, and devote my life entirely to..."
"Enough, I said."
Cutting her off, Yeon So-hyeon peered at her over the directive.
His gaze held no emotion.
"And I never said I accepted you. You're deciding to serve me on your own?"
He shook the directive.
"Or is this head steward's order commanding the Eldest Young Master—me?"
His words struck her like lightning.
Come to think of it, she had simply assumed she would serve the Eldest Young Master all this time.
"...Please kill this lowly one!"
No. She had definitely prepared for an interview with the Eldest Young Master.
But fainting in the forest had tangled everything up.
"Tch. I save you, and now you say you'll serve me as you please, and ask to be killed?"
Jeong-a bowed her head even lower.
"...I apologize."
Yeon So-hyeon clicked his tongue, took a sip of tea, and spoke again.
"I never asked for a maid in the first place. I just need a servant or handmaid good at odd jobs..."
At his words, Jeong-a hurriedly replied.
"I started at the Great Luoyang Sword Clan doing all sorts of odd jobs. I may not meet your standards, but I will do my utmost..."
"Is that so?"
He nodded slightly with a hum, then spoke in a serious tone.
"Then the most important issue remains."
Jeong-a swallowed dryly.
Though obscured by the mocking title Swordless One, the Eldest Young Master was unmatched not only in poetry and writing but even in casual games.
What condition would he demand?
"Can you cook rice?"
"Yes...?"
Jeong-a looked up at Yeon So-hyeon's face without thinking, then hastily bowed her head again.
"Rice, I mean. Cooking. Can you cook?"
His voice was utterly serious.
"I can, but compared to a professional chef..."
Stammering through her bewildered response, Yeon So-hyeon slapped his knee.
"So, are you confident or not?!"
Jeong-a reflexively answered.
"I am confident!"
"Good! You're hired!"
* * *
Jeong-a stared blankly at the flames in the small hearth.
In shabby work clothes from the maids' quarters, her face smudged with soot, and her apron stained with broth, she hardly resembled the refined young lady anymore.
It had been so chaotic after so long in a kitchen.
But her exceptional memory, her universally praised handiwork, and her "eyes" combined to leave her now simply waiting for the rice in the hearth to cook.
'It was so hectic...'
Warming her hands by the fire, she let out a small sigh.
It had all started with passing out in the forest due to the formation.
Daringly carried by the Eldest Young Master himself to his chamber, where she awoke.
And in the conversation that followed, what a string of embarrassments.
Reflecting on it made her face burn.
She, who had been called Ice Flower by visiting eccentrics and high officials visiting the Luoyang Sword Clan, had lost her composure so easily.
'I was confident I could stay calm even with a blade at my throat...'
Even experts using their energy sense hadn't realized she had detected it.
And yet here she was, so ridiculously swept along.
'It all started with that sudden faint on the forest path...'
Her hands stilled before the fire.
"...No."
When she awoke in the Eldest Young Master's chamber, she had felt utterly refreshed, her mind crystal clear.
Though she didn't grasp the full context, it wasn't enough to unsettle her afterward.
Looking down at the Eldest Young Master and speaking to him had been improper, but not cause for true panic.
She had ample experience and skill from years in the guest quarters to handle such slips smoothly.
What about the conversation after?
Hadn't she acted like a new maid undergoing initiation, just from a few offhand remarks from the Eldest Young Master?
Her moments of fluster, her mistakes, and now this belated sense of something off in recalling it all.
It all stemmed from...
'...the Eldest Young Master.'
From their first meeting to the last.
He never once yielded control, steering the conversation as he wished, shaking the composure of one called Ice Flower.
'That man is the Swordless One...?'
The same man who, just this morning, had no choice but to chase out his servants for their lax behavior?
The image of Yeon So-hyeon conversing with her rose in her mind.
Lounging in the plush armchair with a posture that exuded relaxed poise.
And unlike the smile on his lips, those endlessly indifferent eyes.
That figure was no Swordless One—it was more like...
A chill ran through her entire body.
"Is dinner ready yet?"
"Kyaa!"
His sudden voice from behind made Jeong-a leap to her feet in shock.
"Oh, sorry. Did I startle you?"
Standing at the door with an awkward, apologetic smile was the Eldest Young Master.
In that instant, Jeong-a could offer no reply.
Only then did she realize.
Her "eyes" could read nothing from him.