Chapter 14
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Chapter 14: Those Who Come Are Not Well-Intentioned
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Jeong-ah realized that she had never once truly contemplated the concept of "loyalty."
Since being sold to the Sword Clan, there had been many people she was grateful to.
And she had believed that she was faithful in repaying those debts of gratitude.
Such actions were fundamentally rooted in the idea of returning exactly as much as she had received.
She realized that she had been approaching the Young Master with the same mindset.
*If I do this much for the Young Master, he will protect me*—that was her reasoning.
But from the Young Master’s perspective, what was it like?
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Upon returning, Jeong-ah saw Yeon So-hyeon leaning back comfortably, reading a book.
This time, it was a medical text.
Jeong-ah first announced her return, then took out the letter from the Second Young Master.
"Here is the letter from the Second Young Master."
"Is that so?"
As soon as he took it, he tossed it into the brazier beside him.
*Whoosh*, the flames flared up for a moment, spewing black smoke, and in an instant, the letter turned to ash.
"Y-Young Master……?!"
For once, Jeong-ah could not hide her look of astonishment.
"Why?"
Yeon So-hyeon turned a page as if nothing had happened.
"That letter was a missive addressed to you from the Second Young Master."
"I heard."
A nonchalant reply.
"Ah, well, I suspect that letter likely concerned me as well."
"You?"
Another page turned.
"Yes……. I believe it was a letter from the Second Young Master to you regarding my future."
"I see."
Another page turned.
Jeong-ah licked her dry lips and spoke again.
"Is it truly alright not to read it?"
"Yeah."
The page turned once more.
"Ah, yes……. I understand."
Only then did Yeon So-hyeon add briefly,
"If it were truly important, he would have come himself."
At those words, Jeong-ah’s mouth fell open, unable to close.
"……."
Yeon So-hyeon waved his hand from behind the book.
"Bring me some tea. And refreshments."
"Yes, yes. I understand, Young Master."
As Jeong-ah hurriedly gathered her wits to withdraw, Yeon So-hyeon asked,
"If you were so curious, why didn't you just read it?"
"What do you mean by that……?"
Jeong-ah looked at him, but his gaze remained fixed on the book.
"I asked why you didn't read it beforehand if it was bothering you that much."
Jeong-ah hurriedly knelt.
"How could a mere servant dare to do such a thing!"
His finger, which had been turning the page, paused for a moment.
"……Is that so?"
"Of course!"
Jeong-ah cautiously lifted her anxious eyes to look at Yeon So-hyeon.
But his expression remained hidden.
"Just bring the tea."
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She could not understand it.
*Why didn't you read it beforehand if you were curious?* As she waited for the water to boil, Jeong-ah sighed, her mind growing complex.
*What on earth does he mean…….*
If anyone else had said it, she could have dismissed it as a joke or ignored it.
But these were the words of the Young Master.
She had only seen him for a single day, yet it was hard to imagine that the Young Master spoke without any underlying meaning.
"……."
Her gaze, wandering through the air, landed on the dining table placed in the corner.
It was the table where she and the Young Master had eaten.
"……Hm?"
Jeong-ah stood up abruptly and began to examine the food left on the table closely.
Then, she recalled Yeon So-hyeon’s behavior during their meals since yesterday.
What came to mind next was the story told by the Master in charge of the main gate—the one who had been turned into a messenger by Yeon So-hyeon.
*……I see, so that was it.*
After hurriedly finishing her preparations, she left the room.
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"Young Master, the tea and refreshments are ready."
"Good."
Jeong-ah approached Yeon So-hyeon cautiously and began to brew the tea with practiced movements.
"Would you like me to have some tea as well?"
"Go ahead."
With a small nod, Jeong-ah prepared a portion for herself.
"The tea is ready."
"Good."
Yeon So-hyeon answered, but he seemed preoccupied with his book.
Jeong-ah, trying her best not to be conscious of him, drank her tea with elegant posture.
It was an excellent aroma.
Then, Yeon So-hyeon’s hand fumbled to find his teacup, and he began to drink without taking his eyes off the book.
Jeong-ah then began to enjoy the refreshments one by one.
And she gained certainty.
*It was just as I thought.*
The Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon, only ate after Jeong-ah had eaten first.
That was exactly what she had seen on the dining table just now.
When Jeong-ah had to step away in the middle of the meal, there was a dish she had worked hard to make but hadn't even tasted—and it had remained untouched, hadn't it?
And that dish was one she had prepared, not him.
Would he have quietly appeared to help every time she prepared a meal just because he had nothing else to do?
*Poisoning…….*
He did not trust her at all.
No, to be precise.
He regarded his relationship with Jeong-ah as nothing more than a clear transaction of give-and-take.
Yeon So-hyeon likely wouldn't have cared even if she had read the Second Young Master’s letter first.
After all, that letter was about her.
However, he would never show her any letters that were important to the Young Master himself.
Come to think of it, Yeon So-hyeon hadn't even asked why the subordinates of the Third and Second Young Masters had visited.
As that thought crossed her mind, a sigh escaped her lips before she could stop it.
"……The Medicine Fairy was also just another uninvited guest."
Yeon So-hyeon’s hand, which had been turning the pages of a book, stopped.
"……Indeed."
Then, the page turned once more.
Jeong-ah laughed hollowly and said,
"I am late in reporting this, but after the man known as the Third Young Master’s Three-Absolute Warrior, a man claiming to be the Second Young Master’s Lake Garden Steward arrived."
"I see."
"And I turned them all away. I lied on my own authority, telling them that the Young Master would not receive guests."
"I see."
The words that had been pent up inside Jeong-ah began to spill out.
"I am a foolish woman."
"Are you?"
"I acted as if I were so clever, as if I knew everything, but I did not know the things that truly mattered."
This time, there was no reply.
Only the sound of pages turning could be heard.
But Jeong-ah felt much more at ease with that.
"I wonder if I have only been desperate to survive until now. And I also wonder if the problem was that I had spent so much time working in a Reception Hall where there was no one truly worth serving. It all began when I was sold to this Luoyang Sword Clan."
She began to tell her story, starting from when she first arrived at the Luoyang Sword Clan.
By now, even the sound of turning pages had ceased, but Jeong-ah no longer cared.
And the story she spun soon reached the matters of the Second and Third Young Masters.
"……That is how the Second and Third Young Masters came to know of my existence. Of course, at first, nothing happened. But soon……."
The story continued: how a battle of pride over Jeong-ah had broken out between the Second and Third Young Masters, how that conflict had begun to escalate, and how she had eventually come to the Won-gak Pavilion with the help of the Head Steward.
She poured out everything regarding the conversation she had shared with the Head Steward.
She spoke in detail about what thoughts and judgments had led her to seek out Yeon So-hyeon.
She even laid out what she had been thinking in front of the Second and Third Young Masters' subordinates today.
And finally, she finished with the story of her own "vision."
"……Young Master."
"Yes."
At some point, Yeon So-hyeon had set aside his book and was watching her in silence.
Jeong-ah looked into Yeon So-hyeon’s eyes, which gave away nothing of his thoughts, and asked,
"If the Medicine Fairy were to offer her absolute loyalty, giving everything she has even now, would you accept it?"
She wanted him to answer simply, with a "Yes" or "Sure," just as he had until now.
"……Hmm."
But unlike before, an answer did not flow easily from Yeon So-hyeon’s lips.
Instead, Yeon So-hyeon asked the dejected Jeong-ah a question in return.
"Can you pledge your absolute loyalty to me, no matter what happens, no matter what you learn, and no matter what dangers may arise?"
Jeong-ah nodded firmly.
"Of course I can."
However, Yeon So-hyeon added one more question with a subtle smile.
"Do you know about my father?"
It was an absurd question.
"Is he not the Supreme Clan Leader? I heard that he is currently bedridden due to illness and handles all matters, great and small, from his sickbed……."
That was also the reason why the Young Master’s father was not the Clan Leader, but the Supreme Clan Leader.
The Clan Leader, unable to perform his normal duties, had stepped down to the position of Supreme, and the seat of the Luoyang Sword Clan’s Clan Leader was currently vacant.
Then, lightning struck in Jeong-ah’s mind.
"Could it be……?!"
Yeon So-hyeon nodded.
"It is not an illness. My father has been in a coma for a long time due to poisoning."
"How could that be……?!"
Jeong-ah’s eyes fell upon the medical texts Yeon So-hyeon had tossed aside.
"He is not handling matters, great or small; he has no consciousness at all. The Luoyang Sword Clan is currently being operated by a top-level decision-making body."
"……."
Jeong-ah could not bring herself to say a word about the immense secret she had suddenly learned.
It was a secret so sensitive that merely knowing it could cost one their life—a secret of secrets, permitted to be known by only a tiny handful of people within the Luoyang Sword Clan.
"Ever since I was young, I have had to handle my own food and drink within the Won-gak Pavilion."
"……."
It was possible because the Won-gak Pavilion boasted immense size and was protected by a supreme formation that allowed for the cultivation of any herb, regardless of the season.
"And yet, how many times do you think there have been attempts to poison me?"
"……I dare not even guess."
Yeon So-hyeon gave a bitter smile.
"Well, after I achieved mastery in medicine and pharmacology, simple poisoning meant nothing, but it became a habit."
Moreover, he was now the vessel of the ancient demon monster, the Darkness-Suppressing Heaven-Shaking Classic.
He drank his tea, which had long since gone cold, and opened his mouth again.
"The fact that I only eat what others have tasted first—I didn't even know that until you mentioned it."
"……."
He rolled the empty teacup on his palm and asked,
"What I have just told you is merely a glimpse of the darkness that this Luoyang Sword Clan harbors. Do you still wish to serve me?"
Jeong-ah suppressed her trembling hand with her other hand and replied.
"……Please allow me to serve you as my master."
Yeon So-hyeon still did not answer her.
Instead, he took a bundle of documents from his sleeve.
"Look at this."
Jeong-ah received the letter respectfully and unfolded it with caution.
The moment she saw the contents, she felt as if her breath had stopped.
The document was none other than a report sent to Yeon So-hyeon by the Head Steward.
It contained every detail the Head Steward had gathered about Jeong-ah.
It even mentioned things she herself had forgotten, and it was not merely a list of facts.
As she flipped to the back, there was even an analysis and evaluation of Jeong-ah from various perspectives.
"Read the last page aloud."
Jeong-ah unfolded the final page with trembling hands.
"……Therefore, if this child confesses all the aforementioned facts honestly, please take her in and work her like an ox or a horse."
Cold sweat ran down Jeong-ah’s forehead.
"If she cannot abandon her innate nature and attempts to strike a deal with the Young Master……."
Her voice trembled.
"……I advise you to quietly kill and dispose of her, so that the Young Master’s peace may not be threatened by the other young masters."
The bundle of documents slipped from her hands and hit the floor with a thud.
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