Chapter 46
He didn’t even take his eyes off Ye-il’s face whenever he came by — as if waiting for her to wake up.
Thanks to that, Ye-il could barely rest properly.
It was such a nuisance that she eventually decided to pretend she had regained consciousness three days earlier than she’d planned.
“Lord Hee-myeong.”
Namgung Hee-myeong, who entered the room as casually as ever, froze in place when he saw Ye-il sitting up with a perfectly calm face.
“…Soyo.”
Then, stumbling forward, he grabbed her shoulders and examined her from head to toe in a flustered panic.
“You’re awake? Are you all right? Any pain? Are you hurt anywhere? Ah, no, don’t talk! You mustn’t strain your throat. Don’t use your voice for a while — absolutely not!”
“Mmm.”
“Don’t even groan.”
“Cough…”
“No coughing either!”
What exactly did he expect her to do then?
So he can make that kind of face too, huh.
His usual confidence and poise were nowhere to be found; instead, he fidgeted and fussed like a nervous dog. It was almost pitiful.
Does he blame himself for this?
Considering she had collapsed coughing up blood before his eyes, it was no wonder he was shaken.
“Still, you really do have Namgung blood — your recovery is twice as fast as anyone else’s. The medicine worked well with your constitution, so the effects were remarkable. By autumn, you should be able to speak normally again.”
Since when had that been part of the story?
Sorry, but Ye-il had no intention of living mute until autumn. She was already pretending to be blind — if she had to keep her mouth shut too, she might lose her temper completely.
“Why have you lost so much weight, Namgung Soyo? Well, of course, you were unconscious for days, so it’s only natural you’d waste away. Haah…”
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
The detox process had only taken half a day.
At night, she secretly ate the food Chang-ah brought, and with Jin Cheong-ak standing guard, she had managed her internal energy — there was no way she could have lost weight.
“Tsk. Your once-radiant skin has turned rough like straw. A frail, tiny—no, not tiny, just sickly—thing like you being bedridden so long… I suppose it’s to be expected.”
Also false.
Not only had the detox purged the poison swiftly, but the days she’d spent regulating her body had left her skin glowing and her lips gleaming.
Maybe I’m not the blind one — maybe Namgung Hee-myeong is.
She couldn’t even respond thanks to this ridiculous “mute” setting he’d invented for her.
“You know, if that medicinal liquor smelled off, you should have thrown it away quietly… no, never mind. It’s my fault for forcing you to drink it. Forget it. My mouth keeps running on its own.”
“……”
“Anyway, it’s good you’re awake, Namgung Soyo. Rest well today. Don’t think about anything, don’t listen to any news. I’ll come again tomorrow. …If anything happens, call for me. Promise.”
Hee-myeong only stood up after Ye-il hooked her pinky around his.
When she opened her eyes slightly, his usual steady gait looked oddly unbalanced — the tension and worry must have finally worn off.
Once his presence had completely faded, Seol-yeong spoke softly.
“You must feel a bit… uneasy.”
“Uneasy?”
“Well, I mean, when all this business with the Namgung clan is over. Even a lady with an icy heart might find it hard to forget the Third Young Master. He’s… surprisingly warm once you get to know him. Still insufferable, but warm.”
After insisting on her point, Seol-yeong left with Chang-ah to prepare Ye-il’s meal.
When all this was over, huh.
Maybe one season at most.
A season wasn’t much.
Ye-il had said her goodbyes easily to people she’d spent two years with as if they were siblings.
Though her plan had strayed a bit this time, it wasn’t because she was sentimental about the past, as Seol-yeong implied.
So when the time came to leave the Namgung clan, she’d have no problem at all. Definitely.
“Jin Cheong-ak.”
No answer. He must have left the estate again without a word.
He doesn’t even bother hiding it now?
She really ought to track him one of these days. Yes — by now, he was probably planning to run from her anyway.
That night, under the hoot of an owl, Ye-il suddenly sensed someone entering her room.
It wasn’t Jin Cheong-ak, nor Seol-yeong, nor Chang-ah.
The silent visitor sat in a chair by the table for quite some time before finally speaking, only after Ye-il had risen and seated herself across from him.
“Are you feeling better?”
She nodded slightly.
“Still can’t speak, I see. Weaker than I thought.”
Ye-il picked up the brush she’d prepared and began writing on a sheet of paper on the table.
In the dim room, the black ink seemed even darker.
<What brings you here?>
“…Your handwriting leaves something to be desired.”
She bit back the urge to retort that it was at least human-level.
“I came to think.”
Namgung Jeok-myeong gave a dry laugh.
“I have been. Thinking about whether the rites for Choo-myeong are sufficient as they are. How to deal with the remaining parasites now that the impostor’s been eliminated. Whom to entrust the clan to while I’m at the Martial Alliance.…”
“……”
“And how far your hand might have reached in all this.”
“……”
“Whether keeping you in this household was an act of stupidity on my part.”
While Ye-il had been recuperating under the excuse of treatment, Jeok-myeong had clearly been wondering if this entire series of events had been orchestrated by her.
If he’d heard an accurate account from Hee-myeong, there were indeed reasons for suspicion — especially since Jin Cheong-ak had conveniently possessed the antidote.
After a taut silence, Jeok-myeong spoke again.
“But what’s done is done. You risked your life to help rid us of the impostor. I should pay the proper price for that.”
He rose and took a few steps toward the door.
“Come with me. Alone.”
When the door opened, Ye-il reached out and waved her hand — signaling that she wouldn’t move unless he took her.
“……”
Jeok-myeong sighed quietly, then took her hand.
They walked for quite a while.
North Wing, perhaps?
That was the domain of the clan’s head.
The path was so silent that not even crickets chirped, and it felt endless.
At last, they stopped before a set of sliding doors.
Jeok-myeong slid them open and guided her inside, seating her on the cold floor.
Then he said quietly,
“The one lying before you now is my father — Namgung Je-da.”
