Chapter 4
“What’s all this on the floor?”
I stuffed the bamboo tube I was holding roughly into my sleeve and made a pitiful face as I gathered up the rest of the laundry.
“Danso.”
“Judging by the look of it, these were already finished… so why are they on the floor…?”
“I tripped…”
“Oh dear. Let’s give these to the others first and go. Hurry.”
“Why? What are we hurrying for?”
“The Grand Elder Patriarch has just issued an order.”
The Grand Elder Patriarch? And what did that have to do with a mere maid like me?
“What do you mean? Explain it properly.”
“They’re replacing all the maids in both the Outer Court and the Inner Court.”
“When…?”
“Right now!”
I grabbed Danso’s arm, stopping her hurried steps.
“But why are they replacing them?”
“Oh, honestly! I’ll tell you on the way. Let’s walk first.”
Danso grabbed my arm and began pulling me along at a brisk pace. Apparently, the sudden decision was because a disciple from the Outer Court had been attacked not long ago.
“I only found out today too, but it seems it wasn’t just one or two victims.”
At the mention of an attack, an uneasy feeling crept up from somewhere deep inside me.
Could it be… related to me?
“I heard the Inner Court is way stricter than the Outer Court. I’m worried, sigh.”
At Danso’s complaint, my heart sank as well. If it was stricter, that probably meant even less freedom.
It might sound ridiculous, but I had already formed a hypothesis about returning to my original world. Now, the chance to test it seemed even farther away.
Nothing ever works out.
Following the sighing Danso, I hurried my steps.
When we arrived at the maids’ quarters, Chuseol was already packing her belongings. Seeing us enter, she gestured toward a bundle with her eyes.
“I packed most of it. Check if everything’s there.”
“Chuseoool.”
Danso hugged Chuseol with teary eyes, clearly moved.
The two of them seemed quite close, and I wasn’t thick-skinned enough to join the embrace, so I simply thanked Chuseol with words.
I tried recalling the memories that belonged to this body, but since that had always been futile, I just shoved a few vaguely familiar items into my bundle.
Then something caught my eye.
“This…”
It was the same finger-sized tube that had nearly cracked the back of my head earlier. Even the stopper looked identical.
“Why? What is it?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Why was this mixed in with my belongings?
A bad feeling crept over me.
When night fell and darkness swallowed everything, several men carrying torches arrived and led us to the Inner Court.
I was startled by the pitch-black darkness—on a completely different level from anything I had seen in my previous life. The flickering torches weren’t bright enough to illuminate even the stones on the ground, so I had to walk carefully, steadying my ankles each time they wobbled.
“Do we really have to go when it’s this dark?”
When I muttered quietly, Chuseol, who was walking ahead, whispered into my ear.
“Be quiet. This is an order from the Grand Elder Patriarch himself. Of course it’s absolute. Stop complaining and just walk.”
“Mm.”
An absolute order.
It felt so distant from the democratic, presidential system of the world I had lived in before that resentment kept bubbling up inside me.
I should be careful.
After walking for some time, we arrived at our new residence. In front of it stood another group of people—about the same number as us. Like us, they must have been called out in a hurry, because they looked rather disheveled.
“You will stay here.”
The man, who had an ordinary appearance, also warned us about a few things.
The Inner Court was where only the highest-ranking and most important members of the Moyong family lived. Both our actions and our words had to be handled with extreme caution.
Otherwise, our lives could be in danger.
Hearing that made my fingertips grow cold. It felt as though my life truly no longer belonged to me.
“Someone will come tomorrow at Myo hour (5–7 a.m.) to explain your duties in the Inner Court. Until then, remain in your quarters. Now, get some rest.”
“Yes, thank you for guiding us.”
Danso greeted him cheerfully, and we all followed suit with bows.
After roughly organizing our belongings, we spread out our bedding and lay down.
Soon, the quiet sound of breathing filled the room.
But I couldn’t fall asleep so easily.
I tossed and turned the entire night.
The next day, a gaunt middle-aged man arrived. He looked like someone of high status, so we all greeted him nervously.
“I will now assign your duties.”
We stared at his lips in tense silence.
“Jang Chuseol. You will attend Miss Ye-hye.”
Chuseol swallowed hard, her face turning strangely pale with fear.
But I could understand why.
The current head of the Moyong family had one son and two daughters. His daughters were famous even in the Outer Court for their fierce temperaments.
For some reason, however, the son lived in the Outer Court. I had heard it was because he was born to a secondary wife and was treated with discrimination.
That aside, hearing Chuseol’s assignment made me feel sorry for her. She spoke boldly, but deep down she was soft-hearted. Would she be okay?
“Moon Danso. I heard from the Outer Steward that you have a gentle temperament and skilled hands.”
“You flatter me.”
“You will go to the Archive Pavilion.”
“Yes.”
The Archive Pavilion? The place where books were stored?
In a martial family, such a place was quite important.
And yet someone who had just moved from the Outer Court to the Inner Court was being assigned there. Just how good at her work was Danso?
The always smiling Danso suddenly seemed different to me.
“Ma Sansan.”
“….”
“Ma Sansan!”
“Oh—yes, yes!”
His already sharp gaze became even harsher.
“I’m… sorry.”
“Pay attention. I’ve heard roughly about you. Since you’re still learning the basics, you’ll go to the kitchen.”
“Yes, understood.”
And so my life in the Inner Court began.
As we moved to our respective workplaces, we were also shown the location of the reception hall and the Inner Court training ground.
There was a reception hall in the Outer Court as well, but this one was luxurious on a completely different level.
We were also told that entry to the training ground was forbidden. Since this was the Inner Court, the people staying here were of higher status, and the martial arts they practiced were on a different level than those in the Outer Court.
“As you know, those who cultivate martial arts do not like outsiders witnessing them. If you don’t wish to bring trouble upon yourselves, avoid that area.”
In other words, their status and martial power were high—so we should watch ourselves.
After that, we were shown the residence of Madam Gyuhwa, the legal wife of the family head; the residence of the eldest daughter, Miss Moyong Ye-hye; and the residence of the second daughter, Miss Moyong Ye-seol.
I assumed the last stop would naturally be the kitchen.
Instead, we were taken in front of a shabby residence.
“This is the residence of Lord Moyong Se-hwi.”
Moyong Se-hwi?
The name sounded strangely familiar, making me tilt my head.
Danso immediately nudged my arm.
“…?”
“Don’t be curious.”
“No, it’s not that—”
“Whatever it is, just pretend you didn’t hear or see anything.”
“Okay.”
Both Chuseol and Danso had become noticeably quieter ever since we entered the Inner Court.
Their silence made me cautious as well.
After walking quietly for a while, we finally arrived at the kitchen.
“Madam Mok told me that although you have some issues with your memory, you work quite well. Especially when it comes to preparing ingredients.”
“Ingredients…?”
A strange chill ran down my spine.
“I heard you can even clean the inner skins of peas perfectly.”
Oh no.
Do I have to peel bean pods here too?!
“The people staying here are of noble status. Cleanliness in food preparation is essential. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Now then, proceed to your assigned places.”
When I arrived at the kitchen, I greeted the workers there. Uncle Chanbi had a kind face, which reassured me.
The day flew by as I worked on various tasks.
“Alright, let’s stop here for today.”
“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”
“You must have been tired learning everything today.”
“Not at all. You explained everything so well that it wasn’t difficult at all.”
When I said that with a smile, the man scratched his head awkwardly.
“Uncle, by the way…”
I asked why the residence of the Third Young Master—who supposedly lived in the Outer Court—was located in the Inner Court.
Strangely, that name kept lingering on my tongue.
Even while the man was explaining, I frowned, lost in thought.
Se-hwi… Moyong Se-hwi…
Something flashed through my mind like lightning.
Good heavens.
That Moyong Se-hwi?!
The bookish scholar who shut himself in his room all day.
The young master born to a secondary wife who had endured a pitiful childhood.
It felt as though someone had struck my head with a hammer.
“You’re making a strange face. I heard your head was injured before. Is it still hurting?”
“Oh—no, I’m fine. Just a brief headache.”
“Alright. If you feel unwell, make sure to tell me.”
“Yes. See you tomorrow.”
Because of my friend Jeong-hee, who was obsessed with martial-arts novels, I had once read my very first wuxia novel.
The novel that made me realize that the hazy memories of my first life had been nothing more than the sacrifice of a character within its story.
Afterward, I hated it so much that I tore the book to shreds, barely remembering its contents anymore.
The Legend of the Jade-Faced Hero.
I had reincarnated into the very novel where I was used and killed by my own biological father.
This is driving me insane.
