Chapter 36: The Past, and the Fiancé
Five hundred years ago.
Seo Hyo hummed softly as she wiped down the medicinal herb cabinet. From within the wooden drawers, she could feel spirits (靈) playfully clamoring, begging to be let out to play.
Seo Hyo’s mother, Lady Mujo, was the Goddess of Lost Things.
And Seo Hyo, her daughter, would often spend her free time playing with the spirits inside the medicine cabinet.
Their mother was kind to the spirits, but unlike Seo Hyo, she would never play with them using feather toys.
“You spoiled them from the very beginning,” her mother once said.
She warned that if Seo Hyo kept indulging them every day, even after inheriting the divine role, she would be stuck doing it forever.
To that, Seo Hyo would simply laugh.
“How bored do you think they are stuck in there?”
“What you’re gaining with age is just cheekiness, isn’t it?”
“I’m also getting prettier, you know.”
“Not if you keep talking.”
Life in the human realm, running a small apothecary shop—nothing extraordinary ever happened, but every day had its own charm.
Peaceful and warm days.
“Look at this.”
Lady Mujo placed something on the counter.
Seo Hyo paused mid-wipe, glanced over, then sighed as her eyes rolled slightly.
So yes—it was peaceful and warm… but—
“Mother, I’m asking this out of genuine curiosity. Is this really okay?”
No, that wasn’t phrased right.
“Mother… is this really okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Whose young lord is this now? Let’s see… ah, here it is. The youngest son of the Goddess of Abundance.”
Seo Hyo folded the paper and returned it to the envelope.
Lady Mujo added that there was even a portrait included and told her to look carefully.
Seo Hyo shot her a sharp glance.
“Mother, I’m already engaged. It’s been a year.”
“Yet you haven’t had the wedding ceremony.”
“Hah, I think I need to dig through this herb cabinet and find your sense of morality.”
“Listen to me.”
Lady Mujo gently grabbed her daughter’s hand and lowered her voice.
Seo Hyo already knew what was coming.
She had heard it many times over the past year.
No matter how indulgent her mother usually was, when it came to Seo Hyo’s engagement, she remained stubbornly consistent.
“A husband should be someone gentle, someone who listens to you. You will spend your whole life together.”
“That’s true…”
“And strictly speaking, you haven’t exchanged gifts or even properly interacted. So it can’t really be considered a confirmed marriage.”
Seo Hyo pulled her hand away.
“That’s because you keep delaying it! Saying I still need more education, being picky about gifts… at this rate, I won’t be married even in a hundred years.”
Seeing her mother about to continue, Seo Hyo quickly retreated to her room, claiming she needed to fix her hair.
Once inside, she opened a drawer carefully.
Inside was a stack of neatly wrapped letters.
Her heart fluttering, she reached for them—then paused.
Her hand had been wiping the herb cabinet. Would there be a strange smell?
She checked. It seemed fine.
“No way I can let anything weird get on Lord Cha-eon’s letters.”
Smiling softly, she opened them.
Though his tone often seemed cold, there was always subtle warmth hidden within. That was how she fell in love with him.
A year ago, she had been shocked when told of her engagement.
As the daughter of a minor goddess, she expected a match with a similarly modest divine family.
But then came the decree from above:
Seo Hyo, daughter of Mujo, was to be paired with Cha-eon.
Cha-eon.
Also known as Cha-eon of Mangwol, son of the Heavenly Emperor. The strongest and most radiant among the Emperor’s five sons.
Lady Mujo had been uneasy, saying the difference in status was too great.
Seo Hyo had been just as bewildered.
“It was then… the letters started arriving in secret at the apothecary.”
Late at night, when even her mother was asleep, a glowing blue bird had entered through a window Seo Hyo was certain she had closed.
A scroll was tied to its leg.
To Lady Seo Hyo, fiancée of Cha-eon.
It was the first letter she had ever received from a man.
From then on, letters arrived once or twice a month—and became her secret treasure.
“Even if the sun is warm, the air is cold. Please be careful not to catch a cold.”
“Do not worry too much about rumors. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.”
“I look forward to the day we meet.”
“Lord Cha-eon… so kind, so gentle…”
She sighed dreamily.
In her hands was a portrait of him she had somehow obtained.
His slightly raised chin and faint smile radiated undeniable superiority.
How could someone look so good it made her sigh every time she looked at him?
Others didn’t know.
They couldn’t possibly imagine how kind he was to his fiancée.
“Seo Hyo! Come out quickly!”
Her mother called again.
“Yes, yes, I’m coming!”
Seo Hyo carefully stored the letters and portrait back in the drawer.
Before leaving, she glanced back and winked at it.
“I’ll be back, Lord Cha-eon.”
A springlike hum escaped her lips.
After finishing the herb cabinet cleaning, she wondered what chore would come next.
Sweeping the yard? Cleaning windows?
But her guess was completely wrong.
Her mother grabbed her arm the moment she saw her and dragged her toward the back door.
“Mother, what’s going on?”
Her mother kept glancing around nervously, even though it was broad daylight.
“I don’t have time to explain.”
“Explain what?”
Without another word, Lady Mujo shoved a bundle into her arms.
It was heavy.
“Listen carefully, Seo Hyo. Until I send word, go to the God of Poison.”
“The God of Poison?”
“Just… sigh, there’s no time.”
Seo Hyo had met that god three times.
Gods of medicine and poison were closely related.
At first, she had been intimidated by the title—but the reality was a cheerful enthusiast who filled his garden with poisonous herbs.
“Look at this lovely flower, Seo Hyo! Isn’t its chick-like color adorable?”
“Um… what kind of poison is this?”
“Hahaha! Just one handful can drop ten oxen!”
A good person, in many ways. Just… overly enthusiastic about poisonous plants.
“Is this for my herbal studies?”
Seo Hyo asked, confused.
Lady Mujo simply replied,
“Let’s say it is.”
“That’s not an answer…”
Before she could resist further, she was pushed toward a carriage already waiting outside.
A driver in a dark green cloak nodded silently.
Lady Mujo urged him:
“Go quickly. Do not stop.”
The carriage moved.
Seo Hyo called out, confused, but her mother only said to trust the God of Poison.
As the carriage departed, Seo Hyo saw a fox-eared girl outside who looked exactly like her.
Another Seo Hyo.
A fox spirit had taken her form.
Then the carriage sped off.
Night fell.
Seo Hyo woke to a loud thud.
It was already dark.
She had no idea how long they had traveled.
She tried asking the driver where they were, but he did not respond.
Something felt wrong.
Fog thickened outside until nothing could be seen.
Then—
“Wait… where are we going?”
Finally, the carriage burst out of the forest.
A massive stone loomed ahead.
On it, faint letters read:
Mangwol (罔月).
Seo Hyo’s eyes widened.
“Mangwol? Where Lord Cha-eon lives?”
Confusion flooded her mind.
Then fireworks exploded in the sky.
The night was dazzling.
The city was alive with lanterns, street food, music, and performers.
It was a festival-like scene unlike anything she had ever seen.
The carriage turned through winding streets and finally stopped.
“…Are we here?”
She peeked out.
The driver leapt down—and transformed into a black fox.
“Of course…”
Before she could fully process it, women approached.
“Lady Seo Hyo, please come down.”
They bowed deeply.
“This is Mangwol—the palace of Lord Cha-eon.”
His palace.
She stepped down.
And the world felt unreal.
She was led through vast halls, dozens of buildings, and finally to a quiet pavilion surrounded by bamboo.
Elegant. Serene. Beautiful.
Far too grand.
Finally, Seo Hyo asked:
“Is the God of Poison here too?”
The attendants exchanged glances.
“My mother thought I was going there…”
“Lady Seo Hyo, please rest first.”
Before she could ask more, they withdrew.
Food had already been prepared. Bathwater scented with flowers awaited her.
Seo Hyo sat alone in the luxurious room.
“…Could someone please just explain things to me.”
Tomorrow, she would meet Cha-eon.
Then she would ask everything.
Outside, faint fireworks continued to echo through the night.
