Chapter 2
The place Seowon brought Haena to was the Yulga estate.
With its blue-tiled roof and dark wooden structure, the manor exuded an air of antiquity and elegance.
Even the footsteps of the servants were impeccably disciplined, revealing that this was no ordinary household.
A criminal, even if spared death, was still a criminal. Haena had expected to be thrown into some abandoned warehouse or dungeon.
But contrary to her expectations, the servants led her not to a cell, but to a room fit for a noble young lady.
Haena blinked in confusion as she looked around the room.
A bed laid with silk bedding, finely crafted wooden cabinets and tables, and even a faint, pleasant fragrance lingering in the air.
Why… am I here?
Her legs ached from crouching in the cramped storage space earlier, and from standing so long after being carried on Seowon’s shoulder.
Yet she couldn’t even bring herself to sit on the floor.
The room was so fine that even the floor seemed cleaner than she was.
“Do you like the room, young lady?”
At that moment, a woman with a kind face approached Haena.
She was Cheongyeon, the maid who had received Haena from Seowon and personally guided her here.
“You should wash first. I’ve prepared a bath. Would you come this way?”
“P-please speak informally. Someone as lowly as me doesn’t deserve—”
Startled by the gentle tone, Haena hurriedly waved her hands. Cheongyeon tilted her head slightly.
“Lowly? You are a guest brought here by the Master. Of course you are to be treated properly.”
“I… I’m not… someone worthy of such treatment.”
Haena lowered her head, fidgeting as she spoke. The worn collar of her clothes revealed an embroidered cloud pattern.
Cheongyeon silently observed her.
The sudden guest in the Yulga estate—an anxious, thin child trembling as if she had committed some grave sin.
Cheongyeon, who rarely saw outsiders, knew little of the outside world.
She had heard that the Yeonga family had committed treason, but how much guilt could this small child possibly bear among such heavy crimes?
The round, brown head trembled slightly. The child looked as though she were utterly undeserving of forgiveness.
Cheongyeon found it deeply pitiful.
“Young lady,” she said gently, bending down to meet Haena’s eyes. “This is the Yulga estate.”
She met the frightened green eyes.
“The master of this estate is Lord Seowon, and I am merely someone who follows his orders.”
“….”
“What kind of person you are doesn’t matter. What matters is that Lord Seowon has ordered me to take good care of you.”
The orange eyes, previously filled with fear, flickered with confusion.
Cheongyeon smiled softly.
“So it’s alright. If it troubles you, then simply help me ensure I do not disobey my master’s orders. Alright?”
Haena, almost reflexively, nodded.
Cheongyeon gently lifted her into her arms and carried her toward the bath.
The water emitted a subtle fragrance. With swift yet gentle hands, Cheongyeon undressed the child and placed her into the tub.
“Now then, let’s wash you up quickly.”
Cheongyeon carefully bathed Haena, dried her, applied scented oils, and even dried her hair.
After dressing her in clean clothes, she left the room to fetch food.
In the blink of an eye, Haena was left alone in a room that smelled fresh and fragrant.
W-what is this…?
It was an excessive level of hospitality.
Even bath attendants and scented oils felt like luxuries. For Haena, a child of Yeonga, even warm water was a privilege.
And these clothes…
She carefully looked down at what she was wearing.
The pale peach undergarment was embroidered with gold thread, and the light green skirt shimmered faintly.
Having once worked in a merchant household, Haena could immediately tell how expensive the silk was.
Why are they going this far?
Lord Yul Seowon of Tamlang was not someone known for showing mercy to children.
At least, that was what Haena had heard so far.
Four years ago, the illegitimate daughter of the former Lord of Tamlang had suddenly inherited his power.
No—she had not even been considered an illegitimate daughter.
She was the child of a court performer who had spent a single night with the former lord.
Seowon had slaughtered the Yul clan who opposed her ascension, refusing to allow someone of impure blood to become the Tamlang Lord.
Not even newborns with the Yul surname were spared.
Even after that, when carrying out state affairs as the king’s hound, she had never shown mercy.
Or maybe… she thinks I did nothing wrong?
The thought made Haena’s small heart drop.
There had been no other child servants in Yeonga except her.
All others, even the youngest, were over eighteen.
The children were all underground—trapped in a prison.
She said she rescued them…
The reason the authorities raided Yeonga was likely because of the crimes committed against those children.
Then perhaps Seowon believed Haena was just like them?
That she had been too young to know anything. A mere victim used by others…
No.
Haena bit her lower lip hard.
The cries of the children still echoed in her ears.
They had all been crying.
Begging for help. Reaching out.
Haena had not helped them. She had been afraid of ending up like them.
Back then, and even now, she had wanted to live—and she was glad to be alive.
She did not have the courage to say she deserved death.
But if Seowon did not know the truth, she had to tell her.
No matter how shameless it was, she could not stay silent.
Even if she had to kneel again and beg for her life.
As she steeled her resolve and stood abruptly—
creak.
The sliding door opened.
The moment she saw Seowon standing there, Haena froze.
Ignoring the child’s reaction, Seowon strode toward her.
Behind her, Cheongyeon looked on with concern.
“Why are you standing?”
Seowon asked flatly, looking down at her like a statue.
Startled, Haena hurriedly sat down.
In her rush, her skirt wrinkled messily.
“…I only asked a question.”
At that voice, Haena stiffened and slowly stood up again.
“I… I have something to tell you.”
She forced the words out, her voice trembling.
At Yeonga, hesitation was punished.
Cold meals, confinement in dark storage rooms for days.
And if one angered the Tamlang Lord…
It would not end so lightly.
“Speak.”
The cold permission fell.
Haena clenched her trembling hands under her sleeves.
“Thank you for saving me. But… I am not worthy of such treatment. Because…”
She explained, as calmly as she could, what she had done.
She wanted to justify herself, but held it back. That was not something she was allowed to do.
When she finished, she exhaled deeply, her heart pounding violently.
What would happen now?
Imprisonment or stripping her clothes would have been fine.
But she feared being killed on the spot.
“I understand that you had no choice.”
At that moment, Seowon’s steady voice cut through her worst fears.
“You were bound to Yeonga since birth. The fault lies not with you, but with those who left you there.”
It was true. Haena had been abandoned at Yeonga’s gates as a newborn.
But more than questioning how Seowon knew this, Haena felt relief.
“Your sins are not yours.”
Haena lowered her head, tears threatening to fall.
Ever since she had been old enough to understand, guilt had weighed on her small shoulders.
Every time she ignored others to survive. Every time she chose life.
She had thought countless times that her very existence might be wrong.
No one had ever told her otherwise.
Not even herself.
But Seowon had.
Relief and gratitude surged within her, and tears nearly spilled out.
Haena bit her lip hard to preserve the expensive silk clothing.
“That is why I brought you here.”
Seowon’s voice continued, as cold and rigid as before.
Haena lifted her head.
Seowon’s usually stern expression was slightly distorted.
Something like pity—or guilt—flickered across her face.
Yet it was still too cold to be simple comfort.
“I was the one who left you at the gates of that estate eight years ago.”
With the face of someone confessing a sin, Seowon spoke in a hardened voice.
