Chapter 14
Why… why is he laughing?
Strangely, as soon as he started laughing, all the tension around me disappeared. Maybe he didn’t dislike me after all?
I nervously looked up. The old man, the Head Internal Manager, was still holding his belly and laughing.
“Hahaha! I’m sorry, young lady. You reminded me of my granddaughter.”
“You have a granddaughter…?”
“Well, of course I do. At my age, it’s normal. She’s about your age.”
My eyes lit up when I heard “girl my age.” I hadn’t met any kids like me here in the Black Gate.
There were only servant girls, but no real friends my age.
Could we be friends?
“If you’d like, I can introduce you to her. She was raised very carefully, so I don’t know if she’ll be to your liking…”
“Yes! Please introduce us!”
“Haha, looks like you’re not nervous anymore.”
Oops. I quickly covered my mouth. I must have shouted without realizing, just because I was excited.
The Head Manager laughed again and smiled warmly.
“I am Jin Wolryong, the Internal Head of Black Gate.”
“Nice to meet you, Head Manager!”
“Just calling me Chief Jin is enough.”
“Chief Jin…”
I quietly repeated his name so I wouldn’t forget. I’ve been meeting so many new people lately—it was hard to remember them all.
Chief Jin looked at me kindly and bent down to my eye level.
It was nice of him, but it also reminded me of how small I still was.
“A disciple this young… Is it hard for Master Ryeon to teach you?”
“Um… It’s a little hard sometimes, but mostly I’m fine.”
I wanted to say “I’m not that young!”—but what’s the point? To adults, I’d still look like a baby.
But I’m seven years old! That’s old enough to be a big sister!
I stood straight and stuck my chest out proudly.
“That’s good to hear. Haha… What has your master taught you so far? If you’re his first disciple, you’ve passed the extreme training tests, right?”
“Tests…?”
“Yes. Like surviving in a boiling hot or cold room for seven days and nights. Even without using martial energy, all disciples must pass those…”
“……”
“…I’ve said too much. Please forget it, young lady.”
My shoulders slumped. Wait—am I supposed to do that kind of test too?
I just started learning with a wooden sword! The martial world is seriously scary…
As I was talking with Chief Jin, I heard a little noise behind me. Then suddenly, everything went quiet as someone very important walked in.
And when I saw his face, I lit up.
“What brings you here?”
“Master!”
“This is the Inner Court. Why are you here?”
It was Master Saryun! I thought I’d only see him at dinner, but here he was—what a nice surprise.
I happily jumped up and hugged his waist. He laughed softly and lifted me into his arms.
“Master! I came to greet Chief Jin!”
“Oh?”
“I already did! Right, Chief Jin?”
Sitting on Master’s arm made me feel super tall. I could look down at Chief Jin now instead of looking up—it felt weird.
Chief Jin looked at us and laughed kindly.
“Haha, how nice to see master and disciple together.”
“Thanks to Yeonhwa for following me well. Jin Wolryong, you also look great with your granddaughter.”
So that girl really was his granddaughter. If Master knew her, then maybe she visited often?
Now I was curious. I clung to Master’s arm and looked around.
“Did you come for a walk?”
“I needed to pick up some documents. I heard the Internal Head had them.”
“Ah, you mean what Captain Ju left? Of course I have them.”
The two talked for a bit and walked off together like they had done many times.
Chief Jin seemed used to this sort of thing—he didn’t act scared or nervous like the outer court servants when they saw Master.
I looked back to make sure Yeji and the other maids were still following us, then asked Master,
“Master, where are we going?”
“We’re stopping by the Internal Head’s office for a bit.”
“Wow, his office? That sounds so cool!”
“You know some big words. It’s not that special, though. We’ll just get the papers and then go eat lunch.”
Cool! I nodded. Master was busy, always walking around the Black Gate doing stuff.
Then suddenly, a question popped into my mind.
“Master.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t you usually send someone else to get papers?”
“……”
He didn’t answer.
I added quickly, “Did you just use the papers as an excuse to come out?”
“……”
The silence was so loud, it was like time stopped. …So it was true?
“You said the same thing as my military aide.”
So Captain Ju must’ve said something like, “Master, you could’ve sent someone else!”
“Well, I’m as smart as he is.”
“And you even brag like him.”
“Mom said it’s good to be humble, but there’s no need to bow down for no reason.”
I was just saying something obvious, but Master’s face changed again.
‘Why do you look like that?’
He looked… kind of sad.
“Dohee said that?”
“Yes…”
“That’s just like her.”
Oh no… maybe I shouldn’t have brought up Mom. When I looked down, Master noticed and forced a smile.
“Thanks for the nice story. So, how about lunch?”
“Of course!”
I smiled brightly. I didn’t want him to be sad.
“Then wait here a moment. I’ll go talk to the Internal Head and be right back.”
So I stayed outside the office with the maids, waiting for Master to return.
Before long, a girl appeared in front of me.
‘Whoa, she’s so pretty…’
She had this amazing aura. Her age looked close to mine, but her sharp expression and cool eyes made me feel like I was melting.
She looked around like she was searching for someone, with two maids behind her.
Even though I had more people with me, she gave off such strong energy. It felt like she was in control of everything.
‘Wait, is she coming this way?’
She walked straight toward me. I stared at her, confused, and then she spoke sharply.
“Who are you? Why are you hanging around my grandpa’s office?”
Her voice was sharp and loud. And when she said “my grandpa,” I realized it.
“…Are you Chief Jin’s granddaughter?”
“W-What? Why are you calling my grandpa that?”
“He told me to call him that…?”
She looked confused and took a step back. Makes sense—not many people can call the Internal Head like that.
‘Wow… she was raised like a little princess.’
She probably never met anyone ranked higher than her before.
For the first time, I felt like I was a proper “Great Young Lady.”
But I wasn’t upset. She was just reacting out of surprise.
“My name is Yeonhwa.”
I smiled gently. She seemed wary, and I knew smiles help break walls.
I reached out my hand, but she quickly pulled hers back into her sleeve.
That reaction was natural. But I couldn’t give up just yet. I smiled even brighter and shyly asked, “What’s your name? Want to be… friends?”
“…What?”
Maybe the word “friend” was too much. She froze, then suddenly shouted:
“My mom said not to play with strangers!!”
