chapter 07
Before she knew it, night had fallen.
Throughout the Namgung estate, torches were lit to drive away the darkness. In the guest chamber adjoining the Azure Sky Pavilion, a soft oil lamp burned warmly.
Hong Seol sat curled up in a wooden tub filled with hot water. Her body was so small that she didn’t even fill a third of it.
Splash, splash.
The room was quiet.
The only sounds were the gentle splashes of water as the maid, Maeran, poured warm water over the girl’s small body and rubbed her clean.
“Alright, let’s rinse your back now.”
“I– I can do it myself!”
The maid froze, the dipper in her hand suspended midair. She blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst.
“Miss, did I do something to make you uncomfortable?”
“N-no, it’s not that…”
“If it’s not that, then please let me handle it. I may not look like it, but I’ve got two younger siblings. I’m used to taking care of children. I’ll make you the softest, sweetest young lady in all of Hefei—no, all of Anhui Province!”
“B-but…”
“Yes?”
“I’m making you work too hard. I’m not even the young lady of this house.”
Maeran’s hands stopped. Hong Seol lowered her head and murmured, her gaze fixed on her toes.
“And I’m… using so much hot water, too. It’s not even New Year’s Day.”
New Year’s Day?
Was this little girl saying she only ever bathed in hot water once a year, on New Year’s?
Maeran’s chest tightened.
“Miss.”
“Yes?”
“Please, speak casually with me. Just call me Maeran.”
“M… Maeran.”
“That’s it, well done.” Maeran smiled warmly.
“You’re an honored guest of the Namgung Clan’s Grand Elder himself. So you can ask me for anything you like, truly.”
“An honored guest? Me?”
“Yes. It’s rare for guests of the Namgung Clan to stay in the Azure Sky Pavilion rather than the guest quarters. So you must be someone very special indeed.”
And besides, you’re just too adorable.
Maeran had been fighting the urge to poke the girl’s soft nose since earlier. But she didn’t dare—if word spread that she’d played around with the Grand Elder’s precious guest, she’d be in deep trouble.
“So just relax, and stay still for a moment. I’m almost done.”
“O-okay. I mean, I will…”
Hong Seol liked Maeran. Her hands were gentle and her voice kind.
She was nothing like Cheongok, the maid from the Myo Family, who sometimes hit her when no one was watching.
Feeling her guard ease for the first time, Hong Seol sank deeper into the warm water. The bath felt heavenly—it had been so long since she’d had one.
“Now, could you give me your right arm?”
Maeran took the small arm and rubbed it with a soft, wet cloth. Then she suddenly paused, staring at it.
“Miss, you’ve got two little red snowflake-shaped marks here. They’re so pretty.”
“Huh?”
Startled, Hong Seol looked at her arm.
Of course she knew about the snowflake-shaped marks—her name, “Seol,” had even been chosen because of them.
But that wasn’t what shocked her.
Two? Did she say two?
There should have been three.
Why is one of them gone?
While she pondered that, Maeran swiftly wrapped her in a large, soft towel. Buried up to her nose with only her eyes showing, Hong Seol blinked from within the fluffy bundle.
“Alright, now let’s pick an outfit you like!”
The moment Maeran brought out the clothes, Hong Seol’s eyes went wide as apricot seeds.
It was as if every silk garment she’d ever seen in her life had gathered in one place.
There were glossy white robes embroidered with red blossoms, yellow ones patterned with delicate motifs, layers of light lavender gauze… it was dazzling.
“I brought the ones that looked like they’d fit you best. Do you like them?”
Hong Seol nodded furiously.
How could she not?
These were far finer than anything her younger sister Garyeong wore when greeting guests—pristine, untouched silks without a single crease.
They couldn’t have been made for me… so whose are they?
If the real owner learned she had worn them first, they might be angry. Feeling uneasy, she asked quietly,
“Maeran, does the Grand Elder have a granddaughter? I mean—does he?”
Maeran’s smile faltered briefly, but when Hong Seol hurried to correct herself, the maid’s face brightened again.
“No, the Namgung Clan’s current direct descendants are all grandsons.”
“Then whose clothes are these?”
“Ah, well…”
For the first time, the ever-cheerful Maeran looked uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry, miss. It’s a bit awkward for me to say. A lowly maid shouldn’t gossip about her betters’ affairs.”
She gave a sheepish grin, her eyebrows forming a gentle arc.
Though curiosity pricked at her, Hong Seol didn’t press further. She didn’t want to trouble the kind maid with questions.
It was deep in the night, long before dawn.
Lying in bed, Hong Seol’s eyes suddenly flew open. She was still wrapped tightly in the blankets Maeran had tucked around her.
Huh? Where am I?
Her heart pounded until her gaze fell on the soft silk sleeve of her nightclothes.
Oh right… I’m staying at the Namgung Clan.
It still felt like a dream. Relieved, she stretched her arms with a long yawn.
My body feels so light.
Maybe it was because she’d eaten her fill, bathed in hot water, and slept in a soft bed—or perhaps it was the “Millennium He Shou Wu” tonic the Grand Elder had fed her.
Either way, she had slept deeply, without a single dream.
Now wide awake, she turned her eyes toward the dark window.
“I feel rested… but is the sun still not up?”
Yesterday, everything had been a blur of food, washing, and sleep.
Now that she had time to think, the realization sank in—she was really here, in the legendary Namgung estate.
Is the Namgung mansion truly as vast as a palace, like they say?
Having grown up confined within the Myo Family’s high walls, Hong Seol had never seen much of the world. Her curiosity bubbled up.
The Grand Elder did say I could wander freely near the Azure Sky Pavilion…
And at this hour, most people would still be asleep.
Still, she was too timid to actually step outside.
Just peeking out the window a little should be fine, right?
Unable to resist, she threw off the blanket and tiptoed to the window.
Rustle.
She lifted the hanging curtain just enough to peer out. Beyond the glass spread the rear garden of the Azure Sky Pavilion.
Even in the dark, she could make out the softly glowing stone lanterns, the rare plants, the delicate flowering trees.
But—
“What’s that…?”
She squinted.
In the distance, a pale, ghostly figure moved slowly through the garden.
At first, she thought it was a statue. But it wasn’t.
It’s moving… like someone out for a walk.
The figure held nothing in its hands.
If it were a guard on patrol, it would have a torch or weapon. If it were a servant, it would carry a lantern.
Who would wander the garden at this hour, empty-handed?
Unless…
A g-g-ghost?
“Eep—!”
Terrified that the apparition might look her way, Hong Seol bolted for the bed and dove under the blankets, leaving only her nose poking out.
She trembled there until dawn.
“Miss, are you awake?”
It was Maeran, come to wake her.
The moment she saw the familiar face, Hong Seol jumped up and clung to her leg.
“Miss?”
Maeran blinked, puzzled. She was holding a pot of hot water for tea, but this sudden affection from the shy girl startled her.
“Did something happen last night?”
Hong Seol’s lips quivered, too frightened to speak. After much coaxing, she finally whispered,
“I… I saw a ghost.”
“What?”
Maeran’s expression wavered between disbelief and amusement.
It was a look adults often gave children afraid to sleep alone.
Hong Seol pouted.
“It’s true! I really saw one!”
Bending slightly, Maeran smiled and said soothingly,
“There are no ghosts in the Namgung estate.”
“Why not?”
“Well… because the Grand Elder is scarier than any ghost could ever be.”
Her voice was teasing, but the color drained from Hong Seol’s face.
I-I was so casual with him yesterday… What if he thinks I was rude and throws me out?
Her lips clamped shut in worry.
“If the Grand Elder so much as raises his voice with his inner power, any ghost would flee ten li away. So trust me, there’s no such thing here.”
But Hong Seol looked ready to cry.
“But Maeran, I really saw it!”
“Where?”
“Out the window. It was wearing white and wandering around in the middle of the night.”
Maeran followed the direction she pointed. Her cheerful face grew slightly somber.
“That ghost you saw… what was its mood like?”
“Mood?”
Hong Seol thought back to what she’d seen before dawn.
Come to think of it, the figure’s slow, dragging steps had seemed… lonely somehow.
“It looked… a little sad. That’s just the feeling I got.”
She glanced up at Maeran, who sighed softly, her eyes full of sympathy.
“In that case, it wasn’t a ghost, miss. It was probably the Grand Elder himself.”
“Huh? My benefactor?”
“Yes. He’s suffered from insomnia for years. When he can’t sleep, he often strolls alone through the rear gardens.”
“Insomnia…?”
