Chapter 5: The Ideal Beloved (4)
It was a bright, sunny day.
The sun shone gently, and a cool breeze whispered all day long.
The hems of the ladies’ dresses fluttered softly in the wind.
For some reason, the three of them had closed the apothecary from the middle of the day and had gone out to explore the castle.
It had been Mirang’s insistent request. “It’s okay to take a day off, right?” Seo-hyo agreed, and there was no way Cha-eon would be left alone to guard the apothecary while the two young ladies went out.
And, in their own ways, both young ladies were making things uncomfortable for Cha-eon.
First, Mirang.
It was simple: she was annoying.
Not only did she follow him like a little puppy, but she also paid attention to his every move, constantly watching his expression.
Being a child, even if he merely looked at her blankly for a moment, she would panic, thinking she’d made some mistake.
She wasn’t much to begin with.
A child who read meaning into even a single breath of his was exhausting.
Then there was Seo-hyo.
“Out for the first time in a while, huh? You seem excited too, Seo-hyo-nim.”
Mirang, walking beside him, looked at Seo-hyo a few steps ahead and said. Cha-eon forcibly swallowed a sigh.
Mirang, who paid attention to every nerve of his, was incredibly oblivious when it came to Seo-hyo.
Seo-hyo wasn’t excited; she was deliberately keeping her distance from Cha-eon.
Even during conversation, she subtly avoided his gaze and tried not to be alone with him.
She tried not to show it, but from the start, it was impossible for the mistress to deceive her butler.
Cha-eon remembered exactly when Seo-hyo’s attitude had changed.
It had been since the traveling merchant came.
From the moment Cha-eon lifted the red veil above her floral crown, Seo-hyo had begun behaving strangely.
If it wasn’t intentional, it would have been a lie.
The wicked butler scolded himself internally.
Seeing Seo-hyo sitting awkwardly with a shy smile under the bride’s floral crown, all he could think was that he just had to approach her.
She seemed surprised by Cha-eon’s sudden action as well.
He would never forget the way she had looked shy under the red veil.
But no matter how flustered one might be…
Jealousy aside, she was keeping her distance as if he were a stranger.
“Which of the things you saw yesterday did you like the most, Cha-eon-nim?”
Mirang, glancing at him as he walked silently, asked. Cha-eon, weary from these endless questions that always came back around, was growing increasingly annoyed.
To be honest, he had already wanted to toss Mirang into the winding Baek-o River a few days ago.
He wasn’t particularly patient.
All of Cha-eon’s kindness and attention were reserved solely for Seo-hyo.
“I believe this is the eightieth time I’ve said it.”
He walked with one hand behind his back, speaking quietly.
“I have no intention of marriage.”
“Yes…”
“I’ve never been to Haeju either, twenty years ago.”
“Yes, you mentioned that too…”
“It’s fortunate you remember.”
He wasn’t interested in the sights inside the castle anyway. From the moment he left the apothecary, his eyes had been fixed on Seo-hyo’s back.
“But since you asked, if I must answer, the young lady’s floral crown was the most pleasing.”
“The young lady… you mean the one Seo-hyo wore?”
“Yes.”
Mirang finally understood.
The one Cha-eon called “young lady” was only Seo-hyo in this world.
From the first day’s minor mistake onward, Cha-eon had been strict about differentiating how he addressed Seo-hyo and Mirang.
Seo-hyo was always “Young Lady”—his young lady.
Mirang, on the other hand, was simply “Mirang-nim.”
Seo-hyo probably hadn’t noticed, but there was an unspoken rule between Cha-eon and Mirang about this.
“You like slightly more elaborate things than I expected.”
Mirang chattered, assuming his taste would be simple and elegant.
Was it?
Though it had only been yesterday, the shape of the floral crown didn’t come vividly to mind.
It had simply looked beautiful because Seo-hyo wore it.
Even that made her appear like a small flower. How she would look in full bridal attire when grown up was beyond imagination.
No way could anyone see her in bridal clothes.
Suddenly, memories of all the potential marriage candidates he had dealt with made Cha-eon grit his teeth.
“Let’s ask how Seo-hyo felt about it.”
Mirang muttered to herself and quickened her pace.
“Seo-hyo-nim!”
Spotting something, she walked toward Seo-hyo, who was a bit farther ahead.
Then it happened.
Cha-eon saw a cart piled high like a tower. The man pushing it ran frantically toward the market.
Despite the cool weather, the laborer was drenched in sweat.
He was in a hurry, and it looked precarious.
The cart carried wooden stools. The ropes securing the load had long since loosened and could no longer hold.
“Move! Hey, I’m in a hurry!”
The laborer wiped sweat from his forehead and shouted, asking the crowd to make way.
The accident was instantaneous.
“Ahhhh!”
The wheel hit a protruding stone corner, and the cart toppled over, spilling the piled-up stools toward the women.
The solid corners even had metal reinforcements—it was dangerous.
As Cha-eon dashed forward to pull Seo-hyo away, Mirang screamed and dropped to the ground.
“Eek!”
“Ugh…”
Grabbing her arm to keep her from being pushed over, he held her.
Crash!
“Oh my, young lady! Are you okay?”
“Ah…”
“Oh my, what should I do? I’m so sorry. My goodness…”
His fingertips didn’t reach Seo-hyo.
She was struck by the falling stools and collapsed onto the ground, groaning while clutching her forehead, her face flushed red.
A woman passing by helped the man lift Seo-hyo to her feet.
“Ah… it hurts…”
Seo-hyo, tears welling in her eyes, kept rubbing her forehead. Fortunately, there was no blood, but a swelling was already forming.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I think so.”
She seemed to have been hit by the stool without realizing what had happened.
Seo-hyo, blinking in confusion, looked around and noticed the overturned cart. The wooden stools were scattered.
“You were moving all of this by yourself?”
Her eyes widened.
The man couldn’t touch her carelessly and continued apologizing as he nodded.
“My younger brother usually helps, but he’s sick today. I was in a hurry and—so sorry.”
“Ah… it hurts a bit, but it’s okay. Our house is an apothecary, after all.”
Seo-hyo smiled gently.
“Applying some ointment will make it better soon.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.”
“You’re in a hurry, right? When do you need to be there? Go quickly.”
“No, now that the young lady has been hurt…”
“I’m fine. Go ahead, sir.”
Seo-hyo kept turning the man away, shoving his back, and even asked a young man nearby to help with the heavy load.
Until the man finally left, looking uneasy, Seo-hyo smiled wryly.
Then she turned, frowning, feeling the pain in her forehead.
“Seo-hyo-nim is truly… remarkable.”
Shivering, Mirang muttered in a daze once she regained her composure.
“I could never… truly… she has such a kind heart.”
“That’s…”
Cha-eon’s voice was cold and sharp.
“It’s not kindness.”
His eyes seemed ready to devour Seo-hyo.
“What’s kind about someone who can’t even take care of themselves?”
His hand hadn’t reached her.
If only he had stretched a little further, he could have pulled Seo-hyo to safety—but he was just one span too short.
The moment Seo-hyo was hit and fell kept repeating in his mind.
It was fortunate she was unharmed, but he was furious at himself for being unable to do anything.
Whether it was a falling stool or a blade didn’t matter.
He had stopped nothing.
“Cha-eon-nim, are you okay? Your hand is cold.”
Mirang, suddenly touching his bare skin, was startled. His hand had gone stiff and cold.
Seo-hyo, wondering what had happened, walked over clumsily.
She shook her head, saying it felt like she had avoided misfortune today. Cha-eon couldn’t look directly at her.
The three of them entered a restaurant for a late lunch.
Two hours had passed since the stools had fallen. Seo-hyo and Mirang quickly recovered and roamed the busy streets, but Cha-eon, trailing behind, still felt like he was wading through a black swamp.
It was too tense to even glance back.
Seo-hyo and Mirang felt the same.
Why should the ones who were hurt have to consider Cha-eon’s mood?
They deliberately avoided his gaze, choosing the bustling streets instead.
After wandering for a while, they got hungry and entered a restaurant that had just seen some customers leave.
Of the four-person table, only three seats were taken.
Seo-hyo and Mirang faced each other, Cha-eon sat beside them.
It was an unspoken agreement among the women.
Let’s avoid him. Better to face each other.
As long as we don’t turn our heads sideways, it should be fine.
Like the little fortune pouches of the New Year, it was plump, but just as futile.
“Here’s the tea!”
A waiter carried tea with a towel draped over his shoulder. Seo-hyo welcomed the intervention, and Mirang praised the richness of the tea repeatedly.
But people couldn’t act like this for long.
Unlike Mirang, Seo-hyo, who normally didn’t care about her butler’s watchful eyes, was finding it hard to manage the situation.
The tea, which had been awkwardly distant since the red veil incident yesterday, was now nullified by the previous accident.
At this point, Seo-hyo had to smile, no matter what.
Otherwise, Mirang might get indigestion before even eating, and her ever-attentive butler might glare at her all the way to the bedside.
Phew, who’s really the master here?
Seo-hyo shook her head inwardly.
“Cha-eon?”
The butler, with a look that suggested sharpening hundreds of blades, glared at her. Even Seo-hyo flinched at the cold intensity.
“Relax your expression.”
“Why should I?”
“You’ll get indigestion. You probably already have, even though the food hasn’t arrived yet.”
Cha-eon looked at her silently, then down at her arm. Without asking, he rolled up her sleeve.
A dark bruise had begun to form on her fair skin.
“Ah, caught me.”
Cha-eon ground his teeth.
“Are you thinking whether to kill me first, the man, or Mirang-nim?”
Mirang’s shoulder trembled when her name was mentioned, completely intimidated.
Seo-hyo, meanwhile, looked perfectly calm.
“Don’t, Cha-eon. We all live in the same world.”
“You should have avoided it, not just endured it.”
“I didn’t see it.”
The answer was clear.
“I don’t have eyes on the back of my head. How could I see it?”
“Hah.”
Cha-eon clenched his fists on the table, opening and closing them repeatedly. In his imagination, he was probably twisting someone’s neck.
After forcibly suppressing his rising anger with a sigh, he spoke.
“Then say something to the one at fault.”
The man hadn’t even properly secured the heavy wooden stools with the ropes.
Even in a hurry, he hadn’t followed basic precautions.
If he had tied them properly, Seo-hyo would have had enough time to avoid being hit.
Instead, he had injured her without thought, which infuriated Cha-eon.
“It’s already done. The man sincerely apologized… Saying anything now won’t remove the bump on my forehead anyway.”
Seo-hyo, pouting, noticed Cha-eon’s expression darkening and quickly forced a smile.
She had to smile. No matter what.
They say you can’t spit on a smiling face.
But her butler was unlike anyone else.
He looked closely at her smile and asked in a low voice,
“A bump on your forehead, a bruise on your arm. You’ll need at least four ointments daily. Whose fault is this?”
Seo-hyo’s smile froze.
The butler looked ready to spit.
“Hmm… mine?”
“If the young lady had been hurt more, who would have taken care of her all this time?”
“…Cha-eon?”
“Didn’t I always tell you to prioritize your safety?”
“Yes. Every day. Absolutely every day.”
Seo-hyo understood the point.
Cha-eon’s anger seemed to subside a little. Perhaps he realized scolding her further would be useless.
“Steamed meat, stir-fried bean sprouts, shrimp soup, and three bowls of rice!”
The dishes were served. Mirang hesitated, checking Cha-eon’s mood, while Seo-hyo smiled reassuringly at her.
“Now, now, the food’s here. Don’t get angry at the table, butler.”
Seo-hyo picked up the largest piece of meat and placed it in Cha-eon’s bowl.
“Eat this, and stop being angry, okay?”
She tilted her head toward Cha-eon with a clear smile.
Seo-hyo had never been affectionate toward him before.
Affection was unnecessary for a young lady toward her butler. She didn’t need it.
Normally, the mistress would either sulk or pretend not to hear when scolded.
Seo-hyo had always done that.
But today, she decided it was better to appease Cha-eon.
Today, he looked genuinely furious.
Honestly, she didn’t think his reaction was necessary, but Mirang’s earlier comment that his whole body had tensed up made her a bit wary.
“Ah, Mirang-nim, you should eat too.”
Seo-hyo placed the second-largest piece of meat in front of Mirang.
She served herself some food as well.
After Mirang began eating, Cha-eon finally started his meal.
Seo-hyo let out a sigh of relief. Even if his anger hadn’t completely subsided, this was already a success.
As Cha-eon said, it wasn’t normal for the person who was hurt to go checking on everyone else.
So what.
Seo-hyo smirked inwardly.
That’s just who she was. It couldn’t be helped. Her wounds would heal quickly, but if she lost her temper over the pain, it would leave a bad feeling later.
If she could bear it, she first noticed others.
Cha-eon clearly disapproved of such a mistress.
“Eat well, Cha-eon.”
She tried to act cute again, smiling at her still-stern butler.
