Chapter 3
Nanny Hyang had been the one person who stayed on my side until the very end.
She was the only one who truly understood my unfair treatment and the sorrow I carried.
“…Why only now… The former master searched so hard for you…”
After telling me that my father had searched for me and had been waiting for me, she died without even closing her eyes.
“Ah! Oh my!”
The nanny—no, the kitchen cook Hyang-a, who now worked in the guest quarters—was clearing a large tray when she suddenly noticed me and hurried over in surprise.
“What are you doing here, child?”
“I’m hungry.”
“What? You haven’t eaten dinner yet?”
Hyang-a wiped her wet hands on her apron and crouched down in front of me.
“Good heavens, what kind of bastard would let a child go hungry this late? I bet that idiot doesn’t even realize your back is sticking to your stomach from hunger while he’s off drinking somewhere. What a worthless man. Who is your father anyway?”
“Tang Muhyeok.”
“What? Who did you say?”
Hyang-a’s eyes widened in shock.
The skin beneath her left eye was clean.
Seeing her face before she had been burned made hot tears spill down my cheeks.
“I’m the youngest daughter of Tang Muhyeok, the young master of the Tang family… Tang Gahye has returned.”
Nanny, I’m back. This time I didn’t come too late, right?
I clasped my small fists in greeting and smiled brightly.
“Oh my goodness! So you’re the young miss who returned today!”
Hyang-a’s excited voice caused the other cooks in the kitchen to stop what they were doing and gather around.
“What’s going on?”
“Do you know this child?”
“You must speak respectfully. This is the young miss the outer residence overseer mentioned. The one who came carrying half of the young madam’s jade token.”
At Hyang-a’s explanation, the cooks immediately clasped their hands respectfully.
“Oh! We’re sorry, young miss.”
“Please forgive us. We didn’t recognize you.”
The cooks had already heard the story.
A child carrying the jade token that the young madam had possessed when she disappeared had returned on her own.
What did that mean?
The real child had come back.
They had carefully prepared a dinner for me.
But Gyoa must have taken it.
Now that I was saying I was hungry, Hyang-a couldn’t understand what had happened.
“How could this be? The young miss says she hasn’t eaten dinner.”
Hyang-a tilted her head in confusion.
“What? What are you talking about right now?”
A cook wearing a white headcloth marked with the character for “artisan” pushed past the others.
It was the head of the kitchen.
She had a large build and a strong jaw, giving her the imposing appearance of a martial artist.
“Young Miss!”
The huge shadow of the kitchen head loomed over my small body.
My body stiffened instinctively.
Hyang-a quickly pulled me into her arms.
“Kitchen head, you’re frightening the young miss.”
“Ah—well… I mean…”
Realizing her mistake, the kitchen head awkwardly crouched down to meet my eyes.
“I was just wondering if I made a mistake. Did the dishes not suit your taste? Or… were they not delicious? Please tell me in detail.”
If the meal prepared with such care had been left untouched by the person it was meant for, it would be a serious blow to the kitchen head’s pride.
“The dinner I received was cold rice with a small dish of soy sauce. I didn’t even get chopsticks, so I couldn’t eat it.”
“C-cold rice with soy sauce?!”
The kitchen head jumped to her feet and ground her teeth.
“Then where did all the dishes we worked so hard to make go?”
A cook standing behind her muttered in disbelief.
“Where else? Into the mouths of those brats!”
The kitchen head snorted angrily.
“Those idiots!”
“Unbelievable!”
The other cooks trembled with anger as well.
“Who took the young miss’s meal?”
“I think it was that girl named Gyoa. I knew she looked greedy. To steal the young miss’s food!”
Within the Tang family, the kitchen was considered second only to the medical hall.
Sichuan cuisine was famous even throughout the martial world.
Because of that, the cooks were extremely proud—and notoriously fierce.
“We have to take the food back immediately!”
At the youngest cook’s suggestion, the kitchen head slammed a huge ladle onto the shelf.
“Will that be enough? Those brats dared to touch the young miss’s meal! First we give them a beating!”
“That’s right!”
A cook with a build similar to the kitchen head grabbed a poker.
Another picked up a pestle.
The rest armed themselves with whatever they could find.
This is going to turn into a disaster…
I tugged gently at Hyang-a’s sleeve.
“Can I eat first? I’m hungry.”
My father and grandfather were still away.
My grandmother didn’t even know I had returned yet.
If the kitchen staff went and beat up Gyoa and her group now, it would create a huge problem.
And that would become a heavy burden for me, who had to start a new life in the Tang family.
Clutching my empty stomach, I said,
“If there’s any leftover food, please give me a little.”
Hyang-a looked heartbroken.
“Oh dear. Kitchen head, we can punish those maids later. Let’s prepare the young miss’s meal first. If the young master returns and finds out she was treated poorly, none of us will be safe.”
At the mention of Tang Muhyeok, the young master, the kitchen head’s face lost its color.
“You’re right! Hyang-a, the young miss looks cold. Please take her inside. I’ll prepare the meal.”
“Yes.”
Hyang-a lifted my freezing body into her arms.
“Young miss, please come this way first. It’s not much, but bear with it for a moment.”
As soon as I was in her arms, my six-year-old body relaxed with relief.
Ah… it’s warm and comforting.
Hyang-a carried me to a small resting room beside the kitchen.
A brazier filled with high-quality charcoal warmed the center of the room.
Still, she took out a blanket from a cabinet and wrapped it tightly around me.
“It will take some time to heat the soup and grill the meat again.”
“That’s okay. I can wait.”
I nodded with a bright smile.
Hyang-a’s expression melted at the sight.
“Oh my, how can you be so sweet and mature? Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“I want noodles.”
“N-noodles? Sichuan noodles use a lot of spicy seasoning. They might be too strong for you.”
“I’m good with spicy food!”
“Oh really?”
“Yes.”
The noodles Hyang-a made had a special meaning for me.
They were the taste that had once soothed my sadness.
As the daughter of the Tang family’s young master, I was expected to excel in the family’s poison arts, hidden weapons, and martial techniques like the Tang Gate fist.
But no matter how hard I tried, my skills never improved.
My sister was different.
Even though she returned to the Tang family later than I did, she quickly mastered the Tang Gate Fist and rapidly built internal energy while learning poison arts and hidden weapons.
Her progress was so fast that people called her a genius.
“Our Gahwa has already reached the fifth stage this year, while Gahye hasn’t even reached the second. Poor child. Why don’t you let me raise Gahye as well? I’ll train her just like Gahwa.”
Madam Ma, who had raised my sister, moved into the inner residence and even tried to take control of my upbringing.
But she didn’t want to nurture me.
She wanted to crush me completely so my sister would shine even brighter.
Because only one successor could inherit the family.
When my father rejected her plan to move me under her care, Madam Ma began comparing my sister and me at every meal.
I became so intimidated that I couldn’t swallow my food.
Even eating made me self-conscious.
Whenever I returned with an almost empty stomach, my nanny would make noodles for me.
After I finished the noodles while blowing on them to cool them down, she would put a sweet candy in my mouth and say,
“Don’t be too sad. Tomorrow will come.”
Back then, I wished tomorrow would never come.
Because when tomorrow came, I would only be compared to my sister again.
And I would only burden my father.
“Wait just a moment. I’ll quickly make some noodles.”
Hyang-a hurried out and soon returned with a bowl of noodles.
The spicy scent of Sichuan noodles topped with stir-fried vegetables and meat made my mouth water.
The kitchen head and other cooks had also prepared dishes like lamb skewers and sweet-and-sour fish.
“Young Miss, there are many delicious dishes, so don’t fill your stomach with noodles alone. I made them in a hurry, so they might not suit your taste.”
“No, they look incredibly delicious.”
I blew gently on the steaming noodles and slurped them up.
It was the same taste I remembered.
The sharp, numbing spiciness of the spices made tears well up in my eyes.
“Eat slowly, and eat plenty.”
Just like she had said in the past.
“Eat slowly, and eat plenty.”
Hyang-a repeated the exact same words.
“Yes.”
I lowered my head slightly and quietly wiped my tears.
“Oh my, why are you only eating noodles?”
“Because they’re delicious! Really. They’re so delicious.”
The girl who once ate these noodles, wishing tomorrow would never come, was gone.
Now, I looked forward to countless tomorrows.
My heart pounded with excitement.
“Thank you. It was really delicious.”
Holding up the bowl I had completely emptied, even the broth, I grinned.
Hyang-a took out a handkerchief and wiped my mouth.
“Oh dear, if you keep thanking me, you’ll make me embarrassed.”
Just then—
The door suddenly swung open.
