A Dragon Lives In That Scholar's Deep Spring - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Reluctantly, Farang, who had been eyeing the comically large hand, placed her hand on top. 

“Just because you said you’d buy us some time, doesn’t mean I need to become a queen, right?”

More accurately, it seemed that Do-gyeom had snatched her even before she could touch him. 

“Before that, I’ll do my best to end everything, so you have to cooperate too.”

“…Alright.”

In reality, Farang felt Do-gyeom’s grip on her was stranger than his firm assertion. It felt much warmer than usual.

“…If I’m not satisfied with you, then I’ll truly crush your heart, so keep that in mind.”

“Well, then it’s definitely a promise.”

Do-gyeom, whose thoughts were inscrutable to Farang, was deadly serious. Even the threat to make her heart explode was futile.

“To monopolize each other.”

And Farang didn’t know just how terrifying this monopoly was.

* * *

“Choi Do-gyeom!”

An angry voice roared. 

As soon as the day broke, Do-gyeom hastily sent a messenger to seek an audience and received a response in the late evening. But it wasn’t a simple reply; the intended recipient of the message himself came storming in through the door to find Do-gyeom. 

The caretaker who opened the door was taken aback and quickly bowed.

“Oh, have you arrived, master?”

The imposing figure who appeared with a fierce demeanor was Shim Oh-gyun, Do-gyeom’s maternal uncle and the pastor of Haeju.

“Where is that boy right now?”

“He, he is currently in the main house…”

“The main house?”

No matter if the main house was currently unoccupied by its owner, a man couldn’t casually set foot in there. Oh-gyun’s angry stride was halted.

“Yes, the young lady who is currently residing there…”

“Call him!”

“Right away!”

Disturbed by the commotion, the caretaker sent someone quickly to Sun-yi, who rushed out in response. He then invited Oh-gyun inside.

“Please go inside first, master. You’ve come from a long way; have you had a meal?”

For some reason, the caretaker had a keen sense. It seemed prudent to try to cool off Oh-gyun’s temper even a bit, given the wrath that Do-gyeom was about to face.

“Or would you like me to prepare a bath? It must have been a tiring journey.”

Shim Oh-gyun let out a deep sigh and extended his hand.

“Nevermind. I just need a bowl of cold water, and prepare some food and water for the horse.”

“Of course. Please come inside. I’ll bring the cold water right away.”

As soon as Shim Oh-gyun entered after the caretaker opened the door, Do-gyeom appeared in the courtyard.

“My uncle is here?”

“Yes.”

Do-gyeom was as tense as a child about to be scolded. 

Knowing he couldn’t stand higher than his master, the caretaker quickly descended to the main hall. After discreetly checking the tightly closed door of the main room, he gave a subtle gesture to the master.

“Master, I don’t know the exact reason, but it seems the elderly gentleman is quite upset.”

“…I expected as much. Don’t worry too much and go prepare my uncle’s meal. He must not have had a chance to eat after the long journey.”

“That’s what I told him, master. But he only asked for a bowl of cold water.”

“Just in case, prepare a meal, bathwater, and bedding. Encourage him to rest, as he must not have had a chance to eat due to the long journey.”

“Understood. I’ll take care of it right away. Please give me a moment to prepare.”

Warming the room was a priority. 

The caretaker, full of worry, entered the main house, leaving Do-gyeom behind, and hurriedly prodded himself forward.

* ** 

“How come the master of Haeju is here at this hour?”

“I don’t know.”

When the caretaker came into the kitchen with firewood, Sun-yi and Nam San-daek sat by the hearth. It was tea time, waiting for sweet potatoes to cook in the properly heated charcoal.

“Lady, the master asked me to prepare a meal for the elder.”

“Luckily, the sweet potatoes are all cooked….”

Nam San-daek pulled out one sweet potato at a time from the ashes. The warm, cooked smell teased their noses. Sun-yi, excited with anticipation, widened her nostrils.

“Fortunately, we made plenty of soup for dinner, so it’ll be ready in no time. Oh my. Eat a lot.”

“Wow….”

With just one sweet potato, Sun-yi was ecstatic as if she owned the world. As she blew on it, steam rose from the yellow flesh after she peeled the dark skin.

“In Hanyang, sweet potatoes are the best food for winter.”

“What? You mean it’s not the best with anything else?”

“I guess you wouldn’t know unless you’ve tasted something else. But I’m sure about sweet potatoes. Is there anything tastier than this? It’s like a nugget of honey.”

“Stop boasting and eat diligently.”

The caretaker removed the kettle that had just been brought in and placed the soup pot on the stove. 

Nam San-daek added dry grass and resumed fanning the fire. The fire, gently cooking the sweet potatoes, roared again, heating the pot vigorously.

“But it’s true.”

Sun-yi looked towards the main house, puzzled. Unconsciously wiping her nose and not realizing her face was smudged with soot, she continued.

“Why wouldn’t the lady eat?”

Nam San-daek and the caretaker, unable to provide a definitive answer, hesitated briefly, unable to answer the child’s question. 

In the silence, Sun-yi, who had swallowed the sweet potato, sweetened the moment with a perplexing observation.

“If it’s to preserve her health, she could at least have some candy or sweetened rice cakes.”

“Well, that’s… yeah.”

The caretaker, who had been silently listening, added a remark.

“It was strange how she held her breath in the water for so long.”

“Exactly! Whenever she got a chance, she’d go into the spring.”

Sun-yi chimed in, as if in agreement. Nam San-daek, staring at the growing fire in a daze, nodded her head.

“She piled up brassware like a mountain in the main house.”

“And the rag she used was like something from a goblin’s lair, made of tough cloth, but she tore it easily!”

“Did you do the red dyeing last night?”

Thinking about the previous night, Sun-yi, who was eating sweet potatoes, quickly turned upset. How shocked she must have been, thinking the lady was seriously injured. When Sun-yi saw the lady, she sat down right there and burst into tears, sobbing and dripping with sweat.

“She must have been so surprised, thinking a corpse was walking in.”

“Thankfully, the lady wasn’t seriously hurt.”

Nam San-daek placed dishes of side dishes on the table, and the caretaker handed out spoons and chopsticks.

“Lady said she just had a ruckus with some troublesome ruffians.”

“How can the lady act like nothing happened after meeting those scoundrels? Just the thought of them makes me shiver…!”

“So, to summarize.”

Nam San-daek, who filled a small wooden basin with rice and various side dishes, tapped her waist and stood up.

“The lady staying in our main house, Farang, is a rare beauty in the entire Joseon region, and she has great strength. She sleeps in the water like a fish, and her personality is strong-willed as well?”

Sun-yi vigorously nodded while holding a sweet potato. The caretaker, who threw more firewood into the hearth, was equally absorbed in their conversation.

“So, the guest in the main house…”

The two of them focused their attention on Nam San-daek, whose words were becoming obscure. Forgetting to blink their eyes, they waited for the conclusion from Nam San-daek, who had the most knowledge and experience among the three.

“That’s right! That’s it. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Nam San-daek clapped her hands.

* * *

“Have you come, Uncle?”

When Do-gyeom entered the room, Shim Oh-gyun was standing, showing his back without sitting down, despite likely being tired.

“I wanted to visit you in person, but circumstances didn’t allow…”

“Have you lost your mind?”

The caretaker was right, he was very angry. 

Shim Oh-gyun swiftly turned around, raising a white porcelain piece that was placed on the wooden shelf.

But seeing Do-gyeom, who was prepared to receive any reprimand with his hands politely together, his energy waned, and he could only lower the piece.

“You dare use my daughter’s name as a tool for political manipulation?”

Although his anger hadn’t completely subsided, Shim Oh-gyun’s voice was cool and laced with chilling anger as he calmly asked.

“Since you usually don’t prominently mention your daughter’s name in the family tree, making her a concubine wouldn’t matter much. However…”

“Choi Do-gyeom!”

“If it becomes known that she’s an adopted daughter, I’m afraid that she won’t be able to compete with the other women in the family, so I’m asking you to do me a favor, even if it’s a little unreasonable.”

“Why would you go to such lengths?”

“It’s because Cho Ik-hwan’s daughter is already designated as the Crown Princess.”

At that revelation, Shim Oh-gyun was momentarily speechless. He let out a sigh and responded in a heavy voice.

“…In that case, the situation seems even more hopeless. If she becomes the Crown Princess, the subsequent challenges will be even greater. Whether she becomes a scarecrow of the political strife or a puppet manipulated by various forces, it’s obvious she’ll be tossed around. In the end, both the Choi and Shim households will suffer greatly.”

“Even so, if I don’t take this risk, I can never avenge my mother and the child in her womb.”

Ten years ago, young Do-gyeom had rushed into the burning house before the arrival of the soldiers, only to discover his parents lying dead in a pool of blood.

A house on fire with a pool of blood on the floor. Furthermore, his father, already lifeless, was holding a knife in his hand. Even a child could sense that there had been a struggle.

Though he was forcibly dragged out by the soldiers who arrived shortly after, he couldn’t thoroughly investigate the scene.

“…Do-gyeom.”

“You saw the murderer and had evidence, but you couldn’t catch them, right?”

Do-gyeom had decisively witnessed it back then. A man sneaks past the stumbling walls of the house, trying to escape.

Desperately pursuing, he eventually lost sight of the man at the entrance of Bukchon. But later, at Cho Ik-hwan’s house, where he was offered support and sponsorship, he coincidentally saw the same back view.

As he was about to leave and search the whole house, young Do-gyeom, searching desperately for the limping man, was met with Cho Ik-hwan’s nauseatingly sad face and haunting words.