A Dragon Lives In That Scholar's Deep Spring - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

“From today, Farang will be called Shim Cheong. Everyone should know her as such. Also, this fact must never leak outside these walls. Do you understand?”

The guest of the house had suddenly become the missing cousin of the owner. 

Moreover, the owner’s order was to make her a virtuous lady overnight. The whole house was turned upside down in a day.

The housekeeper immediately went to order a flower palanquin for Cheong’s visit to the palace for the selection. Nam San-daek also went out early in the morning to find helpers for Farang’s dress, utilizing their connections from their time in the palace.

The youngest servant, Sun-yi, was given orders to buy the clothing that Cheong would need immediately. 

The money she received was a fortune, the likes of which she had never seen in her lifetime.

With such a large sum of money, she knew that she could become a target for pickpockets, so Sun-yi was apprehensive.

“As I thought, my eyes didn’t deceive me!”

Sun-yi took Farang to the clothing store. 

Normally, they would borrow clothing, but this was an urgent situation, and the clothing for sale was suitable.

Most importantly, she was willing to buy anything that would suit her mistress, regardless of the price. For the first time, Sun-yi picked out clothes without worrying about the cost.

“Lady Cheong, you look just like a fairy.”

Taking the place of someone who was believed to be already dead was not such a great accomplishment. In this era, it was common for people to purchase family registers of others and insert their names to become nobles.

Sun-yi thought that if Farang were to become a princess, it would be even better than becoming the real daughter of a noble, as she was much more beautiful than anyone she had ever seen, and she was certain that a princess would be even more beautiful.

“A fairy? What’s a fairy?”

“Do you not know what a fairy is?”

It was shocking to Sun-yi that someone was more ignorant than she was. Sun-yi, who didn’t even know how to sew a seam, looked at Farang as she struggled to make knots confidently.

“Don’t you know?”

As she asked innocently, Farang was dressed in a white jerkin with a pale blue collar and a wild azalea-colored skirt.

Even though she didn’t comb her hair properly and wore no jewelry, she was so beautiful that Sun-yi was worried she might float away.

“Oh, no, there’s no way… it’s just that you looked like a very beautiful woman who came down from the heavens.”

“From the heavens?”

It seemed like they would need to trim down the choices, and Farang tilted her head as Sun-yi was reevaluating the clothes.

“You came from there, right?”

“Yes?”

“It’s true, you did.”

Farang, meanwhile, had been gazing at the sky beyond the tent without realizing it.

“Oh… I see.”

Sun-yi brushed off Farang’s absentmindedness while wondering to herself with a mischievous smile. Her lady might not know she’s a fairy, but she knows she’s pretty. 

“Wow, who is this noble lady? Oh, my, Hanyang… the most beautiful woman is here!”

“She is the cousin of the young master in the house, who is about to become a palace selection candidate. She is here to have her fortune read.”

One of Do-gyeom’s special orders to Sun-yi was to widely spread the news of Cheong, or rather Shim Cheong.

So Sun-yi didn’t go out to measure her and buy her clothes, but instead brought her out to have her face stamped.

“Is our lady not interested in formal dresses or summer clothing? She should have evening gowns as well!”

Well, without making an effort to attract attention, she already had the whole crowd’s eyes on her. 

“Do you have everything, Lady? Should I show you the finest items in this house?”

Sun-yi raised her chin and nodded. While the pleased shop owner went inside to select the recommended clothes, Sun-yi took Farang out to the front of the store and pretended to pick out the clothes on display.

She was even more excited when someone else confirmed that she was the most beautiful lady they’d ever seen.

“Lady, if you like anything, please feel free to choose!”

Excited Sun-yi, who was about to ask the proud owner to bring everything from there to here, was interrupted by Farang calling her

“Sun-yi.”

“What? Do you like that?”

“Someone just took something from your pocket.”

“What?”

The inquisitive face, once carefree, stiffened in an instant. Small hands were now searching the hidden folds of her skirt where she had concealed her purse.

“I-it should be here… No, it should be here.”

Sun-yi started to ponder, her chin trembling. Farang asked casually.

“You were told not to lose it, right?”

“T-that’s right! The young master asked me to buy clothes and jewelry with it for the lady…”

The child slumped, her face crumpled with quickly welling tears, and Farang’s brows slightly furrowed.

“The ring, I wanted to buy it.”

She muttered wistfully, then suddenly looked away and asked.

“Can you find it for me?”

“…What?”

“Stay here, you can’t keep up with me on your legs anyway.”

“Yes? No, yes?”

As Sun-yi wiped away a tear with the back of her hand, Farang had already disappeared.

“Lady! L-Lady!”

Sun-yi, who had lost Farang once before, was suddenly frightened at the thought of losing her again.

“No, Lady. You don’t even know the way…!”

Even if she sees the person, they usually don’t travel alone. This meant that there was no guarantee that she would be safe.

Even if someone tore or snatched away a purse or wallet, if one person tried to escape with the stolen item and ran down a narrow alley, another member of their group, pretending to be a formidable purse merchant, would obstruct the pursuer with a large bag. 

This was the typical strategy of pickpockets.

But if they happened to be carrying a knife…

Sun-yi immediately recalled her, who had returned home one night with bloodied hands, and she felt like her breath might leave her at any moment.

The fear was too great for a child to bear. Sun-yi’s legs gave way, and she sobbed uncontrollably, pounding her legs.

“Lady, no! You’ll get hurt!”

Sun-yi knew she would prioritize saving the lady, even if it meant losing all the money they had earned and being chased out of the village. She struggled to her feet, but the world suddenly seemed vast and towering in the eyes of young Sun-yi.

Amidst the crowded people, it seemed nearly impossible to find the lady.

“Aah!”

Then, unexpectedly, a sound like a pig squeal came from a distance. People who had been flowing like water suddenly stopped, and screams could be heard in the direction of the commotion. 

This allowed Sun-yi to move more easily through the crowd.

“Let go, let go, please!”

Sun-yi squeezed her way through the people and was faced with an unbelievable scene.

“Lady…”

Sun-yi muttered without realizing it, and Farang, now Cheong, turned slowly. She had a man’s wrist twisted in her hand. 

From the grimy hand of the pickpocket, she let a purse drop, and she held it out to Sun-yi.

“Here.”

Sun-yi couldn’t help but open her mouth in amazement.

“Yes, that’s right! This is my purse!”

People around them murmured in admiration. 

Among the commotion, there might have been patrolling constables or perhaps even some of the thieves themselves, so an arrest could be made immediately, and they could be taken to the authorities.

“Suddenly, that girl fell from the sky there, and, huh? In the blink of an eye, she grabbed that pickpocket?”

“No, it was the roof of the shop. She flew from there, probably?”

“Pickpockets don’t usually fly, though.”

“I thought I saw a ghost in broad daylight!”

Witnesses who happened to be nearby raised their voices, sharing their stories as if they were their eyewitness accounts.

“So now, we have some entertainment to enjoy, don’t we?”

But Farang, the one who had caused the whole incident, seemed to have no interest. She didn’t boast about catching the pickpocket or finding what Sun-yi had lost.

“Yes? So, you can buy hairpins, rings, anything I want.”

All of this left Sun-yi, clutching her satchel, bewildered. 

“What is this… what is this all about….”

“You said we’re running out of time. Why are you walking so slowly when you said we need to be home by the time the sun is halfway up in the sky?”

“Oh, Lady, just give me a moment!”

Sun-yi suddenly stepped in front of Farang fearing that she might fly away again. Then, Sun-yi, with her still-moist eyes, wiped her eyes with her sleeve and continued to nag.

“In the future, wherever you go, you must stick with me, just like I told you!”

“If you had come with me, that guy would have gone even farther, maybe dealt with more people. Choi Do-gyeom said I shouldn’t hurt people, so it’s a hassle. I can’t control my strength yet.”

Sun-yi squeezed and opened her going hand, fearing she might break it.

With those small, white, delicate hands, it might not be difficult to snap it in two. 

But then, she had caught the pickpocket moments ago…

Perhaps it was because the lady, who had spent her whole life honing martial arts in some remote mountain, was brought here by her young master? The more Sun-yi thought about it, the more it made sense.

But now, she was a more precious lady than ever. 

Sun-yi didn’t relent. After all, it was her young master’s request.

“But I could have followed just fine!”

“You think so? Then why do other people walk on the ground? It’s less complicated and more convenient up there.”

Sun-yi was taken aback by the logic Farang presented. She swallowed her saliva, convinced in her way.

“No matter how well you can fly and fight, Lady, you should never, ever move around alone in a dangerous way. Got it?”

Sun-yi’s unusual lady seemed to be confident in her own way, and she nodded slightly as she looked at Sun-yi.

“…Then I’ll just have to carry you.”