A Dragon Lives In That Scholar's Deep Spring - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“Finding the pocket was truly fortunate, but no matter how much I think about it, this is not it. Ah, Lady, you nearly had a close call with the young lads a moment ago. If even a single hair had been damaged, what would we have done? If even a single hair is harmed, you’ll lose, and everything will be lost!”

Cheong asked again. 

“Why would your neck be lost?”

In the bustling capital, where everyone was in a hurry, Cheong moved slowly and leisurely, as if she were in a different world altogether. She appeared so maddeningly composed that it made Sun-yi feel slightly indignant and even angry for a moment.

“Well, Lady is a noble lady, and I’m just a servant, so I’m expendable!”

“What does ‘expendable’ mean?”

In response to the question, Sun-yi glanced around absentmindedly. The lady’s beautiful face was worth showing off, but her empty mind didn’t have much to boast about.

“Let’s get back first! You rushed out so quickly that we didn’t even pay.”

Sun-yi grabbed Cheong and led her towards the store, whispering.

“Lady will become a queen in the future, and I’m just Lady’s servant, so I’m expendable.”

“Well… the king of this land has power because he’s a king. The order is different.”

Cheong once again said something Sun-yi couldn’t understand in one go. Then she asked Sun-yi again.

“But still, I’ve never heard a story about the hair of a noble person getting damaged and the neck of a common person getting severed?”

“Where are you from, anyway? In any case, if you stay here, you’ll hear stories about celestial beings losing their necks regularly.”

“…That’s strange. Choi Do-gyeom was already angry with me for making you faint.”

For a moment, Sun-yi forgot her busyness and stopped in her tracks.

“Our young master got angry?”

Her cheeks, now tinged pink from the chilly breeze, felt warm. Cheong added indifferently.

“Yes. He said what if you injured your head.’

“Oh…”

In her elation, she thought she might have even found a loophole in the story. Sun-yi lowered her head deeply.

“Then, I’ll just become a beggar who can’t do anything more for you.”

“If you’re my servant, are you mine?”

She thought Cheong would ask what a beggar was, but the extraordinary Lady asked something unexpected.

Sun-yi shrugged her shoulders. 

“Why, my young master ordered me to serve you, so that’s the way it is.”

“I don’t want my property to be damaged.”

“You don’t have to say that; we all understand, don’t we?”

Naturally, Sun-yi had intended to scold her, but for some reason, she felt a sharp pang of sadness.

“So, Lady, you should be careful not to get hurt first…!”

“Ouch!”

Sun-yi, who hadn’t seen where she was going, collided with someone and fell flat on her backside.

“Who dares to bump into our Lady!”

Unfortunately, the person she bumped into was a high-ranking individual. Sun-yi immediately prostrated herself.

“I’m truly sorry! It wasn’t intentional!”

“Is apologizing enough, you wretch?!”

Just when Sun-yi thought she could breathe a sigh of relief, more problems came her way. She didn’t know what to do and pleaded desperately.

The situation of having to be particularly vigilant when used to walking alone naturally made her carelessness a problem. The path seemed too short even when it was long.

“Uh, uh, are you hurt anywhere? I momentarily lost my focus. Where…!”

Sun-yi, who was about to raise her head and brush off dirt or something, suddenly jerked to the side. It was because a hand had fiercely slapped her cheek.

She had intended to protect the coin pouch she held reflexively, but her cheek stung as if it had been pricked by a needle.

“How dare you touch me!”

“No, that’s not it. I just wanted to help you brush off the dirt…”

Sun-yi got up suddenly and knelt again. Cheong, who was standing behind her, muttered.

“I can smell blood.”

Sun-yi wished she would just leave them alone and walk away like she did earlier. 

She grew more furious at the scoundrel. It was evident that nothing good would come from the Lady getting involved.

“Do you dare to touch a noble lady with your filthy body? Do you know who this is? This is the highly esteemed Lady Seol-ah, the daughter of Lord Jwasang!”

It was a total disaster. Sun-yi, who had only caught a glimpse of the lady’ yellow skirt, was fed up.

Today, it seems like she’ll die right here.

Or so it seemed.

“Y-you can slap my cheek as much as you like if it makes you feel better…!”

“How dare you! Do you think a few slaps on the cheek will be enough? Today, I’m going to rip your cheek apart and fix that insolent mouth of yours for good!”

The strong hand went up high into the air once again. Sun-yi shut her eyes tightly.

“…Oh, ah, ouch!”

However, in the next moment, Sun-yi didn’t need to prostrate herself on the ground anymore. There was no shock because she had been tensed, and as a result, there was no pain. Sun-yi opened her eyes slightly and could only gape.

“Oh, Lady!”

Earlier, Cheong had held onto the pickpocket’s wrist, and this time, she was holding onto the wrist of the servant who served the eldest daughter of Lord Jwasang’s family. In addition to that, Cheong showed no sign of being perplexed or surprised, not even a trace.

“Why are you angry when you’re not the one who’s been hit?”

“…What?”

“You said that this person is the esteemed Lady Seol-ah, the daughter of Lord Jwasang. Who are you?”

Sun-yi fumbled for words, her eyes shifting restlessly. The lady of the Jwasang family, wrapped in fine silk robes, was busy raising her eyebrows.

“M-my mistress is Lady Seol-ah! Who are you?”

“Me?”

Cheong replied calmly, as usual.

“Her mistress.”

“She is Lady Cheong, the young master’s cousin from his father’s side in the western village!”

Sun-yi quickly introduced Cheong, her heart pounding and her breath coming in short gasps. She was afraid her heart would jump out of her mouth at any moment.

“I asked why you’re hitting Sun-yi, even though she didn’t do anything to you. You hit her so hard that it drew blood.”

“Well, this girl struck my lady, and my lady could have been seriously hurt, you know? Even if it’s the law, it’s not enough for her!”

Onlookers started to gather around. Arguments breaking out in the marketplace were common, but this was the first time Sun-yi had been involved in a physical fight.

Her hands were trembling, and she couldn’t catch her breath properly. The woman held by Cheong screamed in agony.

“It’s your servant’s fault, please let go of this. What if my arm breaks…!”

“If that arm is broken, and my servant can’t serve me properly…”

Perhaps the most powerful household’s daughter in Hanyang, Jo Seol-ah, spoke as she lowered her fine clothing in a leisurely manner. She had a gentle appearance, but in Sun-yi’s eyes, Cheong was far, far more imposing.

“Since the servant I entrusted can’t perform her duties properly, her value must be compensated for, right, servant?”

Despite her gentle demeanor, her words were cold. Cheong, seemingly not understanding Jo Seol-ah’s words, absentmindedly nodded her head as a habit.

“…Do people have a value?”

“Oh, Lady!”

Once again, the impudent lady was nowhere to be found. Sun-yi quickly approached Cheong and whispered, seeking her attention.

“Well, slaves are bought and sold as commodities, Lady.”

“….”

“I made a mistake.”

Cheong, however, remained silent, as if she hadn’t heard. She continued to hold onto the servant of Jo Seol-ah, and her servant frowned in arrogance.

“Oh, Lady. Please, release her. She’s Lady Jo Seol-ah from the Jwasang family. If this goes on, it will be a real problem…”

Sun-yi thought they couldn’t hold on much longer, but it was in vain. Cheong persisted.

“How much is your servant worth?”

“How dare you speak so disrespectfully to our Lady! You should be more respectful!”

“How dare a servant speak out of turn to our lady!”

Even though the servant was on the verge of breaking her arm, Jo Seol-ah’s servant stubbornly turned her back on her mistress. Sun-yi couldn’t just stand by and watch. Of course, Cheong seemed to ignore her and only stared intently at Jo Seol-ah.

“The price is ten nyang.”

But even with Cheong’s arrogance, Jo Seol-ah didn’t back down.

“She was with us for ten years, so she should be paid twenty more.”

Sun-yi unintentionally let out a gasp. When she saw Cheong reaching out to her, anxiety crept in.

“W-Why, Lady?”

“My desire has changed. I want to buy this person now.”

“Really? Is it true?”

“Choi Do-gyeom gave money for what I wanted.”

“Well, it’s not quite the same.”

Sun-yi wasn’t sure how someone like the lady would have handled the situation, but as Sun-yi herself, there was nothing she could do. The only thing she could do was to carefully place the coin pouch into Cheong’s hand.

With a nonchalant gesture, Cheong opened the pouch, not even bothering to inspect its contents, and simply tossed it at Jo Seol-ah’s feet.

“Oh, Lady!”

It wasn’t just thirty nyang; it was over fifty nyang in that pouch. She had given it all away. Shaking with anger, Sun-yi, unable to control herself, raised her voice.

“What are you doing, giving it all away like that? Fifty nyang is more than enough!”

Even though she was a servant in the prestigious household, fifty nyang was excessive. Cheong, without any sense of the value of money, continued to pull Jo Seol-ah’s servant towards her.

“Now, is she mine?”

Losing a significant amount of money was a disaster, but at least, the dagger swaying at the waist was now in Cheong’s hand, and Sun-yi could see that much.

“Oh, Lady! What have you done? You’ve broken my wrist, Lady!”

“Very well. It’s a significant sum, but writing a sales agreement isn’t a big deal.”

The servant who was following them whimpered in pain, but Jo Seol-ah didn’t even blink. Her lips, colored with flower-petal red, curved into a smile.

“One part of my calculation regarding the servant that your servant hit is not yet finished, is it?”