Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Emily was carrying a laundry basket when she turned a corner and came face-to-face with Tauga. Although she had heard the sound of a helicopter earlier, she had assumed it was just another visitor and didn’t expect it to be Tauga. Emily blinked in surprise.

“What brings you here, Colonel?”

It was unusual for Tauga to visit the house alone. He usually came with Alex or only during major gatherings.

Tauga, dressed in civilian clothes, answered with his usual calm expression.

“Mr. Ivanov asked for help with recording oral materials about the Mongol Empire.”

Emily made a sound of realization.

“I see. Please go ahead.”

She then walked past Tauga.

“Ah-eun.”

But Tauga called her to a halt. Emily stopped abruptly.

“Please don’t call me by that name.”

“I was a member of the elite guard, Keshik.”

Tauga said something else. When Emily turned with a confused expression, Tauga continued.

“The elite guard does not engage in occupying cities or towns. Our mission is to protect the king wherever and whenever necessary.”

Emily frowned slightly.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I think there might be some misunderstanding.”

Emily gripped the laundry basket tightly.

“…There’s no misunderstanding.”

With that, Emily left. Tauga watched her retreating figure before heading to the study where Ivan was waiting.

After finishing his business and coming out, Tauga felt a presence and went towards the veranda where he had previously smoked with Si-woo. There, Emily was sitting on a bench, her feet propped up on an adjacent chair, smoking a cigarette.

Dressed in a one-piece with an apron, she resembled a weary housewife trying to sneak a smoke away from household chores and family responsibilities. Though Emily wasn’t trying to hide it.

Without turning to look at Tauga, she spoke.

“Miss Martha isn’t here. She went to the hospital for a regular check-up.”

It seemed to imply that it was alright for her to be there.

Tauga stepped onto the veranda without saying a word. Ignoring him, Emily stared at the cigarette in her hand and muttered.

“How wonderful it would be if it could just burn away completely.”

Tauga looked at Emily.

“Are you not happy?”

“I’m happy. I wonder if I’ve ever been this happy in my life.”

As she spoke, Emily put the cigarette in her mouth.

The Ivanov family had accepted her as one of their own, and even if she didn’t work for a few days, they never complained. Instead, they would likely give her money and tell her to go rest somewhere. Among the masters she had served throughout her life, this was the first time she had encountered such warm and humane people.

Emily muttered.

“I’m so happy that it makes me more anxious. You probably wouldn’t understand, Colonel, being someone who protected a king who led an army so strong that Europeans called it ‘the punishment of God.'”

Emily continued speaking as she gazed into the distance.

“I was always afraid. Everything in the world was terrifying to me. Cruel and tyrannical masters, harsh mistresses, droughts, floods, poor harvests, and even shadows flickering through the paper windows at night…”

She paused and then laughed softly.

“Isn’t it ironic that someone like me became a vampire?”

As she exhaled the cigarette smoke, it spread thickly around her.

“At first, I didn’t even think about what I had become. I just vaguely thought that I was different from my old self.”

She knew instinctively to hide both her abnormally heightened strength and her insatiable hunger for blood. These were traits of a monster, not an ordinary human.

Rationally, she felt that blood could never taste as sweet as it did, leading her to believe she had become something like a gumiho (nine-tailed fox). But she couldn’t grow a tail or transform into a fox, so she vaguely thought she had become an ‘ear.’

“I always hid away. Not aging became strange, so as time passed, I moved to different places.”

Even though Korea was a small land, the poor communication methods of the time allowed her to move around without arousing suspicion.

But she never thought of leaving Korea. Born in Korea and having lived longer there than anyone else, the outside world was an unknown realm to her. It didn’t even exist on her mental map.

“Now, I might have gone outside Korea, searching for others like me. But back then, I only knew how to live as I had always lived.”

Time passed, and when the ageless Ah-eun needed to move to a new location to avoid prying eyes, she suddenly had a thought.

‘Let’s go to Hanyang.’

At that time, Hanyang felt like “a place in the heavens” to Ah-eun, so she had never thought of going there. But since Hanyang had all sorts of people, she thought they might not pay much attention to her peculiarities.

So, Ah-eun headed for Hanyang.

* * *

As Ah-eun was about to enter through the main gate, she encountered someone coming out.

“Young master.”

It was Si-woo, dressed in civilian clothes.

Realizing that she was blocking his way, Ah-eun quickly stepped aside.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

Si-woo spoke in a gentle voice and passed by. Right after him, the mistress walked by, and Ah-eun continued to stand aside.

The mistress saw Si-woo off at the gate.

“Be careful.”

“Yes. Please go inside, Mother.”

Si-woo gave a slight nod and turned to leave. The mistress’s gaze towards him was filled with pride.

It was only natural, as Si-woo was a distinguished judge of the Sangseowon and a member of the elite Gap-sa, particularly among those guarding Seoul.

Gap-sa were selected from among the noble class who were skilled in martial arts and also handsome, so being a Gap-sa itself was equivalent to being the top match for a son-in-law.

Even before this, Si-woo was widely known in the capital for his good looks and pleasant personality, admired by both men and women. There were rumors that his parents’ love for their only son was so extreme that even if they were offered a position as the son-in-law, they would refuse it, feeling it wasn’t enough.

The only son of a prominent family and a brilliant Gap-sa, Chu Si-woo, and the maid, Chun Ah-eun, were people from completely different worlds. Even after her body had become what it was.

Ah-eun looked away from Si-woo’s disappearing figure and entered the house.

* * *

“I’ll be out for a moment.”

When Ah-eun said this, the maid Ok-bun fussed.

“Oh my, you’re done already? Ah-eun, you’re so strong and quick with your hands, it’s unlike you. And you’re going out to gather herbs again? Someone might think you’re an herbalist. Even if there were no good doctors in your hometown, Hanyang has Hye-min Gokuk (later Hye-min Seo), so why do you need to keep gathering herbs?”

“I sell them to Kim, the herbalist.”

Mak-rye added from the side.

“Really? What do you do with the money you make? You don’t even have children…”

Mak-rye poked her in the side. Only then did Ok-bun seem to realize and apologize with an ‘Oh, sorry.’

“Oh, it’s fine.”

Ah-eun smiled.

“It’s nothing. It’s been a long time since Haji passed away.”

Ah-eun often talked about Haji, the daughter she lost when she was young. Haji was a figure from nearly a hundred years ago, so no one would remember her name now, and Ah-eun spoke about her to keep her memory alive.

“I’ll be back.”

* * *

Ah-eun climbed the mountain and looked around. Sunlight filtered gently through the leaves.

This path was a place where mountain spirits sometimes appeared, so herbalists or foragers rarely ventured this far. Although Ah-eun was afraid of the mountain spirits, she was fortunate to have keen ears, allowing her to sense their presence and escape immediately if necessary.

After confirming that no one was around, she used her strength to push aside a large boulder blocking the cave entrance. The boulder, which seemed immovable, gradually rolled away.

She made just enough space for herself to enter and went into the cave.

The reason Ah-eun frequently climbed the mountain under the pretense of gathering herbs was, of course, to alleviate her hunger. When the gates were closed, if anyone saw her wandering around or discovered she wasn’t in her room, it could complicate things, so she preferred to be out during the day as much as possible.

Sitting in front of the cave wall, she took out a rabbit’s ear from her sack. The still-living rabbit squirmed.

Since she could not eat humans or livestock, only the beasts in the deep mountains were her means of satisfying her hunger. The blood of these animals was so foul that it was difficult to drink, but it did quench her thirst.

After finishing her meal, Ah-eun looked up at the cave.

She often wondered why she was living and why the innocent Haji had to die.

‘Well, considering this life, maybe it would have been better to die.’

Thinking that if anyone had to become a gumiho living on the blood of beasts and wandering as a ghost, it should have been her.

‘But how long will this continue?’

It didn’t make sense for a living being to never die, so she knew she would eventually die, but with no signs of aging, she couldn’t gauge when that might be.

Ah-eun swallowed a sigh and stood up.

‘Enough with these pointless thoughts. I should head down before it gets late.’

She slung the sack over her shoulder and exited the cave. After checking to ensure no one was watching, she rolled the boulder back to block the entrance and descended the mountain.

However, as she was almost down, she sensed a presence.

The place was rarely visited, so she was momentarily tense, but fortunately, the presence didn’t concern her. The man and woman standing under a large zelkova tree were so engrossed in each other that they didn’t notice her approach.

The two stood together under the lush green canopy of the zelkova tree, their appearance perfectly matched like a painting.

The man dressed elegantly, seemed to be of a high social status…

In an instant, Ah-eun realized.

‘Is that… Young Master?’

The man was Si-woo.

The expression on Si-woo’s face as he looked down at the woman was one that Ah-eun was certain no one had ever seen. It was entirely warm and gentle, clearly the face of a man in love.

* * *

“Young Master.”

At the sudden voice, Si-woo turned around. He recognized the face but couldn’t recall the name—it was one of the maids from his household.

Looking around, he saw that even though it was broad daylight, the area at the base of the mountain was sparse, with no one else in sight except for her. Si-woo looked back at the maid.

“Ah-eun.”

He said up to that point, then, unsure, he asked.

“Is that right?”