Chapter 13
“I-I greet the Heavenly Demon!”
I immediately dropped to the ground, lying flat. I had just finished attending to Jeok I-geon’s morning routine and was taking a brief rest in the rear garden.
I couldn’t even fathom how the Heavenly Demon had approached so quietly and so close without my noticing.
Could he have been watching me this entire time?
That would be stalking…
“Rise. You don’t need to do this every time we meet.”
“But, but…”
“It is an order.”
Yes, if it’s an order, I must obey.
I hurriedly got up and clasped my hands together politely.
“Your name is Shin Seol-ha, correct?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Yesterday, I was in too much of a rush to ask. How old are you? Where do you live? Who are your parents?”
A rapid-fire series of questions came from the Heavenly Demon, leaving me momentarily speechless.
Why was he curious about my personal information?
On the other hand, I also felt relieved.
At least this meant he hadn’t ordered the Ghostly Soul Pavilion Master to investigate me.
“I am seventeen this year. My parents have passed away, and my grandmother runs a noodle shop outside the city. I’ve lived there since I was little.”
“So, you’ve lost your parents?”
“Yes.”
“When did that happen?”
“According to my grandmother, my father passed away in an accident when I was still in my mother’s womb, and my mother died giving birth to me. So, I’ve never met either of them.”
“Then your grandmother raised you alone?”
“Yes, she raised me with great difficulty despite her poor health. That’s why I became a maid, to repay her.”
I couldn’t fathom why he wanted to know all this, but I answered as sincerely as possible.
The goal was to avoid him coming back to ask more questions later.
“And your late father… what was his name?”
“Shin Won-pyeong.”
“Shin Won-pyeong…”
The Heavenly Demon’s brow furrowed as if he were trying to recall something.
He stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment, then shook his head and muttered softly.
“Hm, I suppose not.”
What do you mean, “not”?
He had said yesterday that I reminded him of someone—was he thinking of that person again?
Regardless, I was glad it wasn’t me. For a brief moment, I had feared he might claim to know my father.
Not that Shin Won-pyeong was my biological father, of course.
This seemed to sever any possibility of a connection with the Heavenly Demon.
“You look confused about why I am asking you these questions.”
“I-I apologize. I was so startled that I couldn’t help it…”
“It’s fine. Anyone in the Demonic Cult would have reacted the same way. You are not to blame, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed deeply as though I had received some great favor.
“Well then, carry on with your duties. I’ll visit again from time to time.”
“I beg your pardon, but what?”
What did he just say?
Did I mishear that?
I didn’t have time to confirm.
Leaving behind those bewildering words, the Heavenly Demon disappeared like the wind.
And then, at the same time the next day, he came to see me again.
This time, I was cleaning the interior of Geonyeong Pavilion.
I had just stopped mopping and straightened my back when the Heavenly Demon appeared before me.
“Ah!”
Startled, I screamed and lost my balance.
Fortunately, a strange force supported me from behind, preventing me from falling flat on my face in front of him.
“Have you had breakfast?”
This man!
First, he scares me half to death, and now he’s acting all kind?
Does helping me not fall count as clearing the slate?
Like father, like son—he’s just as shameless as Jeok I-geon.
“Today, I brought something to give you.”
Though I cursed him a hundred times in my head, outwardly, I remained meek.
Barely managing to calm my racing heart, I looked at him as he spoke again.
“…For me?”
“Yes.”
Why did this feel ominous?
As I blinked in confusion, the Heavenly Demon slowly held something out.
“Take it.”
Under his commanding tone, my hands moved instinctively.
Huh?
It was a hairpin.
A beautiful, expensive-looking ornament, the kind you’d expect the daughter of a wealthy family to wear.
Why was he giving me this out of nowhere?
“Thank you.”
“What? Why is master thanking me when I’m the one who got the gift?”
In the midst of my confusion, I was about to speak when I saw it again.
That longing.
The Heavenly Demon was looking at me, yet not at me.
Through me, he was reminiscing about someone else, someone deeply dear to him.
Who could they be?
What sort of person could evoke such emotions from the absolute ruler of the Demonic Cult?
Though curiosity burned within me, I knew better than to ask.
Just because the Heavenly Demon was being kind didn’t mean I could act without caution.
If there was one thing I understood, it was my place in the world.
The Heavenly Demon stared at my face for a long while before vanishing like a phantom.
What if he visits me again tomorrow?
Fortunately, my worries turned out to be unnecessary.
But, as if by some law of equivalent exchange, an unexpected person came to see me instead.
“Grandmother?”
On the path between Jamigwan and Geonyeong Pavilion, there’s a road that leads to the Demonic Cult’s Medical Wing.
Running into my grandmother there was practically impossible.
Shin Geum wasn’t a maid in the Inner City, nor did she know anyone here besides me.
This was her first visit to the Inner City since the time she came to fetch me shortly after I ended up in this world.
“Grandmother, what are you doing here? Did something happen at home?”
To be honest, her appearance scared me more than the Heavenly Demon’s.
I rushed to her side, scanning her entire body as quickly as I could.
“Grandmother, are you sick? What did the doctor say?”
I sometimes exaggerated about having a frail grandmother to gain sympathy, but the truth was that Shin Geum was as strong as steel.
Her sudden visit had me unexpectedly worried.
“You little rascal! Why would I be sick? Let me see that cut on your neck!”
“…What?”
“That bastard! How dare he hurt my precious granddaughter! If I could, I’d rip him apart, poison him, and stomp on him until there’s nothing left!”
Wow, my grandmother’s curses were brutal.
She had spotted the almost-healed wound on my neck and was now fuming with rage.
Though she was known for her blunt language, I had never seen her this agitated before.
“Grandmother, calm down! I’m fine! It’s just a tiny scratch.”
“What if there was poison on that knife? Do you know how my heart dropped when I heard what happened? I was so scared!”
So even my grandmother was capable of saying the same things as Jeok I-geon.
Trying to reassure her, I smiled brightly and spoke cheerfully.
“Grandmother, your imagination is running wild! That’ll never happen. Don’t forget, I always carry Antidote Pearls with me just in case. So, no need to worry!”
“Let me see it again.”
Perhaps my efforts had paid off because her voice softened.
“Will it leave a scar?”
“Of course not! It’s already almost gone.”
“Oh, my precious child! Because of some scumbag, you had to deal with knives and cuts! Only two months left, right? Just endure it until then, and when you’re done, stay by my side. That’s all I want.”
Her rough hands stroked my cheek, but her warmth melted my heart.
Shin Geum truly was the best.
My only ally in this world.
For her sake, I decided to give my best during the remaining time.
“But Grandmother, how did you find out about my injury? Who told you?”
“Who else? That boy who practically lives at our noodle shop.”
“Yang So-baek? He said he’d focus on training and not show up for a while. Did he already come by?”
“He got in. He’s been singing about it forever, and now he passed. I’ve got a new appreciation for that boy.”
“Wait, you don’t mean the Blood Shadow Corps, do you?”
“Of course I do! That was his dream, wasn’t it?”
Whoa, no way!
That smooth talker Yang So-baek actually passed the Blood Shadow Corps entrance exam?
So now he’d be working with me in the Inner City?
I’d have to make sure to greet him properly soon.
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