Chapter 60
“Madam Shin Geum, what’s wrong? Do you pity your granddaughter?”
“…What nonsense are you spouting?”
“I mean, Grandma, you just gave me this really wistful look.”
“Are you making fun of my old, hazy eyes now?”
Grandma’s eyes were about to narrow sharply again.
I quickly waved my hands in denial.
“Of course not! Forget I said anything. Geez, why assume the worst? Anyway, I’m hungry! I want noodles!”
The best way to calm Grandma was to start eating.
Sure enough, as soon as I began eating, the fierce aura around her subsided.
“You’ll choke at this rate! Eat slower!”
Trying to gulp down the noodles quickly, I coughed as they stuck in my throat.
Even as I struggled to keep quiet, Grandma somehow knew and handed me some water.
Gulp, gulp.
“Wow, even the water here tastes amazing.”
“Seol-ha.”
“Yes?”
Munching on dumplings, I looked up at her.
“Don’t you miss your mother?”
“Why bring that up all of a sudden?”
I had heard that the biological mother of this body had passed away giving birth to me.
Perhaps the original owner of this body might have yearned for her mother.
But I was merely someone who had possessed this body, having grown up an orphan myself.
To me, Grandma was my everything.
As long as I had Shin Geum, I needed nothing else in the world.
“You’re acting so strange today. Asking things you never usually do. Grandma, are you going through menopause?”
“What did you just say, brat?”
“Oh, wait. You’re way past menopause. Then what is it? What’s made our tough-as-nails Shin Geum so sentimental?”
If Grandma took an MBTI test, she’d be the ultimate “T” type.
“Is it because you went to the funeral? Feeling a bit down?”
“When you were younger, you’d sometimes ask about your mom and dad. But you haven’t asked in a while. Why’s that?”
Ah, so that’s what this was about?
Not wanting to seem ungrateful toward the parents who gave me life, I added a bit of theatrical flair.
“Well, talking about them would just make me sad. Now it’s just you and me in the world, Grandma. I’ve decided to focus only on us from now on. That’s probably what my late parents would have wanted, too.”
“…Have you ever wished you had other family?”
“Other family, like who?”
“…Siblings, for instance.”
“Nope.”
I picked up another dumpling and answered firmly.
Even before possessing this body, I had always preferred being alone.
“Really?”
“Why would I lie about that?”
The dumpling melted in my mouth the moment I bit into it. Absolutely divine.
Why couldn’t the food in the city taste this good?
Jamigwan had several master chefs, yet none could replicate this flavor.
If Jeok I-geon tasted this, he’d go nuts.
Ah!
“Grandma! Could you pack some dumplings for me?”
“For who?”
“For the Second Young Master. He’s helped me a lot.”
Winning the martial arts competition was largely thanks to Jeok I-geon.
Had he not selected suitable opponents and tailored my training, I would’ve struggled greatly.
I might’ve even lost during the Eight Extremities round and thrown a drunken tantrum about it.
As the old saying goes, you should give more to someone you don’t like.
And Jeok I-geon loved dumplings as a late-night snack, so Grandma’s dumplings would make the perfect thank-you gift.
“You used to complain about how difficult he was, and now you want to give him dumplings?”
“He’s still difficult, but he’s crazy about food. His appetite is insane.”
“How many do you need?”
“Hmm, maybe a hundred?”
“What?”
“Actually, that might not be enough.”
The more delicious the food, the more he seemed to eat.
“Should I add fifty more?”
“Does that kid have a bottomless stomach or something? Why does he eat so much?”
“It’s funny, isn’t it? To survive his training, I bribed him with food. And now I’m the Heavenly Demon’s disciple, so it worked out, didn’t it?”
“Are you really that happy about being a disciple?”
“Of course! It means you don’t have to work so hard anymore, Grandma! Thanks to your granddaughter, you’ll live in comfort during your later years!”
“Comfort, my foot! Making 150 dumplings at this hour is comfort to you?”
Grandma let out a yell and stormed into the kitchen.
She soon came out with ingredients for dumpling filling and wrappers.
“If we want to finish tonight, you’d better help.”
“…Should we just forget it?”
“Can you handle the Second Young Master’s complaints?”
“No.”
“Then stop whining and start kneading.”
“Yes.”
Even though I was no longer his exclusive maid, wasn’t making late-night snacks going a bit overboard?
But then again, Jeok I-geon had helped me win the competition, so this much was the least I could do.
Still, what if he fell in love with Grandma’s dumplings and started demanding them all the time?
‘Ugh, what a terrifying thought!’
Training was over, so I wouldn’t see him much anyway.
Let’s make this a one-time thing.
Clean and simple.
While I wasn’t confident about the filling, I was practically a master at rolling out dumpling skins from frequent practice.
As I rolled out 150 dumpling skins, I kept telling myself.
These dumplings would mark a clean break from Jeok I-geon—a “safe goodbye.”
Back then, I naively believed it was possible.
Late into the night, while making dumplings, Grandma and I caught up on the long-overdue chatter.
When I told her I’d visit more often from now on, Grandma beamed with joy.
“I should invite you to Yeong-eun Pavilion soon.”
Carrying a bundle of dumplings in both hands, my steps toward the main residence felt lighter than ever.
“You’re finally here?”
So-ok had officially taken over as the exclusive maid of Yeong-eun Pavilion.
When she greeted me with a deep bow, I hurried over and grabbed her hands.
“So-ok, when we’re alone, just treat me like before.”
“But how could I possibly address you so casually, my lady…”
“Ugh, that ‘lady’ title again! Just call me Seol-ha. I prefer it.”
“…Is that really okay?”
“Of course! Guess what I brought!”
So-ok loved Grandma’s dumplings, too.
“Tada! Look at this!”
When I untied the bundle to reveal its contents, So-ok’s face lit up.
“They look delicious!”
“Right? Take some with you.”
Good thing I had made extra.
“And give the rest to Yeori for the Second Young Master’s late-night snack.”
Yeori, Jeok I-geon’s new exclusive maid, had been frantically memorizing the manual I wrote about him.
With these dumplings solving the late-night snack issue, she would surely be grateful.
I planned to occasionally help her like this.
“All of these?”
“You know how much he eats.”
“True. His appetite is remarkable.”
Shaking her head in disbelief, So-ok added, “He didn’t used to be like this. Strange.”
“By the way, what do people say about me?”
If the Demonic Cult was abuzz with news of the Heavenly Demon accepting a disciple, surely the maids were gossiping about me as well.
Most of them probably assumed I’d end up as some noble’s concubine. Learning that I’d become the Heavenly Demon’s disciple must have been unbelievable.
“They’re all jealous, of course. Some are even wondering if they ever did you wrong.”
“If they’re worried, just tell them I’m not petty like that.”
“Even Do-ae’s group?”
“They’re really scared, huh?”
“They cried, wondering what would happen to them now. They must’ve seen you fight in the competition and completely lost it.”
So-ok chuckled gleefully.
The day I was lured to a secluded spot by Gaye’s group, things could have gone terribly wrong if I hadn’t known martial arts.
While I had no plans for revenge, those seniors definitely needed a mindset adjustment.
This was a chance for them to learn what happens when they bully someone weaker than themselves.
Should I occasionally show up and greet them?
It would be interesting to see how they’d react.
While So-ok and I whispered mischievously and laughed, a familiar but unexpected voice crept down my spine.
“What’s so funny?”
Startled, I turned to see Jeok I-geon standing there, despite having no reason to visit Yeong-eun Pavilion anymore.
“What brings you here, Second Young Master?”
Startled, I mimicked So-ok and bowed deeply to greet him.
Even though I was now the Heavenly Demon’s disciple, my habits as a maid were hard to break.
“I brought you something.”
“For me?”
At this hour?
Confused, I looked at him as he extended his hand.
“Take it.”
…What is this?
What he handed me was a dessert that looked exactly like the one I had lost yesterday.
—
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