Volume 1 Chapter 12 – Roof

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Translated by Rain

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Jeong-ah opened her eyes precisely at the time she always woke up.

Although she only guessed it was due to the influence of her ‘eyes’, her ability to perceive time was also extraordinarily outstanding.

The bed was comfortable.

Unlike the maid quarters of the Reception Hall, the night shifts did not move in and out, and there was no guard captain patrolling frequently.

Furthermore, how spacious the room was and how excellent the facilities were.

Just by looking at the quarters, she could feel how much Yeon So-hyeon usually cared for the people below him.

She did wake up once due to a nightmare, but it was no big deal.

It seemed like she had felt that terrible sensation again, which she had experienced before fainting in the forest yesterday.

However, she figured that she was probably not yet completely free from the influence of the formation called the barrier.

While thinking about this and that, she kept her body moving without rest.

Considering the Eldest Young Master’s food intake yesterday, it was better to move even a little faster.

* * *

There were a few things she had grasped in less than a full day about this figure called the Eldest Young Master and this place called Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment.

Among them, the first.

The Eldest Young Master enjoyed eccentric behaviors that broke formality.

“Now, now, let’s cook breakfast with a joyful mind today too.”

“E-Eldest Young Master…?!”

Sure enough, today as well, the Eldest Young Master barged into the kitchen carrying self-harvested vegetables under his arm.

Then, he fussed around saying he would help prepare breakfast.

Of course, he was surprisingly familiar with kitchen work, so he was helpful rather than being a hindrance.

However, there was a vast difference in status between him and herself.

When such a person wandered back and forth next to her, she could not help but feel as if her nerves were being worn down.

“…Are you saying we should share the table today too?”

The Eldest Young Master looked at her as if asking what she was talking about.

“It is not ‘today too,’ it is continuously. From now on, continuously.”

“…….”

“Now, now. Don’t just stand there blankly, taste this stew. It is my work, but it turned out incredibly well.”

The second.

The two-story main building where the Eldest Young Master’s bedroom is located is dangerous.

“Eldest Young Master, it is Jeong-ah. I have prepared tea and refreshments.”

Before entering the main building, she announced loudly.

Soon, the sound of Yeon So-hyeon responding from inside was heard.

“Yeah. Leave it there at the entrance. I will take it in a bit.”

“How could I dare to do that.”

Jeong-ah shook her head, opened the door of the main building, and carefully stepped inside.

“…….”

And as soon as she entered the main building, she just walked right back out.

“…I will leave it here at the entrance.”

“Okay.”

What she discovered as soon as she entered were bamboo slips left neglected on the floor.

She had glanced at the titles, and they were definitely martial arts manuals.

Martial arts manuals recorded on bamboo slips.

They were definitely incredibly old martial arts manuals, and if so, they must possess unimaginable value.

That was not all.

Other than that, famous martial arts secrets that she had heard of at least once while working in a martial family were rolling around haphazardly on the floor.

If she caught even a slight glimpse of the contents, it was certain she would disappear that very day without anyone knowing.

If she were lucky, it might end at the level of her eyes being gouged out and her tongue cut off.

‘Clearly, yesterday, such dangerous books were not rolling around to this extent…’

Apparently, the Eldest Young Master’s interest today was martial arts.

‘It might be better not to enter for a while.’

And the third.

That third one was the most important issue for her.

The Eldest Young Master had absolutely no interest in her.

He did not show any interest, really not in the least, not even slightly.

Not about her personal life, nor her thoughts or opinions, and he did not even show basic sexual curiosity.

Leaving the former two aside, his failure to show curiosity was extremely unexpected.

The Luoyang Sword Family was one that left all secret entertainment to thoroughly selected and verified outsourcing.

That was why, conversely, the women of the Reception Hall, which consisted of nothing but extremely beautiful people, received an excessive amount of attention.

And among them, it was Jeong-ah, who possessed a beauty to the extent of being called the ‘Flower (Ice Flower)’.

As far as she remembered, she had lived her entire life with the gazes of men, and she was used to ignoring those gazes.

Yet this Eldest Young Master barely even cast his eyes on her.

It was not at the level where she could not feel the gaze from her blind spots due to him being a strange figure who was not properly grasped by her ‘eyes’.

No matter how she looked at it, he clearly had no interest in her.

If she had not seen spring drawings or erotic books rolling around here and there while walking around Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment (even that sight was shocking), she would have doubted his sexual orientation.

“This book is interesting.”

Even now while having lunch, he was giggling while reading an erotic book.

“…Yes, Eldest Young Master.”

Jeong-ah tried hard to ignore that sight and focused on the dinner table.

‘…I am really confused.’

She swallowed a sigh inwardly.

On one hand, she was relieved that the Eldest Young Master was not interested in her body, but that was not necessarily a good thing.

It was not due to some maiden’s heart that pushes away but ends up leaving room after all.

It was a matter of her own survival.

Her intention to escape from the hands of the Second Young Master or Third Young Master in the first place was not to protect the insignificant, pure body of a slave girl.

They were simply people who were used to holding a woman in their hands out of interest and then throwing her away if she broke.

Whether that was due to a nasty sexual preference, or because they were so infatuated with their own status that they viewed all women within their reach as less than objects, she could not know.

But what was clear was that the women they held in their hands with interest had all disappeared.

Others understood that they had just transferred to better assignments.

However, having heard the inside story through the Head of the Administration Department, she knew very well that it was absolutely not true.

She had prepared her mind ever since she first came to Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment.

If the Eldest Young Master was as great a person as expected, throwing herself into his arms to be guaranteed safety was also an excellent option.

However, it seemed that option did not even exist in the first place.

Moreover, if he was not even interested in her as an individual…

Was she really under the roof of the Eldest Young Master right now?

The answer to that question came all too quickly.

“Excuse me, Eldest Young Master.”

Before the lunch at the elegant pavilion of Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment was even finished, someone dressed in a guard uniform stealthily appeared.

He was the one who had seemed to be at the captain level among the ‘experts’ at the entrance of Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment that Jeong-ah had seen yesterday.

“The Eldest Young Master is eating right now. What is the matter?”

Jeong-ah stood up from her seat and asked.

“Ah, that is, because a guest has come.”

He was clearly showing annoyance.

Although she knew he was hiding his true identity right now, it was rude even considering that.

Even though Jeong-ah had just said that the Eldest Young Master was eating, he did not seem to mind at all.

Things she wanted to point out welled up to the tip of her throat, but Jeong-ah was still just a newcomer here.

She suppressed it, held back, and asked.

“…Who is it that has come?”

The guard captain, letting out a visible sigh, answered.

“What did they say? I think they said they are the Three Absolute Warriors of the Main Family.”

‘The Three Absolute Warriors…!’

Jeong-ah felt dumbfounded at that answer.

Although there were very many large and small martial groups in the Luoyang Sword Family, among them, there was only one group that distinguished ranks by the unit of ‘Absolute ‘.

‘The martial group directly under the Third Young Master!’

Jeong-ah swallowed hard inwardly and opened her mouth.

“What business do the Three Absolute Warriors have with the Eldest Young Master?”

“No, not the Eldest Young Master…”

The guard captain sighed and continued.

“Well, something about calling out the maid who came yesterday…”

It seemed what was bound to come had come.

Jeong-ah bit her lip.

She observed Yeon So-hyeon’s reaction for a moment.

He was still eating spoonfuls of rice while looking at the erotic book.

Jeong-ah organized the situation in her head.

First of all, the best way was not to meet them regardless of what their business was.

Fortunately, because this place was Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment, where not just anyone could enter, there was plenty of room to exploit that.

“…I am that maid. How can the Three Absolute Warriors casually tell the Eldest Young Master’s maid to come and go?”

It was true.

Strictly speaking, of course, the Three Absolute Warriors are greater figures than a mere maid, but if that maid is the Eldest Young Master’s maid, it becomes not so simple.

At her words, the guard captain let out a deep sigh.

“No, I said that too. But they said they came by the order of the Third Young Master, and I cannot just cut them off saying no by my own judgment…”

Jeong-ah gritted her teeth at the words ‘the Third Young Master’s order’.

“Even if that is so, I am the Eldest Young Master’s maid. Even if they came by the order of the Third Young Master, they cannot tell me to receive the order directly, can they?”

“No, still…”

At that moment, Yeon So-hyeon set down his chopsticks with a clatter.

“Go ahead.”

That was the word that finalized that she had failed to enter under the roof of the Eldest Young Master.

“…Eldest Young Master?”

Yeon So-hyeon continued, still keeping his gaze on the erotic book.

“It is noisy, so just go and hear what their business is.”

For a moment, Jeong-ah’s legs almost gave out, but she endured it.

‘Right. No matter how arrogant the Third Young Master is, he cannot ignore all procedures and take me away immediately.’

And even if they went through those procedures, the head butler, who was on her side, would drag it out sufficiently.

“…Eldest Young Master, then I will go.”

When she barely hid her trembling legs and stepped down from the pavilion, Yeon So-hyeon’s voice was heard from behind.

“Wait.”

Jeong-ah turned back with a sliver of hope.

“Yes, Eldest Young Master.”

However, the Eldest Young Master’s gaze was not directed at her.

“You, I mean you.”

He pointed at the guard captain with his chopsticks.

“Yes? Me, you mean?”

Yeon So-hyeon asked in an indifferent tone.

“Who told you to come in here as you pleased?”

He answered, momentarily flustered.

“Ah, that… I know that originally we are not supposed to enter without permission, but.”

Yeon So-hyeon’s gaze looking down at him from the pavilion was terribly indifferent.

“You entered knowing you should not enter without permission?”

“Ah, ah. It is not like that, but originally, a liaison servant was always near the main gate, but after yesterday’s incident…”

Yeon So-hyeon’s pupils did not even budge.

“If no one is there, you can just come in as you pleased?”

“N-No, it is not!”

That was Yeon So-hyeon’s sense of intimidation, which Jeong-ah had also felt yesterday.

He followed up with a few more driving remarks.

It was a way of speaking that drove a person into a corner step by step, and a momentum that did not even allow any objections.

Before anyone knew it, the guard captain was kneeling.

“I am sorry, Eldest Young Master! I will make sure such a thing never happens again!”

The Three Absolute Warriors were certainly great.

But they were far inferior to this expert of unknown affiliation.

Yeon So-hyeon so easily made such an expert flustered and apologize.

Seeing such a figure of Yeon So-hyeon, Jeong-ah put a small amount of strength into her clasped hands.

“Is that so? Then I will forgive you just this once. Instead, from now on, you are the main gate liaison. Stand by at the main gate indefinitely from now on.”

The guard captain, who had his head pressed against the ground, was startled.

“Yes?!”