Volume 1 Chapter 7 – Meeting Face to Face

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Translated by Rain

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Yeon So-hyeon looked down at Jeong-ah, who was lying on the bedding of his quarters.

She was a woman who, without a single speck of internal energy, grasped a barrier-class formation, and even caught a glimpse of his ‘dark territory.’

‘Those two eyes that shone gold were clearly somewhere……’

Closing his two eyes for a moment and recalling his previous life, an exclamation leaked from his mouth before he knew it.

“……I see. You were indeed ‘that woman’.”

He and she had never met face to face.

Moreover, she was so different from the appearance he remembered that he had not been able to recall it immediately.

“How could you have been a person of this family……”

In his hand, the written order of the Head of the Administration Department that Jeong-ah had brought was held.

“……It is indeed an extremely tragic destiny.”

With a careful touch, he swept back Jeong-ah’s hair that had slipped down.

“Destiny is indeed a strange thing.”

All he did was just drive out the subordinates in the morning.

And as a result, in only half a day, a person whom he had never even met face to face in his previous life suddenly appeared as his maidservant.

As he smiled, he shook his head.

The occurrence of an unexpected thing.

Therefore, is it not that worldly affairs can still be interesting to him?

He rose from his seat and left the bedroom.

Even if only to prepare for her eyes, he had to first find a way to perfectly conceal his demonic qi.

If he could control it as well as conceal it, it would be the icing on the cake.

Probably half a day.

At the latest, one day would be enough.

It was merely to appropriately modify and make a mind law to perfectly conceal demonic qi, so why would there be a need to take more time than that?

Yeon So-hyeon entered his study, complacently thinking of what no master of martial studies would agree with.

“……Sleep well and see you later, Golden-Eyed Witch.”

* * *

It was as if the situation before fainting had been merely a nightmare.

Jeong-ah woke up from sleep with an extremely light feeling.

How long had it been since she slept so soundly.

Forgetting the Sword Family, and forgetting about the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master, as if returning to that time when she lived with her family in her childhood.

How long had it been since she opened her eyes without any worry, fear, or anxiety.

As she pushed away the blanket that warmly wrapped her body and stood up, a teapot and a cup were placed at her bedside.

As she drank the tea brewed in cold water along with its aroma, she felt a mood where there was nothing to envy in the world.

Although she was one who had drunk countless high-grade teas while working as a receptionist in the Sword Family, a tea that made a person feel this comfortable was a first.

Moreover, the bedding she had been lying on, though old and hand-worn, was of the highest quality that she had never covered herself with and slept under.

And the teacup she was holding, though slightly chipped, was it not an extremely precious celadon?

‘Where is this place……?’

The room she was lying in felt ancient and cozy, while a high grace was felt so naturally.

Having been distracted by the clay pottery containing dried petals boasting a comfortable aroma, the cedar carving of mountains and fields, and the terribly elegant writing on the hanging scroll on the wall, she carefully stood up and organized the bedding.

And then she rolled up the ebony screen that prevented the strong sunset light from leaking through the paper window, and opened the window.

“Ah……”

The landscape unfolded there naturally drew an exclamation from her mouth.

The vast area surrounded by the forest was so wide that it did not even fit in her eyes at a single glance.

Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment, which took its place at the very edge of the Luoyang Sword Family, was in contact with nature itself extending outward.

And drawing that nature into its bosom, it decorated it as a garden.

A wide meadow, a low hill, a stream and a marsh. And even a pond and a lake.

It was a breathtaking sight harmonized with the setting sun.

And above all.

Now was February.

Luoyang was winter, but this Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment was spring.

Into the ears of her who fell into that amazing landscape absentmindedly, a strangely playful voice was heard.

“How is it? Is it not beautiful?”

That voice brought her back to reality.

“Ah……!”

The one who spoke to her from the yard was wearing a worn cotton white robe.

“Yes. Did you sleep well?”

He waved his hand slightly toward her.

“Ah, yes. Thanks to you……”

He possessed a soft boyish face on a slender young man’s physique.

She thought that because his pure white skin and soft features were impressive, a handsome boy was a more correct expression than a handsome young man.

“Yes. That is good.”

Then he smiled mischievously.

“My neck hurts from looking up and talking, so get ready and come down to the first floor.”

And then he turned the corner and went away without even listening to an answer.

“Ah……!”

And only then did Jeong-ah realize.

That the handsome boy just now was indeed the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Family and the one called by the derogatory term of the Swordless Man, Yeon So-hyeon.

And she also realized that the place where she was standing now was indeed his quarters, and that she was talking while daring to look down at her master in the first meeting.

* * *

“……Yes. Was your name Jeong-ah?”

At the question of Yeon So-hyeon who sat comfortably leaning back, Jeong-ah, who regained her original calmness, answered calmly.

“It is so.”

At that appearance, Yeon So-hyeon smiled mischievously.

“You were quite heavy earlier.”

Of course, it was a joke for him.

Since it was impossible for the weight of a single woman to be heavy for him who obtained the strength of the Scripture of Controlling Darkness and Shaking the Heavens.

“Ah, ah. I-I am terribly sorry.”

She realized.

In Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment, there was currently not even a single servant.

The one who moved her fainted self was none other than the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Family.

Jeong-ah’s head became dizzy.

‘Come to think of it, I fainted in that forest. First I met the masters dressed as guards, and that terrible formation, and……’

As if having had a terrible nightmare, yet not being able to remember it after waking up.

‘I clearly saw something, but was that a dream……?’

The shock that exceeded the limit of acceptance mixed her memories topsy-turvy and then erased the portion that was impossible to handle.

Yeon So-hyeon, who was staring at the confused Jeong-ah, opened his mouth again.

“Fortunately, I was able to discover you collapsed during a walk. No matter how warm Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment is, if you had been discovered late, a big matter would have happened.”

At those words, Jeong-ah rose from her chair, knelt on the floor, and bowed her head.

“I will not forget the grace of saving the life of this lowly servant.”

Yeon So-hyeon waved his hand.

“I understand, so stand up.”

And then he opened and held the written order on the table.

But Jeong-ah did not seem to have any intention of standing up.

“In serving you in the future, without sparing this single body, and risking my life to……”

“Uh-huh, did I not say it is enough.”

Cutting off Jeong-ah’s words, Yeon So-hyeon looked at her beyond the written order.

Not even a speck of emotion was felt in his gaze.

“And in the first place, I never said I would accept you, so have you decided to serve me as you please?”

And then he waved the written order.

“Or is this written order of the Head of the Administration Department issuing orders to me, the Eldest Young Master?”

At his words, it felt as if lightning struck in Jeong-ah’s head.

Come to think of it, she had naturally been thinking of serving the Eldest Young Master until now.

“……Please kill this lowly servant!”

No. She clearly had in mind to have an interview with the Eldest Young Master.

But because she fainted in the forest, everything had become tangled.

“Uh-huh, after saving your life, you say you will serve as you please, and now you ask me to kill you.”

Jeong-ah bowed her head even deeper.

“……I am sorry.”

Yeon So-hyeon clicked his tongue, took a sip of tea, and opened his mouth again.

“In the first place, I never even asked for a maidservant. I just need a servant or a maid who is good at chores……”

At his words, Jeong-ah answered in a hurry.

“I also started work in the great Luoyang Sword Family with all kinds of chores. Though it might not meet your eyes, I will do my best to……”

“Is that so?”

Yeon So-hyeon, who nodded slightly, spoke in a serious tone.

“Then the most important question remains.”

Jeong-ah wiped her cold sweat.

Though hidden by the derogatory term of the Swordless Man, the Eldest Young Master was a person whom none could follow in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, let alone miscellaneous skills.

What would be the condition he put forward?

“Do you know how to cook rice?”

“Yes……?”

Without realizing it, Jeong-ah raised her head to look at Yeon So-hyeon’s face, then quickly bowed her head again.

“Cooking rice, I mean, cooking. Do you know how to cook?”

It was a world-serious voice.

“Although I certainly know how to cook, to dare to compare myself to a professional chef……”

As Jeong-ah answered while stammering at the embarrassing question, Yeon So-hyeon slapped his knee.

“Therefore, are you confident?! Or are you not?!”

Jeong-ah answered reflexively.

“I am confident!”

“Good! Passed!”

* * *

Jeong-ah was blankly staring at the sparks of a small furnace.

Wearing worn working clothes found in the maidservants’ lodging, a face smudged with soot, and an apron stained with side-dish soup, it was an appearance hard to think of as Jeong-ah, who looked like a high-born lady.

How hectic the kitchen work after a long time was.

But combining her outstanding memory, work skills recognized anywhere, and her ‘eyes,’ she was now just waiting for the rice placed on the furnace to cook.

‘It was hectic……’

Warming her hands at the sparks of the furnace, she let out a small sigh.

All beginnings started from fainting in the forest because of the formation.

Daring to be moved personally by the Eldest Young Master and waking up in his bedroom,

And what a series of embarrassments it was in the subsequent seat.

Looking back, it was to the extent that her face flushed all over.

For her, who had been called the Ice Flower by the eccentric figures and high officials who visited the Luoyang Sword Family, to lose her composure so easily in this way.

‘Even if a blade suddenly came to my neck, I was confident in maintaining coldness outwardly……’

Even the masters of a level to use Qi perception, did none of them know that Jeong-ah had noticed that Qi perception?

For such a person like herself to be swung so absurdly.

‘This is all because of fainting on the forest path out of nowhere……’

Her movement of rubbing her hands in front of the fire stopped.

“……No.”

When she woke up in the Eldest Young Master’s bedroom, she clearly felt a matchless refreshment, and her mind was clear to the extreme.

Although she was not grasping the situation before and after, that was not to the extent of losing her composure in the situation connected later.

Making her look up and talk to the Eldest Young Master was also a problematic action, but it was clearly not to the extent of being flustered.

She had enough experience and knack to handle that level of mistake skillfully while working at the reception hall for many years.

How was the conversation after that?

Merely because the Eldest Young Master threw a few words, did she not act like a greenhorn maid undergoing a hazing?

The things she was flustered about, the things she made mistakes in, and only now looking back at the previous situation and feeling strangeness.

All of that was indeed……

‘……It originated from the Eldest Young Master.’

From the first meeting to the last.

He never lost the initiative, made the flow of conversation as he wanted, and shook her who was called the Ice Flower for her outstanding composure.

‘That person is the Swordless Man……?’

That person who had no choice but to drive out the servants because they acted too loosely just this morning?

In Jeong-ah’s head, the appearance of Yeon So-hyeon conversing with her arose.

The appearance of him leaning and sitting on a soft and wide chair in a posture where leisure was felt.

And unlike the smile on his lips, his eyes that looked endlessly indifferent.

That appearance was not a Swordless Man at all, but rather like……

Goosebumps ran all over her body.

“Is the rice still far?”

“Kyaaa!”

At his voice suddenly heard from behind, Jeong-ah stood up from her spot as if jumping in surprise.

“Oh, sorry. I guess I startled you.”

Toward the Eldest Young Master who stood at the doorway and showed a sheepish smile as if sorry, Jeong-ah could not make any reply at that moment.

Only then did she realize.

That her ‘eyes’ were not reading anything from him.