DKM 11

As the carriage carrying Soseo began to move, the cart we were on departed as well. I unwrapped the cloth bundle I had been holding in my arms. A few pieces of clothing lay beneath some wild flowers I had picked from the mountain behind the house this morning. They were the same kind I had seen when I went to the mountain with Seolhwa.

“Why did you bring those?”

“……Just because.”

I should have given these to Seolhwa before he left home. I could only resent myself for remembering these flowers only this morning. As I gazed blankly at the flowers, the cart jolted. Because of that, the flowers fell below before I could even grab them. The fallen flowers were crushed by the cart following behind. Staring vacantly at the scattered petals, I muttered.

“I hope that wasn’t foreshadowing. In romance fantasies, whenever a scene like that happens, the protagonist always ends up miserable.”

“Be quiet.”

And so, we set off for Hebei.

“Young masters, we will rest here for today!”

“Right, do that.”

Around the time the sky turned dim, the carriage stopped. I hurriedly climbed down from the cart and ran to the front of the carriage, quickly extending my hand. Soseo, who was about to step down from the carriage, looked at me with a puzzled expression. Ah, in romance fantasies, the male lead or a servant holds the female lead’s hand at times like this, so I did it without thinking. Do they not do that here? Just as I was about to pull my hand away, Soseo smiled brightly and took my hand. Stepping lightly down from the carriage, Soseo spoke.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I got off comfortably.”

“……No, it was nothing.”

“You’ll help me like this next time too, right?”

As expected of Soseo. I nodded vigorously.

“Yes! I’ll definitely help you!”

Myoryeong chuckled and poked me in the side.

“Act like you’re the male lead of a romance fantasy. Your manners are insane.”

“What manners? In a romance fantasy, this wouldn’t even count as manners.”

“Oh, so from now on, can we expect the insane manners of a romance fantasy geek?”

“Insane manners, honestly, you’re too much.”

Feeling shy, I followed Soseo into the inn. As soon as we entered, the bearded owner and the attendants rushed out. Soseo asked.

“We would like to stay here; is that possible?”

“Of course it is! We sincerely welcome you to our inn! It is a humble place, but we will do our best to serve you!”

The owner shouted energetically while rubbing [visit our site]his hands. Then, the voice stolen contentof Soyu, who had just finished personally taking the horses to the stable, rang out even louder.

“Brother, the same room as me!”

“I won’t.”

Soseo spoke flatly and headed upstairs, guided by an attendant. That night, before Soseo fell asleep, I asked.

“How was it? Was it uncomfortable coming all this way?”

“No, it was fine.”

Thinking of myself as a protagonist embarking on an adventure made it feel very fresh and nice. Though my buttocks hurt a bit. As I prepared to sleep on the floor, I remembered something and asked Soseo.

“Right, is there anything I should be careful of in Hebei? Tell me in advance so I can be aware.”

“Something to be careful of…….”

Soseo, sitting on the bed, slowly spoke.

“In Hebei, you will be attending to me. Therefore…….”

Then, he gently cupped my chin with his fingers and lifted my face closer to his.

“You cannot act as you have until now once we are there.”

I nodded.

“Of course! I’ll definitely use formal language in Hebei.”

At my straightforward answer, Soseo somehow frowned.

“……When it’s just the two of us, you can speak comfortably.”

“No, I don’t know who might see, so I’ll be careful even when we’re alone.”

But Soseo was adamant.

“I told you to speak comfortably when it’s just the two of us.”

Intimidated by his firm tone, I had no choice but to nod.

---

—Swoosh.

It rained heavily from early morning today. The inn was crowded with guests who were stranded, and we were among them. When the weather remained poor even into the afternoon, the coachman finally came up to Soseo’s room.

“Young master. It seems impossible to move today.”

“It can’t be helped. We’ll just have to rest today. Of all times, the weather is like this [unauthorized copyclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit our site]just as we’ve almost arrived in Hebei.”

Soseo, who had been reading a book opposite me, sounded disappointed.

“I wanted to show you what kind of place Hebei is as soon as possible.”

After the coachman left and I was left alone with Soseo, I sipped some warm tea and said.

“I like being like this too.”

“Really?”

Soseo looked genuinely happy.

“I like it too. Let’s have time alone like this often in Hebei as well.”

“Huh?”

I had meant that I liked being indoors. I thought about correcting him, but I stopped because I felt Soseo might be embarrassed. Soseo poured me more tea and spoke again.

“By the way, is Myoryeong alright?”

“I don’t think he’s seriously ill, but I’m worried.”

Myoryeong, who had been feeling a cold since yesterday, wouldn’t leave his room, claiming his head was throbbing. It wasn’t as if I could drag a sick person to a physician in this weather.

“Why don’t you take some warm food to him?”

“He says he has no appetite.”

“Oh dear, he needs to eat well to regain his strength.”

Soseo turned a page and asked.

“Then how about bringing food that Myoryeong likes?”

“Food he likes?”

“Yes, what does Myoryeong like?”

“He likes seafood. Whenever we happened to have fish as a side dish, he was really excited.”

“Then I’ll tell the attendant, so you can take it to him later.”

“I can’t believe you’d think of that. Thank you, Soseo.”

“It’s nothing.”

Soseo tucked away a stray lock of hair and focused on his reading. I stared blankly at Soseo. Since all schedules were canceled due to the heavy rain, Soseo was dressed much more comfortably than [visit our siteclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">stolen content]usual, and perhaps because of that, a natural and fresh beauty overflowed from him. Feeling my gaze, Soseo asked me.

“Why are you staring like that?”

“…….”

Thousands of compliments flashed through my mind, but the only thing I could utter was one phrase.

“Because you’re pretty.”

Soseo chuckled.

“You seem very weak to pretty people.”

“……Yeah, I guess I am.”

“That’s why I’m worried.”

“About what?”

“You’ll definitely be distracted later.”

Soseo was still smiling as he said that, but for some reason, he seemed displeased. I don’t know what it was, but I felt like I had just done something wrong. I cautiously gauged Soseo’s mood and quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, what are you reading?”

“Look at how suddenly you change the subject. You didn’t even say you’d never be distracted even if you died. You know yourself well. Impressive.”

“Ah, no……. I was genuinely curious about what book you were reading.”

“Still, since your effort is cute, I’ll let it slide.”

Soseo closed the book and pushed it toward me.

“Here, I was reading a book you’d recognize.”

“Ah, this.”

I picked up the book. Soseo had been reading a book that summarized the history of the Nine Great Sects and One Union.

“I asked you what the Nine Great Sects and One Union and the orthodox faction were after seeing this book, right? You must have been flustered then, so thank you for teaching me so kindly.”

“No, that wasn’t difficult at all. Is there anything else you’re curious about besides the Nine Great Sects and One Union? If so, ask. I’ll teach you.”

“Ah, there is.”

I had been waiting for the right timing to ask. Seeing the opportunity, I asked quickly.

“I roughly know that the unorthodox faction and the Demonic [stolen content]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[stolen content]Cult Read on Read BL Novelsare bad guys. But what did they actually do?”

“The unorthodox faction consists of those who are the exact opposite of us, who walk the righteous path. They are those who use martial arts for selfish purposes. And the Demonic Cult……. In a way, you could say they are even more malicious than the unorthodox faction.”

Soseo’s expression became serious.

“The Demonic Cult is orth—”

“Young master, may I come in?”

At that moment, at the sound of someone calling from outside, Soseo stopped speaking and told them to enter. Soyu’s closest attendant spoke while bowing.

“The young master is looking for you.”

“……He hasn’t caused another accident, has he?”

Soseo let out a heavy sigh and stood up.

“Sorry, Myoha. Let’s talk more about the details later.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll come back as quickly as I can.”

Soseo patted my head and left the room. I should go see Myoryeong now. I stood up and headed toward Myoryeong’s room.

“Myoryeong, how are you feeling?”

Myoryeong, buried under a thick blanket, barely poked his head out and answered.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I feel better than before. I think I’ll be fine if I rest a bit more.”

“Soseo told the kitchen to prepare fish side dishes for dinner.”

“Fish side dishes? I can’t pass that up. I definitely have to eat dinner.”

“…….”

“Don’t worry so much. I’m not gonna die, man.”

“Of course I know that.”

I stroked Myoryeong’s forehead.

“Then I’ll head out. Sleep some more.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

What a relief that his condition had improved. visit stolen contentour sitestyle="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[stolen content]Feeling relieved, I was returning to my room when I ran into the coachman. The coachman spoke to me friendly.

“We meet again. Where are you going? To the young master again?”

“No, I’m going to my room.”

“Here, have a piece of rice cake.”

“Wow, thank you. But why?”

“The person I share a room with bought them. He said the rice cake shop was selling them cheaply because of the rain.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

“Yes, I’ll enjoy the rice cake.”

I took a bite of the rice cake. The rice cake filled with red bean paste was very chewy and delicious. I felt it immediately. Myoryeong would definitely like this too. I naturally imagined Myoryeong eating a delicious dinner and then biting into a sweet rice cake for dessert. Checking outside the window, the rain had weakened since before. I put on a straw hat and raincoat rented from the inn and went outside. My heart fluttered at the thought of making Myoryeong happy with a few coins I had kept as emergency funds. However, that excitement did not last long.

“Sorry, they’re all sold out.”

The rice cake shop, which I barely found by asking people, had already sold everything and was preparing to close. I turned back toward the inn listlessly. I should have just stayed put. I went on a pointless trip. I walked back along the water-soaked road, making splashing sounds. Ribbit, ribbit, the sound of a frog croaking could be heard from somewhere. Without realizing it, I started humming as I walked.

“A walk on a rainy day is quite atmospheric and nice.”

Since I’m already out, I should fully enjoy this cool air and the moist, drenched scenery. When would I ever come to this village again? In a joyful mood, I walked without noticing the time passing, and a magnificent pond appeared before me.

‘There’s such a wonderful pond in this village.’

I ran toward the pond. Near the pond, which was full of blooming lotuses, there was also a grand pavilion. Since I don’t know when I’ll return, I should try going up to the pavilion. I climbed the stone steps. However, the pavilion, which I thought was empty, had a prior guest.

“……Eh?”

I thought I was alone. Feeling embarrassed, I glanced at the back of a woman who was facing away from me, looking at the pond. She didn’t hear me humming earlier, did she? I had called out loudly, thinking no one was around. Just as my face flushed at the mere thought and I was about to go back down the stairs while covering my face with my hat—

“I heard a very cheerful song and was wondering who was singing it.”

The woman slowly turned around.

“I didn’t know it would be such a cute child.”

The moment I saw the woman’s face, I nearly fainted. The woman dressed in black and holding a fan was seriously beautiful. To the point that I felt certain she was the most beautiful woman in this world. Without even thinking about how I looked, I stared at her with my mouth agape. The woman tapped her lips with the fan and smiled brightly.

“Why are you staring like that?”