CNC 259

Special Side Story: Come Back To Its Original Owner Episode 13

Hae-sung also began to treat Hong-seo with more familiarity than before. Occasionally, he would stroke Hong-seo’s face or hair even in front of others. At times, it felt as though there were no boundaries between them.

While glancing around to see if the steward looked at him strangely, Hong-seo followed Hae-sung down to the courtyard.

At the small gate leading to the servants’ quarters, a coachman and horses were waiting. A male slave, who was to accompany him as an errand boy, stood nearby with a bow, a quiver of arrows, a sword, and meals prepared.

Hae-sung walked a few steps toward them, then stopped and looked back at Hong-seo once more.

“You haven’t forgotten the assignment I gave you, have you?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“You must have it well-prepared by the time I return, understood?”

“Yes, My Lord. Um…”

“What is it? Do you have something to say?”

“Please travel safely.”

“Are you worried that I might get hurt during the hunt?”

“I heard that the areas where wild boars frequently appear have rugged terrain. That is why…”

Hae-sung’s face was filled with a smile. As if he couldn’t bear the cuteness, he reached out and stroked Hong-seo’s cheek.

“How admirable of you to worry for me so.”

Though he had committed no crime, Hong-seo found himself constantly mindful of the steward’s gaze. The steward likely thought that My Lord was simply fond of him as if he were a child. My Lord probably thought so too… But of course, the joy he felt at the man’s kindness was far greater.

After seeing off Hae-sung as he led the horse through the small gate, Hong-seo bowed deeply from behind.

The moment he straightened his back, a male slave appeared out of nowhere and abruptly shoved Hong-seo in the back.

It was the well-built man who had been at the forefront of interrogating Hong-seo on the day he was caught stealing chicken.

“Now, since you’re already up, help with the field work. There’s Read on Read BL Novelsa heap of fields [unauthorized copy]that need fertilizing today.”

“Pardon?”

“What do you mean ‘pardon’? Aren’t you the one eating this house’s rice? If they’re short-handed, you should be helping.”

“But…”

“Do you think you’ve become a nobleman just because you sit in the guest house writing letters?”

The man glared fiercely.

“If you’ve eaten the rice, you must pay your due! Stop talking and follow me.”

“Yes…”

Hong-seo thought about the assignment Hae-sung had given him, but the man’s words seemed correct. It felt strange for someone who wasn’t a nobleman to avoid labor under the guise of studying. He figured he could quickly do his assignment after returning from work.

Just as he was reluctantly about to follow the man, Hae-sung’s voice suddenly drifted from behind.

“That boy was not brought in as a slave.”

Both the man and Hong-seo turned to look at their master. Hae-sung had stopped just as he was crossing the threshold and was looking back at them.

“Did you not hear that I am giving him separate tasks?”

Hae-sung slowly walked back toward them.

“T-that… I did hear, but we are so desperately short-handed right now…”

“So, if you’re short-handed, you can just take and use a servant the master employs as you please? Where did you learn such insolence?”

The man kept bowing and scraping, yet he did not stop making excuses.

“I am sorry, Young Master. He always seemed so leisurely, just receiving meals and writing in the guest house.”

“He is merely doing as I commanded. Do you dare defy me?”

“N-no, Young Master! No, I am sorry!”

The man bowed his head and lowered his waist as if he were about to prostrate unauthorized copyhimself on the bare [stolen content]ground at any moment. However, Hae-sung’s face was already filled with rage.

“If you are short on hands, you can solve it by hiring more laborers. I don’t believe I’ve ever skimped on the wages for the workers. Are you saying you couldn’t farm until now because this one boy was missing?”

Anger seeped through his voice. He was suppressing it, but that suppression made it feel even more terrifying. Seeing this side of him for the first time, not only the man but also Hong-seo became frightened and bowed their heads in unison.

“He is someone I shall use when I need him, so do not dare assign him other work on your own.”

“I-I understand, Young Master.”

“Steward Jang.”

Hae-sung called for the steward.

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Since when was it permitted for slaves to carelessly interfere and comment on the master’s affairs?”

“I am sorry. I will correct this immediately.”

Meanwhile, a few other slaves were watching the situation from a distance, holding their breath.

Hae-sung cast a glance at Hong-seo, who was looking down at the ground with a frightened face, then turned and resumed his journey.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, several other slaves approached the man and asked what had happened. The man snorted, glaring in the direction Hae-sung had disappeared.

“Feeding him delicacies, dressing him in fine clothes. A boy who isn’t even the steward gets his own room. He’s not being put to work; he’s being pampered.”

One slave slapped the man on the back.

“You fool! Don’t say such things! Didn’t you hear the Young Master’s rage just now?”

“Whether the Young Master pampers that brat or not, he should know that just working in this house is a blessing.”

Despite his colleagues’ advice, the man instead raised his voice.

“The Young Master gives only that brat special treatment. Aren’t you all indignant?”

“No, I mean, even if he gives him special treatment, it’s not as if we’re being treated worse than before, so why does it matter?”

“He feeds us until we’re full, shields us from the wind and rain, [stolen content]and gives visit our siteus the most generous wages in the [unauthorized copy]neighborhood. That’s enough for me.”

“The Young Master keeps that smooth-talking brat by his side as if he were his own child.”

The man huffed, pointing at Hong-seo, who was standing a few paces away. At that, one slave chuckled and pointed a finger at him.

“Looking at you, you’re just jealous.”

“What? Jealous?”

“You’re throwing a fit because the Young Master only favors that boy; if that’s not jealousy, what is it?”

The other slaves all burst into laughter.

The man whipped his gaze toward Hong-seo, who was standing blankly in the corner of the courtyard. His eyes were full of contempt and resentment.

Avoiding their gaze, Hong-seo hurried back to the guest house. He shut himself in his room, sat with his knees pulled up, and pressed the handkerchief inside his left chest. Even so, his heart would not settle.

Though Hae-sung had only just departed, Hong-seo prayed that he would return safely and soon.

The chaos erupted a few days after that.

■

“Tell me exactly where you hid it, you brat!”

The man shouted with a menacing face.

Forced to kneel on the dirt floor of the courtyard, Hong-seo shouted back at him.

“I didn’t steal it! I didn’t steal it, so how am I supposed to tell you where I hid it?”

The man leaned over, grabbed Hong-seo by the collar, and shook him.

“I saw you clearly coming out of the inner house, and you’re still denying it?”

“I don’t even know where the inner house is in this vast home! I’ve been in the small guest house all day…!”

Thwack.

Hong-seo, who had been screaming unauthorized copyin frustration, stopped mid-sentence visit our siteand collapsed to the ground. The man had slammed him down by the collar he was gripping.

One of the watching slaves approached with a worried expression and tentatively tried to stop the man.

“What if you’re accusing an innocent man?”

“I saw it with my own eyes! Do you not trust me?”

“No, it’s not that… but that boy is…”

“What about him?”

The slave hesitated, glancing at Hong-seo, and lowered his voice to the man.

“Isn’t he the one the Young Master cherishes? What if you bring trouble upon yourself by touching him rashly…”

“No matter how much the Young Master cherishes this brat, that benevolent man will not forgive a theft of this magnitude! Besides, I’ve grown up in this house since I was a child! There’s no way he’ll believe that brat’s word over mine!”

The man, who had been shouting as if he were about to rain kicks down on Hong-seo as he lay there, suddenly had a sharp glint in his eyes. In an instant, he snatched something from the collar of Hong-seo’s jacket.

“What is this?”

“Give it back! Give it back!”

Hong-seo, who until then had only been able to insist on his innocence while being dragged around by the man, changed his expression.

It was the silk handkerchief Hae-sung had given him, which he always kept with him.

As if his collapse had been a lie, he sprang up and clung to the man’s arm. However, he lacked the strength to wrest it from the man’s rock-like grip.

“Everyone, look at this! A silk handkerchief, a silk handkerchief! Is the evidence still insufficient? Huh?”

Unfurling the handkerchief, the man held it up triumphantly toward the surrounding slaves.

“Since he stole something like this, it’s obvious the rings were his doing too!”

“I didn’t steal it! It’s mine! Give it back!”

With wide eyes, Hong-seo clenched his fists and screamed until his voice grew hoarse.