Fake Concubine 41

“What ​brings ​you ​here, ​my lord?”

“I heard ​you ​had ​fallen ​ill, ​so I came to ​see ​you, but…”

Song Seol ​narrowed his eyes ​slightly.

“It ​seems ​you ​still ​have ​enough energy to ​be ​on ​edge.”

“…”

“Then again, it ​is a good thing ​to be ​cautious.”

The body ​pressed against ​his was ​hot. ​Realizing ​this a moment ​too late, ​Moon Hae-min straightened his ​back.

“What brings you here?”

“I ​already told you.”

It was ​a blunt ​answer, ​as if telling him not to ​make him repeat himself. ​In ​this ​regard, ​the ​master and servant ​seemed alike. ​Perhaps ​the reason he ​had ​appointed Jang as his steward—despite ​Jang’s tendency ​to ​be brusque despite ​his ​warm ​heart—was ​purely ​because their ​temperaments ​were similar.

Regardless, ​according to Song Seol, he had come ​because he heard ​Hae-min was bedridden. ​Whatever the underlying psychology ​was, this ​was the exact ​opposite ​of what Moon ​Hae-min had intended.

“I ​am grateful ​that ​you have ​come ​to visit ​me ​personally, but ​you ​might ​catch a cold, ​my ​lord.”

Hae-min subtly ​hinted ​that ​he ​should leave. But it was useless. Far from leaving the room, Song Seol made himself right at home.

“A needless worry. I am not so frail.”

“…”

Then am I frail, that I caught a cold? A spark of defiance rose within him, but it was, in fact, the truth.

Moon Hae-min turned his head away from Song Seol. However, under a gaze so intense it felt as if it were piercing through his temples, he had no choice but to turn back.

“Is there something on my face?”

“Not dust, but tears, it seems.”

“Ah…”

He had shed a few tears in his dream. He hadn’t realized he had done so in reality as well. Hae-min hurriedly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Hmm.”

Song Seol let out a short hum.

“Did you have a bad dream?”

“No. It was a good dream.”

“Then why did you cry?”

Hae-min kept his mouth shut. He felt that if he didn’t, he might snap, ‘You destroyed my future, my lord, and now you destroy even my dreams.’

Fortunately, Song Seol did not pry further. He simply watched the corners of Hae-min’s eyes with a deep, sunken gaze, as if contemplating something.

“Since you have a cold, it will be difficult for you to move about for a while.”

“Yes.”

“That is a pity.”

It was a murmur that sounded almost like he was talking to himself.

Just then, a coughing fit erupted. Moon Hae-min tried to hold it back, but it had the opposite effect. Cough, cough—a series of suppressed coughs followed.

“Your illness is severe.”

“Yes… cough.”

Half of the coughing was physiological, and half was forced. Regardless, the strategy to let Song Seol know that his condition was poor had succeeded.

“I will send a physician, so take good care of yourself.”

“I understand.”

Song Seol rose from his seat. [stolen content]Hae-min gazed at him with hazy Read on Read BL Novelseyes. Looking up from his seated position, the man’s frame felt even more towering.

Eventually, Song Seol left the room.

The cold wind that rushed in for a moment was cut off the instant the door closed. Peace returned to the room, but Moon Hae-min’s mind was slightly unsettled.

‘Did I get scared for nothing…?’

Song Seol had been straightforward. He didn’t seem to be a Heerak-gi, nor did he seem to have any particular intentions toward him. In conclusion, he had essentially bought himself a cold he didn’t need to catch.

It was his own loss, but since he had started knowing it was a foolish act from the beginning, he didn’t regret it. Moon Hae-min tossed and turned before settling comfortably.

Drowsiness washed over him. Moon Hae-min closed his eyes, hoping, ‘Will I be able to dream of Bok-deong-i again?’ But such good fortune did not happen twice.

Past the pitch-black ripeness of the night until the break of dawn, Hae-min fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The aftermath of the reckless act of intentionally catching a cold to avoid sexual encounters with Song Seol lasted for three days.

He remained in bed as the sun rose and set three times, but strictly speaking, he recovered quite quickly for a winter cold. Whether that was because the physician Song Seol sent was a master of medicine, or thanks to the warm water the maid brought him frequently, he did not know.

Regardless, he felt much better once the cold was gone. With his coughing [stolen content]stopped, Hae-min stepped out [Read on Read BL Novels]of his room for the first time in a while.

“Where should I go…”

He had only been shut away for three days, but it felt as if he were stepping out into the world after a long time. Looking around, Hae-min began to walk along a low stone wall.

In the outskirts where few people ventured, the snow that had fallen a few days ago remained piled up, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. Under a deep blue sky, a scholar tree without a single leaf stretched its branches. He stared blankly at the winter scenery, which looked somewhat lonely.

“Ah, kites.”

Just then, two kites flew into his field of vision. The kites fluttered like a pair of egrets, repeatedly drawing near and then drifting apart. It seemed children were having a kite fight.

The fight was quite fierce. One kite, moving particularly actively, was clinging to and jostling the other. Then, perhaps the string snapped, as one kite spun around and began to descend.

“Eh?”

For some reason, the kite seemed to be coming toward him. Uh, uh, uh… Moon Hae-min let out a sound—whether of admiration or lament—with his mouth slightly agape.

Finally, the kite fell. Onto a branch of the scholar tree that had grown high inside the stone wall.

“Oh dear.”

Hae-min clicked his tongue.

He felt sorry for the children, as they were about to lose a precious kite. It would be difficult to retrieve a kite caught in the branches, and more importantly, this was Grand Prince Byeokran’s private residence.

Whether they knew that or not, the sound of footsteps could be heard from afar. It seemed the children were running this way.

Soon, several black heads popped up over the stone wall. Moon Hae-min found himself face-to-face with the children across the wall.

“Uh, hello!”

One child greeted him energetically. He should have greeted them back, but for a moment, he was speechless.

‘It’s Dong-sik…’

He was one of the children Hae-min had taught to read and write at the Namdaemun Market in the past. It wasn’t just Dong-sik. All the children standing beside him were familiar faces.

“…Hello.”

The children, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, were cute and welcoming. He wanted to ask how they stolen content[unauthorized copy]had been, but Read on Read BL NovelsMoon Hae-min no longer had any connection to these children. It was only natural, yet it felt somewhat bitter.

“Um, Brother. Our kite got caught in the branch.”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Could you climb the tree just once? We won’t cause any trouble; we’ll just take the kite. Please?”

Dong-sik spoke clearly. Seeing that his bold personality remained the same, Hae-min smiled faintly. However, regardless of that, he couldn’t simply grant Dong-sik’s request.

“I’m sorry, but this is the private residence of Grand Prince Byeokran. It would have been fine if the tree were outside the wall, but since it’s inside, there’s nothing that can be done.”

“Oh…”

Even these young children seemed to know well who ‘Grand Prince Byeokran’ was, as they didn’t pester him further. Only a girl who looked exceptionally young whimpered, tugging at her older brother’s coat.

“My kite…”

The girl looked like she was about to cry. Her cheeks, frozen red by the cold wind, were puffed out, and her pouting lips looked as if she would burst into tears at any moment. Hae-min, who naturally loved children, could not stand by and watch such an expression.

“Then shall I get it down for you?”

“You will, Brother?”

“Yes.”

He figured he could climb the tree using the stone wall as a stepping stone. It didn’t seem like it would be that difficult.

However, Hae-min’s plan faltered from the start. The snow-covered stone wall was slippery, and although he managed to cling to the scholar tree, his arms were trembling.

‘What do I do now?’

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. But he couldn’t stop here. There were no fewer than five children looking up at him with expectant eyes.

Since he had already climbed the tree, it would be better to put in a little more effort and get the kite down. Having steeled his resolve, Hae-min worked hard to climb further up the scholar tree.

“Of all the places, it had to get caught on the highest branch…”

He grumbled in a low voice. Fortunately, the branches of the scholar tree were thick, making them quite stable to hold onto. Moon Hae-min climbed higher and higher, focusing only on the kite.

Finally, the kite caught on [stolen content]his fingertips. After a struggle with [stolen content]some stolen contentannoying twigs, Hae-min succeeded in pulling the kite out.

“Got it!”

“Wow!”

The children cheered. The moment he instinctively looked down, his head spun.

“Uh…”

Hae-min gripped the scholar tree tightly. He wouldn’t fall as long as he stayed like this, but the problem was that he had no confidence in getting down.

‘I didn’t realize I had climbed this high…!’

He should have just kept looking up; once he looked down, dizziness washed over him. Unable to move either way, Hae-min trembled while clinging to the scholar tree.

“Brother, are you okay?”

Dong-sik raised his voice. Hae-min barely managed to speak as he dropped the kite to him.

“I’m fine, so just take the kite.”

“Are you really okay, Brother?”

“Yes, I just… I just like the view from up here.”

It was a clumsy bluff. But the innocent children seemed to take his words at face value, shouting “Thank you!” in unison.

“Brother, we’ll be going then!”

“Thank you!”

The children, having retrieved their kite, ran off into the distance. Moon Hae-min let out a deep sigh as he watched them. It was all well and good that he had managed to get the kite down, but now he truly didn’t know what to do.

“I’m an idiot…”

It seemed the best option would be to wait until someone passed by. There was the option of calling out for help, but imagining a crowd of people rushing toward him upon hearing his voice, he couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth. It was the first time he realized he possessed such a useless amount of pride.