If You Claim the Fallen Heiress - Chapter 12

“The wind is getting chilly, and your face looks pale. It would be best for you to return to your room and rest now.”

Yuseol pressed her lips together tightly, then asked Myoyeon.

“Who is the person who came with the guest from the sarangchae?”

Myoyeon tilted his head for a moment, then slightly opened his mouth as if he knew who she meant.

“You seem to be referring to Lord Jiwoon. He is also a guest here. He has been staying here since last evening.”

He had a similar tall and refined aura to the other man, so she thought they might be relatives.

Yuseol nodded and cautiously asked,

“May I… ask for the name of the other guest from the sarangchae, besides Lord Jiwoon?”

Myoyeon answered immediately, as if it were not something to hide.

His esteemed name is written with the characters Mu (無) and Yeong (影).

Yuseol quietly uttered his name. Mu-yeong…. Mu from ‘mist,’ Yeong from ‘eternal.’ She wondered what the name meant.

As Myoyeon had said, her body seemed to have worsened due to the chilly wind, so she returned to her room. Lying on the warm ondol floor, she felt her energy returning.

Fortunately, her physical condition was improving day by day. But the more it did, the darker her future worries became.

For now, she could stay in this village, but she couldn’t keep imposing on them. The police might come looking for her again, so she wanted to quickly find Geon and take refuge.

Once Yeon, the white crow she had sent to the palace, returned safely, she would send a letter to a friend near her family home this time. She hoped he would return soon….

The same went for Geon, who had vanished without a trace….

Yuseol, regaining her strength, walked around the village entrance, looking for places where Geon might be, and another day ended.

On her way back, she found a tree branch suitable for wielding like a sword. Nothing seemed better than practice to calm her troubled mind. And she would need to become stronger than before to find out the whereabouts of Geon, her family, and her household members. She looked up at the sky, stained purple, and chewed on her longing.

How long had it been since she returned to her room?

She tossed and turned in her sleep, then suddenly opened her eyes. Through her vision, heavy with sleep and trying to close again, she saw the papered window illuminated by moonlight.

The moonlight was so dazzling that she quickly closed her eyes and turned her body towards the folding screen. But for some reason, she thought she had seen the shadow of a scholar sitting in a dopo reflected on the door. The overwhelming drowsiness prevented her from opening her eyes again, but she felt an inexplicable sense of comfort.

She hoped she would dream of a brighter full moon. So that the shadow reflected on the papered window would become clearer.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already bright. After washing, she returned and looked up at the sky from the threshold. It was a little foggier than yesterday, but not bad weather.

Just then, she saw a pale pink norigae sparkling softly beside the threshold. The jade carved in the shape of a camellia was strikingly unique.

It looked very similar to the one the man named Mu-yeong had worn on his waist yesterday.

But how could Mu-yeong’s norigae be here?

Suddenly, the shadow of the man she had seen by the window last night came to mind. So, had it not been a dream yesterday, but that man?

But how could he be in front of a woman’s room at such a late hour….

Yuseol pressed her heated ear with one hand to cool it, while picking up the norigae with the other. It was an inexplicable situation, but she couldn’t just leave it there, so she had to pick it up.

As she took out a silk pouch from her skirt, she heard a presence from somewhere. Looking around, she saw the man named Jiwoon, whom she had seen yesterday, sitting on a thick branch of the camellia tree.

She put the norigae into the pouch and casually spoke to him.

“It seems the view is better from up there.”

It was a sturdy and massive old tree, so it could easily support one man. But if he accidentally fell, he could be seriously injured.

Yuseol gauged the height between the ground and Jiwoon with her eyes and said,

“It looks a little dangerous, are you alright?”

One corner of Jiwoon’s mouth faintly curled upwards.

“Aren’t you in no position to worry about others right now?”

She knew what he was pointing out just by his condescending gaze. She bit her lower lip, recalling the still vivid bowl of poison. The sorrow in her chest, which she had barely suppressed, seemed to pierce her unexpectedly.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

She was about to express her discomfort with her eyes and turn away.

Jiwoon jumped down from the tree with a thud. Despite his handsome appearance, he seemed to have good athletic ability.