If You Claim the Fallen Heiress - Chapter 20

Mu-yeong, as usual, showed no reaction, adjusted his gat, and walked at a steady pace.

Clang clang. The norigae he had retrieved from Myoyeon slowly bumped against the fan hanging beside it.

The sound stopped in front of Yuseol’s quarters.

Mu-yeong confirmed the courtyard was quiet as if everyone was asleep, then sat on the wooden platform. His field of vision was blocked by his gat. He lifted his head slightly and looked at the moon.

There wasn’t a trace of lie in Mu-yeong’s words that he had come to admire the scenery. Her room faced a wide courtyard with a camellia tree in the center. Beyond the mountain ridge, the sun and moon rose and set, so one could admire the light day and night. It was a place where one could see the steadily flowing time and seasons at a glance.

He had been so satisfied with this scenery that he used this place as his quarters before Yuseol came. But lately, his gaze was busy looking at the unfamiliar traces that had appeared throughout the courtyard rather than the scenery.

Small footprints from a woman that hadn’t been there yesterday appeared on the ground. His pupils, which had been staring at them, moved to the flower shoes under the wooden platform. The flower shoes were slightly over a palm’s width in his hands. He was amazed that a person could wear such small flower shoes.

But there was a brown stain on the pink toe of the flower shoes. It seemed to be a trace from the day Inspector Jo Cheol-ong from the Uigeumbu appeared.

He decided to finish admiring the scenery here and return. Having finished his brief rest, he got up and began walking back the way he came. From the left stone wall path at the boundary between mountain and village, dawn wind rolled in. The feeling of wind carrying the refreshing scent of pine trees brushing his ears wasn’t bad.

But a completely different sensation mixed in with the wind. It was the sound of a door being carefully opened in the distance. Along with rustling sounds, something began following behind.

He reduced the stride he had been taking with his long legs and listened to the footsteps. Somehow it sounded like a small herbivore. Looking at the ground, a shadow that was vertically long and round like a sack was narrowing the distance.

If it wasn’t a round-shaped animal, it was a woman wearing a sseugaechima. He chuckled and turned from the direction toward his quarters onto a side path. (t/n: Sseugaechima is a traditional Korean veil worn for modesty.)

A bit of joy attached to his previously bored footsteps. Those steps circled around the outer quarters and headed to the opposite side. That is, the courtyard on the opposite side of where he had been admiring the scenery just before.

As if sensing something strange, the woman’s footsteps lost their rhythm. Unconcerned, Mu-yeong arrived at his destination and sat on the wooden platform in front of Yuseol’s room, looking at her.

She hurriedly tried to hide behind a tree by the roadside but stopped and faced Mu-yeong. They were about two arm-lengths apart. Moonlight coming over the roof illuminated the woman’s face.

Mu-yeong recalled the day she first came to this Museolwon. Probably on that day, rumors that a beauty had come from the capital would have spread through the village.

Finding such reactions curious, he had properly examined her when she was unconscious. He found it interesting that her skin was white as porcelain, and thought her cheeks and lips were redder than others. Her eyelashes were abundant and dark, making her eyes distinct, but her whole body was withered, making her look fragile—that thought was a bonus. That was all.

That thought seemed to be correct. When wind blew from the forest, the woman curled up as if she might be blown away. Yet she stood firm on both feet.

He spoke as if finding it curious.

“You must want to repay the debt so badly that you’re following me around.”

“…….”

“This time is inconvenient for me.”

The woman who had been about to flee froze solid upon realizing he knew she was Han Yuseol. Then she pulled her sseugaechima further down. Her hands were visibly trembling from nervousness.

“Actually, that wasn’t my purpose….”

He too guessed Yuseol’s purpose. She had probably come looking for the dog.

He held back a sneer.

“If you’re going to tail someone, you should have hidden your shadow first.”

She, whose lips had been trembling from nervousness, replied.

“The tailing… I apologize.”

Whether she wanted to hide, she only covered her face more with the sseugaechima. The sight of her skirt puffing in the wind looked like a small bear inflating its body in crisis.

His gaze watching that sight wasn’t particularly generous. Though he had been indifferent to everyone, it was different with Yuseol. Strange thoughts began circling in his head.

So then, should I just devour you?