If You Claim the Fallen Heiress - Chapter 52

She was in a state where her injured ankle was throbbing and she couldn’t properly plant her foot on the ground. Even now, she was standing with only her toes lightly touching the ground and her heel lifted.

Even that sight seemed quite irritating to him. He narrowed his brow and looked down at Yuseol’s face, asking.

“How did you walk all the way here?”

Every question has a hidden purpose. However, Yuseol couldn’t find anything in his question. It was because of his excessively indifferent expression. The best she could do was guess that he was genuinely curious about how she had made it to the snowy field.

“I walked slowly. My ankle is almost healed.”

He stared intently at Yuseol’s face again. It seemed like he was trying to see whether it was a lie or the truth.

Then he snatched Yuseol’s walking stick and threw it to the opposite side of the ground. The walking stick rolled a few times before stopping, buried in the snow.

Yuseol’s cheeks reddened with bewilderment and indignation. Deep misery filled her previously clear eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“Well.”

He had a look that said he didn’t really know either. He was definitely tormenting people for no particular reason. Yuseol wanted to escape from this merciless scoundrel as quickly as possible.

She hurriedly stepped one foot toward the walking stick. But when her weight was placed on her injured ankle, it wasn’t easy to walk properly.

She endured the pain and took another step. And another step, then another step….

She could feel the gaze watching her limping movements. The more conscious she became of it, the more shabbiness washed over her, and Yuseol lowered her head. A sorrowful sigh flowed through her teeth. Feeling the white breath spreading, she took another step down.

Crack.

The moment her injured foot touched the ground, a sharp stone pierced deep into Yuseol’s sole. She could no longer bear the weight and staggered. But she couldn’t step back either. Bright red heat rose to Yuseol’s face.

“Are you enjoying this?”

“In my own way.”

“If you like this sort of thing, just make me roll on the ground. It would be more convenient for you to have a good laugh and leave!”

Yuseol didn’t even know what she was saying. Her entire body, cold and anxious, trembled like an aspen tree.

Then Mu-yeong approached Yuseol and extended his hand. At the feeling that he might really knock her down, Yuseol squeezed her eyes shut.

A large hand wrapped around Yuseol’s waist. Mu-yeong’s other hand slipped behind Yuseol’s knees.

Soon he lifted Yuseol up and began walking leisurely down the snowy field. Strange amusement was embedded in his deep, low voice.

“This would be more interesting than that.”

Yuseol’s swaying vision was distorted with bewilderment and fury.

“What are you doing right now—put me down!”

A bird startled by the sound flew away from a tree, but Mu-yeong didn’t even flinch. Yuseol, who had been struggling, released her grip on the collar near his shoulder. Then she tried to escape by hitting the area near his collarbone with her small fists. Her face was flushed red as if it might burst from using all her strength.

“Put me down! If you don’t put me down right now, I’ll scream.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Yuseol’s flailing hand grabbed Mu-yeong’s gat. The gat string knot caught near Mu-yeong’s chin and then came undone.

He stopped and adjusted his hold on Yuseol who was about to fall. At that moment, his hair, which wasn’t tied in a topknot, was revealed. The top was short, and the back hair fell long to his waist, about half a handful. The hair had a grayish tint toward the ends, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

Feeling confused, Yuseol looked up at Mu-yeong’s eyes. His pupils, tinged with sunset, had a deep green hue.

Her rough breathing began to subside. It was a moment when it seemed like it might stop altogether. The man’s voice seeped into her distant ears.

“…It’s a good night.”

“…….”

“I came to see, just because.”

Yuseol recalled something that had happened in the royal palace several years ago.

It was a full moon night. A man was sitting in the pavilion in front of the willow tree at the East Palace.

The man was taciturn but spoke to her in a friendly manner, and enjoyed watching Yuseol in the silence. His green eyes shone gracefully in the darkness.

On the other hand, she had felt inexplicable sadness and fear, fleeing in panic.

Could that man have been….

When she came to her senses again, Yuseol was sitting on the wooden floor in front of her quarters. Her face was blank, like someone who had been sucked into a dark cave and barely escaped.

Then Mu-yeong adjusted his gat and said something before turning to leave. Through the rough sound of wind, bird calls, and the rustling of clothes, his heavy voice resonated.

“Ask Myoyeon to get you a new walking stick.”

Yuseol’s voice rang out urgently.

“Wait, wait! I remember where I’ve seen you before.”

His nape was scratched and swollen from Yuseol’s fingernails. Yuseol’s unfocused pupils stared at that spot before becoming hazy again. It felt stuffy, as if some pitch-black memory was hidden somewhere in her mind. She wanted to pull it out and check it properly, but she couldn’t grasp it at all.

“A few years ago, at the willow pavilion in the royal palace, right?”

At those words, something like strange hunger seemed to appear in Mu-yeong’s eyes. However, the expression he showed was utterly composed.

“Well, I don’t remember.”

Yuseol was certain that the man had been Mu-yeong. How common could green eyes be? He was probably denying it because he had no intention of returning Geon.

She stood up from her seat, forgetting even the pain in her ankle.

“I remembered as promised, so please return Geon.”

“A promise?”

He was shamelessly brazen to an astounding degree. They had made the promise at the waterfall not long ago—how could he feign ignorance like this? Or had it been a meaningless promise that he had already forgotten?

Her voice became sharp.

“I heard about someone called Sahwa. Is your refusal to return Geon related to that person?”

He, who had been about to leave, stopped and looked at Yuseol. His previously smooth brow was sensitively narrowed.