If You Claim the Fallen Heiress - Chapter 54

Several days had passed.

From noon onwards, a puppy was whimpering outside. Yuseol, who had been trying to take an afternoon nap after lunch, bolted upright and opened the door.

A white, fluffy puppy was acting spoiled, wanting a servant to play with it. The servant, who had been patting the puppy’s head, picked it up and crossed the yard.

Yuseol looked at the ground with a disappointed expression. It was because she still hadn’t found any trace of Geon.

Then Yanghui came out of the barber shop and walked toward Yuseol. She was carrying an empty wooden basket in her hand. Her expression was bright, matching the peaceful weather today.

“My lady, I’ve come to remove the herbs from your ankle. The physician said the treatment can be finished now.”

Yuseol, who had been sitting in front of the door, went inside the room and sat in front of a cushion.

“Come in.”

Yanghui closed the door and entered, then sat across from Yuseol.

“But were you getting some fresh air?”

“Yes.”

Yuseol answered and extended her injured ankle. Yanghui sat demurely, untied the knots, and wiped the affected area with a wet cloth.

Since this was said to be the last time, Yuseol’s face was tinged with regret.

“Then you won’t be coming to my room anymore?”

At those words, Yanghui carefully shook her head.

“If you permit it, my lady, I’d like to visit often.”

“Yes, come anytime.”

Yuseol answered as if welcoming Yanghui, but her expression wasn’t bright. She was worried that if Yanghui became closely involved with her, someone who had survived a sasa execution, Yanghui might suffer hardship later.

Yuseol’s eyes, which had been swaying with melancholy, turned toward Yanghui’s face. She felt like keeping the promise she had made to tell her story someday.

“By any chance, were you there on the day when the officers came rushing into the village recently?”

Yanghui neither affirmed nor denied it. She only looked at Yuseol with pitying eyes for a moment.

Yuseol looked like she was about to burst into tears. Meeting someone who could understand her pain without words was such a thing.

Yanghui, who had examined those eyes, answered with forced brightness.

“You’re the Crown Princess-to-be, aren’t you? On the day the officers came rushing in, I heard about it from Lord Myoyeon.”

“…….”

“However, since it was proper to wait until you told me directly, I was waiting.”

Yuseol nodded and turned her gaze to the floor. Her circumstances, which had become miserable overnight, were embarrassingly shameful anew.

An awkward atmosphere lingered for a while. Yanghui silently finished tending to Yuseol’s ankle and put socks on her feet. Then she cleaned up the floor with the wet cloth and put it in the basket. The silence that seemed like it would never end was carefully broken at that moment.

“I… have different dreams now, but when I was young, my wish was to become a court lady. Because I liked adornment, I wanted to make the Crown Princess-to-be, who was famous for her beauty, the most beautiful in the world.”

“…….”

“Like other common people, my family also survived on the rice that the Crown Princess-to-be distributed each season, and that’s how we came to feel that way.”

The Han family, who owned vast farmland, had to build storage warehouses every harvest season, and Yuseol had once suggested to her father that they open the warehouses once a year to distribute millet, sorghum, rice, and other grains to people. So that others could have such opportunities, just as she had survived by eating rice from the warehouse when she was young and starving to death.

A proud smile appeared on Yuseol’s face.

“Then you also received rice distributions?! I’m glad it went to people who needed it.”

Yanghui nodded and met eyes with Yuseol.

“Thanks to that kindness, I’m alive like this, so I want to repay you too. Whether it’s adornment or personal care, I’m prepared, so please just let me know anytime.”

Yuseol looked carefully at Yanghui’s lips tinted with flower dye and asked.

“This thing called adornment… could you do it now?”

At her interest, Yanghui answered with surprise but also joy, as if it was unexpected.

“Yes. It’s possible even now. I have tools I bought from a peddler in the women’s quarters—shall we go there together? The women’s quarters here are also used as a meeting place for women, and servants can use them too, so I keep my tools there.”

“Women’s quarters…?”

“Yes. If you wish, I can escort you there right now.”

Yuseol, who had been hesitating, looked toward the door. She always stayed only in her room, so she wanted to go anywhere, but if someone saw that Han Yuseol was alive and spread rumors to the capital….

Yuseol lowered her head as if to give up.

“I’d like to go see it, but it seems difficult right now. There would be nothing good about being noticed by people in this situation.”

Yanghui showed signs of wanting to encourage Yuseol.

“All the people in the lower village have lived here for a long time. There are only two guests—you and the gentleman—and… outsiders only come as far as the entrance of Museolwon to deliver supplies. There probably isn’t anyone who would spread word to the outside.”

Worry appeared on Yuseol’s white face. She really did want to go see the women’s quarters….

After consulting with Myoyeon, who happened to visit, Yuseol left her room. Her steps toward the lower village carried faint excitement. It was because there had been few opportunities to associate with women in the palace. Even when she occasionally did associate with women, she was too busy maintaining formality and propriety to have time to share affection.

In a small village’s women’s quarters, couldn’t she gather in small groups and have conversations?

Yuseol’s eyes sparkled gently. Seeing that, Yanghui’s expression also shone innocently.

“I didn’t know you were interested in adornment, my lady. Since you usually had no decoration, I thought you liked simplicity.”