If You Claim the Fallen Heiress - Chapter 58

Returning to her room, Yuseol slowly finished washing her face and spread out her blanket. However, she couldn’t fall asleep until dawn.

She sat on the threshold and stared at the scenery outside the door as if entranced by something.

She felt like she had somehow fallen into a strange world. Yanghui, Myeongi, and Hongi. And it was amazing that Yuseol herself had also survived a life-or-death situation and met Myoyeon.

As dawn deepened, her contemplation deepened with it. After letting out long sighs, it became around chuksi.

Suddenly, the wind she caught no longer carried the scent of winter. Yuseol was happy that spring was coming, but also regretful that one season was departing. Even as night fell, she followed the sound of the wind as if trying to catch the season while observing the green scenery.

Then something flashed by in the yard. A boy wearing navy blue top and bottom passed through the yard. The small figure walking with quick steps seemed somehow familiar. Suddenly, the boy’s voice echoed in Yuseol’s ears.

“Could you wait here for just a moment? I have good medicine!”

Could it be Haneul, whom she had met in the forest recently?

But they said there were no boys in this village….

“Hey, wait! You’re Haneul, right?”

Yuseol’s voice echoed through the desolate dawn yard. Somehow the atmosphere felt even more like she was alone. Even at that moment, Haneul was climbing the hill path toward the inner house.

Yuseol was curious about what urgent business Haneul had and where he was living. She hadn’t been able to erase her doubts since the moment she heard about him from Myoyeon.

Her hesitating legs began following behind Haneul. Whether it was because thick fog had rolled in, only Haneul’s two legs were visible in the pure white field of vision.

Feeling a strange fear, she urgently called out.

“Hey, you’re Haneul, right?!”

Though she was close enough for her voice to be heard, Haneul only continued walking with quick steps. He could be caught by soldiers if he wandered around this place carelessly…

“You might get in trouble if you wander around here recklessly. Stop for a moment.”

Despite her anxious whisper, Haneul’s two feet moved forward without hesitation. He was so fast that just when she thought she might catch him, he would become distant again.

She exhaled the breath that had risen to her chin and called out to Haneul again. The dreamy feeling made it seem like it might be a dream.

“Is something bad happening? If you came to ask for help from the people here, tell me.”

It was when she walked forward as if entranced by something. The tip of her foot, about to take another step, caught on a stone.

“Ah!”

Yuseol, who hastily crouched down, supported herself with both hands on the ground. The sensation of earth holding dew and moist grass was vivid.

Then was this reality, not a dream? Who knew such a small child’s steps could be so fast….

Yuseol, who had brushed the dirt off her hands, looked around. The fog that had filled the area until she fell had disappeared as if it were a lie.

She felt her inexplicably pounding heart and looked behind her.

There was an endless downhill path. Hundreds of neat stone steps shone quietly in the moonlight. It seemed she had climbed up following Haneul without realizing it.

She looked ahead. A massive gate was right before her eyes. It was incredibly tall and looked magnificent with the patina of time.

Above the gate, pitch-black tree branches stretched out thickly. It had tremendous dignity. It looked like a tree that had guarded this land for over a thousand years. It also seemed like the tree she often looked up at from the yard of her quarters.

“Ah….”

She approached toward the tree. The gate was firmly locked.

The inside was green and vast like a meadow. In the innermost part was a temple, and in front of it was a stone tower. Around the stone tower, hundreds of white candles were beautifully arranged.

Perhaps it was because moonlight was brilliantly illuminating that place. Her heart felt purified by the strangely sacred feeling.

It seemed like a space for mourning someone. It might be the burial ground of the Choi family, but rather than that, the person called Sahwa came to mind first. She felt like she could picture the back of a man standing lonely there, receiving the seasonal winds.

Yuseol, who suddenly felt a vague pain in her chest area, bit her lower lip. When she heard news of Kim Seon and Meisa, she had only felt empty, but why was she feeling miserable now…

She stared blankly at the dirt ground. Out of the corner of Yuseol’s eye, she could see quarters rising tall. It was a house balanced with long pillars to match the hilly terrain. The exterior was clean, as if someone lived there.

She passed the fence and headed toward the quarters. She thought Haneul might have entered there.

She needed to meet Haneul quickly and ask about the whole situation. She hoped he hadn’t already gone somewhere else….

When she arrived in front of the quarters, the stone floor with one missing straw sandal was clearly visible. The door of the quarters was slightly open.

She began hurriedly examining the inside through the door gap. There was a room that appeared to be a bedroom facing front, and in front of it was a corridor-like space. On the left was a wide wooden floor. Since moonlight was shining on the wooden floor, there seemed to be another yard inside.

The bedroom seemed clean without bedding laid out, and there was no warmth seeping out through the door gap. Perhaps no one was there?

Yuseol quickly took off her shoes and entered the house. If Haneul was inside, she wanted to take him out quickly.

“Haneul, are you inside?”

Fortunately, thanks to moonlight coming in from the opposite yard, the wooden floor was dimly bright. However, Haneul was not visible, and Yuseol became more anxious. Perhaps he had gone another way? It seemed better to hurry and look around before he got further away.

Yuseol’s gaze, which had been moving busily, examined the bedroom door gap. There was a writing desk by the window that appeared to belong to someone with a large build. A silver dagger with flower decorations on the handle glowed softly on the writing desk. It was Yuseol’s, which had been taken by that man recently.

But why was that silver dagger here….

Then calm footsteps began approaching. The moment she felt they had reached behind her, her vision darkened.

Her anxious gaze looked back at the door. The man’s pitch-black shadow was covering the door. He was so tall that even without wearing a gat, his head seemed like it would touch the upper door frame.