Chapter 26

* * *
I opened my eyes to the sound of birds chirping. The sun was shining through the window, lighting up the room. Morning...? When had I fallen asleep? I could have sworn I had just been tossing and turning in bed.
“Hmm,” I said, realizing how surprisingly well I had slept. I even saw a drool mark on my pillow. As I wiped my mouth and got up, last night’s memories replayed in my head. “Father! You’re... not here.”
Well, that was only natural, as he always got up before sunrise.
When I shot up from bed, my head spun. Ugh, when am I going to get better? I waited for the dizziness to pass before rising slower this time. Hearing my movements, a maid brought in a basin full of warm water. She helped me wash my face, change my clothes, and do my hair before leaving. I waited until I could no longer hear her footsteps.
Once I was sure no one was outside, I quickly rushed to my drawer. It’s finally begun. I’d been waiting so long for Namgoong Wan to show up. I’d been so anxious that he might not come by this time around.
I opened the drawer to reveal a sheaf of paper, a record of future events I’d written down as best as I could remember from my previous life. I’ll just look through my plans one last—huh?
I came to a stop on my way to the table, pages still in hand. How did that get here?
A box decorated with mother of pearl shined brightly in the sunlight. It was the box that I had given to Pyo. I slowly approached the box and opened it. Inside were three peonies, just as if none of the events of the past day had happened.
What the... I stared at the flowers for a long time before practically sprinting out of my room. “Eondu! Eondu! Eondu!”
Surprised by my cries, Eondu got up from fanning the flames heating the pot holding my medicine. “Wh-what’s wrong, young miss? Don’t run!”
I had to take a moment to catch my breath before I could finally ask, “Did, did Father... go... out, last night?”
“Oh? How did you know? Yes, he said he was going to pay a quick visit to Imperial Physician Seok.”
That box of flowers was definitely from my father. How did he know? A corner of my heart throbbed at the revelation.
Eondu, who’d been looking oddly hesitant, finally bowed his head low in shame.
“What are you doing?!” Surprised, I dove to urge him back up, but his nose was practically kissing the floor, so it was more like I was climbing on his back.
“Young miss, forgive me. To think that such a thing happened while I was away. I am terribly ashamed. How could the young masters Ak and Pyo do such a... such a horrib—”
“Huh?”
I asked him a few questions to assess the situation and was utterly dumbfounded after learning what had happened last night. “So Father and Lord Wan had another fight?”
“Um... Well, not so much a fight, more like a bit of an argument, really.”
“What’s the difference?”
Eondu’s eyes slid away from mine.
What’s the point of stopping them from fighting over gifts if they’re just going to fight over something else...?
The fact that Eondu was telling me all this meant that the news must already have spread to the rest of the clan. I grabbed his arm and jolted up, asking, “Where is my father?”
“He’s in the guest wing, receiving a visitor to the clan.”
Did he mean Namgoong Wan? Of course. Even if he’d stormed out after the fight, he ought to have cooled down by now after a night’s rest.
I immediately headed for the guest wing. Our quarters were in such a remote corner of the clan compound that it took a long while to make my way there. Along the way, I noticed that every servant I passed by was behaving a bit oddly. What’s going on? Some looked frightened, while others greeted me with extreme deference.
Ignoring them, I was just about to reach the hall when I saw a tall figure in the distance dressed in a robe of light sky-blue silk.
“Father!” I hopped into his arms, my father picking me up with ease.
“Are you up already? You could’ve gotten some more sleep.”
“I’ve slept plenty. But more importantly, Father...” I stopped just before I was about to thank him for the peonies. What’s he doing here?!
Standing next to my father was Seok Gayak, staring at me with wide eyes. My eyes darted back and forth between Gayak and Father.
As we looked at each other in shock, Gayak was the first to come to his senses. His voice was clear and bright. “Hello.”
“Uh... Hi?”
“You’re just in time,” Father said. “I heard that your friend was here, so I came out to greet him. When did you make a friend?”
* * *
On our way back to our quarters, a servant whispered a message into Father’s ear, after which my father excused himself to go somewhere. I had no choice but to return to my room with just Gayak. Well, it wasn’t exactly just the two of us, as Gayak had brought with him not one but two attendants.
I glanced at them and saw that one of them was holding onto some sort of pot covered with a dark-colored cloth in an odd spiky shape. I had no clue what it could possibly be.
I ushered Gayak into a seat. A short while later, Eondu appeared with a tray holding teacups, a teapot, some light snacks, and a steaming bowl of medicine. It was the same medicine that Eondu had been hard at work brewing before I left to go find Father. “Here you go, young miss.” Father had instructed him to make sure that I drank every drop of medicine whenever he couldn’t be there to check himself. He placed the tray on the table and handed me the bowl.
I took the medicine from him and smiled. “There’s a guest here, so you can leave now.”
“But...”
Eondu was rightfully suspicious, as he’d witnessed me drinking just half and throwing away the rest several times in the past, but couldn’t protest without disrespecting my authority in front of a guest and so was forced to depart. Once I made sure that he was gone, I put the bowl aside and placed the teacups in front of us.
“What about your medicine?” Gayak asked.
“I’ll... drink it later.”
“It’ll taste a lot worse when it cools down, you know.”
I ignored him and changed the subject. “What brings you here?”
“I heard you’re going to visit the Namgoong clan.”
“Did Father tell you that already?”
“Yes. Personally, I think you’re still not well enough to travel, but I’m sure he has his reasons for taking you with him.” His tone seemed to suggest that he knew we weren’t traveling simply for the sake of it. How was he so sharp? “That’s why Imperial Physician Seok is going to come by the day after tomorrow to check on your health.”
“Ah, I see. Please tell him thank you for me.”
“I will. All right now, bottoms up.” Gayak smiled as he eyed the medicine pointedly. Before I could try to change the subject, he added, “You know, I overheard your father telling Imperial Physician Seok that you’ve been secretly throwing away your medicine and asking him what he should do.”
I laughed awkwardly.
Father, why would you tell on me like that?
“I will... later...” I hesitated for a moment before picking up the bowl of medicine. I swallowed it whole in one go and showed him the empty bowl, scowling.
Gayak turned his face and laughed, a hand placed politely over his mouth.
Wincing as I washed the taste out of my mouth with tea, I couldn’t help but ask him, “Did you come here just to let me know about the house call?”
Why would he come all this way himself, when he could’ve just sent a servant over with the message?
“Can’t I just come because I want to see you?”
“Huh?”
“You’re the first friend I’ve ever made.”
Was this kid serious? Since when were we friends? I had some pressing questions, but I just laughed him off awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. Gayak smiled pleasantly back. Anyway, Father seemed happy to hear I made a friend... Let’s just go with it.
Gayak motioned to his servant, who took the cloth covering off the pot.
“This is a gift for you.”
“This is...”
“Last night, your father came to visit. I didn’t find out until this morning, but… I was told that he took three light pink peonies with him. I figured it had something to do with you, so I brought you a sapling so that you could see them whenever you wanted to.”
There was a tiny light pink peony blooming inside the pot. I was at a loss for words, both grateful for and troubled by Gayak’s kind gesture. What do I do...?
I could already see the future of this flower. If the twins were to find out about it, they would never let it be, considering how Lord Wan had humiliated them over such peonies. Even worse, I would be leaving it unguarded while I traveled with Father. But I couldn’t just reject such a thoughtful gift, either...
Gayak watched me as I fiddled with the leaves. “You don’t seem too thrilled.”
“Oh? N-no, I like it. It’s just...” I debated whether to tell him the truth, but he didn’t give me time to come to a decision.
“Hmm, then maybe this will be more to your liking?”
“Huh? There’s more?”
“I happened to witness something interesting.”
“What?”
“I passed the Baengri clan head on my way in. He seemed quite upset.”
“What? You saw my grandfather? No way, they said he’d left to—”
The twins and Namgoong Wan! He must have returned because of what had happened yesterday. I knew the servants had been acting strangely when I was heading to the guest wing. I hadn’t mistaken the fear I saw in them after all.
“Well? Did that catch your interest?”
There was no way to tell what lurked underneath that bright smile. But... I couldn’t deny that he was helping me right now.

Chapter end