I inwardly marveled at the kui-kui sound of Geumryeong ringing in my head.
It really did feel like its abilities kept growing.
Which probably meant it had eaten a lot of silver taels.
— Kui! Kui! Kui!
For some reason, I felt like I could understand what Geumryeong was saying.
It was saying it could find that thing.
“I’ll go look for it.”
Pretending to go search for the teacup, I headed somewhere with no one around and quietly took Geumryeong out of my sleeve.
“So you’re saying you can find that teacup?”
“Kui!”
“How?”
At my question, Geumryeong put on a slightly smug expression, then vanished in an instant.
Escort Guard Jin Yu was impressed by that speed.
“No martial art could make someone move that fast.”
“I think so too.”
And a moment later—
Geumryeong appeared in front of me again, wagging its tail back and forth.
“You found it?”
“Kui!”
Was it because the teacup was made of gold? Either way, this little thing was frighteningly good at recognizing anything expensive.
“Show me the way.”
Geumryeong slipped back into my sleeve and pointed its tail in one direction.
We moved that way.
As soon as I started walking, Student Seok Chu-gil and a few family members began following behind me.
The place Geumryeong led us to was…
“…?”
The rear garden.
And the tip of Geumryeong’s tail was clearly pointing at the pond there.
“…”
So the teacup was hidden inside that frozen pond?
Seriously.
I let out a sigh, gathered qi in my fist, and struck toward the pond.
Thud-!
I was about to break the ice and go in when Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am stopped me.
“My lord, please allow us to handle this.”
“You’re saying the teacup is in there?”
Escort Guard Lee Pil broke the ice and went down into the pond, starting his search.
But just as you’d expect from a large manor’s rear garden, the pond itself was quite big.
Searching the entire thing was going to be a real hassle…
I turned my body at an angle where the others couldn’t see me and called Geumryeong.
“Hey, Geumryeong.”
“Kui?”
“You’re the one who has to follow through and find it.”
“Kui…”
“You don’t like the cold? You’re a creature that originally lived in cold places. What are you whining about?”
“Kui…?”
“Alright, I’ll give you one more silver tael, so hurry up and go find it.”
At the promise of one more silver tael, Geumryeong perked up and slipped straight into the pond.
A moment later, Escort Guard Lee Pil jolted, then pulled his hand out.
“T-this…”
In his hand was the very teacup I’d seen in the drawing.
“I-I found it!”
“Uwaaah!”
Everyone cheered, and in the middle of that, Geumryeong slipped back into my sleeve without anyone noticing…
“Hey, hey! You have to dry off before you go in!”
Palgap hurried over, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the water off Geumryeong’s body.
Since it was evening and there weren’t that many people around, we managed to wrap things up without anyone discovering Geumryeong’s existence.
Anyway, nice work.
After hearing that the teacup had been found, Lord Seok rushed straight over to me, bowing his head again and again.
“Thank you so much for finding the teacup. I really was afraid my daughter’s marriage would fall apart like this… I was terribly worried.”
“I’m really glad we found it.”
“But how did you know the teacup would be there?”
I smiled at that question and answered.
I couldn’t exactly say that Geumryeong found it for us.
“You’d already sent so many people to search and still couldn’t find it. In that situation, I thought it had to be somewhere plainly visible that no one had thought of. Places like on the roof or underground.”
“That’s true.”
“And I heard the teacup went missing less than two hours ago. That means someone stole it and hid it in a hurry.”
From the beginning, I’d ruled out the possibility of a professional thief.
There were far more valuable treasures around, so there was no way a professional would steal just the teacup.
“Throwing it up onto the roof would be risky for a lot of reasons. If they ever needed to retrieve it, it would be hard to get back, and they wouldn’t be able to hide it exactly where they wanted. So I considered underground. But with the ground frozen, digging would be hard, and it’d be difficult to conceal the traces.”
I pointed at the pond.
“That’s when the pond came to mind. Around this time of year, someone could poke a small hole in the ice, slip the teacup in, and the traces wouldn’t show easily. After a little time, that part would freeze over again.”
“Indeed! I see!”
“But ice that’s been disturbed like that has a distinct roughness to it. I happened to see a mark like that, so we searched the pond and were lucky enough to find it.”
Later, when I checked the pond, there really had been such a trace.
“Anyway, I’m glad we found it. I’m sure Heaven was moved by your concern for your daughter and used me to recover the teacup.”
“Of course, we must give thanks to Heaven. But from our family’s perspective, it’s also undeniable that Deputy Merchant Lord Eun is our benefactor.”
Lord Seok bowed his head politely.
“I won’t forget this favor.”
“It’s nothing so grand as a favor. It’s alright.”
“As expected of the Handsome Young Hero.”
Ugh!
I just couldn’t get used to that nickname.
I sighed inwardly and offered him some advice.
“Just in case, I think it would be best if you kept the teacup on your person while the ceremony is going on, Lord Seok.”
“I’ll do that.”
Lord Seok personally placed the carefully washed teacup inside his robe and headed to the place where the wedding ceremony would be held.
“Assistant Instructor.”
When I turned, Student Seok Chu-gil cupped his fists to me in thanks.
“Thank you very much for finding the teacup. I won’t forget this favor.”
Hmm. Was it my imagination, or was the way he looked at me even more intense than before?
The wedding finally began, and Lord Seok took out the teacup he had been guarding close to his chest.
Tea was poured into the cup, the groom drank half, and the bride drank the rest.
The tea tree symbolizes integrity and an unchanging heart. It also symbolizes blessings for children and the act of treating each other with courtesy.
That’s why they share tea like this.
Now that the marriage had gone through safely, the Seok Family’s fortunes shouldn’t decline like in my previous life.
The groom’s side was a fairly powerful household, so as long as the marriage continued peacefully, the Seok Family had a good chance of prospering even more.
Since they were friendly toward our side, there was nothing bad about that.
Still, although we had found the teacup, the culprit hadn’t been caught yet, so the matter wasn’t completely resolved.
Where and how was I supposed to catch the culprit…
As I watched the ceremony, deep in thought, I suddenly felt chills run all over my body.
This is… killing intent?
I quickly sent a voice transmission to the escort guards.
— There’s killing intent!
At my voice transmission, the escort guards flinched, then began warily scanning in all directions.
But the killing intent I felt wasn’t coming from around me.
Then where was it coming from?
“Isn’t my sister really beautiful?”
At Student Seok Chu-gil’s words, I turned my head and looked at the bride. She was definitely pret—
Oh, come on.
The killing intent wasn’t around me; it was coming from the bride’s side.
There was no way the bride herself was emitting killing intent, so it had to be one of the two women assisting her.
At that moment, the young woman on the left drew a dagger from her bosom.
Then she thrust toward the bride’s neck.
“Kyaaah!”
“What the—!”
People who noticed shouted in shock.
Thock-!
A hidden weapon buried itself in the woman’s hand, and the dagger fell.
It was Escort Guard Lee Pil’s work.
And I quickly dashed in and subdued her.
“…”
Everyone was left dumbfounded by the unprecedented disaster that had just broken out of nowhere.
Only the restrained woman screamed like some vengeful spirit.
“Let go! Let go of me! I’m the groom’s real bride! My lord! How could you abandon me?!”
All eyes focused on the groom, who frantically waved his hands, flustered.
“I-I don’t know that woman.”
Meanwhile, the bride was trembling, at a total loss for what to do.
“H-how could you… how could you do this to me…”
Lord Seok finally came to his senses and shouted.
“How dare you! Bind that wretch at once!”
“Yes, sir!”
Guards rushed over and tied up the woman I was restraining.
Lord Seok approached me and let out a sigh.
“Haa… My apologies. I’ve ended up relying on your help again.”
“I’m fine. And it’s a relief no one was hurt.”
Saying that, I watched the woman being dragged away by the guards.
“That woman is…?”
“A maid of our main household. But why would she…”
Lord Seok trailed off, and the groom stepped forward.
“Father-in-law, I truly don’t know that woman.”
“…”
“I really am innocent.”
Just then, the bride seemed to have barely steadied her heart and came closer.
“I… I believe you, my lord.”
At those words, the groom’s eyes grew wet, and he took the bride’s hand.
“Thank you for believing in me, my wife.”
The bride turned to her father, Lord Seok.
“Father, I believe in my lord. He is a man who understands honor. He would never do something that destroys his own honor.”
She knelt before him.
“So please, allow this marriage.”
Seeing that, the groom also knelt before Lord Seok.
“Please allow the marriage to stand, Father-in-law. From now on, I will never do anything that stains my honor.”
Given what had happened, the marriage could have been annulled solely by Lord Seok’s decision, which was why the two of them were begging like this.
On top of that, this incident could become a scandal that would cling to the groom.
Lord Seok agonized for a moment, then looked at me.
I searched through my memories and gave a small nod.
In my previous life, that groom had been someone trustworthy.
And if they loved and trusted each other this much, there shouldn’t be any problem.
“Please do as you see fit, Lord Seok.”
In the end, Lord Seok nodded.
“Haa… I’ll allow the marriage to go through.”
“Thank you!”
“Thank you, Father-in-law.”
.
.
.
Even after the bride and groom entered the bridal chamber, the banquet continued.
As I quietly enjoyed the feast, Lord Seok came over to me.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun.”
“Lord Seok, you’re here.”
“Thank you sincerely for saving my daughter’s life and letting the wedding end safely.”
“I’m just glad nothing worse happened.”
Lord Seok wore a bitter expression.
“We interrogated that maid earlier. She said that while she was walking through the yard, she tripped and fell. My son-in-law asked if she was alright and handed her a handkerchief.”
“Yes…”
“After that, she says she fell in love with him.”
Sigh. So a one-sided crush had blown up into a mess like this.
“Was she also the one who hid the teacup…?”
“That’s right. That maid did it.”
In a way, it was pitiful. But the very fact she tried to harm an innocent person was already a crime.
It was far too serious, and far too many people had seen it, to just overlook it because I pitied her.
“I’ll never forget this favor.”
After saying that, Lord Seok looked at Student Seok Chu-gil beside me.
“When are you planning to return to the Academy?”
“I plan to return whenever Student Seok Chu-gil wishes.”
At my answer, Student Seok Chu-gil immediately replied.
“I’ll return tomorrow morning.”
“Going back that soon?”
“Yes.”
Student Seok Chu-gil nodded and calmly explained his reason.
“I’ve realized a lot of things from what happened this time. I want to go back before the things outside the Academy can cloud my heart.”
Lord Seok looked deeply moved by his answer.
“To think you’d say something like that, little Chu!”
“It’s thanks to the Righteous Person Academy’s education.”
At my reply, Lord Seok nodded as if he’d made up his mind.
“When you go back, I’ll send a hundred sacks of rice with you. Take them.”
“Sorry?”
Because of the poor harvest, the price of rice had risen sharply. In these circumstances, a hundred sacks of rice were extremely valuable.
“It’s a father’s heart. Please continue taking good care of little Chu.”
In that case, refusing that feeling wouldn’t be right.
“We’ll gratefully accept. The Academy Master will be delighted.”
I cupped my fists and bowed my head.
The next morning.
Lord Seok really did send us a hundred sacks of rice and hired an escort bureau to handle the transport for our journey.
Thanks to that, we were able to return to the Righteous Person Academy in much greater comfort.
Sitting in the carriage, I fell into thought as I looked at Student Seok Chu-gil sitting across from me.
I’d suddenly thought of Seok Il-song, whom Chief Administrator Yu was teaching.
If things went like this, Student Seok Chu-gil wouldn’t have the same future as in my previous life, where he worked as the Eunhae Merchant Group’s Deputy.
If his family never fell on hard times, he wouldn’t need to come to our merchant group and work himself to the bone.
Just then—
“Assistant Instructor Eun.”
“…?”
I tilted my head, and he spoke with a shy expression.
“I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“I heard you’re the Eunhae Merchant Group’s Deputy Merchant Lord, Assistant Instructor Eun.”
“That’s right.”
“Then what do I need to do to work under you?”
“What?”
That was a question I hadn’t seen coming.
“No matter how I think about it, if I want to become like you, I need to stay by your side. And I decided the best way to do that is to work under you.”
At those words, I felt oddly embarrassed and turned my head away, only to meet Palgap’s eyes.
His gaze clearly said, ‘What did you pull this time?’ so I coughed.
“Ahem.”
I’m telling you, I’m innocent.
Either way, there was no reason to refuse a talented person walking in on their own.
The worry I’d had just moments ago had been completely pointless.
I could practically hear the sound of talent rolling straight into my lap.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt