Father sprayed his tea out at my words.
Because I dodged quickly, I at least avoided the disaster of having tea all over my face.
“Are you all right?”
I held out a handkerchief as I asked, and Father took it, wiped his mouth, and said,
“I’m fine. Mm… so you’re saying the Commissioner of Land Affairs told you to marry Lady Seohyang?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“…”
Father stared at me, at a loss for words for a moment.
If you look at me like that, I don’t know where to put myself, Father.
“So, what are you planning to do?”
“I’m not really sure myself.”
I took a sip of tea and let out a sigh.
“Honestly, I know I’m at the age where I should be getting married. But for now, I still want to focus on growing the Merchant Group.”
To be exact, I needed to keep running for the sake of my revenge.
And like I’d said before, I had no intention of dragging some innocent woman into my revenge.
“Hmm…”
Father quietly watched me, thought for a moment, then spoke.
“First, let’s think about this simply.”
“Yes.”
“Do you see Lady Seohyang as a woman?”
“…”
That question left me speechless for a moment.
Huh?
The words ‘No, not at all!’ should’ve come out right away, so why weren’t they?
Seeing me like that, Father let out a small laugh.
“You seem to have Lady Seohyang in your heart too, so what are you hesitating for?”
I barely managed to answer.
“I think I need to think it over a bit more.”
.
.
.
Leaving Father’s office, I scratched awkwardly at the side of my neck.
It seemed the Commissioner of Land Affairs would probably head back to Guizhou once he got my answer.
“Phew…”
“Why are you sighing like the world’s about to collapse?”
The sudden voice made me jump.
“Ack!”
“Why are you so startled?”
When I turned my head, Palgap was standing right beside me. I hadn’t sensed his presence at all…
“Since when have you been standing there?”
“I came with you, Young Master.”
“Ah, right.”
I gave an awkward laugh.
“You must’ve been waiting for quite a while, huh?”
“It’s fine.”
So that meant he’d really been waiting a long time. I suddenly felt kind of sorry.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Palgap and I headed for my quarters. Since they were inside the Beijing branch, I had sent the Escort Guards back.
“Hey, Palgap.”
“Yes.”
“If you were standing there the whole time, you must’ve heard me talking with Father.”
“I didn’t hear a thing.”
Palgap shook his head as he answered.
Even if he had heard it, that was the ideal answer for an Attendant.
As far as I knew, they were even taught to answer that way during Attendant training.
It was a way to protect themselves.
There were plenty of people who would wipe out an Attendant and their family just to silence them.
I let out a small laugh.
There was no way Palgap hadn’t heard our conversation.
“What do you think about me marrying Lady Seohyang?”
“Sounds like you’ve got a lot on your mind, Young Master.”
“It’s just…”
“But you know, why aren’t you thinking about the most important thing?”
“The most important thing?”
“Deputy Gwak’s wishes, of course.”
“…!”
Those words felt like a blow to the back of my head.
“Ah…”
He was right.
Marriage isn’t something you do alone, so what the other person wants is crucial.
Yet here I was agonizing over this without even considering Lady Seohyang’s feelings… seriously, me…
I looked at Palgap.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because I’m grateful. That’s Palgap for you.”
“I have my moments.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
That night.
When Warrior Jin Yeong came to the Beijing branch to supervise my Imperial Palace Martial Art training, I told him I would be returning to Hubei this time.
I didn’t specifically ask him to pass that along to the Emperor.
Even if I didn’t say it, he would tell the Emperor anyway.
Still, this was rough.
Warrior Jin Yeong marveled at how quickly I was picking up the Imperial Palace Martial Art, but there was no way learning martial arts could actually be easy.
Dragging my exhausted body back toward my quarters, I noticed the light on in my office.
Who could that be?
I changed direction and headed for my office, and soon realized who was inside.
I could feel Lady Seohyang’s presence.
It was already late at night…
I quietly eased the office door open.
Lady Seohyang was completely absorbed in the documents in front of her.
Next to her, processed documents were already stacked high.
She was wholly immersed in her work.
The moment I saw her like that, my face flushed before I even realized it.
What’s wrong with me?
This is seriously weird.
Maybe a draft slipped in through the door I’d opened, because she suddenly lifted her head.
And her eyes met mine exactly.
“Ah! Deputy Merchant Lord, you’re here.”
She quickly rose from her seat. I walked into the office as if it were the most natural thing in the world and asked,
“It’s late at night, and you’re still working?”
“I’m just doing my part so you can handle everything smoothly tomorrow morning.”
“Being too diligent can be a problem too.”
“Hearing that from you doesn’t really convince me, Deputy Merchant Lord. You usually only sleep about four hours a night.”
“…”
I had nothing to say to that.
Because she was right.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat and said,
“That’s only possible because I’ve trained in martial arts. You’re not like that, so you should be sleeping at least six hours a day.”
I went on with a faint smile.
“If word reaches the Commissioner that you collapsed from overwork, I’m really dead.”
At that, she burst into bright laughter.
“I don’t work myself that hard. But I know very well that you’re worrying about me.”
I couldn’t help smiling too.
“Lady Seohyang…”
“Yes?”
“With me…”
I had been about to ask what she thought about marrying me.
But when I actually saw her face, the words just wouldn’t leave my lips.
Why? It’s not like I’m someone who lacks courage.
But this felt like something different from mere courage.
If I brought it up, she’d be flustered, and if she refused, things between us afterward would get awkward.
Ugh, my head was a mess.
In the end, I changed the subject.
“Are you comfortable continuing to stay and work with me like this?”
At my question, she nodded.
“Yes. Of course.”
“Good. Then at least for the next few years, I won’t have to get scolded by the Commissioner.”
My words made her laugh brightly again.
“You won’t have to worry about that in the future either.”
Watching her radiant smile, my face suddenly heated up again, and it felt like all the blood in my body rushed straight to my heart.
Come to think of it, this wasn’t the first time I’d felt like this.
Back when I took on the Commissioner’s request and went to Guizhou with the eyes.
Her smile back then had been so beautiful that I ended up staring blankly at her for a long time without even realizing it.
I gave a small shake of my head.
I couldn’t possibly drag a woman this beautiful, kind, and talented onto the thorn-strewn road I was walking.
I decided I’d meet the Commissioner as early as tomorrow and turn down his proposal.
The next morning.
I sent a message to the Commissioner asking for a meeting, and received a reply.
Commissioner of Land Affairs Dong Hui looked at Eun Seo-ho sitting across from him in the reception room and asked.
“So, what is it?”
“I’ve come to give you my answer regarding the proposal you made earlier.”
“So, what have you decided?”
“I apologize, but I’ll have to refuse.”
“Refuse?”
He was taken aback. He had never imagined anyone would turn his daughter down.
At the same time, anger welled up.
But he remembered Eun Seo-ho’s conduct so far, and the debts he owed him, and forced his temper back down.
“May I ask why?”
“The path I have to walk from here on out is going to be quite a harsh one.”
“Of course I know that. Aiming for the number one Merchant Group under heaven is no easy task.”
“Naturally, that number one Merchant Group is one of my goals. But I also have a personal goal I can’t easily talk about.”
I continued.
“I don’t want to drag your precious daughter onto that rough road with me. I hope she can walk through a field of flowers, not a path of thorns.”
The Commissioner, who had been watching Eun Seo-ho with a frown, soon realized something he hadn’t seen before.
It was that whenever Eun Seo-ho spoke about his daughter, his cheeks flushed slightly and his eyes sparkled.
In other words, those words were sincere.
And that sincerity pleased him.
“I see. I’m grateful that you cherish my daughter that much.”
“I’m sorry. And I think I understand what you’re worried about, but you don’t need to be. Lady Seohyang is already my Deputy. And I never abandon my people.”
For some reason, those words were a considerable comfort.
So he decided to take a step back.
‘You may not know it yet, but in my experience, relationships between men and women never go the way you plan.’
So this was one step back for the sake of two steps forward.
Several days had already passed since we returned to Beijing.
And today was the day we were setting out for Hubei. If we left any later, the weather could cause trouble.
Because we’d worked hard to clear the backlog, we were able to wrap everything up before leaving.
The staff of the Virtuous Wind Department stayed behind in Beijing.
We’d decided to base the Virtuous Wind Department in the Beijing branch instead of the Hubei main compound.
“Deputy Gwak is going to Hubei too!”
“Hah… unbelievable.”
Then why were they acting like it was such a tragedy that Lady Seohyang was heading to Hubei with me?
“You’re not going to miss me going back to Hubei?”
My question made them flinch, but they quickly covered it up with loud laughter.
“Deputy Merchant Lord, Deputy Gwak is the fairy of our Beijing branch.”
“That’s right. She’s on a whole different level.”
I let out a dumbfounded snort, but it just meant they cherished Lady Seohyang that much.
Well, even to me, Lady Seohyang was someone anyone would naturally come to like.
And like that, we set out for Hubei.
During our stay in Beijing this time, the Emperor hadn’t summoned me even once.
Which made sense, since he was probably busy discussing foreign trade with his ministers.
So was I disappointed about that?
No. Not at all!
Whenever I faced the Emperor, it felt like my lifespan got cut down by a few years on the spot.
The road to Hubei was familiar by now.
Which meant I’d traveled it that many times.
But for Lady Seohyang, who was traveling this road for the first time, everything outside the carriage window was wonderfully new.
“The scenery is amazing. I can’t believe the landscape can be this different from region to region! It’s fascinating!”
I nodded at her words.
“Like you said, it’s interesting the first few times. But once you see it often enough, it just becomes part of the background.”
She asked with a conflicted look.
“Will that day come for me too?”
“If you stay on as my Deputy, it will. There’s practically nowhere I don’t end up traveling.”
“Then I’ll have to work hard on my stamina if I want to keep up with you, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
Lady Seohyang looked at me and said,
“Speaking of that, could you teach me martial arts?”
“Martial arts?”
“Yes.”
Before I could say anything, Palgap jumped in first.
“If it’s our Young Master, that’s no problem. The only reason he’d say no is because he’d find it troublesome.”
H-hey, Palgap, if you put it like that, how am I supposed to turn her down?
Otherwise I’d just look like some jerk who refused his Deputy’s request out of pure laziness.
Sigh.
Guess there’s no helping it.
Come to think of it, if Lady Seohyang learned martial arts, it would build her stamina and let her protect herself, so it wasn’t a bad idea at all.
“All right. Every morning at dawn… we’ll train together.”
“Thank you.”
She flashed me another brilliant smile.
.
.
.
We kept traveling without wasting time, and now there wasn’t much distance left to the main compound.
But before that, the sun set and we had to camp outdoors for the night.
Up ahead, the Escort Guards were busy preparing the campsite, while Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Myeong Jong stayed by my side to protect me.
I turned to Lady Seohyang and said,
“If we keep going for about one more day, we’ll reach the Eunhae Merchant Group’s main compound.”
“I see. I’m looking forward to it.”
“First, I plan to visit my master with you and pay our respects.”
“Of course we should. By the way, what kind of person is Lord Gwak, Deputy Merchant Lord?”
“He’s a very good person. He’s a bit blunt, but I think that’s just how he protects his soft heart.”
“If you say he’s a good person, then he must really be a good person.”
“Mm, after we meet my master…”
We were talking over the plans for what lay ahead when it happened.
All of a sudden, Lady Seohyang’s eyes went blank.
And across her face… a flash of sorrow passed.
What was that?
What in the world is going on?
Before I could even count to five, the dazed look vanished and her gaze grew clear again.
And the first thing she said was…
“Um… who is a woman named Hong Geum-so?”
At those words, Escort Guard Seo Wu beside me reacted instantly.
“Are you talking about my wife?”
“Ah… so she’s Escort Guard Seo Wu’s wife. That explains why it’s so sad…”
Sad?
I asked her again,
“Why are you asking that?”
But instead of answering me, Lady Seohyang asked something else, her expression grave.
“If we set out right this moment, how many hours would it take to reach Madam Hong Geum-so?”
How many hours?
I’d just said we’d arrive tomorrow, and someone as sharp as her definitely wasn’t asking because she didn’t understand that.
In a trembling voice, Seo Wu asked,
“Is something going to happen to my wife…?”
Lady Seohyang didn’t answer right away and instead looked at me.
When I gave a small nod, she finally opened her mouth to speak.
–TL Notes–
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