Blooming even in the mud - Chapter 63

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Blooming Even in the Mud Chapter 63

“What is it?”
“Ah, it is nothing, Master. If you are finished speaking, this servant will take his leave.”
The master’s voice was as cold as ever. Flinching at his own shadow, the Butler quickly bowed his head and withdrew.
‘Even if he heard the news of the accident, it does not seem like he would particularly react… It would probably just be unnecessary words.’
He was a master with a nature as cold as his voice. Seeing that he had not even taken her as a slave concubine, she was likely merely a slave he had held a few times at most.
After washing and changing his clothes, Won-ui rubbed his temples with his palm.
‘The nightmares that had quieted down have started again lately.’
He was used to being unable to sleep, but insomnia accompanied by a headache he had never experienced before was extremely fatiguing.
‘Has there been anything that would cause a headache?’
Aside from tracking Cui Shecheng, there was no duty that required his special attention. Therefore, it must be a temporary symptom.
Won-ui did not delve any deeper into the cause of the headache. He cut off his thoughts. It was a matter that did not need to be thought about.
However, contrary to his heart’s desire, he could not fall asleep that day either.
Waking from a light sleep as if being chased, Won-ui hurriedly drank the bedside water. The cold water went down his throat, but he did not feel refreshed at all.
“Sigh…”
Won-ui groaned low and pressed his head.
The throbbing headache continued to torment him even after waking from the nightmare. It was a headache whose cause could not be known.
Hesitating in the dark sewing room where not even a lamp was lit, Won-ui eventually stood up from his spot.
‘Has it become Geumeum?’
He learned that today was Geumeum while walking toward Seo-hwa’s quarters. He frowned at the unwelcome déjà vu. No, perhaps it was because of the headache.
“Are you awake?”
“…….”
Only silence returned.
He lightly pushed the door. Making a creaking sound, the worn-out door moved.
Seo-hwa was sleeping peacefully. He walked quietly and sat on the edge of the empty space of the bed.
He had not visited with a clear purpose of doing something.
The nightmares that had vanished since the time he began to hold her had revived and were chasing him. Even so, he had no intention of forcibly waking the sleeping woman to hold her.
Perhaps was it because of her eyes?
“Mmm, Master Gyeong?”
Seo-hwa, who was tossing and turning, faintly opened her eyes. Whether she recognized it was Won-ui even in the darkness, she sat up and greeted him without any sign of surprise.
“You’ve come.”
“Yes.”
The greetings exchanged were devoid of emotion.
He stared at Seo-hwa’s face. On her face drenched in darkness, neither the clear distinction of her features nor her eyes could be properly seen.
What color would her eyes be?
Would it be despair? Or would it be transparent indifference?
“…….”
It was a night where only each other’s breathing was finely broken and scattered.
A gentle breath, so quiet that it could barely be heard unless one listened closely, soaked into the darkness. It was Seo-hwa’s breath.
Seo-hwa’s breath, which had crossed the darkness, brushed against his skin. It was tranquil.
Won-ui wondered if there had ever been a moment when he was merely drenched in her breath like this. There was none.
In the past, he did not know because he was drenched in the love dwelling in her breath, and after their reunion, blind hatred was blocking his senses.
And now…
Now.
Won-ui blinked his eyes slowly. He felt like he could sleep. If it was here.
“Princess.”
“Yes.”
As if she had been waiting for his words, Seo-hwa moved her hands. Rustle. The sound of rustling sleeves was heard.
Won-ui suddenly grabbed her wrist.
“What are you doing right now?”
“I am preparing to serve you, Master…”
Seo-hwa, who was undoing her coat ribbons and taking off her clothes, tilted her head instead, as if she found it strange.
“Is it not for this reason that you sought me out?”
The moment he heard that ordinary voice, something of unknown identity surged up from his chest.
It was not. Today, he had not visited with the purpose of having a relationship with her.
“Do you have another command?”
“It is not like that today.”
“Then what is it? The only thing Master can take from me…”
“…….”
“Is only this useless body.”
“…….”
“This is the only thing I can give to my master.”
The voice that continued as gently as a breath was the very desire he had conveyed until just before. It was clearly his own words. Yet, even so.
Her voice, returning intact as if reflecting from a mirror, set fire to something that had surged up inside him.
‘That’s right, it was a matter that didn’t need to be cared about.’
Won-ui closed and opened his eyes once. The deep darkness remained unchanged, and Seo-hwa’s eyes could not be seen either.
‘No matter what is reflected in her eyes, there was no need to be curious from the beginning.’
He is the master, and she is the slave.
It is enough for the slave to offer her body when the master desires. As for her emotions, they were something he could grasp in his palm at any time.
‘Since I have absolutely no intention of letting go of her, who is trapped inside me.’
Won-ui pulled Seo-hwa roughly, bringing her down onto the bed. The gentle breath accelerated abruptly. This breath that clung sweetly to his skin was precisely what he had to take.
Even on that night, the nightmare still chased Won-ui.

* * *

“What did you say?!”
At Na-yeon’s sharply soaring shout, the Maidservant shrunk her shoulders.
“That is to say… The head slave, who was startled to see that girl fall into the water, said that she might be pregnant with the master’s child… Ah! She said she isn’t actually having a child!”
To soothe Na-yeon’s wrath, she hurriedly added an explanation, but it was of little use.
Before the Maidservant’s words could even finish, Na-yeon threw the Medicine Bowl.
Thud!
The Medicine Bowl, which hit the wall hard, shattered with a loud noise. The Maidservant prostrated herself completely.
“Pl-Please calm yourself. The head slave even made a tactless fuss, but since it wasn’t a pregnancy, that girl must be in an awkward position as well.”
“Whether she’s pregnant or not, that’s not what’s important! It means he continued to have a relationship with that woman even while marriage talks were going back and forth with me!”
“Ah, My Lady…”
The Maidservant, who could not bear to look at Na-yeon’s face flushed red with rage, slammed her forehead against the floor.
‘I should have guessed it from the moment he brought her into the household when she was about to be driven out as a palace slave!’
She shuddered with teeth-grinding rage.
When she was unilaterally jilted by Won-ui, she had guessed to some extent that the emotion he held for Seo-hwa was not just a desire for revenge. However, now that she had actually obtained confirmation, a resentment beyond expectation surged up.
‘How much must that woman have mocked me while being held by elder brother every night!’
Seo-hwa, who had been in a noble position that Na-yeon could never possess even if she died and rose again.
Even though it was not just once or twice that they had greeted each other at gatherings of the Outer Court Ladies, Seo-hwa had not even remembered Na-yeon.
Seo-hwa, who had made Na-yeon flee humiliatingly in the street just because she had disciplined a mere slave.
It was Seo-hwa who had always brought nothing but humiliation to Na-yeon.
Imagining that Seo-hwa would have mocked her made her stomach feel like it was turning upside down.
‘It must have been like watching a street clown. While I was merely satisfying myself with something like marriage talks, that woman was continuing to grasp what I couldn’t have!’
A rotten fruit newly bore from her deep-rooted inferiority complex.
Now, by her father’s coercion, Na-yeon was to be sold into the position of a second wife to a second son who was not even the family heir.
Even after Na-yeon missed the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Seo-hwa would still be joyfully enjoying that position Na-yeon had desired. That alone could absolutely not be tolerated.
‘Elder brother, no, Gyeong Won-ui, and Yoo Seo-hwa, I can’t just leave them be!’
Na-yeon nibbled her lips and fell deep into thought. The Maidservant, who was watching her expression, tried to sneak out of the room but was caught.
“That guy who pushed her into the pond, is he useful?”
“He was a bit strange.”
“How so?”
“When I told him to just push her into the pond and give her a bit of a scare, he seemed to hesitate a lot, but when I met him again to hear the progress, it was like the person had changed.”
“Explain accurately.”
“Should I say his eyes looked like he was possessed by something, or should I say it was chilling… Anyway, it gave me goosebumps.”
“As long as he’s not a guy who will betray me because his heart shrank, it’s fine. Still, just in case, even if you have to pay extra to the temple where his younger brother was sold, buy him back. We must put a secure leash on him.”
Cold sweat ran down the Maidservant’s spine. Na-yeon was definitely plotting some ominous scheme.
Her guess was correct. Hearing the plan Na-yeon whispered, the Maidservant was horrified.
“N-No matter if we hold his younger brother hostage, would he go th-that far?”
“If he says he won’t do it, cut off even one of his younger brother’s fingers and send it to him until he says he will.”
“W-What if it’s discovered later that My Lady ordered it?”
Na-yeon sneered coldly.
“That woman is a slave. At most, how much would the body price of a single slave be?”
At Na-yeon’s voice full of venom, the Maidservant could no longer say anything.

* * *

The private residence was bright with the energy of spring.
In the garden and flowerbeds, flowers of various colors bloomed beautifully, and artificial flowers were woven and decorated on pillars and railings. Since it was Baekhwayoran wherever one turned one’s eyes, a spring breeze also flowed into the hearts of those who had spent a turbulent winter.
“General, is it not a waste to let a bright spring pass like this?”
Due to the suggestion of a certain retainer, a banquet with the purpose of flower-viewing came to be held at the private residence.
Although it was said to be a modest gathering attended only by the master, Won-ui, and the retainers, a banquet was a banquet. The Banbitgan became busy, and other slaves with free hands also lent a helping hand.
Seo-hwa also worked in the Banbitgan from early morning, and only when it became afternoon did she barely manage to find a break.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————