Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 51

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 51
12. The Little Predator
While I fretted over how to manage this furry bundle, Gyeong A seemed nothing but delighted.
The moment Dang Jung rose and left, she darted toward me like an arrow, her eyes bright and eager.
Her face was written all over with the desire to touch Ju Ryeong. I suppressed my smile and asked her.
“Would you like to touch her?”
“Y-yes… yes!”
At my suggestion, Gyeong A’s cheeks flushed crimson and she nodded eagerly.
She spun in place as if trying to contain her excitement, then crouched down to meet the marten at eye level.
“L-little squirrel…”
That’s a marten, not a squirrel.
“Mew?”
“Y-you… your eyes… are so pretty…”
“Mew-mew?”
“Y-your fur too… so soft…”
As Gyeong A carefully extended her hand, Ju Ryeong rubbed her cheek affectionately against the girl’s fingers.
“Oh… you’re such a good girl…”
“Gyeong A. If you’d like, hold her.”
“I… can I really…?”
“Of course. Why not?”
Ju Ryeong reached her front paws toward Gyeong A as if eager to be held. When Gyeong A gently scooped her up, she let out a gasp of wonder.
“Ah…! Oh, so… incredibly soft…”
As Gyeong A petted Ju Ryeong, her face wore a happiness I’d never seen from her before.
So she loves animals.
I watched her contentedly, then my expression faltered.
…Was that the kind of reaction the grandfather was expecting?
But Dang Jung had already left.
I’d been careless. I should have at least pretended to enjoy it.
Ju Ryeong seemed settled in her embrace for a moment before scratching at Gyeong A’s sleeve, signaling she wanted down.
“A-are you… leaving…?”
“Chirp.”
Ju Ryeong hopped from Gyeong A’s arms in answer.
The little creature stretched languidly, then began trotting through the building as if patrolling her territory.
“Hey. Don’t shed on my bedding.”
“Squeak.”
“Why are you rummaging through there? There’s nothing to eat.”
“Squeak-squeak.”
After thoroughly exploring the Byeoldang, Ju Ryeong turned her attention to the people around her.
She scampered up onto Dang Geun Myeong’s back as he tended the pond.
Dang Geun Myeong didn’t move a muscle as the marten settled on top of his head, then spoke flatly.
“Get down.”
“Chirp.”
Sensing the quiet irritation in his voice, Ju Ryeong scrambled down to the ground in alarm.
She groomed her fur nonchalantly before wandering back to the Study Room to greet Deok Ju.
“Mew-mew?”
……
“Squeak?”
……
But Deok Ju didn’t respond. She simply stared down at Ju Ryeong, motionless.
When Deok Ju remained still as stone, Ju Ryeong turned to me with a dejected expression.
“Don’t bother Deok Ju. Come here.”
At my beckoning gesture, she padded over and curled up beside my feet, her body tucked into a perfect ball.
Gyeong A crouched down beside me, following Ju Ryeong’s lead, and whispered softly.
“L-little squirrel… if you sit there… you’ll get d-dirty…”
“Mew.”
“W-would you like a… n-nest…?”
Gyeong A gently brushed the dust from Ju Ryeong’s fur, then fetched a small basket from somewhere and began filling it with scraps of cloth.
“G-go on… try it…”
Gyeong A nudged Ju Ryeong’s rump, and the marten, playing reluctant, hopped into the basket and settled down. She soon began purring softly as she drifted to sleep.
“…Is she sleeping right now? Lucky thing.”
I glanced at the basket, and Gyeong A brought a finger to her lips.
“Shh, shush…… D-don’t wake the…… squirrel…… up…….”
Then she drew a walnut from her sleeve and placed it gently inside the basket.
“W-when it wakes…… it c-can…… eat…….”
Gyeong A clearly saw this creature as nothing but a squirrel.
I had to read my book in hushed silence so as not to disturb my newfound master—this furry ball of mischief.
Ju Ryeong, who had been napping away the afternoon, finally opened her eyes as evening fell. More precisely, she opened them the moment dinner began to be prepared.
Emerging from her nest, she strode confidently into the dining hall, then shamelessly climbed onto the table as if my evening meal were her own dinner.
I frowned and pushed Ju Ryeong away.
“Down. Get off.”
“Chirp!”
“Don’t shed on the food. Are you human? Why are you climbing on the table?”
“Chirp-chirp!”
“No. If you climb up again, you’ll be punished.”
Unhappy, she swished her tail against the table, then threw a tantrum—rolling across the floor as if to say she wanted something to eat too.
“B-belly…… seems h-hungry…… maybe…….”
“I suppose I’ll have to feed her something. What do badgers eat?”
“S-something sw-sweet…… fruit…… perhaps……?”
As Gyeong A and I pondered this, Deok Ju gently offered her thought.
“Should we not feed the Spirit Beast some Bi Gok Dan?”
“Bi Gok Dan? I doubt she’ll eat it.”
It wasn’t some martial world protein bar—it was emergency rations meant for closed-door cultivation, and I couldn’t see a badger bothering with it.
Besides, it tasted awful.
Despite my lukewarm response, Deok Ju refused to abandon her idea.
“Perhaps we should try anyway.”
She carefully extracted a single Bi Gok Dan and placed it before Ju Ryeong.
Of course, my prediction proved correct.
“Yech!”
Rejecting the foul-smelling pellet with a snap, Ju Ryeong sprang up and snarled—a clear declaration that no one should be forcing such garbage on her.
“S-she d-doesn’t like it…… it seems…….”
“She hates it.”
……
Deok Ju lowered her head silently and put the Bi Gok Dan back. Her expression turned a little crestfallen.
So she’d wanted to feed her something too.
Ju Ryeong, offended at the insult, snorted, then scratched her ears with her hind legs and hopped back onto the table.
“Coo-coo.”
“What?”
“Coo-coo-coo.”
She sat before the meat platter and looked up at me, drool dripping from her small snout.
“What is it? You want this?”
“Chirp!”
“Are you sure you can handle the seasoning? It’s spicy.”
“Chirp!”
Ju Ryeong answered confidently, undeterred.
I scratched my head.
“Since you’re a Spirit Beast, maybe it’s fine? Then try just a little. If it’s too hot, spit it right out. Understood?”
As I warned her and tore off a duck leg, her ears perked up and she snapped at the meat with a satisfied growl.
“Chomp-chomp.”
“She’s eating like crazy. You’ll get indigestion. Eat slowly.”
“Chomp-chomp-chomp-chomp.”
Watching her polish off a hunk of meat nearly as large as herself was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
“This tiny thing—how does she eat so much? Not bothered by the heat?”
“Squeak.”
In moments, Ju Ryeong had stripped the duck clean, leaving only bones on the plate, which she promptly pushed toward me.
“You want more?”
“Mew-ow.”
Ju Ryeong nodded and blinked her eyes cutely—but Gyeong A immediately grabbed the bowl, shaking her head.
“N-no, young lady…… pl-please st-stop…… giving…… m-more…… the badger will g-get squirrel habits…… bad ones…….”
“Chirp…….”
“N-no, you c-can’t…… y-you…… h-have…… eaten…… e-enough already…….”
“Squeak……? Chirp……?”
“Oh, it shouldn’t…… but…… .”
“Squeak…….”
“Stop that……! Just…… one more…… just one more bite…….”
Gyeong A had completely lost herself to it.
It wasn’t until a whole duck had vanished into Ju Ryeong’s belly that Gyeong A snapped back to her senses—the girl who had been chanting like someone under a spell, just one more, just one more.
We stared at Ju Ryeong in sheer amazement.
The meat looked bigger than the animal’s stomach—where on earth had it all gone?
Having finished its meal, the creature patted its round belly and sprawled languidly across the table.
Now I understood why its fur gleamed with such luster. Living like that, no wonder its coat shone.
“Come on. You’re done eating—get down. I need to eat too.”
“Purr.”
Just then, Song Ji arrived carrying silk and caught sight of Ju Ryeong draped across the table. She tilted her head in puzzlement.
“Young Miss. I’ve brought it. Summer silk from the Guanga Pavilion……. Oh my, wherever did you get that fur pelt? Are you cold?”
“Song Ji’s here? This is what Grandfather brought earlier…….”
“A rat! A rat!”
Song Ji let out a sharp shriek and hurled the silk. Startled out of its stupor, Ju Ryeong leaped up and bounded under the table.
“Song Ji. This isn’t a rat—it’s a marten…….”
“Aaaah! It’s moving! Sir! Please catch that thing! Where’s the broom, where’s the broom?”
I told you, Song Ji. It’s a marten, not a rat.
Song Ji seized the broom in desperation and began swatting at Ju Ryeong with furious swipes.
Dodging Song Ji’s assault, Ju Ryeong scampered in circles around the table, then dove into my robes.
At the ticklish sensation of fur against my skin, I twisted and tried to stop Song Ji.
“Song Ji, calm down. Grandfather gave this to me—I need to raise it properly……. Ow, stop—it tickles! Ju Ryeong! Please!”
“Rat, rat! Aaaah! The rat got into Young Miss’s clothes! Young Miss! Take them off!”
She wasn’t listening, of course.
I laughed helplessly and surrendered myself to Song Ji’s frantic efforts.
* * *
After that harrowing ordeal, Ju Ryeong looked utterly drained, its soul half-fled.
The creature had gone limp as a jellyfish and refused to leave my lap, still traumatized by Song Ji’s broom assault.
“Whimper…….”
I soothed the listless Ju Ryeong with gentle strokes.
“Come now, cheer up. Song Ji’s apologized, hasn’t she?”
“I thought it was a rat, Young Miss. You know yourself what happens if one shows up—the servants get punished. They have to clean the entire pavilion.”
Song Ji whined, justified in her grievance.
Well, that was fair enough.
From Song Ji’s perspective, unfamiliar with Ju Ryeong’s origins, her reaction had been entirely reasonable.
“In any case, Ju Ryeong is a marten, not a rat. Don’t try to shoo it away anymore. And Song Ji—you’re part of this household now, so listen to her too.”
“Rumble.”
As I tried to mollify my odd little family—one woman, one marten—I felt a peculiar tenderness settle over me.
I never thought the word “family” would slip so naturally from my lips.
Not long ago, I’d thought of her as merely a roommate, but now the thought of facing a day without Song Ji’s presence felt hollow.
Perhaps I had simply grown accustomed to this everyday life with three souls around me.
I gazed at Song Ji with affection. Still, having her here has made settling into the Dang household so much easier…….
“But Young Miss, you still need to wash your hands and feet before bed. Be sure to wash thoroughly after touching it. If you handle dirty things, you’ll catch a cold.”
I wasn’t looking at her with that sentiment—what does she think I am?
She doesn’t let me stay sentimental for long.
Affronted by the word “dirty,” Ju Ryeong bared its teeth and chattered at her.
“Hiss!”
“What, you’re upset? You weasel?”
It’s a marten.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.
It seemed Ju Ryeong and Song Ji would need time to warm to each other.

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