Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 18

 

The Master of the Seo Family Estate.

 

His name is Seo Cheong-ja.

 

He is none other than Young Miss Seo Yeon-ri’s father and the actual employer of us servants.

 

For reference, I had never seen his face before either. That’s because the Master had been elsewhere since I first entered the Seo Family Estate.

 

Originally, the main house of the Seo Family was said to be in Shandong Province.

 

The Soseong Trading Company operated by the Seo Family was also mainly spread throughout areas close to Shandong Province, but this time they were expanding branches to the south and traveling here and there.

 

I remember hearing from Uncle Hwang that he had been away on business for quite a long time due to having so much work.

 

Uncle Hwang had said:

 

“Our Master is truly remarkable. He’s a gentleman who values righteousness and propriety, and has such great magnanimity that he has many friends in the Central Plains martial arts world too. Especially the fact that the Namgung Family Head became sworn brothers with our Master is famous throughout Jianghu!”

 

Honestly, I didn’t understand half of what he said so I just let it go in one ear and out the other, only learning that he was an incredibly remarkable person.

 

So naturally, I couldn’t help but have expectations.

 

Still, he’s our Young Miss’s father—the father of Seo Yeon-ri, who is the ‘supreme beauty of this world, the most beautiful woman of all time’—so wouldn’t his looks be extraordinary too, like father like daughter?

 

Expecting such a handsome middle-aged man, I excitedly went outside with the Chief Steward, but…

 

‘Huh?’

 

I was a bit confused.

 

Of course, he was handsome enough. For someone around 40 years old with no belly and a decent face, that was certainly good enough. But still.

 

‘For the Young Miss’s father, he’s a bit…’

 

While I was feeling disappointed inside, the Chief Steward stepped forward to welcome the Master.

 

“Why did you come without any notice, Master? If you had told us in advance, we would have at least gone out to meet you…”

 

“Haha, it’s fine. Everyone here knows that Chief Steward Jeok is busy, so how could I order you around? Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Still, if the Master calls, I should go out to meet you. Did you finish your business well?”

 

“We’ll talk about that separately later… But who is this child?”

 

Suddenly the Master’s gaze turned toward me. I nervously bowed my head. The Chief Steward, who was beside me, introduced me.

 

“This is the child who has come to serve the Young Miss. He’s truly an admirable child. He serves the Young Miss with such sincerity that all the members of the Seo Family Estate unanimously say he’s remarkable…”

 

The Chief Steward’s flattering words continued.

 

He rattled off things like how I spare no effort for the Young Miss’s sake, how there’s no loyalty like mine, how I treat the Young Miss with genuine sincerity—words that made my face burn just hearing them.

 

However, the Master listened to those words with keen interest. He even let out an exclamation when he heard the part about ‘persuading the Young Miss to take her medicine.’

 

“That’s remarkable. A-ri is quite stubborn and doesn’t usually change her mind easily, but you managed to persuade that child…”

 

“Haha…”

 

“You did well. Please continue to take good care of A-ri.”

 

“Yes, yes! Please leave it to me!”

 

I bowed so deeply I thought I might fold in half. The Master smiled warmly and patted my shoulder. Having received encouragement from the Master, I thought to myself:

 

‘The Master really is such a good person…!’

 

As I watched the Master’s back with sparkling eyes as he headed straight into the Inner Quarters, the Chief Steward, who had been about to follow him, paused and asked me:

 

“By the way, weren’t you trying to say something earlier? You said you had a favor to ask…”

 

Ah, a favor.

 

“Oh, no! First, shouldn’t you go see the Master? My favor isn’t urgent, so I’ll tell you next time.”

 

The Chief Steward smiled brightly.

 

“Alright, make sure to tell me. I’ll be waiting.”

 

I watched the Chief Steward follow the Master and secretly licked my lips.

 

Honestly, it was urgent. With Mother’s life hanging in the balance, who could be more pressed for time than me? But it wasn’t something to blurt out while grabbing a busy person either.

 

I’ll have to speak properly next time… I consoled myself with this thought and turned around.

 

‘But why did the Master come only now?’

 

I found out the answer before long.

 

“Isn’t it about time for the Young Miss to have her seizure?”

 

“Seizure?”

 

It was while I was eating snacks with A-so.

 

Because of the Master’s unexpected appearance, I also had free time. It was because the Young Miss had gone to see the Master.

 

Since I didn’t have to attend to the Young Miss’s medicine, I had nothing to do and was slacking off when I met A-so.

 

I put the glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves into my mouth in one bite. Seeing that I had finished eating, A-so handed me another glutinous rice and continued speaking.

 

“Come to think of it, you wouldn’t know. This time it’s a bit late. The Young Miss has seizures once every six months.”

 

“Once every six months?”

 

“Yeah, originally it was once a year, but the intervals gradually got shorter and reduced to six months. Probably… she had a seizure right before you came, right? I remember that time too.”

 

“…”

 

“When that day comes, everyone gets nervous. The Young Miss’s seizures are getting worse day by day. So among ourselves, we say the Young Miss crosses the gates of life and death. Whether she’ll survive this seizure or pass away.”

 

“…It’s that serious?”

 

“Of course. There were even rumors before that the Young Miss wouldn’t live past fifteen. You treated the Young Miss like that without knowing this?”

 

Ah, no. I didn’t know it was that serious. She seemed so energetic and lively…

 

Then the fact that the Young Miss had a terminal condition really hit home. That the Young Miss was in a similar situation to my mother, that she was dying day by day just the same.

 

Still, if there was one better thing, the Young Miss knew the method, didn’t she? That was exactly…

 

‘Right, this is the moment!’

 

I quickly got up. A-so, who was peeling bamboo leaves, looked at me.

 

“What? Why are you doing that again? Where are you going?”

 

“Yeah, I remembered something.”

 

“Again? You’re always suddenly remembering things and suddenly going somewhere. So what is it this time? You won’t tell me even if I ask, right?”

 

“Hey, no. It’s just…”

 

I swallowed dry saliva and said.

 

“Where is Physician Jeong?”

 

* * *

 

I hurried toward So-nang Garden.

 

I naturally thought the Physician would be in the Medicine Room and headed there, but it was a waste of time. The Physician had already been summoned by the Master and gone to So-nang Garden.

 

I circled around So-nang Garden and anxiously waited for the Physician. Fortunately, before long I was able to spot the Physician coming out after finishing the examination.

 

I raised my hand high.

 

“Physician Jeong…!”

 

The Physician and I were already somewhat acquainted.

 

Since I started serving the Young Miss, I had gotten injured so frequently. Getting my wounds treated daily and exchanging a word or two each time, we had become comfortable enough to speak casually.

 

The Physician turned his head at the sudden sound. Then he spotted me and his eyes widened.

 

“Oh my, what brings you here? You haven’t been visiting much lately… Did you get hurt somewhere again?”

 

“No, no. It’s not about me… Did you finish examining the Young Miss? Did she say she was alright?”

 

“Hehe, you rascal. So that’s why you came? The Young Miss is… not doing well. Rather, I feel uncomfortable for only making the Master’s heart heavy.”

 

“Actually, I have something to discuss with you about that matter…”

 

I headed to the Medicine Room with the Physician while we chatted about various things.

 

And when we arrived at the Medicine Room, I immediately got to the point. I spoke about the knowledge from the original work that I knew—the method to alleviate the Young Miss’s illness—as if I had heard it somewhere.

 

At first, the Physician listened to my words without much thought, but later he focused intently and let out a small exclamation of admiration.

 

“Hmm, what a fresh perspective! So it’s not a lack of yang energy, but rather the body is on the verge of bursting due to excessive yin energy… How did you come to know such a method?”

 

“My Mother is also unwell, you know. While visiting physicians here and there, I happened to meet an herb gatherer, and what I heard while asking him various questions came to mind.”

 

“Hmm, with that theory, such a prescription makes sense. Using medicine that disperses energy to drain the energy that fills the body…”

 

I looked at the Physician with hopeful eyes.

 

“If we use that method, wouldn’t there be improvement in the Young Miss’s condition too? This recent attack as well…”

 

However, my hope didn’t last long.

 

“That would be difficult.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

The Physician let out a deep sigh and shook his head.

 

“I understand what you’re saying. But as that herb gatherer said, that’s only a temporary measure. If the Young Miss’s body is truly full of energy as you describe, then to calm the attacks, we would need to drain a large amount of energy all at once.”

 

“Th-then isn’t there such an herb? An herb that can drain a large amount of energy at once…”

 

“There isn’t. Ordinary Medicinal Herbs only nourish the body or gradually disperse toxins. The only herbs that can move great energy within the body all at once are Spirit Medicine containing the energy of heaven and earth.”

 

“…”

 

“Unless we obtain that…”

 

The Physician sighed.

 

“There would be no way.”

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