Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel - Chapter 54

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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 54

 

Once suspicion bloomed, it grew endlessly.

 

Had he been deceived as well?

 

Then why did that man bring up Namgung Jeong?

 

Was it simply to deceive Young Miss? Was Namgung Jeong completely unrelated?

 

But where was he when the Master of Seo Family was attacked? Could it be that he doesn’t even know his sworn brother was killed?

 

Or maybe all of this…

 

‘What if it’s Namgung Jeong’s plan?’

 

I bit my lips hard. Then I immediately shook my head.

 

‘No, not yet, not yet… it’s too early to judge.’

 

It was hard to believe that everything I saw of Namgung Jeong was all lies.

 

The way he said he didn’t dislike fools, the way he said he wanted to take someone as a disciple after seeing their righteous character rather than talent, the way he bid farewell saying to cherish connections.

 

Most of all, he really liked Master.

 

When he was with Master, his expression was completely different. As if facing a real older brother, his mood would relax comfortably and he would smile constantly.

 

All of that couldn’t have been acting…

 

‘Maybe I’m thinking too naively.’

 

I smiled bitterly. Still, I didn’t want to make any definitive judgments until I confirmed things directly.

 

‘For that, I need to move.’

 

I struggled to get up. My whole body ached as if it would shatter – falling from the cliff wasn’t a lie – but I gritted my teeth and endured it.

 

I slowly took one step, then another.

 

Hoping I could meet Young Miss as quickly as possible.

 

* * *

 

My destination was Gangseoseong.

 

Because Young Miss had clearly said so back then.

 

“After that, Father and I will cross Nabu Mountain and head to Gangseoseong. There’s a Gangseo Branch of Soseong Trading Company in Gangseoseong. Once we arrive there…”

 

If Young Miss had escaped safely, she would have gone to Gangseoseong as originally planned. However, there was no way I could know which direction to go to reach Gangseoseong when I didn’t even know where I was.

 

I decided to just walk aimlessly for now. If I found a village or people, I’d ask for directions then.

 

“Huff, gasp…”

 

But even after walking for a long time, no village appeared.

 

After leaving the riverside, all that appeared was desolate fields. Not only were there no houses, but I couldn’t even see roads where people might pass.

 

As I crossed the fields and the trees gradually grew thicker, soon the entrance to a mountain valley appeared. I wondered if I should keep going, but since there was no other suitable path, I entered the mountain.

 

It would be good if I could get out of the mountain before sunset. I grabbed my cramping leg. Sweat was pouring down like rain.

 

‘My condition is getting worse.’

 

My physical condition had been poor from the start, but as time passed, the pain in my chest where that man had hit me was getting increasingly severe.

 

I finally stopped in place. A small groan escaped through my teeth.

 

“Ugh…”

 

The problem was the strange chill that accompanied the pain.

 

If it had just been painful, I could have endured it somehow, but this strange chill was impossible to bear.

 

The chill that started from my chest gradually spread deep into my body. It instantly stole my body’s warmth and began freezing my limbs. A throbbing pain arose as if my whole body had frostbite.

 

When I finally felt like even my head was freezing, I lost consciousness for a moment. When I came to, I was lying face down on the ground.

 

Only then did a sense of crisis wash over me.

 

‘This won’t do, if I keep hurting like this…’

 

Would I be able to hold out until I reached Gangseoseong?

 

I didn’t know the way, and there were no people around. At this rate, could I even make it halfway? And if my body reached its limit and collapsed…

 

I shook my head at the increasingly negative thoughts. It would be better to take even one more step during this time.

 

Just as I barely managed to calm myself and get up.

 

“…Sob…”

 

I quickly raised my head.

 

I definitely heard some sound?

 

“Uh… sob…”

 

Listening quietly, I finally thought I knew what the sound was.

 

It was sobbing.

 

Someone was definitely sobbing!

 

‘There’s a person here.’

 

I wanted to rush forward immediately, but I forced myself to calm down. Just moments ago, I had almost gotten into big trouble by acting rashly and getting hit from behind.

 

I quietly approached the direction of the sound.

 

The closer I got, the louder the sobbing became. Half tense, half curious, I carefully walked toward the sound. When I secretly looked beyond the thicket.

 

“…!”

 

“Sob…”

 

There was a girl there.

 

The girl appeared to be about eight or nine years old, leaning against a tree with her face buried between her knees, crying.

 

‘Why is a child crying here?’

 

Feeling both relief and pity, I finally came out from behind the thicket.

 

“Um… are you okay?”

 

“Hiccup!”

 

The child suddenly raised her head.

 

The child opened her reddened eyes wide as if quite startled. The child who had been staring at me blankly belatedly covered her mouth hastily with both hands.

 

Then she hurriedly looked around, seeming terribly frightened.

 

I just watched that scene silently. For a while, only the child’s hiccupping echoed through the quiet mountain forest.

 

After a moment, the child finally opened her mouth.

 

“Who… hiccup! are you?”

 

I hesitated for a moment.

 

“Me? I’m…”

 

“…Hiccup!”

 

“A lost person?”

 

“…?”

 

Looking at the bewildered child, I scratched my head awkwardly.

 

I couldn’t exactly say ‘Actually, the place where I worked was destroyed and I came here while escaping.’ So I made up an appropriate story.

 

“Well… um, I was traveling with my family when we had an accident. I got swept away by the river and drifted, and when I came to my senses, I had floated all the way here. I was looking for a village…”

 

“…Hiccup!…”

 

“…Then what about you? Why are you crying here? Where are your parents? Who did you come with?”

 

“Th-that’s… hiccup! I…”

 

The child kept hiccupping but couldn’t bring herself to answer. I didn’t press her and waited for an answer while looking the child over.

 

The child was clearly pretty.

 

With a small face, distinct features, large clear eyes, and a straight neck, she would definitely become a beauty when she grew up.

 

Somehow, just looking at her face, she seemed like a precious young lady from a noble family like Young Miss, but surprisingly she was dressed in shabby clothes. Not only that, but her clothes were covered in dirt and torn in various places.

 

Did she roll around in the mountain? I was making various guesses when I lowered my gaze and froze.

 

“Hey, you…!”

 

“Y-yes?!”

 

At my surprised voice, the child also seemed startled and her voice rose as well. I grabbed the child’s ankle and shouted.

 

“You’re hurt!”

 

Literally, the child’s ankle was swollen.

 

I don’t know where her shoes went, but the child was barefoot, with her soles all scraped and bloody, and her left ankle was even swollen black and blue.

 

‘This doesn’t seem like just a simple sprain. Did she crack a bone or something?’

 

I was frowning as I remembered when I had sprained my foot before, when I heard a somewhat flustered voice.

 

“Um, uh…”

 

“Oh, sorry. Did I grab too hard? Did it hurt?”

 

“No… no. It’s okay…”

 

“Okay? This? It obviously looks painful, isn’t that why you were crying? If we leave it like this, it’ll get worse. Isn’t there something we can do for first aid…”

 

At my muttering, the child’s eyes widened. Perhaps due to surprise, the hiccupping had stopped.

 

I said lightly, “At least the hiccups stopped, that’s a relief,” and looked around. However, there was no suitable material to be found in this remote forest.

 

‘Can’t be helped.’

 

I grabbed the hem of my skirt and ripped it with a sharp tear.

 

I felt a brief chest pain when I exerted force, but it wasn’t severe enough that I couldn’t bear it. I took the long strip of cloth and began wrapping it around the child’s ankle.

 

It was the ankle compression method that Physician Jeong had taught me before. When I said my ankle hadn’t fully healed yet and hurt whenever I moved, the physician had compressed my ankle with bandages to relieve the pain.

 

I learned that compression method then and would wrap the bandage myself until my ankle healed.

 

‘Who would have thought it would be useful like this.’

 

I marveled at the coincidence as I tightly secured the bandage. It seemed to be effective as the child’s complexion improved considerably.

 

I carefully lowered the child’s foot and said.

 

“How’s that, does it hurt less?”

 

“Y-yes. Th-thank you…”

 

“It’s nothing much. But this is only temporary treatment. It would be better to see a physician later for proper treatment. Until then, you should try not to move it…”

 

“…”

 

“Where are your parents? Seeing you alone like this, it seems like you’ve lost them… Are you lost? Do you remember where you got separated?”

 

“…”

 

“Should I help you a bit? I can’t help much, but I think I could at least help search the area…”

 

“Yes, yes!”

 

Suddenly the child spoke desperately.

 

“Please, help me…!”

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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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