The Survival Story Of A Fallen Lady - Chapter 43

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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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The Fallen Nobleman’s Daughter Survival Record Episode 43
She had taken a seat in the Central Garden, where the most foot traffic flowed, and was entertaining guests with tea and refreshments.
Yet despite yesterday’s unsettling events, how could she appear so unmoved?
Just then, the voices of women drifted over to where they stood.
“There are many rumors that the face beneath the mask is hideous.”
“I wouldn’t say so. He seemed quite presentable, actually.”
Seo Heon’s eyes narrowed as he listened to the exchange.
He felt confusion settle over him.
Had she truly seen beneath the mask, or had she not?
‘If she had really seen it, she would have known there was nothing hideous about it.’
Seo Heon was troubled by the uncertainty.
Whether she had seen his face or not.
She was weaving falsehoods.
But why?
“I never thought Jin Soa was the type to spread gossip like that……”
Noh, the Chief Eunuch, muttered as if struck by disbelief.
That she would spread baseless rumors about him to the women beyond the palace walls.
“They say one shouldn’t trust people so easily.”
The Chief Eunuch sighed deeply with disappointment and wiped his spectacles clean.
Yet Seo Heon felt a subtle unease creep over him.
Because Jin Soa’s expression and manner of speaking were no different from usual.
Every word was carefully measured, deliberately refined, her tone always measured and precise.
She was not someone who carelessly let meaningless words slip from her lips.
If there were a reason behind such a lie……
“Your Highness, what should we do about this?”
The Chief Eunuch asked as if he might rush off at any moment to confront her.
But Seo Heon raised a hand to stay him.
If she were speaking with some other intention in mind……
Then.
“So it’s really just scars? Not a curse?”
A whispered voice carried over from another direction.
The servant girls, who had not yet noticed Seo Heon and the Chief Eunuch, were overhearing Jin Soa’s conversation.
“I heard some young nobleman went mad after meeting his eyes.”
“But those who heard the story and those who actually saw it—they’re not the same people, are they?”
Baseless rumors escaped from the servant girls’ mouths like breath into the air.
Only then did Seo Heon understand what had been constricting his throat.
The shift in the atmosphere among the officials who gathered at court.
The distance kept by the palace attendants, different from usual.
The fear, suspicion, and dread surrounding his curse had wound back to crush him, choking off his breath.
Yet Jin Soa was dismantling all of it with a single tea gathering.
Seo Heon drew a slow breath.
[Chief Eunuch.]
He turned quietly and gave his order.
[After the refreshments are finished, have Jin Soa brought to my Private Chamber.]
* * *
As the sun descended, shadows grew long.
Jin Soa, summoned, entered the Private Chamber.
The usual place where documents lay stacked high.
A room heavy with the scent of paper and ink.
“You called for me, Your Highness?”
Jin Soa offered a formal bow, and the masked face lifted its head.
A white cord still hung at Seo Heon’s ear.
A hair ribbon—the one she had tied in place of the broken mask cord.
‘I thought he would have replaced it with an original by now.’
Perhaps in the chaos following that incident, he had not yet found the time to change it.
Jin Soa thought nothing remarkable of it.
Was it the sunset’s doing?
His mask, which always bore a cool light, now gleamed with a golden radiance, different from its usual appearance.
Seo Heon picked up his brush slowly.
[You spoke of yesterday’s events without asking me.]
Seo Heon’s voice, echoing through her mind, overlapped with the old steward’s formal recitation.
“Forgive me, Your Highness.”
Jin Soa lowered her head.
Yet the complete absence of distress in her voice made Seo Heon’s eyes narrow.
【She doesn’t look sorry at all.】
The unspoken murmur nearly escaped as a laugh, which she stifled.
“But there is reason for my transgression.”
【Reason, she says.】
Seo Heon leaned back loosely against his seat and nodded, as if inviting her to continue.
“Your Highness, your mask and the curse surrounding you have become obstacles to the development of Muk Wangbu.”
At her blunt words, Seo Heon’s mouth twisted slightly.
【I am an obstacle to my own domain’s progress?】
It was a remarkably audacious thing to say to a prince’s face.
Yet Jin Soa pressed on without hesitation.
“Byeokroeyeom Salt is worthy of becoming the Empire’s finest. Yet still, many refuse to use it.”
“Jin Soa, the profits from Byeokroeyeom Salt have already reached staggering proportions.”
The old steward standing behind her interjected.
If the salt was selling this well, how could she claim people were reluctant to use it?
But Jin Soa remained unmoved.
“That is merely enough to avoid financial collapse.”
“That alone is a tremendous achievement, Jin Soa.”
“Byeokroeyeom Salt possesses far greater potential, which is why I speak of it now.”
Not merely averting deficit, but salt that could command the entire Continent.
That was what Byeokroeyeom Salt truly was.
“Is it not strange that despite the Emperor’s recognition, few nobles or trading houses seek it out?”
“Well, that’s…”
“It is because of the rumor that it comes from a cursed land.”
Jin Soa lifted her head.
“That prejudice does not stop at the salt alone. Trade, diplomacy, even the internal affairs of Muk Wangbu—all are swayed by a single whispered word.”
Whether that belief be truth or falsehood.
Words wield tremendous power.
Seo Heon could not deny it.
He had felt the suffocation of it since this morning.
Officials and palace attendants stirring with unease over this small incident.
Those who came seeking gossip out of mere curiosity.
“Therefore, Your Highness’s face must not remain shrouded in ill omens and dark rumors.”
【So that is why you spoke of a scar on my face?】
“Once Your Highness’s curse is dismissed as something ordinary, the rumors will fade.”
A single scar—not a curse or scandal, but something a warrior might bear.
Even that would dispel the sense of dread.
Seo Heon quietly adjusted the mask’s ribbon and rose from his seat.
【I should verify this for myself.】
His voice came, unwritten and silent.
Verify?
What?
Then Seo Heon stepped toward her in one long stride.
The clear, distinctive fragrance he carried washed over her like a wave.
【It seems something I need to be certain of before I go.】
At the same moment, he drew so close she could feel his breath.
It was far too near.
As if their breathing might mingle at any second.
For an instant, Jin Soa’s mind conjured the face hidden behind the mask.
She stepped back in alarm.
“Your Highness…!”
Then his gaze, hidden beneath the mask, slowly traced over her.
【Your face has flushed.】
Who wouldn’t be startled when someone suddenly drew that close?
“Are you mocking me?”
At her uncharacteristic anger, Seo Heon’s eyes grew narrow once more.
【Mocking, she says…】
He studied her intently once more.
“If it displeases you that I spread rumors of a scar, then punish me instead.”
Jin Soa regained her composure and spoke; Seo Heon traced his jaw slowly.
Then he turned back and picked up his brush.
[Why did she say my face was handsome?]
Jin Soa understood his intent only then.
Was he confirming whether she’d actually seen his face?
Testing whether her heart raced at the sight of his handsome features?
Jin Soa found it absurd.
“I said it was on the handsome side, not that I affirmed it was handsome, your Grace.”
Jin Soa cut through his question like a blade; the string of Seo Heon’s mask trembled.
“Did you wish me to find your face scarred?”
“…….”
“Besides, rumor may invite calamity, but it invites fortune as well.”
What circulated through common talk could become a blemish, yet it could also be a path to capture the public’s attention.
Jin Soa intended to use that word-of-mouth for the prosperity of Muk Wangbu.
At this, a faint laugh escaped from the corner of Seo Heon’s mouth.
So she’d spread false rumors without ever seeing his face?
【Truly, you are……】
Should he call it shameless.
Or unrestrained.
He picked up his brush.
[Are you not afraid of the crime of spreading false rumors?]
“If you ask for punishment, I shall accept it gladly.”
A bold reply.
An answer that betrayed her certainty that he had no intention of punishing her.
It was exceedingly vexing, yet Seo Heon laughed nonetheless.
Somewhere along the way, the tight knot that had strangled his breath had loosened completely.
Just then, the elderly steward beside him quietly adjusted his spectacles.
“Ahem, your Grace. Jin Soa did this all for you—surely you don’t intend to punish her?”
The elderly steward, who had suspected Jin Soa just moments before, had swiftly turned to her side.
When Seo Heon regarded the steward coldly, the old man awkwardly touched his beard.
“I’ve known for some time that Jin Soa harbors such deep-laid thoughts.”
【Indeed, that’s the old steward for you.】
Seo Heon gave a hollow laugh, then turned his eyes back to Jin Soa.
[Tell me—how do you intend to deal with the crimes of Jin Mok Yeon, that criminal?]
Seo Heon was curious.
What answer would Jin Soa truly offer.
And the elderly steward beside him was confident.
‘Now Jin Soa can have her revenge on that half-sister who tormented me.’
The steward knew well how much Jin Mok Yeon had made life difficult for Jin Soa.
There was the time when Jin Soa was seven, struck so hard blood bloomed on her cheek.
Or when she was pushed into a pond and nearly drowned, only to be mocked.
That Jin Soa had endured servitude within the Jin Family was also because of Jin Mok Yeon.
So now, finally standing above Jin Mok Yeon, was surely the moment to settle all those old debts……!
“Jin Soa, I humbly beseech you, your Grace…….”
Just then, Jin Soa bent deep and spoke.
“I ask that you forgive my sister, Jin Mok Yeon, with compassion as boundless as the sea.”
“I beg your pardon?!”
Good heavens! How could Jin Soa be so guileless and virtuous!
The elderly steward sighed and pressed his palm to his forehead.

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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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