The Survival Story Of A Fallen Lady - Chapter 45

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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 Fall of a Noblewoman, Episode 45
The air hung thick with the scent of dried grass and beast.
【It’s deeper inside.】
Un-jo settled onto the wooden post, gesturing toward the far reaches of the Stable.
‘There’s someone who knows about the curse.’
So-ah pressed her lips tight and stepped into the Stable.
Yet her feet hesitated with each stride.
A promise made with Seo-heon.
[First: Do not ask anything about the curse.]
To break his request would be a transgression.
But.
【Don’t come any closer.】
Those shoulders trembling like a frightened animal, clutching at the mask.
【Don’t you wish to know about my curse?】
That voice asking even though it knew she couldn’t hear.
And that was why she couldn’t forget it.
‘No.’
So-ah shook her head, casting off the prickling feeling.
‘Once is enough to surrender my heart to kindness.’
Hadn’t she poisoned herself with that very kindness before?
Seo-heon was different?
In her past life, hadn’t she believed Seo-gon would be different too?
She remembered vividly where that faith had led.
‘No—I’m not interested in him.’
It was simply necessity.
After her return, there had been one desire from the beginning.
The downfall of Wei Wang Seo-gon and Jin Mok-yeon.
To achieve that, she needed power.
Power enough to crumble the Wei Wang Palace.
And she had chosen one who, like her, had died at Seo-gon’s hand.
Seo-heon, the Muk Wang.
It was not mere sympathy or shared suffering.
What mattered was that Seo-gon despised him, wished to obliterate him so thoroughly he would kill him.
When a proud man like Seo-gon was forced to stand beneath Seo-heon, he would suffer the greatest shock and fury imaginable.
For that reason, she could not move forward while leaving Seo-heon’s curse—an unknown and dangerous thing—unattended.
……That was the only reason.
So-ah steeled herself and continued forward.
Then, at the deepest part of the Stable.
“The stubborn beast won’t eat again!”
The Stable Keeper sighed in frustration.
In the stall where he stood lay an aged, ashen mare.
【That horse.】
Go-sak.
The animal Un-jo had mentioned—one who knew of Seo-heon’s curse.
But the scrawny mare, though the Feeding Trough sat before her, turned her head away without so much as a glance.
“Is something the matter?”
“Y-you startled me!”
Only then sensing her presence, the Stable Keeper jumped and bowed low.
“Is there something wrong with this horse?”
“Well, that is… the creature has no visible ailment, but her appetite is quite poor, my lady.”
She won’t eat?
‘Perhaps she’s in some distress or suffering from a disorder of the spirit, and has stopped eating altogether?’
So-ah examined Go-sak more closely.
And yet.
【She’s hungry.】
Go-sak licked her dry lips, her weakened body pressing against the ground.
‘Hungry? Then why doesn’t she eat?’
So-ah lowered herself carefully.
“Come here and eat, if you’re hungry.”
So-ah pointed to the Feeding Trough.
The old horse cautiously brought its muzzle to the feeding trough.
But then.
Screech—
The moment its muzzle touched the trough, it scraped backward with a sharp, piercing sound.
In that instant, the horse flinched and jerked its head up, retreating a step.
【That sound again……!】
The horse’s coat bristled with agitation.
‘The sound?’
So-ah gently touched the feeding trough to test it.
The heavy iron base of the trough dragged across the floor, emitting a sharp screech.
【Enough……!】
The horse tossed its head roughly and whinnied.
“Look here. The moment you ask him to eat, he throws a fit like this!”
The Stable Keeper complained in frustration.
But So-ah thought she understood.
Those eyes. That reaction.
‘After the war ended, some soldiers used to do the same thing.’
The sound of metal scraping—it was so much like the clash of swords and spears that a body seasoned by the battlefield couldn’t help but tense.
It was war trauma.
‘Go-sak said he was the late king’s mount.’
Before Seo-heon ascended the throne.
The horse that had carried Dang Je-uk, who once ruled Muk Wang Palace.
He must have seen countless battles.
And he had witnessed the death of Dang Je-uk, the master he’d served his whole life.
“When did you change out the feeding trough?”
“Eh? About a month ago—why do you ask?”
It matched perfectly with the timing of when he’d stopped eating.
“As you know, horses are sensitive creatures, easily disturbed by change. It seems the scraping sound has prevented him from feeding.”
“What? The other horses eat just fine without any trouble……!”
After all the effort I put into switching to a sturdy, rot-resistant trough!
The Stable Keeper grumbled.
He promptly retrieved the wooden feeding trough they’d used before and filled it with grain.
And just like that, Go-sak lowered his muzzle to eat without hesitation!
“Hah! So it really was just that metal scraping sound?”
The Stable Keeper’s jaw dropped open.
All this time he’d tried different feed and even had him examined for injury!
The Stable Keeper shook his head in disbelief.
“Would it be all right if I stayed to observe this horse a while longer?”
“Of course. Just don’t enter the stall itself—he may kick with his hind legs.”
The Stable Keeper readily nodded his assent.
He’d grown quite fond of So-ah, having received her help first with the matter of horse distribution and now again today.
‘Noble ladies don’t usually come to the stables—they say the place reeks of horse dung.’
He’d even heard the story of how she’d tamed the savage Feng Lei in a single encounter.
His trust in So-ah complete, he soon departed to attend to his other duties.
Go-sak, chewing his grain, looked up at So-ah and gave a small nod.
【Much obliged……. At my age, I still can’t get used to that sound no matter what.】
The old horse murmured.
“It’s nothing. I only did what needed to be done.”
【……It seems you understand my words quite well.】
Go-sak’s eyes, which had been dull and listless, widened considerably.
“I do understand you, old one.”
When So-ah smiled gently, Go-sak started up in surprise and raised himself.
【Is that truly the case?】
“It’s one of my small talents.”
【Well, I’ve lived long enough to see all manner of things.】
The old horse let out a hollow laugh.
【Having a conversation like this……it’s been ages. There’s hardly anyone who would seek out an old nag like me, unable even to pull a cart.】
Abandoned at his advanced age and in his declining health—it would have been no surprise.
Once the fastest steed in Muk Wang Palace, he could hardly manage even a gallop across the grasslands anymore.
“I’ve heard that in the past, you served the late king.”
【That’s right. He’s already gone.】
Moisture gathered in Go-sak’s eyes.
That old, sickly horse—useless as he’d become—still kept watch over his stall in the stable only out of respect for the late king.
The war horse that had carried him on his back from the king’s youth until his dying day, galloping across countless battlefields.
But that, too, was nothing but ancient history now.
【This old creature has no right to lament. There is one far lonelier than I.】
“One far lonelier, you say…?”
【Seo-heon.】
So-ah’s fingers twitched slightly.
【That child, ruling alone with no one to hear what lies within him.】
Go-sak’s voice grew heavy.
A being burdened with impossible responsibility, nowhere to speak it aloud.
And the child whom the late king held dear right up until he departed.
【That boy has no one who can listen to him with ease.】
Go-sak sighed shallow and low, his head drooping.
Then So-ah parted her hesitant lips.
“There is one who listens.”
【One who listens to that child’s words? That cannot be…】
“There is.”
So-ah’s voice rang out quietly.
“I… can hear the young lord’s voice.”
The air fell into sudden, complete silence.
Go-sak’s clouded eyes widened slowly.
“Just as I can understand your words, I hear the young lord’s voice as well.”
So-ah confessed for the first time.
Words she had never spoken to anyone before.
In her past life, her ability had been discovered, and Seo-gon had put her to death for it.
But she had decided to reveal this card before Go-sak.
There was only one reason.
‘A beast cannot carry tales to others.’
Even if she spoke, there was no one among humans for him to tell.
And a beast would never think to exploit her gift.
Go-sak was silent for a long while.
As if he could not believe it.
And yet, as if he could not help but believe it.
【Does that child know of your gift?】
“Not yet.”
【What face might that boy make when he learns the truth?】
Slowly, the old horse lifted his head and gazed deeply into the eyes of the woman before him.
Eyes quiet and clear.
A gaze serene yet marked with resolve.
‘There was a reason she came to find me.’
He possessed an animal’s instinct, honed through long years of living.
‘This is no mere curiosity.’
Even though Go-sak was but one old mare who could carry her secrets nowhere, she had shown her hand first.
It spoke of her desperation.
Moreover, the aura emanating from this woman was no ordinary thing.
【You might be the one who can help that child.】
A light kindled in Go-sak’s eyes.
【Would you hear, if it pleases you, the tale of this old one?】
At that, Un-jo glanced cautiously at So-ah.
So-ah nodded calmly.
【That boy, Seo-heon, first came to this place when he was nine years old.】
In those days, Seo-heon wore no mask and kept his mouth sealed to no one.

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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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