The Survival Story Of A Fallen Lady - Chapter 58

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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 Noblewoman’s Survival Record, Episode 58
‘Ah, this woman has the eyes of a dragon.’
He found himself genuinely in awe.
She showed such decisiveness and composure that one would never believe she had only just entered the palace.
She didn’t flinch even before the Prime Minister and the Censorate.
Moreover, every word she spoke carried bone and meaning.
‘Had she not been from the Wi Wang Territory, I would have taken her into my service.’
But no.
Such a woman cannot be taken into service.
To take her in would be to risk being consumed by her.
Better to crush her while the chance remains.
Geum Seo Ak studied her for a long moment.
Then he raised his hand.
“Bring me brush and paper.”
Woo Je, as though he had been waiting for this command, quickly presented paper and inkstone.
[The Censorate having inspected the quarters of Jae-In So Ah finds no privately acquired goods, and confirms that all items received in accordance with royal instruction have been fully surrendered to the Royal Household accounts.]
A crimson seal was pressed to the foot of the document.
“Thank you, Prime Minister.”
So Ah’s pale hand received the evidence of her innocence.
Geum Seo Ak turned his body and the crimson cord trailed behind him.
Just as the old man was crossing the threshold, he suddenly paused mid-stride.
From outside her quarters came the sound of people whispering.
“So the Censorate is preparing the official accounting for Jae-In So Ah?”
“Phew, I thought something terrible had happened in the palace.”
The rumor that he and the Censorate had aided Jae-In So Ah with her accounting would surely spread rapidly.
Jae-In So Ah was not the type to sit idle.
‘I scattered the rumor, and I gave that woman’s name the power to shape it.’
He had drawn the blade.
But that woman had used it to forge her own armor.
‘Such a woman would never have come to the Mugwang Territory without calculation.’
Geum Seo Ak weighed So Ah’s true intentions and moved onward.
* * *
After the Censorate had withdrawn entirely.
Before her quarters, bathed in the long glow of dusk, lay only scattered footprints and wheel ruts.
Woo Je stood gazing blankly at the threshold.
“Jae-In So Ah is truly remarkable.”
“You’re always saying that.”
“I could barely stand, my legs were shaking so hard just now.”
Woo Je spoke, recalling the Censorate.
There were rumors that whenever the Censorate arrived, someone lost their head.
Officials trembled at the mere mention of the Censorate’s name.
But So Ah…
“I was shaking too.”
“Pardon? You were, Jae-In?”
Woo Je’s eyes widened in shock.
Yet she had faced them with such composure—shaking all the while?
“Only my trembling legs were hidden beneath my skirts.”
So Ah closed the ledger and smiled faintly.
“There is no person without fear. There are only those who conceal it well.”
Woo Je stood where he was for a long time, drumming his fingers thoughtfully.
Then Young Gyo, who had been listening from nearby, interjected.
“Jae-In, you have far too little ambition.”
“Why do you say that, Young Gyo?”
“You gave away all those precious things for others’ sake.”
Young Gyo understood that bribes were wrong.
But she thought it wouldn’t be so bad to accept a few gifts as tokens, keeping them for herself.
After all, relationships between people were sometimes sustained by such small tokens of affection.
Yet So Ah sent every last piece directly into the Censorate’s hands without hesitation.
“Even down to a single jujube….”
“I’m not without ambition—I have great ambition.”
“What?”
“What I want isn’t merely trinkets like those.”
“Merely? But sir—”
If she sold those items carefully, she could have lived modestly for a lifetime.
Some of them were precious enough that others would never possess their like.
Yet So Ah shook her head.
“If I accepted such gifts and lost people’s trust, if my path forward closed—there’s no greater loss than that. I cannot trade away the orchard I might build in the future for a single date today.”
“That much is true, but……”
“Those are things I can obtain later with my own abilities.”
Young Gyo’s eyes brightened at So Ah’s words.
From the moment she’d taken her in, she’d sensed an uncommon depth to her character—
‘She truly is no ordinary person!’
The way she reasoned was different from everyone else.
Just then, a long shadow fell across the entrance gate.
Where So Ah’s gaze landed.
An Iron Cloud Mask catching the crimson light of the sunset.
“Your Highness.”
So Ah quickly pressed her palms together in greeting.
Woo Je and Young Gyo did the same.
【……】
Seo Heon stood motionless, regarding her.
A long silence stretched between them.
Even the voice that always dwelled within it fell still.
So Ah found the weight of that silence strange; without thinking, she lowered her eyes.
“It is thanks to yesterday’s grace.”
An utterance of perfect courtesy and utterly official formality.
Awkward silence descended once more.
So Ah’s fingertips curled tight.
For days since she’d fled Hyeon Ahn Jae, she hadn’t been able to meet Seo Heon’s gaze.
‘I was busy.’
So Ah told herself.
There had been the aftermath of Yo Seup to clean up.
She’d needed to attend to matters that had accumulated during her rest.
Both So Ah and Seo Heon had been occupied with their respective tasks.
That’s why there simply hadn’t been time to meet.
But it was all an excuse.
Because she didn’t know how to face him.
Didn’t know what words could possibly bridge the gap between them.
She had deliberately avoided him.
Each morning, she’d timed her departure from her quarters a half-watch later, guessing when he’d head to the Study Chamber.
She’d taken the long way through the Garden instead of the direct path.
When she needed to visit the Archives, she’d sent Young Gyo in her stead.
Even when the senior steward came to find her—
“His Highness asked me to inquire after your health.”
“Tell him I’m recovering well. There is no need for concern.”
And with that reply, she remained in her quarters.
Like a mouse hiding in its burrow.
The truth was, she loved listening to his voice.
Those words he spoke, thinking no one could hear them.
Because of that, his words were always sincere, untainted by falsehood.
She never had to suspect deception.
Never had to fear betrayal.
Language she could trust completely.
And so listening to his voice brought her peace.
But to Seo Heon, she was surely a deceiver.
That’s why she dreaded meeting his eyes again.
Afraid of what would gleam in his gaze—betrayal, cold contempt.
‘How pathetic.’
As if avoidance could resolve anything.
How pitiable.
And so, last night, So Ah sought him out.
How long had she stood before the Study Chamber door?
And when it opened.
He asked nothing.
Not why she had taken no steps all this time.
Not why she had come this night.
The familiar sound of his voice no longer reached her ears.
In a silence that seemed to suffocate.
He simply received the ledger, studied it for a long while, and then pressed the Official Seal in silence.
What expression he wore in that moment, So Ah could not know.
For the mask that always covered his face seemed unusually thick.
Swish.
At the small sound, her thoughts scattered.
Seo Heon was holding a brush.
[Your body.]
“Pardon?”
So Ah lifted her head without thinking.
It was after the Censorate had left.
She had assumed he’d come to verify the handling of official business.
But what Seo Heon asked about was neither the progress nor the outcome of the matter.
His gaze remained fixed on her shoulder, not yet fully healed.
“…My body is well enough.”
So Ah managed to answer.
Seo Heon regarded her for a moment, then moved his brush again.
[You have worked hard.]
A brief word.
The tension that had gripped her chest in his presence seemed to crumble at those words.
“All of it was accomplished by your hand, my lord.”
So Ah suppressed the turmoil in her heart and bowed her head once more.
Seo Heon wrote nothing further.
Setting down his brush, he stood there a moment before turning away.
Watching his receding figure, she suddenly recalled what had passed last night.
The single line he had added after pressing the seal.
[This matter shall be resolved as Official Business of the Royal Household.]
She had wondered if it was merely procedure of the Royal Household.
The suffocating silence and oppressive air had been so strange that she had not dwelt deeply on its meaning.
Yet today, facing Geum Seo Ak, So Ah understood.
Not a private matter, but Official Business of the Royal Household.
And thus, anyone who touched this matter would be touching not Jae-In, but the King himself.
‘He had already grasped this from the start.’
That single line had become a shield, solid and steadfast, for her.
The spring breeze, grown warm without her noticing, brushed past her side.
So Ah watched his departing figure for a long time.

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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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