The Survival Story Of A Fallen Lady - Chapter 64

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

The Fall of a Noblewoman’s Survival – Episode 064
【Do you have any idea how much trouble I’ve had?】
Un Jo sat perched on a torch stand, grumbling.
【The beasts from the Geum clan weren’t about to come over easily—their bellies were already full, you see.】
So Ah laughed and gently brushed Un Jo’s chin.
“Thank you, always.”
So Ah tore off a strip of meat and offered it to Un Jo.
Un Jo turned away with an air of disdain, as though refusing to be swayed by mere meat, but soon succumbed and accepted the morsel.
“And what of the news from Wi Wang Territory and the Imperial City?”
【The pigeons arrived just this dawn, actually. But there’s one thing that’s been bothering me…….】
It was just as Un Jo was relaying the intelligence brought from afar.
“Sister Jae-in—!”
The door swung open and a small frame came bounding through.
Twin buns of hair folded neatly on either side of her head.
“Your Grace, if you run like that, you’ll take a tumble.”
So Ah rose in alarm, whereupon Hye Rang caught hold of her skirt and gazed up at her.
“I have a request!”
“What is it, Your Grace?”
“I want to go out to the market!”
Hye Rang’s eyes sparkled like stars.
“What sudden fancy is this, Your Grace?”
“My friends told me there are lanterns hung all over Market Street tonight.”
Tonight, then…….
‘The Onyang Festival has already arrived.’
One of the holidays meant to drive back winter’s yin and misfortune, and to pray for peace and blessing.
“They said I’d never seen anything like it, and all the academy children laughed at me for it.”
The young lord had barely left the palace since birth.
All the more so since the former king’s death years ago.
“They call me a palace mouse!”
“A palace mouse?”
“A dull creature locked away in the palace—that’s what they said!”
Hye Rang’s cheeks puffed out indignantly.
Goodness, children could be so cruel!
“The regent will never allow it—says it’s too dangerous.”
Hye Rang’s lips pouted in dejection.
“So you tell him instead, Sister. He listens to you.”
“Does the regent truly listen to me, Your Grace?”
Nod, nod.
Hye Rang’s small head bobbed up and down enthusiastically, then she seized So Ah’s sleeve and tugged.
“Your Grace?”
“Hurry, we should go together!”
“Am I to come as well?”
* * *
Beneath black tile roofs, an endless procession of crimson lanterns threaded through the night, embroidering the streets below.
As though the recent Demon Calamity had already been forgotten, laughter and the ringing of bells echoed through the thoroughfares, filled with revelers in their finest attire.
And there, amid the crowd—
“Oh! Dang Ho Ro!”
Hye Rang dashed toward the brilliantly glowing red rowan berries on a vendor’s stall.
“Your Grace……!”
So Ah kept close, gripping the small hand firmly so as not to lose her in the throng.
She used the term ‘Your Grace’ to deflect unwanted attention from passersby.
And behind them—
【So Dang Ho Ro is the civilian administration, then.】
The man wearing the Official’s Headdress swallowed a hollow laugh.
“I thought it necessary that the lord observe the civil conditions of Mugwang Territory…….”
Proper, impeccable pretense.
He could not refuse so transparent an excuse.
Nor had he any desire to.
There was no sweeter request he could have heard.
‘The child who wouldn’t so much as meet my eyes out of fear……..’
After the cucumber incident.
Seo Heon’s distance from Hye Rang had grown considerably closer.
When he thought about it, that was entirely due to So Ah’s doing.
‘The very liveliness that now fills Mugwang Territory…’
Seo Heon swept his gaze across the street.
The Onyang Festival brought crowds, certainly, but this year’s festival was unusually lively.
“Things are worth buying these days. Ever since the road opened, prices have dropped by half.”
“The lord took to So Ah well.”
Seo Heon’s fingers twitched.
“Ha, it’s hardly surprising that the Administrator treats So Ah so generously.”
Old Manager, who had been following, spoke.
The street bore almost no trace of the Demon Calamity from days past.
The city walls, sturdily repaired.
A new roof rising where the temporary shelters once stood.
‘They say the Minister visits So Ah often as well.’
His gaze, beneath the Official’s Headdress, lingered on So Ah.
Every time the lanterns swayed, the lotus hairpin pinned in her hair glimmered.
Immortal Lotus.
A sobriquet not casually bestowed on just anyone, yet Seo Heon found it suited her perfectly.
A lotus that pushes its blossom up through the mire, breaking the surface of the water.
She who brings laughter and radiant lanterns to illuminate a barren street…….
Just then, Hye Rang came bounding toward him and suddenly held up a Dang Ho Ro.
“Look at this! A Dang Ho Ro with ten hawthorn berries strung on it!”
In Hye Rang’s hands hung a long skewer of Dang Ho Ro, stretching as far as her arm was long.
At the delight in Hye Rang’s voice, a smile crossed Seo Heon’s lips.
So many firsts.
Celebrating a festival together with Hye Rang.
Buying snacks on the street.
And yet.
“Hey, you there! Come here at once!”
A loud, booming voice rang out from behind.
When he turned, the front of an inn was in uproar.
“We sent someone four days ago to reserve a room, and now you say it’s gone? What kind of nonsense is this?”
Two merchants in silk robes were flushing red, ready to grab each other by the collar.
“A guest from Jeong Wang Territory came yesterday and offered to pay double!”
“Don’t you know that business runs on promises? If you promise, you keep it no matter the price!”
“But there’s nowhere for them to sleep, they’re begging and pleading—what am I supposed to do?”
“Bah, spit! I’ll never set foot in Mugwang Territory again!”
Watching them, So Ah’s eyes grew cold and still.
Hye Rang, frightened by the shouting, clung to So Ah’s skirts and hid behind her legs.
In the end, Old Manager scooped Hye Rang up into his arms.
“My, Miss. Shall we go look at something else over there?”
Old Manager said so, and then—
With a wink.
He squeezed one eye shut at Seo Heon.
【……?】
Old Manager hurried away with Hye Rang, leaving them to themselves.
Seo Heon sighed beneath his Official’s Headdress.
‘I’m not sure what he’s thinking.’
In any case, it was not a sight fit for Hye Rang to witness.
People quarreling in the street.
Rough curses.
In the end, the merchants kicked the inn’s sign board hard with their feet and turned to leave.
“Where in heaven are we supposed to spend the night?”
As they raked their hair in frustration—
“Are you perhaps looking for a place to stay?”
So Ah abruptly approached them.
Startled, Seo Heon caught the edge of her sleeve, but So Ah gave him a reassuring smile.
“It seems the inn’s hospitality has fallen short of expectations.”
“Don’t mention it! Back in Ye Wang Territory, if a room isn’t reserved, we can’t do business at all! We offer a bowl of rice gruel at dawn, and we have a separate place to safely keep their baggage.”
“I see.”
“The trouble is, we have to pile our goods in the room, so we can’t sleep for worry of thieves. And there’s no stable—do you know where we’re supposed to tie our mule? Against someone else’s wall!”
The complaints burst forth like a dam breaking.
“It’s no wonder Mugwang Territory is called cursed. Nobody conducts business decently around here!”
So Ah listened to their grievances with patience.
“You must be quite vexed. Though we have no inn, there is a place where you can rest for the night. If you wish, I can arrange it for you.”
The merchants looked her up and down.
“Young lady, are you trying to recommend some… questionable establishment?”
The moment one merchant’s lips curled upward, a sharp gleam cut across their vision.
A sword half-drawn from Seo Heon’s belt flashed with cold brilliance.
The merchants went pale in an instant.
So Ah grasped Seo Heon’s hand and continued speaking.
“I’m afraid I know little of such places, but I do know of another.”
So Ah pressed a small slip of paper into their hands.
“Byeok Roe Merchant House?”
“If you take that to the Byeok Roe Merchant House, they’ll see to your needs.”
They eyed her with suspicion, then accepted the note, doubt lingering in their expressions.
“I’m sorry your spirits have been dampened. I hope the rest of your journey brings you peace.”
* * *
Above the tall pavilion hung a large wooden plaque bearing the name “Byeok Roe.”
Inside.
“We got this.”
A merchant held out the crumpled note.
A young man who had been turning pages in a ledger looked up.
“I’ll show you to your room.”
After confirming the note, the man asked nothing further and guided them upstairs.
And the room they arrived at.
“Are we really staying in this room?”
The merchant’s eyes widened in astonishment.
A room that seemed to warrant a hefty silver payment for even a single night.
“Wh-what is the price…?”
“There is no charge. It is a room for receiving guests.”
Woo Je answered with a smile.
The merchant’s lips parted in confusion.
“Just who is that young lady…?”
“The young lady you mention—”
“We met her on Market Street.”
“Was she wearing a lotus-flower hairpin?”
“That’s the one.”
“She is the proprietor of our merchant house.”
“The proprietor?! Then that woman is…?”
“She is also the courtesan official of Mugwang Territory.”
The color drained from the merchant’s face.
He had spoken of… pleasure houses to the courtesan official of the Territory.
“Th-then the one in black standing beside her…?”
Woo Je did not answer.
Instead, he set down his brush and regarded the merchant steadily.
“In Mugwang Territory, there is only one person who can wear a sword in that manner.”
Thud.
The bundle the merchant had been holding fell to the floor.

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