Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 61

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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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Chapter Sixty-One
When Sam-cheon pressed the blade against Joyakdol’s throat, his knees buckled and struck the floor without resistance. His lips trembled as death drew near.
“Pull the men outside back.”
Sam-cheon’s voice was cold and commanding.
“Palace Maid!”
The door burst open with a shout. Arang charged in like an arrow, then stopped short at the sight of Sam-cheon.
“Ah, you’ve caught him.”
“The other one’s in the outhouse.”
Sancho, who had followed her in, changed direction toward the back of the building. As Arang’s blade leveled at the man, Sam-cheon stepped back.
Sam-cheon carefully wiped the blood from Irae with her handkerchief, then whispered softly.
“Thank you.”
She tucked Irae back into her bosom and turned to see Arang beaming with satisfaction.
“These men had real skill, so I worried we might struggle. But you subdued them perfectly. The Training Master will be pleased.”
Because she had received Irae’s help, Sam-cheon awkwardly changed the subject.
“Is the outside cleaned up?”
“Should be done by now.”
The fact that Arang and Sancho had entered before things were finished meant—
“They’ve arrived, then?”
“Yes. We would have been in trouble otherwise. There were quite a lot of them.”
Her heart quickened at the news that Wolya’s group had come.
Sam-cheon rushed out through the gate. Men wearing face masks were checking on the fallen ruffians when they bowed their heads toward her.
Sam-cheon offered them a gesture of gratitude in return. By the time she raised her head again, they had vanished like the wind.
But—
‘He’s not here?’
Wolya, their leader, was absent. Moreover, the large man who always stood at his right was nowhere to be seen. And now that she thought of it, she hadn’t heard the clear ringing of those bells that usually announced his presence.
Arang, who had followed her out, surveyed the empty street.
“Those noble benefactors certainly leave in a hurry.”
“I wish I could have at least thanked them.”
“I wonder who they really are? When they removed those masks, weren’t they so handsome your eyes went wide? That’s how a fated love story begins. Like Prince Ho-dong and Princess Naktang?”
“That story ended in tragedy.”
“Reality is harsh, isn’t it?”
Arang kicked Joyakdol’s knee from behind, forcing him down. Saliva dribbled from his clenched mouth.
“Now, shall we have a serious conversation?”
At Arang’s words, Joyakdol’s jaw tightened. Arang brought her heel down on the back of his head with feeling and chuckled.
“You go inside, Palace Maid. You shouldn’t see rough things like this.”
“Achoo!”
Sam-cheon sneezed forcefully.
[There is quite a bit of dust in here.]
Irae was right.
The cleaning was negligible, but there was not a single thing of her mother’s left.
“There’s nothing here.”
[They seem to have sold anything of value. It’s surprising the house itself is still standing.]
“It was a house my maternal family provided.”
Everywhere she looked, faint memories lingered. The bed where she had fallen asleep in her mother’s embrace, the table where they had eaten together, the chair where her mother sat sewing.
She had wanted to keep at least one keepsake, but all that remained were large, worn furnishings.
She was rising to her feet with a sigh when a memory struck her mind.
There had been a place where her mother hid emergency money.
She pushed her body under the bed and stretched her arm out fully, and her fingers brushed against something.
“Found it.”
What came away in her grip was a small wooden box, covered in years of dust.
When she opened the lid, a wooden hair ornament carved with delicate flowers appeared.
It was a decoration her mother had always worn in her hair when alive. When their circumstances grew difficult, she had sold all her other jewelry, but kept this one piece.
Sam-cheon placed it in her own hair.
“Does it suit me?”
[It’s beautiful.]
Sam-cheon smiled and looked around the space that held memories of her mother.
“I’m doing well. I laugh often. I’ve met many good people. And a good Curse too.”
So rest easy.
After offering her final goodbye, she stepped into the courtyard where Sancho and Arang turned their heads at the same moment.
Arang spoke as though disappointed.
“He keeps his mouth firmly shut. We searched the others thoroughly, but all we found were a few iron coins. No other belongings.”
“Sancho, load those two onto the cart and return. When you arrive, send people to clean this place, and interrogate those men properly.”
“What will you do, Palace Maid?”
“Arang and I will move separately. I still have matters to settle.”
Having finished speaking, Sam-cheon moved forward with a set expression.
The place Arang and she arrived at was the town where the Treatment Facility stood. After entrusting her horse to an attendant, Sam-cheon headed for the facility.
Dishes from supper were piled high in the courtyard. Sam-cheon glanced at them as she crossed the yard.
The Physician, sensing her presence, looked up and recognized her.
“You’ve returned. It was weighing on your mind after all, wasn’t it?”
His warm welcome suggested he knew nothing of the attack. Though he could be feigning ignorance.
Sam-cheon remained wary and broached her matter.
“I mean to take my father to Sabi. Could you prepare a few days’ worth of medicine for him?”
“That’s a wise decision. It’s better to be closer for proper care. I’ll return the remaining treatment fees to you.”
“No. Use the balance to treat patients in difficult circumstances. I think that would be more meaningful.”
When Sam-cheon refused to take back the treatment fee, the Physician’s face broke into a beaming smile.
“Thank you. I’ll bring the medicine right away.”
“I’ll go collect my father.”
Sam-cheon stepped inside and exchanged a glance with Arang.
“If you refuse to come along, I’ll force you.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Arang answered, staying close at her heels.
Sam-cheon passed the helpless patients and came to her father’s bed. But it was empty.
Sam-cheon rented an adjoining room at the Inn for another night to search for traces of her father, though the effort yielded little.
Arang, who had questioned people at the Treatment Facility, learned that a man with a sickle-shaped scar beneath his eye had visited.
The man had appeared at dinner time, briefly spoken with her father, and then left. No one had seen her father after that.
Her father might have been taken, or he might have gone of his own accord. Since he had been promised medicine, it seemed more likely he had gone willingly.
Should she just return as things stood?
‘No.’
Her father was a man who would sell her again if it suited his needs.
He could cut and reshape her life as he pleased, even tailor it as he saw fit.
Worse, if he came back with a marriage proposal, it would be troublesome. As a Palace Maid, she wouldn’t be dragged away, but it would become a vexing complication.
Moreover, Gye-san had indicated her intention to seek Palace Departure. Once Sam-cheon left the Palace Maid status behind, if her father pressed a marriage proposal, matters would become far more entangled.
“I have to find him.”
As she spoke the words firmly, Irae ventured to respond.
[It’s about your father, isn’t it?]
“Yes. If I’m not careful, I’ll get hit from behind again.”
[Actually, I can find where he is.]
“What?”
[I placed a small, minor, trivial, light Curse on him earlier. So it won’t harm him—just a little sneeze when he wakes in the morning.]
It felt as though a weight had lifted from her chest. She now had a way to find her father.
“Irae, you’re a genius.”
[Huh? Are you not angry?]
“Didn’t you put it there in case something happened to him, so you could warn me?”
[That’s true, but I’m sorry I placed a Curse without asking.]
Sam-cheon shook her head. She understood it had been done for her sake.
“Thank you. I know you care about me very much.”
[Well, not that much. In any case, just head North. It’s not far.]
Sam-cheon’s gaze naturally turned toward the North. Beyond the horizon, the distant mountains seemed to speak to her in a voice heavy with meaning.

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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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