The meal Sohwi fed me with his own hands showed no sign of ending. It was partly my fault for accepting and eating everything he gave me, but there had to be a limit.
He kept picking up food and bringing it to my mouth without stopping until I had eaten half of an amount that even two people always left unfinished. If I ate any more, it would be less overeating and more torture.
Only after I grabbed Sohwi’s arm and shook my head desperately, feeling as though something truly terrible would happen if I took another bite, did he finally set the chopsticks down on the table. Even then, the regretful look on his face was absurd.
After feeding me that much, what could he possibly be disappointed about? Why did the foxes of this estate like feeding me so much?
Sohwi, and Hwaya too.
…Come to think of it, I needed to talk to Hwaya as well. From my perspective, I had been flustered when she suddenly blamed Jeongi for something that was my fault, so I had stopped her. But thinking back on it now, from Hwaya’s perspective, it was only natural for her emotions to run high.
The madam she had left behind to quietly look at books had vanished without a trace, and when she finally found her, she was curled up in a corner of an alley with her clothes in disarray, crying.
“As much as we look after you, my lady, you should think of us as well.”
The words Sohwi had left me with as he left the room after the meal with the maid who cleared the table kept circling in my head.
From my perspective, I had simply been living in an unfamiliar place without knowing anything, but from everyone else’s perspective, someone precious to them had finally woken after a month of unconsciousness.
How hard must it have been for them, seeing me in such poor condition? They had probably tried their best not to show it out of consideration for me, but that did not mean their worry had disappeared.
More than anything, I felt like I shouldn’t just let things pass like this.
“Hwaya. Are you there?”
I lifted myself up from where I had been lying on the floor to digest and called Hwaya.
“Yes. Did you call, Madam?”
As if it were only natural, Hwaya’s answer came immediately from outside the door. Even though there was no particular way to contact her, she had always answered at once whenever I called.
I didn’t know if she had some method, or if she simply stood waiting outside my room all day.
But right now, what I had to say to Hwaya came first.
“Hwaya. I have something to say. Will you come in?”
At my call, Hwaya carefully opened the door and stepped inside.
Her reddish-brown hair was neatly coiled up, her sunset-colored eyes shone, she was a little taller than I was now, and her properly dressed figure somehow gave off an alluring air.
It surprised me all over again that I had never properly noticed such a striking appearance until now.
“Hwaya. I’m sorry about earlier today.”
“Not at all. There is no need for you to apologize, Madam.”
Seeing her immediately wave her hands and answer my apology made me feel strangely bitter.
“I didn’t listen and acted however I wanted. Thinking about it now, it wasn’t as though you said anything wrong either.”
“But Madam, you apologizing…”
To stop Hwaya from saying something in response, I raised one hand in a gesture like Sohwi had when he told me not to get up.
Fortunately, it seemed my meaning came across, and Hwaya stopped speaking, lowering her head slightly.
“To be honest, I still don’t completely understand. I still think you were too harsh on Jeongi, and I don’t really know what my position is either.”
The more I continued, saying each thing I wanted to say to Hwaya,
“From my perspective, the kindness that feels excessive… should I call it attendance? That sort of thing feels burdensome too.”
Hwaya’s lowered head slowly began to rise.
“But I also think it isn’t right for me, who has no memories and doesn’t know how dangerous it is outside, to decide on my own that it’s excessive.”
The head that had been slowly rising finally lifted fully, and our eyes met.
“So please teach me properly by my side. If you don’t, I’ll make you worry again.”
Hwaya, who had always seemed calm and gentle, looked for some reason as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
“You told me I could do as I pleased. If you don’t stop me from beside me, I really will do whatever I want, you know?”
“Of course, Madam. Is there anything in this estate that could not be done according to your will?”
In contrast to her eyes, which looked as if she might cry, the smile on her lips was brighter than it had been at any moment before, and I felt truly relieved.
“Then could you call me something other than Madam? To be honest, it doesn’t feel real, and it’s a little burdensome.”
At Hwaya’s words telling me to do anything I wanted, I thought I might try changing the title “Madam,” which had felt a little burdensome.
“Then shall I call you Young Miss?”
“I think Madam is fine after all.”
“Understood, Young Miss.”
“Hwaya, I was wrong…”
I hadn’t even broken even. Madam was much better. The moment I heard the title Young Miss, goosebumps rose all over me.
“Ah, come to think of it, what happened to Jeongi? She must have suffered a lot because of me.”
To stop Hwaya from saying anything more about titles, I hurriedly changed the subject.
“She agreed to run a simple errand. She will not receive any severe punishment or disadvantage.”
As if she was letting me off only this once, Hwaya answered my question.
“That’s a relief.”
A sigh of relief escaped me without my realizing it. If she had suffered a major disadvantage because of me, I wouldn’t have felt at ease.
I didn’t know what the simple errand was, but I was glad things had passed without much trouble.
Perhaps it was because the things that had been weighing on my mind had been resolved, or perhaps it was because of the overly heavy dinner. I slowly began to feel sleepy.
Even while sitting in place, my eyes kept closing, and my head began to bob again and again.
“Madam. If you are tired, shall I prepare your bedding?”
“Yes… please.”
Unable to overcome the drowsiness pouring over me, I decided to go to bed a little earlier than usual.
***
I laid the Madam down when she began nodding off and quietly left the room.
The Madam’s expression, which had grown visibly poor in the village, looked much more at ease.
Compared to before the outing, when she had been filled with boredom and frustration, she seemed full of vitality.
It seemed the Master had soothed her well during the meal, but…
“Have you nothing to say to me?”
As if he had been waiting outside the door, the Master approached with an unpleasant smile the moment I closed it.
Even if he had not gone out of his way to show off like this, I would have thanked him on my own, but because he made a point of saying something, I suddenly no longer wanted to.
Thanks to the Madam, who said she had many things to ask me starting tomorrow and that she truly wanted to learn embroidery from me, I had been in a very good mood. I had not expected it to sour so quickly.
“Thank you for lifting the Madam’s spirits, Master.”
“It was only natural that I should.”
Then why, if it was only natural, are you insisting on receiving bows for it?
It seems you are still holding on to what I said last time about being left alone to watch the house if the Madam ran away. How petty of you, Master.
“That is that. As for Jeongi, I ordered her to find the one who ran his mouth so carelessly.”
Perhaps he had quite enjoyed his little prank, for the satisfied expression he had been wearing changed at once into a serious one.
It seemed the joking ended here.
“She says she couldn’t find him. There are clearly no traces of him leaving the village, yet she cannot catch hide nor hair of him within the village either.”
“You mean Jeongi, of all people, who saw him in person?”
“Yes.”
Though I had questioned her too harshly in the village, Jeongi was a girl who made few minor mistakes and was skilled at gathering information.
For a girl like that to fail to find his trail. It seemed he had not been an ordinary man.
Rather, the possibility that he had approached the Madam deliberately grew even higher.
“Instead, she says she gathered rumors centered on what he said.”
On the note the Master took from his sleeve and handed to me, related rumors were written in small but neat handwriting.
There were many similar accounts, so to summarize broadly:
On the final market day of this month, someone had indeed handed out black wooden tokens, saying that if people brought them, they could receive gukbap with meat for free.
The wooden token they obtained had nothing unusual about it and was merely an ordinary piece of wood painted with dye.
It was uncertain whether this was related, but recently there had been frequent cases of itinerant peddlers losing contact.
They could be divided broadly into those three points.
“Looking at this alone, it does not appear to be a major problem.”
“Yes. Perhaps some scum who sell people have appeared somewhere again, and that man also lost contact with them.”
At the Master’s words that he would have people inspect the area around the village, I felt as though something was bothering me.
Judging by the Master’s expression, he seemed to feel the same way, but since neither of us could tell exactly what it was that caught at us, we did not bother saying it aloud.
“Then please do your best, Master. I must prepare to teach the Madam embroidery tomorrow, so I will take my leave first.”
Rather, I decided to leave.
It was clearly becoming a complicated situation, and if I began involving myself in this matter, the time I had to look after the Madam would decrease.
“Hwaya. You know why I brought this up, so what are you…”
“Yes. Of course. I will prepare thoroughly so that it never reaches the Madam’s ears!”
“Hwaya!”
Please handle such matters yourself, as the Master should.
Unlike you, Master, I have little time to interact with the Madam privately, so I would like to stay by her side as much as possible until she regains her memories.
***
“My lady. Would you care to go on an outing to the village with me?”
For a long while, I could not understand what Sohwi had said to me the next day.
The instant realization flashed through me, I felt heat rise to my face.
I-Is he… asking me out on a date?