Free Web Novel“Now you’re finally making sense!”
The scene shifted before anyone realized it.
Humming to herself, Yeoreum followed Jeongan eastward. Seoryeong, a greedy little thing with a long list of wants, kept chattering away while eyeing shoes that looked even remotely wearable.
“The first thing I’m buying is shoes. I think it’s because we’ve been trekking mountain paths, but these feel awful.”
Seoryeong’s gaze landed on Jeongan’s completely worn-out shoes. Patched clothing. A staff with its tip ground down smooth.
Her eyes narrowed, as if nothing she saw pleased her.
“Anyway, I’m really going to the market, okay? Don’t try to stop me?”
Worried she might get scolded, Seoryeong glanced at Jeongan for approval—then immediately shuffled closer, sticking to her side.
Beneath the straw hat, Jeongan’s lips curved upward in a smile.
“Go on.”
Crossing mountains and streams, they finally reached an old, decrepit cabin deep in the mountains of Heavenly Vein Land. After unpacking, Seoryeong hopped about in delight, her face screaming that she wanted to go out and play immediately.
“Kind of cute....”
IP 85.152 muttered, then quickly put on a cold expression again. They weren’t a fan of Han Yeoreum, and they certainly weren’t like the foolish masses.
They were, after all, just one of the rational viewers.
“It’s just how the character is written.”
While IP 85.152 was busy regaining their composure, Seoryeong was already sprinting down the mountain path and running into a noblewoman.
She was the daughter-in-law of a noble household, one that came to the temple over and over because they couldn’t conceive a child.
After making a proposal to the noblewoman—one that sounded like a gamble—Seoryeong entered a grand tiled house.
“Fa... Father....”
Keeping Seoryeong behind her, the noblewoman cautiously called out to her father-in-law. What came down on her was a thunderous scolding.
“For heaven’s sake, why are you calling me for such pointless nonsense?!”
Startled, the noblewoman shrank back. Behind her, Seoryeong flung the door open without asking permission.
The crotchety old man lifted his gaze in disbelief.
“You can go now.”
The uninvited guest stared the old man straight in the eye and tossed the words at the daughter-in-law.
It was absurd enough that some nobody was talking to his daughter-in-law as if she were a servant—but now the brat was boldly marching right up to him without a shred of fear.
“Hey, you lowborn bastard. Why is your temperament so filthy?”
“W-what, lo... lo-lo-lo... lowborn bastard?”
He’d asked why her temperament was filthy, but somehow the one who was truly filthy was the other side.
Being cursed at and spoken to casually by a child barely out of diapers made the old man’s face turn crimson.
“Why are you acting so surprised?”
Seoryeong plopped herself down across from him, speaking as if it were nothing.
“Didn’t your father tell you? The one who lay sick for three days and nights before barely waking up. He must’ve.”
“Ugh....”
With eyes that said she knew everything, Seoryeong continued.
“You bought a genealogy and started pretending you were noble, setting food before other people’s ancestors. Of course whatever fortune you had ran off. Listen carefully. Other people’s ancestors are other people’s ancestors. That one already ate well on the offerings you laid out—every time you swapped daughters-in-law—and handed your fortune over to his own descendants!”
Bang!
Seoryeong slammed her palm down hard on the low table in front of the old man.
“Get a grip! That’s why your line’s about to end.”
“You little—!!!”
The old man, who could barely breathe, roared. His face burned red as he shouted toward the outside.
“Seize this insolent wretch at once!”
“Hey.”
From outside came the sound of servants shouting, Yes, sir! and rushing over.
Seoryeong lightly tapped the desk in front of him with her small fist.
“Then the assets your father hid away. I get them?”
At those words, the man’s face went deathly pale.
“....” freewёbnoνel.com
“Your family’s actually lowborn, you know~. That last wish he left—telling you not to enter officialdom, at least for your generation. The words he couldn’t finish because he collapsed mid-sentence. Aren’t you curious?”
In an instant, the scale between the two tipped.
Seoryeong was the one holding the knife.
* * *
In the courtyard, the noblewoman paced back and forth, anxiety written all over her delicate face.
The servants who had rushed en masse toward her father-in-law’s room had abruptly turned around and run toward the storage shed instead, leaving her with no one to grab and question.
A scream burst out from inside the shed.
The noblewoman trembled violently.
“H-husband! What is going on? Has an order been given to roll that child up in a straw mat or something?”
“I... I don’t know, my lady....”
“If that’s the case, make sure you call me. If I go and beg, saying I was briefly deceived by a madman, perhaps he’ll let her go. What are we to do....”
Even when she grabbed the arm of the youngest servant and asked, she got no real answer.
Then the servants inside the shed came scrambling out, completely out of their minds, shouting for the old master.
“Master! Maasteeer—!”
From the torn-up floor of the shed, several heavy chests had been unearthed.
“Hahahahaha! Hahaha!”
The father-in-law’s booming laughter echoed through the house. Even when his eyes met those of his daughter-in-law peering through the slightly open door, he didn’t care—he just kept smiling broadly.
“A lucky charm! That one’s a real lucky charm!”
Hearing praise for the first time ever, unease flickered across the noblewoman’s face. She had no idea what was happening.
“Just words? If it weren’t for your daughter-in-law, you’d never have known until the day you died.”
“No, no! Just words, my foot. Come here. Come inside.”
The father-in-law plunged his hand into a chest filled with jewels and gold, grabbed a fistful, and thrust it toward her.
Still not understanding a thing, the woman spread both hands and accepted the jewels he gave her.
“Now go back out.”
Watching the woman with a satisfied smile, Seoryeong lifted her chin as if the money were her own.
The jewels in the noblewoman’s hands looked like pocket money Seoryeong had given her.
“Th-thank you...?”
Leaving the room with a dazed expression, the noblewoman finally broke into a bright smile when she saw the servants.
The servants who’d been hovering nearby gasped when they saw her hands full of jewels.
“Did the master give those to you?”
“They say there’s nothing like favoring the lady of the house. Of course, of course!”
No one in the household was unaware that she was treated like a burden.
Even so, they offered praise to comfort her.
Holding the jewels, the woman smiled primly and said to the servants,
“What are you all doing? Why aren’t you coming to my room?”
Lifting both hands full of jewels, she scurried past the servants.
“Think about what you’ve all been wanting.”
Smiles spread across the servants’ faces. They resembled the lady—almost like family.
“This is touching....”
Thinking it was a good call to switch from <Top Class> to Strange Tales, the office worker focused on the screen.
From <ParCheHi> to <No Interest Whatsoever>, they’d somehow ended up watching everything Han Yeoreum appeared in.
Left alone in the room, Seoryeong and the old man faced each other. Greed dripping from his voice, the old man asked,
“So then... what must be done to continue the line?”
Seoryeong answered quietly.
“The line already ended long ago! You’re the end of it!”
At her light, casual tone, the old man doubted his own ears.
“But I still have a son—how can the line be ended...?”
Was something wrong with his son...? Just as suspicion crept in—
“It’s because your wife is already dead.”
Rummaging through the chest, Seoryeong picked out jewels she liked as she spoke.
“Don’t you have any flower shoes? Something cushioned enough for long walks. They need to be a bit bigger than my feet.”
Frowning, the old man shouted,
“I’ll give you ten pairs, a hundred pairs of flower shoes! Just give me an answer!”
At that, Seoryeong smiled, rings adorning all ten fingers.
“That’s not your son.”
“...?”
Before he could even ask what she meant, Seoryeong gave the answer.
“Didn’t you get it? You’ve been doting on a child that isn’t your seed this whole time.”
The old man’s face went stiff and dry. The shock was unbelievable.
[♨The occult boom is coming—Strange Tales Ep. 1 live thread♨]
-W-WHAT??? HERE???
-Grandpa, that’s why YOU should’ve set the ancestral tableㅠ
ㄴOtherPeoplesAncestors: burp ate well and left~! I’ll leave a star review. Didn’t know you but you were kind and generous with the service.
ㄴThisIsInsane lolololol
-Grandpa’s acting is actually insane, for real.
Checking the thread, Reporter Wi laughed along. Once again, he admired the director’s clever staging.
‘If you’re not careful, the spotlight all goes to Yeomga.’
These days, people joked that even sixteen episodes felt too long—that maybe they should cut it to eight.
‘Guess that’s why the payoff comes so fast—web novel roots.’
Usually, episode one is for introducing the character and the inciting incident.
‘Give them a small catharsis first, and viewers don’t get bored!’
You could feel the sense of pulling the story forward at speed.
Combined with Yeomga’s overwhelming presence, Seoryeong’s playful charm was sure to hook viewers.
‘And then, during the week after episode two airs....’
Viewers fired up by episodes one and two would inevitably start wondering what Seoryeong would look like in different ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) outfits once she took off the male disguise.
That was one of the appeals of cross-dressing roles.
‘It links audience interest straight back to the last term-end performance!’
Imagining the view count for last winter’s DaeYeJong <Romeo and Juliet> climbing again, Reporter Wi’s lips curved upward.
He had no doubt that those who loved today’s Seoryeong would come to love that Juliet as well.
Seoryeong raised her index finger and pointed straight at the old man.
“Your son has a big mole on the top of his foot, right? Well, the same mole will be on the left foot of the stableman.”
“Y-you there! You there!”
The old man shouted for a servant outside, ordering them to bring in the stableman. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
As always, the stableman stood with hands clasped in a respectful posture, completely clueless—then was made to bare the top of his foot.
