Free Web Novel“Young Clan Head, I’ll get it! You’ll catch a cold.”
I jumped in shock and ran down from the pavilion, but Namgung Hwi was already in the pond. He didn’t care that his sleeves were soaking as he fished my shoe up out of the water.
To think he’d drench that expensive silk just to rescue my grimy little leather shoe. My jaw dropped at the completely unexpected move.
While I stared like an idiot, Namgung Hwi met my eyes and smiled, his eyes curving as if to say it was nothing.
“A lady isn’t supposed to show her bare feet.”
And you’re allowed to be drenched head to toe?
Dripping as he walked out of the water, he gave my shoe a good shake to get the worst of the water off.
Then he sat me down on the pavilion steps.
“Young Clan Head? What are you doing?”
“Mm. Just stay still a second.”
Answering lightly, Namgung Hwi pulled a handkerchief from his breast and wrapped it around my foot. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
The silk handkerchief carried a faint fragrance of sweet osmanthus. It was a sugary floral scent that didn’t suit a martial artist at all.
It didn’t feel like his taste. I figured his mother or sisters had tucked it on him.
A young lord who went around with a scented handkerchief... if he were about five years older, I might have felt my heart skip a little.
Carefully wiping the mud from my foot, Namgung Hwi wrung every last bit of water from the leather shoe. When he looked ready to go so far as to put it on me himself, I waved my hands and tried to stop him.
“Y-Young Clan Head? I can do it. Please give me the shoe.”
“Just wait. I’m done anyway.”
“Still, I— kya!”
Namgung Hwi slipped his hand inside the shoe to feel if there was any dampness left, then lifted my foot and set it on his knee.
For someone who’d just been making a fuss about bare legs, he was being absurdly natural with the physical contact.
Where did a little brat like this learn that kind of thing?
I glared down at his round crown and watched what he was doing. His hands were surprisingly deft as he eased the shoe onto my foot.
After even brushing the dirt off the sole, Namgung Hwi looked up at me and beamed.
“All done.”
The flawlessly bright smile shut me up for a moment.
You’re the one drenched, so what exactly is “all done” supposed to mean.
I looked off into the air, pretending to be distracted, and barely managed to squeeze one sentence out.
“Young Clan Head. You can’t treat just anyone this well. People will get the wrong idea.”
I almost got fluttery, you know. Maids my age dream about a romance with a young lord from some prestigious clan from another province. Not me, of course.
Even at my scolding, Namgung Hwi didn’t seem bothered.
“Father always puts Mother’s shoes on for her. He said that if you’re a man, it’s only right to cherish and serve your wife.”
That’s a married couple. You and I are nothing at all, so no, you shouldn’t be doing this.
More than that, so that’s where he picked it up.
Remembering Namgung Sang’s chilly demeanor, I felt something strange. Contrary to his looks, the Namgung Clan Head seemed to be a devoted husband.
“And you’re not ‘just anyone.’ When we go back to Anhui, I’m going to formally send a......”
Muttering quietly, Namgung Hwi let his words trail off.
“Pardon? What did you say?”
“Nothing. It’s a secret.”
When I asked again, not having understood, Namgung Hwi clamped his mouth shut like it wasn’t anything important. I decided to let it go and changed the subject.
“Yes. You should change your clothes first.”
“This much is fine.”
“The air’s still chilly. You’ll catch a cold. The guest quarters are close by.”
I tried persuading him again, but Namgung Hwi shook his head.
“No way. If they find out I came all the way to Sichuan just to splash around in water, the household will laugh at me. That’s not dignified.”
You’re not dignified even as you are.
Rubbing my forehead, I let out a long sigh.
“You still have to change. If you stay in wet clothes and end up bedridden, I’m the one who’ll be punished.”
“What kind of weakling would end up bedridden from getting a little wet?”
Grumbling like it was ridiculous, Namgung Hwi met my eyes and hurriedly changed his tune.
“I mean, I’ll change.”
“Wise choice.”
At my praise, Namgung Hwi’s expression brightened with pride, and he went thud-thud-thud up into the building.
He half-put his shoes on and ran toward me, looking a little excited.
“You’re coming with me, right?”
The look in his eyes clearly expected me to say of course, which made me chuckle. I answered.
“Of course. I’ll go with you.”
*****
Contrary to his worries, the guest quarters where the Namgung Clan was staying were completely empty. With an uneasy look, Namgung ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Hwi asked me,
“There’s no one here, right?”
“It seems that way.”
He still didn’t look reassured and spent a long time scanning the area before whispering to me.
“Wait here for a bit.”
Then he shot off like an arrow to change his clothes. He moved like someone who’d done this many times before.
Is it really okay to be that familiar with vaulting walls and changing outfits at his age? What sort of trouble does he usually get up to?
Just when I started to worry about the future of the Namgung Clan, Namgung Hwi came back like nothing had happened, wearing a pure white long robe.
Unlike the neat lines of his clothes, his hair was a disaster.
His hair ornament dangled crookedly atop his tangled hair.
“Young Clan Head. I think you should fix your hair. Do you want me to tidy it for you?” freёwebnoѵel.com
“Mm.”
Answering meekly, Namgung Hwi plopped down on the floor of the main hall with a wet smack. When I stepped up and put my hands on his head, he flinched and sucked in a startled breath.
All I did was touch him, what a baby.
“Does it hurt? I’ll be gentle.”
Of course, I didn’t say that out loud. Drawing on every ounce of professional pride, I answered politely and began to carefully untangle the messed-up hair ornament.
The hair ornament, crafted from thin silver, was shaped like a dragon coiling around a cloud.
The luxury dripping off that ornament made me feel, once again, the full weight of the Namgung Clan’s wealth.
With craftsmanship like this, you could probably buy a house with just this one ornament. No wonder the little brat had casually slapped down silver ingots at the market.
Envying a level of money on an entirely different plane, I smoothed Namgung Hwi’s hair with my fingers as a comb. His fine hair fell into place exactly the way I brushed it.
“It’s not pulling or hurting, is it?”
“Mm-mm.”
I neatened his tousled hair and tied it into a single tail. When I set the hair ornament in place on top, it matched his white long robe perfectly, giving him an air of noble elegance.
“There, all done, Young Clan Head.”
To signal that I was finished, I lightly patted his shoulder. Namgung Hwi fidgeted, touching the back of his neck. For some reason, his face looked bashful.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. Are you going back to the banquet hall now?”
“One double-hour’s passed, right? Yeah. The adults are probably all in the banquet hall. Let’s go back.”
Rising to his feet, Namgung Hwi took a bold step forward.
“Young Clan Head. Not that way, this way.”
I grabbed him as he headed off in the wrong direction and turned him toward the banquet hall.
Namgung Hwi came back, giving an awkward fake cough, and matched his stride to mine.
Even walking side by side, it was uncanny how his footsteps made no sound at all. I stared fixedly at his feet.
He was walking normally, so why wasn’t there any sound? Is that what happens if you learn proper footwork?
Sensing my gaze, Namgung Hwi tilted his head.
“What?”
“It’s just fascinating that your footsteps don’t make any sound.”
“All martial artists are like that. If you don’t hide your presence, people can read your movements.”
“Ahh. So you practiced to keep from making sound?”
“More or less. You said you’re learning from the Poison King Elder too, right? Once you start learning techniques, he’ll teach you footwork.”
......Right. I needed to learn footwork too.
Once the guests left, I’d really begin training in earnest; I should brace myself in advance.
When would I ever manage to hit a carp with a coin? Was that even physically possible?
Staring gloomily down at my hand, I heard Namgung Hwi speak up.
“Hey.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
Fidgeting with his fingers, like he had something he wanted to say, he hesitated for a long time before asking,
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I wonder. I suppose tomorrow’s work will be waiting for me?”
“What’s that supposed to mean. Don’t joke around.”
I answered evenly, and Namgung Hwi glared at me, deflated. I was being serious, though.
“I mean it. I have to work tomorrow too.”
“......Right. Got it.”
He turned his head away, his shoulders drooping. My answer had clearly disappointed him.
But I didn’t exactly have time to play with him. Until the banquet ended, I was stuck blending in among the maids.
Just as I opened my mouth to try and smooth over the awkward mood, a maid approached and spoke to Namgung Hwi.
“Excuse me, Young Clan Head. May I humbly speak to you?”
“What is it?”
“We’re badly short-handed in the banquet hall. Would it be all right if I took that girl?”
Why are you asking him. What about my opinion.
Namgung Hwi narrowed his eyes as if wondering the same thing and refused her on the spot.
“No.”
“Thank yo... Pardon?”
“I said no. Sohae is coming with me.”
“B—but we’re short-handed...”
The maid seemed flustered, as if she’d taken it for granted he would say yes.
As I stared at the weasel-faced maid, I remembered she was one of Simyang’s crowd. What was her name again. I couldn’t recall.
I didn’t like it, but there was nothing good about getting on the bad side of Simyang’s group. If I refused, it felt like poor Songji would end up catching the fallout for nothing.
Scratching my head, I stepped forward.
“It’s fine, Young Clan Head. I’ll go. Please go on ahead.”
Frowning, Namgung Hwi looked between me and the maid. His expression said he didn’t like this at all. I mouthed at him.
Hurry up.
When I urged him to go on, Namgung Hwi sighed, still shooting me glances.
“Fine. But you have to come quickly.”
“Yes. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Namgung Hwi kept looking back over and over, like he couldn’t make his feet move. I waved at him to say he didn’t need to worry.
The maid put on a fake smile and bent to him as well. The moment he was far enough away, that smile vanished without a trace.
“Hey. This way.”
Who does she think she is, throwing out “hey” at me like that.
I forced my expression to stay neutral and asked,
“Where are we going?”
“If I tell you to come, just come. Why do you talk so much?”
“I’ll follow if you tell me where we’re going.”
“You don’t need to know. Just follow.”
Her sharp response made my brow crease for a second. What a charming way to talk. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to go.
A prickly tension rose up in me. It was obvious she was leading me somewhere out of the way, but I had no idea where.
What are they scheming?
The moment I stepped into the side alley, something poured down over my head.
The stench stabbed at my nose so hard it made me retch. It was filthy wastewater.
“Kyah, what the—?”
I screamed and jerked my head up. Simyang was glaring down at me, her face full of rage.
She’d lost her mind.
