Free Web NovelI shook my head awkwardly.
“No. It’s not like that.”
“You don’t have to lie. I’ll keep your secret.”
Namgung Hwi stared at me with eyes practically sparkling. I’m not lying—it’s really not.
I’m not some shonen-manga protagonist. There’s no way.
But it was too much work to clear up the misunderstanding. I answered halfheartedly.
“You can’t tell anyone.”
“Yeah!”
Namgung Hwi answered bravely. He looked openly thrilled.
It’s the age where you want “a secret” with a friend. If you’re happy, fine.......
“You know... I get how you feel. Carrying a family name isn’t easy.”
Well. I’ve never carried one.
“There’s so much to learn, and you have to look composed all the time, and you have to be good at everything... Sometimes I want to whine to my mother like Yeona does.”
He smiled bitterly and looked up at the sky. I’d assumed a great-clan young lord would’ve grown up sheltered and polished, but it seemed he had his own burdens.
“......But I still have to do it. I have to become someone great like Father to lead the Namgung Clan. I’m the Young Clan Head.”
Shaking off his gloom, Namgung Hwi lifted his head stiffly and spoke.
I nodded gently.
“Of course. You’ll do well, Young Clan Head.”
You become the Clan Head later. You even get called the Sword Emperor. You end up grabbing the entire Central Plains by the throat, so there’s nothing to worry about.
“Yeah! ......But it’s weird. If you’re getting heir training, why can’t you read?”
“Haha. That can happen.”
“So you didn’t study hard?”
Scratching his head like even he thought it didn’t add up, Namgung Hwi drew his own conclusion.
Sure. I’m just a maid, though.
“Second watch! It’s the second watch!”
Right on cue, a patrol from the authorities beat a drum as they called the hour through the night street. I seized the chance to steer the conversation away.
“Should we go back now? You have to leave early tomorrow.”
“......Yeah, I guess?”
His face drooped like a kid who’d just been told to stop playing and go to bed. He looked reluctant to end the night like this.
Hesitating, he asked,
“Hey. Do you want to release a sky lantern before we go?”
“Should we? I’ve never done it before.”
“Really? Then let’s do it. I’ll show you.”
Brightening, Namgung Hwi squeezed my hand tight. The way he strode ahead, clearing a path, made me smile for no reason.
We climbed up a hill and blended in among the people releasing lanterns.
With an excited face, Namgung Hwi came back with a lantern and smoothly unfolded the paper canopy, then lit the little oil-soaked wad. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
But unlike his, mine crumpled into a wrinkled mess.
What the hell. Where do I even open this?
When I fumbled without managing to unfold it, Namgung Hwi giggled.
“You have to pull here to open it. And you light it on this side.”
He reached out and opened my lantern so it would be easier for me to light.
Whoosh!
The flame caught the oil-soaked wad, and the paper swelled up dramatically. Heat licked my fingertips and a yelp burst out of me.
“Ah—hot!”
“Careful. Ready to let it go?”
“Yes. Let’s release them together.”
“Releasing! One, two, three!”
Namgung Hwi’s lantern and mine rose at the same time, catching the wind.
I watched the lights drift away in silence. Dozens of red lanterns glittered like stars, painting the sky. It was... ridiculously romantic.
Namgung Hwi whispered,
“What did you wish for?”
I didn’t wish for anything. Was I supposed to?
“It’s a secret. They say if you say it out loud, it won’t come true.”
“Tch.”
“What about you, Young Clan Head? What did you wish for?”
“Mine’s a secret too.”
Namgung Hwi answered the same way and pressed his lips tight. Even so, he looked like he wanted me to ask anyway.
Holding back a laugh, I did.
“Why? What kind of wish is it?”
“You said if you say it out loud, it won’t come true. My wish has to come true, so I’m not saying it.”
“Okay. I won’t ask.”
Honestly, I felt like I knew without asking.
Please let me become a great Clan Head. Something like that.
When I answered with a grin, Namgung Hwi complained,
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“Haha. Let’s go back now, Young Clan Head. Everyone will be waiting.”
Because you’re adorable, that’s why.
I changed the subject and gently pushed his back. Namgung Hwi’s expression turned sulky.
But he didn’t seem like he planned to argue, and he started down the hill obediently.
When we returned to the night market, the crowd had thinned noticeably. The entire walk, the boy’s eyes darted around with anxious restlessness—then he suddenly stopped.
“Sohae. Wait a second.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Can you stay here for a bit? I have to take care of something.”
He spoke while shifting and twisting his body. Looking closer, his face was a little red too.
Does he need the bathroom? fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
I nodded easily.
“Okay. Go quickly.”
“I’ll be right back!”
He shouted and kicked off the ground, vanishing into the crowd. His frantic movement made me laugh.
He really must be desperate.
When Namgung Hwi came back a little later, his hair was a tangled mess. He must’ve been running.
“Did you wait long?”
“No. It wasn’t even fifteen minutes.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Holding my hand, Namgung Hwi started walking ahead again. He seemed cheerful, his voice light as he spoke.
“Next time, come visit our house in Hefei. I’ll show you around.”
“If I get the chance.”
Once you go home, you’ll forget someone like me in no time.
Maybe it showed in my tone, because Namgung Hwi’s eyes went thin.
“Next year’s gathering is at the Namgung Clan. You’ll come anyway.”
Sorry. Maids don’t go to gatherings.
Namgung Hwi went on and on ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) about how beautiful the sunset over Chao Lake was, how famous Mount Jiuhua was in the nearby area.
“Do you like fish dishes? I know a place that does sweetfish really well.”
He even tried to coax me into going to a restaurant with him, slipping it in like it was casual.
It seemed like he was scheming for me to get curious about Hefei. It was... kind of cute.
“Sweetfish sounds great. And—look, we’re here, Young Clan Head.”
While we chatted, we’d already reached the Tang estate. The gatekeeper recognized Namgung Hwi and opened the door respectfully.
The moment we passed inside, Namgung Hwi pressed close to my side and declared,
“Oh, today I’m walking you back!”
“Come on, it’s fine. You must be tired—go in and rest.”
“I want to do it just once. It’s the last day.”
He mumbled in a voice full of regret. He looked like he didn’t want to part.
I appreciated the thought, but I didn’t want to become the topic of anyone’s mouth.
After what Simyang’s group had said, and with how obvious it would be if a young lord from another clan went into the servants’ wing, I could already hear the rumors.
I shook my head.
“No, Young Clan Head. You don’t want me to end up in a difficult spot, do you?”
“......Okay.”
At my refusal, his shoulders sagged. Seeing his gloomy face made my chest sting for no reason.
You’re acting especially cute today.
“Instead, let’s walk together just to there. We’ll split up at that fork. Okay?”
Namgung Hwi straightened at once, his eyes shining.
“Yeah!”
We started down the quiet path.
As if he wanted to delay the moment of separation even by a second, Namgung Hwi walked painfully slowly.
His thoughts were so transparent it made me smile again.
When we finally reached the fork—much later than usual—and stopped, Namgung Hwi, who’d been fidgeting with his hands, looked at me straight on.
“Today was fun.”
“I had fun too. Now you should go back. Young Clan Head—sweet dreams.”
“Mm. You too.”
Answering shyly, Namgung Hwi opened his mouth slowly.
“So... you know... If......”
“Huh? If?”
“N-No! I mean—just... I hope you’ll definitely come to Hefei next year. Go in already! I’m leaving!”
He rushed the words and spun around in a panic.
I watched his back as he hurried away like he was running from something, then snorted softly and turned around myself.
*****
The next day, from early morning, we cleaned up the guest quarters after the visitors left. The work was piled like a mountain, but my mind felt peaceful.
Because Simyang’s group wasn’t there.
“Hey, haven’t you seen Simyang’s bunch? I haven’t seen them all day.”
“If they’re not around, that’s better. At least nothing annoying will happen.”
“That’s true, but...... it’s just strange.”
Songji trailed off with an uneasy look.
“They’re probably slacking off somewhere. Here, sister—give me the rags. I’ll go wash them.”
“Yeah... maybe. But all seven of them not showing their faces is odd.”
Scratching her head like she couldn’t shake the feeling, Songji handed me the rags she was holding.
I dropped the filthy rags into a basket and headed for the wash area.
Maybe because the weather had warmed up, the well water felt fairly lukewarm.
I was blankly kneading and scrubbing the laundry when someone called me.
“Sohae!”
I turned, and there was Namgung Hwi standing by a side gate.
He was heaving for breath like someone who’d been running all over.
“Young Clan Head? You haven’t left yet?”
“I couldn’t leave because you didn’t show up. I looked everywhere for you.”
Namgung Hwi grumbled like it was my fault.
Well, obviously a maid isn’t going to be at the send-off for guests.
After rinsing my hands, I walked over. Namgung Hwi hesitated, then pulled something from inside his robe.
“Here. Take this.”
It was a bundle wrapped neatly in silk.
“What is it?”
“You’ll know when you read the letter. And you have to read it alone. Got it?”
“Huh? Young Clan Head... you do know I can’t read, right?”
“You’re learning. Even if it takes a month—no, even a year—send me a reply. You have to.”
His eyes were so earnest that I couldn’t bring myself to refuse. I nodded.
“Okay. But you can’t complain if it’s late.”
“Yeah. Late is fine. Promise me, okay?”
“Yes. I will.”
“It’s a promise.”
“I said I got it.”
Only after he’d forced an answer out of me several times did Namgung Hwi finally relax and smile brightly.
He looked like he still had more to say, his lips parting—
And then voices calling for him rang out from far away.
“Young Clan Head!”
“Hwi!”
“Hwi—where did you go?”
Anxiety flickered across Namgung Hwi’s face as he turned.
“You didn’t tell them before you came? Go quickly. They’ll be waiting.”
“Yeah. I’m really going now. Sohae—you have to send a reply. You have to!”
After one last insistence, Namgung Hwi sprinted away in the opposite direction.
Clutching the silk bundle, I stared blankly after him.
On his wrist—fluttering as he ran with his sleeves flying—was the red knotted ornament I’d tied there.
