UN 06

Chapter 06

Moreover, since yesterday was spent exhausting herself with the wedding, it was certain that Soran was still under the covers.

“Young mistress.”
Kkeutsuni, coming out of the kitchen, spotted Gyoheum and quickly ran over, bowing her waist. Then she tilted her head in puzzlement.
She had clearly been told not to wake the lady. So why did she come here after getting dressed in formal attire?

“Shall I wake the young mistress?”
“No. I’ll do it.”
“Yes.”

Gyoheum gestured as if telling her to step back and slowly walked forward.
He deliberately made no noise as he grabbed the door handle.
How would the daughter of the Minister of the Central Secretariat react, now that she had overslept? Would she show an apologetic expression? Or respond shamelessly?
Either way was fine. He would find out what kind of person the minister’s daughter really was.
If she felt apologetic, he would have the upper hand in their relationship. If she was shameless, he could just return the same.

Gyoheum pulled the door with a neutral expression. He stepped carefully into the room but froze in that position.

“…….”

A shadow darker than himself sat in the pitch-dark room.
For a moment, his body tensed tightly. Only then did he notice that the shadow was extremely small—like a greedy little squirrel.

“Lady……?”
Gyoheum called her in a suspicious tone.
At the same time, the shadow twitched.

“Yes. Did you sleep well through the night?”

It was a clear, clean voice, with no trace of drowsiness.
Realizing his plan had been disrupted, Gyoheum clicked his tongue inwardly. Had she figured out his intentions? If so, she was no ordinary girl.

As Gyoheum entered the room, he frowned as he looked around in the darkness.

“Why haven’t you lit a lamp?”
“There’s no need to light an expensive candle when I’m not even sewing……”

Absentmindedly, Soran covered her mouth with both hands.
She had never properly lit a candle while living in this house. If she did, nagging would come at her like a ghost:
—Lighting expensive candles without earning a single penny herself. You take after your mother in not knowing your place.
—There’s sewing to finish by today……
—Why do you sew in the middle of the night when you were playing around all day? Is being slow a point of pride?

She wasn’t slow. She was busy with other tasks during the day. But no excuse worked with Lady Munhyun.
Soran had to endure the pointed criticism silently, bowing her head deeply.
I just can’t pretend to be a highborn lady. How is that even done?

“When did you get up?”
“Just now……”
Soran trailed off mid-answer. She had only just realized that Sehwa and Yeonhwa barely opened their eyes at sunrise.

“Just now?”
“Yes……”

In the familiar darkness, Gyoheum narrowed his eyes, staring intently at her.
Soran was already properly dressed. She must have just gotten up and had no time to fix her hair or change her clothes—probably even earlier than Gyoheum.

“You didn’t seem to have slept.”
“No. I slept very well.”

Soran quickly shook her hands.
Gyoheum, wondering what she was up to in the darkness, quietly continued to observe her.

“The maid who prepared your bed was very meticulous. She placed a brazier by your bedside, so I slept very warmly for the first time in a while.”

“For the first time in a while?” Gyoheum’s eyes again showed suspicion.
The more he learned, the less he understood.

At that moment, Soran got up.
Gyoheum, whose plan to embarrass her had failed, pretended nothing had happened and exited the room first.

The black sky gradually shifted to blue. Though invisible to the eye, the sun was beginning to rise beneath it.

Gyoheum turned his head and glanced sideways at Soran, following a step behind him.
Under the pale dawn light, she seemed different from the woman who had been tearing at a chicken leg the night before.
A gust of wind brushed across her round forehead, scattering the stray hairs she hadn’t tucked in.
Soran rubbed one eye as if dust had gotten in.

Is she in any way like the Minister of the Central Secretariat? Gyoheum observed her face in the faint light.
Small, round face; even rounder eyes; delicate features; modest height.

“……”

He had not wanted this marriage. It had been a wedding conducted unilaterally, almost insulting him.
No sane man would think his wife looked beautiful under such circumstances.
So, cruelly, he left her alone on their first night. Yet, Soran had not shown a single sign of displeasure.

“You ate greasy food late at night. Are you feeling okay?”

Soran gave an awkward smile at the question.
Her soft eyebrows bent halfway, and the corners of her lips trembled, unsure where to rest.
Gyoheum narrowed his eyes faintly. Did she know what his expression meant?

“I’m fine.”
“That’s good.”

He casually looked away.
Only then did Soran let out a quiet sigh of relief and hurriedly followed behind him.

In fact, this hour was not unfamiliar to her.
The quiet, peaceful dawn. At the Minister’s house, she used to wake early to stoke the dying embers of the hearth.
After that, she fetched water, helped prepare meals, and swept the courtyard.
Her life was busier than that of a servant. Yet, Lady Munhyun never missed an opportunity to berate Soran as an ungrateful, shameless child.

“……”

Soran slowly raised her head and looked around.
The sky was turning bluish, and the grass drooped under the weight of dew.
Diligent birds perched on branches, looking down at her, and the wind playfully rolled fallen leaves.
She suddenly realized how long it had been since she had leisurely enjoyed such a scene.
She had forgotten that the sky could be high, that trees could smell fragrant.

It still didn’t feel real. That she, who had been stoking fires and carrying water, was now experiencing such a leisurely morning.
Her heart fluttered nervously. It felt as if she were walking precariously on a calm surface that could shatter at any moment.

“Until just now, Sehwa unnie was heating water for her bath.”

Muttering to herself, Soran suddenly bumped her nose against Gyoheum’s back.

“Ugh!”

She let out a soft groan, rubbed her nose with one hand, and widened her eyes.
Gyoheum looked back at her with an unreadable expression.
Embarrassed, Soran straightened her back and wore a rather composed expression.

“I’m sorry. I was lost in thought and didn’t watch where I was going.”
“That’s fortunate. I was worried you wouldn’t adapt quickly to a strange place overnight, but you even have the leisure to be lost in thought. You’re braver than you seem.”

At his words, Soran’s cheeks flushed pink.
Hearing praise after so long, she didn’t know what to do and just gave a sheepish smile.

Soran didn’t dislike Gyoheum. She knew he disliked her, and yet she didn’t.
Lady Munhyun did not hide her contempt for her, and neither did the rest of the family.
Over time, even the servants began to treat her disrespectfully.
When a few started giving her unpleasant tasks and realized they would not be punished, they escalated their behavior.

Soran’s life became increasingly harsh. No one considered her the minister’s daughter—not even Soran herself.
She didn’t feel resentful or wronged. In the harsh routine that seemed natural, she could be happy with even a simple scorched rice.
And if she could indulge herself a little more, she hoped to one day find solid ground to settle on.
Ground that would not be swept away by harsh winds or sudden rain.

“……”

But Gyoheum was different. He still carried a faint, bitter medicinal smell.
Yet, unlike Lady Munhyun or the servants, he did not treat Soran roughly. He did not cast contemptuous glances.

Why?

Soran wondered. Not why he disliked her, but why he treated her kindly despite disliking her.
It was natural that he disliked her. Everyone did. That wasn’t strange.
But why was he so gentle?
Unlike Lady Munhyun, he did not despise her. Unlike the servants, he did not harass her. Why did he smile so kindly?

He asked if she had slept well, worried about her health, and cared if she could adapt to the house.
It was truly strange.

“……Th-thank you.”

Soran nodded shyly at the long silence.
Her eyes, darker than the night, sparkled like stars pushing back the darkness.
Tsk. Gyoheum clicked his tongue silently.

What’s the point of sarcasm if the other person can’t even understand it?