YCHW Ch 8

𓇢𓆸

It was only after stepping inside the carriage that he felt a sense of relief. Yoonso observed the movements of the station officials through the small window. Each was simply doing their own work, showing no signs of disorder or strangeness, and they were not searching or observing those who came and went.

He had been startled when Hwi’s horse suddenly arrived at the station. For a fleeting moment, he had even felt a sense of betrayal, wondering if Hwi had discovered something and was planning to hand him over. However, he bit his tongue hard and followed Hwi, feigning indifference, and thankfully, Hwi’s business was merely to borrow a carriage and a driver.

As the carriage departed and moved away from the station, he could finally relax his stiffly held back. Yoonso secretly let out a sigh and opened his mouth.

“I was under the impression that only officials could use the post stations, was I mistaken?”

“Merchant guilds that present valuable goods to the imperial palace can be issued a horse pass to use them.”

“Ah……. It must be a large-scale operation, to be presenting goods to the imperial palace.”

If so, he might be well-informed about news from the palace.

By now, it was morning, so they must have noticed his absence, but had the news not reached this far yet? They say no news is good news, but what he had left behind was not ‘no news’ but a presence that could chase him down and grab him by the scruff of the neck at any moment, so he could not completely quell his anxiety.

Yoonso, lost in thought while chewing on his lip, felt a steady gaze and turned to look at Hwi. Hwi was staring at him intently, his head tilted slightly.

“What are you thinking about that makes you look at me like that?”

“I’m contemplating what use I can make of you, who cannot even ride a horse.”

“……Did I not say I would serve as the driver?”

“You? The one who started retching the moment you got off the horse?”

At the voice, which sounded as if it found him pathetic, Yoonso’s spirit shrank and he clamped his mouth shut. It was his first time riding a horse, and Hwi’s horse had been terribly fast, so he had not been able to adapt. He had always prided himself on being quite skilled at physical tasks, so he was disappointed in himself all the same.

Still, it was fortunate that he rode with Hwi; had he obtained a horse by himself as originally planned, he would have had quite a bit of trouble.

“I am a fast learner, so if you just watch over me for a little while, I will learn quickly.”

“It seems I have brought an apprentice with me, not a servant.”

Having offered to be a servant only to become a burden was indeed something to be sorry for, but he could not understand how the man could speak in such a vexing manner. Yoonso cast his eyes downward to avoid glaring at the man.

“I should have left you behind from the start, but a gentleman does not go back on his word, so what choice is there.”

“……You do not seem much like a gentleman, sir.”

If the man were truly a gentleman, he would not be making such a fuss and grumbling while taking credit like that. Besides, wasn’t it the man who had first requested his servitude? Yoonso had blurted out his true feelings without thinking, and as a silence filled the carriage, he cautiously raised his eyes.

Hwi was staring intently at Yoonso, his face unreadable. He did not seem angry, but that, paradoxically, made it more difficult.

Was I being too cheeky? The only person he had kept close and spent time with was Yeondeok, and even with him, he had not had a master-servant relationship but was like a casual friend, so he could not gauge how much more polite he needed to be. If he were to treat him as he treated his father, he thought he might know how to behave…….

Hwi’s hand suddenly extended before his eyes, and Yoonso blinked blankly. That’s a truly beautiful hand he has, he thought frivolously to himself, when a sharp pain flared on his forehead along with a clear sound.

“Ah!”

The finger that had lightly flicked his forehead left behind a sharp sting as it retreated. It was enough to make his eyes well up with tears, and Yoonso clutched his forehead and asked in a plaintive voice.

“Why did you hit me?”

“You’re all talk.”

It was not the first time in his life he had been hit, but just because it was not the first time did not mean it was something one could get used to. Must a servant just stand there and take it when his master hits him? What a wearisome life……. Ah, wasn’t this a reality he already knew all too well? Yoonso rubbed his reddened forehead, hiding his darkening expression.

“Your master must have been quite lenient with you.”

“……The young lady and I were like friends. The young lady was very accommodating to me.”

“Then why did you leave the side of that master who was like a friend?”

“Because he passed away.”

Hwi fell silent as if this was unexpected, and Yoonso fixed his gaze on a corner of the carriage, as if he were reminiscing. As he did, the letter he had tucked in with Yeondeok’s belongings naturally came to mind.

He had told them to consider him a dead person. It was not a message for Yeondeok. It was for his family, who would find Yeondeok and see that letter. It was to tell them that So Yoonso was dead, so they should not look for him anymore.

“Even if your young master died, you could have entrusted your well-being to that household.”

“There is nothing left in that house for me to cherish.”

He replied resolutely, but the faces of his father, mother, and older brother flashed before his eyes. Yoonso slowly closed and opened his eyes, then changed the subject.

“By the way, what sort of item did you come to the capital to find?”

“A precious item.”

“So, what kind of item is it that makes it so precious?”

“Well. Whether it is truly precious or not is something one can only know in due time.”

Is it something like an antique then? It was not a question posed out of genuine curiosity, so Yoonso just gave a rough nod of his head.

Perhaps because they were traveling on a well-maintained road, the inside of the carriage was comfortable, and with most of his tension gone, sleepiness began to creep in. Yoonso blinked his heavy eyes, repeatedly dozing off and then waking up in a hurry, lest he be reprimanded by the self-proclaimed gentleman.

“Get some sleep. We have a long way to go, so it would be better to conserve your energy.”

Perhaps because he looked quite pitiful, Hwi offered some welcome words.

He might grumble a bit, but perhaps he won’t be such a difficult master to serve, Yoonso assessed, then bowed his head and closed his eyes. Sleep, terrifyingly fast, seized Yoonso and pulled him down.

𓇢𓆸

With the sensation of something sliding down, his head bumped against the wall, thud, thud. Yoonso fumbled for and grasped the fabric that had fallen, and opened his drowsy eyes.

The moment he awoke, his eyes met directly with the man sitting across from him. Yoonso flinched and sat up straight, then looked around the familiar interior of the carriage and let out a sigh.

The man was so far from ordinary, it was as if he had stepped right out of an ink wash painting. But seeing him made him realize that all of this was not a dream, but reality.

Surely he hasn’t been staring at me like that the whole time, has he? Yoonso glanced at Hwi as he neatened his clothes, which had become disheveled while he slept, and then discovered the rather heavy cloth clutched in his hand and tilted his head.

Why is this in my hand? Yoonso unfolded the cloth, which was thick from being folded several times, and rubbed the right side of his head, where the feel of the fabric seemed to linger. What he held in his hand was a dark blue outer robe. Not understanding at all, Yoonso looked back and forth between the robe and Hwi.

“Is this…… your possession, my lord?”

“We’ve arrived.”

Hwi took the robe from Yoonso’s hand, flung it over his shoulders, and opened the door of the stopped carriage. Yoonso dazedly watched Hwi’s back, then hurriedly followed him out of the carriage.

“Wow…….”

Outside, it was already dusk. Feathery clouds drifted leisurely across a sky that had spread with a lovely color, as if dyed with the blossoms of azaleas. Below it, a road stretching straight ahead, forming a bustling city, came into view. While Hwi sent the driver and horse away, Yoonso looked around with eyes full of curiosity and caution.

The place they had arrived at was inside the city walls, and many people were still coming and going through the gate. It was the first time he had ever set foot in a city this large after leaving the capital, and his heart swelled with excitement. At the same time, remembering his own situation, he could not hold his head high and confidently, so he furtively moved closer to Hwi’s side.

“Where are we?”

“Seonju Fortress.”

“Ah…….”

He had heard that Seonju Fortress was a place that those coming to the capital from the east must pass through at least once, so it had a large transient population. The capital, being not far from Geumju where the hellscape was, had its night market open only once every half-month, whereas this place was said to be even more lively as it operated constantly, and he could immediately feel that the story was not false.

Yoonso also realized one other fact. He had passed through the fortress gate without any trouble, and there was no sign of strict inspections or people being searched within the fortress. That meant his father had hidden his escape.

He had expected his father would do so. If the imperial family caught the runaway Yeongchunhwa, they would be charged with high treason, but if he were found separately before that, it would be as if nothing had happened.

For that reason, he had originally planned to escape a month before his palace entry to get farther away, but as fate would have it, a thief had appeared in the vicinity at the time, and the heightened security had thwarted his plan, delaying him until he finally fled with only half a month left.

But that Yongrin he had encountered at the end……. Had he managed to deceive even that Yongrin? Then again, if he had not, this place would not be so peaceful. It was a stroke of luck that the Yongrin seemed to have taken him for a mere thief.

The time he had left was half a month. A day has passed, so now it is less than half a month. It is impossible to get to Yehang within half a month. The future seemed bleak when he imagined it, but he resolved not to fall into such pessimism and forced himself to erase the thoughts.