Chapter 13
“I… I seem to have spoken out of turn. Please forgive me, young master.”
Elder Hwang repeatedly bowed his head with a trembling body, begging for forgiveness. The young boy’s anger was so terrifying that it felt like his old skin would freeze.
Dongbaek’s sharp demeanor softened instantly at Elder Hwang’s apology. Dongbaek replied with a bright smile.
“Please make the perch from persimmon wood. Ah, and from now on, when preparing my meals, make sure to prepare food for the crow as well.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
Dongbaek nodded satisfactorily at Elder Hwang’s response, as if everything was now settled. Elder Hwang hurriedly withdrew from Geum Danyo’s room.
It was the second time Elder Hwang had faced Dongbaek’s wrath. When Geum Danyo was insulted, he thought Dongbaek had responded without restraint, but thinking about it now, he had at least maintained some courtesy.
But now that he had caught Zhang Rang’s eye and gained his favor, there was nothing to hold him back. Perhaps he no longer needed to tolerate the rudeness of a mere steward like Elder Hwang.
Have I brought a tiger into this mansion?
Just then, the sound of a crow cawing came from the sky. Elder Hwang lifted his head toward the sky.
There had been no crows around Zhang Rang’s residence before—Zhang Rang despised them and had ordered every last one in the area to be hunted down. That was also why he had recommended keeping other birds instead of crows.
The crow was perched on the roof of Geum Danyo’s mansion, looking down at Elder Hwang. The old man shuddered at the gaze that seemed to be sizing him up.
Somehow, it felt like a bad omen. Crows were traditionally considered ill omens.
As if reading Elder Hwang’s anxious mind, the crow cawed once more with perfect timing. Elder Hwang glared fiercely at the crow and hurried along his way.
-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
Zhang Rang provided the best support as he had promised.
The first gift Dongbaek received was a horse. And not just any horse—a magnificent steed that appeared to be worth a fortune. He seemed to remember Dongbaek’s proposal.
Though she had boldly demanded it, in reality, Dongbaek didn’t know much about horses. She had only ridden a few times as part of her education. Even to Dongbaek’s untrained eye, the horse was flawlessly beautiful enough to recognize it as a fine steed at first glance.
Dongbaek carefully raised her hand and placed it on the horse’s face. The horse quietly submitted to Dongbaek’s touch. Starting from the face, Dongbaek gradually stroked downward, slowly combing through the black mane. It was very gentle.
“How do you like it? Lord Zhang Rang specially selected this horse. It’s of the finest bloodline among horses supplied to the imperial court.”
“I like it very much. I should give it a name. What would be good…?”
Dongbaek smiled at Elder Hwang, who had brought the horse. Speaking of which, a black horse… Perhaps black things were particularly drawn to her.
No sooner had Dongbaek thought this than the crow circling above her head began to caw noisily. It had been quiet until just now, so its sudden cawing clearly meant it didn’t like this horse.
Usually, she would have let it caw as it pleased, but the horse became restless at the crow’s continuing threatening cries. Dongbaek slightly frowned and shouted at the crow.
“Can’t you be quiet?”
At her stern command, the crow immediately clamped its beak shut. Elder Hwang watched this exchange in astonishment.
“It seems to understand words.”
“Perhaps.”
Dongbaek merely nodded slightly. He didn’t seem to want to discuss it further. Elder Hwang didn’t press the matter and changed the subject.
“If you wish to train in martial arts, we will provide a martial arts master, and if you wish to study academics, we will provide a tutor. Whatever you need, just let us know.”
“Hmm, I understand.”
Dongbaek nodded formally at Elder Hwang’s words, but inwardly she sneered. No matter how highly they valued his qualities, she was still just a 10-year-old child. Self-directed learning? Wouldn’t that just be a way to ruin a child?
Perhaps Zhang Rang had that in mind as well. If she met expectations, she would be named heir, and if she failed to meet them, he would use all the support they had given her as a debt to exploit her in other ways.
Dongbaek stroked the restless horse while hiding his insight into Zhang Rang’s true intentions.
‘Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I rode… Should I try?’
Dongbaek examined the horse’s saddle. Instead of proper stirrups, crude leather straps hung from the saddle. She was momentarily confused, not having considered that stirrups might not have been invented in this era yet, but somehow it still seemed doable.
Dongbaek grabbed the horse’s reins and, hooking one foot on the leather strap, swiftly jumped onto the saddle.
The black horse neighed and stamped its feet. When Dongbaek pulled the reins, the horse obediently stopped its stomping. Elder Hwang’s eyes widened at this sight.
“Have you handled horses before?”
“Why, did you think this was my first time?”
Dongbaek laughed as she lightly slapped the horse on its haunch. Stimulated by the touch, the previously restless horse immediately stretched out its swift, long legs and began to run.
“I’ll go play for a while!”
Dongbaek had already disappeared. Elder Hwang stood rooted to the spot, watching his retreating figure with a dubious expression.
He had brought a temperamental horse among the fine steeds, thinking to curb Dongbaek’s not-so-docile personality, but strangely, the horse was unusually obedient, as if it had traded away its temper. He also hadn’t known Dongbaek would be so skilled at horseback riding.
Did I pick the wrong horse?
While Elder Hwang’s worries deepened, Dongbaek thoroughly enjoyed the rushing wind as she rode horseback for the first time in a while.
Of course, she didn’t leave Zhang Rang’s property. Not only was she not skilled enough to avoid passing people, but there was also plenty of space to ride within Zhang Rang’s grounds.
Skillfully controlling the horse, Dongbaek inwardly marveled at herself. While she’d been decent at horseback riding back in her world, considering she only occasionally visited riding clubs, she hadn’t expected to adapt so well to riding without proper stirrups.
It seemed that crossing into this other world had heightened her sense of balance and other physical instincts. Even my riding skills improved? Grinning confidently, Dongbaek urged the horse to pick up speed.
After riding for some time, the sun had risen high. Since he’d been introduced to the horse right after breakfast, he’d been riding for about three hours. Just then, he caught the scent of water. Thinking to quench his thirst, Dongbaek rode toward the water.
The source of the water smell Dongbaek had caught was a lake.
“What the hell…. How much money did they waste to have a lake inside the estate?”
Dumbfounded, Dongbaek clicked her tongue and dismounted. She pulled the reins and approached the lake. The horse, following like a gentle sheep, lowered its head to drink from the clear water before it. Dongbaek also knelt down, rinsed her hands in the lake water, and then scooped up water with both hands.
Gulp, gulp. Dongbaek drank all the water in her hands and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Drops of water beaded on her chin and fell, wetting her pants.
Behind her came the familiar flutter of wings. The frivolous voice that followed was also familiar.
“Well, well. Throw out the old shoes when the new ones come in, huh? Looks like that’s my fate. Don’t I get any attention anymore?”
“Where did you learn to talk like that?”
Not even a morning drama would be this melodramatic—Dongbaek spat out the water he was drinking at the crow’s theatrical lines. This damned bird keeps getting better at talking. If it took a language exam, it’d probably score higher than me.
Ignoring Dongbaek’s reaction, the crow snorted and circled him, flapping its wings.
“Hmph hmph hmph! Anyway, I’m going to sulk. Sure, that horse is black, and I’m black, but I’m your Cheshire! I demand special treatment!”
The crow’s declaration of rebellion was dramatic, yet Dongbaek barely paid attention, answering nonchalantly as he stood up.
“Fine, fine. What kind of special treatment should I give you?”
“Well, honestly, I wasn’t going to say anything, but you know….”
“Yeah, yeah, go on.”
At Dongbaek’s indifferent attitude of meaningless agreement, the crow spoke with what seemed like overwhelming sadness.
“You’re too much! How can you just call me ‘crow’ when we’ve known each other for almost five years, but you’re thinking of naming that horse you just got today?”
There was venom in the crow’s voice as it muttered, “that horse.” The crow’s rage was unexpectedly intense. It was enough to make Dongbaek take a step back from the crow’s murderous aura.
Dongbaek scratched her head as if troubled, but her face didn’t look troubled at all. Rather, her sly smile suggested she was enjoying the crow’s reaction.
“Well, I guess that’s fair, but you just happened to end up living with me. Were we ever close enough from the start to give each other names? Remember? You were the one who unilaterally started following me around.”
“Hey hey hey! I was just fulfilling my duty as a Cheshire! How insulting to call it unilateral!”
The crow took a dramatic pose and staggered to the ground, then covered its face with its wings and pretended to cry. If it had hands, it would have clutched a white handkerchief. Then came the endless self-pity. It was like imitating a tragic protagonist abandoned by their spouse. Seeing the crow putting on such a melodrama, Dongbaek spoke in an exasperated voice.
“Alright, alright. Giving you a name will fix it, right? How about Gamakwi? It’s Chinese-style, isn’t that nice?”
“Oh, Gamakwi? Gamakwi, crow… Hey! That’s just the same thing in different pronunciation! Give me something more sincere!”
[Dongbaek names him “Gamakwi [감악위]” while “Crow” in Korean is “까마귀 [kkamagwi]”. It’s pretty much sound the same.]
“You caught on quick.”
Dongbaek chuckled at the crow shrieking and making a fuss.
-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-
Thank you for reading! ♡
