Episode 88
*Sigh.*
Ye-rin struggled to suppress the sigh that wanted to burst out.
And then.
*Squeak, squeak.*
The perennial ice spirit grumbled discontentedly once again.
The message was clear.
“When will my mooncake be ready?”
*Squeak, squeak, squeak!*
The ice spirit emphasized its impatience.
Ye-rin pressed her aching temple with her index finger.
It seemed like she needed to reconsider her thoughts.
“So, the protagonist has this spirit, huh?”
Not only Dou-ryul, but even the perennial ice spirit was childish to death…
—
Finally, the mooncake, long-awaited by the perennial ice spirit, was served along with tea.
Inside the flower-shaped mooncake was a sweet filling.
“Wow, it’s so pretty.”
Ye-rin’s eyes widened.
As a former White Lotus, she had tasted most delicacies in the world, but this snack was quite refreshing even to her.
“I don’t remember having such a delicate snack in my time.”
Meanwhile, the perennial ice spirit was gazing at the food with an ecstatic expression.
*Squeak! Squeak, squeak!*
– When are we going to eat it?
The perennial ice spirit urged impatiently.
However, Ye-rin couldn’t hide her dilemma.
“But Lady Dowager hasn’t arrived yet, right?”
It wouldn’t be right to eat without her, excluding Dou-ryul.
Then, the young lady clapped her hands.
“Oh, you should eat it while it’s warm. It won’t taste good when it gets cold.”
“But…”
“You can order a new one when Lady Dowager arrives. For now, you should eat, Unni.”
Encouraged by the young lady’s words, and
*Squeak, squeak! Squeak, squeak, squeak!*
Now, the perennial ice spirit was barking like crazy.
– The water spirit is right!
Of course, the perennial ice spirit was almost out of its mind because of the mooncake.
– So let’s eat quickly!
‘That spirit is completely obsessed with snacks……’
It used to talk about the dignity of a Great Spirit, but now it’s no different from a puppy.
“Try it once. Quickly.”
Ye-rin, unable to resist, took a bite of the mooncake.
At the same time, her eyes widened.
“It’s delicious.”
“Isn’t it? Do you think I would recommend something unpleasant to you?”
Ye-rin’s tea cup was filled by Yeong-joo.
“This is dried lotus flower tea, it goes well with the mooncake.”
“Thank you.”
As she sipped the warm tea, the sticky feeling of the filling in her mouth was washed away cleanly.
Ye-rin was briefly immersed in the experience.
‘It’s rare to be this relaxed.’
Although there were occasional forced breaks, Ye-rin was always busy.
From being a diligent caretaker to dealing with the Nokrim clan and fighting with the base leader, Ye-rin had been incredibly busy.
‘Wait, I really was busy, wasn’t I?’
To enjoy this kind of relaxation in such circumstances…
Ye-rin gently closed her eyes with a contented feeling.
The warm breeze, the fragrance of blooming lotus flowers, and the green beauty everywhere…
*Squeak!*
And the faint sound of barking dogs dispersed into the air…
“Squeak!”
“….”
Really, can’t people just properly take a break!
Ye-rin squinted her eyes and glared at the perennial ice spirit.
Regardless, the perennial ice spirit didn’t relent in pestering Ye-rin.
– Give me some mooncakes too!
“….”
– Quickly! Hurry!!
The perennial ice spirit barked like mad.
Ye-rin sighed deeply from her chest and reluctantly gave a mooncake to the perennial ice spirit’s mouth.
As the perennial ice spirit devoured the mooncake almost without chewing, its eyes sparkled.
– More!
“What? But….”
– More!!!
Ye-rin involuntarily flinched.
Of course, because the perennial ice spirit had a crazed look in its eyes.
“Uh, okay. I got it….”
Ye-rin couldn’t resist the momentum and once again gave a mooncake to the perennial ice spirit’s mouth.
The perennial ice spirit swallowed it almost without chewing.
Ye-rin, feeling helpless, picked up the mooncake plate.
“This, um, these mooncakes. Can I give some to Somi?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Yeong-joo also looked bewildered by the voracious appetite of the perennial ice spirit.
“Here, you eat it all.”
“Squeak!!”
The perennial ice spirit eagerly buried its nose in the plate.
Yeong-joo looked at the perennial ice spirit with a troubled expression.
“…I didn’t know Somi had such a strong appetite.”
Ah, embarrassing.
What a sight to see in front of the female lead?
At that moment when Ye-rin tightly closed her eyes.
A cloth curtain that had been lowered suddenly lifted upwards.
At the same time, a neatly dressed, pretty girl leaned forward.
The girl glanced up and down at Yeong-joo, then pursed her lips thoughtfully.
“Oh my, who’s this?”
In the voice filled with laughter, there was not even a hint of kindness.
“You’re Yeong-joo’s soldier, right?”
Instantly, Yeong-joo’s face hardened.
“…What is Hwaryeon’s soldier doing here?”
Hwaryeon?
That name sounded familiar to Ye-rin, and she tilted her head in confusion.
It was a name she had definitely heard before.
So….
“I heard rumors recently that the head of the Western Garrison is rushing preparations for a wedding.”
At that remark, Hwaryeon’s face crumpled up.
Yeong-joo casually continued speaking.
“If the soon-to-be bride has time to come all the way here, is she not busy enough?”
Meanwhile, Ye-rin had a realization.
‘Ah, the Western Garrison!’
Just hearing the name Western Garrison triggered her memory.
‘Then, could that person be Seo Hwaryeon?’
The Western Garrison.
One of the prestigious families in Hangju.
Recently, their position had risen rapidly, but they had a somewhat strained relationship with the powerful Cho Yangpyo nation.
The reason for the strained relationship was that the head of the Western Garrison subtly envied and guarded against the achievements of Cho Hasung.
‘And now, with Hwaryeon and Yeong-joo’s affairs overlapping, their relationship has completely deteriorated.’
That seemed to be the gist of it.
Cho Yangpyo’s only daughter, Cho Yeong-joo, was highly regarded as Hangju’s number one beauty and talented woman.
And it was because of her that Seo Hwaryeon’s fiancé became curious.
If he had just remained curious, it would have been fine, but that fiancé fell head over heels for Yeong-joo.
“Hwaryeon’s soldier, I have taken a liking to Yeong-joo soldier.”
“…What did you say?”
“So, it seems we should break off our engagement here.”
That’s how the fiancé broke off his engagement with Seo Hwaryeon and confessed his love to Yeong-joo.
But of course, Yeong-joo rejected him.
Afterwards, due to the circumstances of the adults, Hwaryeon and her fiancé maintained their engagement, but it was inevitable that Hwaryeon’s pride was completely crushed.
“In such a situation, shouldn’t she have dumped the fiancé first?”
That’s what Ye-rin thought when reading the original story, but coming into this world, things were indeed a bit different.
Firstly, people couldn’t always act rationally, and for most women who weren’t in special positions like Snow White, marriage was an extremely important issue. It might have been much more comfortable for them to oppose Yeong-joo rather than the fiancé entangled with their family.
“However, it must have been frustrating for Yeong-joo.”
She hadn’t done anything wrong after all. It would have been better if Hwaryeon and Yeong-joo’s unfortunate relationship had ended there, but after that, Hwaryeon…
“She fell in love with Do-yul at first sight when she met him.”
Do-yul was inherently popular as a typical male protagonist in wuxia novels. Essentially, that meant Seo Hwaryeon was also one of the many women who had a crush on Do-yul.
But since the heroine of this novel was Yeong-joo, Hwaryeon and Yeong-joo continued to be in opposition.
And then there was the meddling of the original Ye-rin. The original Ye-rin, true to her villainous nature, didn’t forgive women who showed interest in Do-yul.
“So, what did Hwaryeon do about it?”
She probably did something like splashing tea on her face. Villainous indeed… Well, more importantly…
“Since coming to the Central Plains, it seems like I’m meeting the characters from the novel quite frequently.”
Ye-rin was immersed in a strange feeling. And then, Hwaryeon’s haughty voice echoed.
“As a woman who will one day lead a prestigious family, I learned that it’s also important to establish connections with the noble families.” At that voice, Ye-rin snapped out of her reverie.
Behind Hwaryeon, girls with curious faces were peering one by one.
Hwaryeon spoke confidently, “However, I haven’t had many opportunities to establish connections with Yeong-joo, so it’s just regrettable.”
In other words, it meant, “You’re not from a prestigious family that I would establish connections with.”
Expression vanished from Yeong-joo’s face. Hwaryeon looked at her with an intrigued gaze.
“Come to think of it, I heard you’re going down to the Northern Sea Province to establish a branch of your family. Is that true?”
“I wonder where you heard that from.”
“It’s strange to hear you say that.” Hwaryeon smiled leisurely.
“You’ve been flaunting your status as the first beauty of Hangju all this time. So…” Her voice, mixed with laughter, was sharp like a well-honed blade.
“People can’t help but be interested in everything about Yeong-joo, right?”
Vulgarly. A vulgar whisper echoed.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is Sid. I hope you liked it<3
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