Chapter 35
‘A noble?’
She was a young lady with a voice befitting her youth.
Her refined features clearly marked her as nobility, but except for her shawl, she wore cheap cotton clothes.
Ralph folded his newspaper.
“Why? Looking to buy that land?”
“Yes.”
Ralph scratched his chin. After contemplating for a moment, he unfolded the newspaper again.
“Miss, I’m telling you this because you look young, but that place isn’t good.”
The woman asked expressionlessly.
“Is that so?”
“Absolutely.”
“Why?”
“Well, there’s no development potential. Nothing around it either.”
“I see. Thank you for the advice. But I’m still going to buy it.”
She was a stubborn woman. Ralph clicked his tongue.
“Instead of wasting money, let’s see… how about this place?”
He pulled out a paper showing properties in the recently trending Giben Street.
The woman didn’t even glance at it.
“No. 77 Yaka Street is fine. I’d like to buy the surrounding land as well, if possible.”
“You’ll regret it.”
“I doubt it.”
Ralph clicked his tongue again.
‘Well, she’ll probably think of it as a life lesson.’
Ralph stood up, dusting off his seat.
“Alright. I’ll contact the landowner.”
* * *
“Take a good look around, and don’t come crying later!”
As Baeksan left the real estate agent’s office, she felt a thrill through her entire body.
‘I bought it. 77 Yaka Street.’
Her hands trembled as she held the deed.
‘Are you really buying this place? Don’t come crying later!’
The agent had tried to discourage her until the end, but she felt no anxiety.
‘I saw it. In Bathilda’s office.’
[Construction Plan for ‘Era of Joy’ Memorial]
The Imperial family is planning to construct a massive memorial to commemorate the ‘Era of Joy’. 77 Yaka Street has been suggested as a potential location….
It was written in golden letters, as if advertising that this was exactly the information Baeksan needed.
‘I’ve memorized several other things too, I’ll put them to use gradually.’
Baeksan tucked the deed into her breast pocket and walked through the darkening streets. Having tried to handle everything in one day, she hadn’t noticed how dark it had gotten.
‘By the way, what should I do about Bathilda from now on? She’ll keep trying to recruit me, maybe I should side with the Grand Duke after all….’
Lost in such thoughts on her way to the dormitory, she noticed six men slouching toward her from the opposite direction.
Baeksan hesitated.
The street was conveniently empty and dark.
‘Six men….’
…Something felt off. Probably just her imagination.
Thinking this, she continued walking.
Though tense, the men passed by her, chatting among themselves.
‘…Was I wrong?’
Just as Baeksan let out a small sigh of relief.
“Cover her mouth!”
“…!”
A hand appeared from behind and covered her mouth.
Baeksan immediately struggled, but other hands grabbed her limbs.
‘I knew my luck was bad!’
The men who had turned back around dragged Baeksan into an alley. She could hear their quick, hushed conversation.
“Is this the right woman? Are you sure?”
“Yes! The princess delivered cartfuls of gold coins!”
As she listened to their conversation, Baeksan struggled. Responding to her situation, windows began appearing one after another.
[Jason]
Sharp objects can cause arterial bleeding. When stabbing the heart, be careful not to hit the ribs.
Recommended areas: carotid artery, armpit, heart….
[Rainer]
When stabbing with sharp objects….
[Jason]
With sharp objects….
‘Where am I supposed to get something sharp right now!’
Though helpful diagrams showed exactly where and how to stab, there was no time to look at them.
Baeksan just struggled as frantically as she could.
‘If they drag me away, I’m definitely dead!’
When they realize she has no money after buying land on Yaka Street, there’s no telling what they might do.
When Baeksan’s resistance proved stronger than expected, someone finally shouted.
“Damn it, just stay still!”
And a fist flew at Baeksan.
“…!”
Baeksan instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and hunched her shoulders.
At that moment, as her hunched body caused the fist to meet her shawl.
“What the… kuhack!”
Flash!
A golden light flared. The man’s fist twisted unnaturally in mid-air.
At the same time, the other men were thrown against the wall as if hit by something.
“Kuk!”
“Kheuk!”
“…”
Baeksan, who had her eyes closed, squinted at the strange sounds.
Around her were only men collapsed as if something had been broken.
Though briefly puzzled, Baeksan immediately got up.
‘Run first!’
Baeksan quickly fled from the alley.
She ran all the way to the dormitory. After entering her room and leaning against the door, her shaky breath finally escaped. Baeksan slightly turned over her shawl.
The embroidered figures had gathered where her gaze fell, trembling.
“Did you help me?”
The embroidered figures made circles by joining their hands above their heads.
Baeksan slid down against the door to sit.
“Ha… thank you.”
The embroidered figures jumped up and down. Seemingly embarrassed, they even created an embroidered box to hide in.
Baeksan chuckled at the sight, then sighed while looking up at the ceiling. Looking at her hands, they were still trembling.
‘This is crazy. What do I do now?’
She hadn’t expected people would target the gold coins from Bathilda. She could definitely feel how poor the security was.
The fact that she had treated the Emperor was also concerning.
Though Bathilda would have handled it well, there was no guarantee someone wouldn’t eventually trace it back to ‘Appraiser Mine’ through deduction.
Baeksan clenched her fists and muttered.
“Maybe I should lay low for a while…”
* * *
The woman sitting at her desk against the cloudy sky paused.
“The Emperor has recovered?”
“He hasn’t fully recovered, but he’s improved enough that he won’t die.”
“…”
“He hasn’t recovered enough to oversee state affairs, so Her Highness the Princess is still in charge.”
“That’s somewhat fortunate.”
Though she said it was fortunate, the woman’s expression wasn’t pleased.
Guessing her mood, the aide carefully spoke.
“Perhaps the cursed item from Sorek was defective? For him to recover so easily…”
“No. It wasn’t an easy recovery.”
The woman muttered, then asked.
“Who treated him?”
“Princess Bathilda brought a scarred physician from the Meteor District. Apparently, they were actually a hidden medical genius, so she had them infiltrate as a maid.”
The woman frowned.
“Why would the princess do such a thing…?”
“Perhaps because if the Emperor died outright, she would lose her chance to become Crown Princess?”
“How foolish…. She should have learned to let go of her desire for recognition by now.”
The woman put down her quill.
“This person who treated the Emperor. Where are they now?”
“From what I hear, they’ve disappeared. The Emperor tried to make them his personal physician belatedly, but they’ve vanished completely…”
“Vanished? That’s unlikely. They haven’t disappeared – the princess has hidden them.”
The woman smiled, resting her chin on her interlocked fingers.
“Then bring that person to me now.”
* * *
Sometimes it happens.
That eerie feeling in the air before something occurs.
Baeksan woke up in the middle of the night in her dormitory bed. She didn’t know why.
‘What is it? Suddenly….’
Anxiously, she got up without thinking and paced around the room.
‘Is it because I haven’t found a new lodging yet?’
Several days had passed since the men attacked her. She still hadn’t found new accommodations.
Money was the issue.
Having just bought land on Yaka Street, she didn’t have enough for a house in a safe area.
Besides, lodging alone wasn’t everything.
She was essentially helpless without someone to protect her. The shawl seemed to only block direct attacks.
‘I should have just lived like a common citizen.’
Though it was unavoidable since she couldn’t spread the plague in the Daltai Mountains, she seemed to have gotten caught up in political strife after treating the Emperor.
Sighing, Baeksan unconsciously looked toward the window.
And met the eyes of someone staring at her from beyond the window.
‘…This is the second floor, isn’t it?’
