Chapter 4

The interior of the carriage, running along the well-maintained main road, vibrated with a soft, steady rhythm.

“…”

Yeon-oh was lost in thought, largely unbothered by the carriage’s vibration. For some reason, he could not forget the man who had briefly raised his hand in response to Yeon-oh’s loud wave.

That brief, indifferent acknowledgment strangely weighed on his mind.

The face that had smiled sweetly and nodded at Yeon-oh’s exaggerated arm-waving was quite distant, yet it remained vivid in his memory, as if seen right up close.

“Is it because he’s handsome?”

Yeon-oh had grown up traveling between Goksan and Yeongsan. He had seen a fair number of beauties among the children of officials and nobles traveling through Goksan, but he had never seen a face as striking as that man’s. Even among the diverse people who came and went using the trade routes and ports of Yeongsan, he had not met such a level of beauty.

“Indeed, a person should live long enough to see everything. But which family is he from?”

Yeon-oh fell back into contemplation, uttering a thought for which his elder brothers would have surely clipped him on the ear.

“He said Seonjae. Is he from the Pungje Seon Clan?”

If one sought out a place known for beauty, the Pungje Seon Clan was among the great families of the Southeast. The Pungje Seon Clan had many handsome men and beautiful women, but they were all known for their small, slender physiques. Their handsome men were famously more beautiful than imposing.

Yeon-oh hadn’t seen Seonjae when he was young, but it was hard to describe his current form as that of a beautiful youth.

“No, is he from the Unju Seon Clan? No, no, the Byeoknam Seon Clan?”

Yeon-oh vigorously shook his head, having gone through the Seon clans he knew.

The Unju Seon Clan was known for having strong physiques and impressive builds, but they were far from being beauties or handsome. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The Byeoknam Seon Clan was also unconnected with beauty. Even the rare handsome man who emerged from that family was always followed by comments lamenting his cunning, calculating appearance.

Seonjae’s first impression was rather cold, but he could not be described as cunning. Although the man occasionally wore an expression that viewed Yeon-oh as very young and trifling, even then, coldness was more apparent than guile.

“Perhaps he is not from any particular distinguished family.”

Yeon-oh gave up on the fruitless line of thought. Just then, the carriage arrived at the Gyo General’s Household gate. As if he had never been contemplating anything, he ran into the household with a clear, bright face.

*******

The third floor of the Cheongyeongan main building was famous for its excellent view. However, not many people sought it out.

Being directly under the short-eaved roof, the view was somewhat impaired, and the railings were excessively high. The passageway was also very narrow. As the building had high ceilings, there were many steps between floors, making the climb to the third floor of the main building challenging.

While the scenery was good when looking down, it was not a place to linger.

“…”

Since arriving in Goksan, Seonjae had climbed to the third floor of the Cheongyeongan main building every day. It was secluded due to the lack of people, and from there, all the important locations in Goksan could be surveyed at a glance.

Temporary shops lined the widest street in Goksan. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The perpetually bustling street was particularly noisy today.

The fourth son of the Gyo General’s Household.

Gyo Yeon-oh was selling medicinal herbs from a cart set up on the corner of the street. These were valuable herbs that had been stored for too long or incorrectly, making it difficult to sell them at their proper price. Yet, he was selling them at an unbelievable discount.

“Five coins for one bowl’s worth!”

Seonjae was watching the fourth Young Master of the Gyo General’s Household hawk his goods and sell off the medicinal herbs cheaply on the street. Although the condition was regrettable, these were herbs that were not easy to acquire, so Gyo Yeon-oh’s cart was constantly crowded with people.

Yeon-oh did not even check the number of coins the customers offered or verify if they were genuine, simply taking them as given and stuffing them into his purse.

Seonjae, watching this from above, muttered quietly.

“Is he even collecting the money properly?”

It was already abnormal for him to be selling the valuable herbs he had brought out for just five coins.

A bigger issue was the fine cloth he used to wrap the herbs. Given that the cloth was pristine white, it was a precious material difficult for even a well-off commoner to possess.

It seemed people were buying the herbs, even if they didn’t need them, just to acquire the white, large, and precious cloth pouch. It was difficult to judge whether this was the renowned generosity of the Gyo General’s Household or the simple naivety of Gyo Yeon-oh, that he would give away a pouch the size of a child’s torso when selling just a bowl of herbs.

The people buying the herbs repeatedly bowed low as they handed over the coins.

The herbs that had filled the large cart were sold out in an instant.

Yeon-oh immediately set up the cart wall he had laid down, assembling it back into shape. He did not forget to shake out and retrieve the empty herb pouches. Just as he finished covering the cart’s cargo area with a starched cloth,

Children who had been watching Yeon-oh work next to him offered him flowers and small pouches. Yeon-oh, accepting the gifts, quickly wiped his hands on his clothes and successively patted the children’s heads.

Yeon-oh looked down at the children, who watched him with eyes full of adoration, and affectionately indulged them. One of the children fearlessly ran up and hugged him around the waist.

“Mm.”

Gyo Yeon-oh’s face, laughing while surrounded by the children, exuded a peculiar atmosphere.

It was said that the fourth son of the Gyo General’s Household strongly resembled his mother, who was famed for her refined beauty. Unlike his mother, perhaps because he was male, he looked infinitely delicate from afar, yet up close, he was tall and handsome without any distracting flaws.

Seonjae understood why someone might have struggled to answer if they were asked whether Gyo Yeon-oh resembled the late Grand Madam of the Gyo General’s Household, whom they knew in real life.

The former Grand Madam of the Gyo General’s Household was famous for her pure and frail beauty. Gyo Yeon-oh, conversely, was far from being small or delicate.

If it weren’t for that beautiful face, his physical presence would be praised as magnificent and imposing.

“Much more than the rumors…”

Seonjae muttered unintentionally but then stopped himself.

Meanwhile, Yeon-oh on the street easily detached the children hanging from his waist. He gently stroked their small backs and took them to the candy stall, letting them pick whatever they wanted. Not content with that, he bought and handed them arms full of snacks, fruits, food, and accessories.

During this time, the beautiful carriage of the Gyo General’s Household was left neglected on the roadside.

Even if all the carts on the street were sold, they likely couldn’t buy even the expensive, starched cloth covering the Gyo General’s Household’s carriage, yet Gyo Yeon-oh showed no interest in the cart he had brought. It was astonishing that no one had stolen it.

“How could he be so careless?”

Seonjae muttered to himself before falling silent again. Yeon-oh approached a child standing alone and handed him a snack with a smiling face. The child, receiving the beautiful, artistic snack, shrank back shyly.

Gyo Yeon-oh’s kindness did not end there. He fetched a fine cloth moistened with water from somewhere and gently wiped the child’s grubby face, hands, and feet. All the while, he chattered endlessly to the embarrassed child.

“The Young Master of the Gyo General’s Household certainly has elegant manners, befitting a rich noble’s son.”

It was easy to imagine how the shy child must see the Young Master of the Gyo General’s Household: an overwhelmingly beautiful person dressed in beautiful silk clothing descended from the heavens.

“Such a person is neither an illusion nor a swindler…”

A strangely bitter, low voice escaped the man’s lips.

Seonjae, looking down at the clear, beautiful face, suddenly recalled something from a long time ago. It might have been something that shouldn’t be called an event.

At the time, he had gone to the North Sea, wedged between the easternmost continental lands. He was on his way to clean up a mess caused by his old nephew, and there he met an imperial relative who, cornered, had gone mad.

The relative, full of pride in his imperial lineage, had attempted to escape a crisis by breaking the dike that held back the Ibogang River, which flowed into the North Sea, and in the very last moments, had set fire to his own residence.

The endlessly surging water and the colossal wall were things that still came to mind occasionally.

When he returned after handling the affair in the North Sea, he heard the news of the Gyo General’s Household carriage accident that had occurred near the capital.

That accident would have cost the young Gyo Yeon-oh, who was a child just a few years earlier, his father, the mother who bequeathed him his pure beauty, and his much older sister. No matter how wealthy one was, family held a special meaning for some people.

Could the child have accepted the sudden disappearance of his family?

Did the child truly understand what death was at that time?

Seonjae’s eyebrows furrowed involuntarily. He wondered if Gyo Yeon-oh had spent difficult and lonely times back then, or if he had been as purely bright as he was now. The man’s eyes, lost in past memories, deepened.

His expression was neutral, but he consciously cut off the memory, shaking off the emotions that were difficult to clearly define.

Just then, the noisy street became frantic. Without warning, a drop or two of rain fell, quickly turning into a torrential downpour.

Owners of the temporary shops who had prepared for rain quickly unfolded large umbrellas or awnings over their carts, while those who hadn’t rushed to pack up.

Gyo Yeon-oh hurriedly helped those nearby before running toward his cart. The Gyo General’s Household’s cart, by some miracle, had not been stolen. However, it seemed he hadn’t brought a separate umbrella.

Yeon-oh looked around, searching for a place to temporarily shelter his cart. People called out to him from various directions. However, since the rain was unexpected, no one had an extra umbrella to lend Yeon-oh.

“So careless.”

Seonjae grumbled about the carelessness but picked up the oiled paper umbrella he had prepared beforehand and went downstairs.

As he stepped out of Cheongyeongan, Yeon-oh was already meeting a kind innkeeper and setting his cart under the eaves. As Yeon-oh pushed the cart under the short eaves, ignoring the pouring rain, a beautiful oiled paper umbrella was held over his head.

Startled by the sudden blockage of the rain sound, Yeon-oh turned around. His eyes widened when he saw the man holding the umbrella over him.

“Young Master Gyo.”

Seonjae was equally surprised. In that brief moment, Yeon-oh was thoroughly drenched, his clothes dark with water.

Seonjae habitually looked around him but, realizing he was alone, he rummaged through his clothing. However, all he had was the thick gold pouch filled with silver pieces.

Yeon-oh, seeing Seonjae search for something and then look crestfallen, smiled softly with his wet face.

“I am fine.”

Yeon-oh wiped the rainwater from his eyelashes with his hand. Then, he gathered his wet hair and clothes and wrung out the excess water.

“You are absolutely not fine. If you stay like this, you will catch a chill. We are right in front of Cheongyeongan, let’s go to Gwanhaedae.”

“I am fine…”

“You are not fine. You are completely soaked. Come on.”

Seonjae grabbed Yeon-oh’s soaking wet sleeve and shook it. The man then gestured with his eyes, commanding Yeon-oh to quickly walk toward Cheongyeongan.