CH 3

Danguk (團國) is the largest empire among the many countries located in the south. The day of the Wei (委) family, a family that has contributed to the founding of this country, and a prestigious family famous for producing generals for generations, begins at dawn.

Smoke was rising from the kitchen in the southeast hall, as food was being prepared. The large garden at the center of the estate, and the west hall where various miscellaneous rooms such as warehouses, magic rooms, and lodgings for servants, were crowded with people.

In contrast, the east side, where the study, small garden, and guest quarters were located, was relatively calm and peaceful. But the most tranquil one was the main house, the residence of the head of the family, which stood magnificently by the large independence gate in the northwest.

Hyun (玄), the only servant who could freely move around the main house, walked silently but nimbly, with a small water jar in his hand. The water fluttering inside was the dew he had collected from the flower garden diligently since early in the morning. It had been raining for a few days, so he couldn’t go to the flower garden, but today, it was sunny, and he was able to collect the dew. Hyun smiled as he remembered the master of the Wei family, who had tilted his head over and over again as he drank tea the other day, saying that he felt that the taste of the water was different from usual.

It was one of his little joys to watch the man drinking tea with the morning dew that he had been waiting for. Hyun’s cheeks were slightly raised as he felt proud for completing this important task today.

It has been over a year since Hyun started collecting dew every morning. It started after thinking about whether there was anything to be done for the owner who likes to drink tea. Thanks to that, he had to get up early in the morning, but he quickly got used to it. No, compared to the owner who had brought an orphan who had no ties with him to his home, healed his wounds, and gave him a job, this was not a lot of hard work.

Hyun carefully opened the middle door of the black lacquered main house, and then greeted the masked man standing next to the door with a slightly tense face. On the chest of the masked man whose whole body was tightly wrapped in black cloth other than his eyes, the words Wei (委) were clearly embroidered.

The man, Zhang Yu, asked in a soft voice.

“It looks like you got dew from the flower garden today.”

Hyun quietly nodded. At the familiar voice, his stiff eyes slowly loosened. It seems he is on duty today.

‘It’s uncomfortable because you don’t know who is who because of the mask.’

These masked people take turns guarding the main house, but they have similar physique and atmosphere, so unless the other side opens their mouth, you can’t tell who they are. The man he spoke to today, Zhang Yu, was at least a little familiar with Hyun.

“Master is still sleeping, so give me the water jar.”

Zhang Yu spoke kindly and held out his hand, and Hyun handed him the water jar.

“Warm up your hands and go in. It will be bad if you wake up the master with those cold hands.”

Zhang Yu took out a bag of warm stones and handed it to Hyun.

Hyun hesitated for a moment at Zhang Yu’s favor, but accepted it in the end. Despite the passage of time, it was still difficult for him to speak up. If it was given to him by someone else, though, he would have shook his head and refused.

Hyun replied to him in a slightly clumsy Danguk. The pronunciation was a bit inaccurate, but not to the point of being incomprehensible.

“Thank you.”

He hurriedly warmed his cold fingertips through the fabric. He had other work to do besides collecting the dew, so he had to hurry.

Thinking that his hands had gotten a bit lukewarm, he handed the bag to Zhang Yu.

“I’m done.”

Zhang Yu took the bag and glanced at Hyun’s white and pretty face. His cheeks and the tip of his nose were still red, and his lips were blue. Nevertheless, Zhang Yu did not recommend Hyun to warm up a little more, as he thought he’d only feel more embarrassed if he tried to be more hospitable and took care of him more.

Instead, he gently lifted his head and looked up at the sky. It was a clear morning, and the early morning light was completely gone.

He asked the boy in front of him in a soft voice.

“Soon it will be time for the master to rise. What should be done?”

“Uh, umm… I’ll go.”

After Hyeon answered Zhang Yu in a sullen tone, he walked to the largest room in the main house.

Standing in front of the master’s bedroom, he took a deep breath before opening the door and fiddled with the sachet hanging from his waist. Even though it is something he does every time, he was always nervous at this time. As soon as he was ready, Hyun exhaled a big breath and opened the door with a determined expression.

With all the windows closed, the still dark room was filled with silence. Only the calm and subtle scent emanating from the incense burner drifted quietly around. Hyun first opened the window to ventilate, and then entered the bedroom covered by a thin middle door and thick curtains. A faint sound of breathing could be heard through the curtains. It was uttered by Wei Jeokmyung, the head of the Wei family and the master of the prefecture.

Hyun pushed the veil with his hand and tried to step further inward. But the long sleeve that suddenly popped out came first. It grabbed Hyun’s wrist and pulled his little body inward strongly. In an instant, his body was turned over and his vision was reversed. Hyun slightly opened his mouth to breathe as his face gradually turned blue from the taut cloth under his neck.

“M-Master!”

At the urgent cry, the cloth that had been squeezing his neck loosened for a moment. Hyun gasped a little and called him back.

“Master.”

His voice was so delicate that it seemed it might break. The owner of the hand pulling the cloth flinched in response to it. After a while, the fingers where blue veins had been bulging out were loosened one by one, and the silky silk lost its use and slipped out.

“Cough. Cough.”

Hyun coughed a little and calmed his startled heart. His heart was pounding and it felt like it was jumping out of his throat.

This is not new to him because it happens every time, but sometimes there will be dizzying situations like today. He was scared every time, even though he knew he would stop along the way. Still, what woke him up steadfastly was that this person was his benefactor.

Two years ago, he was the only person who saved ‘Lee Eunhan’, who fell into this world and was beaten by beggars. This person didn’t stop there, he even nursed him back to health. He later heard that if he had not been treated that day, he could have lost half of his body for the rest of his life.

That alone was a blessing that could not be repaid for the rest of his life, and Wei Jeokmyung provided Hyun with a place to eat and sleep, as well as a job. Not only he never questioned where he came from or why he couldn’t speak well, and took care of him like his own family, the name Hyun (玄) was also given to him.

If he hadn’t met the formidable man that day, if that man had not saved him, he would have been sold somewhere and led a miserable life and eventually died. Aside from needing to adapt to this alien world, his body that suddenly became young was extremely weak. It was even more so when he thought of the strange symptoms that suddenly came to him after falling here. Maybe he would be treated like a monster and suffer terrible things?

Even calling this man a life saver was not enough. So this kind of threat was tolerable.

After a moment’s hesitation, Hyun reached out his hand over the shoulder of Wei Jeokmyung. The large, hard body flinched for a moment, but then it became still. As the string carefully pulled the opponent’s shoulder, his muscles, which had been pulled tight by tension, loosened slowly.

“It’s okay.”

Hyun muttered softly and gently stroked his nape and back. Every time he did that, his chest swelled up and then went out.

Wei Jeokmyung.

A man who is a single sword, a general, and the emperor’s nephew. The man with this great position and background was the head of the Wei family, a prestigious family in Danguk, and his beautiful appearance earned him a high reputation abroad. In particular, many people admired him because he was not only a great general who ended the war, but also a scholar who was excellent enough to have an argument with the best scholar in Danguk.

Although he seems to have nothing to fear in this world, he has been suffering from insomnia and nightmares for years.

The nightmares dreamed of by Wei Jeokmyung are so horrendous that he cannot wake up for a long time unless someone wakes him up. So, before, the servants took turns waking him up, but it was also very difficult, and everyone was scared.

Wei Jeokmyung disliked the presence of others, so he kept others from approaching him. The problem was that it was triggered unconsciously and he attacked those approaching to wake him up. Thus, subordinates who came into his bedroom must be prepared to get hurt every time.

But strangely, this sensitivity was an exception for Hyun. An attack that extends all the way to another person stops in the middle only for him. After learning about this by chance, it was up to Hyun to wake up Wei Jeokmyung.

Hyun was very surprised when he first found out that Wei Jeokmyung was suffering from nightmares, because he thought the owner of the Wei family was a great person who had nothing to fear in the world.

In fact, when it comes to the name of General Wei Jeokmyung of Danguk, he is a perfect man that everyone envies. How can such a person suffer from a mere nightmare and cannot wake up properly?

Of course, there was no reason to feel sorry for him. Hyun did not envy him even with his natural background and strength. Nevertheless, he was deeply saddened by Wei Jeokmyung’s suffering. Strangely, he didn’t want to see him struggling. He wanted to do anything if he could help this great person, even in the slightest. Suffering a bit to wake him up, risking being attacked like today was still fine. It was because this man was the only one who held onto himself, who had been shaken by fear and loneliness of this unfamiliar world two years ago.

After a while, the harsh breathing became still, and the muscles of his back, which had been shaking greatly, became tense. The surrounding air, which had sank heavily, was relieved in an instant. Whoops. Wei Jeokmyung, who was burying his face in the nape of Hyun’s neck, took a deep breath and smelled the incense. Then his head slowly lifted.

Hyun looked at him very quietly, not even breathing. Sharp, cool energy seeped into his eyes. This scene of gathering the last dot of reason while staring at a beautiful figure that was like a doll was always fascinating.

For a moment, their eyes met. A face converges on his insensitive retina, and the fiercely sharp gaze softens for a moment. The air that had been weighed down became lighter.

“Haaa.”

After a while, Wei Jeokmyung’s lips opened with a small sigh. Hyun sighed involuntarily and pricked up his ears. What flowed into his ears was a heavy bass sound that resonated deeply like a cave.

“… Ah Hyun (兒玄). Why are you waking me up again?”