The Young Consort Wants to Live Quietly

Chapter 16

***

Sparkle. That’s exactly how my eyes opened. Blinking a few times, I sat up in bed as if I had never been sick. My body felt refreshed.

Immediately upon waking, I quickly looked down. Thankfully, not a single strand of the Empress’s black hair was in sight.

I had worried she might have stayed up all night in my palace under the guise of nursing me, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case. As I sighed in relief, I heard the chirping of birds from outside.

I hadn’t heard such sounds yesterday. Did they release birds today?

Regardless, it wasn’t a bad feeling, so I quietly closed my eyes, enjoying the chirping sounds.

“My lady, are you awake?”

“Yes.”

Responding to Seoyeon’s voice from the door, it opened. Seoyeon entered with palace maids carrying basins and towels, and she immediately placed her hand on my forehead.

“…”

“The fever has subsided. That’s fortunate.”

She said so, smiling lightly. As I continued to watch her silently, Seoyeon looked down, embarrassed.

“I apologize for acting presumptuously…”

“No, it’s fine.”

It wasn’t because of that. I was just a bit surprised to see her genuinely worried.

I quietly let them attend to me and got dressed. Perhaps as a repercussion of yesterday’s sickness, the clothes were thicker than usual.

“You mustn’t go out.”

“…”

After dressing me, Seoyeon sternly advised. I looked at her blankly. It hadn’t been long since she said no one could stop me, and now she’s changing her tune.

Seoyeon’s face faltered under my gaze, but she insisted again.

“The weather is still too cold.”

“I’ll be fine if I dress warmly.”

“It’s not okay!”

Heesa, standing by, chimed in. Normally, I wouldn’t mind her chatty nature, but today it was irritating.

Looking around the room for agreement, all the palace maids avoided my gaze.

They were all in on it. These people.

“…How about unwrapping the gifts you received today?”

Seoyeon suggested, trying to cheer me up. I showed a momentary interest but soon shook my head.

The gifts likely came from the Yeoran family, and most would be similar, all implying to captivate the Empress.

“Leave them. They can be thrown away.”

“But, miss…”

Seoyeon trailed off, looking troubled at my words.

I tilted my head, wondering why.

“The Empress and the Noble Consort also sent gifts. Won’t you at least check them?”

Seoyeon’s tone was very cautious. Despite my obvious reluctance, it seemed I still needed to see them.

That made sense. The Noble Consort and the Empress held higher positions than me, and ignoring their gifts could bring disadvantages to me and my maids.

But then…

“The Empress and the Noble Consort sent gifts?”

“Yes, my lady.”

What could they possibly have sent all of a sudden?

Without much thought, I pondered this and asked Seoyeon casually.

“What kind of gifts are they?”

“Well, that is…”

Seoyeon trailed off again. At that, a chill ran down my spine. A gift that makes her hesitate like this. Did someone send a head or something?

I didn’t particularly care for anyone in this world. Meaning, whether someone’s head arrived or not, there would be no memories to grieve over.

If it were the heads of the Yeoran family’s direct lineage, I might have to pretend to be shocked, but anyone else’s would merely be a corpse, nothing more, nothing less.

Perhaps it’s just a disgustingly ordinary gift.

I took a deep breath. Whether the gift was a human head or a gold toad, I had to go check.

“Let’s go.”

The palace maids followed me as I was led by Seoyeon to a room within the palace complex.

“…”

And then I realized why Seoyeon hadn’t been able to describe the gifts. The room was filled to the ceiling with items. There were overwhelmingly many boxes, but also unpacked items.

For example, something like a large monkey doll. I deliberately averted my gaze from the monkey doll with cymbals in its hands and bulging eyes and asked.

“What… is all this?”

“These are gifts sent by the Empress and the Noble Consort.”

All of this?

Just then, men carrying boxes like worker ants transporting food walked past the corridor. Seeing the room filled to the brim, they looked at Seoyeon with a troubled expression.

Seoyeon apologized to them and then opened the adjacent room. It was a storage room, seemingly empty just as this room had once been.

I watched, mouth agape, as the men neatly stacked the boxes inside. Surely, all of that couldn’t be human heads.

“What is all this?”

“Yes, my lady.”

What could they possibly have sent all of a sudden?

I thought this without much care and casually asked Seoyeon.

“What kind of gifts are they?”

“Well, that is…”

Seoyeon trailed off again. At that, I felt a chill down my spine. A gift that makes her hesitate like this. Did someone send a head?

In this world, there wasn’t a single person I was particularly attached to. Whether someone’s head came or not, there wouldn’t be any memories to make me suffer.

If it were the heads of the direct descendants of the Yeoran family, I would have to pretend to be greatly shocked, but anyone else would merely be a corpse, nothing more, nothing less.

Perhaps it was just a disgustingly ordinary gift.

I took a deep breath. Whether the gift was a human head or a golden toad, I had to go check it out.

“Let’s go.”

The palace maids followed me as I spoke. I arrived at a room within the palace, guided by Seoyeon.

“…”

And then, I understood why Seoyeon had been unable to describe the gifts. The room was filled to the ceiling with items. There were overwhelmingly many boxes, but also items not packaged.

For example, there was something like a large monkey doll. I intentionally averted my gaze from the monkey doll, which held cymbals in its hands and had bulging eyes, and asked.

“What is… all this?”

“These are the gifts sent by the Empress and the Noble Consort.”

All of this?

Then, men, each carrying a box like worker ants transporting food, walked past the hallway. Seeing the room filled to the brim, they looked at Seoyeon with a troubled face.

Seoyeon, apologetically, then opened the next room for them. That room, like the past of this current one, was an empty storage space.

I watched, mouth agape, as the men neatly stacked the boxes inside. Surely, those can’t all be human heads.

“What are those?”

“Those gifts are from Consort Garam.”

Garam?

“Why?”

Without realizing, I asked in a challenging tone, and one of the men who had been quietly watching the movers turned to look at me. He appeared to be in a high position, overseeing the movers, indicating he came from Garam’s palace.

I flinched a bit, realizing he was from Garam’s palace and held a high position. Surely he wasn’t about to question why I had complaints about his master.

Contrary to my expectation, he wore a broad smile on his kind face, a warm smile that made me doubt the chilliness from moments ago. As he strode towards me, I instinctively stepped back.

However, not noticing my retreat, he greeted me with open arms.

“Consort Cho!”

I was confused by his greeting. Did Sanya have any interaction with him?

Sanya Yeoran had been confined to the Yeoran family’s mansion until she came to the imperial palace. She was too much of a spitting image of Giyun Yeoran to risk letting her out, undeniable proof that could not be hidden. While this was a good reason to eventually place Sanya in the imperial palace, at the time, it was nothing more than a shameful secret of the family head.

Therefore, it only made sense that she wouldn’t have crossed paths with someone closely associated with Garam.

Was he a spy planted by the Yeoran family?

While I pondered, he finally seemed to realize his greeting and said, “Ah,”

“Your grace. My name is Jaei Suan. I humbly serve as Consort Garam’s aide.”

Hearing this, I had to scatter the thoughts I had barely managed to organize. Garam’s aide?

His aide also made occasional appearances in the original story, mostly through Garam’s monologues. I did this, and then got scolded by my aide. I did that, and then received a contemptuous look from my aide. It was mostly along these lines.

But as far as it goes, Garam and his aide seemed to share a close relationship.

A spy, really?

Of course, the original story couldn’t remain unchanged. As evidence, Sanya changed, and Mirinae changed.

But what does Mirinae’s change in personality have to do with Garam’s aide being a spy?

“I heard from my superior that your grace’s illness was severe.”

I had been lost in thought, but at his words, I quickly looked up. Jaei, meeting my gaze, smiled gently and continued.

“Even if it does not meet your expectations, it is quite a fine gift. It would be an honor if you would take a look.”

“…I see. Please express my thanks. Also, apologize for me not being able to visit and express my gratitude in person since I am not fully recovered yet.”

Responding thus, Jaei smiled as if he found my answer commendable. I smiled innocently back, thinking to myself,

‘I absolutely must not open it.’

It was clear the gifts were from the Yeoran family.

There’s no way Garam would send me so many gifts.

I couldn’t guess the intentions of the Empress and Mirinae, but these gifts were more transparent.

The Yeoran family sending something good to Sanya?

With that thought, I coughed lightly, feeling an itch in my throat. It seemed I had caught a cold for sure. My throat wasn’t sore, but the tickling sensation kept making me want to cough.

Maybe it’s time to head back.

Thinking so, I turned around to look at the palace maids and was startled. Their faces had turned as if they had seen a demon.

“You coughed! You coughed!”

“Oh no, are you still very ill? We shouldn’t have let you come out!”

“I am so sorry. It seems you are not well, my lady. You should return inside.”

Before I knew it, I was being dramatically ushered by the maids. Jaei nodded at me seriously as I blinked in surprise.

“Please go back inside.”

Why, why this reaction? It’s just a cough.

Caught in confusion, I found myself suddenly standing in front of my room. As the maids opened the door, a wave of hot air hit me.

“…It’s too hot.”

“When you’re ill, it’s best to stay in a warm place.”

“Right. If you catch a draft, the cold could get worse.”

But isn’t this sauna-like heat a bit too much?

The braziers placed around the room were burning like the fires of hell. It was hard to tell if I had entered my bedroom or somehow arrived in the boiling hell after dying.

I sat down on a chair with a perplexed look, and as the wooden chair creaked, the faces of the palace maids became even more anxious.

“No!”

“Who placed that dangerous chair here?”

“Here, please sit on the bed!”

“Could you all just calm down…”

While I was getting flustered, someone carrying a brazier walked into the room with difficulty.

It was a young maid with a youthful face, who seemed to have gone through a lot judging by the soot on her face and clothes. Seeing her, I frowned.

I wasn’t planning on making a young child suffer just to keep myself warm.

“That child, stop now―”

“Oh, that child?”

Heesa interrupted me with a smirk, her face looking surprisingly wicked, which made me raise my eyebrows.

What’s going on?

“Since she troubled my lady, it’s only fair she repays by helping her, right? …Well, it’s still not enough, though.”

Her playful words made me take another look at the child. Now that I saw her face properly, I recognized she was indeed the maid who had come from the Yeoran family.

‘So that’s how it is.’

I abandoned any thought of stopping the maids and just watched the child quietly.

Struggling with the heavy brazier and sweating profusely, the maid wiped her forehead and then brightened upon seeing me.

“Miss!”

Ah. Truly, there are too many people without a conscience.