Chapter 272 – But I’m Scared (2)
“Oh… I see. So you don’t remember where you were living before?”
“Yes, it was such a long time ago…”
Lord Seongyeon was surprised to learn that the missing man had been badly injured and had to stay in bed for three days.
If he had known, he would have sent not only Yanghajeong but also some of his guards to accompany him. But now that he saw that the man was much better, he felt relieved.
“But why is he standing there like a statue?”
Lord Seongyeon wanted to talk to the man in more detail, but the captain of the guards standing next to him showed no intention of leaving.
““
This was what Yanghajeong said to her later, after learning that Lord Seongyeon had had an affair with the man.
Of course, Lord Seongyeon liked the man quite a bit, but she had no intention of doing anything extreme like getting rid of Buma. However, she also had no intention of completely cutting off her relationship with the man. She thought they needed to get to know each other better, but the captain seemed to have no interest in understanding her thoughts.
“But, my lord. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
“What… what are you talking about?”
It was actually a question she wanted to ask the man, but Lord Seongyeon suddenly thought that the question might have a different meaning.
Lord Seongyeon put one hand near her ear and snapped the other hand, and the man looked at the captain before leaning in to listen.
Then she brought her mouth to his ear and whispered as quietly as possible.
“It’s still a long way off for me to get pregnant… What are you talking about?”
“Ahem, ahem! That’s what you meant? I misunderstood!”
Lord Seongyeon, who had misunderstood and said something strange to the man, felt embarrassed and tried to act like nothing had happened.
But then she realized that there was something intriguing in what the man had said and quickly asked.
“Wait. Did you say it was the residue of the elixir?”
“Yes, with the help of a skilled practitioner, it should be possible to cultivate inner energy, although it may not reach a very high level.”
Lord Seongyeon was so engrossed in the man’s words about how it could be beneficial for his health and vitality, despite not being able to reach a high level due to his stiffened bones, that she completely forgot about investigating him further.
“My lord? What are you thinking so deeply about?”
It was only after the worker who was carrying the bucket put it down that Ju Yakseon came to her senses.
“Oh… nothing. It seems like it would be okay to fetch water from the well for the ritual in the future.”
Water was also important when making medicine.
So every morning, workers would wake up and fetch clear water from the well installed inside the clinic. Recently, a device called a water pump had been introduced, which could pour water out easily just by moving a stick up and down. The workers explained that it was much more convenient than fetching water inside the clinic, as it required less effort.
But what was actually occupying Ju Yakseon’s mind was something entirely different.
“Premature birth…”
Ever since she found out that Eon Soyoung had suffered from a premature birth after helping Jegal Mireyeong give birth, Ju Yakseon’s attention had been focused on that matter.
In fact, Eon Soyoung was a master who could be said to have reached the peak of her abilities. She was someone who could reach the peak state at any time without any difficulty.
But the timing was too coincidental. To achieve a premature birth as if waiting for it, while still having an unhealable scar?
“It could be a coincidence, but…”
Ju Yakseon’s intuition was telling her that it was definitely not a coincidence. But if it wasn’t a coincidence, how could she achieve a premature birth at such an appropriate moment?
If there was a way to artificially raise the few elite practitioners who were allowed to reach that level among the countless peak masters in the world, then there would be no place in the world of martial arts where the Seven Schools and Five Factions did not have peak masters.
No, perhaps there was only one person who knew such a method, and that was Kang Sohyup.
“Oh, Ju Yakseon? Is there something you need?”
Kang Yoon, who seemed to have just come back from Lady Seong’s sickroom, met Ju Yakseon, who was making a puzzled expression, and quickly corrected her own expression.
“Did Lady Seong make any… unreasonable demands again?”
“Oh, no. I just stopped by to say hello.”
Ju Yakseon replied, trying to fix her expression.
As the person who had been occupying her mind appeared before her, Ju Yakseon regretted her absent-minded expression and tried to hide her unease. This man was someone who had multiple women, almost like having them as wives. Moreover, there was a high possibility that the child of Jegal Mireyeong, whom he had helped deliver, was also his. And all of them were famous women in the world of martial arts.
“But that’s why he’s the most likely candidate…”
“Well, Lady Seong is also worried about not being able to conceive. If she takes good care of herself, she will soon be able to conceive. It’s a shame.”
After saying that, Ju Yakseon lowered her voice and asked the man.
“But, did you know that Eon Yeonhyeob was recently ill?”
“…Ah, you mean that. I heard she recovered completely…”
Ju Yakseon was not particularly skilled at reading other people’s thoughts by examining their expressions, as she had spent her life as a doctor. So it was difficult for her to quickly judge whether the man’s expression was meaningless or not.
“Well, that’s a relief. Scars on a woman’s body are like nightmares, even if they are not large.”
“I heard that the treatment method is very special… Do you happen to know how Sohyup was able to do it?”
Ju Yakseon decided to confront him directly. If he knew something about it, he would have some reaction.
“I don’t know. Maybe it was just a coincidence.”
But the man answered without any hesitation.
‘Does he really not know anything?’
Ju Yakseon tried to probe a few more times, but she couldn’t tell anything from his expression.
‘But I have to keep an eye on him for a while…’
For her, martial arts was a kind of faith, and if she could use her internal energy and medical skills to heal people, it was enough. Even if she reached the highest level, she had no intention of harming others.
But artificially inducing a premature birth was a completely different matter.
It was just Ju Yakseon’s speculation, but if there was such a method, it was likely that Kang Yoon, who had a high level of martial arts without any direct connection to any major martial arts faction, was the one who knew it.
If she could find a way to apply that method to medicine, it would undoubtedly be easier for the sick to be saved.
Ju Yakseon watched Kang Yoon’s back as he left with a sense of duty burning inside her.
“I’m going to die…”
Between the two of them, Ju and Kang had exhausted her, and she was feeling drained from their conversation.
Oh, by the way, the Chinese characters are different.
Anyway, Ju Yakseon had a feeling that there was something fishy about the premature birth, but in reality, it wasn’t that important. Even if she didn’t know until the end, what could she do about it?
If she could remove her scars and become a stunning beauty, that would be a positive development, but for now, she let it go.
“What about Lady Seong…?”
Contrary to her worries, Lady Seong didn’t seem to have any intention of blaming her. In fact, her affectionate attitude even made Ju feel comfortable.
Honestly, if I were to make a move again, Lady Seong wouldn’t refuse. That was the impression I got.
But that was the problem. Thanks to Lady Seong, Ju was falling into the world of martial arts and hesitating to lay a hand on Milpae for the first time.
“I wish I didn’t think of her as more than just a sperm donor.”
As the granddaughter of the emperor, and a fairly beloved one at that, she clearly felt something special about me. If that were to be suppressed, it would be a demonic cock that would provide extreme pleasure.
For now, I managed to get through the situation by mentioning the remaining energy in my body, but the fundamental problem remained.
If I just had a child and moved on coolly, that would be the end of it. I never thought about taking advantage of being a royal family member, so it would be a happy ending where no one suffered.
“But if she tries to maintain a relationship with me, there will be two mines.”
First, Lady Seong might change completely if she knew that I had multiple wives. Second, even if Lady Seong accepted it, there would be no way for the royal family to accept it.
“I can’t find an answer…”
I’ve thought about the possibility of one of the women I’ve been with having a husband who will come out and kill me, but I never imagined a future where I would feel threatened by the perpetrator after being kidnapped and raped.
Even if I had pushed for it when Lady Seong was in a good mood, there would have been some justification, but… damn it…
“…Yoon? Why are you crouching and mumbling here?”
When I turned my head, Dang Hye-won was looking down at me with an odd expression, holding So-yeol in her arms.
“It’s nothing…”
I tried to brush it off, but when I met So-yeol’s gaze, who was starting to show her face, I paused for a moment before speaking again.
“…It’s nothing.”
“What’s going on?”
To be honest, as a man, I wanted to avoid situations where I had to run to my wives for help, no matter what the situation was.
Even though they were women with more life experience, money, and on average, higher martial arts skills than me, as a husband, I always had the thought of being a sturdy fence that protected them.
But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer, and I didn’t want to be stubborn about it.
“Should I call everyone together? It seems like we might need some help.”
If I couldn’t do it alone, then it was time for collective wisdom. I had to find a way to overcome this crisis that my cocky brain had brought upon us.
