Unlike my gloomy mood, the sky was clear without a single cloud. I pulled my gaze away from the deep blue above and started walking. Even if I was miserable, I still had to do the work I’d been given.

If you leave the hall, turn left, and pass the willow tree, the laundry place should be...

...should be there...

Except it wasn’t.

Startled, I began to retrace my steps. If I slowly went back the way I came from the starting point, I should be able to find it...

...But I couldn’t. Where even was this?

I stood blankly at a three-way fork in the road and looked around. It really did seem like I’d gotten lost.

If there were people around, I could at least grab someone and ask, but there wasn’t a soul in sight nearby.

Left? Right? Or should I go back again?

While I was hesitating, I first set the laundry basket down on the ground. The damned thing was heavy.

My legs hurt from having walked so long. At this point, I figured I might as well sit down and catch my breath.

The moment I gave up and plopped down on the spot, someone spoke to me.

“Where are you going?”

I jumped and spun around. A child in a green long robe was standing there.

What, thirteen? Fourteen? His skin was clear as jade, giving him the look of a young noble. His hair, tied high with a silk cord, gleamed with a glossy shine, and his large eyes held a faintly dark blue tint.

His youthful face was smooth without a trace of stubble. From his still-clear voice, I could tell his voice hadn’t changed yet. He was about the same height as me—maybe around 150 centimeters.

I’d been blankly admiring the kid’s looks when I shot to my feet and bowed my head.

I didn’t know much, but if he was wearing green robes at that age, his status had to be high. It meant he was acknowledged as a martial artist of the Tang Clan, so I couldn’t treat him carelessly.

When I lowered my head, elaborate embroidery in gold thread came into view. He might even be of the direct line. I answered as politely as possible, not wanting to offend him.

“I was on my way to do laundry and got lost.”

“Your head must not be very good.”

...Excuse me?

I lost control of my expression for an instant and bit my lip, bowing even deeper.

Where on earth did he learn manners that start with judging other people’s brains out of nowhere?

Judging from his way of speaking, the Tang brats had clearly failed spectacularly in their upbringing.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. I’m still clumsy at my work, that’s all, young master.”

“...Young master?”

The boy frowned. There was displeasure in his voice, and I swallowed, gauging his mood.

Did I get the form of address wrong? Should I call him “young lord”? “Young master of the house”? Or “master”? While I hesitated and rolled my eyes around, he sighed and waved a hand.

“Never mind. A child who doesn’t even know the way couldn’t possibly know who I am. Follow me.”

Then he started walking ahead of me, with the attitude of someone who didn’t want to waste words on an idiot.

His way of speaking was strange, and from how he treated me like a fool just because I didn’t recognize him, he really did seem to be someone of high rank.

He walked at a strangely fast pace. With one step, he’d be all the way far in front, as if he’d taken ten.

I panted as I tried to keep up. Young as he was, a martial artist was still a martial artist.

At the sound of my rough breathing, he glanced back, clicked his tongue, and stopped. Then he came to my side and slowed his stride to match mine.

His tone was brusque, but the fact that he showed me the way and matched his pace to mine made me think he wasn’t a bad kid.

“Here.”

After we’d walked for quite a while, the boy pointed to a side gate. Through the side gate I could see the familiar laundry place. I bowed my head.

“Thank you, young master.”

“You’d better memorize the paths quickly. If you’re that slow, you won’t even be able to get thin gruel to eat.”

There was a playful note in the scolding voice. He let out a brief chuckle, half-smiled, turned as if to leave, then looked back at me again.

“You. What’s your name?”

I opened my mouth to answer, then froze with a stupid look on my face.

...Huh. What is my name?

Only then did I realize I didn’t know my own name. Even though three days had passed since I’d been dropped here. In all that time, not a single person had called me by my name.

When I couldn’t answer, the boy narrowed his eyes. Cold sweat ran down my back. It was the first crisis since I’d possessed this body.

“I–It isn’t a name worthy of a distinguished person like yourself remembering.”

When I stammered that out, he drew his brows together. But he didn’t seem inclined to pry, and simply clicked his tongue lightly.

“Forget it. Go on.”

Before he could change his mind, I ran toward the laundry place. My heart pounded as I worried he might suspect me of being someone suspicious.

I am a good, law-abiding citizen of the Republic of Korea. No—right now I’m a good, law-abiding maid.

When I sneaked a glance over my shoulder, the boy was still standing by the side gate. The look in his eyes as he watched me was strange.

I pretended not to see it and pulled the clothes out of the lye water. His gaze clung to me so stubbornly that I didn’t dare raise my head.

When I finally looked up again, I was alone. I stared uneasily at the side gate where he had stood. For some reason I felt a chill.

*****

By the time I barely made it back to the servants’ compound, it was just before noon. Songji spotted me and waved.

“Hurry up and get over here.”

I went to stand by Songji and wiped the sweat from my forehead.

More than a hundred servants had already gathered in the front courtyard of the servants’ compound.

I’d thought that a place this big would naturally have a lot of workers, but I hadn’t expected this many, so I was surprised.

I couldn’t help wondering how much money it took to feed, clothe, and house all these people, and even pay them wages.

“Ahem. Hem!”

Just then, someone cleared their throat. The noisy chatter died all at once.

From the distance, a middle-aged man in a green long robe was walking toward us.

His hair, neatly arranged beneath his headpiece, and his beard were streaked with white, and his eyes were sharp. His strict-looking face made me think, That must be the head steward.

“Is everyone gathered?”

“Yes, Head Steward, sir.”

A middle-aged woman in a plain but well-kept green robe stepped forward and answered. Unlike the other maids, who wore dull-colored clothes with green belts around their waists, her outfit was different. Songji whispered,

“That’s Madam Jin. Madam Lee went back to her family home, so Madam Jin ended up taking the position overseeing the maids. I’m so jealous. Do you think I’ll ever get to wear green robes?”

“I see.”

So she was the one in charge of managing the maids. The head steward looked slowly over the crowd and spoke.

“As you all know, there will soon be a gathering of the Five Great Clans. See that nothing is lacking in the reception of our guests.”

“Yes, sir.”

A gathering of the Five Great Clans? So the Five Great Clans I’d only heard about were actually coming here?

I pricked up my ears at the head steward’s words.

“You must not do anything that gives grounds for criticism. This is a matter of pride for the Great Sichuan Tang Sect. Renew all the cotton in the bedding for the guest quarters, and carefully check that there are no worn-out pieces of furniture. Also...”

In short, it was an order to make perfect preparations, as the Tang Clan’s pride was on the line with this reception.

The head steward repeated basically the same thing about six times, then gave some instructions to Madam Jin and departed.

“You all heard him, didn’t you? Move, move! Anyone who drags their feet will not be spared.”

When Madam Jin raised her voice, newly filled with authority, the assembled crowd scattered all at once. I, still glancing around and unsure what to do, followed Songji out of the servants’ compound.

I was a little excited to hear that the people of the Five Great Clans, whom I’d only ever heard of, were coming.

The Five Great Clans varied from novel to novel, so I wondered who would be coming here.

The Namgung Clan would certainly be one of them, and the Zhuge Clan, maybe? The Moyong Clan was supposed to have a lot of beauties; I wanted to see them in person. Would the Jinju Eon Clan take the remaining spot? Or the Hebei Peng Clan?

“Big Sis, which families are the Five Great Clans here?”

“Our Sichuan Tang Clan, the Namgung Clan, the Hebei Peng Clan, the Moyong Clan, and the Zhuge Clan.”

So that was how it was here. It was the most standard combination. I nodded and asked again,

“Does this gathering of the Five Great Clans happen often?”

“Once a year. They take turns hosting it each year, so for the Tang Sect these are guests we receive only once every five years. Wait, you’ve lived your whole life in the Tang Sect—how can you not even know that?”

Having answered me readily up until now, Songji suddenly snapped.

Can’t I not know? What a temper.

When I pouted, Songji grabbed my cheek and stretched it out.

“Mmm—ahh—ow!”

“Sohae, you. If you can’t control your expression like that, you’re in trouble. If you show you don’t like something in front of the First Young Master or the Third Young Master, that’s it. You’re done. You’ll be heading straight to the next world.”

“Got it.”

Letting go of my cheek, Songji drew a line across her neck with her finger.

I rubbed my stinging cheek and answered. I couldn’t tell if she was worrying about me or scolding me.

Come to think of it, she’d just called me Sohae, hadn’t she? So my name in this place must be Sohae.

I stood there blankly, rolling ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) the unfamiliar name around in my head, until Songji tugged on my arm.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat lunch?”

“I’m coming.”

With both cheeks puffed out, I followed after Songji.

*****

The full-scale guest reception began, but my daily life didn’t change. I was in charge of laundry, after all. The day before yesterday, yesterday, and today, I washed green robes without fail.

A mountain is a mountain, and water is water. If anyone ever attains enlightenment from beating a washboard, it’ll be me.

Wearing the face of someone who had transcended worldly concerns, I hammered away at the washboard. Next to me, the little young master sat chewing on a blade of grass.

“Young master, someone of your noble status really shouldn’t keep coming to a place like this.”

“There is nowhere in the Tang estate I cannot go.”

The boy snorted at my words.

Yes, yes. If you say so. This is the problem with pampered young masters. They think the whole world belongs to them.

Ever since he’d shown me the way a few days ago, he’d been visiting the laundry place every single day. He seemed to have taken up watching me as a hobby.

The way he specifically sought out “Sohae,” who was his age, made me think maybe he was lonely because he had no friends. If you’re about middle school age, you still want to play with your friends.

“Are you all right?”

“No. I’m exhausted.”

“You look fine.”

“I said I’m exhausted.”

There’s no way I was fine after pounding the washboard for over an hour. When I grumbled, the boy smiled faintly.

“Do you know what you’re washing?”

“The green robes the Tang Clan’s martial artists wear.”

“That’s right. And what do you think is on those green robes?”

“Let’s see... pepper oil? Dried rice grains?”

“No. What’s on your hands right now is poison refined from the sap of oleander. Ordinary people can fall into critical condition just from inhaling a little of the powder.”

“...What?”

And you’re only telling me that now?! I sprang up and flung the laundry away.