The moment I frantically washed my hands in clean water, the boy burst out laughing.

“Haha. To knead poison like it’s rice cake and not even know it’s poison—what a fascinating kid.”

“Th-then I’m not going to die, right? Do I need to take some antidote... an antidote pill or something?”

“You look perfectly fine. You weren’t even poisoned.”

The boy shrugged and picked up the laundry I’d thrown.

“We don’t wash clothes smeared with poison liquid. We burn them. Everything you’ve been carrying around should be disposed of. How could they hand you something like this and tell you to wash it?”

His eyes narrowed. I hesitated, then answered.

“I don’t know.”

“Isn’t it obvious? Someone was playing tricks to try to kill you.”

His dark blue eyes gleamed sharply. At that cold voice, my spine went chilly. Why me?

When my face went white, the boy flicked my forehead.

“I’m kidding.”

“Pardon?”

“What would anyone gain from killing you? The other maids were probably just trying to mess with you. They thought you’d start bawling and making a scene about dying, but you quietly washed it anyway, so they went, ‘Nice!’ and kept dumping the same job on you.”

“Ah....”

So that was it. Come to think of it, there was never anyone around when I did laundry. I hadn’t even realized it was hazing.

Seeing my vacant face, he tugged up one corner of his mouth and gave me advice.

“You really have no sense, kid. You need to know how to lose just enough to blend in smoothly with a group.”

Now that he said it, it made sense. For the first three days, no one called my name. Other than Songji, nobody even talked to me.

Just like he said, it seemed “Sohae” was being iced out by the group.

I still had to finish the laundry, but....

The long robes strewn on the ground made my anger boil up.

Giving someone poison-smeared laundry on purpose just because you hate them—this was way over the line. Isn’t that basically attempted murder?

Seething, I jabbed the laundry over and over, and the boy doubled over laughing.

“Haha, isn’t that exactly why they dislike you? You wear everything right on your face.”

If # Nоvеlight # even Songji had said the same thing, then I must be cursing people out with my expression.

After laughing for a while, he said,

“Don’t make that face. I told you you don’t need an antidote.”

“Are you really sure I’m okay?”

“You’d know best. You don’t feel anything, right? I was wondering myself—after you’ve been kneading extreme poison for days and you’re still fine, I couldn’t figure it out either.”

So that’s what it was? I’d thought he was just dropping by because he was bored. When I blinked at him with a totally clueless face, he clicked his tongue softly.

“Tsk. Even that ‘I don’t know anything’ face is exactly like Hwayeon’s, so how could I not get attached.”

The little old-man young master propped his chin in his hand, looking exasperated, and started explaining to me slowly.

According to him, if you don’t have poison resistance, it’s hard to survive in the Tang estate.

They only manufactured and researched poison deep inside the inner compound, but it was impossible to completely block poison that seeped into the air.

So the Tang estate servants received training to build poison resistance. The medicinal decoction they were given once a week was training poison.

“I drank it yesterday too.”

“You don’t even need to drink it. It’s a waste of medicinal decoction. You’re better than most martial artists already.”

So that had been poison. No wonder it tasted so disgustingly awful.

Anyway, plenty of people quit during that process.

No matter how much money they paid, not many people wanted to work while eating poison.

After they filtered people out again and again, what remained were distant branch relatives with thin Tang blood, illegitimate children with nowhere else to go, and the children of servants who’d been born in the Tang estate and worked here as a matter of course.

There were even nasty rumors that the Tang estate bought ordinary citizens with money and experimented with poison concentrations, and seeing how they fed us medicinal decoction to build resistance step by step, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.

“Are the rumors really true?”

“They’re nonsense. Poison arts are for dealing with martial artists. What would be the point of testing poison on ordinary citizens?”

I should be able to believe that, right?

It still left a bad taste in my mouth, but I decided to nod along.

“Then you take poison too, young master?”

“I suppose I did when I was little.”

“What? When you were even younger than now?”

When I yelped, he shrugged.

“It’s fine. The Poison King Tang Clan has a secret method for adjusting poison concentration according to a person’s age and size.”

His tone said I should relax, but I couldn’t relax at all.

...And how did they gather that secret method, exactly? That’s not a nasty rumor—doesn’t that mean they really tested poison concentrations with money?

“Our ancestors spent hundreds of years raising later generations and recording the results. You can trust it.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

So you’re saying they fed poison to their own family for hundreds of years and wrote down the reactions.

They did live experiments on their parents, siblings, sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, grandchildren—and never once thought it was weird. Everyone in this clan is abnormal.

I clasped my hands politely. Just because I’d gotten a little friendly with him didn’t mean I should get cocky.

Maybe my reaction amused him, because his eyes curved in delight. His smile was so bright it felt like spring flowers were blooming behind him.

Which made it even scarier. Like he could feed you poison while smiling.

“Enough. Eat this.”

After laughing for a long while, he pulled something from his sleeve and held it out to me. It was a lump carefully wrapped in plain white cloth.

This isn’t real poison, right?

I wiped the water off my hands on my skirt and took it gingerly.

When I unwrapped the white cloth, a honey-soaked wheat cookie appeared.

A Tang confection. The kind I’d only heard about.

Thank god. Not poison.

Relieved, I let out a small giggle.

Our young master talks like a refined adult while carrying snacks in his pocket. He’s kind of cute, honestly.

Grinning, I broke the confection in half and offered him a piece.

“Young master. Eat with me.”

“I’m fine. You eat it.”

“Come on, eat with me. How could I eat something this precious all by myself?”

When I urged him again, he scratched his cheek, took the half, and popped it into his mouth.

He chewed with a face like he’d bitten something awful. Guess he didn’t like sweet things much.

Watching him smooth his clothes with a sullen face made my curiosity bubble up. I blurted out,

“Young master. There’s something I’m curious about—can I ask?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why do you keep things inside your sleeve? Wouldn’t your belt pouch or an inner chest pocket be more secure? It seems like it’d be inconvenient when you walk.”

“.......”

He looked like he hadn’t expected that. He stared into the air for a long time before barely answering.

“...I have my reasons.”

“Ah-ha.”

He probably hadn’t really thought about it. Better not to press.

When I nodded like I accepted it, he changed the subject.

“Anyway, someone seems to be pulling a prank, so go find Madam Jin. Tang poison isn’t something to be handled lightly.”

Still chewing my confection, I nodded. I had no intention of taking on extra work I didn’t have to.

*****

I went straight to find Madam Jin, carrying the poison-smeared laundry in my arms.

Madam Jin had been organizing accounts with the Head Steward. When she saw me, she frowned hard and pinched her nose.

“What is that smell? You brought it without finishing the washing? Do you not know where you are!”

“Oleander, is it? The rule is to dispose of long robes with poison on them. Is there a problem?”

The Head Steward cut in over Madam Jin’s words and stared at me. He’d figured out why I was here before I even opened my mouth. Sharp man.

At the word poison, Madam Jin flinched and stepped back. I bowed my head meekly.

“Yes, Head Steward. Every bundle I’ve been given lately has had poison on it. No one would even hear me out, and it was more than I could handle on my own, so I came to report it.”

A refined way of saying, “The other maids are bullying me, so please fix it.”

I’d tried to imitate the formal tone people use in martial arts novels, but I wasn’t sure if I did it right. Was “this servant” correct? Or should it be “this girl”? Which was it?

While I was stuck on that, Madam Jin’s face turned white.

“Head Steward, I never ordered the washing of disposal garments. It seems the underlings made some mistake in handling the work.”

At her excuse, the Head Steward’s eyes sharpened. He stepped closer, checked the laundry himself, then asked me with a sigh,

“Do you need an antidote pill?”

“I’m fine—no, I mean, if you’d give one, I’d be grateful.”

I hurriedly changed my answer. Even if I was fine right now, who knew when I might get poisoned. Having an antidote might be a good idea.

After nodding, the Head Steward rummaged through the sleeve of a long robe and took out a small wooden box.

I bent at the waist and accepted it. A strange scent rose from it—probably the antidote’s smell. When I carefully tucked the box away, he asked,

“What is your name?”

“Sohae.”

The Head Steward’s eyes widened. Madam Jin looked just as shocked, her mouth falling open as she stared at him.

He worked his lips like he was choosing his words, then cleared his throat.

“Ahem. Very well. Leave that there. You don’t need to wash those. Madam Jin.”

“Yes. I’ll look into it. I’ll handle the cleanup myself, so please don’t worry.”

The Head Steward nodded and tipped his chin lightly. It seemed like he was telling me to go. I bowed to him and turned away. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Poison laundry is over. Over!

Feeling refreshed, I stepped out of the Head Steward’s office. But just as I was about to leave, Madam Jin hurried after me and grabbed my arm.

“Th-that... Sohae... is it?”

“Pardon?”

Clutching my sleeve awkwardly, she fidgeted before grabbing my hands. Her attitude was completely different from when she’d been barking at me a moment ago.

I licked my lips, uneasy. What is happening all of a sudden?

“Are you really Sohae?”

“Yes.”

“Truly, truly... are you Sohae, Choryeon’s daughter?”

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she asked. In her pitch-black gaze, emotions like longing and grief pooled thickly.

...Yeah, I don’t know about that. I’ve never met my mother.

This is awkward. I suddenly really wanted to pull my hands out of hers.