“Brother Un? Your eyes...”

I could not bring myself to finish the sentence. I bit down on my lip and swallowed the groan rising in my throat.

“So that is what happened. The end is drawing near.”

Tang Un spoke gently. For someone talking about his own blindness, he was far too calm.

I did not dare guess what I was supposed to say.

It would have been strange to offer comfort to someone acting so composed, but it would have been just as strange for an outsider like me to pretend nothing was wrong.

When I stood there, not knowing what to do, Tang Un smiled.

“It is frustrating, not being able to go to the Archive Pavilion. Would you come visit from time to time and read to me?”

“...Yes. I will, Brother. Call for me anytime.”

“What a good girl. Shall I make you a cup of tea?”

“Brother. I’ll brew it. Please sit down.”

“No. If I let go of everything completely, then I truly will not be able to drink tea on my own anymore. I need to practice.”

With that, Tang Un folded his umbrella.

Now even his cloak could no longer hide how frail his narrow shoulders had become.

The way he slowly walked into the hall looked as unsteady as an old man who had come out without a cane.

I matched my pace to his.

“So our Sohae is getting engaged, is she?”

“You heard? Apparently so.”

“You say it like it is happening to someone else. That will not do. You are meeting the man you may spend your whole life with.”

Tang Un let out a soft laugh. I gave an awkward smile and answered,

“It still doesn’t feel real.”

“Juhee and Chohui were the same way when they had their hair-pinning ceremonies. Though, neither of them moved on from engagement to marriage, so it is still a long way off before it becomes your turn. No wonder it does not feel real yet.”

Tang Un nodded, then felt around with his hand and opened the paper door. It seemed he had mistaken where I was standing, because he looked into empty space as he spoke.

“When your new husband comes, will you show him to your brother too?”

“Of course.”

I answered at once, then slipped an arm around him under the pretense of linking ours and helped him into the reception room.

I do not even remember how I drank the tea Tang Un brewed for me.

His bloodless hand trembling faintly, the tea spilling again and again, the death creeping toward him—I kept averting my eyes, again and again, so I would not have to face any of it.

What kind of heart did he have, welcoming the winter of his life like this?

This winter felt as if it would be especially long.

*****

Gu Gyeongcheon arrived at the Tang estate five days later.

I heard he had brought two carriages, both packed full of gifts for me.

From the way everyone kept whispering that every single item was expensive, I had a feeling he was trying to use this chance to prove the wealth of the Yuzhou Merchant Guild.

I paced around the reception room in the guest quarters, waiting for Gu Gyeongcheon to arrive.

The red formal dress Songji had forced me into, insisting I had to seize the upper hand from the start, was so uncomfortable that my chin kept lifting on its own.

Ugh. I could never play the role of some sheltered young lady, not in a million years.

I was grumbling under my breath and shaking out my sleeves when I sensed someone entering the room. I hurriedly straightened my posture.

I narrowed my eyes prettily and turned my head, and there he was—a man stepping carefully inside.

“It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Young Lady Tang. I am Gu Gyeongcheon, third son of the Yuzhou Merchant Guild.”

“It is nice to meet you, Young Master Gu.”

I gave him a slight nod and met his eyes.

He looked a little tense. He avoided my gaze, then smiled awkwardly and watched me carefully. It seemed he was waiting for me to tell him to sit.

“Please, sit.”

“Thank you.”

I gestured, then sat down across from him.

In person, he was an ordinary man with nothing particularly remarkable and nothing particularly unpleasant about him. The sort of person who could blend in anywhere without difficulty.

The portrait sketch must have been drawn with care, because the real man looked a little worse than the picture. Still, not so different that I would have failed to recognize him.

When I sat there with a flat expression, Songji silently mouthed at me.

‘Young Lady. Seize the upper hand. Seize the upper hand!’

I really didn’t think I needed to. He already looks cowed.

Swallowing a sigh, I lifted my neck haughtily.

“Songji. Bring tea.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

As soon as Songji left to prepare it, Gu Gyeongcheon relaxed as if he had been waiting for that moment and put on a smooth smile.

“You are as beautiful as the rumors say.”

“Oh my. Have you heard rumors about me?”

“There is no one in Sichuan who does not know the rumors about you, Young Lady. They call you the greatest beauty in Sichuan.”

...Me?

If rumors like that were going around, there was no way I would not know. Well, look at this guy. Is it because he is a merchant’s son? He sure has a slick tongue.

When I gave a faint snort at the overly excessive flattery, Gu Gyeongcheon laughed softly.

“I am not an ambitious man. I am merely a modest man, satisfied with living each day without incident. If we were to enter a marriage agreement, I would not trouble you.”

“Ah. Yes.”

“There is no need to even mention that there would be no interference from my family. My existence would never become any kind of obstacle to your training. And...”

Gu Gyeongcheon went on and on, repeating how harmless he was and how he could live in the Tang estate as quietly as a dead mouse.

I sipped my tea with a bored expression.

I could not tell whether he was panicking inside or trying to flatten himself in advance so he would not offend me.

Honestly, because it all felt like someone else’s business, I did not have many thoughts about it. It was hard to imagine actually marrying that man.

“I enjoyed our conversation, Young Master Gu. We shall meet again.”

Cutting off the dragging conversation at an appropriate point, I rose from my seat.

I knew it was discourteous to send a blind-date prospect away after only two hours.

But I did not want to sit any longer with a man clinging to me like someone begging a client’s boss to look kindly on him.

Gu Gyeongcheon widened his eyes in surprise, but he did not lose his smile.

“Young Lady Tang, I hope next time we may at least share a meal together.”

“Yes. Then until next time.”

Mm. No thanks. I feel like I’d get indigestion eating with you.

When I left the guest quarters with a tired face, Deokju, who had been trailing behind me, asked quietly,

“How was he, Young Lady?”

“Not good.”

If all the candidates that bastard father of mine had lined up were like that, the future looked dark enough to make my vision go black.

At least I was the one holding the upper hand. If I had been the weaker one in the arrangement, I would have shuddered at the sheer horror of it.

Seeing that my expression was bad, Deokju tried to comfort me.

“I heard there are several candidates. You should meet a few more. There must be at least one man among them who suits your taste, Young Lady.”

Thinking back to our first meeting, when [N O V E L I G H T] all Deokju could say was, “It is all right,” over and over, this was incredible progress. I clapped my hands in admiration.

“Wow. Look at you, Deokju. You’re even good at comforting people now. It feels like just yesterday I was worrying about how I was ever supposed to have a conversation with this block of wood.”

“Y-Young Lady.”

“Deokju. Carry me on your back. These clothes are uncomfortable.”

When I hung off Deokju’s shoulder and whined, she calmly crouched and carried me.

“Young Lady, shall we go change your clothes first?”

“Yeah. Back to the annex... no. Let’s go to Grandfather first. He’s probably curious how it went.”

“Understood.”

Deokju turned toward Tang Jung’s residence.

Then, off in the distance, I spotted pale steam rising in a corner somewhere. I frowned.

“Is that Grandfather’s hall?”

“It appears to be.”

Is he making poison or something? What on earth is he boiling like that?

I jumped down from Deokju’s back and pushed open the hall door.

Tang Jung was making something in the rear garden.

Inside a large cauldron, a porridge with a strange smell was boiling furiously, and small jars were lined up in rows all around it.

Rubbing at my nose, I approached Tang Jung.

“Grandfather. What are you doing?”

“Brewing liquor.”

“Not poison?”

“I said liquor.”

Smells like poison, though.

Shrugging, I peered into the cauldron. It looked thick and sticky, almost like glutinous rice.

“Should I help? Do you need to stir it?”

I scratched my cheek as I asked, and Tang Jung’s face turned stern as he waved his hand.

“Stay still. It is liquor for you, so you must not work for it.”

“Huh?”

“I am trying to make Daughter’s Red.”

Tang Jung looked at me with a gentle smile.

“When I went to Hangzhou, I saw such a liquor there. They say that in that region, when a daughter is born, they brew yellow wine and keep it buried until the day she is sent off in marriage, then drink it. It is late to be making it for your wedding now, but if I brew it now, we may still open it on a good day.”

“Ah...”

“Shall I open it for you when you earn yourself an epithet? It will be at least ten years before you set out into the martial world, after all.”

“Grandfather.”

I stared at Tang Jung blankly. I could not believe the size of the affection he was showing me.

He was making liquor for me.

For me...

My lips trembled, and then I wrapped my arms tightly around him.

“My child. You will get fermentation starter on your clothes. You are even wearing such fine clothes, so you ought to take care of them.”

Tang Jung lifted both arms high as he scolded me, but I did not let go. Instead, I buried my face against him and acted spoiled.

When he said it would be at least ten years, that meant he intended to keep me tucked under his wing and dote on me for at least that long.

“What a spoiled thing you are. This old man is tired, you little rascal.”

His grumbling voice held laughter. It seemed my clinginess did not displease him either.

“I mixed it based on what I had heard, but I do not know how it will taste. I have brewed clear liquor before, but this is my first time making yellow wine. It ought to taste good.”

Tang Jung muttered almost to himself, then started rummaging through the jars with an uneasy look on his face. It did not seem he had much experience brewing liquor either.

After sealing the jars carefully, Tang Jung wiped his hands with a cold towel. Then he called out to Tang Geunmyeong.

“Geunmyeong. Clean this up.”

“Yes, Elder.”

At once, Tang Geunmyeong appeared from somewhere carrying a shovel and began digging a pit. It looked like he planned to bury the freshly brewed liquor jars.

Was it just me, or did his silent shoveling somehow resemble an employee doing whatever his superior told him to do without complaint? I sent him silent encouragement.

Sir. Stay strong.

After handing the cleanup over to Tang Geunmyeong, Tang Jung went inside the building. I followed behind him at once.

“So, what did you think of that fellow, Gu Gyeongcheon or whatever his name was?”

“Not much.”

“His face was pale enough, like a washed napa cabbage stalk, so he looked fine enough. I suppose his temperament must have been the problem.”

A washed napa cabbage stalk? Was that a compliment?

I pictured Gu Gyeongcheon and a washed napa cabbage stalk one after the other, but I could not find any resemblance at all.

Tang Jung looked at my vacant expression and snorted a laugh.

“It is not as though he is the only man in the world, so why be so disappointed? Let us meet the others too, my child. You have never had liquor before, have you?”

“Mm, yes.”

Here, anyway.

Tang Jung tilted his chin as though he had expected that.

“Sit. Liquor is something one learns from one’s elders.”

“Hehe, all right.”

After seating me at the table, he began taking out bottles of liquor one by one from somewhere.

My excitement at finally getting to taste liquor for the first time lasted only a moment. Then a cold bead of sweat slid down my back as more and more bottles piled up on the table without any regard for type.

...Grandfather. This is way too much.