Chapter 97
Part 22: A Promise for Them
“Huhu, this is all Wongakjeong’s field. Amazing, isn’t it?”
“Can you see all these weeds here? We have clearly been working on them every single day, but there is no sign of them decreasing at all.”
“The smell of these manure piles is worse than you might expect, isn’t it? Once you carry them around, your whole body becomes soaked in the stench.”
The first place the triplets led the maid corps, who were all dressed in work clothes, was Wongakjeong’s field.
“Now that all of you are here as well, we will have to grow much more than we do now.”
“Huhuhu. As for cultivating the abandoned fields again, Yellowy and Blacky here will help with that.”
Mi-ryeong pointed at the two oxen.
As if answering her, the oxen mooed at the same time.
“But Yellowy and Blacky are very ferocious.”
When I-ryeong brought her hand toward its head, Yellowy tried to bite it.
Blacky snorted fiercely.
“You saw that, right?”
The leader of the maid corps stepped forward.
“Lady Maids, then may we begin working the field now?”
“Of course.”
Huhuhu, the triplets let out sinister laughter.
A short while later.
“W-what?! The weeds?! The weeds are disappearing at a terrifying speed!”
Once the maids in work clothes rushed in with perfect coordination, the weeds that had been so dense began vanishing in an instant.
“Those stubborn weeds are being pulled out by the roots with a single movement of the hand…?!”
“Their hands…! I can’t see their hands!”
“Is that a hand technique?! Or is it a grappling technique?!”
At that moment, a few maids approached and asked.
“May we use the equipment in that shed over there?”
“Yes?! Yes. That’s right. Of course.”
The farming tools that had been abandoned in the shed until now were dragged out one after another and began transforming as if they were new.
“W-what?! What in the world are those skilled hand movements?!”
“I can feel the touch of artisans who have spent decades repairing farming tools?!”
“The sickles?! The hooks?! The hoes are coming back to life?!”
Some of the maids climbed on top of the shed, removed the rotted roof, and began tearing out the windows.
“Leader. We found the tools that were in that warehouse over there.”
“For the tools we are lacking, ask the artisans repairing Wongakjeong for cooperation.”
“Then, while we are at it, we can also receive their cooperation regarding materials.”
The maid corps leader’s work instructions were frighteningly efficient, and the maids were already moving even before she spoke.
“The shed?! The shed is being reborn?!”
At that moment, I-ryeong looked at the field and shouted.
“W-what did you say?! People are pulling the plow instead of oxen?!”
“What incredible speed! And what is that synchronized breathing, almost like a combined attack formation?!”
As the maids pulling the ox plow charged forward without hesitation, the maids behind them adjusted the plow with delicate hands.
While the triplet maids were marveling at how ridges and furrows formed in an instant, the maid corps leader approached Yellowy and Blacky.
“Since our maid corps is here, these oxen are no longer of any use.”
When she drew the sword from her back, Yellowy and Blacky quickly ran over and lay down in front of the remaining ox plow.
“Aah?! Those demonic beasts are craving labor!”
“No?! They hitched themselves to the plow and started running!”
Yellowy and Blacky clearly had no intention of becoming the maids’ snacks.
“Hm. They are clever animals.”
The maid corps leader put her sword away again and approached the triplet maids.
“Lady Maids. We still have personnel to spare, so how about moving to the next location?”
At those words, the triplet maids came back to their senses.
“R-right.”
“This is only the beginning!”
“It is basic. Basic!”
The next place they moved to with the remaining personnel was the small lake.
“Now, from this lake, we must supply fresh fish every day. We have to smoke them, dry them, and also make fish sauce.”
“Huhu. Can you see the traces left on this net? The creatures in this lake are terrifying predators that still retain their wild nature.”
“They are tyrants who swim up the lake and roam the valleys of Mount Song. Fearsome creatures, indeed.”
“I see.”
When the maid corps leader gestured with her hand, the maids threw off their work clothes and jumped into the lake.
“Aaaah?! The fish?! The fish are flying through the sky!”
“W-what?! They are using three harpoons at once so skillfully?!”
“T-the movements of those maids?! It is like watching large aquatic creatures hunting in a group! They are driving the fish toward the net!”
“It is as if the net is alive and breathing as it scoops up the fish! It’s a good catch! A huge catch!”
The maid corps leader looked back at them.
“Where is next?”
“The lodging?! The maids’ lodging is shining as if it were new?!”
“The hallway?! The hallway is dazzling?! Not a single speck of dust remains even on the window frames in the furthest corners!”
“The warehouses?! Those dreadful warehouses we never even dared to touch?!”
“What is this cooking skill?! It is like watching cooks who have spent their whole lives battling oil and flame!”
Wondering what all the commotion was, Yeon Sang-hyeon opened a window, only to meet eyes with maids who were holding nails in their mouths and swinging claw hammers as they ran along the outer wall.
“Excellent.”
When Yeon Sang-hyeon applauded and praised them, the blushing maids began showing an even more tremendous working speed.
Even Jeong-ah, who had been walking around Wongakjeong to supervise, was impressed and expressed great satisfaction.
Wongakjeong, which had long been asleep, was being reborn anew.
***
The triplets were sitting limply on the stone steps lit by the setting sun.
“…We are useless now.”
“…What have we even been doing all this time?”
“Is this what emptiness feels like…?”
The First Young Master had repeatedly praised the meal, saying it was the finest meal he had ever had.
The head maid was delighted that Wongakjeong finally had a proper system in place, allowing her to focus solely on her duties.
“Huhu. They say a frog in a well knows nothing of the great ocean, and it turns out we were those frogs.”
“But at least frogs taste good when roasted.”
“…Should we be the ones supporting the maids from now on?”
The girls all sighed at once and lowered their heads.
At that moment, someone cautiously approached them.
“Lady Maids.”
It was the leader of the maid corps.
“…Huhu. Have you come to laugh at us?”
“…Please insult us as much as you like.”
“…We are nothing more than defeated dogs.”
The eyes of the triplet maids as they lifted their heads and looked at her were unfocused.
The maid corps leader smiled softly and said,
“Could you perhaps teach us martial arts from now on?”
Another maid approached.
“I would also be grateful if you could look over my swordsmanship.”
Another maid approached as well.
“We heard that you, Lady Maids, are also exceptionally skilled in maneuvering operations and intelligence missions. We have not received any education in such specialized fields at all…”
“We were hoping the Lady Maids might also conduct lessons in refinement and culture.”
Come to think of it, the maids were no longer wearing work clothes. They were all dressed in training uniforms.
As the triplets looked at those maids, tears welled up in their eyes.
“You…”
“You still need us?”
“Is there still a place for us in Wongakjeong?”
Bathed in the light of the setting sun, the maid corps leader lowered her head.
“We are nothing more than mere maids. Everything we have learned until now has been menial labor, so we are merely skilled at odd jobs.”
The other maids also lowered their heads.
“From now on, please leave the odd jobs to us.”
“So please, Lady Maids, focus on the role that only Lady Maids can perform.”
“Please guide us so that we may become like you!”
The triplets looked at one another and exchanged glances.
“Very well!”
“Your attitude toward learning is excellent! But you do understand that the maids of Wongakjeong are completely different from maids elsewhere, don’t you?”
“Make sure you remember this: the path to becoming a true maid of Wongakjeong is rough and arduous!”
The maids shouted.
“Please push us as hard as you wish!”
“We will follow you to the end!”
Just like that, they came together in perfect accord.
They squealed, chattered, and moved off for training.
Warm sunset light settled over their heads.
***
Wongakjeong, after darkness had fallen.
Yeon Sang-hyeon was reading beneath a lamp.
His study was neatly organized, as if its previous chaotic state had been a lie.
It was because Jeong-ah had been able to focus entirely on Yeon Sang-hyeon.
As Yeon Sang-hyeon turned a page, the faint voices of the triplets and the maids reached his ears.
“…What are they doing at this hour?”
Jeong-ah, who had been clearing away an empty teacup in front of him, let a golden light flow from her eyes.
“It seems a lesson on the basic duties of maids is currently underway.”
“…Are they not overdoing it from the very first day?”
At his words, Jeong-ah shook her head.
“As long as you watch over those children, Master, they will never stop, nor will they ever grow tired.”
A gentle smile settled at the corners of her lips.
“They are the same as I am.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon’s hand, which had been turning the page, stopped for a moment.
He closed the book.
“…There will be rough matters ahead, and unexpected incidents as well.”
“Because you have ended your seclusion, Master.”
Almost at the same time Yeon Sang-hyeon looked toward the window, Jeong-ah moved and opened it.
Along with the cold night wind, the laughter of women drifted in.
A distant pavilion was brightly lit.
In the lodgings prepared for the maids and maidservants, lamps were hung here and there, giving the place a sense of life.
After the male servants had been driven out, the many corners of Wongakjeong that had been left desolate were now filled once more with liveliness and warm human presence.
“…Every single one of those children is a precious force.”
Jeong-ah knew better than anyone the heart of their master, deeper and warmer than anyone else’s.
“That is so.”
She remembered his reaction when he had first seen the triplets.
At that time, the emotion that had clearly passed across the corners of his eyes had been pain and guilt.
He had not shown it openly, but she had been able to feel it.
Every time he met children who had been “made,” his heart grew heavy.
That was also the reason Jeong-ah had not deliberately made the triplets his personal maids.
She knew that every time he faced them, something deep within Yeon Sang-hyeon’s heart ached.
And today, when he met the maids, it had been the same.
Yeon Sang-hyeon had deliberately made a promise to them.
That he would cherish and treasure them.
That he would make them happy.
That he would weep for them.
It was not a promise for their sake, but an oath to himself.
“Therefore…”
Jeong-ah placed a hand on her chest and bowed deeply.
“This girl will do her utmost so that their lives and their efforts are not wasted.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon rose from his seat.
“…Yes. That is how it must be.”
Through the door Jeong-ah opened for him, Yeon Sang-hyeon headed toward his bedroom.
“Please rest comfortably.”
“Yes. Have a good night as well.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon’s steps paused for a moment.
“…The promise I made to them.”
Jeong-ah lowered her head toward his back.
“Do you mean those words, Master?”
“…That promise applies to you and the twins as well.”
He began walking again.
Jeong-ah bowed deeply once more toward his back.
Even after he disappeared from sight.