‘He’s not... actually going to come looking for me, right?’

At the thought that the Crown Prince was searching for me, a wave of unease washed over me. It felt like something was about to go terribly wrong.

If the Crown Prince showed up himself and caught me disguised as a palace maiden, it could end in a serious charge—being accused of mocking the Crown Prince.

And if things went really bad, even the hidden message I wrote using centipedes could be exposed to the Emperor.

But then I reasoned with myself: if it were truly that big of a deal, wouldn’t someone from Dongchang or the Embroidered Guards have shown up already?

‘No, wait. Considering Dongchang and the Embroidered Guards haven’t made any move until now, maybe it’s not that serious.’

If it had escalated into something major, someone from those places would have come to question me by now.

‘Speaking of which, is Unmirang and that other palace maiden who was with me okay?’

Even if nothing reached me directly, the maid who had been with me might have gotten into trouble. But after calming myself and wiping the cold sweat from my forehead, I realized I wasn’t exactly in a position to be worrying about others.

The burning gazes on both sides of my face.

I could feel the heated stares from Sister Seol and Hwa-eun.

Unable to meet Hwa-eun’s eyes, I slowly turned my head toward Sister Seol.

And then came the question.

“So-ryong, no, why didn’t you tell us about something this serious?”

I closed my eyes tightly, then glanced over at Hwa-eun—only to hear the same kind of question.

“So-ryong, why didn’t you tell us?”

But how could I even begin to explain this?

That their younger brother... dressed as a woman and seduced the Crown Prince?

That their fiancé... dressed as a woman and seduced the Crown Prince?

“Well, you see... it’s just... haah...”

As I let out a long sigh, Eunbi Ruju, who had been listening to our conversation, spoke up again.

“Um, Young Lord So? I don’t know what’s being discussed, but shouldn’t we get back to our talk first...?”

Since she was technically the guest and we were ignoring her to talk among ourselves, it was undeniably rude. Well, the secret was pretty much out anyway, and if revealing it meant slamming a huge blow at the Five Venoms Sect, I had no choice but to bear it.

Clenching my eyes shut, I answered.

“It’s me.”

“?”

Hearing no response, I cautiously opened my eyes—only to see Eunbi Ruju tilting her head in confusion.

“What is Young Lord So?”

Did she really have to double-check as if confirming a kill?

Suppressing my overwhelming humiliation and channeling it into fury at the Five Venoms Sect, I forced myself to answer.

If it weren’t for those bastards, I wouldn’t have needed to cross-dress in the first place.

‘I will turn all this humiliation and shame into rage, and I will wipe out you damn Five Venoms scum!’

“The, the palace maiden the Crown Prince is looking for... That person is me...”

“Huh?”

Elder Punggae widened his eyes in shock, while Eunbi Ruju blinked several times, then sighed and muttered.

“No, I know it’s something involving the Imperial Family and all, but still... That’s just too absurd...”

A beautiful palace maiden suddenly turning out to be me—no wonder she looked so dumbfounded.

It seemed she thought I was trying to cover something up because it involved the Imperial Family.

“No way!?”

But just then, while looking at me with that bewildered expression, she suddenly opened her eyes wide, curled her thumb and index finger into a circle, and peered through it at me.

Probably trying to block out everything but my face to imagine what I looked like dressed up. Given she was the owner of a giru, she must have a pretty vivid imagination.

After a moment, she covered her mouth and gave me a look that screamed, “No freaking way.”

“Dear heavens...”

I tried to explain to the three of them—Eunbi Ruju, Sister Seol, and Hwa-eun.

“I can’t explain all the details, but I had business at the palace and had to wear a palace maiden’s outfit briefly. It just so happened that I crossed paths with the Crown Prince at that time.

Would that explanation suffice?”

At my explanation, Eunbi Ruju quickly nodded.

Originally, she had been hoping to build a connection for the next Empress or a royal consort, but it was clear now that I wasn’t going to be any help with that. Still, flustered, she just nodded along.

‘Well, she said she only needed this piece of information, so she probably won’t press further.’

***

I had thought everything south of the Yangtze River would be handled by Haomun, and north by the Beggar’s Union. But it turned out Haomun’s next leader was quite greedy.

After hearing about the bases of the Five Venoms Sect and Blood Cult, they offered to take care of a few extra spots themselves.

There must have been a few places they found particularly juicy.

“Here, and here too—would it be alright if we handled these? They’re technically north of the Yangtze, but we really can’t let these places go.”

“All the way there?”

“If we can clear out these four spots, our influence would grow a lot. Plus, one is a giru and the other’s a tavern that’s been a major headache for us lately. If you let us handle them, we’ll take care of it properly.”

“Fine by me. As long as Haomun is handling it, we have no complaints.”

Either way, we reached a good agreement, and decided to get started today.

“If we delay, they might escape, so we need to move fast.”

“Got it.”

“Understood, Young Lord.”

And so, after wrapping up our discussion, we headed out of the giru.

“Allow me to escort you out.”

“Thank you.”

Eunbi Ruju offered to see us to the door. As we crossed the garden again, near the pond, ducks and peacocks approached and rubbed their cheeks against her.

When I had first entered the garden and seen the birds, I assumed they must belong to someone else working there. But seeing this, it was clear—Ruju herself was raising them.

Since she was the owner of the giru, I figured the cages and birds were just part of her aesthetic. I had even thought about asking who took care of them because she seemed too busy for that... but apparently not.

“There are so many birdcages. I wondered who raised them, but it seems you do it yourself?”

At my question, Eunbi Ruju nodded.

“Yes, it’s a hobby of mine. And it helps with mastering my vocal arts.”

“Ah...”

A courtesan and vocal arts, huh?

Somehow, it made perfect sense.

After all, courtesans in this era were basically singers. And singers using vocal arts fit naturally.

I nodded and moved toward the small gate we had entered through. And then, a sudden thought hit me.

I should probably build a stronger connection with Eunbi Ruju.

Not because she was my type or anything like that. It was because of the Ten Great Venomous Beasts.

The top spot among them—Zimjo.

Eventually, I would have to go after it, but I lacked information about birds.

I knew the general stuff, but raising them? Handling them? I was sorely lacking.

If I could get help from someone who raised birds firsthand, that would be a huge advantage.

Sure, Zimjo was a spiritual beast, so it would be a bit different. Still, better to have some knowledge than none at all.

‘I should probably move from a business relationship to a personal one with her. And for that... I’ll need a sign of mutual recognition.’

If I wanted her help later, it would be best to shift our connection into something more personal.

But how do I develop a personal bond between “our kind”?

Among enthusiasts, there’s only one answer.

‘Recognition. Definitely, recognition.’

Just as I was thinking that, the perfect opportunity came.

“By the way, how did you know I raised them myself? Everyone else assumes I hired someone. Do you like birds?”

She looked at me with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

A question filled with expectation.

It wasn’t hard to guess what she really meant. She wanted to be acknowledged, praised, and understood—for the care she put into raising her birds.

That’s how all true enthusiasts are.

Even just showing that we were of the same kind would be enough to strengthen our bond, so I decided to proceed with the acknowledgment right away.

Even if our classifications were slightly different, just proving we were similar would spark a sense of camaraderie.

Smiling, I answered.

"Ah, it's not that I particularly like birds. It’s just... because we are of the same kind."

"Same kind?"

Her expression dimmed slightly at the mention that I didn’t like birds, but at the words "same kind," her eyes lit up once again.

In response to Ruju’s question, I summoned Dong and Hongdan from my chest and wrist.

"Come out, Dong. Come out, Hongdan."