Chaotic Nights

Chaotic Nights — Chapter 152. Come After

Translator: Atlas

Weekly Chapter 2/4

Yongi arranged Eunha’s tousled hair. When Yongi took out a dress, Eunha shook her head and left the house still wearing the men’s clothes she had on. Eunha wrapped the small pistol in cloth like a treasure.

The world was fraught with danger for a woman. After she settled in the town, she was harassed by drunks. There was a boy who frightened her because he didn’t know how to live with women, there was also a boy who tried to steal her belongings.

The gun that the hunter leader had given her was a great help. The gunshots surprised the people. Someone reported to the government office, which was located in a large town, but a mountain had to be climbed.

They were taken to the town chief. Even though the chief granted them both a pardon, they were still punished by being banished from the town forever.

It was a day filled with both satisfaction and frustration.

From that point forward, she never went anywhere without the gun. At least she could relax.

Spring had come even to the small gardens. The yellow dandelion flowers that grew on a fence trembled in the wind.

When she reached the shore, rubbing her upset stomach, the people smiled. They shared food and a drink called makgeolli.

After she walked, she took a step away.

[Eunha, are you feeling well?]

She halted as soon as she recognized the voice of priest Christopher. The yellow-haired person wearing a black priest’s robe smiled with a wrinkled face.

[Hello, Father.]

[You don’t look well. Would you like to have a medical examination?]

[You always say that.]

[I can’t help it. You look so pale.]

Priest Christopher stroked Eunha’s head sadly. He had said he had left his sister back home, maybe that’s why he gave her snacks or stroked her head every time they met.

[I’m not sick. I’ll feel better in time.]

When she lowered her head, Christopher asked her,

[Do you have a baby?]

Eunha’s facial expression changed. Priest Christopher held her hand.

[Don’t deny this blessing. In my home country, people have children at a younger age. My sister has two children. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. But the baby derives its nutrients from the mother. That’s why you must be healthy.]

Eunha lowered her head, then withdrew her hand.

[Go to the clinic. I’ll provide you with some tea that helps alleviate morning sickness.]

Before she knew it, the priest left to greet people.

Unfamiliar faces, unfamiliar people, unfamiliar language. In a foreign country, how could he smile endlessly?

As she glanced up, she noticed a couple having an argument near a fabric store. The woman resisted entering, while the man insisted on selecting wedding attire for her.

His face popped into her mind when she saw this scene. Eunha hugged herself tightly, bending forward as if she were cold. She quickly left the place.

Suddenly, she realized that she saw too many scholars wearing hats, so she stopped her steps. Men dressed in fine silk clothes. The hat’s shadow obscured their faces. They exited the inn and dispersed in various directions.

The wind’s direction slowly shifted, causing their hair to flutter.

Eunha was nervous because it was unusual for her to see so many scholars together here.

Cold sweat ran down her back. She caught a whiff of pittosporum tobira from an unknown source. Eunha bit her lower lip as the scent passed her nose.

I don’t think he came looking for me. Besides, why would he come after me?

Eunha walked away with her arms around her lower abdomen.

Occasionally, she dreamed that she returned to Harye.

In the dream Jihak was sitting in the drawing room with his pipe.

He was not angry that she had been late. He simply smiled.

Jihak had never smiled like that before.

***

“This is the place?”

Jihak’s eyes reflected the color of the sea. The Great Prince dismounted his horse and took a slow, deliberate look around.

“Eunha is here.”

“Yes. She settled in this town.”

A hawk circled overhead. When Yulje winked, the hawk landed on the warrior’s arm. The paper tied to the hawk’s feet was sent from Harye.

The letter mentioned that during his absence, Wongun’s army, which had been stuck in Harye due to Jihak, set out for the capital the morning before.

Jihak laughed as he tore up the letter.

His dead eyes began to come alive.

“Let’s take in the scenery.”

She had seen the same landscape. He didn’t need to know where she lived.

Yongi had traveled with the merchants, he assumed Eunha would be near them. It had been a long wait. He sensed that Eunha might suddenly show up when he called her name.

But that would not happen.

She had escaped.

When he raised his head, a sea-like colored sky pierced his pupils. He looked up at the heavy clouds that moved like giant creatures.

He reached a coastal town filled with ramshackle houses.