The Love They Never Had: The Nam Mansion

Chapter 34: Yeonhoe (The Banquet)

Guilt, anger, sarcasm and happiness. Those were the emotions that he went through in just a few moment as I tended to him as much as I could. I made sure he was warm, fed, bathed, and that he had everything that he needed and I still couldn't help but to notice just how...lonely he was, to quickly go through a number of emotions so quickly without even thinking about it. But why couldn't he see that I was lonely as well? I was constantly being separated from the only man who saved me, who knew my life and who made me feel as comfortable as he did. He was the only person I could let my guard down with, the only person who could make my smile without having to do anything and the only person to make me feel safe and protected, even when he got angry and lost control. "Young Mistress, the maid is waiting for you in your quarters." "I will be there shortly. Treat her to some tea in the meantime. What on earth happened to my flowers?" "The maids...they..." "this plan has been drawn out for far too long now. They should all be out of there by the end of the week before I start to loose my mind."

"So, what tasks do you do?" "I can only do manual labour since all of the better jobs have been snatched up by the senior maids and their families. And since I have a lot of free time, I try to help the others when I can." "In what jobs?" 'Gardening; I will help the servants plow the soil and water the plants, I only really know how to do tasks that require manual strengths." "You are quite a capable and effect person, I see that now. The eastern courtyard garden is in fact quite barren, it is a part of the home that the Master Nam does not let anyone see. So I am thinking of letting you have the honour to fix it up and win the manner's approval. And with your honourable personality and various skillset, you may even become the head of all the servants here with various benefits to your job title." "Are you serious madame? It is just that gardening will require a lot of expenses, and I have never held onto such an important task before...I fear that I might embarrass you..." "and how will you know for sure if you have never tried before?" "It is just that I do not know the market well. If I accidentally buy expensive products, it will just add to the list of expenses, and if I buy the wrong things, then I will cause this manor to loose face." "As long as you set your thoughts in an upright manner, whoever dares to criticise you and ignores your commands will not be spared by myself or the young masters of this manor." "Thank you madame, since you are willing to trust me, then I will surely do my best to give this manor some face."

"Despite your new promotion, the senior maids are sill well-experienced and respected in this village, they are amicable and good-tempered. So she has to be respected, unless you have proof that shows otherwise. Do you understand?" "Yes madame, thank you madame." "Young Mistress?" "I have just given this woman a huge fat task, surely everyone will know where the wind will blow to now."

The banquet was being set up with just a few hours to go, and there was already another dispute breaking out between the maids for everyone to see. And I was really surprised to not witnessing Nam-Jeon lording his social status all over us when he had the chance to. It looked like Seon-Ho was really a lot more persuasive than even I thought possible, and I was honestly impressed by it. "Let me tell you! Even if you report this to the Young Mistress, I shall not acknowledge it!" "Do you really think that you are worth something to the Young Mistress just because of your seniority? A noblewoman like her doesn't even need to stoop to your level, and yet the minute you turn around, you act as if you belong to the same family! Stop committing such deeds, or nobody can help you when karma hits you!" "I am also from a noble home! What can you all do to me!" "Exactly! Speaking of being from a noble manor, you didn't even hesitate to make use of your own daughter by trying to seduce the Young Master over and over again! Can't you take the hint! If he hasn't bedded her by now, then that means he is not interested in her! So stop trying! Who can't see through that? And when the Young Mistress finds out, then you will be the first to go!" "TheYoung Mistress? Who is that? We have concubine..." "Who? Which concubine? The concubine who has been too busy mismanaging the other maids to even pay any attention to us? And let me tell you, if she knew that your daughter was trying to steal the Young Mistress from her, then she would punish you even more." The louder the commotion got, the more we could hear the villagers gathering around the home and having their own opinions of what was going on in the prestigious Nam household. "There are always fights going on in this household, ever since the Master appointed his son a concubine." "Well, it looks like she must be totally incompetent, she cannot even keep the maids in line since she used to be one herself." "What a shame, such a prestigious household is now ridiculously chaotic." "Small rebukes today will turn into crimes sooner or later." "Everyone says it is the senior maids who are causing all of these fights." "And I thought she had a decent reputation, how can I possibly trust her now?"