Chapter 5: Liar.

At my question about whether I could come closer, Baek Yeon, her face still crumpled, briefly chewed on her lip.

Thud.

Instead of answering, she dashed to a bed in the corner of the room and flopped onto it face-first.

I barely held back a laugh at the sight.

I’d heard she was thirteen, but perhaps due to her Nine Yin Severed Meridians, she was rather petite.

Her small frame, sprawled on bedding far too large for her, looked undeniably cute.

‘…Still, I should hold back. She’s my employer’s daughter.’

Suppressing the urge to pat her head, I scanned the room and noticed a teapot on a table.

That’s probably the cause of this tantrum, right?

Carefully stepping around the scattered shards of porcelain and other broken decorations on the floor, I approached the table and lifted the teapot’s lid.

‘Ugh…’

A pungent herbal medicine smell hit my nose immediately.

As expected, she must’ve thrown a fit because she didn’t want to drink this.

“Alright.”

Holding the teapot with both hands, I walked to the bed where Baek Yeon lay and placed it on a nearby table.

Then, I gently sat on the edge of her bed.

“…”

Baek Yeon visibly flinched but didn’t lift her head.

I wasn’t sure why she’d told everyone but me to leave…

For now, lowering her guard seemed like the priority.

“I told you my name earlier, so you know it, but I don’t think I caught yours…”

I asked in a soft voice.

Of course, with my perfectly functional ears, I already knew her name was Baek Yeon.

But getting someone to introduce themselves often helps ease their wariness!

No immediate reply came.

“…Baek Yeon.”

But soon, still burying her face in the pillow, she mumbled softly.

She showed no sign of lifting her head, but responding to me at all was progress enough.

I nodded, encouraging her.

“Hm, Baek Yeon. That’s a cute name.”

“…”

“Young Lady Yeon, you don’t want to drink that medicine, right?”

At my question, her head, still buried in the pillow, slowly nodded up and down.

“…It tastes bad. I don’t want to drink it, but they keep telling me to take it every day. It’s so annoying.”

“Hmm.”

That makes sense. If even adults find herbal medicine bitter, there’s no way a kid would like it.

But… I couldn’t just tell her to skip it, not after overhearing earlier.

‘They said she’d get really sick if she doesn’t take it, didn’t they?’

Considering her condition, this medicine was likely meant to suppress the cold energy from her Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

Even from this distance, I could feel a chill emanating from her. If she skipped this medicine, it’d likely cause bigger problems.

Plus, people with chronic illnesses tend to get crankier.

Serving an even grumpier young lady would be a hassle, so I had to get her to take this medicine and stay healthy.

‘Let’s see…’

I rolled my eyes, thinking.

Oh, that could work.

Clink.

I dipped my finger into the medicine and licked a tiny bit.

‘…Holy sht.’

This is fcking awful.

If I had to drink this every day, I’d be a mess too.

I nearly gagged but held it together—gagging now would ruin my plan.

I spoke as calmly as I could.

“It doesn’t taste that bad, though.”

“…What?”

At my muttering, Baek Yeon’s head whipped toward me.

Wow, look at those sharp eyes.

She reminded me of a wary street cat.

It was kind of cute, in a way.

Feeling no threat whatsoever, I straightened my shoulders and said confidently.

“Is it really too bad to drink? Seriously?”

“It’s really gross to me!”

“Hm, I see.”

“Grr…”

Baek Yeon’s face started to twist even more.

Kids have weird pride.

They want to do what others can’t, and they think if they can’t do something, others shouldn’t either.

That’s how kids’ egos work.

So, hearing me say this medicine she finds too bitter to drink isn’t that bad must be stinging her pride.

But… just poking at her pride wasn’t enough.

“So what!” she yelled, her face slightly flushed.

Perfect timing.

I leaned in, eyes gleaming, and added.

“It kinda tastes like the alcohol adults drink.”

“…Alcohol that adults drink?”

I nodded enthusiastically.

“You’ve seen adults drinking, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“They chug it all at once, don’t they?”

“They… do?”

“And they go, ‘Ahh,’ like it’s delicious.”

As I mimed drinking, Baek Yeon nodded dazedly, as if entranced.

“Y-Yeah?”

Of course, saying it tastes like alcohol was a complete lie.

Alcohol doesn’t taste like this garbage medicine…

But the key was the word “adults.”

Kids are prideful but also admire adults and want to be like them.

Especially at her age, they think they’re all grown up and want to copy everything adults do.

“Have you ever tried drinking it like adults do?”

“N-No…”

Baek Yeon, now sitting up, cautiously shook her head.

At her response, I exclaimed with exaggerated flair.

“Tch! You’ve been drinking it wrong this whole time. I’ll help you. Here, hands!”

I quickly placed a cup in her hands as she hesitantly extended them.

“Now, close your eyes! Chug it like it’s going down your throat in one go!”

“U-Uh!”

Before she could sense anything off, I urged her on, and she ended up pouring the medicine into her mouth herself.

“Cough, cough!”

But of course, chugging it didn’t make the awful medicine taste any better.

Coughing violently, she glared at me with teary, venomous eyes.

“It’s gross! You tricked—”

But I popped a piece of candy I’d prepared into her mouth.

Startled by something entering her mouth, she instinctively chewed.

Watching her, I smiled lightly and said.

“Good job.”

“…”

Maybe because the medicine warms the body?

Baek Yeon’s face, glaring at me, was now bright red.

*

“…Give me more candy.”

Baek Yeon said, pointing to her mouth.

I held out the plate of candies, but her brow furrowed, as if that wasn’t what she meant.

What’s the issue now?

‘…Wait, no way?’

On a hunch, I broke a piece of candy and put it in her mouth like before.

She immediately started chewing with a satisfied look.

‘She’s acting cute all of a sudden?’

Feeling a sudden urge to tease her, I kept popping candies into her mouth before she could swallow.

She didn’t refuse, but her small mouth couldn’t handle it, and soon her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel’s.

“S-Stop giving me more!”

Curious how many would fit, I tried to add another, but Baek Yeon, cheeks bulging, frantically blocked my hand.

Chuckling softly, I obediently placed the candies back on the plate.

She’s my employer’s daughter, but… talking like this somehow reminded me of my little sister from my past life.

‘I wonder how she’s doing.’

Since we had a big age gap, I practically raised her, but I got reincarnated before I could see her go to college…

I knew it was a past life now, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“…Hey.”

My thoughts were interrupted by Baek Yeon, who had finally swallowed the candies and spoke again.

“Which clan are you from? If your surname is Seo… are you from the Mangum Trading Company?”

“Oh.”

I realized I hadn’t properly introduced myself.

I shook my head.

“No, I’m just a commoner. The Young Master saved my life, so I’ll be serving you from now on.”

I spoke honestly, without hiding or lying.

I didn’t think it was a big deal.

But.

“My father… sent you?”

An unexpected reaction came from Baek Yeon.

Her mood seemed to plummet instantly, her eyes lowering with a dissatisfied expression.

Then.

“…Hmph.”

Flop!

With a short huff, she flopped back onto the bed, buried her face in the pillow, and muttered faintly.

“Liar.”

“…?”

What’s this about?

Caught off guard by the sudden shift in mood, I stared at Baek Yeon, bewildered.

It seemed like the favor I’d just built up had vanished in an instant.