TMTISTBH CH 10

Chapter 10

Yeoseol’s trembling hands woke Inho from his unconscious state, tears streaming down her face.

“Brother, brother… Please wake up.”

“…Seol-ah.”

He reached out and pulled her into an embrace, but even that slight movement sent a sharp wave of pain crashing through his body. As he barely managed to sit up, he saw that everything around him was in chaos.

A thin blanket covered his body, and his clothes were crumpled, as if someone had tried and failed to change them. The blood messily wiped around him suggested just how terrified his young sister must have been while he was unconscious.

“I’m sorry… You looked like you were in so much pain, I just wanted to let you sleep… But Mom still hasn’t come back…”

“She still hasn’t returned?”

“I tried to go to Lord Bae’s house*, but then Mr. Hwang came and told me really sternly not to leave the house today… I didn’t know what to do…”

(*Note: “Jinsa” or “Lord Bae” is a title for someone who passed the lower civil service exam during the Joseon dynasty. It denotes a respected, learned man but not of the highest rank.)

Inho’s spine went cold at her words. A terrible sense of foreboding crept over him, and he hastily stood up, grabbing Seol-ah and giving her firm instructions.

“Seol-ah, don’t go anywhere. Stay in the house. You hear me?”

“Okay, I understand.”

Leaving the nodding Yeoseol behind, Inho rushed off to Lord Bae’s estate. Every muscle in his body screamed in pain, as though they were being torn apart, but he had no time to waste.

Outside the wall, a group of people had gathered, whispering to one another. Inho silently hid himself and eavesdropped on their conversation.

“It’s horrifying. How could something like that happen…”

“I heard even the son of that household was flogged.”

“Inho? No way. Neither he nor Chimseon* are the type to do something wrong… What could’ve happened, especially with guests present?”

(*Note: Chimseon is likely a name or title referring to Inho’s mother. It literally means “needlework” in Korean and could be used as a respectful nickname for a seamstress or a woman skilled in embroidery.)

“No one’s immune. If he was punished, he must’ve committed a crime.”

“Maybe he stole something from the guest’s belongings?”

When Inho heard them mention that something had happened to his mother, his face went completely pale. He had to go to her immediately.

‘With Lord Gyeongdae* here, they probably wouldn’t do anything near the main quarters.’

(*Note: “Gyeongdae-gong” refers to a nobleman of significant authority, possibly a member of the royal family or a powerful aristocrat. “Gong” is an honorific suffix.)

Inho knew the parts of the estate that Lord Bae used when punishing his servants. Searching through a few of the storage sheds, he eventually found his mother. The moment he opened the door, the smell of blood overwhelmed him.

“Mother!”

Her body was burning with fever and wrapped haphazardly in a straw mat. Inho quickly unwrapped it and laid her curled-up form flat. The sight of such brutal violence inflicted upon her frail body made him squeeze his eyes shut.

A pained groan escaped her slightly parted lips—she was conscious.

“Please, wake up.”

Chimseon slowly opened her eyes, and upon seeing Inho, she began to tremble as if she had seen a ghost.

“Your Highness! What are you…! Forgive me, I’m so sorry…”

“Mother, it’s me. It’s me, Inho!”

Seemingly delirious from the fever, she shook her head and muttered nonsense, but Inho’s voice finally brought her mind back. Not remembering what she had just said, she looked around fearfully, then clutched his hand tightly and urgently spoke.

“Inho-ya. They won’t leave you alone. Leave now. Take Seol-ah and go.”

“What happened? What is going on?”

Startled by her sudden words, Inho noticed a piece of dirty, crumpled paper. As he scanned the absurd and baseless content, his face twisted in disgust, and he threw the paper into a nearby torch.

“Let’s go together.”

“You’ll be caught crossing the mountains. If you’re caught while escaping, it’ll be worse than death.”

“Who said anything about walking?”

“Inho-ya, no. The lady of the house will be here soon…”

Ignoring her protests, Inho lifted his mother onto his back. Though she tried to stop him, her weakened body had no strength left.

He used a piece of rope lying on the ground to secure her to his back and paused briefly at the shed’s doorway. He stared out at the landscape with quiet resolve.

To live as Bae Honyoung’s concubine was worse than death. If not now, there would be no other chance.

Fleeing with both his injured mother and young sister was close to impossible. He knew the odds were against them, but he couldn’t abandon them knowing what horrors they might face. They had suffered because of him in his previous life, too.

After a brief hesitation, Inho laid the torch on the ground so that the flame-free side touched the edge of a haystack. It would buy him a little time.

By the time he emerged from the servant’s quarters carrying his mother, flames had begun rising from the most remote storage shed of the estate.

The fire spread quickly, and by the time he reached the stables, the household staff had noticed, and chaos erupted.

Though the horses recognized him even at this odd hour, Inho ignored them all and made a beeline for one.

“Munbyeok.”

The horse snorted. Inho reached out and gently stroked its mane and nose, whispering with all his heart.

“Please… Save us.”

He placed his mother on the horse first and then climbed up himself. Urging Munbyeok forward, he kicked off from the stable and burst through the gate.

With the fire drawing attention, the area around the stable was less crowded, but it was still difficult for a large horse to go unnoticed.

“Where’s that horse headed in the middle of the night?”

“Isn’t that the young master’s horse?”

Even Bae Honyoung, startled by the fire at the end of the banquet, spotted Inho galloping away and forgot all decorum as he shouted furiously.

“Catch him! Catch that bastard immediately!”

Unable to sit properly due to his torn backside, Inho gripped the horse with only his thighs and somehow made it back home. The first thing he did was search for Seol-ah.

Hearing the commotion, Yeoseol ran out from her hiding spot in the corner of the master bedroom, crying at the sight of her mother.

“Mom!”

“Seol-ah, you have to be quiet.”

He hurriedly got them dressed and ready to leave, but Chimseon, leaning weakly against a pillar, gestured toward him.

“Inside the storage, at the very back, there’s a box wrapped in clothes.”

“Mother, we have to go now.”

“You must take it. Hurry!”

Seeing the seriousness in her face, Inho had no choice but to turn back inside. He stuffed the palm-sized box into his bundle and quickly got back on Munbyeok.

“Seol-ah, hold on tight.”

Because of the delay, people and torches were already drawing near. Gripping the reins tightly, Inho spurred the horse and galloped out of Jamsong Valley*.

(*Note: “Jamsonggol” or “Jamsong Valley” likely refers to a secluded, forested or mountainous area.)

“Inho, you wretched brat!”

Bae Honyoung, Kim Namwon, and Lord Gyeongdae’s guards were hot on Inho’s trail. Though Munbyeok was a horse with no equal, carrying an injured woman and a young child meant they couldn’t fully outrun the pursuers.

There was no way to keep circling the rocky mountain endlessly with so few places to hide. Seeing his exhausted mother and frightened sister, Inho made a quick decision and turned the horse.

The place they arrived at was a cliff. Bae Honyoung, stopping at a distance, laughed loudly upon realizing Inho’s predicament.

“What will you do now?”

“A rat in a trap. Inho, give up and come down to beg for mercy!”

Namwon added his voice.

Without turning back, Inho adjusted the ropes securing his mother and sister, gripped the reins tightly, and whispered to Seol-ah.

“Hold on tight around my waist… We’re going!”

Backing up, Munbyeok suddenly lunged forward at Inho’s signal and leaped from the cliff.

Everyone stared with jaws dropped as the powerful steed soared over the three-jang* gap and landed on the opposite ridge.

(*Note: One “jang” is approximately 3.3 meters or 11 feet, so three jang is about 10 meters or 33 feet—an incredible jump.)

But it was a brutal strain for both Inho and the horse. Wincing from the pain in his lower body, Inho consoled the limping Munbyeok.

Though his silhouette slowly disappeared into the forest, no one dared follow—they couldn’t bring themselves to leap across the cliff.

Furious, Honyoung picked up his bow and aimed it at the horse.

“Are you really going to shoot Munbyeok?”

“If I don’t shoot now, I’ll never get another chance. It’s not even my horse.”

Focused, he drew the bowstring. The arrow that had been aimed at the horse’s thigh slowly shifted to target Inho’s neck.

Glancing back, Inho spotted Honyoung aiming directly at him and urged Munbyeok forward.

“Go! Run faster, please!”

Just as the horse picked up speed again, the arrow flew. The whistle of wind startled Munbyeok into a frenzied gallop.

Inho held on with every ounce of strength, struggling to stay upright on the madly sprinting horse. His hands burned from gripping the reins, but he couldn’t let go.

Branches whipped past his face, and the landscape blurred in dizzying motion.

After some time, Munbyeok began to slow down. Inho turned to check on Seol-ah trembling against his back, only to feel a dampness behind him.

“…Mother?”

The moment he untied the rope securing her, her body fell limply. He caught her in time, then froze at the sight of an arrow deeply embedded in her back.

“Mother!”

He quickly dismounted and laid her down. Pulling out the arrow, he tried to stop the bleeding with torn fabric, but the blood soaked through too fast—it was useless.

As he desperately pressed down on the wound, a dry, calloused hand covered his.

“Leave me behind.”

The formal tone in her voice made him freeze completely.

Her eyes, filled with sorrow and regret, met his.

“If you can’t abandon me, everyone will die. Just save Seol-ah. Promise me.”

“…When did you know?”

“From the moment you said you would leave…”

Her once burning body was now cooling rapidly. Inho’s eyes darkened with the realization that there was no other way.