Moonlight Drawn by Clouds Volume 1 Chapter 9

Raon slowly and carefully approached the pavilion. The lady in the pavilion didn't notice Raon approaching and continued to cry in despair.

"Excuse me."

Raon had entered the pavilion and called out to the lady. Instantly, the sniffling stopped. The surprised woman widened her eyes and searched her surroundings.

"Ah!"

Finally, the woman discovered Raon and let out a shriek. Her eyes had widened to the point that it seemed like it covered half her face. Those eyes were filled with fear. It was a predictable response. Any normal woman would be surprised to find an unfamiliar man in the middle of the night...... unlike a vindictive ghost.

Since she's surprised, she must not be a ghost, right?

"Don't be alarmed. I'm not a strange person."

Raon tried to calm the woman down by smiling. As if to say 'I won't hurt you', Raon raised both of her hands and slowly, step by step, approached the lady. Maybe that helped? The woman's eyes clouded with fear cleared a bit.

However, in the next moment, the woman saw something that made her already large eyes grow larger. Her eyes were now overcome with something greater than fear.

"Why? What's wrong?"

Raon followed the woman's eyes and turned around and raised her head. Finally, Raon saw the figures of ByungYun and Flower Scholar. As always, ByungYun had a languid expression on his face. However, he was all the way at the other end of the pavilion, so the lady couldn't have seen him......  Raon saw Young, who had entered inside the pavilion a bit.

I see. It was because of Flower Scholar.

It was obvious that Young's frowning face, which showed his disapproval, was the culprit.

"Flower Scholar."

Raon called Young in a small voice.

"What?"

Young, who had been looking at the lady, turned to look at Raon.

"Please smile."

"What?"

"Like this. I'm telling you to smile. Don't you see that you're scaring her?"

Raon copied Young's frown and then smiled as if teaching him how to do it.

"What? Do what?"

Young furrowed his brow even deeper. Watching all of this happen with the eyes of a frightened rabbit, the woman turned around and ran out.

"Wait, please wait, please wait a moment."

Raon hastily called out, but the woman disappeared into the darkness.

"She was like that because of you, Flower Scholar."

Glancing at Young cutely, Raon began to run after the woman. However, the moment she was about to exit the pavilion, she stumbled. She had meant to step on the pavilion stairs but stepped into a pit instead.

"Uuuuhh!"

A surprised shriek left her lips. She flapped her arms like a small chick and was about to fall. If she fell head-first like this, some part of her body would surely break. Raon anticipated the pain and squeezed her eyes shut.

However, in the next moment, she felt something sturdy around her hips. When she opened her eyes, she saw a pair of black eyes as dark as the night sky.

"Kim-hyung."

"Do you really want to become a vindictive ghost?"

At ByungYun's words, Raon turned her head down and looked below her feet. She didn't realize this before... there was a deep pond reflecting the moon. Another second and she would have been the fifth victim to lose their life in JaSunDang's pond.

"Thank you."

When did this guy, who was all the way on the other end of the pavilion, come over here?

Anyways, thanks to him, the crisis was averted. Her head bowed, Raon heard ByungYun's voice from behind her.

"Annoying brat."

Even though he was grumbling, ByungYun made sure to drag Raon inside the pavilion.
"I'm sorry for being annoying."

Having been grabbed by the scruff of her neck and dragged as if she was a parcel, Raon had nothing else to say.

—-

After the woman's departure, the three of them found a spot and sat down. Raon was the one to break the heavy silence.

"It seems that we unintentionally chased off the crying lady."

Embarrassingly scratching the back of her head, Raon turned to Young.

"Anyways, that lady just now... she didn't seem to be a ghost, right?"

Sitting with his arms folded at his chest, Young replied in an indifferent tone.

"It seems that she is definitely not a ghost."

Raon and ByungYun modded their heads. That woman was definitely not a ghost.

"She seemed to be the same age as me, or even younger. Why was such a young lady crying so sadly like that?"

"I'm sure there's a complicated reason."

Raon thought back to what had happened. The woman was wearing her mourning clothes and wailing in the silent pavilion. Surely, the issue was complicated.

"Do you think she has been bullied?"

"Bullied?"

"You know... maybe she didn't prepare a gift for her seniors, or maybe she didn't want to use a lot of money for the orientation. So maybe that's why she got bullied?"

Raon voiced her experiences as she was thinking about what happened to her. Young, who had been sitting up straight, glanced at her.

"Did you get bullied like that?"

"No. I'm just making a guess."

At Raon's denial, Young withdrew his gaze from her face and spoke.

"Ever since the reign of Emperor Sunjo, there has been a ban on excessive orientations. If it were to be revealed that there has been unfair treatment of new recruits due to the orientation, the punishment is to be caned ten times. So who would dare to do that?"

"......"

Raon smiled bitterly as she thought of Eunuch Sung.

I know of someone who dared to do it. The world is much rougher and more reckless than you believe it to be, Flower Scholar.

"Then I wonder what the reason is."

This time, Raon turned her head to look behind her. Leaning on the pillar in a slanted manner, ByungYun was sitting on the banister of the pavilion.

"Kim-hyung, what do you think?"

"......"

Instead of replying, ByungYun just turned his head away. Raon couldn't figure out if it meant that he didn't know or that he just didn't care.

At that moment, Young's voice broke the silence.

"That woman was wearing mourning clothes."

"Wasn't it just a nightdress?"

"It looks like a nightdress from afar, but if you look closely, you can see that it's mourning clothes."

"You have good eyes."

"Crying in her mourning clothes in the middle of the night in a place no one goes to... there can only be one reason."

"What, do you think you've got it?"

Raon's eyes were sparkling as she looked up at Young. Young looked back at Raon with indifferent eyes. Instantly, Raon's shoulders trembled in shock. Young's face showed an empty expression. Any person looking at this void would have had a deep coldness pierce their hearts.

It was no surprise why the woman had run away.

Suddenly, Raon turned her gaze to something behind Flower Scholar's back. Her big eyes reflected the cloudless black night sky. In the cloudless, starless, dark night sky, the clear full moon looked like it had been cut out and hung there. Raon thought that the chillingly cold moonlight and Flower Scholar's cool eyes were similar.

If there was at least one cloud in the sky, then the moon wouldn't look so cold and lonely.

"If you're that curious, then you figure it out on your own."

Young's voice broke Raon out from her thoughts.

"What?"

"If you're that curious, can't you figure it out on your own?"

Raon blinked her eyes. She asked a question, so he told her to figure it out. Raon, who had been filled with anticipation, slowly relaxed her expression.

I'm the idiot to have expected something from Flower Scholar.

However, instead of frowning, Raon smiled.

"I see. Then I'll do that."

At Raon's unexpected reaction, Young's frozen face cracked. He shook off the sliver of emotion and asked back.

"What did you say?"

"Instead of just guessing around, I'll meet her and ask her why she was crying."

"Do you know who that child was?"

"Of course I don't."

At her confident reply, Young was dumbfounded and asked again.

"Then how will you ask her?"

"I just have to look for her starting now, whoever she is."

"This will be harder than the work you did for Young Master Kim in HanYang."

"Really, how can that be possible?"

"If you think that person was a court lady, you'll have to go through all the court ladies in the Palace. If we assume the number of court ladies in the Palace to be around five to six hundred and put them all in one place, you still can't figure out who she is unless you look closely at her face. If you're optimistic, you might say you have a bit of hope. However, since you can't even be sure that the girl you saw was a court lady......"

"Is that so? Is it really that hard to find one woman?"

"It's difficult. So leave it alone. It's not any of your business anyways, is it?"

"It's not my business, but......"

Raon thought back to a faraway memory. It was when she was very young, to the point where her memories of that age were blurry. She had been awakened from her sleep in the middle of the night. The faint light of dawn had begun to seep in. In a time when everyone else was asleep, only one person was awake. Only her mother. Whether she had never fallen asleep or whether she had been woken up, Raon didn't know.

The only thing Raon did know was that her mother was crying. Her mother was crying in the faint darkness. Afraid that she'd wake her children, she subdued her breaths as she sobbed. The blue dawn embraced her mother's shoulders. Young Raon's eyes also watered as she looked at her mother's back,  the round shoulders trembling. Her mother's sorrowful tears made Raon unable to even ask her why she was crying.

It was after having seen this moment. Raon was unable to just pass by after seeing a woman's tears. There was always a reason for a woman's tears. Therefore, the woman crying in the pavilion definitely had a reason as well.

"Whether she's human...... whether she's a ghost...... I don't like it when a woman cries. When I see them crying, it hurts over here."

Raon pressed the left side of her chest.

"The woman that was crying just now, I will find her no matter what. I'm going to find her and stop her tears."

"......"

"Like Flower Scholar said, it may be difficult to find her. But someone...... will definitely know who she is."

Raon muttered this as if she was making a pledge.

Silence settled in on the pavilion. In the middle of that silence, Raon scratched the back of her head as if embarrassed and changed the subject.

"Anyways, this place... It's very beautiful."

At Raon's words, both men simultaneously looked outside. The pond was full of the ivory white moonlight and was surrounded by many stellarias in bloom. In the daytime, these flowers would be no different than useless weeds. But in the moonlight, these flowers in full bloom looked as if they were stars that had fallen from the skies and evoked wonder.

"Before it had become abandoned, this place was considered to be one of the most beautiful gardens in the Palace."

"This place, really?"

Having lost her soul in the scenery drawn by the moonlight, Raon turned her clear eyes to Young and spoke.

"I'm glad this place is abandoned."

"What do you mean?"

"If it wasn't, how could I have enjoyed this luxury?"

"Luxury?"

"Yes, luxury. Where else could I find this kind of luxury? Above me, the moonlight is shining brightly. Below me, there are thousands of flowers that are like the stars. If this isn't heaven, what would it be? And not just that. On my left and right are my nice friends. I have never experienced such a luxury in my life."

"Friends? When did we become friends?"

Young stared deeply at Raon, who had dared to call herself his friend.

"My grandfather said......"

Raon raised her index finger like a habit.

"If you're joyful when you're with them and want to see them again when you're apart, then that person is what you'd call a 'friend'."

"Are you joyful that you met me?"

"Do you want the truth? Or do you want the pleasant words that are nicer to hear?"

"The truth is always nice to hear."

"The first time we met, I was confused. But after spending some time with you, I think it was joyful."

After hearing Raon rudely expressed her inner thoughts in her reply, Young cracked a smile. It had been the same for him as well. He didn't know if meeting Raon was a joyful thing, but spending time with her was definitely joyful. Busily teasing her small body was fun, and he was curious about what kinds of thoughts were in that small head of hers.

Friends......? She said friends. If it's this fun brat, what would the other eunuchs do? To think that we could pleasantly be friends like this...

"On such a nice night, we can't pass it by without this."

Looking at Raon, Young suddenly pulled out a gourd-like bottle from his sleeve.

"What is that?"

Raon received the bottle and pulled out the cork. Promptly, a strong smell pierced her nose. Raon recognized the familiar smell.

"It's Fragrant Jade Liquor."

"If you know what Fragrant Jade Liquor is, then you must be quite a drinker."

At Young's guess, Raon gave a low laugh.

"I was told that it was the favorite liquor of my late father. My mother never forgets to brew it for the anniversary of his death."

"Your father must have known how to appreciate liquor. There's nothing better to do with a couple of friends on a beautiful night under the moon than drink some Fragrant Jade Liquor."

This time, Young pulled out a wooden drinking cup from his sleeve. Soon, the sound of liquor pouring into the cup could be heard.

"Let's have a cup."

The cup filled with liquor came closer to her chin.

"But......"

Raon looked between the cup and Young and hesitated. On a night of the full moon, this was a cup of liquor between friends while enjoying the scenery. It wasn't bad. But...... the problem was that Raon was weak to liquor.

Raon became tense as she looked at the sloshing liquor cup. She subconsciously straightened her back and swallowed her saliva. Seeing her hesitate to reach out and take the cup, Young narrowed his eyes.

"You...... are you unable to drink?"

"Haha, now way. How can a young man be unable to hold his liquor?"

"Then why are you so tense?"

"Tense! I'm not tense. I'm just happy. Because I'm so happy......"

"I see. You may be a eunuch now, but you were undeniably a young man. How can a person born as a man not be able to take one glass of liquor? If he can't, then he must not be a man."

"Hahaha, you're right."

Raon let out an exaggerated laugh and snatched the liquor cup.

If I keep stalling like this, I don't know what suspicions I will provoke. Yeah, I'll drink it. How could one cup of liquor hurt?

Raon emptied the cup in one go. The sharp burn of the Fragrant Jade Liquor spread in her mouth, and an electrifying sensation spread down her throat. But......

It's sweet?

The liquor was sweeter than she thought. The bitter taste gathering on the tip of her tongue wasn't as bad as she expected. Having emptied the cup all at once, Raon raised her hand to Young.

"Please give me one more cup!"

---

"Heeeeh."

Raon's lips stretched wide. It hadn't even been an hour since she had pompously called out 'one more cup!'. While it hadn't been long since the liquor was poured out, it was enough time for the strong liquor to have its affect on Raon.

In that time, a flush had blossomed on her small face. A languid heat began to spread. As if she had become a fish, she felt a lightness as if she could swim in the air. She felt a tickling sensation at the tips of her fingers, and she really liked it.

I see. So when you drink, it feels like this. It feels good like this.

Raon couldn't stop laughing.

"Are you drunk?"

At Young's question, Raon mumbled back with half-closed eyes.

"I'm not drunk. Who are you calling drunk...... sir?"

Drowsiness and tipsiness could be heard in her response, despite the words she said. Due to intoxication, her whole body became languid. The worry of her true gender being discovered had crumbled away. Sleepiness came upon her like a tidal wave.

Ah, I shouldn't. I shouldn't sleep.

She began to glare in order to cast away the drowsiness. However, that only worked for a moment. She couldn't escape from the clutches of the invading flood.

I shouldn't. I shouldn't fall asleep here no matter what......

In a moment, she let go of the reins of her consciousness and fell into the bottomless pit of sleep.

Chapter end