A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 269

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Special Side Story, Episode 2
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Nam Goong Baek had no chance to protest.
Hong Seol was seized by the Northern Sea Ice Palace Master’s hand and had to leave the Nam Goong Estate Manor.
Word had it that the Ice Palace people had rented out an entire large tavern in Hefei to stay in.
It seemed they intended to keep Hong Seol there and prepare her for the wedding ceremony itself.
Though it was called the Ice Palace’s custom, from Nam Goong Baek’s perspective, it felt as though the bride had been stolen away before his very eyes.
“But surely there’s no precedent for doing something so suddenly, Grandfather!”
An indignant Nam Goong Baek sought out the Changcheon Pavilion to appeal to the Grand Patriarch Nam Goong Ho.
He believed that Nam Goong Ho, who cherished Hong Seol as dearly as his own life, would understand his feelings.
But Nam Goong Ho merely stroked his beard and sighed.
“Hmm… if that is the bride’s family’s wish, then there is nothing to be done.”
Nam Goong Ho’s position was that in matters of marriage, one must always defer to the bride’s family’s opinion.
“But, Grandfather!”
“Baek. It is also the custom of the Central Plains that the groom does not see the bride’s face until the wedding ceremony. So speak no more and obey your grandfather!”
“Even Grandmother…”
When Lady Wi herself seconded Nam Goong Ho’s words, Nam Goong Baek’s voice trailed away.
Loneliness. A bitter, suffocating loneliness.
In this vast Nam Goong Estate Manor, there was no one on his side.
“Now that I think of it, it was the same when we were married, was it not, my lord?”
“Hehe, on our wedding day, seeing my lady’s face after so long was like beholding a single peony blossom.”
Every time Nam Goong Baek witnessed his grandparents gazing only at each other, heedless of his own plight, his heart rotted with despair.
He had only just turned back from the Patriarch’s Residence after witnessing a similar scene moments before.
In this lifetime, Nam Goong On and Bing Yu Hua, who had not experienced tragedy, shared an affection and tenderness beyond compare.
‘Grandfather and Father both seem so blissfully happy, so why must I alone suffer like this…’
Nam Goong Baek rose to his feet and left the Changcheon Pavilion, his steps burning with indignation.
‘Since the family elders will not help, I must devise my own scheme.’
A glimmer of peculiar light flickered in Nam Goong Baek’s narrowed blue eyes.
* * *
Meanwhile, Hong Seol was frantically busy receiving guests at the tavern.
Today was the day she would share tea with the Pal Shin Woo—or rather, the “Eighteen Trusted Friends.”
By now, in this lifetime, Hong Seol and So So had both turned eighteen.
Of course, Yang Do Jin, who was still hiding the fact that he was two years older, was not among them.
“Wow, how luxurious!”
The moment Deng Xiao Xiao sat down, her eyes widened in astonishment.
On the table lay a delicacy called honey-sand ice.
It was a confection made by finely grinding ice like snowflowers and mixing it with honey and red bean paste.
As the daughter of a wealthy Martial Arts Family, Deng Xiao Xiao had tasted it before.
“Ice must be so expensive and difficult to obtain!”
At those words, Hong Seol broke into a bright smile.
“My family home is the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“Ah!”
At those words, Deng Xiao Xiao slapped her palm against her other fist with a sharp crack.
Just as Hong Seol had said, the tavern was filled with people who looked distinctly different from those of the Central Plains.
They were all bustling about with preparations for Hong Seol’s wedding.
At first, the prospect of spending time with strangers at the tavern until the ceremony had been unsettling.
‘But having a place I can call my family home puts my mind at ease.’
After a few days, it felt quite reassuring.
‘And I can feel how deeply Grandmother loves me.’
Had Hong Seol not met someone like this, the Northern Sea Ice Palace Master would still be pestering her relentlessly.
Insisting she eat just one more bite.
‘Even in this life, she scolded me the moment she saw me. She said the Nam Goong Family must have starved me—that I was as thin as a skewer.’
A soft laugh escaped me.
Yang Do Jin then rebuked Deng Xiao Xiao with a heavy tone.
“Now you know? The Deng Family Estate’s information network is slower than expected.”
“Oh, so you already knew, Do Jin?”
“Of course. The rumor that the Northern Sea Ice Palace would obtain permission from the Government Office to trade in ice has been spreading everywhere.”
“Oh, so the youngest Seven-Knot Beggar truly is different?”
As she said this, Deng Xiao Xiao glanced at Yang Do Jin’s waist.
Seven distinct knots were clearly visible on the rope cord tied in place of a belt.
According to the rumors circulating, Yang Do Jin would become the next Hapbi District Chief of the Beggar Sect.
And eventually, he would ascend to become the Beggar Sect Master after Hu Gae.
But to So So and Hong Seol, he was simply a friend whom they had to make sure ate regularly.
“If you understand, then eat up, So So. This melts so smoothly on the tongue, doesn’t it?”
Yang Do Jin had already buried his nose in a bowl of shaved ice with red bean.
Deng Xiao Xiao tilted her head slightly to gaze at Yang Do Jin’s face instead of eating the shaved ice.
“But you know, I heard something amusing recently?”
Mm-hmm.
Mischief danced across Deng Xiao Xiao’s face as one corner of her mouth lifted slyly.
Regardless, Yang Do Jin continued scooping the shaved ice into his mouth without pause.
“Someone said that the youngest Seven-Knot Beggar of the Beggar Sect’s Hapbi District isn’t eighteen—he’s twenty.”
“What!”
Pfft!
Startled, Yang Do Jin’s mouth fell open mid-chew, sending red bean paste and ice flying in all directions.
“Eek!”
“Gross!”
Fortunately, the young ladies of the Martial Arts Family before them were nimble. Thanks to their quick reflexes, nothing splattered on their clothes.
“Well, you must have enjoyed pretending to be younger all this time?”
“Do Jin, you’re a disappointment.”
Instead, the two of them mercilessly criticized Yang Do Jin’s integrity.
Yang Do Jin, the youngest of the Seven Exceptional Experts of the Beggar Sect, felt his face drain of color.
“No, I… I wasn’t trying to hide it on purpose…”
“Do Jin, were you just pretending to be our friend so you could keep getting free meals?”
“What? No way!”
Sensing that Deng Xiao Xiao’s accusation had gone too far, Hong Seol shook her head firmly.
“See, Hong Seol understands me!”
Yang Do Jin felt tears of gratitude welling up—until Hong Seol continued speaking.
“You probably just thought we were funny. Watching us get all excited thinking you were our age must have been entertaining…”
“Ha!”
Yang Do Jin, the youngest of the Seven Exceptional Experts and the next Hapbi District Chief, struck his chest in protest at the injustice of it all.
When I think about it, isn’t this situation unfair to me?
I gave up the respect I rightfully deserved as an elder and spent all these years pretending to be their peer!
That was when it happened.
“Pfft!”
Deng Xiao Xiao and Hong Seol locked eyes and burst into laughter simultaneously.
Hong Seol laughed heartily, wiping away the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes.
“What does eighteen matter, or twenty for that matter!”
Deng Xiao Xiao playfully nudged Yang Do Jin’s shoulder.
“What matters is that we’re friends. We can keep speaking casually to each other, right, Do Jin?”
“Y-yes…”
Yang Do Jin found himself nodding before he could think.
And so Yang Do Jin’s opportunity to assert his seniority vanished forever.
After much discussion, the three decided to change the name of their group.
“So from now on, our group’s name is ‘Eternal Trusted Friends.'”
“Friends forever, worthy of trust? I like it.”
Hong Seol nodded in satisfaction at Deng Xiao Xiao’s words.
“Oh, that’s right!”
At that moment, Yang Do Jin suddenly remembered something he’d forgotten and pulled an object from his robes.
He then produced a letter of clearly fine quality and offered it to Hong Seol.
“Take this. It came for you, Hong Seol.”
* * *
A quiet riverbank just outside the city of Hefei.
Dusk had begun to settle between the gracefully drooping willow branches.
The sandy ground below bore countless confused footprints.
They belonged to the shadow that had been pacing in circles since earlier.
“…Seol is late.”
The figure was Nam Goong Baek, his face etched with anxiety.
“That beggar fellow delivered the letter properly, didn’t he?”
Since none of the family elders would take his side, he had devised a way to meet Hong Seol in secret.
That method was to have Yang Do Jin of the Beggar Sect deliver a letter to Hong Seol.
[Seol Ah, a single day without seeing you feels like a year. If you have any compassion for my heart, come to this place at the Hour of the Rooster today.]
Below the letter, he had even drawn a map with his own hand.
He deliberately placed a single tear at the very end.
His calculation was that seeing the smudged tear marks would make Seol Ah pity him.
Of course, even as he wrote the letter, resentment burned within him.
‘That Beggar gets to meet Seol Ah, but I—the one who will be her husband—cannot?’
Even after arriving at the appointed place, his indignation seethed for a time, but there was nothing to be done about it.
He could only hope that Yang Do Jin would execute his task flawlessly.
How much time had passed?
Rustle.
A sound came from the bushes behind him. In that instant, Nam Goong Baek spun around with lightning speed.
“Seol Ah?”
His trembling voice cut through the night air.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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