I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated - Chapter 25

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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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Only then did I realize why Father had brought me here.
He’d made up some flimsy excuse and forced me into this bedroom.
‘He wanted to put me to sleep himself because I’d had a nightmare.’
He wouldn’t have had the leisure to come to my quarters.
He could have just told me the truth—that he was worried about me and wanted to help me sleep.
The mattress tilted slightly as I felt Father rise from his seat.
Father had been attending to his duties deep into the night.
Unable to fall into a deep sleep, I’d witnessed everything. Apparently my excitement had left me restless.
I heard the rustle of turning pages, and the flickering candlelight tickled my eyelids.
“…Even the moderate elders were overwhelmed by Dang Seo-o’s momentum….”
Then, at some point, I heard the Chief Steward’s hushed voice.
Through half-open eyes, I could see Father and the Chief Steward conversing outside the door.
‘Dang Seo-o is causing quite the commotion.’
He’d moved the Elder Council, so Father could be dispatched at any moment without it seeming strange.
“You cannot return to Namman, sir.”
“I know.”
The Chief Steward’s troubled sigh followed.
Right. He couldn’t go to Namman….
Wait?
‘Hold on.’
My mind snapped awake as if struck by lightning.
As I bolted upright, Father’s shadow glanced briefly in my direction.
“…Hurry with the report. The child is awake.”
I covered my mouth and steadied my racing heart.
‘Did he just say Namman?’
Why would the Demonic Cult remnants be in Namman?
Their headquarters are in Sinkang.
A thought suddenly struck me.
‘It hasn’t been discovered yet. Their true headquarters!’
I clutched my head and screamed internally.
The Demonic Cult’s headquarters, which everyone had assumed was in Namman because they’d pushed in from the south during the war.
The fact that its location was actually Sinkang had already been revealed before my regression.
But this was still a point in time when no one knew.
‘That’s why the subjugation of the remnants had been dragging on.’
It couldn’t be helped. The true headquarters was elsewhere.
The isolated Sacheon Dang Clan wouldn’t know even if the truth were revealed soon.
It was a discovery made by the Nine Sects.
‘If I conveyed this fact as if I’d discovered it myself….’
Then even if Father had to be dispatched again in the worst case, he could return quickly.
‘How had I discovered that back then?’
I traced back through my memories.
“It’s absurd, really. I found the clue in a children’s storybook.”
That’s right. The clues were scattered everywhere, or so I’d been told.
Hidden abundantly in children’s storybooks, no less….
A soft rustling sound.
The texture of paper brushed against my fingertips.
A storybook.
My eyes fell upon the countless volumes filling the room.
Could it be among these?
That clue?
I settled down with purpose and opened a storybook.
Turning through page after page with meticulous care, my eyes searched for the words I sought.
The Sinkang Fairy. Fairy….
There it was.
‘Here it—.’
The corner of my mouth twitched upward before stopping.
【The Sinkang Fairy.】
【Once upon a time, feeling boredom—.】
【People grew ill—.】
【Joyful—.】
The book was torn.
As if someone had deliberately ripped out that section alone. The Sinkang Fairy passage had been savagely destroyed.
‘Surely not….’
A sudden wave of dread seized me, and I leaped from the bed toward the pile of storybooks.
I removed the books stacked to eye level one by one, setting them on the floor.
I selected every book that might contain the Sinkang Fairy legend and opened them.
As I flipped through them rapidly, the marks of deliberate tearing became unmistakable.
‘They’re all torn out….’
Every passage containing the Sinkang Fairy legend had been ripped away.
There was only one conclusion this fact pointed to.
‘Someone intentionally concealed this.’
Someone within the Dang Household had discovered that Sinkang harbored the Demonic Cult’s remnant forces.
And they had hidden it.
The reason was obvious.
They wanted Father not to return from his expedition.
They desired the patriarch’s prolonged absence so they could expand their power.
“Then, I shall take my leave.”
As the Chief Steward bowed, Father opened the door.
Our eyes met as I was rifling through the books, and Father smiled warmly.
“I must have woken you with the noise. Were you reading?”
“…Yes, Father.”
I rose, clutching the closed book to my chest.
“May I take this with me?”
I asked Father. He approached and bent down to meet my eyes at the same level.
“You won’t read more here?”
Father asked gently, stroking my arm.
I answered with a slight smile.
“I’ve finished it. I’m going to read it again and again.”
“Is that so? Which story captured my daughter’s heart the most?”
He moistened his slightly dry lips with his tongue as he spoke.
“The story about Jara!”
I deliberately concealed the legend of the Sinkang Fairy.
Father’s hands were already full.
Between fending off the relentless assault and handling the backlog of duties, he must be incredibly busy.
I planned to delegate this matter to someone else with considerable power.
Who, you ask?
Well, wasn’t there someone perfect?
Someone extraordinarily strong with nothing to do.
***
From the next day onward, it became difficult to see my family members.
Not only Father, but even my older brothers were busy.
I heard that Dang Eum was helping with their training…
‘Ugh. That Dang Eum?’
The moment I thought of my eldest brother, goosebumps erupted across my skin.
Imagining how mercilessly he would drive Dang Lim and Dang Gui-heon with those soulless eyes, I felt nothing but pity for them.
In any case, the four of them seemed too busy to breathe.
‘Then this task falls to me alone.’
I rubbed the cover of the storybook I’d brought out from the Patriarch’s Hall.
The least popular children’s storybook in the Library.
Who would have known such an important truth was hidden within it?
‘The Sinkang Fairy…’
This was far more significant than the poison case.
To deliberately conceal knowledge of the Demonic Cult’s headquarters was tantamount to colluding with the cult’s remnants.
‘I can bring Dang Seo-o down immediately.’
I wanted to expose this matter as loudly as possible.
So he couldn’t feign innocence like before.
“By the way, where does Dok-jon usually stay?”
I asked Dang Dam.
He, who had been standing with his back against the wall, paused before answering.
“He is usually not in Sichuan. He is one who enjoys wandering.”
“What?”
So she didn’t know where he was.
“However, I believe he is currently in his quarters. The Clan Grounds have been rather unsettled lately, so he seems concerned.”
Fortunately, Dang Dam added his words to smooth things over.
Phew, I just aged ten years.
“Where exactly is this quarters?”
Perhaps because I asked so bluntly, Dang Dam’s eyes narrowed.
“Young Miss. Surely you’re not thinking of visiting him?”
He looked ready to actively dissuade me if I said yes.
As if sneaking into the Abandoned Watchtower or visiting the Elder Brother Faction unannounced were entirely different matters.
“Who knows what might happen.”
I gave a vague answer, and Dang Dam pressed his lips firmly shut.
Gong Myo fidgeted beside me, trying to help.
“Young Miss, Jeungsan Peak is far too dangerous. There are so many— Eek!”
Gong Myo clapped her hand over her mouth. Realizing her mistake, her face crumpled.
“Jeungsan Peak?”
It was one of the peaks of the Chilryeong Mountains that extended beyond the Outer Wall.
“He’s at Jeungsan Peak, isn’t he?”
I looked at Gong Myo with the corners of my mouth curling up.
“No, no, no! He’s not there. He’s not!”
Gong Myo waved her hands frantically trying to salvage the situation, but it was already too late.
I sprang to my feet and began gathering my things.
I spread out a cloth bundle, packed in some storybooks, and grabbed a few snacks to share with the Elder.
Would he enjoy it if I showed him toys?
I stuffed in anything that could display the innocent charm of a six-year-old.
“Hup!”
It was a bit heavy, but there was no helping it.
This was my weapon, after all.
“Young Miss!”
The moment I dashed out, Gong Myo and Dang Dam came rushing after me.
“You cannot simply visit him so recklessly!”
I ignored Gong Myo’s protests and pressed forward.
Dang Dam’s face showed he had no idea how to handle this.
Seeing their reactions, my conviction only grew stronger.
When Dang Mu-seon moves, the tide changes!
“It’s disrespectful to visit without notice! Young Miss!”
Gong Myo’s voice grew fainter as she fell behind, still calling out.
‘As if he’d agree to meet just because I sent word.’
That’s why he’s in seclusion.
He turns away everyone who comes to find him.
So approaching him like this without hesitation was the right choice.
I had never heard of Dok-jon achieving anything noteworthy after this period.
By withdrawing into seclusion like this, Dok-jon was gradually severing his ties with the Dang Household.
This moment, with him still present at the Dang Household, might be my only opportunity.
How fortunate that I am only six years old.
Even if I make mistakes, wander into places I shouldn’t, or overstep my bounds!
Can’t I simply brush it all aside with the excuse of “I didn’t know any better”?

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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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