The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 43

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Li-han flinched but feigned ignorance.

“There wasn’t anything in particular. It’s exactly as I reported.”

“But you just said there were parts you left out.”

“…Ahem.”

Li-han cleared his throat awkwardly. Hyeon-ya still had the corners of his mouth raised as he looked at his embarrassed nephew.

“Still, you did well. Thanks to you, Seo-yu seemed to enjoy herself, so I’m grateful to you. It’s good that her first village outing became a pleasant memory.”

“…First time, you say. You mean going out?”

“That’s right. She’s never properly left the house since she was born.”

After hesitating, Li-han quietly asked.

“That child… how did she end up coming here?”

In truth, until now it hadn’t mattered where Seo-yu came from. He hadn’t been particularly interested either.

There had been quite a few children that Father had rescued over the years, and their circumstances were all quite similar.

‘Usually magical beasts would devastate villages and they’d lose their families.’

Of course, Seo-yu was different in that she came from the Western Lands, but such cases weren’t entirely unheard of.

Even Cho-ah, who had betrayed the Golden Dragon Family, was originally from the Southern Lands.

“Why the sudden interest?”

Hyeon-ya asked bluntly. Li-han replied, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

“You just said the child had never been to a village before. That’s not exactly normal.”

Hyeon-ya, who had been staring at his nephew intently, shrugged his shoulders.

“Everyone has their own circumstances. It doesn’t seem like something I should be gossiping about, so if you’re curious, why don’t you ask her directly?”

That child makes me uncomfortable.

Just as Li-han was moving his lips, unable to say such a thing, Hyeon-ya continued speaking first.

“Come to think of it, getting to the village didn’t seem to be much of a problem.”

“Surely you’re not saying I looked too weak to fly while carrying just one child.”

Li-han, who was about to get indignant, stopped short the next moment.

“That’s not what I meant. I said that because she might be afraid of heights. You would have flown there, wouldn’t you.”

“…Does she have acrophobia or something?”

“You really didn’t hear anything, did you.”

Hyeon-ya clicked his tongue and spoke in a somewhat heavier voice.

“We rescued Seo-yu when she was falling from a cliff.”

“What… do you mean by that?”

She fell from a cliff?

Li-han’s face turned deathly pale.

“Exactly what I said. You know that Elder Brother attended a banquet to meet the Qilin Family Head, right? He said he rescued Seo-yu on his way back that day. For whatever reason, she was falling from a cliff.”

Li-han’s eyes wavered at the shocking story.

“So probably high places are… Li-han? You don’t look well.”

“N-no, I’m perfectly fine…”

He tried to force himself to remain calm, but his voice was trembling as much as his frantically beating heart.

“I’m sorry, Uncle. There’s something I need to check on right now, so I’ll be going.”

Li-han, who had been repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists, turned around immediately.

His steps quickened as he left the medical room.

His usual composure had completely vanished, and only the desperate need to find Seo-yu immediately drove him forward.

Thud!

The door closed, and Hwang Hyeon-ya, left alone watching Li-han disappear frantically, muttered to himself.

“My disciple will become a far better physician than I am.”

To treat a wound, one must first examine the affected area.

That’s why visible wounds are easy to heal, but pain lodged in the heart cannot be easily cured.

Yet Seo-yu was already soothing Li-han’s aching heart.

In that alone, his disciple was already no different from a true physician.

‘She’s a child destined for greatness.’

Then as her teacher, shouldn’t he properly support her?

“What were the admission requirements for the Medical Academy again?”

Hwang Hyeon-ya spent time searching through old memories for the first time in a very long while.

* * *

Li-han, who had left the medical room, was in great shock.

‘What… what have I done?’

That day when he flew to the village, he now finally understood why the child had trembled so much on his back.

‘I told a child who had fallen from a cliff to cross the Cloud Bridge.’

And what he had made such a child do.

Of course, Li-han had no idea what Seo-yu had experienced.

If he had known, he would never have done such a cruel thing.

But.

‘Does that serve as an excuse?’

It was he who hadn’t thought to learn about the child.

Without trying to learn the truth, he had only suspected Seo-yu blindly.

He had arbitrarily decided that investigating her background would be pointless since it would all be lies anyway.

That shouldn’t have happened.

He should have at least properly investigated.

If he had, he would have realized how absurd and nonsensical his suspicions were.

‘No matter how well one disguises a coincidence, that kind of thing would be impossible.’

Cho-ah had entered the Golden Dragon Family as a war orphan.

Since everyone knew that the Golden Dragon Family supported children who had lost their families, approaching through that route was certainly conceivable.

But how could one possibly orchestrate something like the Golden Dragon Family Head coincidentally rescuing a child falling from a cliff?

Far from committing any wrongdoing, he had simply judged and tormented a child who had barely survived through hardship.

‘Oh, no. I’m fine. I was just a little dizzy since it was my first time flying in the sky.’

Even so, that young child had overcome her fear to fulfill her responsibility.

She had endured while trembling on his back, afraid that if she showed her fear, he might just turn back.

She had tried to cross the Cloud Bridge, accepting even unreasonable demands, saying she wanted to become an excellent physician and heal his mother.

‘I need to apologize.’

Li-han immediately went to find Seo-yu’s quarters. Just then, Ga-ram was walking down the corridor.

“Oh? Young Master Li-han, what brings you all the way here…”

“Where’s Seo-yu?”

At his urgent question, Ga-ram asked back with a puzzled expression.

“Wouldn’t she be in the medical room? She goes to tend the field even on her days off.”

“She’s not there. I just came from there.”

“Ah, then Yi-ryeong and Li-gon must have taken her. They said they were going to the training ground earlier, maybe they’re letting her watch… Young Master?”

Before she could finish speaking, Li-han had turned and started walking away.

Unlike his usual calm demeanor, his urgent appearance made the passing household members look puzzled, but he had no time to care about that.

When he arrived at the training ground as if flying, he could hear noisy sounds.

“Hwang Yi-ryeong, do it one more time!”

“Hah, bring it on. No matter how many times we do this, I’m going to win!”

Li-han hurriedly entered the training ground.

“Yi-ryeong, Li-han!”

“Huh? It’s big brother.”

“Li-han hyung!”

But there were only the twins in the training ground. Seo-yu was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is that child?”

“The youngest? Oppa, what are you planning to say to the youngest again!”

Yi-ryeong glared at him.

That reaction seemed to show how badly he had treated Seo-yu all this time, and Li-han was momentarily at a loss for words.

“It’s not like that.”

His chest felt stuffy and his solar plexus felt blocked. Li-han, barely suppressing his emotions, spoke in a pleading tone.

“I have something to talk to her about, so it would be good if you could tell me where she is.”

“I can’t trust that…”

Yi-ryeong’s expression softened considerably, but her suspicion remained. Li-gon quickly interjected.

“Hyung, did you check Seo-yu’s room? She’s probably studying right now.”

“She’s not there. She wasn’t in the medical room or her room either.”

“Really? Then where… Ah!”

Li-gon, who had been tilting his head, made an “oh no” expression and quickly turned his gaze to Yi-ryeong. Yi-ryeong flinched and her eyes rolled around.

Li-han, noticing something strange, hardened his expression.

“Yi-ryeong, Li-han. Don’t hide it and tell me. You know where that child is.”

“Well, actually…”

Li-gon, who had been reading the situation, hesitantly opened his mouth.

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