The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 20

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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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Chapter 20
“Ah, I dropped it.”
“Oops, my mistake. You should have given it properly. What are you doing? Give it again.”
So U-ak chuckled as he spoke.
“….”
I exhaled a sigh and drew another peony from the box. Then Baek Li Pyo, who had been pretending to accept it, let it fall again.
Two peonies crushed beneath Baek Li Pyo’s feet rolled across the ground side by side.
“….”
“There’s still more. Give me that one too.”
Now only a single peony remained in the box.
I stopped forcing a smile and simply observed the twins in silence.
“What? I could accidentally drop it. Do you have a problem with that?”
“That’s right. Things can slip out of your hands.”
Could they not sense it? The sharp, piercing aura radiating from Namgung Wan behind me.
I subtly stepped in front of Namgung Wan as he moved to intervene.
Then I shut the wooden box with a decisive thud.
“You…!”
I cut off So U-ak’s words and thrust the entire box toward Baek Li Pyo.
“Here.”
“What, what is this?”
Baek Li Pyo’s expression flickered with confusion.
“Take it. You said you were giving it to Li-ri, right? Since they’re in the box, you won’t be able to trample them even if you drop it.”
Unable to formulate a response, Baek Li Pyo’s mouth opened and closed uselessly before he snatched the box away.
“…Hmph! You should have done that from the start. You wasted two flowers because of you. Let’s go!”
Baek Li Pyo rushed through the Main Gate as if fleeing. So U-ak and Baek Li-myeong followed in his wake.
Baek Li-myeong paused briefly as he passed in front of me.
“Yeon is really kind. Haha.”
Baek Li-myeong patted my shoulder twice before crossing through the Main Gate.
“….”
“….”
After a prolonged silence, a voice with teeth clenched came from above my head.
“This is infuriating.”
I glanced at Namgung Wan.
“Why did you stop me?”
“Weren’t you trying to conceal your identity?”
“….”
Had Namgung Wan stepped forward, he would have had no choice but to reveal his identity. After all, a man of unknown origins could hardly reprimand the direct descendants of the Baek Li Family.
“And….”
I sighed and crouched before the trampled peonies.
“It was a losing battle anyway.”
Namgung Wan tilted his head slightly, as if demanding an explanation.
I pouted my lips.
“There are so many of them. The twins and my older brother Baek Li-myeong—that’s three people. What would have happened if I had stubbornly refused to give them the flower?”
I spoke as calmly as I could manage, feigning indifference, yet a hint of melancholy still seeped through.
“I would have become a stingy girl who wouldn’t even yield a flower to her cousins.”
“….”
“And if I had complained about being stepped on… then I’d be seen as a petty child who holds grudges over their mistakes.”
“It was not a mistake.”
“But if my three older brothers claim it was a mistake, whose words would anyone believe?”
This was a situation I had experienced countless times before my regression. No one—absolutely no one—had ever believed me.
“What kind of…!”
The moment Namgung Wan raised his voice, the sound of hoofbeats cut off his words.
And this time, a familiar voice followed.
“Yeon? Why are you here?”
“Father!”
The instant Father leaped lightly from his saddle, I rushed toward him. As he caught me effortlessly in his arms, a faint medicinal scent wafted from him.
‘Where is that medicine smell coming from?’
While I was sniffing, Father looked down at me with a puzzled expression. I felt embarrassed by my sniffing and laughed awkwardly.
But Father spoke of an entirely different matter.
“Why are you standing out here instead of going inside? Where is Eon-du? And why is your hair down?”
“I was waiting for you, Father!”
“For me?”
Father’s eyes widened slightly, then he blinked. Then he smiled gently—so tenderly that even I, who saw his face every day, was taken aback.
“Where did Eon-du go? Why is your hair like this?”
Father smoothed down my hair as he spoke.
“Father, you have a visitor!”
“A visitor?”
Father tilted his head slightly, and soon spotted Namgung Wan.
“…You!”
His face showed clear surprise.
Father glanced between me and Namgung Wan, then whispered softly.
“Yeon, do you know who this is?”
I shook my head calmly.
“No. But when I saw the handwriting on the letter, it was yours, so I knew he was your guest.”
“Then why didn’t you go inside and wait?”
“Indeed. Even a six-year-old child could recognize the handwriting, yet the gatekeepers failed to do so.”
Namgung Wan spoke with a sneer, adjusting the edge of his hat. The gatekeepers had not even been able to lift their eyes properly since Father arrived. Upon hearing Namgung Wan’s words, their faces turned pale.
Sensing the gravity in Namgung Wan’s tone, Father turned to the Gatekeeper and asked.
“What is all this about?”
Those who had been so brazenly rude to me and Namgung Wan suddenly clamped their mouths shut as if glue had been applied to their lips. What could be more difficult than confessing one’s own wrongdoing?
Father pressed me urgently.
“Why isn’t anyone saying anything?”
The gatekeepers could ignore me, but they dared not ignore my father. Finally, one of the Gatekeepers stammered out a response.
“Well… we simply couldn’t allow someone of unknown identity to enter the Baek Li Estate, so we stopped them.”
“…Someone of unknown identity?”
“Never mind.”
Just as Father furrowed his brow and was about to press further, Namgung Wan intervened. Then he slowly removed his bamboo hat.
At least one of the gatekeepers clearly recognized him. His pale complexion had turned a sickly blue.
“The gates of the Baek Li Estate stand as high as heaven itself—how could someone like me presume to cross them without proper introduction?”
Namgung Wan twisted his lips into a smile and produced his credentials for all to see.
“I am Namgung Wan of the Namgung Clan. May I enter now?”
Namgung Wan’s gaze turned glacial as he looked upon the gatekeepers, and his bamboo hat slipped from his hand to the ground with a soft thud.
Crack.
He stepped on the perfectly intact hat and kicked it hard. With a sharp sound, the gatekeeper who had mocked Namgung Wan most viciously collapsed, clutching his face. It was the one who had been most unpleasant in his ridicule.
Before the fallen gatekeeper lay what remained of the bamboo hat, now barely recognizable.
‘Incredible…!’
A perfect ten for technique, a perfect ten for artistry—a flawless execution.
* * *
“…Miss, Young Miss.”
“Mmm.”
“Young Miss! Young Miss, wake up! You asked me to wake you!”
“Ugh… Huh!”
That outing had been quite eventful. I had thought myself much improved, but my body clearly disagreed with my assessment. The moment I returned to the Residence Quarter, I collapsed into sleep as though unconscious.
‘Now I understand why they had me leave lessons early…’
Under Eon-du’s supervision, the Female Servant entered and wiped my face with a warm cloth, then picked up a comb to arrange my hair.
I slipped from her grasp and sprang from the chair.
“Later—let’s go now!”
I left the chamber with Eon-du.
Though I set out with energy, sleep still clung to me as I yawned and walked with an unsteady gait.
“…That was too much. Striking someone with a bamboo hat. In all my years, I’ve never witnessed such rudeness.”
“Be grateful it ended there.”
As we approached Father’s Room, the voices grew clearer.
“…You’re now a young family head yourself, yet you conduct yourself in such a manner when angered…”
“Are you saying I should concern myself with others’ opinions?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what? Ah, I suppose I should take the side of the Baek Li Estate’s gatekeepers instead.”
“…”
“What, no response? They insulted me, and I simply made them pay the price!”
Bang! The sound of something like a table being struck echoed out.
‘Oh dear, they’re arguing. I knew this would happen.’
As expected, the sound of arguing reached my ears. Eon-du, who had been following behind me, fidgeted anxiously, uncertain what to do.
I waved my hand dismissively and spoke.
“Bring some snacks and tea.”
Eon-du had only recently come to realize that the young lady, despite being merely six years old, was remarkably different from others her age.
“Then… I’ll take my leave to attend to that.”
Relieved, Eon-du bowed his head and quickly withdrew.

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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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