The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 220

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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 220
I gazed into the darkness-shrouded emptiness before settling into a chair positioned at one side of the Family Shrine.
“Do you remember what happened when my grandfather came to Sansu-yeon? When Myeong-i suddenly fell into Demonic Cultivation and I spent all that time helping him regulate his energy—you protected us the entire time, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
My grandfather, who had hurried back from attending the Maeng Meeting, prevented any outsiders from interfering further in the incident.
Even the son of my father’s closest friend was ultimately an outsider.
The same applied to Yalyu and Seo Ha-ryeong.
My grandfather relocated the guests’ quarters further away and strictly suppressed any rumors from spreading.
“What happened to Myeong-i was because of me.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s brow furrowed sharply.
“That’s impossible. That was your aunt’s doing…!”
Namgung Ryu-cheong caught himself mid-protest and pressed his lips firmly shut.
“Yes. It was my aunt who pushed Myeong-i into Demonic Cultivation in the first place.”
“…I didn’t intentionally find out.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
The other guests staying there at the time only knew that some commotion had occurred within the household, but Namgung Ryu-cheong had been at the center of it all.
Even after the quarters were relocated and we ceased our involvement, he could not have failed to understand what transpired afterward—not if he possessed any perceptiveness.
“I already knew my aunt was the culprit when I fell into Demonic Cultivation myself.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong looked at me with startled eyes.
“…You already knew?”
“But I simply couldn’t obtain any evidence.”
A bitter smile escaped me.
The Courtyard—the inner household affairs—fell under my grandmother’s authority, which my grandfather respected. The female servants and maids were kept under my grandmother’s strict management, leaving no openings to exploit.
And most importantly.
My grandfather had no interest in me.
‘If only my grandfather had paid me even a modicum of attention…. Never mind.’
No one could be perfect.
I continued speaking.
“Even without evidence, I wasn’t without options. Later, when my grandfather came to cherish me, had I spoken then, he would not have dismissed my words. Even without finding proof, he would have strictly monitored my aunt to ensure she never attempted such things again.”
Had that occurred, my aunt would never have dared repeat her actions.
“But that wasn’t what I wanted.”
“Then what did you want?”
I spoke in a low, subdued voice.
“Since she crippled my inner energy and tormented my father, shouldn’t she taste the same suffering I endured?”
“….”
“So I deliberately provoked my aunt, again and again.”
I smiled faintly.
“To make her commit the exact same crime once more.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression was one of confusion.
I exhaled a long, weary breath.
“But who would have thought that Aunt’s target would suddenly become Myeong-i?”
“That’s not your fault.”
I shook my head.
“I’m the one who encouraged my brother to stand against Aunt. I found it tedious to deal with her myself. I didn’t even feel she was worth my effort.”
There was also a calculation that if I provoked Aunt together with Baek Li-myeong, she would turn away more easily.
But I never expected Jeggal Hwa-mu to redirect the blade that Aunt had aimed.
“Myeong-i is an unlucky, cunning, and shameless man. I always thought it would be good if he suffered a proper beating someday.”
“….”
I continued with a bitter smile.
“But I never wished for things to turn out like this….”
Though he didn’t become a cripple in his inner energy, Baek Li-myeong had only recently recovered some ten years’ worth of cultivation.
Now Baek Li-myeong was approaching thirty years old. Yet he had only just regained the power of someone in their early teens. Even if he spent his entire life striving desperately, he would never overcome the gap he lost to his demonic possession.
Because I had been a cripple in inner energy myself, I understood that pain well.
“And now that Myeong-i has become like this, Grandfather is thinking of passing the Family Head position to Father.”
I lifted my gaze to look at Namgung Ryu-cheong.
“Father has only me as a child.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression hardened. Perhaps he had anticipated what I was about to say.
“I have no intention of leaving the Baek Li Estate.”
“….”
“And Ryu-cheong, you are the sole heir of the Namgung Clan.”
So Bu-in was already past forty, and as far as I knew, Namgung Ryu-cheong would never have a younger sibling.
“Ryu-cheong, will you leave the Namgung Clan?”
I gazed at Namgung Ryu-cheong intently.
The distance between the Namgung Clan and the Baek Li Estate could not be measured precisely, but it was at least over a thousand li and less than two thousand li.
Father and Uncle Namgung Wan are the closest of friends. Yet in the past several years, have those two ever seen each other’s faces?
Even with martial skills allowing for relatively free movement, the distance was too great to meet without pressing matters.
The reason both Namgung Ryu-cheong and I could move about freely now was that we had not yet properly inherited our family responsibilities.
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression grew increasingly distorted.
Perhaps Namgung Ryu-cheong also understood the practical difficulties. But he probably did not wish to think about them in detail.
‘Or perhaps he thought I would be the one to leave the family.’
I could see his jaw tighten.
Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had been silent, finally spoke.
“So you… you knew? That I… that I….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong could not bring himself to finish. Even in the soft candlelight, I could see his face flushing.
“Like you?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong suddenly glared at me sharply. His expression seemed to ask how I could say such a thing so easily.
Without thinking, I felt a laugh bubbling up along with the thought that he was adorable.
Soon after, Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke as though he had given up on everything.
“When did you find out that I like you?”
“I’m not sure. When exactly…. I don’t really know. Just from some point onward.”
I spoke to Namgung Ryu-cheong with playful teasing in my voice.
“Besides, you have no talent for hiding things.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong turned his head slightly, as if irritated.
I smiled faintly and asked.
“So, Ryu-cheong, what about you?”
“….”
“When did you realize I knew you liked me?”
“….”
His firmly closed lips showed no intention of answering.
It was absurd. He questioned me, yet refused to respond?
Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had been avoiding my gaze, suddenly fixed his eyes on me again.
“So. You avoided me because I like you? Because of our families?”
I nodded slowly.
Surely a child’s infatuation could fade with distance alone, could it not?
When something is out of sight, the heart grows distant as well.
Moreover, during our separation, might he not find another connection?
If that happened, could I not simply remain as a friend? That was what I had thought. Yet seeing this, it seemed a hopeless endeavor after all.
“So you’re saying I should have pretended not to know you liked me, pretended not to know that Namgung Wan and So Bu-in hoped for a union between us, and simply met with you and laughed?”
“….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression showed he had been struck at a vital point. That would have been a betrayal of Namgung Wan’s kindness and So Bu-in’s goodwill toward me.
“When you came to Sansu-yeon, did you know that my grandfather and Namgung Wan were discussing a marriage arrangement between us?”
“…I didn’t know when I was going to Sansu-yeon. But I found out while staying at the Baek Li Estate.”
I nodded and continued.
“My grandfather and Namgung Wan had already concluded most of their discussion. After the two of them met at the Alliance Meeting and made their final adjustments, all Namgung Wan needed to do was submit the betrothal documents to my father.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong looked slightly surprised, as if he hadn’t known that much.
“I only learned of it later myself.”
If my aunt had not stirred up trouble, my grandfather would have attended the Alliance Meeting, and immediately upon his return, the betrothal ceremony would have been held—making it irreversible.
‘Though there was the attack by the Demonic Cult in between.’
It was an unforeseen event, so setting that aside in my reasoning.
When I first heard that a marriage discussion was being held with Namgung Ryu-cheong, I was shocked and opposed it.
But later, upon reflection… had I truly opposed it with genuine conviction?
And I realized. At that time, I had actually thought it wasn’t so bad.
That was why I hadn’t opposed it vehemently. I had made excuses—that if the situation became irreversible, I would have no choice but to accept it.
“Ryu-cheong, think about it once more, excluding the Demonic Cult’s attack on the Alliance Meeting.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong looked at me as if asking what I meant.
I continued my explanation slowly.
“If you could turn back time, if you could return to Sansu-yeon, what would you do?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong answered immediately, as if the question were absurd.
“Of course I would stop it.”
I smiled softly.
“I won’t stop him. I’ll let Baek Li-myeong drink the poisoned elixir.”
“…!”
“Namgung Ryu-cheong, Seo Ha-ryeong. Even if time turned back, I would act the same way.”
Why would I stop him? Why would I pass up the opportunity to imprison my aunt?
Baek Li-myeong? What happened to him is pitiable and tragic. I believe it’s my fault. But that’s where it ends.
And the marriage discussion with Namgung Ryu-cheong that fell apart because of it? That too was regrettable. But that’s where it ends.
I drove the point home once more to Namgung Ryu-cheong, who surely understood my meaning.
“Our betrothal holds no such value for me.”
His expression laid bare the pain he felt.
I had circled around and around, desperate to avoid witnessing that look, yet here we were.
“It’s not that I don’t care for you.”
I met Namgung Ryu-cheong’s gaze directly, refusing to look away.
“But I don’t care for you as deeply as you care for me.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong fell silent.
If anyone could grasp the full weight of my words, it would be him.
My first statement concerned my reason for refusing to leave the family….
The second was a matter of the depth of feeling. While I held affection for him, I harbored no thought of sacrificing anything for his sake.
I even hoped he would not abandon what mattered most to him merely for his fondness of me.
And I wished for him to be bound to someone who could return love measure for measure with what he gave.
The night was so quiet that even the sound of insects had vanished.
Only the whisper of leaves brushing against the wind could be heard. A breeze seeping through an open window somewhere stirred my hair, and the strands tickled the back of Namgung Ryu-cheong’s hand.

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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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