The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 26

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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 26
* * *
Chirp, chirp-chirp, tweet.
My eyes snapped open at the sound of birds singing. Sunlight streamed through the window lattice into the bright chamber.
‘…Morning?’
I could have sworn I’d spent the entire evening waking and falling back asleep, tossing and turning endlessly.
“Mmm.”
I’d slept so soundly it was almost absurd—so deeply that I’d drooled in my sleep. As I wiped my mouth and pushed myself upright from where I’d been lying face-down, memories of last night came rushing back like a torrent.
“Father! …He’s not here.”
It made sense—he always rose before dawn.
I bolted upright, and the room spun dizzily around me.
‘Ugh, when will this wretched body finally heal?’
I waited for the dizziness to fade before rising slowly. Hearing me stir, the Female Servant returned with a basin of warm water for washing.
After I’d washed, changed into fresh clothes, and the Female Servant had carefully groomed my hair, she left the chamber. I waited until her footsteps faded into the distance.
Once I confirmed the outside had grown quiet, I hurried toward the dresser.
‘Finally, it’s beginning.’
Namgung Wan had finally arrived—the one I’d been waiting for so desperately.
How many times had I worried he might not come in this life?
I opened the drawer and pulled out a stack of papers—my notes organizing everything I could remember about future events.
‘Let me finalize the plan one last time… Wait?’
I froze mid-step as I turned toward the table, papers in hand.
‘Why is that here?’
Sunlight from the window made the mother-of-pearl inlay gleam brilliantly. It was the box I’d given to Baek Li Pyo.
As if entranced, I approached the box and opened it. Inside lay three peonies, exactly as they had been.
‘What…?’
I stared at the peonies for a long moment, then practically tumbled out of the chamber.
“Eon-du! Eon-du! Eon-du!”
At my urgent cries, Eon-du, who had been tending the medicinal herb pot, startled awake.
“W-what is it? Young Miss! Don’t run!”
“Huff, huff.”
I caught my breath after rushing over, finally managing to speak.
“Ha-ah, did Father, last night, perhaps, go out?”
“Eh? How did you know? Yes, he said he was going to visit Seok Tae-ui for a moment.”
So it was Father who had filled the box and the flowers inside.
‘How did he know?’
A tender ache bloomed in my chest.
At that moment, Eon-du, who seemed oddly hesitant for some reason, bowed his head deeply.
“What are you doing?”
Startled, I grabbed Eon-du.
He bowed so low he was nearly touching the ground, so rather than catching him, I ended up practically being carried on his back.
“Young Miss, I’m truly sorry. While I was away, such a thing had to happen. I’m ashamed. So U-ak and Young Master Baek Li Pyo behaving so poorly… so poorly…”
“Hmm?”
Through a few questions, I was able to grasp the situation. After hearing everything from Eon-du about last night, I was so exasperated that I cried out.
“So Father and Uncle Namgung Wan fought again?”
“Well… it was more of a slight disagreement than a fight.”
“That’s the same thing.”
Eon-du quietly averted his gaze from me.
‘What good does it do to stop them from fighting over a gift… if they’re just going to fight over something else…’
If Eon-du was saying this much, the rumors must have already spread throughout the Baek Li Estate. I grabbed Eon-du’s arm and sprang to my feet, asking.
“Where is Father?”
“He went to the Reception Hall to greet a guest.”
Namgung Wan, perhaps?
Yes. Even if he had stormed off after their quarrel, after a night had passed and his anger had cooled, he would come to his senses.
I headed straight for the Reception Hall. Since the Residence Quarter was tucked away in a remote corner, it took quite a while just to reach the Reception Hall.
As I walked hurriedly, I noticed that every servant I passed reacted in a subtly different way than usual.
‘What’s wrong with them?’
Some seemed frightened, while others appeared unusually formal.
Ignoring this, just as I was nearly there, I spotted a neat and tidy young man dressed in a pale sky-blue silk robe in the distance.
“Father!”
My father caught me naturally as I came bounding toward him.
“You’re already awake? Shouldn’t you sleep more?”
“I’ve slept plenty. But Father, about that…”
I stopped, having meant to say thank you for the peonies he had brought me.
‘…Why is he here?’
Seok Ga-yak stood beside Father with his eyes wide open, staring at me. I looked back and forth between Seok Ga-yak and Father with a bewildered expression.
As we stared at each other in surprise, it was the boy who regained his composure first. The young man’s clear and pure voice reached my ears.
“Hello.”
“Um… hello?”
“What perfect timing. I went out to see your friend who had come to visit. When did you make such a friend?”
* * *
On the way back to the Residence Quarter together, Father heard a whispered word from a servant and excused himself, saying he had somewhere to be.
I had no choice but to head to the Residence Quarter alone with Seok Ga-yak. Well, not entirely alone—there were two attendants following Seok Ga-yak.
I glanced at Seok Ga-yak’s attendants.
One of them was carrying something like a jar covered with a dark, spiky-looking cloth. No matter how much I tried to guess, I couldn’t figure out what it was.
After seating Seok Ga-yak in the Blue Hall and waiting, Eon-du soon appeared carrying a tray. It held a teapot, teacups, some light refreshments, and a steaming medicinal broth.
It was the broth that Eon-du had been carefully preparing in the medicinal pot before I went to see Father.
“Young Miss, please have some.”
After setting down the tray, Eon-du handed me the medicinal broth. In unavoidable situations where Father couldn’t verify whether I had drunk it, Eon-du would confirm it for me and report to Father.
Taking the broth, I smiled and spoke to Eon-du.
“Since we have a guest, go attend to them first.”
“But…”
Eon-du couldn’t hide his suspicion. He had witnessed me eating only half and discarding the medicine several times.
However, he couldn’t press the matter in front of Seok Ga-yak, so he reluctantly withdrew. Once I confirmed Eon-du had left the chamber, I pushed the medicinal broth aside and set down teacups before Seok Ga-yak and myself.
“The medicinal broth?”
“…I’ll drink it later.”
“It’ll be harder to drink once it cools.”
I feigned ignorance and changed the subject.
“What brings you here?”
“Weren’t you supposed to be going to the Namgung Clan?”
“Father already told you?”
“Yes. To be honest, I think traveling in your current condition is premature, but you must have your reasons for going.”
His tone suggested he knew the journey wasn’t the true purpose. His perception was remarkably sharp.
“So Seok Tae-ui will come to examine you the day after tomorrow.”
“Ah, I see. Please convey my gratitude.”
“Then you should drink it soon, shouldn’t you?”
Seok Ga-yak, smiling, gazed intently at the medicinal broth. Before I could deflect, he added first:
“The Fourth Young Master of the Baek Family mentioned to Tae-ui: ‘The child finds the medicine far too bitter and keeps secretly discarding it. What should I do?'”
I laughed awkwardly, a hollow sound.
Father, why would you say such things?
“I’ll drink it, I will…”
I hesitated briefly, then resolutely grabbed the medicinal broth bowl and drained it in one continuous gulp without pause, then held up the empty bowl with a sullen expression as if to prove I was done.
Seok Ga-yak tilted his head and laughed, covering his mouth.
I scrunched my nose and rinsed my mouth with tea water, but something felt off, so I asked:
“So you came just to tell me that Seok Tae-ui will visit the day after tomorrow?”
Why come in person? A servant could have delivered the message just fine…
“Is it wrong to visit because I wanted to see you?”
“Huh?”
“I’m saying you’re my first friend.”
“…”
What is this guy talking about? Since when were we so close? A tremendous question arose, but as the saying goes, you can’t spit in the face of a smiling person, so I just laughed awkwardly and let it pass.
‘Besides, Father seemed rather pleased when he mentioned I had a friend… Let’s just go with that.’
As Seok Ga-yak smiled back at my strained laughter and gestured, a servant removed the cloth that had been covering something.
“This is a gift.”
“This is…”
“The Young Master of the Baek Family visited late yesterday. I only learned this morning, but apparently he cut three pale pink peony blossoms. I had a feeling it was somehow connected to you, so I brought a seedling so you could see it whenever you wished.”
“…”
Upon seeing the small potted pale pink peony in bloom, I didn’t know what to say. I was grateful for Seok Ga-yak’s thoughtfulness, yet troubled.
‘What do I do?’
The future of this potted plant was all too clear. Since the twins had suffered such humiliation at Namgung Wan’s hands over the peony, they would never leave this plant alone if they learned of its existence.
Besides, I was planning to leave for a while anyway.
Yet I couldn’t very well reject a gift he’d brought with such thoughtfulness.
Seok Ga-yak watched me fidgeting with the leaf and spoke.
“You don’t look particularly pleased.”
“Huh? Oh, no, I am. I really am, it’s just….”
I hesitated whether to tell Seok Ga-yak the truth.
“Well then, would you like this instead?”
“Hm? What else is there?”
“Actually, I saw something amusing.”
“What?”
“I saw the Baek Family Patriarch just a moment ago. He looked absolutely terrible.”
“What? You saw Grandfather? That can’t be right—he was supposed to have left the estate….”
The twins and Namgung Wan!
He must have returned because of yesterday’s incident. No wonder the servants’ demeanor seemed strange when I headed to the Reception Hall. That unsettling fear I’d sensed wasn’t my imagination after all.
“So? Is this interesting news to you?”
His grin was inscrutable. Yet…it was undeniably useful to me right now.

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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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