The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 333

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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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Special Side Story Episode 3
Thud.
A worn wooden token slipped halfway out of the half-open silk pouch.
“Damn it.”
Realizing something had gone wrong, another member of the group reached toward Baek Li-yeon.
Tap, tap, tap!
But the moment Baek Li-yeon released the hand gripping the thief, she struck a pressure point, and with her other hand, she blocked the second attacker lunging at her and pressed another vital point. The man, subdued by a few simple gestures, blinked in shock.
* * *
By the time I entered the guest room, night had already fallen. Though I’d settled things earlier, I’d spent considerable time cleaning up after the meal. I dried my hair with a towel and muttered to myself.
“They weren’t Demonic Cult members after all.”
I’d thought it made sense that they were after the wooden token, but they turned out to be mere pickpockets. They’d simply been trying to steal a money pouch—it just happened to be the one containing the token.
An absurd coincidence. And…
That pouch with the token originally belonged to Namgung Ryu-cheong.
A sachet with an ungainly peony design that caught the eye—one we’d embroidered together long ago, which he treasured. Now that it had aged, he no longer used it as a sachet but as a pouch instead. And when his memories began to blur, I’d quietly taken it with me.
But Namgung Ryu-cheong didn’t even remember possessing such an item.
“Keeping such important evidence here seems far too dangerous.”
He remembered nothing. Absolutely nothing.
“…”
After a long silence, I suddenly recalled something and murmured.
“It’s later than I thought.”
I checked Namgung Ryu-cheong’s presence within the building using my golden eyes. He’d gone to bathe separately since one room couldn’t accommodate two bathing basins.
Leaning against the head of the sleeping quarters, I waited, and before I knew it, I’d drifted into slumber.
Then, moments later, the guest room door opened and Namgung Ryu-cheong entered the bedroom, only to pause. He approached the sleeping quarters quietly and made an absurd expression. I lay sleeping, breathing softly and steadily.
Sleeping so peacefully like this.
It seemed a waste of the time he’d spent deliberating before entering.
As the lamplight flickered, light and shadow danced together. Entranced by that movement, he gazed down as my eyebrows twitched and my eyelashes trembled as if I were about to wake.
Then came a drowsy murmur.
“Why are you… staring like that? You’ll bore a hole through my face…”
“I’m at a loss for words.”
“Mm, I suppose. When did I fall asleep?”
It was sarcasm about how I could sleep in this situation, but I brushed it off with a composed yawn. I sat up, my eyes heavy with drowsiness, and spoke.
“There’s something you want to ask, isn’t there? The way you stared without letting me sleep made it obvious.”
And as if he’d been waiting for such an invitation, the question tumbled from Namgung Ryu-cheong’s lips.
“How did we end up married?”
“Mm…”
I was slightly taken aback. I’d expected him to ask about the Demonic Cult or Cheon-ma, but suddenly a question about our marriage?
Hadn’t we already covered this part?
“You told me to ask, so why are you silent?”
“Ah, I thought you’d ask about the method to defeat Cheon-ma.”
“Will you answer if I ask?”
“What?”
“Are you joking?”
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to tease you.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression softened immediately.
“I suspect there’s a reason you deliberately avoided mentioning that part. And frankly, I can’t just take your word for it.”
“….”
Seeing Baek Li-yeon’s expression, Namgung Ryu-cheong shifted the conversation.
“So, what’s your answer to my question?”
“Ah….”
“Why are you deliberating so much? Just tell me what actually happened, isn’t that enough?”
Baek Li-yeon touched her lips, then gave up and spoke.
“I proposed marriage, and you agreed.”
“….”
“….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong asked in disbelief.
“…That’s it? Your explanation is far too vague, isn’t it?”
“I’m not sure how else to explain it….”
“You need to tell me the circumstances—how this relationship developed in the first place. That way, I might at least find some clue. Wasn’t it your wish for me to return to my original self?”
Baek Li-yeon lowered her gaze, her expression troubled. But Namgung Ryu-cheong was prepared to wait until she spoke.
Soon, Baek Li-yeon opened her mouth.
“You confessed first.”
“Me? That’s absurd.”
Baek Li-yeon laughed softly and continued.
“See? I knew you’d react like that.”
“…Just keep going.”
Baek Li-yeon pouted slightly before continuing.
“I knew from the past that you didn’t like me, so I refused.”
“What?”
“Why?”
“No, just keep talking.”
“You cut things off, and anyway, Cheon-ma was still alive back then, so the situation wasn’t favorable. But despite my refusal, you said you were fine with it.”
“Wait. Hold on.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong raised his hand to stop her. Then he repeatedly wiped his face. At that moment, Baek Li-yeon sat up and glanced around as if searching for something.
Namgung Ryu-cheong immediately reached for the teapot on the bedside table. Baek Li-yeon drained the cup in one go, and Namgung Ryu-cheong refilled it for her.
Watching Baek Li-yeon gulp down the water, Namgung Ryu-cheong suddenly realized something strange.
‘How did I know she wanted water?’
He looked down at his hand holding the teapot. His knuckles tightened, the tendons standing out sharply.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke to Baek Li-yeon, who had emptied her cup.
“Go inside.”
“Huh?”
Baek Li-yeon hesitantly moved inward as instructed. Then Namgung Ryu-cheong climbed onto the sleeping quarters.
Baek Li-yeon startled, her eyes widening in shock.
“What, what are you doing?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke calmly.
“What do you mean? I need to sleep too.”
“You were talking and suddenly just—? And besides, if you’re going to sleep, why are you coming up here?”
“Then where should I sleep? There’s only one sleeping quarters.”
At his shameless response, Baek Li-yeon gaped in bewilderment.
“No, wait a moment…!”
And Namgung Ryu-cheong found her flustered expression quite pleasing. He continued with an unruffled demeanor.
“Didn’t you anticipate this from when we started sharing a room? Isn’t that why you were reluctant?”
“No, that’s not it!”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Baek Li-yeon’s lips moved, but no words came out.
Of course she had nothing to say.
Namgung Ryu-cheong continued.
“Aren’t I the same person to you? You said I’ve merely lost my current memories and recalled my past ones, didn’t you?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke to reassure her.
“I won’t lay a finger on you, so stop wasting breath on needless talk and just lie down. I have no intention of touching you, nor any desire to do so.”
Baek Li-yeon first looked at him with an expression of utter disbelief, then seemed to grow slightly angry.
“You better not say something different later, understand? You said it was fine!”
* * *
Baek Li-yeon initially seemed to accept it, then made quite a fuss insisting this wasn’t right, but eventually gave up and lay down. And the moment she did, she fell asleep instantly.
In contrast, only Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had been insisting nothing was wrong, found himself unable to sleep.
After closing his eyes and forcing himself to seek slumber for some time, Namgung Ryu-cheong clicked his tongue at the peaceful, steady breathing he heard from beside him.
‘Are we really husband and wife?’
How could she be so carefree?
Her husband had lost his current memories or essentially become a different person, yet she could fall asleep so easily? Her nerves were remarkable.
Of course, he had insisted to Baek Li-yeon that he was essentially the same person anyway.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The version of himself after regression was nothing like that person. It was merely something he said to adequately deceive Baek Li-yeon.
‘If that version of him after regression remembers this, he’ll be quite angry…’
It didn’t matter. After all, that version after regression wasn’t him.
As Namgung Ryu-cheong turned his body, he could see Baek Li-yeon’s face, sleeping peacefully and oblivious to the world.
‘So this is what she looks like when sleeping.’
Come to think of it, this was the first time he had observed her so closely and at length from such proximity. Her straight nose bridge and closed eyelids were peaceful without shadow. Looking at her this way, one could say she was cast from the same mold as her master. Her face bore a striking resemblance to her teacher.
However, because Baek Li-yeon possessed such expressive features while awake, and her master possessed such grave eyes and weighty speech, he never felt they resembled each other when she was conscious.
Yet instinctively, he knew they were alike. Whenever he gazed upon Baek Li-yeon, guilt prevented him from looking long. Especially meeting her eyes was painfully difficult.
And she always appeared so timid. She continually circled around him with an attitude of yearning for affection. Each time he witnessed her like this, an inexplicable sense of frustration, anxiety, and faint irritation followed.
But the current Baek Li-yeon was different—vastly different. She was to the point of being an entirely different person.
‘When I caught that petty thief, the Golden Serpent technique he displayed was definitely the martial art of the Tianshan Flame Emperor.’
He remained still even as he recognized that the petty thief had set their sights on them—all to observe what reaction they would display.
But it wasn’t merely the Tianshan Flame Emperor’s golden meridians. The martial prowess he’d witnessed during the Demonic Cult Member’s assault. For the first time in ages, he found himself doubting his own spiritual perception, struggling to trust what his own eyes had seen.
Despite the fact that he wasn’t deliberately suppressing his inner energy or aura, the actual strength he sensed far exceeded what should have been possible.
‘But Baek Li-yeon truly defeated Cheon-ma?’
He couldn’t believe it at all.
He understood why she hadn’t tried to explain. Even if she had spoken of it, he wouldn’t have believed her. And even now, hearing the account, he found it utterly impossible to accept.
Yet… their backs pressed together felt familiar, and the synchronization of their movements flowed as though they’d trained in perfect harmony for years.
How long had it been since he’d wielded a blade that fit so seamlessly with someone who seemed to read his very soul? It wasn’t bad. Not at all.
Then Baek Li-yeon turned toward him, her movements searching for something. Her tentative hand soon came to rest lightly upon his forearm, and where she touched, a sudden surge of warmth bloomed through him.
Namgung Ryu-cheong, startled, hesitated—and in that moment of delayed reaction, Baek Li-yeon pulled his arm closer, tilting her head to nestle against his chest as though burrowing into his embrace.

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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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