The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 340

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

Special Side Story Episode 10
* * *
Baek Li Se-hwa, who had been cradled in Namgung Ryu-cheong’s arms, descended and spoke in a cold tone.
“Nak-nak flew away, and Namgung Hee chased after it and disappeared.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong lifted his gaze to the white hawk soaring through the sky. The white hawk, as if frightened, climbed higher into the vast expanse above.
“That bird is trouble again. Sigh, I told you so. No matter how I think about it, Jeggal Hwa-mu must have done something to Namgung Hee.”
Namgung Hee, who had been nestled in Baek Li-yeon’s embrace, startled and lifted his head.
“Oh, Father. Whimper. No, it’s Nak-nak’s fault. Don’t confine Nak-nak.”
“Namgung Hee.”
At the stern voice, Namgung Hee rushed to his father.
“Father, I was wrong.”
As Namgung Hee clung to him with glistening eyes, whimpering apologies, Namgung Ryu-cheong’s stern lips melted like taffy on a sweltering summer day.
Baek Li-yeon clicked her tongue inwardly. Namgung Ryu-cheong was desperate to make amends with his eldest daughter, Baek Li Se-hwa, yet granted his second child, Namgung Hee, everything she asked for—a troublesome contradiction.
Eventually, Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke in a softened voice.
“Very well. Namgung Hee, from now on…”
“Father.”
Baek Li Se-hwa’s bright hazel eyes regarded her father with an unexpectedly composed gaze.
At that look, Namgung Ryu-cheong suddenly came to his senses and spoke.
“Namgung Hee, no matter what, I cannot overlook this. What would have happened if something serious had occurred?”
Namgung Hee hung her head dejectedly, biting her lip as she cast an aggrieved glance toward her elder sister. But Baek Li Se-hwa didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow.
Namgung Ryu-cheong continued with a stern expression.
“This is neither the Namgung Clan nor the Baek Li Family. I told you countless times to be careful before we came here. If something had gone wrong, it wouldn’t have ended with just you being punished. You didn’t listen to a word I said.”
“No, that’s not true.”
“From today onward, you will copy the family precepts twenty times every day.”
Namgung Hee’s eyes widened as she clung to her father.
“Whimper, Father. My arm is broken. It hurts.”
At Namgung Hee’s nasal whine, Baek Li Se-hwa spoke coldly.
“Then use your left hand. Using both hands will help your martial arts as well.”
“Oh, Sister!”
“Don’t raise your voice in front of Mother and Father. You need to reflect. I told you that Nak-nak is younger than Gyeol-i, so you must manage it better.”
“But…!”
“But what. Where is my reasoning wrong?”
“….”
Namgung Hee huffed and couldn’t open her mouth.
Baek Li-yeon smiled wryly and shook her head, patting Namgung Hee’s shoulder. Immediately, Namgung Hee clung to Baek Li-yeon’s waist.
“Mother, Sister is too harsh.”
“Namgung Hee, your sister is not wrong. But writing with your left hand will be difficult, so I’ll reduce it to ten times instead….”
Namgung Hee’s expression brightened as if only Mother understood.
Baek Li-yeon continued.
“Instead, have Hwa-a supervise you next to you to ensure you write all ten correctly.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Oh, Mom!”
Baek Li Se-hwa turned to look at Namgung Ryu-cheong and spoke.
“Father, let’s go see Grandmother now. We haven’t paid our respects yet.”
“Very well.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong gazed at Namgung Hee with a sorrowful expression, then, urged on by Baek Li Se-hwa, took her hand and left the Byeolchae first.
Watching them depart, Namgung Hee, whose lips had been twisted in a pout, stretched out his left hand toward his mother and spoke.
“Mom, hold me. I can’t walk.”
As Baek Li-yeon lifted Namgung Hee into her arms, Nak-nak, who had been hovering cautiously overhead until now, descended and perched on Baek Li-yeon’s left arm. Then, as if apologizing, it rubbed its beak against Namgung Hee’s arm. Namgung Hee tapped the crown of its head with his finger in mock reproach.
“You got me in trouble! It’s your fault!”
As Nak-nak turned its beak away pretending not to hear, Namgung Hee grabbed the beak and tried to turn it back. While he was playing with Nak-nak in this manner, Namgung Hee suddenly whispered in a small voice.
“That’s right, Mom.”
Baek Li-yeon, observing Namgung Hee’s expression, spoke.
“Is there something you forgot to say?”
“Well, that man… he asked me to tell you something.”
“…What was it?”
Namgung Hee bit his lip.
Eyes as dark as an abyss where not a single glimmer of light could be found. It was a gaze that sent shivers down one’s spine.
Was this what the eyes of a fiend looked like? No, it was something different from that. He sensed a faint interest in himself from that man, yet he could tell that even that interest held no value to him whatsoever.
Namgung Hee did not wish to relay the words of such a madman to his mother. Yet if he did not, he feared he would suffer nightmares.
Namgung Hee looked at his mother and thought.
‘Mother is stronger than me.’
Besides, hadn’t that villain fled the moment Mother arrived? So it would be fine.
Namgung Hee relayed the man’s words.
“‘If you have regrets in this life, come find me,’ he said.”
In that instant, Mother stopped walking. Then she turned her head and gazed up at the distant mountain ridge. Her body remained here, but her gaze seemed to have departed to somewhere very far away.
Namgung Hee, seized by an inexplicable unease, tugged at the hem of his mother’s robe.
“Mom, Mom, what does that mean?”
Mother’s gaze slowly returned, and when he met her eyes looking down at him, he could finally feel reassured.
Mother smiled with a bittersweet yet refreshing expression and spoke.
“It means nothing like that will happen again.”
“Pardon?”
“In other words, even if your sister eats all the snacks the Palace Master prepared for you, she won’t make them again.”
“Oh no! My snacks!”
* * *
“I apologize.”
Clink.
The hand setting down the teacup moved with a sharp edge.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke with a dark expression.
“If it were a matter of such gravity, shouldn’t you have informed us in advance?”
“….”
“Everyone said the Five Moon Palace was dangerous, that it couldn’t be trusted. Yet I believed in you, Palace Master. But….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had paused mid-sentence, completed his uncomfortable thought.
“I’m deeply disappointed.”
“….”
The Owol Palace Master lowered her gaze in silence.
At that moment, Baek Li-yeon placed her hand upon Namgung Ryu-cheong’s.
“There must have been a reason you couldn’t speak of it. Perhaps… he asked you not to tell.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression grew sullen, as if he wanted to say something more, but he soon clamped his lips shut, stared ahead, then turned away.
Baek Li-yeon smiled faintly.
His temperament had certainly softened. In the past, he would have lashed out recklessly and then departed with the children.
The Owol Palace Master spoke.
“His visit was entirely unexpected for us as well. He appeared here suddenly just days ago.”
“We did arrive earlier than scheduled.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong regarded Baek Li-yeon with displeasure. She offered him a slight smile before lifting her teacup.
Regardless of the reasons, I had grown up without my mother’s love and endured painful days. That past could not be compensated for by anything, so I harbored no intention of rekindling a mother-daughter relationship now. But my children were different. I wished to allow them to forge many kinds of bonds.
Maintaining contact with the Five Moon Palace and making this visit stemmed from that desire—so my children could come to know a wider world, form relationships with diverse people, and hear and feel their stories.
Baek Li-yeon set down her teacup and spoke.
“But Palace Master, if anything had happened to Namgung Hee, I would not have left the Five Moon Palace unscathed.”
The Owol Palace Master, who had been silent with lowered eyes for a moment, spoke again.
“He was gravely injured.”
“Yalyu was wounded?”
“Yes. The Crown Prince has perished. Yalyu… he has become Cheon-ma.”
“…!”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s eyes widened. Yet Baek Li-yeon’s reaction was subdued.
Namgung Ryu-cheong turned to look at her and asked.
“You knew?”
“No, but I suspected as much.”
“How?”
Baek Li-yeon answered only with a smile.
Namgung Ryu-cheong wiped his face and rose abruptly.
“This is not the time for this. We must return at once and…”
“So Ga-ju, compose yourself.”
The Owol Palace Master stopped him.
“There is no immediate grave concern. Or perhaps… there won’t be in the future either.”
“In the future as well?”
“For now, we will focus on treating his injuries for some time, and furthermore….”
The Owol Palace Master’s brow furrowed with tension. She seemed to deliberate over her next words. At last, she continued.
“He shows no interest in the way of the world. More precisely, he appears indifferent to everything.”
The way of the world—the ideal realm that the Demonic Cult spoke of, where the Cheon-ma’s vision of establishing Demonic Cult dominion over all was realized.
“What made you think that way?”
Before the Owol Palace Master could answer, Baek Li-yeon interjected.
“Did Yalyu say he would leave the Five Moon Palace alone?”
“…Yes.”
The Five Moon Palace claimed independence and maintained a position of neutrality, but from the Demonic Cult’s perspective, it was merely the largest group of traitors.
Namgung Ryu-cheong turned to Baek Li-yeon and asked.
“Did you guess this as well?”
Baek Li-yeon continued her questioning toward the Owol Palace Master.
“In the past, did you perhaps help him at some point?”
“…I did. The interior of the Demonic Cult is a den of malevolent spirits. Even for those with power, a single moment of carelessness brings death, and only those who trample others can survive. That child endured well, but he could not evade every scheme.”
“That must be the reason then.”
“However, that was because we had made a promise with each other. I had invested in him, so I merely wished to preserve that investment….”
“The reason doesn’t matter. He never forgets the debt of a life saved, whether the other party wishes it or not.”
Just as I had tried to help my father by killing Cheon Gwi-jo.

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