The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 64

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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 64
* * *
With each passing day, the daylight grew shorter, and now the nights had turned so cold that a brazier was essential for sleep.
I had never anticipated staying this long, so I’d brought only a few thin garments. Yet So Bu-in had somehow procured several thick robes from Bang-ui-gak, the finest clothier in Hui-ju, tailoring them to fit me perfectly.
For reasons I couldn’t fathom, she seemed delighted as she had me try on each new garment. Yalyu, who had filled an entire sheet of paper with notes, showed them to me.
“These look good. Hmm, hmm… oh, there’s a stroke missing here.”
I waved my hand at Yalyu as he picked up his brush again.
“Let’s rest now.”
Yalyu nodded and set down his brush. Seeing the exhaustion etched across his face, I broached the subject.
“Don’t you think you could stop watching over me all night? How much longer are you planning to take turns with the Female Servant?”
“I can’t.”
“Well, if you’re worried, couldn’t you just bind my wrists and let me sleep so I can’t move around?”
Yalyu hesitated before speaking carefully.
“Your sleep habits are quite… severe.”
“Really? How severe?”
“…You make a full rotation…”
“That’s a lie.”
…
“Seriously?”
Yalyu’s silence confirmed it was true.
My sleep habits were that bad?
I was genuinely shocked.
I’d always believed I slept peacefully! And the Female Servant and Yalyu had been watching me every single night! On top of that, I’d been sleeping beside my father all this time!
Overwhelmed by mortification, I covered my face with one hand.
Just then, the Female Servant’s voice came from beyond the door.
“Young Master has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
The door opened, and Namgung Ryu-cheong swept in, his blue robes billowing.
In the end, I had failed to turn Namgung Ryu-cheong away. Instead, I compromised. I agreed to accept his help during the day for brief periods. During those hours, Yalyu and the Female Servant would rest.
Yalyu and the Female Servant took turns keeping watch beside me through the night. While I could manage a day or two, I couldn’t sustain it indefinitely. They needed rest during the day, and Namgung Ryu-cheong had volunteered to take those shifts.
Honestly, I would have preferred to rely solely on the Female Servant…
How had things come to this?
I studied Namgung Ryu-cheong intently, tilting my head in puzzlement.
“Come to think of it, you’re early today.”
He’d arrived roughly two hours earlier than usual.
“My lessons were pushed to the evening.”
“Ah, so you came early and plan to leave early?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s fine with me. Yalyu, what about you?”
“It’s fine.”
From the moment the Female Servant mentioned that Namgung Ryu-cheong had arrived, Yalyu had been tidying up the surroundings. Once he’d cleared everything around the desk, he stood.
“I’ll go see him.”
“Sure, rest well.”
Fortunately, since the day Yalyu had apologized to me, he hadn’t provoked or teased Namgung Ryu-cheong once.
As a result, Namgung Ryu-cheong had completely lost interest in Yalyu. Even when we crossed paths several days in a row, I couldn’t see them exchange a single word.
Namgung Ryu-cheong glanced over the inkstone and brush that I’d pushed to one side of the floor, then asked.
“Do you need something written for you?”
Though my handwriting was terrible, I couldn’t write at all now with my injured right hand.
“Ah, well, there is something, but that’s not what I was doing today.”
“Then what?”
“I was teaching Yalyu to read and write.”
I’d heard he came from quite a respectable Orthodox Sect family, yet he didn’t know characters at all until this age. A few days ago, when Seok Ga-yak arrived at the Namgung Clan, I’d tried to have Yalyu write a letter confirming his safe arrival, and that’s when I discovered the truth.
What’s more, until then I’d naturally assumed Yalyu could read, so whenever Seo Ha-ryeong and I went out, I’d occasionally give him a few books to read if he was bored.
It was truly thoughtless consideration on my part.
“Teaching him to read and write? Who is he, exactly?”
“Hmm?”
So he hadn’t cared about Yalyu all this time?
Namgung Ryu-cheong asked as if he couldn’t understand.
“He doesn’t seem to be a servant, but he can’t not be one either—he just stays glued to your side all day.”
“Well… I’m not entirely sure myself.”
At my words, Namgung Ryu-cheong raised his eyebrows.
“If you don’t want to say, then don’t.”
But I truly didn’t know how to explain it.
Yalyu was entangled with the Cheon Gwi-jo incident, and my father had rescued and brought him here… it was difficult to explain all this in detail when it was Yalyu’s personal story.
Namgung Ryu-cheong nodded.
“What needs to be written? I’ll do it.”
“No! You’re not writing anything—you’re going somewhere with me today!”
“Going somewhere? Just rest at the Residence Quarter.”
I ignored him and stood up.
“I hurt my hand, not my legs. Besides, if you don’t want to, you can just go back…”
“Wh-wh-wh-when did I say I didn’t want to?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke through gritted teeth.
Watching him suppress his irritation so visibly, I burst out laughing.
“Hahaha.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong glared at me.
He wasn’t usually like this, so I couldn’t understand why teasing Namgung Ryu-cheong was so entertaining. Thinking I shouldn’t push the joke any further, I spoke.
“Hehe, the truth is, I couldn’t ask anyone but you to come along.”
At that, Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression softened a bit.
“Where?”
“Jang-seo-gak!”
* * *
The Jang-seo-gak of the Namgung Clan. As it was a rather important location within the Namgung Clan, the warrior guarding its entrance was quite skilled. Of course, inner energy alone did not determine martial prowess.
The warrior, bowing respectfully upon seeing Namgung Ryu-cheong, asked a question.
“And this young lady is…?”
“She’s coming in with me.”
“Understood.”
I was able to pass through with Namgung Ryu-cheong leading the way.
Upon entering the building, I lowered the veil I had been wearing the entire journey. Shelves were filled with books, scrolls, and bamboo slips. The ancient history of the Namgung Clan seemed to permeate the very air.
As I was surveying the Jang-seo-gak, Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke.
“If you wanted to come here, you could have simply asked Father for an access token, couldn’t you?”
“That would have worked too.”
The Jang-seo-gak was less a typical study and more an archive of documents. In other words, it was an important repository containing rare books that were difficult to find nowadays, along with records pertaining to the Namgung Clan. Naturally, only members of the Namgung Clan could enter freely.
If a visitor sought a book in the Jang-seo-gak, they would typically not be allowed inside. Instead, one would state the title, and a staff member would retrieve it. Honestly, even access tokens were rarely granted, and only to trusted acquaintances.
“I did want to see it, but in the meantime, Seo Ha-ryeong kept visiting every day, so I’ve been busy.”
However, once Namgung Ryu-cheong began staying at my Residence Quarter for about half a day, her visits decreased.
To be precise, she stopped coming during the day and instead visited in the evening after Namgung Ryu-cheong left, eating and playing together before departing. Her avoidance of Namgung Ryu-cheong was so blatant it was almost amusing.
I continued speaking.
“I haven’t been learning to read for very long. So if I said I was going to the Jang-seo-gak, I thought it would seem strange.”
Reading here was difficult and took an extraordinarily long time to learn. And Namgung Wan knew that I had only recently begun learning to read.
But wouldn’t it seem odd if a child who had barely grasped the fundamentals of reading went to the Jang-seo-gak, which was filled with important documents?
‘That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to mention it.’
But if I came with Namgung Ryu-cheong, wouldn’t people assume that Namgung Ryu-cheong would read for me instead?
That was the reason I brought Namgung Ryu-cheong along.
Namgung Ryu-cheong asked.
“You’ve only been learning to read for a short time?”
“Yes. I’ve been learning for just over a month or two?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s bewilderment was written all over her face.
‘Well, it would be strange that a child of the clan hadn’t learned to read by the time she was six.’
But, endearingly, she didn’t ask why. She seemed to assume there was a reason behind it.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke with a stern expression.
“So you want me to read books for you? What book are you looking for?”
“No, I don’t need your help.”
“…?”
“This is a secret, but….”
I looked at Namgung Ryu-cheong with an extremely serious expression.
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression became serious as well.
“The truth is, I’m a genius. So I understand everything without even learning to read. But that would be too strange, so it has to be kept secret!”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression became as if she were looking at a madwoman.
“Hahahaha.”
After laughing heartily while clutching my belly, I hurriedly changed the subject before Namgung Ryu-cheong could get angry.
“Fetch that book for me. The one below it too.”
I commanded Namgung Ryu-cheong with merely a gesture of my hand. At first, it felt terribly burdensome, but familiarity had made it second nature.
I settled into a comfortable spot and sat. Shortly after, Namgung Ryu-cheong arrived at my side with the volumes in hand. I brought my index finger to my lips with a grave expression.
“For the record, the fact that I’m literate is truly a secret.”
“Even if everything you say were true.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s eyes betrayed complete disbelief as he set the book down roughly.
“What makes you think I’ll keep your secret?”
“Then you’ll tell?”
“…No.”
“There, you see?”
I continued, as if to prove my point.
“Though the Young Master of the Namgung Clan may lack popularity, he is not a man without integrity.”
“….”
Having silenced Namgung Ryu-cheong, I began leafing through the books I had brought.

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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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