The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 79
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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 79
“What kind of reckless talk is that…”
Yalyu cut me off, his tone urgent.
“You won’t live long?”
Cheonsan Yeom-je did not answer that question.
“Starting tomorrow, we will resume training. This time, we will also focus on physical conditioning.”
With those words, Cheonsan Yeom-je completely left the Residence Quarter.
Once Cheonsan Yeom-je had completely disappeared from view, Yalyu turned to look at me.
“What was all that about?”
“Hm? Nothing much. Just telling me to be careful going forward.”
“…Is that really all?”
“Yes.”
Yalyu’s gaze felt sharp, but I calmly reached for the broken teacup.
Yalyu exhaled a sigh and grabbed my wrist.
“I’ll do it.”
“Let’s do it together.”
“I said I’ll do it.”
“Ah…”
I was pushed back and watched Yalyu.
‘Ah…’
He seems a bit upset.
I rubbed the wrist Yalyu had been holding. Fortunately—or perhaps I should say conveniently—someone arrived to break this awkward atmosphere.
My father, who was opening the door to enter, paused.
“Did your senior visit and leave?”
“Yes.”
“Why is the teacup broken?”
“Cheonsan Yeom-je suddenly broke it.”
“Ah, I see.”
It was fortunate that he was such a willful person—no need for further excuses.
“It’s dangerous. Call the female servant to clean it up.”
After speaking to Yalyu, my father approached me and handed me one of the bundles of papers he was holding.
“A letter has arrived for you.”
“For me?”
I tilted my head in confusion, and suddenly one person came to mind.
Seok Ga-yak.
“Already? A reply has come?”
I was astonished that a response to the letter I had sent before entering Changung Pavilion had arrived so quickly.
“Can you read it? Would you like help?”
“Hm… I’ll try on my own!”
“Very well. Let me know if there’s anything you don’t understand.”
“Yes!”
Father reached out as if to stroke my head, then withdrew his hand. I widened my eyes and caught his retreating hand.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Just because.”
I smiled and squeezed his hand firmly.
Father smiled faintly, withdrew his hand from my grasp, and stroked my head. Even after all this time, he still seemed awkward with displays of affection.
That’s when I caught a glimpse of another letter in Father’s robes.
‘The Baek Li Family?’
It appeared to be correspondence from the clan.
Now that I thought about it, the atmosphere around Father seemed somewhat subdued. His expression rarely changed, so it wasn’t immediately obvious.
Then Father glanced toward the entrance and spoke unexpectedly.
“That child from the Suhyang Sect you mentioned.”
“Seo Ha-ryeong?”
“Yes, that child….”
Bang!
The door burst open with a loud crash, and a booming voice rang out.
“Yeon!”
As always, it was a dramatic entrance.
“The Residence Quarter is so far away! Why did you move it… huh?”
Seo Ha-ryeong, who had rushed in, froze. Father continued speaking calmly.
“I could hear the commotion from quite a distance away. Is this the young lady Seo you mentioned?”
I wondered why he was asking so suddenly. I let out a small laugh and nodded.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Seo Ha-ryeong took a step back. She looked between me and Father, then asked carefully.
“W-who… who is this person?”
Then a Female Servant appeared behind Seo Ha-ryeong, breathing heavily.
“M-Miss Seo, y-you can’t just go in like that, y-you shouldn’t, huff, pant.”
Yalyu, unbothered by all the commotion, picked up a tray and calmly passed by Seo Ha-ryeong to leave the chamber.
I smiled and spoke.
“Say hello. He’s my father.”
After exchanging brief greetings with Seo Ha-ryeong, Father excused himself to give us privacy.
“So, what do you think now that you’ve finally met my father?”
Seo Ha-ryeong was deeply interested in my father.
My father was the protagonist of countless stories. How he killed someone called Madu, how he annihilated an entire Black Blade faction, and so on.
And Seo Ha-ryeong was fascinated by all the rumors and people of Jianghu, especially the strong ones. There was a reason for that. In the story, Seo Ha-ryeong served as the explainer beside Namgung Ryu-cheong.
It was only natural that the more interested you were, the more you would know.
Seo Ha-ryeong clasped her hands together, her eyes gleaming.
“Incredibly….”
“Incredibly?”
“Handsome.”
“…Yes, I’ll admit it.”
Honestly, the moment I opened my eyes after regression, even through the haze of confusion, my first thought was how devastatingly handsome I’d become.
“Listen….”
Seo Ha-ryeong’s cheeks flushed crimson as she twisted her body awkwardly.
What was she doing? Why was she acting like that?
Whether she noticed my puzzled gaze or not, Seo Ha-ryeong continued speaking.
“Could you ask your senior to give me a sparring lesson sometime?”
“…I’ll ask Father about it.”
“Eek!”
Seo Ha-ryeong, clutching my hand, bounced up and down excitedly. She was genuinely passionate about the blade. But her bright expression suddenly darkened—a shift so dramatic it bordered on manic depression.
“But then you’re going back to the Baek Li Estate now?”
The moment she said that, I recalled the letter Father had been holding—one that had arrived from the Baek Li Estate. Thinking of it made my chest tighten slightly.
“Probably, yes.”
“….”
“But I’m not leaving right away, so don’t worry.”
“When are you leaving?”
“When the weather clears?”
It was the depths of winter now—a terrible season for travel. Uncle Namgung Wan had told Father to spend this winter here and depart in spring, and Father had gratefully accepted.
Yet even with my assurance that I wasn’t leaving immediately, Seo Ha-ryeong’s dejected expression didn’t brighten. It was unfortunate, but for her sake, it was better that I leave.
‘Once I’m gone, she’ll grow closer to Namgung Ryu-cheong.’
Otherwise, Namgung Ryu-cheong would lose his only childhood friend.
After a brief silence, Seo Ha-ryeong spoke again.
“So when are we going out to play?”
“Going out to play?”
Seo Ha-ryeong’s eyes widened as she raised her voice.
“Did you forget? You promised we’d go out together!”
“Huh?”
“How could you forget that!”
Had I made such a promise? I searched my memory. It seemed like something I’d casually said while refusing when she asked me to go with her back to the Suhyang Sect….
I’d thrown out those words just to placate her, but apparently Seo Ha-ryeong had taken it as a genuine promise.
Seo Ha-ryeong cried out indignantly.
“I even asked Mother for extra spending money for the outing!”
So she’d gone home on the pretext of Mother’s birthday and squeezed money out of her?
In any case, her pouting cheeks looked so adorable that I laughed and spoke.
“Oh my, did you really?”
“….”
“…Alright. Let me ask Father right now.”
* * *
The next day. Strike while the iron is hot—I decided to go out with Seo Ha-ryeong immediately.
Father readily granted permission. Hui-ju, where the Namgung Clan resided, had excellent security. It was only natural that no one would dare commit crimes practically on the Namgung Clan’s doorstep.
It wasn’t a dangerous place, and Father seemed pleased that I was going out to play with a close friend.
Yalyu decided to come along as well.
“Yeon!”
Seo Ha-ryeong crossed the courtyard in an instant, speaking without a hint of breathlessness.
“I heard! You sparred with the Namgung young master and won! I wish I could have seen it!”
I responded with a flustered expression.
“Who told you that? I lost.”
“What? I heard you won!”
“No, I lost.”
That’s when Yalyu interjected with an indifferent face.
“You won.”
Why was he like this?
Yalyu continued.
“You’ve only just recovered your health.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve been holding a sword since you could walk, yet the fact that someone who’s only trained for a few months managed to seize your wrist is shameful in itself.”
A faint sneer played at the corners of Yalyu’s mouth.
“I wouldn’t consider that a victory.”
“But there’s no need to call it shameful…”
As I was speaking, I felt an inexplicable chill and looked up, my words catching in my throat.
‘Is this destiny?’
Could it be that the novel’s setting was deliberately trying to make those two sworn enemies sharpening their blades against each other?
If not, then why—of all times—did Namgung Ryu-cheong have to show up now?!
To my silent scream, Yalyu tilted his head and looked at me.
“What’s wrong?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong answered Yalyu’s question.
“That’s right, you lost. If we’re talking about victory and defeat, I’d say I won since you didn’t drop your sword, but if we’re talking about the content of the match itself, I think I lost too.”
Yalyu frowned with irritation and turned away. Namgung Ryu-cheong continued with a cold expression.
“But I didn’t find that shameful. I thought you were remarkable.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s gaze turned toward me.
“Only trained for a few months? I see. You don’t even know how skilled your master is.”
Master… could he possibly mean me?
“Huh? Yalyu isn’t a servant.”
That’s when Seo Ha-ryeong interjected without reading the mood.
Well, you’re the only light and salt here.
Taking advantage of the atmosphere Seo Ha-ryeong had cut through, I quickly wedged myself between Yalyu and Namgung Ryu-cheong, waving my hands to get them to distance themselves from each other, and asked.
“Young Master Namgung, is something the matter?”
“No.”
I tilted my head curiously.
Then why did you come?
My expression must have betrayed my thoughts, for Namgung Ryu-cheong continued speaking.
“I heard your condition had improved somewhat, so I simply came to see you.”
“What? Just like that?”
I asked in genuine surprise. This man who never once visited me during my recovery, and now he suddenly appears? Had the sun begun rising in the west?
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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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