The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 14

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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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The Introverted Heavenly Demon Episode 014
Family
Young Ho Bin shed his slave’s garments shortly after his promotion to my personal bodyguard.
The Sect Leader had issued the order, but it was something I had been considering for some time as well.
“Master!”
Young Ho Bin, now dressed in an elegant martial robe and offering me a respectful bow, looked every bit the capable Martial Artist.
From this point forward, Young Ho Bin would shadow me wherever I went, serving as my hands and feet.
“I suppose we should call you Young Ho Guard now.”
“Oh, Minor Sect Leader. No, please. Call me ‘you fool’ as you did before.”
“There are eyes watching. I cannot do that.”
“I am deeply grateful.”
It was not an unfavorable arrangement for me either.
Young Ho Bin possessed exceptional martial prowess, and his loyalty was beyond question.
It was also true that I owed my life to him.
With a capable bodyguard at my side, I would no longer need to worry so much about threats to my life.
That was all I thought at the time.
However, Young Ho Bin’s usefulness exceeded my imagination.
“Minor Sect Leader. I have brought your meal.”
It was during mealtime, as always, when I was dining in the Minor Sect Leader’s Private Dining Hall.
The Demonic Cult’s cuisine was lavish and abundant, yet I had never once felt at ease while eating.
Four or five Maidservants and Cooks stood behind the table, which made it inevitable.
Given my introverted nature, I found it far more comfortable to eat alone than to dine with others unless they were truly close to me.
Since the Maidservants’ doctrine and regulations required them to serve the Minor Sect Leader in this manner, I could not simply tell them to leave, so I was reluctantly adapting to these uncomfortable meals.
But then.
“Master. Forgive the interruption while you dine, but may I ask you something?”
Young Ho Bin, who had been watching from a distance while I ate, approached and asked carefully.
“What is it?”
“It appears you are uncomfortable with the Maidservants standing nearby while you eat, Master. If it pleases you, shall I have them withdraw?”
“Why would you concern yourself with such a trifle…”
I pretended to decline in order to maintain my act as a bold Minor Sect Leader, then answered with a radiant smile.
“However, if you insist on taking this upon yourself, I shall not stop you.”
“Yes, I shall do so at once.”
Once Young Ho Bin confirmed my wishes, he waved his hand toward the Maidservants and spoke.
“The Minor Sect Leader wishes to dine in peace. All of you, wait outside the dining hall for now.”
“But we must follow the Main Sect’s regulations…”
“Silence! Did you not hear what the Minor Sect Leader just said?”
“Ah, understood.”
There was some resistance as expected, but Young Ho Bin simply ignored it without hesitation.
‘It was this easy?’
This was something I had wanted to do all along but could not.
As the Minor Sect Leader, it would hardly befit my position to insist on being alone and push back against the Maidservants. Such behavior simply wouldn’t do.
But now that Young Ho Bin had stepped forward, everything was resolved in an instant!
‘So this means… I can continue eating alone from now on?’
And he’d scratched exactly where it itched before I even had to mention it!
Young Ho Bin’s remarkable service didn’t end there.
“My lord, perhaps it would be more comfortable if the Maidservants did not observe you when you visit the outhouse?”
“That would be preferable.”
“My lord, if you permit, when you are reading or training in martial arts, the Maidservants could relay any non-urgent matters to me, and I shall report them to you at a later time. Would this arrangement suit you?”
“An excellent idea.”
“My lord, it is customary for designated Maidservants to constantly attend you—to pour your bathwater, change your clothes, comb your hair, and the like—but should any of this prove inconvenient, you need only tell me….”
“An excellent idea. Such attendance is unnecessary.”
“Yes, my lord. If you would provide me with a list of any Maidservants you wish to dismiss, I shall handle the matter discreetly.”
Young Ho Bin was identifying every concern that had weighed on me during my time at the Sun and Moon Divine Sect—without my ever having to voice them.
To others, these might seem trivial matters.
But for someone like me—a power introvert—while they posed no threat to my life, they drained my energy throughout the entire day.
And yet, given my station as Minor Sect Leader, it was difficult to raise such concerns myself.
Young Ho Bin perceived these problems from the subtlest shifts in my expression alone, and handled them without requiring me to lift a finger.
‘Excellent.’
Until recently, I had been constantly harassed by people for twenty-four hours straight, my spirit utterly depleted.
Now I could savor quiet, solitary time whenever I wished—not just during meals, but while reading, bathing, and everything else.
I never imagined that simply choosing the right guard could transform my quality of life so dramatically.
“Young Ho, Martial Artist.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Ever since what happened to the guards last time, I’ve been worried there might be poison in the food.”
“My lord! I shall go directly to the Kitchen and inspect the meal preparation system once more.”
“Rather than that, how about you taste it first, then serve it to me?”
“Ah!”
“What are you waiting for? Eat.”
“Yes, my lord. I am honored.”
Though I phrased it that way for the sake of appearances.
The Minor Sect Leader’s meals were so luxurious that an ordinary Martial Artist like Young Ho Bin would never witness such abundance in a lifetime.
Young Ho Bin’s perceptiveness was keen enough to recognize that I was bestowing a reward for his exceptional service.
“There is no poison, my lord. Please eat with ease.”
“Is that so? Try this one as well.”
“I obey!”
The fellow certainly enjoys his food.
“No poison, my lord!”
“What is your assessment of the taste?”
“Truly delicious….”

* * *
“Bring me some medicine to heal wounds and some to mend bones.”
“Yes, Minor Sect Leader.”
The new Steward complied with my orders, though his eyes betrayed his confusion.
He must have wondered what such medicines were for.
Perhaps he thought I had injured someone because of Cheon Ma.
“You may go now.”
After dismissing the Steward, I waited for a moment when no one was watching before slipping quietly out of Jeokwol Palace.
Then I made my way toward the fence near the Back Garden.
‘What if it’s already disappeared somewhere? What if a cat took it?’
But it wasn’t long before I discovered a small creature writhing on the ground.
Thank goodness.
After confirming there was nothing else around, I approached it.
‘Poor thing, how much pain you must be in. There, there, be a good one.’
Beneath a tree near the fence, a baby bird—barely larger than my thumb—was struggling desperately.
I had found it earlier while taking a walk through the Back Garden to clear my head.
It had fallen from its nest in the tree above, its leg broken and covered in blood.
Seeing the small creature writhe and cry out in pain from its shattered leg, my heart could not bear to leave it.
I carefully picked up the baby bird, aligned the broken bone, applied the medicine the Steward had given me, fashioned a splint, and wrapped it with bandages.
Each time the bird chirped pitifully, I gently nodded my head to soothe it.
Once the treatment was complete, I carefully climbed the tree and placed the baby bird back in its nest.
The mother bird circled overhead, fluttering her wings.
Watching the scene, I smiled with quiet contentment.
“There we go.”
I jumped down from the tree and looked around.
Fortunately, no one was there.
It wasn’t a wicked deed, but it was something I didn’t want anyone to see.
“Ahem. Live well, little one.”
After all, I am the ruthless Minor Sect Leader of the Demonic Cult.
‘I need to prepare now.’
I hurried back to my Residence to dress properly and make my preparations.
The Sect Leader invites his family for lunch once a month.
Today was the day I would finally meet the Sect Leader and his entire family all at once.

* * *
In the Main Hall of Jeokwol Palace, where the direct family of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect’s Sect Leader resided, a large table had been arranged.
The Sect Leader had not yet arrived, and it appeared I was the first to come.
As I moved toward my seat, someone approached me.
‘Was there someone like this in the family?’
A woman dressed in an ornate robe with her hair pinned up had drawn near.
She appeared to be in her late teens, with soft eyes, skin like white jade, and a delicate frame—altogether quite beautiful.
“Minor Sect Leader! I’m so relieved to see you looking well!”
The woman greeted me with a fist salute and a radiant smile.
For a moment, my heart quickened at the sight of such a beautiful expression.
I reflexively returned the fist salute and replied.
“Miss.”
In that instant, the woman’s face hardened visibly.
She bit her lower lip as if deeply displeased, and soon her face flushed crimson.
Even her voice trembled as she spoke.
“Miss? You called me ‘Miss’? Minor Sect Leader, really….”
“What is the matter? What have I done wrong?”
As I asked this, two more people approached from the opposite direction.
A middle-aged woman in an ornate robe, and a boy who appeared even younger than Baek Yeon, who was eleven.
Jang Su Ryeon, the Sect Leader’s current wife and Baek Yeon’s stepmother.
“I pay my respects, Mother.”
The boy beside her was Baek Hyeon, Baek Yeon’s younger brother by three years, born of Jang Su Ryeon.
Though I was seeing his face for the first time, I had heard much about him.
“Be seated.”
Since they were not bound by blood, the relationship between Baek Yeon and Jang Su Ryeon appeared inherently strained.
She regarded Baek Yeon as a rival to her own son, Baek Hyeon.
Should Baek Yeon step down from the position of Minor Sect Leader, Baek Hyeon would take his place.
“Elder Brother! I hope you have been well?”
“Yes. And you, Hyeon—have you been well?”
Yet Baek Hyeon was still too young to comprehend such matters, and to my eyes, he appeared merely endearing.
However.
“So Cheong, why do you have such an expression?”
“It is nothing, Mother.”
I was startled.
The woman who had spoken to me earlier—whom I had momentarily forgotten—had just called Jang Su Ryeon “Mother.”
“Sister So Cheong! You look even lovelier today.”
“Thank you. My, how dignified you’ve become in the time since we last met, Hyeon.”
“Hehe.”
“Come, be seated as well. Are you not the Sect Leader’s child, even if born of a concubine?”
“…Yes.”
“Mother, what is a concubine’s daughter?”
Listening to their conversation, I was left utterly speechless.
So that woman called So Cheong was Baek Mu Myeong’s daughter from a concubine.
I had no idea that Baek Mu Myeong had a daughter by that name.
Naturally, I retained no memories of Baek Yeon’s past, and no one in the household had mentioned her all this time.
‘Wait, then that woman is my older sister….’
Only then did I understand why the woman had worn such a displeased expression toward me earlier.
Baek So Cheong had believed that Baek Yeon looked down upon her for being born of a concubine.
I should have addressed her as my sister, yet I had called her “Miss” as though she were a stranger.
She was already so marginalized that no one in the family even mentioned her, and now her own younger brother….
“Brother, why has your face turned so red?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Baek Hyeon.”
My face had flushed even deeper than Baek So Cheong’s had moments before.
When I stole a glance at her, her expression was glacial.
She refused to even meet my eyes.
There was no chance she would believe me now if I claimed it was unintentional.
“The Sect Leader has arrived.”
With that, the Sect Leader appeared, and a modest family meal commenced.
The Sect Leader was not one for excessive conversation, nor was he the type to inquire warmly after others’ wellbeing.
As a result, the discourse at the table was primarily guided by Jang Su Ryeon, the Sect Leader’s wife.
“There has been considerable talk about the Minor Sect Leader recently within the sect. That he is Cheon Ma, that he is inherently wicked, and so forth….”
Though the remarks were primarily about me, I found myself unable to truly listen.
My heart remained unsettled by the offense I had committed against my older sister Baek So Cheong moments before.
“However, I have observed Yeon since childhood and know him well. He may be Cheon Ma, but his heart is genuinely kind.”
Yet I could not help but listen to these words.

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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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