The Morning Star Baby Wants a Family - Chapter 41

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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 41
His trailing words hung suspended in silence. Hyeon-o, smiling like a coiled serpent, continued in his stead.
“Yul Tae-hwan was neither particularly clever nor bold.”
At the mention of a name already consigned to death, Seowan’s brow twitched.
Yul Tae-hwan—a collateral branch of the Yul Family, once the Previous Mistress of Yeom House.
“Do you truly believe Talrang acted entirely of his own volition in such matters?”
At those words, Seowan’s face hardened. Hyeon-o spoke with a gently circling smile.
“Surely you don’t wish for another like him to resurface, do you?”
Seowan stared at Hyeon-o in silence, his pallid visage as unsettling as that of a vengeful spirit.
The air in the room grew parched and brittle.
Hyeon-o rose, a smile playing at his lips, seemingly delighted by Seowan’s fury.
“My, your complexion is quite poor. It seems the illness wasn’t the child’s after all, but yours.”
“….”
“Regrettably, I must take my leave. It would be troublesome if you collapsed before composing your reply.”
Having concluded lightly, Hyeon-o turned his gaze toward Hae-na. She met his eyes directly, unflinching.
At her unwavering stare, his eyes flashed with sudden ferocity. Yet he quickly composed himself and smiled.
“I do hope your answer won’t be delayed. As you know, patience is not among my virtues.”
With that, Hyeon-o departed the office.
Hae-na watched his dark crimson hair disappear from view.
The door closed, leaving only Hae-na and Seowan in the office.
Hae-na bit her lower lip in frustration. He had been disagreeable to the very end.
Then Seowan seized her hand, gripping it with excessive force. His touch was ice-cold.
“Sister?”
“Yes.”
Seowan answered tersely. Her austere expression softened somewhat.
“Don’t worry. You will never be made to marry that man.”
She offered a slight smile meant to reassure Hae-na, but Hae-na could not return it.
The Second Prince was of royal blood. In the Cheonmang Kingdom, only the King and Queen outranked him.
Though no visible radiance emanated from him, an indefinable aura rippled about his form.
“It’s truly all right to refuse…?”
Hae-na asked anxiously. Seowan nodded without hesitation.
“It is. I will handle it.”
“How?”
At that question, Seowan fell silent.
Hae-na dimly understood: if this betrothal were to be broken, Seowan would bear considerable responsibility.
“How will you do it?”
The child’s question had shifted. Yet Seowan shook her head.
“You need not know. Don’t concern yourself.”
“No, I must know.”
Hae-na answered with quiet resolve.
“It’s my decision. You said earlier that my own will is what matters most, didn’t you?”
The child’s eyes gleamed with resolve. Hae-na refused to laugh carelessly while her sister suffered on her account.
“I can’t remain ignorant of everything. Please tell me.”
Seowan exhaled softly.
‘She’s always been like this.’
Hae-na appeared delicate, yet possessed an unwavering core. Even if she fell silent now, she would persist with stubborn questions until the end.
“…I have no intention of joining hands with the Second Prince. He is contemptible and cunning.”
Seowan spoke slowly. Hae-na’s eyes widened as she pressed closer to her sister.
“As you said, one cannot carelessly refuse a royal command. Especially not regarding a marriage.”
The Tae Clan, the royal family of Cheonmang Kingdom, had maintained their position steadfastly throughout more than a thousand years of history.
Even if the Seven Star Army lost a star, the very source of their power would not vanish. But the royal family was different.
The descendants of the sun, the Tae Clan, were nearly demigods.
Unlike other families chosen by the stars each generation, all their descendants were born with the blood of the stars.
Should the Tae Clan be annihilated, the sun would lose its power.
No human, however strong, could survive without the sun.
Hyeon-o, born with power equal to First Prince Un-heon, wielded tremendous authority.
Yet even he was not the foremost in this Cheonmang Kingdom.
“If he does, His Majesty the King need only intervene.”
At Seowan’s calm words, Hae-na’s mouth opened slightly.
His Majesty the King? He was the most noble and busiest person in this realm.
“Would His Majesty truly involve himself in such a matter?”
“He will.”
Seowan answered firmly to Hae-na’s anxious question. She exhaled softly and continued.
“I will resolve a long-standing headache for him.”
The Crown Prince position of Cheonmang Kingdom remained vacant.
The struggle between First Prince Un-heon and Second Prince Hyeon-o over the Crown Prince title continued without resolution.
King Tae Mu-jin wished to make the mild-natured First Prince Un-heon the Crown Prince. This desire was all the stronger because Un-heon was born of the Queen, whom he cherished deeply.
Yet Second Prince Hyeon-o coveted the Crown Prince position with terrifying intensity.
The two princes possessed comparable spiritual power, and the factions supporting each were evenly matched.
Though he could have chosen a side, the fact that Hyeon-o was born of the First Queen from Oseo Kingdom posed a problem.
Oseo Kingdom was a neighboring nation of Cheonmang Kingdom. They possessed no celestial beings, but instead had sorcerers.
Oseo Kingdom, situated in barren and frozen lands, sustained itself through the cruel sorcery of its people.
Cheonmang Kingdom despised them, but except for a select few, the nature and countermeasures of their sorcery remained unknown, making it difficult to become complete enemies.
Cheonmang Kingdom was wary of Oseo Kingdom’s sorcery, while Oseo Kingdom needed Cheonmang Kingdom’s grain.
Thus the two nations formed an alliance, and as its condition, Oseo Kingdom demanded that they send their princess as a concubine to Cheonmang Kingdom’s King.
King Tae Mu-jin loved the Queen dearly. He refused vehemently, but Oseo Kingdom’s will was unyielding.
Petitions poured in daily, and even the Queen pleaded through tears. Eventually, Tae Mu-jin accepted Go Hwa-young, the princess of Oseo Kingdom, as his First Queen.
Second Prince Tae Hyeon-o was the only one among six royals born of the First Queen.
Because of this, Oseo Kingdom and the First Queen gave him their full support, and considerable factions within Cheonmang Kingdom supported him as well.
‘Starting with Pagun Seongggun himself, he is a loyal supporter.’
Given the circumstances, Tae Mu-jin could not hastily take the side of his eldest son.
Mujin had subtly hoped that Seowan would support First Prince Un-heon, but Seowan, unwilling to entangle herself in political strife, had consistently refused.
Yet now the situation had changed.
Having resolved to make an enemy of the Second Prince, I could no longer maintain neutrality as I had been doing.
First Prince Un-heon was hardly the ideal choice. He was the sort to smile enigmatically while concealing his true nature.
But he would make a far better king than Hyeon-o, who shamelessly thrust marriage proposals upon his eight-year-old sister.
Seowan felt an unfamiliar sensation stir within her. She gazed silently at Hae-na, who was looking at her with undivided attention.
Her neutrality until now had stemmed partly from unwillingness to be drawn into tedious political machinations, but also because it mattered little to her who became king.
Seowan had no interest in the world. She harbored no desire for great wealth, nor did she crave immense power.
Whoever ascended to the throne, I would simply fulfill my duties as I did for Tae Mu-jin, without complaint.
No matter how the world turned, at least my own life would continue.
Yet for the first time, I found myself hoping that a more benevolent ruler might emerge.
The rise and fall of a nation hinged upon who sat upon the throne.
I wished for the world in which Hae-na would live to be even slightly better than the one I had known.
“Sister?”
When Seowan fell silent, Hae-na asked with concern, her small hand pressing against Seowan’s forehead.
“Are you all right? Does something hurt?”
Pure worry gleamed in the child’s eyes. Confronted with such blind affection, something strange stirred within me.
“No, I’m fine.”
Yet it was not an unpleasant feeling. Seowan smiled and gently took Hae-na’s hand, lowering it carefully.
‘I should explain this to her.’
Seowan organized the thoughts that had been flowing through her mind. It would be somewhat complex, but the clever child would surely understand.
Having gathered her words, she began her explanation.

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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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