The Morning Star Baby Wants a Family - Chapter 54

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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 54
“To anyone else―”
“I haven’t said anything. I won’t in the future either.”
Hae-na shook her head with quick understanding. At that, Seowan’s expression softened slightly.
“Good.”
Seowan answered curtly and brushed her hand across Hae-na’s hair.
Hae-na gazed up at her intently. Her round, sunset-colored eyes were transparent and clear.
“Your instinct was right. It seems someone has interfered.”
Seowan spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, as though stating the obvious.
“Then what should we do?”
Hae-na asked anxiously. Seowan looked at the child and smiled faintly.
“We’ll find them.”
* * *
The next day, Hae-na held Seowan’s hand as they made their way toward a village.
Near the rice fields bordering the village, a large, charred object was visible—a tree that had been struck by lightning yesterday and burned to the ground.
“Child, don’t run. You’ll collide with something!”
“Did you hear? Well, the eldest son of the Kim family―”
The village was quite substantial, bustling with people from the entrance. Various shops lined the streets—an inn, street vendors, a bookshop.
Seowan didn’t hesitate, walking directly toward the largest inn in the village.
“Welcome!”
As they entered the two-story inn, a man who appeared to be the proprietor greeted them with a booming voice.
“My goodness, judging by your fine silks, we have distinguished guests arriving this early! It seems word of this humble countryside has even reached the Capital!”
The innkeeper smiled broadly upon seeing Seowan and Hae-na’s silk garments.
“Have you come for a meal? Or perhaps to stay for a few days? Either way, you’ve found the right place. In Yoguang, there’s no inn better than ours for lodging with a young one―”
As the talkative innkeeper continued, Seowan shook her head.
“Spare me the pleasantries. I’ve come to find someone.”
At those words, the innkeeper fell silent. Confusion settled across his weathered face.
“I’m looking for a woman. She has a build similar to mine, red hair, and golden-crimson eyes. Is she staying here?”
As Hae-na listened to Seowan’s description, her eyes widened gradually. It was a face she’d seen before—hazy, but unmistakably familiar.
“You said word had reached the Capital, didn’t you? It’s unlikely you’d say that about just me and this child alone, so you must have seen others who appeared to come from the Capital as well.”
Her words continued, delivered so bluntly they bordered on a threat.
The innkeeper’s expression soured. His face now mingled wariness with suspicion.
“Why are you searching for such a person?”
The man’s eyes narrowed.
His gaze toward Seowan had shifted from that of a gracious host to one regarding a suspicious character.
Seowan accepted that look with practiced ease. During her years as a wanderer, she’d grown weary of searching for people.
Nearly every time she inquired about someone’s whereabouts, people wore expressions much like this innkeeper’s.
Extracting answers from them was simple.
‘Threaten them, or persuade them.’
Seowan’s gaze swept lightly across the inn. It was spacious, with expensive vases and hanging scrolls visible throughout.
Just as Seowan finished her assessment and reached into her pouch to retrieve the money purse, it happened.
“That’s, that’s our older sister!”
Hae-na, who had been clinging to Seowan’s leg, suddenly blurted out.
Both adults frowned simultaneously, looking down at the child.
Hae-na continued with spirited determination.
“Our family runs a business in Okryeong, but it wasn’t doing well, so we were planning to move to Gaeyang where there are more people.”
“….”
“None of our family had ever been to Gaeyang before, so our older sister said she’d go first to scout it out. But after she arrived in Gaeyang, we haven’t heard from her….”
Despite Hae-na’s explanation, the Kitchen Master’s eyes remained skeptical. He pointed a finger at Seowan.
“Then who is this woman who came with you?”
“She’s our eldest sister! The sister we’re looking for is our second sister.”
“Don’t you think you look too different to be sisters? You said she had red hair and crimson eyes, but your sister….”
“Our second sister takes after our mother completely. Our eldest sister looks exactly like our father.”
“And what about you?”
“I, I also have crimson eyes. Look closely.”
Hae-na opened her eyes wide for emphasis. The Kitchen Master’s skeptical gaze fixed intently on the child.
“Tsk, tsk.”
After staring for a long moment, the Kitchen Master clicked his tongue. Just as Seowan was about to step forward, thinking he didn’t believe them, the man suddenly turned his head away.
“Well, well! You certainly do care for your younger sister! Calling those carrot-like eyes crimson, are you?”
The Kitchen Master burst into hearty laughter. Both Seowan and Hae-na were momentarily at a loss for words.
‘C, carrot-like eyes?’
I had never once thought of it that way. Hae-na fell quietly into shock.
Seowan, for her part, was equally exasperated. The eyes of the person she was searching for were truly crimson in color.
Eyes blending golden and deep rose hues held the color of blazing flames. She was about to correct him when—
“If you’d explained it like this from the start, there would have been no problem. Why did you speak so menacingly? I nearly handed you over to the Government Office as a suspicious character!”
The Kitchen Master chided them, his voice still tinged with laughter.
Even if they’d been taken to the Government Office, it wouldn’t have been a disaster, but it would have wasted time.
I had no desire to invite unnecessary trouble.
Especially not when the Innkeeper was already misunderstanding things in a favorable direction on his own.
‘Well, not entirely on his own, perhaps.’
Seowan’s gaze turned toward Hae-na. Her usually impassive eyes softened.
“It seems the youngest of you three sisters is the cleverest. Your family business won’t fail anytime soon!”
The Innkeeper, noticing her gaze, chuckled and spoke. Seowan smiled quietly in response.
“So, about our sister, did you perhaps….”
“Ah, yes. Yes. Wait a moment. A woman, you say? Hmm….”
At Hae-na’s urging, the Innkeeper nodded.
“She’s not staying at our inn, but I have heard news of her. A red-haired woman entered Gaeyang not long ago.”
At those words, Hae-na’s eyes widened in rapt attention.
“She apparently came with quite a large cargo wagon, which made everyone curious. From what I heard, it was all merchandise for trade.”
The Innkeeper nodded knowingly. Hae-na’s and Seowan’s gazes met in midair.
“Do you happen to know where that woman is right now? Is she really conducting business?”
Hae-na asked quickly. The Kitchen Master shook his head.
“No, after dropping her things at the inn, she’s been wandering around Gaeyang here and there. I wondered why she came with such light luggage, but it seems she’s looking for a place to settle….”
The Kitchen Master made understanding sounds again—mm, mm. Seowan, whose eyes met Hae-na’s, gave a small nod.
Hae-na’s face brightened considerably. The child asked with both hands clasped tightly together.
“Then sir, do you happen to know where she’s staying?”
* * *
The Innkeeper was a talkative and affable man from start to finish.
After explaining the inn’s name and location in detail, he patted Hae-na’s head, remarking that such a small thing was quite clever.
“Over there, just head that way! Next time, come to my place. I’ll give you a good rate!”
Accompanied by the Innkeeper’s loud farewell, the two left the inn.
Some distance from the inn, Seowan asked quietly.
“How did you come up with such an idea?”
Hae-na, who had been walking with a pleased smile, faltered.
“Well, actually….”
The confidence from before vanished, and her voice grew small.
“When I lived in the Yeon Family before, a servant girl once brought back a husband who had run away like this.”
Hae-na spoke hesitantly, testing the waters.
“He was my older brother, and he left saying he’d do business, but then there was no word from him, so she came looking for him, saying… I heard her say that.”
“….”
“It suddenly came to mind…. I won’t do it again next time.”
Hae-na rarely brought up stories about the Yeon Family in front of Seowan.
This time too, Seowan’s expression stiffened slightly. But she quickly softened it.
“No, you did well. Thanks to you, things worked out easily.”
At Seowan’s praise, Hae-na’s face, which had been shrinking with anxiety, relaxed.
The child, who had been walking with a giggling laugh, stopped upon noticing something.
Beside a large willow tree, a sharply pitched roof and yellow lanterns hanging from the eaves.
“It’s here, sister.”

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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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