The Morning Star Baby Wants a Family - Chapter 55

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 55
Just as it had been at the inn where we first stopped, things proceeded far more smoothly once Hae-na stepped forward.
“You’re looking for your sister? Ah, that young lady!”
The small, round-faced child spoke with such earnest sincerity that it was difficult to doubt her words.
This innkeeper too readily agreed with Hae-na’s explanation and easily pointed out the location—the end room on the upper floor.
“Come here.”
At the foot of the stairs leading upward, Seowan opened his arms to the child. Hae-na nestled into them with practiced ease.
Seowan, cradling the child snugly against his chest, climbed the stairs with long, purposeful strides.
Unlike the clamorous first floor, the second floor was remarkably quiet.
Seowan’s eyes sharpened. She was heading straight for the end room when she reached for the door—
Creak.
Before Seowan could even touch the door, the sliding panel swung open.
Startled, Seowan stepped back, and the woman standing beyond the threshold broke into a wide smile.
“Why so surprised, Tamlang Seongggun? Weren’t you looking for me?”
Hwa Yeon-bi’s golden-crimson eyes gleamed with an icy light.
Her composure suggested she had known all along that Seowan would come.
Seowan’s gaze swept rapidly across Yeon-bi and the room beyond.
The modest chamber contained only a few bundles of belongings and not a single servant. Even Yeon-bi’s typically lavish attire had been simplified.
I had suspected it, but to think she truly was Pagun Seongggun.
“What are you doing here?”
Seowan asked sharply. Yeon-bi shrugged and replied.
“My health has seemed to decline of late, so I came to rest. Doesn’t Gaeyang have hot springs with particularly fine waters?”
It was an exceedingly flimsy excuse.
The timing alone, combined with what had transpired the previous day, was far too coincidental to believe.
“And as for you, Tamlang—I’m curious why you sought me out. Are we truly on such intimate terms?”
“A tree caught fire near this inn yesterday. Despite the rain, it wouldn’t extinguish easily.”
Ignoring her transparent deflection, Seowan proceeded directly to the matter at hand.
“I know it was your doing. The waters of Gaeyang drying up so suddenly—that was your work as well.”
Her voice was cool as a veil. At that, Yeon-bi laughed softly.
“My, how could that possibly be my fault?”
The air grew taut and stinging.
Hae-na quietly tilted her head to observe Yeon-bi.
The woman with the striking presence seemed familiar.
Hwa Yeon-bi of Pagun Seongggun. Though our second meeting, I had heard of her many times afterward.
In the book Seowan had written for me about the Royal Family and the Seven Star Army, and in the lessons Chung-su had given.
“As for Cheon-eul… well, there’s no real need to avoid him. The truly dangerous one is someone else.”
When I had asked Chung-su whether I should avoid Cheon-eul as Seowan had written, he answered in a listless tone.
“Rather, avoid Pagun Seongggun. You’ve likely met her once before, so you should remember. A woman with crimson hair and golden-crimson eyes.”
“Why?”
I asked with genuine curiosity. After a moment’s hesitation, Chung-su answered briefly.
‘You’re close with the Second Prince.’
At that time, the Second Prince hadn’t yet broached marriage talks with the Yul Family, but from my first meeting with Hyun-o, I had already discerned he was far from virtuous.
‘Yes, I’ll be careful to avoid him.’
I had nodded with a grave expression.
Fortunately, I hadn’t caught so much as a glimpse of Pagun Seongggun’s crimson hair since then—but today, Hwa Yeon-bi stood directly before my eyes.
While Seowan’s presence brought reassurance, a creeping dread bloomed within me at the thought of what might befall my sister.
I watched Hwa Yeon-bi with my fingers clenched tightly around Seowan’s collar.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Hwa Yeon-bi’s gaze fixed solely upon Seowan, as though I were utterly beneath her notice.
“I’ve done nothing. If such an incident occurred in Gaeyang, surely it would be Tamlang Fortress’s doing, would it not?”
Hwa Yeon-bi spoke with a mocking lilt. Her tone carried an undertone of amusement, yet her eyes remained glacial.
“Intensifying flames is a method Tamlang has employed frequently from the start, is it not? Not to mention desiccating the surroundings.”
“….”
“Tamlang has always resorted to such crude methods. Who can say whether their reckless application of spiritual power might have finally wrought disaster?”
Malice rippled within her curved, golden-red eyes.
“Hmm.”
Hwa Yeon-bi parted her lips slowly, her gaze drifting leisurely beyond the window.
“Even if Tamlang bears no guilt, given that Gaeyang is already parched, surely a fire or two more would hardly be remarkable.”
Hwa Yeon-bi spoke with unhurried ease, her laughter ringing out—a transparent threat.
“You seem to be laboring under a grave misunderstanding.”
In the next instant, Seowan’s iron grip seized Hwa Yeon-bi by the collar.
“I didn’t come here to plead with you. I came to warn you.”
Hwa Yeon-bi’s eyes snapped wide as her throat constricted. Seowan’s voice emerged like a growl.
“No matter how parched Gaeyang becomes, do you truly believe I cannot eliminate you alone?”
“….”
“I came to Gaeyang under the King’s direct command. Should I remove one who defies that command, His Majesty would surely be pleased.”
Hwa Yeon-bi’s complexion drained to ashen as her breath came in gasps.
Her eyes, which had blazed with malice, curved upward in a smile.
“Indeed, a task entrusted by His Majesty.”
“….”
“If I allow Gaeyang’s harvest to be ruined this year and Pagun Seongggun to fall besides… His Majesty would be truly delighted, would he not?”
A strangled laugh escaped Hwa Yeon-bi’s lips. Even as her breath came in gasps, she pressed on with her mockery.
“Go ahead—kill me. It won’t improve your situation one whit.”
Seowan’s hand tensed, sinews rising beneath his skin. Hwa Yeon-bi made a choking sound.
“But can you do it alone?”
Hwa Yeon-bi whispered like a cunning serpent. Her eyes slid past Seowan, fixing upon me.
“Seowan must have something precious he needs to protect.”
The moment her words fell, heat shimmer bloomed from her palms.
Seowan’s expression hardened with terrible resolve as he hurled Hwa Yeon-bi away.
Crash!
“Gasp—cough, cough…!”
Yeon-bi, collapsed on the floor, clutched at her throat and gasped for breath. Her eyes shot daggers at Seowan.
“If you require assistance, I can show you the way.”
Though weaker than Seowan, Yeon-bi was also a member of the Seven Star Army.
She quickly steadied her breathing and rose with elegant grace.
“The Second Prince is deeply concerned about Gaeyang as well. However, because Tamlang showed disrespect to His Highness, he has not yet released his anger.”
A pristine white hand smoothed out the wrinkled fabric of her garment.
Her beautifully shaped eyes, with their slightly upturned corners, fixed upon Seowan.
“I hear the Second Prince has yet to receive an answer?”
Seowan’s expression hardened ominously. Yeon-bi laughed lightly, undeterred by the killing intent that radiated from him.
“I was not speaking of that child alone. The Second Prince faces the same dilemma, does he not?”
At this, Hae-na’s eyes widened in shock. Yeon-bi continued.
“I hear you are searching for a marriage partner, Tamlang Seongggun.”
“….”
“The Second Prince is a man of great strength and compassion. How could he not care for his own wife?”
Hae-na’s head snapped toward Seowan.
Unlike moments before, when she had displayed open hostility, her face now showed the faintest trace of inner conflict.
“That’s not possible!”
The child cried out urgently.
Then Yeon-bi’s gaze turned cold as it fell upon Hae-na.
Hae-na did not yield, meeting Yeon-bi’s stare unflinchingly. And in that moment, a faint spiritual core materialized above her heart.
The child’s tightly clenched mouth opened slightly.
Hae-na blinked her eyes twice.
Yeon-bi’s spiritual core appeared different from Seowan’s.
Though it held a spherical form like his, its shape was incomplete.
Cracks and fractures spread across its surface, revealing dark voids within—like a glass marble on the verge of shattering.
‘Why?’
She tried to examine it more closely, but the spiritual core quickly vanished from sight.
In its place appeared Yeon-bi’s face, her contempt for Hae-na entirely unconcealed.
“You would do well to decide quickly. Time is not abundant.”
With those words, Yeon-bi turned and entered the room.
The door closed behind her, and her figure disappeared beyond the white sliding door.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————