The Morning Star Baby Wants a Family - Chapter 82

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

Chapter 82
The night before, Seowan sought out the Separate Quarters.
The Separate Quarters, where Hae-na had once stayed, was originally a guest chamber.
Cheon-eul greeted Seowan in his sleeping clothes, apparently preparing for bed.
Though the visit came at a rather late hour and without warning, Cheon-eul welcomed him graciously.
Seowan sat across from him, studied him for a moment, then spoke.
“Is the First Prince a man worthy of trust?”
Cheon-eul fell silent at the blunt question. Only the faint curve of his lips proved he had heard her words.
“He is a man of keen intellect.”
This was the first thing Cheon-eul said after breaking his silence.
“His temperament is not fierce, and he shows generosity to those beneath him. He would not make an unfit King.”
These were words that could prove dangerous if they spread, yet the chamber remained quiet—all the servants had long since retired to their quarters.
Seowan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Then why did you support the First Prince?”
“Because it benefits me.”
Cheon-eul answered smoothly.
“I am of the Queen Mother’s relatives. To the Second Prince, I lack the bloodline value worth his patronage.”
His voice was gentle yet cold.
It was a side he never showed Hae-na, and the reason Seowan had never fully trusted him.
“Is that all?”
Seowan pressed further.
She needed more than that from him.
A reason greater than mere self-preservation.
Cheon-eul smiled faintly, as though he had read Seowan’s innermost thoughts.
“Whether the First Prince becomes a sage king remembered throughout history remains to be seen. But he will not become a tyrant who destroys the realm.”
It was answer enough. Seowan nodded silently and left the Separate Quarters.
If the Second Prince Tae Hyeon-o was a jackal, then the First Prince Tae Yun-heon was a fox.
He wore a mask of virtue and good nature, yet his ambition ran just as deep as his brother’s.
“I thought blood cannot lie.”
Uncle and nephew alike harbored equally dark hearts. So I had clicked my tongue.
Seowan’s gaze turned toward Cheon-eul. Feeling it, he turned his head.
The picturesque smile melted away from his face. His eyes, like foliage catching sunlight, became transparent.
With his true nature laid bare, Cheon-eul could no longer be regarded as a threat.
“Do you favor me so much? I fear you’ve forgotten about this nephew entirely, and now I grow quite forlorn.”
He was not the First Prince.
Un-heon spoke playfully. Seowan smiled faintly without words.
He was not a man to be trusted.
But having decided to board the same ship, it was necessary to show a cooperative attitude.
“Yes. You show me great kindness. I am unworthy of such regard.”
Un-heon’s expression hardened slightly as he listened to Seowan’s words.
Given the attitude he normally displayed, his straightforward answer seemed unexpected.
‘I’m not sure why he’s so surprised.’
Seowan clicked his tongue inwardly as he observed Cheon-eul’s vacant expression, then continued speaking.
“Please be seated, Your Highness. How can a person of such standing remain on their feet?”
“Ah, you’re right. I’ve inadvertently kept both of you standing.”
Un-heon smiled apologetically and took his seat at the head of the table.
A Palace Attendant who had been waiting immediately set down a tea service before him. Un-heon lifted the teacup with grace, then set it down and spoke.
“I must confess, I was quite surprised. My uncle visits often enough, but I never expected Tamlang Seongggun to call upon Nokchung Palace.”
He regarded the two people seated across from him at the round table, his gaze shifting slowly between them.
“The fact that you two have decided to marry was already mentioned in a letter I received some time ago, so you’re not here simply to inform me of that again, I presume.”
A faint smile crossed his weathered face as he looked at Seowan.
“I’m not certain what matter brings you here, but please speak freely. If there is anything I can assist with, I shall do so gladly.”
His smile appeared genuinely warm, yet beneath those kind words lay something far more than simple goodwill.
“Yes. In truth….”
Seowan, who had begun speaking readily, faltered.
Her wide blue eyes fixed upon the tea service.
It was the reflection of the landscape shimmering across the calm water’s surface.
“Tamlang Seongggun?”
Un-heon called out to her as she suddenly fell silent.
I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them again, gazing at the vision visible only to me.
Soon after, I exhaled a long breath and looked up at Un-heon.
“…I beg your pardon, Your Highness. Would it be acceptable if a few more guests were to join us?”
* * *
Moments later, at Nokchung Palace.
…
Hae-na stood tensely amid three pairs of eyes fixed upon me.
The gazes from Cheon-eul and Seowan were manageable.
The problem lay with the remaining person.
“So you are the younger sibling of Tamlang Seongggun, who has been registered into the Yul Family.”
The man seated at the head of the table spoke gently.
Hae-na hastily bowed her head.
“Yes, First Prince, Your Highness.”
Her voice trembled shamefully at the end. It couldn’t be helped.
‘He’s royalty!’
Hwi-seo was a friend, and with the Second Prince, hostility had overcome fear.
But that was all—the Royal Family still represented awe and dread to Hae-na.
And to meet one so suddenly, like roasting beans over a flash of lightning.
Hae-na bit down on the soft flesh inside her lip and kept her head lowered.
Just moments before, at Nok-yo Palace.
‘I can’t. Sister said I must stay at Nok-yo Palace until she comes to fetch me.’
Hae-na boldly refused Yeon-ri’s request.
‘Then why don’t you tell your sister you’ll take me there? Nokchung Palace is right next to Nok-yo Palace.’
Yeon-ri coaxed Hae-na with a honeyed voice, but the child saw through the deception.
Seowan had only told her to wait until he came to fetch her—he’d never said she should go find him herself.
Faced with the child’s stubborn resistance, Yeon-ri found herself in a bind.
She’d entered the Palace specifically after hearing that Seowan and Cheon-eul had gone to the First Prince’s Palace.
To slip in while the two of them were meeting with the First Prince, she had no choice but to use Hae-na.
‘Should I use force?’
She preferred to take the child quietly if possible, but if that wouldn’t work, so be it.
Just as Yeon-ri’s lips curved into a smile with that thought—
Splash.
A round droplet of water surged up from the pond.
Bouncing through the air toward Hae-na, it gently but firmly pushed the child’s back toward Yeon-ri.
Under that soft yet unyielding force, Hae-na stumbled forward several steps.
A cool chill emanated from the water droplet that had touched her back. Yet her clothes didn’t feel damp at all.
‘Brother?’
Only Seowan could do such a thing.
Yeon-ri saw the water droplets hovering in the air and heard every word Hae-na murmured softly.
‘So Tamlang Seongggun has given his permission as well. Now we’re settled, aren’t we?’
Before Hae-na could even protest, her small hand was already clasped in Yeon-ri’s delicate one.
‘Wait, just a moment!’
Hwi-seo, flustered, grabbed Hae-na’s other hand.
He held it firmly, insisting he couldn’t let Hae-na go alone, while Yeon-ri didn’t bat an eye and smiled sweetly.
‘Then shall we all go together?’
And so now, Hae-na had arrived at Nokchung Palace with Yeon-ri, Hwi-seo, and Kwon Court Lady in tow.
“I apologize for this sudden visit, Elder Brother.”
Hwi-seo bowed respectfully to his older brother, still gripping Hae-na’s hand tightly.
“Why speak such words? It is no great matter that you visit my Palace.”
Un-heon replied warmly, his gaze lifting upward where Yeon-ri stood with an elegant smile.
“It has been some time since we last met, Pa-gun Seongggun.”
Eyes of gold identical to Hwi-seo’s curved without warmth.
“Having entered the Palace after so long, I seem to have lost my way. Allow me to assign you a court lady with keen direction—a girl who knows the Western Palace thoroughly. She should prove helpful.”
Though it sounded like kind consideration on the surface, it was a dismissal veiled in subtle mockery.
Yeon-ri understood his meaning at once, but instead of taking offense, she shook her head.
“It is true I lost my way, but fortunately I arrived at my destination safely, so there is no need.”
A flicker of interest crossed Un-heon’s eyes. Yeon-ri continued with a pensive expression.
“Recently my health has not been good, so I have been confined to my residence, but I have not recovered easily.”
“….”
“Therefore, I wish to ask the First Prince for his assistance. Will you hear me out?”

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