The Morning Star Baby Wants a Family - Chapter 85

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

Chapter 85
At those words, Hae-na went rigid.
The sudden mention of her name made her heart plummet.
What incident? She’d committed so many transgressions, she couldn’t even guess which one had been discovered.
‘What do I do?’
Should I tell the truth?
Or should I lie again?
Hae-na’s expression shifted to that of a puppy caught misbehaving.
The girl had never been good at deception to begin with.
And trying to deceive her own sister made her conscience prick all the more sharply.
“Sister, it’s just that….”
Hae-na squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them, her words tumbling out hesitantly.
In her mind, conscience and the urge to lie continued their fierce battle.
And naturally, Seowan saw right through the girl’s inner turmoil.
“Hae-na. You mustn’t lie.”
At the firm words, Hae-na’s shoulders trembled. The girl looked up at Seowan with drooping eyes.
It was a pitiable sight, but Seowan didn’t so much as blink, regarding Hae-na with an unyielding gaze.
“The truth is….”
In the end, Hae-na reluctantly confessed what had happened in Gaeyang.
She admitted she’d said she’d stay longer because of Yeon-ri, and that she’d slipped away in the dead of night for about three days to nurse her.
Seowan’s stern expression gradually shifted to shock as Hae-na continued her confession.
“You snuck out in the middle of the night…?”
She murmured softly.
Seowan’s senses were acute. No matter how deeply asleep she’d been, there was no way she wouldn’t have felt the girl slipping away from her side….
“…You!”
Realizing the implications, Seowan’s eyes widened.
Hae-na clasped her hands together and shook her head frantically.
“What if you’d been discovered? And besides, using a power you’re not even accustomed to like that….”
Seowan furrowed her brow and pressed her fingers to her forehead.
She didn’t even know where to begin her reproach.
Hae-na fidgeted nervously, watching Seowan’s expression. Then her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Come to think of it, back then.”
“….”
“Wasn’t it a full moon?”
“Hiccup.”
An involuntary hiccup escaped. That alone was answer enough.
“Hae-na!”
Seowan’s angry voice rang out.
Hae-na squeezed her eyes shut, trembling violently.
It was the first time her sister had called her by her full name in such a terrifying tone. But with her guilt laid bare, there was nothing to be done.
“I’m sorry….”
Hae-na’s voice grew smaller and smaller as she spoke.
Seowan exhaled deeply.
I tried to calm myself.
Simply scolding a child was not good discipline. Besides, she was only eight years old.
A child who occasionally misbehaved and earned punishment was far healthier than one who never caused trouble at all.
‘…Still, this is different.’
She would have preferred if Hae-na had merely punched a hole in the door or broken a jar.
As the saying goes, the quiet cat jumps on the stove first—and my usually well-behaved sister’s transgression had been far too grave.
As I prepared to sigh once more, I caught sight of Hae-na trembling before me.
Swallowing the sigh, I shifted my seat to sit beside her.
Then I extended my hand to the child.
“…?”
Hae-na looked up at me with eyes wide with fear.
Seeing her bewildered expression, I offered her a small smile.
“Your hand. Give it to me.”
Hae-na hesitantly withdrew her hand from her lap and placed it in mine.
I covered her small, cold, trembling hand with my other palm.
My warm, large hand gently kneaded the child’s fingers.
“Do you know how much Pagun Seongggun understands?”
My voice was calm. Hae-na, who had been hesitant, carefully opened her mouth.
“Perhaps he doesn’t know that I can use the power of Tamlang Seongggun and Geomun. But as for other things….”
At those words, my hand stilled for a moment.
But I relaxed my grip and covered Hae-na’s hand once more.
“Why did you do it?”
Hae-na was not a child who broke promises carelessly.
There must have been a reason she had no choice.
My calm voice carried both unwavering trust and warm support.
Hae-na lifted her drooping head and slowly began to speak.
“…At first, I just wanted to help a little because he looked like he was in so much pain.”
“….”
“But… Pagun Seongggun almost died.”
Hae-na’s voice trembled at the end.
“I couldn’t just leave it. I didn’t even think to call you or anyone else—I just knew I couldn’t let things stay as they were….”
Hae-na breathed in short, rapid gasps.
The image of Yeon-ri, pale as death and frozen without the slightest movement, was still vivid in my mind.
“I see.”
Seowan’s reply came back matter-of-factly. It was not an angry tone, but neither was it praise.
Hae-na bit at the tender flesh inside her lip.
It had certainly been dangerous, and it was something worthy of Seowan’s reprimand.
Yet I could not bring myself to say that I was wrong, only that I was sorry.
Guilt flickered across the child’s face. Seowan regarded Hae-na with troubled eyes.
“You did do the right thing. I don’t wish to punish you for that fact itself.”
Choosing what was right even at the cost of loss was undoubtedly one of Hae-na’s greatest strengths.
Nor had that choice always brought her poor outcomes.
Escaping the stigma of treason, surviving the collapse of the Underground Cave—none of it would have been possible had Hae-na not made virtuous choices.
“But Hae-na. The right choice does not always lead to a good result.”
Until now, fortune had favored the child.
Yet I could not guarantee it would continue to do so.
“Of course, you’ve steeled yourself in your own way. But circumstances may arise that exceed even your resolve.”
“….”
“Pagun Seongggun could have coveted your strength, killed me, and abducted you. Would you have no regrets about what you did, even if that had come to pass?”
At those words, Hae-na’s face drained of color.
When she aided Hwi-seo, when she saved Yeon-ri, Hae-na had imagined the worst.
But that was only her own safety—she had never considered that such calamity might extend its hand toward her sister.
“No, no….”
Hae-na shook her head frantically.
The thought that I might die was less terrifying than the thought that Seowan might die.
And Seowan felt precisely the same.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Seowan gently stroked Hae-na’s hand.
Hae-na gripped the rough, scarred palm tightly.
“The strength you possess is indeed strength, but it is also a weakness. Helping others is a good thing, but revealing your weakness to just anyone is far too dangerous.”
“….”
“To trust people freely and give your heart without reservation is truly precious. But anyone, when desperate enough, will make a terrible choice.”
“….”
“You must understand that deeply, Hae-na.”
Seowan’s gaze grew grave.
One must not trust people easily.
It was a lesson life had carved into Seowan’s very bones, and the reason she had survived this long.
Hae-na looked up at her sister with a stricken expression.
Seowan had said that trusting and giving one’s heart was precious, yet her words sounded precisely like: trust no one.
“Is everyone like that? Every single person without exception?”
Hae-na asked in a deflated voice.
Just as Seowan was about to nod, the child lifted her gaze.
“Even you, sister?”
In Hae-na’s face asking this lay sorrow and loneliness in abundance.
“Cheon-eul, Hwi-seo, Chung-yeon and Chung-su, everyone at the Residence…. Must I suspect them all?”
At the continued words, Seowan could not answer.
She had lived that way. She had never once thought her conviction was wrong.
But I had never intended to tell Hae-na to live a life identical to mine.
Because that would be far too….
“I’m frightened….”
Hae-na whispered the words through quiet sobs.

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