The Morning Star Baby Wants a Family - Chapter 89

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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 89
Hae-na, who had been sitting in a chair near the window reading, widened her eyes in surprise.
Her summer dress, woven from pale blue ice silk, fluttered gently in the breeze.
“What is it? I heard Cheon-eul has returned to Yeoga?”
Worry and disappointment flickered across the young child’s innocent face.
Chung-yeon shook her head.
“No, that’s not it. Your room was never….”
Chung-yeon trailed off, offering an ambiguous smile.
“The details will be explained to you later by the master. For now, would you come to the office? We’ll move your belongings.”
It was more than a simple suggestion. Hae-na found something odd about it, but she nodded without protest.
“Come now, young lady. Shall we go?”
As the door opened, Young-seo beamed and extended her hand to Hae-na. Behind her stood several servants waiting in formation.
As Hae-na took Young-seo’s hand and left the room, the servants rushed in to gather her belongings.
‘What is happening…?’
Both Chung-yeon’s slightly stiffened expression and the sudden room change troubled her.
The child’s pace quickened. Soon arriving at Seowan’s Office, Hae-na spoke up.
“Sister, it’s me.”
An immediate response came, and Young-seo opened the door.
Hae-na hurried toward her sister.
“You’ve arrived.”
A faint unease crossed Seowan’s face as she welcomed me.
It was identical to what I had seen on Chung-yeon’s face.
“What is wrong?”
Hae-na asked with concern.
But instead of answering, Seowan bent down to meet the child’s eyes.
“From now on, you must never wander alone at night. Whenever you go outside, you must accompany either me or Cheon-eul, and avoid venturing into isolated areas within the Residence.”
It was a grave warning.
Hae-na’s face grew confused.
“You must follow this without fail. Do you understand?”
Seowan pressed for the child’s acknowledgment. Her expression was so serious that Hae-na quickly nodded.
“Yes….”
Only after hearing the response did Seowan’s rigid expression soften slightly.
Yet her face remained troubled.
“Sister. Why are you acting this way all of a sudden?”
Hae-na asked again, studying Seowan’s demeanor.
“Did you hear something troubling while visiting the Palace?”
This morning, Seowan had entered the Palace for a state council meeting.
When she had mounted her horse and departed through the Main Gate, saying she would return, her expression had been as serene as always.
Seowan hesitated at Hae-na’s question.
Soon after, she exhaled softly and drew the child into her arms.
“Children are disappearing, I hear.”
Seowan spoke in a low voice.
“Reports of missing children have been increasing in Cheon-gyeong, but it seems the same is happening in other regions as well.”
“….”
“Petitions have arrived reporting that children are vanishing unnaturally in Cheon-gwon, Okryeong, and Yoguang.”
While wild beasts and bandits had occasionally kidnapped children before, never had it occurred on such a simultaneous, widespread scale.
“I’ve dispatched administrators to four other regions. They haven’t returned yet, but….”
Seowan’s words trailed off. Yet Hae-na understood perfectly what she was implying.
This was not the first time children had vanished across the entire nation.
It had happened when the Yeon Family conducted experiments to create Celestial Beings.
“That… that person.”
Hae-na’s voice trembled violently. The child’s face had gone deathly pale as she asked.
“Is he… still alive…?”
The terror that had been buried deep within her rose to the surface.
Seowan hastily soothed the child.
“No, Yeon Ki-mun is dead. I witnessed his execution myself.”
That was the truth.
Seowan had arrested him with her own hands and transported him to the Palace, where Yeon Ki-mun was torn limb from limb before countless witnesses.
Every member of the Yeon Family had been confirmed dead, and all experimental records remaining in the Yeon-ga were consumed by flames along with the residence.
Hae-na was the only surviving member of the Yeon Family household.
Which meant she was the only one who knew the full details of the experiments.
If this incident truly mirrored what had occurred at the Yeon-ga, the mastermind would inevitably seek to capture Hae-na.
“It’s alright. Nothing will happen.”
Seowan gently patted Hae-na’s back. The child gradually synchronized her breathing with the rhythm of that hand.
Hae-na buried her face against Seowan’s shoulder. Her sister’s embrace was solid and warm.
‘Sister is right.’
That day—the metallic stench of blood that had stung her nostrils and the burning residence—remained vivid in Hae-na’s memory.
Yet her shadowed face remained dark.
‘Then who on earth could it be…?’
* * *
After moving to a new room, Hae-na became her sister’s shadow once more.
The month of peace that had passed had loosened the physical distance between the sisters somewhat.
Seowan was perpetually occupied, and Hae-na herself was as excitable as a puppy frolicking in the height of summer.
With the family’s prestige elevated by her marriage to Cheon-eul, Seowan had allowed her worries about the child to ease slightly.
She often left Hae-na at the residence to attend the Palace, and when the child wished to visit the marketplace, she would send her with a small attendant and a Servant Girl.
Yet now, Seowan was more on edge than when Hae-na had nearly been kidnapped before.
Confirming Hae-na’s location and safety had become almost obsessive.
No matter how strong one’s body might be, Seowan was still human.
She would jolt awake at night to check on Hae-na, and throughout the day she continued monitoring the child’s movements, causing fatigue to accumulate steadily.
Hae-na, for her part, was equally miserable.
Each passing day, I watched my sister’s complexion grow more pallid, yet my heart kept yearning for something else entirely.
‘I want to go out and play….’
Sitting in a chair tucked away in the corner of Seowan’s Office, I swung my feet back and forth, releasing a small sigh.
There were so many things I wanted to do during summer.
I wanted to swing on the rope suspended from the great tree, and I longed to escape to the valley to escape the heat.
Seowan had told me to speak freely if I wished to go out, yet I could not bring myself to pester my sister, who appeared visibly exhausted.
‘Still….’
A faint, cheerful laughter drifted through the open window.
It seemed the village women had gathered to swing together.
‘How fun that must be….’
Without realizing it, my gaze was drawn toward the window as if enchanted.
Startled, I quickly averted my eyes.
We did not know what might unfold in this situation.
I could not afford to be foolish simply because I wished to play.
Just as I had steeled my resolve.
Creak―!
The closed door swung open with a cheerful sound. It was Cheon-eul.
With his long hair bound in a distinctive style and dressed in a thin jade-colored robe, he strode purposefully toward Seowan.
“What is this about?”
Seowan’s expression tightened slightly, her already cold voice growing sharper.
Cheon-eul smiled without answering.
And in the next instant, the seated Seowan floated gently into the air.
“You…!”
Seowan attempted to counterattack at the sudden turn of events, but her body settled into Cheon-eul’s arms faster than her resistance could manifest.
“It seems the time has come to enjoy the afternoon rest.”
Cheon-eul spoke, cradling her effortlessly.
Seowan shook her head irritably, attempting to escape from his embrace.
“It has been five days now. During all that time, you have not slept properly and have done nothing but work.”
Then came Cheon-eul’s gentle voice.
“This is not good for Hae-na either. The child watches only your mood.”
There was weight behind his quiet words.
Seowan turned to look at me slowly, her expression startled.
Since Cheon-eul’s words were true, I could only shuffle nervously without speaking.
“Hae-na, I….”
“We shall discuss this after you have rested. I shall care for Hae-na well.”
Cheon-eul cut off Seowan’s words abruptly.
The moment his words ended, Seowan flinched, then closed her eyes and let her head fall.
I stared up at him with wide eyes.
Cheon-eul smiled with a kind expression.
“Now, do not look at me that way. Is it not better that I become a scoundrel for a moment than for Seowan to collapse from overwork?”
Cheon-eul lifted Hae-na effortlessly into the air and brought her to his side, heading toward the bedchamber.
After laying the unconscious Seowan upon the bed and draping a thin blanket over him, he cradled Hae-na snugly in his arms.
“Well then, what shall we do now?”

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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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