The Survival Story Of A Fallen Lady - Chapter 76

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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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The Fallen Noblewoman’s Survival Record — Episode 76
And on Won Jin’s side.
Seo Gon released the reins from his grip, the motion delayed.
His palm was slick with cold sweat.
‘So this is a Yo Gwe…….’
He’d forgotten, if only for a moment.
How terrible the Demon War had been in his childhood.
He’d thought that staying behind would keep him safe.
But the moment sound vanished and the blade-wind swept through, there was no such thing as a safe place.
Even when he’d commanded the guard closest to him, they couldn’t hear.
A terrible nightmare.
That’s what he’d thought.
‘So Ah, you…….’
Seo Gon watched So Ah quietly, noting how she smiled as the people around her rejoiced.
The moment that strange Yo Gwe emerged from behind So Ah’s back, his heart plummeted.
‘She’s lost her mind……!’
What on earth was she thinking, venturing beyond the clan gates and inviting danger like this?
When she couldn’t even wield a sword.
When she knew her own mother had died at a Yo Gwe’s hands.
Without thinking, he took a step forward.
But Seo Heon moved first.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he pulled So Ah behind him and threw himself back into the fray.
‘It wasn’t just any Yo Gwe.’
He recalled the storm that had engulfed the area.
Wind sharp as a blade.
Dust that obscured vision and choked the breath.
It was like a calamity itself.
‘I’ve heard that Yo Gwe who can speak human language are rare.’
During the Demon War too, those capable of human speech could be counted on one hand.
Most were mere Minor Demons, creatures that made only strange sounds.
Minor Demons could be faced like tigers or bears — gather your strength, raise your weapon, and you could contend with them.
But Yo Gwe who could speak were different.
They couldn’t be cut or killed with an ordinary blade.
Only the Seon Sword could touch their Demon Core…….
Seo Gon recalled the brilliance that had blazed.
Seo Heon alone, leaping into the dust storm, carving a pristine arc of light.
‘The one and only Five Flame Lotus, they said…….’
Seo Gon’s fists clenched.
This was the first time he’d seen it with his own eyes.
But what frightened him more than Seo Heon’s power was this:
‘The Seonwidae’s movements are different.’
In the silent battlefield, the Seonwidae’s formation never wavered once.
At a single subtle hand signal, they scattered and reformed as one body, each moving with precision according to their role.
As a result, Seo Heon had the space to wield his blade freely.
Could soldiers from the Wi Wang Territory execute such a battle?
What about the imperial forces?
Seo Gon’s cheeks went cold.
His gaze turned back toward So Ah.
‘……You made them this way.’
In the sandstorm, it was undoubtedly Jin So Ah who had sent the first hand signal.
She raised her hand, and Mu Jin moved.
Not just once.
And her hand signals meshed perfectly with Seo Heon’s movements.
‘How strange.’
He’d known Jin So Ah was clever.
Every time he visited the Jin Clan, she stood out for her sharp wit and quick perception.
But the So Ah before him now was playing a role far beyond mere cleverness.
The fact that the Mugwang Territory had changed since her arrival was no coincidence.
‘When she was by my side…….’
Why hadn’t he seen it then?
That she possessed such a talent.
‘Had I been too careless in my judgment?’
So Ah had always been easy for him to read.
A single word of praise would flush her cheeks; the smallest kindness would light her eyes with joy.
A girl who had always looked only at him.
He had thought that enough.
……
Seo Gon felt a peculiar, unease that ran far deeper than it should.
It was as though someone had taken a pebble he’d held carelessly in his palm and fashioned it into a jewel.
That was when it happened.
“King of Mugwang!”
A booming voice shattered the silence of the grassland.
Tartchik, his voice restored, strode forward with long, commanding steps.
“You have saved the Yardar Grasslands!”
Tartchik pressed his fist to his chest.
“You are our brothers!”
Tartchik raised his fist high.
At once, the Yardar warriors lifted their own fists skyward and unleashed a roar that shook heaven and earth.
“Call upon us whenever you will! Brothers aid one another!”
“We aid! We aid!”
Tartchik pounded Seo Heon’s shoulder without restraint, thump after thump.
Behind the mask, Seo Heon’s brow furrowed.
Never before had anyone dared handle him so freely.
Yet the grassland warriors seemed indifferent to his station and to the ominous weight of his curse.
“Today blood has been spilled. Therefore, we must feast!”
Tartchik laughed heartily.
The warriors fell in behind him, forming a circle with linked arms.
“Bring forth the fattest sheep for the warriors of Mugwang!”
“And Mare’s Milk Liquor!”
The grassland, so recently steeped in silence, erupted into clamor in an instant.
Mu Jin shot Seo Heon a look of disbelief.
After a moment’s pause, Seo Heon slowly inclined his head toward Tartchik.
* * *
Cheongryoo Meadow, at the edge of the Northwest Frontier Line of Mugwang Territory.
As darkness fell, a great fire blazed to life.
Whole joints of meat sizzled on spits, slowly browning in the flames.
Mare’s Milk Liquor from leather flasks was poured into cups, while others drank straight from wooden vessels.
“Eat! Much blood was spilled today!”
“Here, take this!”
The members of the Seonwidae found their hands soon filled with meat and drink.
Even Mu Jin, ordinarily so stern, found himself reluctantly accepting a hunk of meat from a Yardar warrior, his expression awkward.
In the midst of the boisterous revelry.
Seo Heon watched the scene unfold in silence.
Then Tartchik pressed a great Horn Cup into his hands.
“Drink, King of Mugwang!”
Tartchik, flushed with heat and exertion, fixed his gaze upon Seo Heon.
Seo Heon accepted the cup without a word and drained it in one draught.
“Excellent!”
Tartchik laughed with satisfaction and clapped his hands together.
Then the Yardar brought forth leather, wool, wool carpets, and dried cheese

in great abundance.
“These are gifts given to our savior and our brother!”
The eyes of the Seonwidae members widened.
All were Yardar specialties, and goods of such quality were scarcely to be found even in the Empire.
Seo Heon did not refuse their goodwill.
But in that fleeting moment, his gaze met So Ah’s.
In that instant, Seo Heon understood.
That So Ah was thinking the same thought as he.
He gave her a silent nod, then took up his brush.
When Yardar keeps faith as brothers, an elder cannot offer his younger brother an empty hand.
So Ah rose from her seat, along with the letter Seo Heon had written.
Then, moments later, she sent someone to bring in a heavy bundle.
“This is Byeokroe Salt, produced in Mugwang Territory.”
So Ah untied the knot and revealed salt the color of crimson silk.
“Byeokroe Salt?”
When Tartchik showed interest, So Ah sprinkled the salt lightly over the lamb meat she’d cut and laid aside.
“It’s a salt with exceptional umami, which pairs beautifully with meat.”
Tartchik bit off a generous piece of the salted lamb meat.
In that instant, Tartchik’s eyes widened.
“This is… enchanted powder!”
“Enchanted powder?”
The Yardar tribesmen murmured among themselves, then all at once dipped their meat in the salt and tasted it.
“It’s magic!”
“It’s not just ordinary salt!”
“The meat comes alive!”
Those who had tasted it began grabbing handfuls of the salt and sprinkling it over their meat as they ate, their appetites rekindled.
“It’s also excellent for preserving meat over long periods.”
At those words, the Yardar’s ears pricked up.
For a people who needed to store meat and vegetables for extended time, salt was precious.
“Do you have much of this?”
When Tartchik asked, So Ah smiled.
“I will give you a cartload.”
“Oh! Brother!”
“Furthermore, if Yardar brings leather and wool, I will trade them for Byeokroe Salt in any quantity you wish. If needed, I can also exchange them for Medicinal Herbs.”
“Medicinal Herbs?”
“Those used for wounds and frostbite.”
So Ah pointed to the Medicinal Herbs she’d used to treat Yardar’s warriors that day.
Abundant herbs brought from Ye Wang Territory.
They would be more precious than almost anything in a cold grassland like Yardar’s.
“Excellent!”
Tartchik laughed heartily and struck the stack of wool carpets beside him with his palm, twice.
“We give you leather and wool.”
“Won Jin will provide salt and medicine in return.”
“Brothers must share good things!”
Tartchik grabbed the horsehair cord he had tied nearby and snapped it in two.
It was Yardar’s oath.
So Ah watched him and recalled the world before her return.
‘In my past life, things were never this harmonious.’
In her previous life, she had also put down the scourge of demonic corruption.
But by then, Yardar’s suffering had already grown beyond repair.
Moreover, the imperial court had branded Yardar as barbarians and refused to acknowledge them.
Because of that, trade with Yardar had been utterly unthinkable.
‘This is better.’
So Ah smiled as she took in the lively Yardar people before her.
Yardar kept the bonds of Brotherhood they had once made until the very end.
And if she distributed the high-quality leather and wool received from Yardar throughout the empire, it would become a formidable foundation in itself.
And amid the boisterous laughter and cheer,
Seo Gon remained seated in his place, his cup raised to his lips.
His gaze lingered long on So Ah’s smiling face.
‘I cannot, under any circumstance, leave you at his side.’

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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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