Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 78

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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 Seventy-Eight
Buyeo Hui’s expression softened as he looked down at Nuri.
“Is that so.”
“Yes. Thank you for everything. I won’t forget this debt of gratitude.”
“Debt of gratitude.”
“Yes! Debt of gratitude!”
Buyeo Hui ruffled Nuri’s hair playfully. Thrilled at the prospect of seeing her father soon, Nuri forgot all her earlier fears and broke into a bright smile.
Sam-cheon emerged and spotted Buyeo Hui.
“Your Highness.”
“How’s your hand?”
“Better. I’ve been taking the medicinal decoction regularly.”
Sam-cheon held up her hand, wrapped neatly in clean cloth.
“Keep applying the medicine faithfully. Don’t skip it just because it’s tedious.”
“Yes.”
“If it worsens, I’ll have words with the physician.”
Sam-cheon knew he was the sort to do exactly that, so she answered with conviction.
“I’ll be careful.”
“The tea we drank only induces temporary loss of consciousness, with no lasting aftereffects. You needn’t worry.”
“That’s unexpected.”
It was an unexpected kindness.
“It seems you were careful not to harm yourself. In a sense, I’ve benefited from your prudence.”
Sam-cheon brushed aside the bittersweet feeling and spoke. ‘Perhaps I should count myself fortunate.’
“Nuri’s father has arrived at the gate. I was going to see him.”
“Go. It would be awkward with me there as well.”
“Then I’ll be back shortly.”
Buyeo Hui watched Nuri. The tiny thing had been an annoyance, always fussing about, yet now he felt a peculiar sense of loss at her departure.
“Little one, mind your father well.”
“Yes! Your Highness!”
Nuri beamed.
“Go on.”
Nuri bowed quickly and dashed out. So eager was she to meet her father that Sam-cheon hastened her pace as well.
When they opened the gate, they saw Jang Hyeong pacing, his face drawn and haggard. Spotting him, Nuri cried out loudly.
“Father!”
Nuri ran straight into his arms. Jang Hyeong wrapped her in an embrace, burying his face in her small shoulders.
“Nuri. Nuri. My child.”
Deep shadows had settled beneath Jang Hyeong’s eyes, but the moment he held Nuri, he smiled as if he had gained the whole world. Then his lips trembled, and tears he had held back streamed down his cheeks.
“For failing you… for not being able to find you sooner… for all you’ve suffered… I…”
He wept openly while holding Nuri, and when Nuri began to cry as well, the gateway descended into disarray.
Sam-cheon and Arang stood at a distance, their faces warm with contentment as they watched the two.
After a long while, Jang Hyeong swallowed his tears and set Nuri down, wiping his face with one hand. Having composed his raw emotions, he bowed deeply to Sam-cheon.
“Thank you. Thank you truly.”
His rough voice trembled with unbridled emotion.
“I’m relieved Nuri can return home.”
“It is all thanks to you.”
“It was His Highness who looked after her. We should return now. Take care, Nuri.”
“Thank you, miss. Let’s see each other again.”
Nuri held Sam-cheon’s leg tightly with a nasal whimper before letting go. In releasing the hem of her skirt, Nuri’s reluctance was plain to see.
Jang Hyeong remained bowed until the very end.
“I shall repay this debt of gratitude without fail.”
“Your sincerity is enough. Go safely.”
Sam-cheon turned first. Arang waved gently to Nuri before following her inside.
As they returned to the Byeol-chae, closing the gate behind them, Arang murmured.
“I’m so glad she found her father. Seeing Nuri happy makes me proud somehow.”
Arang would never know that she was the one who had saved Nuri.
But Sam-cheon knew.
Arang’s heart, her wounds, her resolve.
And Buyeo Hui’s heart as well.
She would need to keep her distance from Buyeo Hui.
“One, two, three, four!”
At Yongyong’s count, the new soldiers executed basic swordsmanship movements. Training had been underway since dawn for those freshly enlisted who had yet to master the fundamentals.
Yet the new soldiers’ attention was fixed not on Yongyong but on Wol-ya and Dam-no.
Even in their unadorned cutting motions, rhythm flowed from both their blades. Add Wol-ya’s handsome face to that, and their eyes simply could not look away.
Yongyong tried not to look in their direction as he barked orders.
“One, two, three, four! …That’s all for today. Practice the forms until they become second nature.”
Speaking sternly produced a chorus of “Thank you, sir!”
Under normal circumstances, he would have felt proud in that moment, but the approving looks Wol-ya and Dam-no gave him made him flush with embarrassment.
‘This is unbearable.’
Yongyong waited for the soldiers to disperse before approaching Wol-ya and Dam-no.
“Please, both of you, take it easier. You’re so skilled that you’re intimidating the recruits.”
“But we’re holding back?”
Dam-no asked, genuinely confused.
“Hold back even more. Make deliberate mistakes, would you?”
“I’ll try.”
Hearing Wol-ya’s calm reply, Yongyong couldn’t help but flare up.
“And please stop looking at me like that.”
“Why would we?”
Dam-no asked again as if he truly didn’t understand, and Yongyong’s face twisted.
“You’re looking at me like I’m your youngest son being sent off to marry!”
Dam-no laughed aloud. It wasn’t exaggeration—he was feeling exactly that way.
Yongyong was the youngest of the Wol-lang Group. That meant he had been the youngest for a full five hundred years. Though he had aged considerably, in Wol-ya and Dam-no’s eyes he remained nothing but endearing.
Wol-ya replied with a laugh in his voice.
“Try managing that yourself. But there’s still something you haven’t told us.”
At Wol-ya’s question, Yongyong shook his head weakly.
Wol-ya judged that the time had come to speak of why he had been watching over Sam-cheon. Necessarily, Yongyong’s true nature would have to be revealed as well.
There had been no harm done. He had taught Gye-san and their daughter with care, and had contributed to laying the foundation for the Gyeonhwon Army.
But the human heart is not so simple.
Yongyong would bring disappointment and betrayal to everyone. He had resigned himself to it, yet his heart grew heavy nonetheless.
“…I thought it best to confess with everyone present. I’ll tell them when Sam-cheon returns.”
This was a task Yongyong alone had to resolve. He had to reveal his own purpose—that he had been at their side with intent—and then seek forgiveness.
Wol-ya felt for Yongyong. The boy had kept his heart closed to all but the people of Wol-lang Village for so long, which made it all the harder.
“I owe you an apology.”
“I’m grateful you let me tie up this knot myself.”
Yongyong had expected his secret to be exposed that day when Wol-ya and Dam-no were walking the Yeonmujang. But Wol-ya had postponed the conversation with Gye-san. He had given Yongyong the chance to speak first—a kindness Yongyong understood.
“Don’t look so discouraged. Why are your shoulders so slumped, you boy?”
Dam-no reached out to pat his back but lowered his hand, conscious of the soldiers passing by.
Yongyong asked with a troubled expression.
“When do I withdraw?”
Wol-ya could not answer immediately.
The Wol-lang Group held it as principle not to linger long in any place except Wol-lang Village. So he should have given the order to finish well and return.
The problem was that Yongyong had grown too attached during his time here. Enough to wear that complicated expression.
“Stay as long as you wish to stay. I’ll leave it to your judgment.”
“Thank you, Group Leader.”
“Let’s go.”
Wol-ya and Dam-no gave a slight formal bow before moving toward the Maksa where the new soldiers lived together.
Left alone, Yongyong gazed up at the flag bearing the Gyeonhwon Army’s symbol.
Designing that flag pattern had been such fun. Actually, looking back, every moment here had been joyful.
As memories flooded in and he released a long sigh, a voice came from behind him.
“Why are you staring at the flag?”
He turned to find Gye-san standing there.
“…It just caught my eye.”
When he gave a vague reply, Gye-san’s expression seemed off.
“Is something wrong?”
“Come on. There are people who need handling. With Sam-cheon away, the unit’s a mess.”

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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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