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Chapter 22
He didn’t want to force it out. Dohwi bit his lower lip and sent a salute. The salute gave him a light greeting before leaving the reception hall.
Once outside, Wol and Sohwa were waiting as expected. The salute approached them and spoke.
“They said we can use the guest rooms in the reception hall.”
“Oh, should we unpack there then?”
“Yeah, that’ll work. Wol.”
“What?”
“You’ll stay in the room next to mine.”
“… I’m not sure about that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind.”
For now, Sohwa began unpacking her things in the guest room while chatting with Wol. Wol had passed by the Geum family’s household and had shed his beggar’s appearance, now looking like a young noble of any family. If anyone had seen him in that beggar’s state, they would have thought he was a member of the open sect. He could feel the curious glances of the nearby people.
“I’m really at a loss on how to explain you.”
“Just say I’m a bodyguard.”
“I did, but I don’t even know where you came from.”
“…”
“I don’t care where you came from, but I doubt your brother would welcome someone whose origins are unknown.”
“Yeah, I see.”
“Make sure to think of something to say.”
“I will.”
With those words, Sohwa went to the guest room where she was unpacking, and Wol’s quiet voice followed from behind.
“Does it not matter to you where I came from?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t care.”
“… I see. Understood.”
“As long as we can both find some comfort in each other’s presence, that’s all that matters.”
“…”
With those words, the salute headed to the guest room, and Wol remained outside for a moment. Just then, someone emerged from the reception hall. It was Namgung Dohwi. He had been about to leave, but upon spotting Wol, he walked toward him quickly.
“Greetings, little brother.”
“… Speak, Namgung little brother.”
“I heard you helped the salute. I thank you for that.”
“It was nothing.”
“No, it’s not nothing. In these times, with bandits around… you’ve done a good deed.”
“Is that so.”
“More importantly… I heard you and the salute came all the way here together. Does that mean there was some sort of agreement between the two of you?”
Namgung Dohwi asked with a smile, but his gaze was full of suspicion.
“For now, yes.”
“If it’s not too rude, may I ask which family’s little brother you are from?”
“… I’m just a wandering swordsman without any particular sect.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I lived as a disciple of a wandering swordsman, but he passed away not long ago.”
“I see. That’s unfortunate.”
Namgung Dohwi’s words expressed sympathy, but his eyes didn’t match his tone. There was a clear wariness in his gaze. Wol sighed inwardly, not because he was bothered by the wariness, but because he expected it. Still, he wasn’t inclined to explain himself to ease that wariness.
“I understand why you’re asking. But the salute said it was fine for me to be here.”
“…”
“That’s all that matters to me.”
“… Are you deeply connected with the salute?”
“No.”
Wol smiled bitterly for the first time.
“We’re nothing special. That’s why he said it’s fine for me to stay.”
“…”
Namgung Dohwi didn’t understand that response. Why did Wol say it was okay for him to stay because they were “nothing special”? But seeing Wol’s bitter expression, he decided not to ask further. The sight of an unknown man staying near his younger sister was unsettling, but since it was a choice made by someone who had been suppressed in the past, he decided to respect it.
‘I’ll have to ask the salute carefully later.’
Namgung Dohwi thought to himself, bowed slightly, and left. Wol, watching his retreating figure, made his way to the guest room as well.
“Ah, this room is small!”
“This was smaller than the room I used to stay in. Sohwa.”
Sohwa finished unpacking and wiped her forehead. Hwaryeong was still arranging some things beside her. The salute looked around the simply furnished guest room. It wasn’t bad for staying for a while.
Clink…
“Wol.”
“The room next to mine is empty, so I decided to take it.”
“That’s good.”
“… I haven’t actually received permission for that, though.”
“Well, what else could we do? We can’t kick you out.”
“I understand.”
Sohwa listened to their conversation and thought it was a bit helpless. If young master Dohwi heard about this, he would likely jump up in protest. But since the young lady made the decision, there was nothing to be done. Sohwa was someone who never stopped the salute from doing what he wanted, so there wouldn’t be any change.
“If you don’t have anything else to do, how about watching my disciples train?”
“Should I? Uncle suggested it too.”
“Oh, what did he say?”
“He said I should try training while staying here.”
“Really? That’s great. I think it’s fine as long as it’s not at the family’s main house!”
Sohwa’s face brightened. It seemed she didn’t want to even look at the family’s main house, filled with unpleasant memories. Well, she had suffered a lot there, so it made sense she would prefer staying here.
“Still, I don’t think I can officially become a disciple here.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“For one thing, I don’t really want to. I don’t want to be tied down to any one place. And I plan to leave after staying here for a while.”
“Leave? Where to?”
“I don’t know.”
The salute didn’t say much to Sohwa. Her goal was to get revenge for the past. Right now, her top priority was finding the demonic sect that had disappeared. She would need to improve her martial skills, but since a demonic sect wouldn’t just be found overnight, there was plenty of time.
“Still, I don’t think training here for a while is a bad idea.”
“Right?”
“Yeah.”
For some reason, though his internal energy had returned to a similar level as his past skills, he felt it was still insufficient. Especially if he wanted to defeat him—he didn’t have enough right now. It would be wise to train here, building both internal and external strength, and then move on.
“Sohwa, could you get me a training outfit if you can?”
“Got it!”
As Sohwa went off to get the training clothes, the salute sat cross-legged on his bed. He closed his eyes slowly and began to move the internal energy within his body. The energy, following a fixed path, was definitely less than what he had before his death. So, the fact that Wol’s skill level was out of reach meant that he was at least a step above him.
“Haa…”
The salute opened his eyes. He didn’t know who Wol truly was, but looking into those blue eyes, he was sure it had something to do with the Ice Palace. Perhaps Wol was a child of a survivor of the Ice Palace, just like himself. If that was the case, he must have experienced quite a few side effects being in a man’s body, but there was no sign of it in Wol.
‘Did he meet a good teacher?’
If Wol was indeed a descendant of the Ice Palace, the salute decided that if the time came and Wol agreed, he would ask him. But it wasn’t out of mere curiosity about Wol—it was about the Ice Palace, which had long since disappeared. If Wol truly carried that bloodline, the salute would take responsibility for him and keep him by his side.
‘I could get him a house somewhere nice. He deserves to live well.’
The salute thought that even though he was used to living a wandering life, he still believed everyone needed a home.
“Agi! I got the training clothes!”
The salute looked at the clothes Sohwa brought and tilted his head.
“Two sets?”
“They even packed one for Wol.”
“Oh, really?”
Well, it wouldn’t be bad to have a spare set of clothes. The salute glanced at Wol, who was looking at the clothes. Sohwa handed one large training outfit to Wol, and the salute took the other set and said to Sohwa.
“I should change into these.”
“Alright, go ahead. I’ll step outside.”
Sohwa ushered Wol out of the room and helped the salute change into the new training clothes.
