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Chapter 42
“Let’s see how long you can remain so arrogant.”
“I wouldn’t really say that.”
Sa-yeol had never once shown an insolent attitude. If anything, she was rather quiet and reserved. But to Dang-hye, whose eyes were clouded with jealousy, Sa-yeol looked arrogantly insolent beyond measure. Dang-hye held a fan, lifted her chin slightly, and glared at her. Then she narrowed her eyes and soon smiled from behind the fan.
“It would be quite entertaining if I were to face you.”
“Would it?”
Sa-yeol tilted her head. Dang-hye was from the Sichuan Dang Family. Judging by her martial prowess, she seemed just on the verge of first-rate, so she would likely find it difficult to read Sa-yeol’s qi. When qi was this hard to read, one would normally be cautious, yet Dang-hye showed no such wariness at all. Was she placing her trust in the poisons of the Sichuan Dang Family, or did she truly believe Sa-yeol possessed nothing at all?
It wouldn’t be unreasonable for her to think that.
Sa-yeol groped through memories of a past she barely remembered. It was only natural that she had no memories involving Dang-hye. The direct descendants of the Namgung Family and the Sichuan Dang Family used to train together in their childhood to build camaraderie—but Sa-yeol had never been included in that.
Because of those memories, she might think I have nothing at all.
Sa-yeol had no intention of correcting Dang-hye’s misunderstanding. Even if she did, Dang-hye likely wouldn’t believe her anyway. She quietly began to eat. Dang-hye, apparently thinking she was being ignored, snapped her fan shut with a sharp crack, her hand trembling with anger. Do-wi looked back and forth between Dang-hye and Sa-yeol, wearing an awkward expression.
“Wol-ah. Eat that over there. It’s quite good.”
“……”
Wol briefly surveyed the surroundings with her eyes before nodding. She picked up the same dish that was placed near Sa-yeol, put it into her mouth, and chewed and swallowed. It suited Sa-yeol’s taste well enough that she had recommended it, but it seemed only so-so to Wol. Well, it couldn’t be helped. Sa-yeol continued her thoughts without much concern.
Meanwhile, someone was watching this scene with peculiar interest.
What kind of relationship does she have with her guard?
It was none other than Dang-hye. Personally serving food to a guard?
One doesn’t normally do that for a guard. Nor do they bring them all the way here and seat them.
Dang-hye looked anew at Wol. Tall, with black hair, exotic eyes, and a neatly handsome face. He was certainly too good to remain merely a guard. As that thought crossed her mind, something else suddenly occurred to her, and she shifted her gaze to Sa-yeol.
Is she planning to marry her off to a guard now that the marriage talks with the Zhuge Family have fallen through?
After all, it was said that when the former head of the Namgung Family became crippled, even the head of the Zhuge Family suffered injuries severe enough to step down from his position. The marriage alliance could very well be called off entirely. Of course, since the important thing was the bond between families, they might still try to push for a marriage with the current young head of the Zhuge Family. That was because, at present, Sa-yeol was the only one in the Namgung Family of marriageable age.
I wonder how the Zhuge Family will respond.
Dang-hye looked at Do-wi. She had cherished feelings for Namgung Do-wi for a very long time. A marriage between him and herself wouldn’t be such a bad thing. That was why she had always pressed her father about marrying him. But her father wanted to observe the Namgung Family more carefully, so even now no concrete discussions of marriage had taken place. In the midst of that, marriage talks between Namgung Sa-yeol and the Zhuge Family head had surfaced.
Honestly, it was a disgusting matter.
Taking in a child young enough to be one’s daughter as a secondary wife—no matter how common it might be, Dang-hye felt repulsed by it. Perhaps it was because she was the proud daughter of a lofty family.
Well. Either way, it doesn’t really matter.
Whether it was a guard or the Zhuge Family’s young head.
Once she’s married, Brother Do-wi won’t be so sensitive about that girl anymore.
Thinking that, Dang-hye looked at Sa-yeol. When she was very young, she had once seen Sa-yeol during exchanges with the Namgung Family.
Dang-hye as a child was not much different from how she was now. She was proud, keenly aware of her position, and carried herself with her chin held high—a noble bloodline through and through. It was only natural, then, that she came to associate with the Namgung Family.
Because of the distance, visits were infrequent, but the moment Dang-hye saw Namgung Do-wi, she fell for him at first sight. His gentle smile and voice captured her heart. Perhaps it was because she had never seen such things in the Dang Family. To Dang-hye, who lived in a place that was always cold and solemn, his kindness was like sunlight in the cold.
“Brother, play with me today.”
Dang-hye followed Do-wi around, openly showing her interest in him. Do-wi, still young at the time, seemed to regard it as a little girl’s childish clinginess and indulged her often. However, there was one thing he never allowed.
Huh? Who’s that?
One day, when Do-wi was nowhere to be found at the usual training grounds, Dang-hye went looking for him and ended up outside the inner courtyard. Reaching the outskirts of the estate, she discovered a shabby structure that felt completely out of place—like a rundown warehouse. It was so dilapidated that it could hardly be considered a place for people to live.
What is this place?
Driven by curiosity, Dang-hye stepped inside. There, she found a most peculiar girl.
What is that?
Sitting on the ramshackle wooden floor was a girl whose hair was entirely white. If not for her pale and delicate face, one might have mistaken her for an old person—the hair was that completely white. Dang-hye swallowed hard, staring at the sight. Could this be one of those ghosts she had only heard rumors about?
Sa-yeol’s aura was that far removed from the world. But when the girl slowly blinked and reached out her hand to receive the warm sunlight, Dang-hye became certain she was human. Hesitantly, Dang-hye stepped out from behind the door where she had been hiding and spoke to her.
“Hey!”
Startled by the sudden voice, the white-haired girl’s eyes widened. Those wide eyes shone like sunlight.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, ah……”
Sa-yeol looked utterly flustered, covering her mouth with her hand and glancing around. Finding it absurd, Dang-hye tilted her head and approached her. Was she perhaps mute? Dang-hye grabbed Sa-yeol by the wrist and shook it.
“Hey, if someone above you speaks, you should answer!”
At the time, she was overbearing and believed there was no one above her except adults. Being just a child who knew nothing of complicated matters like illegitimate children, she had no idea who Sa-yeol was. She simply assumed the girl was beneath her.
“What do you think you’re doing!”
A furious voice rang out—one she had never heard before. The problem was that it belonged to Do-wi, whose gentle voice she adored. The meaning carried within it, however, was entirely different.
“Brother Do-wi?!”
“Why on earth are you here!”
“I was looking for you. But more importantly, who is this child? Who is she that she doesn’t answer even when someone above her speaks?”
“She is not beneath you!”
“What? But—”
“That child is my younger sister.”
“Your younger sister?”
Dang-hye turned her head in confusion to look at the cowering Sa-yeol. Her unkempt, scruffy appearance looked nothing like that of someone from the Namgung bloodline.
“Never come here again.”
After saying that, Do-wi gave Sa-yeol a look and then dragged Dang-hye away. Even as she was pulled along, Dang-hye looked back at Sa-yeol. The lonely, desolate-looking little girl awkwardly waved her hand.
That was the first time the two met.
After that, Dang-hye faithfully obeyed Do-wi’s words and never went there again, but it always lingered in her mind. Was it because the girl was around her own age? She knew Do-wi had a younger sister, but she thought that sister was nothing more than a newborn baby.
“She’s probably the young lord’s illegitimate child.”
That was the answer she received when she asked her older brother—and it was quite a shock to her.
