TYDOFC 13

Chapter 13

Through the small gap of a slightly opened window, the chirping of birds could be heard. There was also the faint sound of droplets—drip, drop—as dew that had gathered on the eaves overnight fell.

Is it morning already? I want to sleep more.

But I couldn’t stay in bed any longer, because someone was gently shaking me awake.

“Dangbi, wake up.”

The one waking me was my father.

Half-asleep, I sat up and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Mmm… Father… Didn’t you go to work?”

“I was going to after waking you. You like it when Father wakes you, don’t you?”

He brought a cup of cold water to my lips. I took it with both hands and gulped it down.

After drinking the cold water, my stomach felt like it had frozen, and my mind cleared.

To fully chase away my drowsiness, I rubbed my eyes and looked for Manhyulsa. The serpent was coiled on the bed, staring at me.

“Come here.”

When I beckoned, Manhyulsa slithered up into my hand and crawled into my clothes, finding a place inside my sleeve. Only after the snake was completely hidden did I realize why Father had come himself to wake me.

The servants must have been too afraid.

Manhyulsa was the Dang family’s heirloom, a legendary venomous beast said to kill instantly with no time for antidotes if bitten.

No one would want to wake me when I was sleeping beside such a creature.

So even in his busy schedule, Father had spared time to wake me himself.

I felt bad for troubling him unnecessarily.

After I gathered my senses, I slipped down from Father’s arms.

“Father, I’m awake now. Please, go ahead to your work.”

Father was the Lord of Dokryong Pavilion.

Which meant he was busier than anyone. I didn’t want to be the clingy daughter who held him back.

But his expression changed strangely at my words.

“I decided to handle Dokryong Pavilion matters later this afternoon.”

“Huh? Why?”

“An order has come to bring you.”

“An order…?”

“From the Council of Elders. A few of those old men in the back rooms are bothering us again.”

It had been a long time since I’d seen Father speak so sharply. He was a man of dignity who rarely said insulting words.

“They say they need to confirm something about you… Utter nonsense. They just want to make things difficult for my daughter.”

Yet when it came to me, he never hesitated to use harsh words. That was my father.

As soon as I heard Council of Elders, I knew what Dang Paejin must have done after storming out of Yongyeonjeon yesterday.

He hadn’t stopped at defying Grandfather—he had gone straight to the head of the Council.

He might look like a foolish blockhead who didn’t know when to advance or retreat, but—

That’s not it.

What he wanted to press wasn’t just the fate of Manhyulsa.

It was to put Father, who as Lord of Dokryong Pavilion had concealed the fact that I was immune to poison and neglected proper testing, into trouble.

As Pavilion Lord, Father was obligated to oversee all examinations fairly and report them faithfully.

But he had not fulfilled that duty, falsified his daughter’s results, and kept it hidden all this time.

A grave offense!

If I guessed right, Dang Paejin must have informed even the Judicial Court’s Chief Judge, demanding punishment.

He was likely aiming to oust Father from his position as Pavilion Lord.

Ah, things had gotten really tangled.

As I scratched the back of my head, Father must have thought I was afraid of the summons, because he gently pulled me into his arms.

“Don’t worry, my daughter.”

“Father…”

“You did nothing wrong. There’s no reason to fear. Just answer their questions and it will be over quickly.”

But what about you, Father?

I swallowed those words and only nodded.

If I thought carefully, there might be a way to lessen the weight of this crime.

They say even in a tiger’s den, one survives if they keep their wits.

As Father wiped my face clean, I nodded resolutely.

Once I stepped outside, I could feel everyone’s eyes on me.

Servants, attendants, Dang family warriors, physicians, even the poison gatherers.

“They say the young miss is actually immune to all poisons? Is it true?”

“But didn’t Pavilion Lord say she was extremely weak to poison…?”

“They say the Patriarch even bestowed Manhyulsa on her?”

“Then the rumors are real?”

Whispers spread all around. I glanced up at Father, who only smiled serenely as if he couldn’t hear them.

Of course he could. A master of his level could hear even the faintest whispers from far away.

He must have simply judged there was nothing to gain from quarreling with gossipers here.

Or perhaps he even wanted the rumor to spread quickly throughout the estate.

I couldn’t tell which. Father’s true intentions were always as difficult to grasp as the stars in the sky.

Before me, he couldn’t tell a lie, but as Pavilion Lord, he was cold and calculating.

He led me to Hwawoo Pavilion, where the Council of Elders met.

It was my first time here.

Would Dang Paejin be inside, like yesterday?

The thought made me tense. My shoulders trembled slightly, and Father wrapped an arm around them reassuringly.

“It’s fine.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not scared at all.”

“So brave—just as expected of my daughter.”

With that, Father gave a nod, and the guard opened the pavilion doors.

Hand in hand, we stepped inside.

After a long corridor, we entered the meeting chamber. Holding tightly to Father’s hand, I walked in cautiously.

“…”

Inside, the Dang family’s elders were gathered in full.

The Eight Elders, the Head of the Medicine Hall, the Chief Judge of the Judicial Court, the Martial Hall Lord, the Finance Pavilion Lord—nearly everyone except the ailing Head of the Social Affairs Hall.

Beside Grandfather stood Tang Sabo, the family steward, and even Deputy Pavilion Lord Tang Rip of Dokryong Pavilion.

Why had it come to this…?

The thought flashed for only a moment, but with Dang Paejin’s maneuvering, it wasn’t impossible.

He must be planning to expose Father’s crime before as many people as possible, ensuring the harshest punishment.

I swallowed hard and bowed my head.

“Dangbi greets the Elders.”

In my previous life, I had almost never seen the Elders, as I stayed mostly in my own quarters.

Now, standing so close before them, my heart thumped wildly. Cold sweat prickled my skin.

But I clung tightly to Father’s hand, trying not to show it.

The first to speak was Tang Jigae, the Chief Elder.

“Pavilion Lord, you must know why we called you here today.”

There was a chilling weight in his voice, enough to make me want to flee just from hearing it.

But Father answered unflinchingly.

“To determine my daughter’s status, is it not?”

“What we reproach you for is failing to fulfill your duties as Pavilion Lord.”

“There were circumstances.”

“No circumstance takes precedence over duty.”

“I apologize.”

“If an apology were enough, we wouldn’t have summoned you.”

Tang Jigae’s words were not wrong.

Father had hidden my immunity to poison for my sake, but that also meant he had not trusted the Dang family while living within it.

The Elders had every reason to be offended.

Tang Jigae’s gaze shifted from Father to me. The ninety-year-old’s eyes bore down on me with chilling severity.

“So you are truly immune to all poisons?”

I quickly nodded.

“Yes.”

“They say the Patriarch granted you Manhyulsa. Do you have it with you?”

“Yes, here.”

I indicated my sleeve, glancing at the Elders. I did not take it out.

Manhyulsa, mishandled, could end the lives of some warriors here.

No one would want an eight-year-old girl to brandish such a weapon under their noses.

Not even hardened veterans of the martial world.

So I folded my sleeves politely to show I had no intention of bringing it out unless ordered.

Rustle.

The sleeve concealing Manhyulsa was discreetly covered.