Chapter 23

Namgung Hyeon.

Was she a year older than me? I don’t remember exactly, but I knew she was older.

I’d never bothered to size her up, so I didn’t know the details. I did know she was the type whose face cashes checks and whose personality makes you grit your teeth.

She’s undeniably pretty.

Even her furrowed brow looked pretty; clean lines to her eyes, nose, and lips—just looking at her would make men lose their minds.

Compared to my runaway sister, she falls a little short.

Thinking of that for a moment gives me goosebumps.

‘...That woman’s not just cashing checks with her face.’

With that temper, it isn’t face value; she’s just human trash.

Anyway...

I rubbed my forearms to settle the shiver, and Namgung Hyeon asked me:

“What... did you just say?”

Did I bruise her pride? Her face was no joke.

Right—the exact face people made when I picked a fight. That one.

“Oh, you didn’t hear?”

Then I should kindly repeat myself.

“I said I’m not going.”

“...Why?”

“Excuse me?”

She tilted her head like she couldn’t process it. What kind of weird question is that?

“Why? Because I don’t want to go. Do I need another reason?”

“I mean, why don’t you want to talk with me...? That can’t be right...?”

“...”

I see. In a short exchange she exposed her problem. Usually when she said “let’s talk,” everyone said yes and followed.

I get it. With that face, sure. Even I, unlike my past life, have skimmed a few benefits in this one thanks to decent looks.

And since I knew exactly how to handle that kind of temperament, I nodded at once and told her:

“Why would I talk to someone foul-tempered, who looks down on people, and throws a fit whenever she doesn’t like something?”

“...”

Her eyes went wide. The solution was simple.

Just say what I want to say and pin her to the wall.

“Am I crazy? Or are you? Unbelievable. Why ask why. If you were going to do this, you should’ve started with an apology. This is you looking down on me again. I get you grew up cushioned, but if you’ve got business with me, you start by fixing what you did.”

She faltered. I kept talking without a pause; she took a step back, rattled.

I caught up and continued. Without meaning to, I put force into my eyes.

“This is why I don’t talk to people from that household. Not a single one of you listens to a damn word.”

I took one breath and kept going.

“If you got dropped into the Alliance for two days on family pull, you’d understand how grateful your position is. But of course you don’t, so you pulled that crap at our very first meeting.”

[...Hold it... calm yourself...]

The old man tried to stop me. I ignored him.

Talking brought up the crap I’d put up with. My chest tightened.

“And now what? Talk? What dogshit are you saying right now? Did you leave your brain at home? Unless you’ve gone insane, none of this—”

I stopped mid-sentence. I had plenty more to throw, but her reaction was strange.

The hand clutching her skirt trembled hard; the cheeks and ears that had been faintly pink were now red like ripe apples.

Even the corners of her eyes were wet—about to spill—ah, there they go.

Namgung Hyeon started to cry.

Seeing that, a line from my father floated up.

‘Everything else is fine, but be careful with a woman’s tears. That one’s dangerous.’

When a man who’d mastered the art of seduction warns you, he means it.

A beauty like Namgung Hyeon crying was, admittedly, heartbreakingly sad.

However—

“What do you think you did right to bawl like that—! This is exactly why—!”

Unfortunately, I’m not the kind of human that works on.

And I kept laying into her for quite a while after.

****

“Kh—hup... hhic...”

Sniffling came clear from behind me.

If anyone else saw this, they’d jump out of their skin. Who would’ve expected it?

That a blood relative of the Five Great Clans would be rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand and crying by the well.

“Hhh... hhic...”

She was crying so miserably that not only tears but snot ran.

Extremely gross. No matter how talented and pretty you are, the snot is a bit much.

Meanwhile, there I was, sitting beside Namgung Hyeon and offering “comfort.”

“...All right, stop crying and try to cut it out. You’ve cried enough now—how much more are you planning to cry? You’ll get so thirsty you’ll fill your belly with water.”

[Comfort, my ass. You call that comfort?]

At this level it’s comfort.

If she’s crying too much and I tell her to stop because I’m concerned, that’s comfort, no?

[Madman...]

The old man shook his head in disbelief. It was infuriating, but I let it go.

It wasn’t someone else who made her cry. It was me. I didn’t have much to say.

“Hh... hhh...”

“...This is insane...”

No sign of stopping. Once the floodgates opened, they stayed open.

What do I do now? I thought for a moment and decided.

“Well then, take care of that. I’ll be going.”

I ditched her fast. I didn’t want to be here any longer; I was about to bolt—

Clench.

“Oh for—damn it...”

Like a ghost, Namgung Hyeon grabbed my clothes. I tried to wrench free and failed.

‘...Why is she this strong?’

I couldn’t break away. Don’t tell me she’s stronger than me...?

Only then did it click. Of course she’s Namgung Clan, and a direct-line blood relative—she’s a martial artist.

Naturally she’d be stronger than me.

“...”

Thinking that far, I stopped moving for a moment.

In that position, I spoke to her.

“...Why.”

My voice was much softer than before.

Tears still on her face, she looked straight at me.

“...Ugh, you’ve got tears and snot everywhere. Don’t look at me like that. Any fondness I have is going to die.”

“...”

“Kidding.”

Truth was seventy percent, but I called it a joke. Otherwise she’d cry harder.

“So what is it?”

Why grab me? When I asked that, she said:

“Zhe... jush... a li’olk.”

What?

It was like she’d taken her teeth out—the pronunciation was wrecked. I was about to work out the meaning when—

[She’s asking if we can talk for a moment.]

Yoo Cheongil translated for me.

“Oh, you want to talk?”

She nodded. The tears, of course, didn’t stop.

Talk, huh? After grabbing me this hard, I was curious what she wanted to say.

“Then there’s something you need to do first, isn’t there?”

If that’s the case, I had to receive something first.

“An apology.”

“...!”

“Apologize to me. Properly.”

I wiped the distaste off my voice and the scowl off my face. I looked at her dead serious.

“That comes first, doesn’t it? Am I wrong?”

Apologize for not observing basic courtesy back then. At that, her eyes quivered.

One second. Two. Three. Time passed. When it reached five—

Thud— She let go and stood up.

“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”

I turned my back without hesitation and started to move—

“I... I apol’ize...”

She said in a wavering voice. Sniffling, she swallowed something down; I didn’t care to imagine what.

“...For the discourtesy I showed you then, Young Master... I offer a formal apology. So, please... grant me a chance to speak with you.”

“Hm...”

I turned my head slightly and cut her a glance.

Her pride must’ve taken a real hit—the tremble in her body was impressive.

That’s enough.

“Fine.”

The moment I granted it, her face unknotted.

The same person who’d been crying from anger at my words smiled, relieved, just because I agreed to talk.

It was a little pitiable.

Of course—

‘I guided it that way anyway.’

Pressuring the situation into this channel was my intention.

I closed the distance again and came up to her.

I bent my knees to meet her gaze. Then I asked:

“So, what do you want to talk about with me?”

“Th-that is...”

She hastily took a letter from her breast.

“...It’s this—would you join hands with me?”

“Hands?”

I tilted my head.

My eyes never left hers.

“What kind of hands are we talking about?”

“...Truthfully, I want to push my brother out.”

“Ah, that so?”

I grinned. The context didn’t matter.

Only her reaction mattered.

Thinking I was responding positively, the corners of her eyes shifted, just a hair.

“Yes... and, well... since Young Master Bang won in a duel against my brother... if you join hands with me now, I can do a lot for you.”

“For example?”

“F-for example...”

Her voice trembled. Her eyes flicked left to right in brief, “invisible” darts.

Classic posture of trying to recall something rehearsed. More precisely, trying to recall a memorized list.

“Beyond the Namgung Clan support my brother mentioned... access to our merchant consortium... and, if you wished, I could help you secure an engagement with the Namgung Clan.”

“Engagement? With who?”

I asked as if intrigued; with a shaking fingertip, she pointed to herself.

“...With me... marry me...”

“Aha... with Lady Namgung?”

With her?

‘Mm.’

She was direct line, and becoming a son-in-law to that side came with a decent future.

The problem was—

“What do I have to do in return for all that?”

If I receive that much, what do I owe her?

Curious, I asked. She answered like she’d been waiting:

“...T-the Azure Dragon Orb you’re holding... I want you to give it to me.”

Azure Dragon Orb. The blue bead Namgung Seong had been searching for.

“Oh, that bead? You need it?”

“Yes... with that alone, I can overtake my brother.”

“Mmm. I see.”

“I think it’s a good deal... because if my brother wakes now, Young Master Bang will be in trouble.”

At that, I widened my eyes and asked:

“Me? Why?”

I put on the picture of total ignorance, and she swallowed and said:

“B-because after the duel ended, you struck my brother’s vital spot and... th-that’s not something our house can just overlook...”

“That’s true.”

Right. If Namgung Seong—currently unconscious, supposedly—woke up and picked that apart, it would be bad for me.

The duel was over, and I kneed him there because I was pissed.

But if I allied with Namgung Hyeon? That is to say, she’d shield me from her brother’s grasp.

Nice. As deals go, not bad. I nodded along, and she, feeling she’d made headway, started to say—

“So... join hands wi—”

“But your brother’s already awake.”

She closed her mouth.

Like she’d turned to stone, her body went rigid. It was so funny I laughed out loud without meaning to.

“Ha-ha... ah... sorry. It just got me.”

“...What... are you... saying?”

“What do you think.”

Ahem. I cut off the laugh and forced my face straight.

“Your brother’s already awake.”

“...No. My brother is still bedridden...”

“Come on. That’s not it.”

I let my voice drop. It wouldn’t matter—she wouldn’t hear it at her ear anyway.

“You. You came on Namgung Seong’s orders. Everything you just said was his line.”

“Th... that’s not...”

I ignored her denial. No point hearing it.

“The terms weren’t bad... but your acting’s weak... shame. Ah—no. The terms weren’t that good either. Who’s marrying who now? If you want «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» to make an offer, do it properly. I can’t get immersed.”

Where did it go wrong...?

Her sudden visit—that was already wrong.

And then, “push out my brother so I can take the seat”? On a cold approach?

Not even funny.

“If this is the best move he’s got, I’m disappointed... but fine.”

I smiled brightly; unlike earlier, she avoided my eyes.

“Anyway, you need the Azure Dragon Orb, right? If that’s all, we’re fine. I was going to give it back anyway.”

“...!”

She flinched. Is it so shocking that I’d already planned to return it?

It wasn’t a lie. In fact—

“R-really?”

“Yeah. It’s important. It should go back to its rightful owner.”

“T-then—”

“So I already returned it.”

“...What?”

Her face went blank.

Returned it?

“To whom... who did you...”

“Who else? The Namgung Clan, obviously. It’s theirs.”

“...”

She seemed to understand; her face slowly went pale.

Right.

The Azure Dragon Orb that Namgung Seong planned to “secretly” reclaim would, if my estimate was right, in less than two days...

“The Azure Dragon Orb will be neatly packaged and delivered to the Namgung Clan Head.”

At my request, through Cheon Eujin, in the Blue Moon Sect’s name.

Which means, in short—

“Could you tell your brother not to worry so much?”

Namgung Seong just got screwed.

****

And sure enough—

“You little bastard—!!”

Not long after, a certain someone’s roar came rolling in.