‘Why?’
What the hell is this situation?
I rubbed my eyes dry and, while kneeling, cautiously raised my head.
*Sip.*
I saw someone drinking tea in front of me.
Looking at the woman sitting upright, drinking tea—
It felt utterly alien.
Perhaps because she was someone who could not possibly be in my room.
Probably.
Baekhwaju Mihyoran.
The leader of the fairly famous Baekhwa Merchant Guild, and—
The mother of Gu Huibi and Gu Yeonseo—
The current lady of the Gu Clan was sitting in my room, drinking tea.
Her appearance was a face so young and beautiful beyond her years that one could tell exactly where Gu Huibi and Gu Yeonseo’s looks had come from.
At the same time, she was also a woman with somewhat fierce eyes that wouldn’t lose even when compared to the innate dignity of the Gu Clan’s lineage.
*Clack.*
The teacup at her lips was lowered onto the table, making a sound.
Perhaps because the room was filled with silence, even that small sound rang out loud.
Lady Mi’s gaze turned toward me.
I flinched unconsciously at those sharp eyes.
“It’s been a while.”
An extremely curt voice.
Unlike the fiery personalities of the Gu sisters.
Lady Mi was someone who maintained such a cold, detached demeanor.
‘Father has that feeling too. Just who did Gu Huibi take after to end up like that?’
Not that I had any right to say that.
If we were picking who had the worse temper, Gu Huibi and I were probably about the same.
After hesitating for quite a while, I pursed my lips.
And spoke to her.
“…It has been a long time since I’ve seen you….”
She paused.
Hearing my greeting, Lady Mi stopped her movements for some unknown reason.
A strange light settled in the gaze that looked at me.
It was an odd reaction. Why was she reacting like that?
“…How curious.”
“Pardon?”
“Receiving a greeting from you, I mean. How long has it been since that happened?”
My chest tightened.
Had it been?
Come to think of it, back when Lady Mi stayed at the main house—
Even though it was uncomfortable, I had at least greeted her.
But even that stopped right after Mother disappeared.
I had been so broken that I was in no state to do so with anyone.
And during that time, Lady Mi left the main house, so that was that.
However, this wasn’t a situation to be immersed in sentiment.
I half-heartedly suppressed my feelings and asked Lady Mi,
“…May I ask why you have come to find me?”
Was there any reason for her to come find me like this?
I was curious about that.
Had my question been strange?
Lady Mi’s gaze seemed to shift subtly.
“I heard you had changed a lot, and it seems that is certainly the case.”
“Since it has been a long time since we met, it is only natural that I have changed.”
“Is that so… I suppose it was that long a time for you….”
Downing the last remaining sip of tea.
Lady Mi rose from her seat.
“Since I heard you had just returned, I merely came to see your face, so do not dwell on it too much.”
“…Yes?”
“Let us have a proper greeting later. For now, your father will be looking for you.”
Having said that, Lady Mi turned and headed for the door. I stared at her back, unable to hide my confusion.
Was she really just going to see my face and leave?
I didn’t know what expression to make in this bewildering situation.
‘What the hell.’
I wondered if there might be some other reason.
But looking at Lady Mi’s demeanor, it was difficult to judge.
To me, she was—
Not someone I hated or feared.
Rather, she was someone burdensome and heavy.
Just as Lady Mi opened the door to leave—
*Creak!*
The door opened, and someone entered my room.
“Little brother! Again! Skipping your meals….”
The culprit was none other than Gu Huibi.
Gu Huibi, who had burst through the door and come in, ran into Lady Mi, who was about to leave.
The way Gu Huibi’s expression changed upon facing the situation was quite a sight to behold.
It was an expression that spread simultaneously with confusion and fear.
“Uh… Mother?”
“…This is amusing.”
Following Gu Huibi’s trembling words, Lady Mi’s reply—
Was still as indifferent as before, but—
At that, a line of cold sweat could be seen flowing down Gu Huibi’s cheek.
“…Didn’t this mother of yours clearly tell you to conduct yourself with decorum?”
“That’s not it… I was just trying to look after my younger brother.”
“Are you making excuses for your own mistakes?”
With a few coldly added words, Gu Huibi’s mouth was sealed.
It had always been that way, but Gu Huibi was particularly weak against Lady Mi.
Rather than weak, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say she was crushed?
Unfitting for a heroine who feared nothing in the world, wielded fire, and commanded authority—
Before her own mother, she became a docile lamb.
“…As it happens, I was planning to come find you and Yeonseo later. It seems there is much I have to say to you from now on.”
“U-uh, Mother… that is…”
“Follow me.”
At Lady Mi’s words, Gu Huibi looked this way as if shocked.
It was an expression almost asking for help, but—
‘What do you want me to do?’
There was no way I could help.
In the end, Gu Huibi was dragged out without being able to resist Lady Mi’s hand.
After a tempest had passed—
I had to stare blankly at the door they had left through without properly coming to my senses.
The relationship between me and Lady Mi in my previous life—
Felt neither particularly good nor bad.
If forced to say, I had simply avoided her one-sidedly.
I found her difficult to deal with and feared her at the same time.
The day I was strolling in the garden with Mother.
There was a day when I ran into Lady Mi by chance.
No, to be precise, it was probably more correct to say that Lady Mi had come to find us.
Because that place was the garden of the residence where I, Mother, and Gu Ryeonghwa stayed.
It must have been around then.
When I saw Lady Mi’s eyes glance at me even briefly—
The time when I had unconsciously cowered in fear.
The existence of the principal wife, faced as a child of a concubine, was heavier and more difficult than I thought.
Not only did I not know how to properly deal with her—
Even if I observed propriety, there was no way she would look favorably upon me.
Moreover.
If it was a situation where the child of a concubine was all but certain to grow up and take the seat of clan head—
Could she possibly look favorably upon me?
I thought not.
Right after Mother left, when I resented everyone in the household—
I resented Lady Mi as well.
If asked why I resented her—
Well, perhaps I had simply been immature.
I was at the point of resenting the whole world.
Even if it wasn’t her fault, I must have simply wanted to resent something, anything.
From the beginning, even when Lady Mi stayed at the main house—
She was busy with the merchant guild’s affairs, so she rarely showed her face there.
Because of that, Gu Huibi and Gu Yeonseo often came and went to this residence, spending time here.
‘Could it be that she didn’t like that either?’
She might have.
That my mother and I spent time with her daughters—
She might not have liked that very much.
No matter how much I thought about it—
There was not a single reason for her to look favorably upon me.
That made it even more incomprehensible.
Right after I fell into becoming a demonic human—
Along with becoming a target of the Martial Alliance’s purge—
And around the time the Central Plains were thrown into chaos with the appearance of the Demonic Cult—
The one who cooperated by using her wealth through sponsorships and resource donations here and there was none other than the Baekhwa Merchant Guild.
While other merchant guilds were keeping their heads down to preserve their own lives—
Everyone had been curious why she made such a choice.
The current guild leader, Mihyoran, said this with an indifferent expression.
—“My son has committed a wrong, so as his mother, I am merely finding a way to take responsibility.”
Mother and son.
Those were words far too unsuited to have come from Lady Mi’s mouth.
‘…Why?’
Since it was a situation where all eyes in the world were focused.
If it was a lie she had told to at least make things sound good, I could respect that.
However, if one were to ask whether Lady Mi was someone who would do such a thing merely because the eyes of the world pricked at her—
It was not something I could be sure of.
Even if I didn’t know her well—
I did have the thought that she wasn’t that kind of person.
As if to keep the words she had spoken, she exerted her influence afterward as well.
Including when her own children lost their lives later on—
Even when incidents occurred that shook the Baekhwa Merchant Guild—
She maintained her steadfastness.
‘Does she truly not resent me?’
Could that be possible?
Me, who had driven her children and husband to their deaths.
How could she not resent me?
I am the child of a concubine who doesn’t share a drop of blood with her.
Even if it became something that never happened through regression—
To me, the fact that she is still a heavy and difficult person does not change.
Was this guilt?
It was hard to say it was.
But it was also ambiguous to say it wasn’t.
It was that kind of feeling.
“…Yes.”
At the voice that suddenly rang out, I raised my head.
A banquet hall that was not small.
And those filling this room were all blood relatives of the Gu Clan.
Starting with Father in the seat of honor.
Even Gu Yeonseo, whom I hadn’t seen recently, was sitting there.
It was a banquet to commemorate the return of Gu Huibi and me, but—
As always, it was not lavish.
Nor were they people who particularly enjoyed such things.
I heard that Gu Ryeonghwa had returned to Mount Hua with the Sword Queen, so it was natural she wasn’t here.
Rather than Gu Ryeonghwa, a face I hadn’t seen in a while was sitting there.
‘Long time no see.’
The person sitting in front of me—
Meant Gu Yeonseo, my second older sister.
Gu Yeonseo was still avoiding my eyes.
It seemed she hadn’t particularly wanted to come to this banquet either.
But no matter what, hearing that her own mother was also attending, she seemed to have come out unavoidably.
‘What has she been up to?’
When I glanced at her, she showed signs of growth unlike before.
Both physically and in the internal energy within her body.
‘Around Three-Star to Four-Star, I suppose.’
A rough glance put her around that level.
Should I say she was someone close to touching the wall?
She must have put in considerable effort.
Meanwhile, Gu Yeonseo and I briefly made eye contact—
But each time, she turned her head away, still seemingly finding me uncomfortable.
“I heard you got engaged to the Namgung Clan.”
She flinched.
I felt Gu Huibi, who was eating next to me, jolt at Lady Mi’s words.
If anyone should be surprised, it should be me. Why is this person acting up all of a sudden?
‘Did she get scolded badly over there?’
It looked like she had been dragged away and scolded earlier.
Could she have heard something there?
“It hasn’t happened yet, but it is planned.”
If things proceeded as I had heard—
Probably before long, I would go directly to Anhui to hold the engagement ceremony.
“Namgung… It’s not a bad family.”
Lady Mi’s eyes, which had seemed momentarily thoughtful, went still.
Meanwhile, it was rather surprising that she said a family like the Namgung Clan was not bad.
After all, they are one of the Four Great Clans.
“The child on the other side, is she well?”
“…Yes? Ah, yes… she’s… fine.”
I was momentarily flustered by Lady Mi’s question.
Because I hadn’t expected her to ask me such a thing.
Did my answer please her?
Lady Mi nodded her head.
“…She is staying at the main house, is she not?”
“Yes.”
She was probably asleep around now.
Since this gathering was a banquet for blood relatives, Namgung Bia had not attended.
It was an uncomfortable occasion as well.
Actually, she had seemed to want to come.
But I couldn’t just call her and seat her.
Rather than her being uncomfortable—
It was because I was uncomfortable.
It was far too quiet to be called a banquet.
Father has always been a man of few words.
Gu Huibi, who should be loud and rowdy around now, was also silent, making the atmosphere quite uncomfortable.
*Slurp.*
While the silence continued.
Lady Mi took a sip of tea, as before, and continued speaking.
“I heard that the Murong Clan’s daughter is also staying here.”
At the sound of her voice, I looked around.
Because I wondered who she was asking.
But looking around, there was no one answering.
And since Lady Mi’s gaze seemed directed at me—
‘She’s asking me.’
Because of that feeling, I felt like I would choke for a moment.
This feeling… it was my first time since the day I regressed.
“That is correct.”
If she had heard about it, she must have already been informed long ago.
What did she want to hear?
“…We approached them from our side as well but were all rejected, yet the Tang Clan and the Murong Clan are collaborating in Shaanxi….”
Ah.
Was she perhaps blaming me?
In business, the Murong Clan’s capabilities are considerable. Whichever merchant guild collaborated with them could generate great profits.
So even the Baekhwa Merchant Guild’s approach had been rejected.
Yet the Gu Clan had succeeded out of nowhere.
Baekhwa Merchant Guild is Baekhwa Merchant Guild.
And the Gu Clan is the Gu Clan—a feeling that made for an awkward point.
‘It’s not something I should apologize for, though.’
Still, while looking at Lady Mi with a slightly bitter feeling—
Lady Mi nodded her head and spoke to me.
“I heard it was thanks to your efforts. You have worked hard.”
“…Yes?”
At the sudden praise, I was at a loss for words without realizing it.
Because I hadn’t expected her to say such words.
“Uh…”
Madam Mi, who had actually spoken—
Had an expression of deep thought since earlier.
It seemed something wasn’t going as she wished.
Or perhaps she was thinking of something else.
‘…I wish I didn’t have to pay attention to this if possible.’
The discomfort was still unavoidable.
‘Why did she return?’
Lady Mi had left the main house right after Mother disappeared.
In my previous life, when she returned to the main house once again—
Was around the time I had passed my adolescence.
Probably…
‘Was it when I ascended to the position of young clan leader?’
It was roughly around then.
‘Is there some circumstance?’
If there were a problem with the merchant guild, she probably wouldn’t have come all the way to the Gu Clan.
Even if some problem had erupted, Lady Mi’s actions didn’t seem urgent.
Of course, having long worked as a capable guild leader—
Her ability to hide such processes would be exceptional as well.
‘I also haven’t heard any stories about something happening to the Baekhwa Merchant Guild.’
…Even if I recall the events of my previous life.
Because I had gone around causing incidents, so many things had changed that it was useless now anyway.
A little more uncomfortable time passed.
The banquet reached its end, and it became time for everyone to stand up.
Father, who had said nothing throughout the meal, stood up first.
Afterward, Lady Mi and the Gu sisters left.
For reference, Gu Huibi was half-dragged out as if being pulled away.
Even while leaving, Lady Mi glanced my way once before exiting—
And because I had been secretly picking up and eating dumplings, I almost choked when our eyes met.
I barely swallowed it down with water and had to make a blank expression.
“What the hell…?”
I still had no idea what her intentions were.
I wondered if she wanted something from me.
But since she said nothing, I couldn’t know.
Not long after.
*Swish—!*
Namgung Bia, who had been swinging her sword under the moonlight at her residence, faced a visitor who had arrived suddenly.
It was someone Namgung Bia had never seen before.
“Nice to meet you.”
Immediately after hearing her identity, Namgung Bia couldn’t help but sharpen her hazy eyes.
Soon.
The visitor asked Namgung Bia, who was extremely tense, in a calm voice.
“Could we talk for a moment?”
Namgung Bia thought.
She worried whether she had refreshments at her residence.
She belatedly worried whether she had tea to serve.
Since there was no way she had such things, she had to despair.