I finished wandering around the estate and returned to my quarters.
Namgung Bia’s inner qi and gaze stabbing into my back were so terrifying that I walked faster.
And so, I arrived earlier than expected.
‘…I shouldn’t go out looking like that again.’
She was someone who probably didn’t even know where her food was going.
There was no way I could endure that atmosphere for long.
Someday.
If possible, even if we went out together.
I would have to either go alone or take only one person with me.
If not, it would truly be unbearable.
*Huff!*
I slowly extended my fist forward.
Even while lost in thought, my movements stretched out straight and true.
Thanks to the countless repetitions of bygone days.
Hard is hard.
Training was not something I could rest from, so I had to push through with sheer grit.
‘As my inner qi increases, controlling it becomes that much harder.’
Compressing the increased inner qi was no easy task.
Unlike in my previous life, where I would simply release it as it expanded.
In this life, I had to learn a more efficient way to use it.
Since I had obtained a hint of enlightenment.
I had to expand on it and contain it within my body.
It was to advance to a slightly higher realm.
Moving while reviewing each minute motion.
Reducing the inner qi that moved accordingly.
Yet still reaching the desired level of power.
This required intense concentration.
My teeth clenched involuntarily at the ache in my dantian, as if it were being wrung out, but I had to do it.
*Fwip.*
With carefully lowered toes.
I recalled the conversation I had with Moyong Huia just moments ago.
To summarize.
Moyong Huia said she would go to Anhui together.
Not only was it inevitable in order to periodically receive yang energy.
But since she also happened to have business in the Anhui region.
She said she would accompany me.
Of course, I had expected this to some degree.
But when she actually said she would go together, I couldn’t help but be more surprised than expected.
After all, it was a blood member of the Moyong Clan, one of the Four Great Families, visiting another clan.
Moreover, the Moyong Clan and the Namgung Clan.
While they had grown quite close now.
Back around the generation before last, they had frequently been compared as rival sword martial families among the Four Great Families.
‘…The Moyong Clan is a bit lacking now, after all.’
If one considered martial might alone.
Even the family head, Changcheon Sword King Namgung Jin.
And his son, Nyoryong, were considerable, but rather than those two, simply thinking of Namgung Bia right beside me was enough.
Probably not just within the Namgung Clan.
Even searching the entire Central Plains, it would not be easy to find talent like Namgung Bia’s.
A woman who had reached the peak at the mere age of twenty.
In her previous life, she was someone who possessed the power to annihilate her own clan single-handedly.
Of course, Moyong Huia was not without talent either, but.
Rather than outstanding talent as a martial artist.
She was more exceptional as a merchant or a strategist.
‘…I know that well.’
I had watched it until I was sick of it in my previous life, so there was no way I wouldn’t know.
Among those deranged demonic beasts.
The reason quite a few survivors were able to endure for so long.
Was not the martial might of the gathered high-level experts.
But entirely because Seolbong commanded people with such skill and efficiency.
Furthermore, when the time came for her to sacrifice herself according to the situation.
Because she threw herself in without hesitation.
She created the justification for many to follow her.
An infinitely cold, rational woman.
As if laughter had frozen solid in the cold, cynical atmosphere she carried.
A person in whom not a trace of it could be seen.
That was the Seolbong in my memory, but—
“I’ll cherish it.”
*Kyu…*
The bright smile she made upon receiving a cheap trinket suddenly came to mind.
It was a face so different from her previous life.
I had never imagined that Seolbong could make such a face.
Nor had I ever tried to imagine it.
What this meant was.
‘Just as the Demonic Sword Empress did, she too can change, I suppose.’
Just as I could no longer see the bloody smell, the predatory nature, or the disgust and hatred toward others that I had felt from the Demonic Sword Empress of the previous life in the current Namgung Bia.
As Moyong Huia’s coldness diminished.
I wondered if a different atmosphere from her previous life was seeping into her as well.
If that was because of me, then.
*Stagger—.*
“Damn…!”
Was it because a sudden thought had crossed my mind?
The toe I was moving with effort shook for a moment.
My form twisted, and the inner qi I had barely held onto scattered.
Returning to my dantian.
“…Tch.”
Feeling this, I clicked my tongue briefly.
This is why you mustn’t have stray thoughts.
“Today’s training is over.”
Since my concentration had broken, pushing further would be of no help.
In the end, after recovering even the faint inner qi remaining in my body.
I moved my feet.
‘For some reason.’
Perhaps because my stray thoughts had increased.
I felt like I wouldn’t be able to sleep well today.
I was dreaming.
How long had it been? That I was dreaming, I mean.
And not a nightmare, but an ordinary dream.
If you ask how I knew it was a dream right away.
It wasn’t anything special.
‘It’s soft.’
I was currently stroking a cat’s chin.
Because there was no cat in my quarters.
Then it must be a dream, of course.
I don’t particularly like cats.
No, I don’t really like animals in the first place.
I just saw it and was petting it.
Perhaps because my touch was gentle.
The cat rubbed its face against my hand.
It was a white-furred, blue-eyed cat.
How unusual.
So cats like this exist too.
It looked quite different from the tabbies I occasionally saw around the neighborhood.
It had an air of nobility, whether one realized it or not.
It felt like it had excellent bloodlines at a glance.
*Purr—*
When I quickly moved my fingers to tickle its chin.
The cat let out a rumbling sound.
It seemed to be in a good mood.
‘But somehow, it feels like it resembles someone.’
White fur and blue eyes.
Who is it?
It clearly resembles someone.
‘Ah.’
I remembered.
Wasn’t there someone right beside me who looked exactly like it?
‘Namgung Bia.’
White and blue eyes.
That’s exactly right.
This cat resembled Namgung Bia.
Perhaps that was why.
Somehow, my hands petting it changed without me realizing.
Moving my hand from tickling its chin.
To stroking its head.
Or gently rubbing its cheek.
Perhaps because it was a dream, even so, the cat simply enjoyed the touch obediently.
Then.
*Grrr—*
The sound of a beast gnashing its teeth was heard from somewhere.
When I urgently checked behind me.
I saw an unknown black figure slowly approaching.
‘That is…’
What is that?
I looked on with a bewildered expression at the sudden aura.
But the approaching black figure suddenly rushed this way at high speed.
I urgently hugged the cat.
To protect it.
When I hugged it tightly, somehow the feeling of it in my arms was different.
It was clearly a small cat.
Yet it felt like it filled my arms.
Should I say it was like hugging a person?
The softness I felt was clearly different.
“Ugh, guh—”
“Hm?”
A short shriek.
For a dream, it was somehow too vivid.
The sensation was the same.
Could I dare call this a dream?
Perhaps because I felt that sense of alienation.
I woke from the dream unknowingly.
“…Hmm?”
Raising my heavy eyelids and barely checking my surroundings.
I was hugging something.
It was quite soft and fluffy.
What is it?
A pillow?
As I tried to pull away slightly.
I felt something stroking my hair.
Judging by the feel, it was definitely a hand.
The moment I was certain, I urgently pulled my body back to create distance.
“Wh-what.”
Checking the situation.
My eyes fell upon what I had been hugging until now.
Namgung Bia was there, her eyes wide in surprise, blinking blankly.
“…Y-you. What are you? What are you doing?”
When I asked in shock.
Namgung Bia tilted her head.
“…I just… came to… wake you up?”
This absurd situation felt more like a dream.
No way.
Had what I had been fumbling with in the dream been the real thing?
It couldn’t be.
If it were true, Namgung Bia wouldn’t have stayed still.
“…Are you okay?”
Rather, Namgung Bia made an expression as if she were worried about me, who had reacted so suddenly.
“I’m fine. Nothing happened.”
“ ”
At my answer, she tilted her head.
Then she slowly opened her arms slightly.
Seeing that, I frowned slightly and asked.
“What are you doing?”
“…You want to hug me… don’t you…? Or… do you want to touch me…?”
“ ”
At Namgung Bia’s words, I rubbed my burning face.
It seemed I hadn’t just been doing it in the dream.
“…I don’t, so put your arms back.”
At my words, Namgung Bia returned her arms to their original position.
It wasn’t like Namgung Bia coming to my room was a rare occurrence.
So it wasn’t particularly surprising, but…
No, it certainly was surprising. I had simply grown used to it.
Even the servants seemed no longer to care whether Namgung Bia came in or not.
‘This is really embarrassing.’
Could this be the most embarrassing moment of the year?
I hadn’t thought I’d show myself like this.
“…Get out. I’ll wash up and be right out.”
*Kyu…*
First, to cool my face.
To calm down and go out, I tried to send Namgung Bia out, but for some reason, she simply sat still and looked at me.
“Why? Do you have something to say?”
To my question, Namgung Bia slowly spread her arms.
“As expected… hug me….”
“Please get out….”
Namgung Bia finally went outside, looking reluctant.
I urgently called a servant, finished washing my face.
And changed my clothes.
The servant’s gaze felt somewhat strange, but.
Seeing my sullen face, he quickly changed his expression.
Probably because of my flushed face, he seemed to have had some strange imagination.
“When is departure?”
“I heard it will be about one sijin from now.”
“Then there’s time to eat.”
I nodded at the servant’s answer.
A few days had passed since I went out with Namgung Bia and Moyong Huia.
Today, as I had heard from my father, was the day we departed for Anhui.
The stay at the estate had not been very long.
Thanks to that, the schedule was tight.
I had to handle quite a lot of matters within a few days.
Showing my face at the surrounding merchant guilds as my father had mentioned.
Cramming the education I normally received.
On top of that, Gu Huibi came to bother me whenever she had a chance.
And Madame Mi, whom I somehow ran into often.
Ah.
For reference, from the moment I gave the necklace to Moyong Huia.
Namgung Bia had not spoken to me for several days.
She seemed quite upset.
Even when I approached her, she only ignored me without engaging.
While I was worrying about what to do.
Hongwa, who was watching from the side, spoke to me.
\-Why don’t you bring her a flower or something? Then she’ll surely come around.
When I first heard the advice, I was speechless.
If flowers were enough to make her feel better, she would have gotten over it by now.
When I asked if there was nothing else.
Hongwa made an expression I had never seen before and let out a deep sigh.
\-…For a moment, I felt pity for the Young Lady Namgung.
It was a considerably lamenting voice.
At that sight, I played along and gathered flowers to bring to Namgung Bia.
For reference, I gathered white flowers.
Because the only flowers I knew were the ones my mother grew.
‘…It’s a relief it worked, though.’
It really worked.
When I gave the flowers.
Surprisingly, I could see Namgung Bia’s surprised expression.
And even a smile.
Why does it work?
Aren’t they just flowers?
A woman’s heart is truly something one can never know.
Dressed in the prepared clothes and coming outside.
I saw Namgung Bia standing in the garden.
She seemed to be admiring the lake attached to my courtyard.
Though there should be nothing there…
There would have been carp in that pond normally.
But it looked troublesome to manage, so I had sent them to Guyeonseo’s pond.
“When did you wake up?”
“Hm?”
“If you came all the way to my room, didn’t you wake up very early?”
“…Ah.”
Unlike me, who had just finished preparing.
Namgung Bia had finished preparing a while ago.
Her hair was even styled prettily.
I think she even put on light makeup.
“You wouldn’t have done it yourself. Did Hongwa help?”
“…Ung?”
I asked because I didn’t think Namgung Bia would bother dressing up just because she was returning to her own home.
Especially since Namgung Bia, who sleeps a lot, was up this early.
Her clothes looked neater than usual.
The sword at her waist was nowhere to be seen.
Anyone could tell it wasn’t Namgung Bia’s own handiwork.
“Who did it for you?”
“…That is.”
Why can’t she answer?
At my question, Namgung Bia avoided my gaze as if somewhat troubled.
Is there a need to go that far?
“…Madame Mi….”
“What?”
I reflexively asked back at the unexpected answer.
Because Madame Mi had popped up out of nowhere.
“Why Madame Mi?”
“…Because I’m returning to my own home… she said it’s right to show that I’ve been doing well….”
In other words.
Madame Mi had come for Namgung Bia from early morning.
She had servants wash her, dress her, and doll her up.
“What is this about?”
I roughly understood the meaning.
The distance to Anhui isn’t short.
What is she trying to do, starting already?
My doubt swelled intensely.
Namgung Bia added.
“…When we arrive… she said she’d let me know then too….”
*Kyu…*
I see.
Madame Mi is coming with us anyway.
The problem was why Madame Mi was going through the trouble of doing that to Namgung Bia.
‘The visible attention is one thing, but.’
Remembering that there was no need to do so to another family’s child, it was certainly an incomprehensible action.
‘I heard that Gu Huibi is having a hard time in her own way too.’
As soon as Madame Mi returned.
Gu Huibi started dropping dead.
Gu Huibi was originally someone with an even more fiery temper than mine.
Etiquette and decency.
And caught by Madame Mi, who values dignity.
I heard she was being re-educated on studies and attitude regarding this.
‘Wow… that must really suck.’
It gave me chills just hearing it.
When had Gu Huibi ever cared about such things?
Moreover, when speaking of the Sword Peak in the current Central Plains.
Alongside her reputation as the foremost late-stage expert.
She was already a figure of legend whose fiery temper was every bit as famous.
Gu Huibi’s personality had been like that since the past, not just now.
And it would not change in the future. At least, the future I had seen was like that.
That she didn’t talk back to Madame Mi or run away.
Must mean that Gu Huibi herself likes her mother quite a bit.
On the other hand, Guyeonseo seemed to enjoy that process, but that’s another story.
“So that’s why you came to me like that since morning?”
“…Ung.”
“That must have been tough.”
“Not really….”
What do you mean it’s not.
It was amazing that a kid who doesn’t even wake up well was up since morning.
Seems she somehow managed to get up after all.
“Let’s go eat first.”
“…Ah….”
Namgung Bia faltered for a moment.
“What’s wrong?”
I heard there was about one sijin left until departure.
There’s plenty of time to eat.
Namgung Bia made a subtle expression.
There was no way Namgung Bia could have eaten anything at this hour.
Why is she acting like that?
“Is there a problem?”
I asked, harboring suspicion.
Namgung Bia answered carefully.
“…Rice… Madame Mi said to eat together… she said.”
“What?”
Madame Mi?
It was rather bewildering that she made such a proposal not to me, but to Namgung Bia.
I had felt like we’d been running into each other frequently lately for some reason.
But an out-of-the-blue meal proposal from early morning?
“What, suddenly? Where do we go?”
“ ”
At the question of where to go.
Namgung Bia shook her head.
As if that wasn’t it.
“Not that? Then what exactly….”
“Just me….”
“Hm?”
“…She told only me to come….”
…Only you?
Why?