EP.28 Stench. (1)
Stench (1)
Morning broke after spending the night at the lodgings.
Strictly speaking, it was still dawn, but I had to wake up around this time for an early departure.
Stretching my stiff body, I stepped outside just as Wi Seol-ah was coming out of the servants' room next door.
She was rubbing her eyes, still not fully awake, so I flicked a peanut at her lightly.
"Ow...!"
"Wake up. Go wash your face downstairs."
"It hurtsss..."
"Drama queen. Where else would you find a servant who wakes up later than their master?"
"The older sisters left without waking me..."
"Then wake yourself up."
"Hmph, sorry..."
Wi Seol-ah headed downstairs with anxious footsteps.
How long would departure prep take? Roughly two shichen, I figured.
Creak.
I heard a door opening beside me and looked over—Nangong Cheonjun was stepping out.
The guy looked neat and tidy, as if he'd finished preparing in advance.
When our eyes met, he furrowed his brow slightly.
Should I greet him? I genuinely considered it for a moment. But given yesterday's events, there seemed to be no need.
Instead, he glared at me and looked about to say something.
Just then, Nangong Bia popped out of the adjacent room as if she'd been waiting.
Nangong Cheonjun immediately changed his expression. He became the very image of that gentle young master we met yesterday.
"You're up early, Young Master Gu. Did you rest well through the long night?"
".....Yeah."
All I could manage was an exclamation. What is this uniquely crazy bastard?
I remembered treating Peng Woo-jin as a madman and felt bad for him.
At least Peng Woo-jin seemed like a decent person even if he was crazy.
This son of a bitch was just crazy on top of being a rotten bastard.
Nangong Bia tilted her head looking at us. Her expression asked why the two of us were standing there together.
"I came out after waking and happened to run into Young Master Gu. Sister, it seems you've just woken up as well."
"Ah... right..."
"We'll be departing soon, so please get ready, Sister. I'll send a servant to your room."
"...Okay."
Nangong Cheonjun's talent for cutting in before I could say anything was remarkable. Clearly not a skill honed from just one or two attempts.
Nangong Bia gave a short yawn before going back into her room. At that, Nangong Cheonjun immediately glared at me.
Then he added:
"Keep the warning I gave yesterday in your head."
With those words, the bastard brushed past me and headed downstairs.
Was the man named Nangong Cheonjun, who would become the Lightning Sword, always like this? Before Nangong Bia lost her mind and wiped out the Nangong with her own hands, that is.
He was a man highly praised for upholding justice and righteousness as the next patriarch of the Nangong Family.
Anyway, the Nangong clan members are out of their minds. Patriarch or elder alike. Let alone their children.
At the very least, that was the case judging solely from what I'd seen.
'With that kind of state, they're the center of the Four Great Families... The end times are truly here...'
Turning my head, I too headed downstairs.
Downstairs, the Gu family servants had already gathered.
Muyeon spotted me coming down and approached.
"Young Master, would you like to eat?"
"Hmm... Not particularly drawn to anything."
"The dumplings are delicious."
"Then I suppose I should have some."
At my words, dumplings came out as if they'd been waiting.
Wi Seol-ah, still half-asleep, had entrusted her head to the other servants.
"Seol-ah's hair is so nice."
"Isn't it because she's young? My hair was nice when I was young too..."
"What are you talking about? You had total dog fur, Gae-dong oppa said he could use your hair as a broom."
"Don't bring that up! I scratched her face last time she mentioned it."
"...No wonder she had a scar on her face. When I asked, she said a cat scratched her. That was you?"
"Is Hongwa unni's hair really dog fur?"
"Ahem, Seol-ah, you shouldn't learn words like that."
Useless chatter. In the midst of it all, Wi Seol-ah was half-asleep.
...But she naturally has a dumpling in her hand? Is she eating in her sleep?
I also picked up a dumpling and ate one.
Freshly steamed was indeed the best.
Screech.
While eating dumplings, I heard a chair scraping beside me. I looked over and saw Nangong Bia had somehow appeared and taken the seat next to mine.
Why are you sitting there...?
"...Miss, your seat is over there, not here."
Directly across from us, the Nangong people were gathered and seated.
But why not go over there and instead sit next to me making a fuss.
Because of that, that crazy Nangong son is staring at me with burning eyes.
Nangong Bia, whether she knew or not, reached for a dumpling, and I immediately blocked her with my chopsticks.
"Miss, this dumpling is mine. Never mind that—why did you sit here?"
"...I just sat here because it was close..."
"Your brother's gaze is pretty intense, you know?"
"...?"
Nangong Bia looked toward Nangong Cheonjun at my words, but he'd managed his expression in the meantime and wore a faint smile.
'...What a chilling bastard.'
No, if you're going to act, do it for everyone. Why just mess with me? Did I do something to get on your bad side?
Nangong Bia looked back at me as if asking what the problem was, so I just left her to it.
But don't touch the dumplings, you witch....
I shoved the last dumpling into my mouth and stood up roughly.
Nangong Bia's gaze seemed fixed on the dumpling that had entered my mouth, but whatever.
Perhaps feeling pitiful, Wi Seol-ah appeared with dumplings and handed them to Nangong Bia.
The sight of that round glutton offering food was amazing no matter how many times I saw it. She barely has enough for herself as it is.
Then, having finally obtained the dumplings, Nangong Bia gently stroked Wi Seol-ah's head.
Wi Seol-ah smiled brightly once before coming over and sitting near me.
She pushed her head toward me as if asking for head pats for doing a good job, so I thumped her.
"Ugh!"
"What did you do well that deserves praise!"
"Grandpa said giving food to hungry people is a good deed..."
"There are plenty of other people to give it to besides you! Go eat more dumplings."
"Yees..."
She trudged back and ate dumplings among the servants.
As I was sighing deeply watching that, Muyeon approached.
"Young Master, it looks like we'll depart in about one shichen."
"Earlier departure than I thought. Is preparation all done?"
"Yes, once meals are finished, we just need to load the supplies and go."
It should be around late afternoon when we arrive.
Then thankfully, we'd arrive right on schedule.
"Then let's get ready to—"
I was speaking when I noticed Muyeon turning his head in a strange direction.
Wondering why, I saw Nangong Bia next to us obsessively staring at Muyeon's sword.
This level of obsession was truly madness.
"...Miss Nangong, didn't you say you can't do that? Please stop staring. You'll make someone sick."
Feeling it shouldn't go on, I told Muyeon to go quickly.
Muyeon paid his respects to me and disappeared half a step faster than usual.
"Why are you so fixated on Muyeon when there are plenty of others?"
"Because he's a strong swordsman... I feel like I could learn a lot from sparring with him..."
"Then just do that with your brother who's glaring like a madman over there."
"Cheonjun is..."
Nangong Bia started to speak but closed her mouth.
I found it strange that she swallowed her next words.
Wasn't the Thunder Dragon strong? Even from a brief glance, he was clearly a step or two above Gu Yeon-seo and Gu Jeol-yeop. I wasn't sure how he compared to Muyeon, though.
At the very least, Nangong Cheonjun was at a position where he couldn't win even if I used a secret technique forcibly, like when I sparred with Gu Jeol-yeop.
A question suddenly arose.
It was about Nangong Bia.
'Come to think of it, why wasn't she known?'
The Demon Sword Empress is a peerless swordswoman.
Even before being a demonic figure, her swordsmanship was such that even the Sword Demon would have conceded a move.
Such a person couldn't have failed to bloom in her current age.
I couldn't see her properly, but at the very least, she shouldn't be inferior to that Nangong bastard who's looking at me like he wants to kill me.
The first and last epithet she gained was none other than the Demon Sword Empress.
It meant the time she began making her name as a strong figure was much later from now.
...What could be the reason? Even among late bloomers, there are ranks, but she shouldn't be so lacking as to not make the Five Dragons Three Peaks.
Is there something I don't know?
"Then I shouldn't be curious."
"...Yes?"
"It's nothing. Miss, finish your dumplings, and I'll be getting up."
I sprang up and moved my feet outside the inn. Wi Seol-ah followed as if she'd been waiting. She had two dumplings in her hand, likely to eat.
"You're going to eat two? Eating while moving might make you sick."
"One is for Young Master!"
"That's a pretty good idea."
We ate dumplings harmoniously as we headed to the carriage.
Following Wi Seol-ah and constantly picking at food, it seemed my eating amount had increased too.
Something like flesh was gradually forming at my sides—I'd probably need to increase my training volume.
******************
Nangong Bia kept watching the backs of Gu Yang-cheon and Wi Seol-ah as they went outside.
Her gaze wouldn't leave them.
Why? She asked herself, but she already knew the answer.
In that moment, Nangong Bia sensed a stench.
She wanted to cover her nose, but she knew it was a scent that wouldn't disappear even if she covered it.
"Sister."
Nangong Bia slowly moved her head to look at her younger brother.
It was thick. It was all a stench. Why did her brother emit such an unbearable stench?
She couldn't understand.
Her father, the elders, even her brother—she didn't want to be near any of them.
Her brother treated her well without doing anything abrasive, but even so, Nangong Bia couldn't define the emotion gradually growing inside her.
Was this guilt toward her bloodline, or purely disgust toward them?
'...I want to run away.'
She wanted to run away to a place without the stench.
"We're all sitting over there, why did you sit here?"
Nangong Cheonjun asked.
Because the gathered place smelled even worse.
Nangong Bia couldn't bring herself to say the reason straight out.
"...Just because this was close."
"Doing this could be a nuisance to others. Please sit properly from next time."
"Yeah... Sorry."
Nangong Cheonjun's smiling face entered her eyes, but something felt blocked inside her.
She wanted to run away.
'Where to?'
Nangong Bia asked herself. Gu Yang-cheon suddenly came to mind.
Surprisingly, there was no stench at all around him when they happened to cross paths.
No scent at all. It was a sensation she'd felt for the first time in her life.
The man named Muyeon and the Gu family people all emitted a slight stench, but when she went near Gu Yang-cheon, even that couldn't be felt.
She couldn't understand the irritation directed at her that she felt from Gu Yang-cheon, or the distance he suddenly tried to keep.
But even that felt comfortable.
Nangong Bia found it increasingly difficult to endure this revulsion she felt the moment she stepped even slightly away from his side.
She sprang up and moved her feet.
"Sister... where are you going?"
"The carriage... I'll go rest there first."
Leaving her brother behind, Nangong Bia followed after Gu Yang-cheon with quick steps.
Eventually, left alone, Nangong Cheonjun watched Nangong Bia go outside and changed his expression.
The face acting as the good brother returned to a cold face without a hint of a smile.
"What could be the problem."
Crack—crack.
The sound of bones coming from his fingers—Nangong Cheonjun's habit.
Something was wrong. This shouldn't have happened—where did things start tangling up?
"I really hate meddlers, you see."
The sound stopped, and eventually Nangong Cheonjun slowly turned around.
What filled the cold eyes of Nangong Cheonjun as he turned was unmistakably killing intent.