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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Chapter 12
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“Again.”
“Hup!”
He swung his sword faster than before.
The air sliced with a whoosh, a swish.
But Ilhwa’s sword, once again, easily parried his attack.
A few more sword strikes were exchanged.
At one point, Ilhwa’s sword found a gap in his blade path and struck the Red Dragon Commander’s forearm.
“Aargh!”
As he clutched his throbbing forearm, a youthful voice reached his ears.
“Putting too much strength into it doesn’t make it a good attack. You should only use as much as you can control.”
As they say, too much is as bad as too little.
Loading too much power into a sword won’t allow you to cleave a rock.
If you try to split a rock with brute force, the blade will only be damaged and break.
Only when you apply the precise speed and force to the rock’s grain and small fissures will it finally split.
The Red Dragon Commander was like that now.
His attacks, swung with reckless power, were forceful but not threatening.
“If you try to put too much strength into it, your body tenses up. When your body tenses, you can’t swing your sword as you wish.”
“Ugh…!”
The Red Dragon Commander swung his sword low and horizontally.
It was a strike aimed at Ilhwa’s short stature, but she easily dodged it by stepping back.
Then, she ducked lower, swiftly burrowing beneath him.
“…!”
The Red Dragon Commander belatedly twisted his body, attempting to change his sword path, but—
Thwack—!
Ilhwa’s sword struck his ankle bone even faster.
“Aaaaargh!”
The Red Dragon Commander, still twisted, collapsed onto the spot.
This time, he managed to avoid falling face-first in an unsightly manner by propping himself up with his wooden sword.
Ilhwa stood before him.
“Your lower body strength is lacking, so your balance breaks, and when your balance breaks, you can’t help but keep falling.”
“You…”
Ilhwa’s wooden sword pointed at his throat.
Feeling the chilling aura from the wooden blade, the Red Dragon Commander gasped, drawing a sharp breath as he raised his gaze.
“The ground doesn’t tremble. Not as long as I stand firmly upon it.”
The child’s gaze, unwavering and without a single disturbed breath, was utterly chilling.
It was, truly, Ilhwa’s perfect victory.
Not a close battle, but a unilateral triumph.
No, it was meaningless even to determine victory or defeat. Ilhwa hadn’t considered it a duel from the start.
‘This should be enough.’
Now, what happened next was up to him.
Would he dismiss it as just a child’s words, or would he reflect on his own shortcomings?
Ilhwa turned away from the defeated Red Dragon Commander and looked down at her own hands.
It was the first time she had held a sword since expelling her internal energy.
Perhaps it was due to her body not yet fully adapting to the lost strength; her fingertips tingled, aching slightly, and trembled.
‘I’m not really in a position to give advice. I can’t control my own strength either.’
Ilhwa let out a short, soft sigh.
For now, she needed to get used to this diminished strength.
Meanwhile, the Red Dragon Commander couldn’t believe the situation. He had put all his effort into defeating a mere child, yet the child didn’t even have a single disturbed breath.
On top of that, he had been lectured on his swordsmanship.
They were all flaws he had long known he possessed.
‘Who exactly is that child…?’
Who could she possibly be?
Who on earth could she be to freely enter and exit the Namgung’s training grounds and possess such high martial prowess?
As the Red Dragon Commander stared blankly at the child’s retreating figure, a sudden realization struck him.
‘Could it be…!’
Perhaps… she isn’t a child at all?
After the duel with the Red Dragon Commander ended, Ilhwa left the training grounds.
Due to the commotion, too many eyes were on her, making it impossible to train peacefully anymore.
‘Let’s go to the guest quarters’ training ground.’
She would have ended up training there anyway, but she had unnecessarily drawn attention to herself.
It wasn’t a wasted time, but it would surely reach the ears of the Namgung family head, leaving her with some regret.
She should have just used the Heavenly Guest Courtyard’s training ground from the start.
“…!”
As she retraced her steps and walked, her vision suddenly wavered.
Since returning to the past, she had expelled her internal energy and hadn’t rested properly, and using unexpected strength had put a strain on her young body.
She felt all the strength draining from her body, causing her to lose balance and stumble.
She’s falling! The thought struck her at that moment.
*Grab!*
“Oh, my?”
Someone caught her tilting body.
“Hey, kid. You there.”
Shaking her head to regain focus, Ilhwa looked up at the person who had caught her.
It was Seop Mugwang, the Commander of the Bipunggeomdae.
“Your complexion isn’t good, kid.”
Her hands were clammy, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
Ilhwa quickly wiped her palms on her trousers.
“I’m fine. Just a little dizzy… Ah!”
Before she could even finish her sentence, her vision abruptly shot upwards.
By the time a sharp shriek escaped her, she was already in Seop Mugwang’s arms.
Ilhwa frowned deeply.
“Put me down.”
“Let’s go.”
Seop Mugwang immediately used his lightfoot technique and headed somewhere. As the familiar sound of wind rushed past her ears, Ilhwa asked,
“Where are we going?”
Seop Mugwang let out a chuckle.
“You’ll see when we get there.”
* * *
The place Seop Mugwang took her was the Medical Hall.
The Medical Hall Master of the Namgung had been someone Ilhwa had never seen in her previous life.
She hadn’t heard news of the Medical Hall Master fleeing, but when she attacked the Namgung, they weren’t there.
‘They probably abandoned the Namgung and fled.’
Medical Hall Masters were usually skilled individuals hired from outside the clan, not actual family members, so they wouldn’t have been part of the Namgung family.
There was no reason for such a person to remain in the Namgung when it was collapsing.
So, she didn’t blame the Medical Hall Master for fleeing in her previous life. In this life, she wouldn’t let things get to the point where they’d need to flee.
“We’re here.”
Seop Mugwang set Ilhwa down on the ground.
Ilhwa took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of medicinal herbs that wafted to her nose.
The smell of herbs was always pleasant.
‘The scent of life.’
Even when she was in the Hyeolgyo, she would often visit the Medical Hall and sit there for a long time.
Perhaps it was because, in the Hyeolgyo, where the smell of death—blood—permeated everything, this scent momentarily made her feel alive. Whenever she went to the Medical Hall, her mind felt at ease.
Feeling her restless heart calm, Ilhwa stepped into the Medical Hall.
“What? Not here again?”
Seop Mugwang looked around the Medical Hall’s interior and rang the bell at the entrance.
However, the Medical Hall Master was nowhere to be seen.
“Ugh—where did they go *now*? I told them to stay put… Kid, wait here for a moment.”
Seop Mugwang grumbled and went outside to look for the Medical Hall Master.
Ilhwa watched the exit for a moment, then began to examine the medicinal herbs laid out inside the Medical Hall.
‘White root, Blackstalk. Heaven’s Pulse Herb, and this… is it licorice?’
Most of the herbs were common yet versatile.
‘The Namgung is indeed the Namgung. The quality is certainly good.’
She was examining a piece of licorice more closely when—
“Well, well, if it isn’t a cute young lady visiting?”
Ilhwa spun around, startled.
But after turning to see the owner of the voice, Ilhwa’s expression stiffened even further.
“Oh, my—”
A delicate voice, followed by a tinkling laugh.
A woman, wearing tall shoes and a splendid white robe embroidered with blue thread, approached lightly and knelt before Ilhwa.
Deep eyes beneath long eyelashes gazed at Ilhwa.
When she raised her hand, Ilhwa flinched.
At that, the woman let out a charming laugh.
“Oh my, you’re just like a little kitten—.”
The woman’s long eyelashes curved into a gentle smile.
With the raised hand, the woman gently stroked Ilhwa’s head.
“So cute.”
The woman’s clear indigo eyes were full of affection for Ilhwa.
Pure goodwill, utterly devoid of hostility.
Ilhwa knew that the woman wouldn’t harm her. Yet, there was a reason she couldn’t simply be pleased.
‘Why is *this* woman… here…?’
The Medical Hall Master of the Hyeolgyo, who had always greeted her with a smiling face whenever she visited.
A killer who, behind that smiling facade, enjoyed cruel murders using poison.
Dokwol, the Medical Hall Master of the Hyeolgyo.
That was the name Ilhwa had known this woman by in her previous life.
Meeting a completely unexpected person made Ilhwa’s mind race.
The first thing she needed to determine was this:
‘Is she a person of the Hyeolgyo? Or a person of the Namgung?’
Is she a spy from the Hyeolgyo hidden in the Namgung, or did Dokwol reside in the Namgung before joining the Hyeolgyo?
If it’s the former, she must be killed; if the latter, she must be observed. Either way, Ilhwa couldn’t let her guard down.
“Are you feeling alright, dear? Can you see how many fingers this is?”
When Ilhwa didn’t respond for a long time, the Medical Hall Master tilted her head and waved her fingers in front of Ilhwa.
Just then, Seop Mugwang returned.
“Honestly, that person is a real nuisance! They’re never around when you look for them, but then they’re suddenly here?”
He had just returned after going out to look for the Medical Hall Master but failing to find them.
“Is it strange for me to be in my own place? And you, Commander, are still as grumpy as ever today. You look healthy, though, that’s good.”
“Tsk. Nonsense.”
“Hmm… our sturdy Commander doesn’t seem to be in pain anywhere… So, you came here because of this little kitten, did you?”
“Little… what…?”
Seop Mugwang’s expression crumpled instantly.
The Medical Hall Master swiftly turned her body, facing Ilhwa again, and sat down.
“Where does it hurt, dear?”
“Cut the nonsense and check her pulse.”
“Ah, so you came without even knowing where it hurts? How pitiful.”
The Medical Hall Master’s eyebrows drooped slightly.
Her slender hand reached out toward Ilhwa.
