-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Chapter 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
When Namgung Mucheon arrived at the Cheongaekwon, maids were busily rushing around inside the guest house.
A young maid happened to spot Namgung Mucheon, who had appeared in the guest house courtyard without a sound, and was startled.
“Greetings, Patriarch!”
The maid quickly bowed.
A blood-stained cloth, clutched in her arms, slipped and fell to the floor with a soft thud.
As Namgung Mucheon’s gaze fell upon the cloth, Seop Mugwang arrived behind him.
“Whose blood is that?”
At Namgung Mucheon’s question, the maid replied with a trembling voice.
“It is… it is the blood of the guest of honor.”
At that moment, Seop Mugwang felt as if the air around them had frozen. Before anything worse could happen, Seop Mugwang stepped forward and asked the maid.
“Tell me in detail what happened.”
The maid bowed even deeper and continued.
“A loud noise came from the guest of honor’s chamber, and when I went to check, the guest of honor had a large wound on her arm and was bleeding. We quickly called for a physician and treated the wound, so I was unable to ask what had happened.”
“Where is the guest of honor now?”
“She is in the main building of the Cheongaekwon.”
As soon as the maid finished speaking, Namgung Mucheon and Seop Mugwang immediately headed towards the main building.
The closer they got to the main building, the darker their expressions became.
— Patriarch, something is strange. It was clearly not the scent of just one person’s blood.
— I know. But not now.
They had clearly sensed the spread of dozens of blood scents on their way here, yet now, just as the maid said, only a faint scent of blood from the child’s injury could be felt.
‘This is baffling.’
He had thought a terrible massacre had occurred in the Cheongaekwon.
What on earth had happened?
While the maids busily moved about, wiping away blood and trying to stop the bleeding, Ilhwa calmly received their ministrations.
Without any sign of pain or fear of blood, her composed demeanor made the maids, in turn, feel uneasy around her.
‘Is she really a child? She’s not even crying.’
‘But why did she get hurt? Suddenly? Why isn’t she saying anything? Someone ask her.’
‘I don’t know either. You ask her. I’m strangely scared…’
Not a single maid dared to speak to her easily.
The chilling aura emanating from the child seemed to weigh down the air in the room. Even though she hadn't uttered a word, the maids were tense.
When the bleeding had almost stopped, Ilhwa lifted her gaze and looked towards the door.
The maids, who had been focusing all their attention on her, looked towards the door frame where her gaze was directed, with puzzled expressions.
A moment later, the door opened, and the Patriarch, Namgung Mucheon, and the Bipungdae Commander, Seop Mugwang, appeared.
The maids all rose at once and stepped back, greeting the two men.
“Greetings, Patriarch.”
“Greetings, Patriarch.”
Namgung Mucheon’s gaze was fixed solely on Ilhwa. He entered the room.
Ilhwa also rose from her seat and bowed her head towards him.
“Greetings, Patriarch.”
“Everyone, leave.”
Seop Mugwang gestured to the maids, and they swiftly exited the room.
After the maids left, Seop Mugwang, who had briefly observed Ilhwa’s wound, also bowed briefly to Namgung Mucheon before leaving the room.
Only Ilhwa and Namgung Mucheon remained in the room.
A thick ki barrier enveloped the room.
“…”
“…”
Namgung Mucheon stared intently at Ilhwa’s wound.
Feeling his gaze, Ilhwa spoke first.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I was practicing and accidentally hurt myself. It’s not a big wound. I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“I can help you. So don’t hide it and tell me. What happened?”
“Nothing happened. I just mishandled my sword.”
Namgung Mucheon looked at Ilhwa’s sword propped against the table.
A cheap iron sword easily obtainable even from an ordinary blacksmith.
A faint trace of the child’s blood was on its blade.
Namgung Mucheon felt his chest tighten, as if falling into an endless abyss.
He couldn't tell if it was because of the child carrying a cheap sword, or the child’s injury from practicing with that shoddy sword, or the child’s calm demeanor about it all.
Blood, not fully staunched, flowed again from the child’s arm, running down the back of her hand and about to form a drop at her fingertip.
Namgung Mucheon knelt on one knee before the child.
He then pressed a pressure point to slow the bleeding and wiped away the blood with a clean cloth.
Ilhwa quietly accepted his touch.
“I will believe your words.”
A soft wiping sound filled the space between them.
“So, you must believe me too.”
“…”
After wiping away all the blood, Namgung Mucheon placed the cloth pressed against the wound into the child’s hand before finally rising.
He looked down at the child.
“As long as you are in Namgung, I will protect you. Even if you harbor other intentions, I will trust you. Do you understand?”
Ilhwa lowered her gaze slightly.
After a brief moment of thought, she nodded.
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Perhaps that wasn’t the answer he had hoped for, as Namgung Mucheon’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
However, letting out a soft sigh, he nodded and turned away.
“Alright. The Medical Chief has arrived, so get your treatment. I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”
Namgung Mucheon left the room after saying these words.
Soon after, the ki barrier disappeared, and the presence of several people was felt outside the door.
It was the voices of the newly arrived Medical Chief and the External Affairs Chief, Namgung Yeom, conversing with Namgung Mucheon.
‘As expected, they noticed.’
Ilhwa sat down again.
Earlier, while trying to sleep, she had heard a voice.
The voice, faint from a distance, gradually grew closer until it clearly commanded Ilhwa.
‘Kill them. Kill them all. Slaughter everyone in Namgung and scatter their blood at your feet.’
When she came to her senses, a sword was already in her hand.
Outside the door, a maid was asking what was wrong, and she was already swinging the sword.
The choice Ilhwa made at that moment was to slash her own arm with the swinging sword.
The sensation of the sharp blade brought her back to her senses, and the sound of the falling sword brought the maid in, leading to the current situation.
‘How did Namgung Mucheon and Seop Mugwang know?’
She didn’t know how the two of them arrived before the physician.
However, the two already knew that this situation was not just an accident.
Namgung Mucheon’s words and Seop Mugwang’s actions confirmed it.
‘I should be a little more careful.’
A master’s perception is not easily deceived.
This time, it passed easily, but they wouldn’t always let it go without questioning.
Anyway.
‘What was that?’
Ilhwa looked down at her hand.
The voice heard unconsciously was clearly Hyeolma’s voice.
No one was controlling her body. It was simply that her body moved on its own, following Hyeolma’s command.
‘Could I have been bound by the Blood Pact?’
Hyeolma does not easily trust people. For this reason, before imparting Blood Arts, he always formed a Blood Pact to prevent betrayal.
Those bound by the Blood Pact would suffer if they disobeyed Hyeolma’s commands and could never kill Hyeolma.
However, Hyeolma, too, could not kill those bound by the Blood Pact with his own hands.
‘In my previous life, I was definitely killed by Hyeolma’s hand.’
That meant she was not in a subjugated relationship with Hyeolma.
So, it shouldn’t be the Blood Pact.
Someone knocked on the door.
Then, the Medical Chief’s voice, saying ‘I’m coming in—’, was heard. Ilhwa watched the Medical Chief’s shadow reflected on the door.
‘If there’s something wrong with my body, I need to be the first to know about it.’
What problem her body had, whether it would harm Namgung, or if returning to Namgung was the wrong choice.
She needed to know so she could prepare or decide to leave Namgung.
To do that.
‘The Medical Chief.’
She needed her.
* * *
“Oh dear… That must hurt.”
The Medical Chief, with her brows deeply furrowed, treated Ilhwa’s wound.
Seop Mugwang stood leaning against a pillar, arms crossed, watching, lest something dangerous should happen.
His silence indicated that Seop Mugwang also seemed to know that this wound was no accident.
His face was thoughtful.
“It might sting a little, dear. I’ve burned some incense to reduce the pain, but it won’t be completely painless. You must tell me if it hurts too much, alright?”
“Yes.”
“Such a brave little one, not a tear for a wound like this. You’re quite the spirited kitten, aren’t you?”
The Medical Chief continued the treatment, easing the atmosphere with a light jest.
“I have another injury. Could you take a look?”
The Medical Chief, who had been continuing the delicate treatment, looked at Ilhwa with surprised eyes.
Seop Mugwang, standing behind her, also frowned.
“Oh, another injury? Where?”
Ilhwa glanced at Seop Mugwang.
Feeling her gaze, Seop Mugwang frowned even deeper.
“What is it? Where else did you get hurt? Huh?”
“My abdomen.”
“What? Your abdomen? Let me see!”
“From my chest to my abdomen.”
Seop Mugwang, who had been approaching, stopped in his tracks and scrunched up his face in a grimace.
“Are you going to look?”
