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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: A Family Gathering
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The meal, unlike yesterday's, was held inside the Patriarch's Hall.
Even before entering the building, laughter and soft chatter could be heard.
Seolhwa paused at the entrance before stepping inside, listening to the sounds for a moment.
*I taught those rascals a good lesson! Didn't I do well, Father?*
*You need to rein in your temper, Cheongsan.*
*Ah, I wasn't asking you, Brother! Brother Cheonghae always picks fights with me!*
Then came the sounds of hearty laughter.
It was the sound of a warm, harmonious family.
“…”
Seolhwa knew the owners of all those voices. She had killed more than half of them with her own hands, after all.
Every now and then, whenever that fact came to mind, a sharp pain pricked at her heart.
Seolhwa knew where this feeling came from as well.
*Guilt.*
The guilt of approaching those she had killed with her own hands and blending in as a member of their family.
Seolhwa thought.
*Feeling emotions is troublesome indeed.*
“You’re here.”
At the voice that spoke without a sound, Seolhwa turned her head to see who had approached.
It was Seop Mugwang, the leader of the Bipunggeomdae.
Seop Mugwang’s eyebrows raised slightly.
“It suits you well. You should wear that often. You look beautiful.”
“…”
“You’re here, so why are you just standing there instead of going in?”
Seop Mugwang gestured inside with his head.
“The Patriarch asked me to come get you because you weren’t coming in.”
“I just… liked listening.”
“To what?”
“The sound of laughter.”
The laughter coming from inside.
“I’ve never once eaten with people I could call family.”
Not for a very long time.
In her previous life, she had considered Hyeolma like a father and the Hyeolgyo members like siblings, but she had never truly thought of them as family.
They were constantly looking for opportunities to kill each other, and she felt no emptiness or void even when she heard that someone had died.
“Would it be sad if a family member died?”
At the abrupt question, Seop Mugwang’s expression stiffened.
The child’s eyes, having asked such an unchildlike question, remained indifferent.
It was even more bitter because he knew from the Head of the Medical Hall that the child’s emotional bluntness was a way of protecting herself.
He sighed briefly, then suddenly crumpled his face and flicked Seolhwa’s forehead.
“What kind of old-man question is a little brat asking? You shouldn’t make such useless assumptions!”
“I can still think about it.”
Seop Mugwang shook his head decisively.
“If it were me, I’d spend that time training my martial arts more. All I have to do is cultivate my strength to protect my family.”
“Ah…”
Seolhwa let out a low gasp, as if she had gained a great realization.
*So that’s how it is.*
*I just need to grow stronger and protect everyone.*
She had returned to the Namgung to do just that, but somewhere along the way, she had become complacent and forgotten her true purpose.
*Get a grip.*
She was in the middle of patting her cheeks, *chap, chap,* at the sudden realization.
Seop Mugwang suddenly grabbed Seolhwa’s arm.
“You…!”
His eyes widened significantly when he saw the cloth wrapped around Seolhwa’s hand.
“Did you get hurt again? Why?”
“I accidentally broke a vase. My hand just got a little cut while I was cleaning up the broken pieces. I’m fine.”
“You…!”
He was about to flare up but calmly took a breath. However, the anger on his face did not disappear.
“This isn’t fine. It’s not fine at all, do you understand? Especially for a swordsman, how important are your hands…!”
The anger he had calmly suppressed finally erupted as he continued speaking.
“It’s your body! It’s your body, so you should cherish it! Scars sustained at such a young age won’t disappear even when you grow up! Any other kid would have cried and thrown a fit!”
She wanted to say that scars didn’t matter, but Seolhwa swallowed the words.
Somehow, she felt as if Seop Mugwang would breathe fire if she said anything more.
“…I’ll be careful.”
At Seolhwa’s docile reply, Seop Mugwang finally calmed his anger.
“I’ll be watching you from now on, so remember that!”
“Yes.”
“Go on in! Hurry up!”
Seolhwa finally entered the hall.
Perhaps because of him, or despite him, her troubled mood was no longer remembered, though she felt a little confused.
Inside the room where the meal was laid out, everyone except Seolhwa was already gathered and conversing.
When the door opened, the soft chatter instantly ceased.
Those gathered stared blankly at Seolhwa. The most surprised reaction came from Seolhwa’s father, Namgung Cheongun.
“Welcome, come in.”
Namgung Mucheon was the first to greet her.
“I heard some commotion outside the door.”
Seolhwa subtly glanced at Seop Mugwang, who had followed her, then shook her head. He was still puffing out steam from his nostrils.
“It was nothing.”
However, Namgung Mucheon’s gaze was already fixed on Seolhwa’s injured hand. He had heard all the commotion outside.
Knowing that Seop Mugwang had already scolded her severely, Namgung Mucheon replaced many words with a long sigh.
“Have a seat.”
Namgung Cheongun motioned for her to come closer.
Seolhwa sat next to him, receiving the gazes of those gathered.
*You truly, truly are beautiful. I almost didn’t recognize you.*
Namgung Cheongun gently took her injured hand under the table.
*Is your hand alright? We can talk about what happened later.*
*Yes.*
“Introduce yourself.”
Seolhwa looked at the people seated around the table.
They seemed to have already heard the story from Namgung Mucheon before she arrived, as there was no surprise on their faces when they saw her.
“Hello.”
“Cough…”
Namgung Cheongsan sharply turned his head away.
“My name is Seolhwa.”
Someone else sighed afterwards.
They had found the child they thought they would never find.
Namgung Cheongun, Cheonghae, and Cheongsan were brothers before they were rivals for the position of Young Master.
How could they not be happy that their first niece had returned alive?
“Welcome back, Seolhwa. I can see your childhood face in you. You’ve suffered much. It’s a relief you’re safe.”
The second brother, Namgung Cheonghae, was the first to greet her. Beside him sat his wife, Yeon Soran, and their two sons, Soryong and Ung.
“Greet her, Soryong. Though you were born in the same year, she was born six months before you, so she is your elder sister.”
Soryong frowned.
He had always been treated as the eldest grandson of the Namgung.
The appearance of a cousin he thought would never show up wasn’t exactly welcome, let alone being called an elder sister.
“Soryong.”
“…Nice to meet you.”
Even though he had been clearly told she was his elder sister, his greeting showed no acknowledgement of it.
Namgung Cheonghae was slightly flustered and about to scold him, but Yeon Soran’s words were quicker.
“Ung, you should greet her too.”
Seolhwa’s gaze naturally turned to the second son, Ung.
“Yes, Mother. Hello, Elder Sister Seolhwa. I’ve heard much about you. My name is Ung.”
His cautious voice was mixed with warmth. Unlike Soryong, it was a genuine welcome.
“Nice to meet you too.”
“I’m truly glad you’ve returned.”
Seolhwa nodded, thinking he was a truly cute cousin with his round face and round eyes.
“Thank you.”
After the greetings with Namgung Cheonghae’s family, it was the turn of the third brother, Namgung Cheongsan.
She looked at Cheongsan.
The largest of the three, he was even bigger than Namgung Mucheon in stature.
Namgung Cheongsan roughly wiped his sniffling nose and greeted her loudly.
“To think the guest in the Heavenly Guest Pavilion was you! I was so surprised! Do you remember this uncle giving you piggyback rides when you were little?”
His wife, Moyong Yeonhwa, poked him in the side.
Unlike the bulky Namgung Cheongsan, she was a small and delicate woman.
She looked so frail, as if she couldn't exert any strength, yet despite her gentle smile and light poke, Namgung Cheongsan let out a grunt and winced in pain.
Moyong Yeonhwa continued the greetings on his behalf.
“It’s truly a blessing to meet you healthy like this, Seolhwa. I was so surprised when I heard you returned on your own. You’ve grown into such a beautiful young lady, haven’t you?”
Perhaps seeing the past Seolhwa in her beautifully dressed appearance, a melancholic smile briefly appeared on her lips before fading.
“Do come visit our residence sometime. There’s so much I want to give you.”
She stroked the head of her daughter, who was sitting beside her, and introduced her.
“This is Hwarin. You probably haven’t met her before. Hwarin, you should greet your elder sister, shouldn’t you?”
Namgung Hwarin, the youngest among those gathered, was five years old. Since Seolhwa had disappeared eight years ago, the two were meeting for the first time.
*Though I met her in my previous life.*
Even then, their meeting hadn’t been long, so she didn’t know much about Namgung Hwarin.
Hwarin shyly clung to her mother’s arm, her gaze fixed on Seolhwa.
“Why aren’t you greeting her? Go on.”
Moyong Yeonhwa admonished her in a somewhat stern voice, but Hwarin, feeling shy, merely buried her face in her mother’s skirt.
Moyong Yeonhwa said, looking flustered.
“She’s a bit shy around strangers. I’m sorry, Seolhwa.”
“It’s alright.”
*We’ll be living under the same roof anyway. There’s no need to get close right at this moment.*
Just then, Namgung Hwarin picked up a Tanghuru from the food laid out on the table and offered it to Seolhwa.
The maids had purposely placed it closer to the young Hwarin.
“Oh my. Are you giving it to your elder sister? Seolhwa, Hwarin is giving that to you.”
Moyong Yeonhwa took the Tanghuru and handed it to Seolhwa, as Seolhwa’s arm couldn’t reach from where she was seated.
Seolhwa took the Tanghuru, somewhat bewildered.
It had been decades, spanning her entire previous life, since she had received an act of kindness without any underlying reason.
“…”
Seolhwa held the Tanghuru and looked at Namgung Hwarin.
Still hiding behind her mother’s skirt and peeking at Seolhwa, Hwarin giggled when their eyes met, then quickly hid herself again behind the skirt.
