Before the feast, I had a long conversation with Yong-yong for the first time since childhood.
Thanks to this, the relationship which had felt strained since my mother’s death seemed to fade away into a distant and obscure memory.
Yong-yong asked what had happened but I couldn’t just tell her the truth, so I told her what I had told So Ik-heon.
I didn’t want to lie to her but no good would come from knowing about the Blood Sect.
It felt like I was lying to her in the guise of doing it ‘for her sake,’ just like how So Ik-heon had kept similar things from me.
But if the truth was ever leaked out, she would become linked with the Blood Sect. It wouldn’t be right to hastily speak about something like this.
-From your point of view, your sister wouldn’t believe it either, right?
‘Right’
I guess she would feel the same way.
Was it because Short Sword was a woman too? She could sympathize.
Yet Yong-yong seemed to be aware that I was hiding something.
-She has good instincts.
Right.
She was a much more mature child than me.
-What do you mean mature child?
‘…’
I didn’t know how to tell her.
In order for Yong-yong to not be caught up in the affairs of the Blood Sect, the path I needed to take was clear.
In order to do that, Baek Ryeon-ha needs to rise up.
-Even so, do not lose your focus, Wonhui
‘At the center..’
-Strength and power are addictive. If you get caught in the eddy, you will lose control over yourself and sink down. In the end, you need to ground yourself.
I was grateful for Iron Sword’s advice and as they were the ones that were the closest to me, I never lost focus in the hard times.
-Hm
-If you know, that is good enough.
It felt like they were complimenting me, but their reactions seemed very different.
Slowly the feast hall was turning noisy and the guests seemed to be going in one after another.
My hyungs couldn’t join, since they had been severely injured. The feast would begin in earnest when the guests from Mount Hyeong arrived.
As soon as Jo Sang-nam entered, he glanced over at me and Sima Young.
I knew that the fight only hadn’t happened because So Ik-heon had intervened, but I could tell that he didn’t care for me much.
-Seems a bit stupid
True.
Was there any older brother who would give their little sister to such a man?
Ik-heon, who was seated at the top of the banquet hall, came forward and greeted the guests from the Jo family.
“Hahaha. Come on in.”
He greeted them with a smile, but in a way, I thought he was amazing. I thought he would rest since his injuries hadn’t healed
How could I ever think of this man as my father? After making the deal with him, I asked Blue Decree Sword something before leaving the training room,
‘Blue Decree Sword’
-Go on
‘Before my mother passed away, did she tell the lord about my biological father?’
-…
This was the thing I was most curious about.
This man surely took her in, but what was the real identity of my mother?
And who was my real father? My mother never mentioned this, even on her deathbed.
I was young at the time and she thought it could hurt my innocent heart. But shouldn’t she have told So Ik-heon?
-I am sorry.
But he didn’t know either.
Despite meeting my mother before her death, even So Ik-heon wasn’t told of their identity. Did that mean she left not wanting to cause any slight disturbance in my family?
I didn’t know my mother or father’s identity and only knew half the truth.
-It must be frustrating
‘It is.’
Before and after my rebirth, the complexity of this life had never changed.
Finally, the guests from Mount Hyeong arrived. It was Cho Jeong-un and Cho Il-hye.
“Oh! Great warrior Cho! Lady Cho!”
As soon as they arrived, Jo Sang-won, the head of the Uipung Jo family, greeted them. Cho Jeong-un, who was shy by nature, appeared rather stiff.
“Sajae came here first.”
“You are here, sahyung.”
“If you are fine, can we sit together?”
At his question, I turned to the table.
So Ik-heon and his wife were sitting at the head position of the table and couldn’t hide their shock.
Because the seats of Mount Hyeong were set at the top too, meaning that I would be sitting at the same table as the head of the family, but then Cho Il-hye stepped in to resolve the issue.
“Sahyung. The fest has a set seating area. You can change places later, but for now, the right seats should be taken”
“Ahh.”
The guy looked seriously sad. And this was a good atmosphere so I didn’t want to say anything.
I also didn’t want to sit there. I wasn’t sure of the answers I would have to give if he asked me anything, and as Iron Sword always said, even lies have rules.
He said that lies should be based on the truth, and one should be the most careful when creating a lie based on no truth.
Sh!
I took the initiative,
“Please do what Miss has said. The Lord will be disappointed.”
“Man.”
“Don’t we have other chances to sit together?”
“I understand.”
Cho Jeong-un said that he would drink alcohol with me later. When it came to alcohol, mistakes were often made so avoiding this issue ahead of time was the right move to make.
-I thought you were just born to lie.
‘If I have no truths to base it on, I will be exposed.’
-Interesting.
I had to be careful because I wasn’t sure what he would ask me. I would have to depend on Iron Sword to fill me in.
‘Are you fine?’
-Well. It is fine as long as your intent isn’t evil.
That was all Iron Sword said about that. But I kind of felt bad for using his information like this.
But I was also glad that he could understand my position. Soon, the seats at the feast were soon filled in.
A feast always starts with words from the host so I looked at the Lord who had just risen from his seat.
Our eyes met and I nodded my head making him go stiff.
Now that he got the signal he would have to announce it
The guy took a deep breath as his expression changed and he looked at the faces of each guest as he smiled,
“I will send my greetings to the distinguished guests who have visited my home.”
Tak!
When he said it, all the guests bowed their heads.