Chapter 213

Even after the two of them left, the visitors kept coming.

“Well, well, Sister. I heard you were back, but I suppose it was true after all.”

Tang Juyeop was the first to poke his fox-like face in before promptly disappearing again.

“Sohae! There’s my niece!”

“Oh, Aunt Onjeong. You’re here. Uncle, have you been well too?”

“Yes. And you... my wife’s niece... have you been well?”

Aunt Onjeong and Tang Mong stopped by together and brought me some high-quality poison powder as a gift.

“You must have had a difficult journey.”

Even Sim Hong, the head of the medical hall, quietly paid me a visit and pressed several pills for restoring vitality into my hand.

When even elders I had barely met before began dropping by and making a point of acknowledging me, it was obvious that everyone was watching Grandfather’s reaction.

But none of the attention pleased me in the slightest.

The hypocrisy of people who had stood by and watched while I was expelled from the clan made my stomach turn.

People who swallowed what was sweet and spat out what was bitter.

The moment there was nothing to gain from me, they would pretend we had never been close at all.

“My lady. The elder asked you to come have dinner...”

“Is it that late already? I should get going.”

I rubbed my throbbing forehead and was getting ready to leave when I sensed someone lingering on the other side of the wall.

“Songji. Could you check outside? Someone else is here.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Songji opened the door at my request, then let out a shrill cry.

“Oh! Deokju!”

“I-I heard my lady had returned...!”

The woman outside went wide-eyed the moment our gazes met.

Seeing that familiar face brought a smile to my lips before I even realized it.

“Deokju.”

“My lady...!”

Deokju’s face crumpled as she cried out in a trembling voice.

She looked as though she were struggling to hold back anger, tears, or perhaps both.

Her lips quivered before she finally managed to ask,

“Have you... been well?”

“Of course. That’s why I made it home. Have you been doing well?”

Instead of answering, Deokju lowered her head.

Songji, who had been watching beside us, began tearing up as well.

“Oh, come on. What’s gotten into both of you?”

I hurriedly tried to calm them down, but once the tears started, there was no stopping them.

In the end, I had to hold both crybabies until they finally settled down.

Deokju went straight back to the Soul-Slaying Unit, then came all the way to Grandfather’s residence to volunteer as my guard.

As though he had expected exactly that, Grandfather merely asked,

“Better to have someone familiar, eh?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. Do as you please.”

The moment Grandfather gave his permission, Deokju brightened and bowed deeply.

Seeing her show her feelings so openly, which was unlike her, made me smile.

That part was fine.

The problem was...

“Deokju. I told you not to follow me to the privy.”

She refused to leave my side for even a moment, and the constant presence behind me was making me break out in a cold sweat.

This girl really hasn’t changed at all.

But one look at the fierce determination in her eyes made it difficult to say anything harsher.

It seemed Deokju desperately wanted to make up for the moment when she had been forced to stand helplessly by and watch me get dragged away.

And judging from how deeply that day had shaken Tang Seho too, Tang Gak must not have treated me gently.

...Maybe I can put up with it for a few days.

Swallowing a sigh, I tried to laugh off Deokju’s overprotectiveness.

But by nightfall, I could no longer bear constantly sensing her presence.

After tossing and turning in bed for a long while, I finally spoke in a low voice.

“Deokju. I’m sorry, but could you go back for tonight?”

“My apologies, my lady. If there is anything lacking in the way I have served you—”

“That’s not it. You haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just... I can keep sensing you. Could you come back in the morning?”

Even with my eyes closed, I could picture every movement she made.

Her footsteps, rigid with tension.

The rustle of her sleeve every time she adjusted her grip on her weapon.

The movement in her throat whenever she swallowed, trying to hide how nervous she was.

They were all sounds I would never have cared about before.

Now they grated on my nerves so badly that sleep was impossible.

“Ah... Understood, my lady.”

After hesitating for a moment, Deokju answered politely and left.

Only after sending her away did my taut nerves gradually begin to loosen.

And yet, even after silence settled over the room, sleep still refused to come.

I curled in on myself and pulled the blanket tighter.

*******

The nightmares came in a dazzling variety.

My collapsed body, refusing to move.

Yeon Ryang’s sorrowful smile.

The terror of death and that miserable, crushing helplessness...

Whenever I woke from nightmares where all of it tangled together and strangled the breath from my lungs, I would find Songji staring at me, trembling.

“M-my lady...”

“Ah... Sorry, Songji. Are you all right?”

I hurriedly lowered the throwing knife and apologized, but Songji was too frightened to let me come near her.

She backed away in tiny steps.

“I’m really sorry. I won’t touch you. Go get that treated.”

“Yes...”

A vivid cut from the throwing knife marked Songji’s neck.

“...Don’t wake me when I’m sleeping anymore. It’s dangerous. You’re going to end up with a scar on your neck. Go. Hurry.”

Songji nodded, fighting back tears, then fled my room as if escaping.

Bright drops of blood remained on the floor where she had stood.

I quietly rubbed my eyes.

Damn it.

Ever since returning to the Tang Clan, my body had been wound so tightly with vigilance that it rejected everyone.

Songji.

Deokju.

Even Grandfather was no exception.

The instant I sensed someone approaching, my body would seize a throwing knife and attack before I could think.

If I did not keep a weapon hidden beneath my pillow, anxiety made sleep impossible.

Even when I finally managed to drift off, the slightest sign of another person nearby snapped me awake.

It felt as though I had become an animal with nothing left but instinct.

...Maybe that was exactly what I had become.

I went straight for the throat now, after all.

Grandfather told me that any proper martial artist ought to react that way and that I should not worry about it, but he looked troubled despite his words.

The fact that he kept trying to get me out of the estate said enough.

“Little one. Before the weather gets too hot, why don’t you come to Hebei with this old man? Paeng Rak was asking after you.”

“I haven’t been home very long. I want to stay here.”

“Then is there anyone you want to invite to the Tang Clan? You can’t spend the whole day training either. You need to breathe once in a while.”

“Ahaha. I’m fine.”

Grandfather used to be the one pushing me to train.

The fact that he was now constantly telling me to rest probably meant my condition really was that bad.

After studying his expression, I cautiously spoke.

“Um... Instead, I’d like to enter the seclusion cave, Grandfather.”

“No.”

“But—”

“I said no.”

Grandfather cut me off without hesitation, his expression stern.

“Sohae.”

“...Yes.”

“Do you truly not understand why I refuse?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Follow me.”

He clasped his hands behind his back and started walking.

After a moment’s hesitation, I followed.

Grandfather stopped beside a pond and held out a small pouch.

It was fish feed.

“Grandfather, why are you giving me this...?”

“Throw it in.”

“What?”

“Go on.”

His eyes clearly asked what I was waiting for.

Feeling awkward, I approached the edge of the pond.

The instant my shadow fell across the water, however, the fish scattered from me in a frenzy.

...Huh?

Puzzled, I tossed some feed into the water.

Nothing changed.

The carp neither came near me nor showed the slightest interest in the food.

Grandfather, who had been watching with his arms folded, let out a sigh.

“Do you understand now?”

When I stood there too bewildered to answer, his voice softened.

“Little one, you cannot control your presence at all right now. Your mind is so disturbed that even insignificant creatures flee and hide from you in fear. How do you expect to enter seclusion like this?”

“...”

“Charging ahead blindly is not always the answer. Clear your head first.”

At Grandfather’s rebuke, my head drooped.

There was nothing I could say in my defense.

“...Yes.”

“Come along. Today you can have tea with this old man. Geunmyeong says a decent teahouse has opened.”

Grandfather called me gently, but his eyes had gone dark.

I pretended not to notice and followed him.

******

Contrary to my expectation that things would settle down after a few days, the detached residence remained noisy every single day.

Tang Juhee appeared at dawn without fail and demanded a spar.

Tang Chohee twisted and squirmed in agony whenever Tang Juhee started chattering, yet dutifully stayed to drink tea with her every time.

And Tang Seho kept showing up at my door and shouting at me whenever the mood struck him.

“Hey! I said I’d buy you meat. Come out with me.”

“You go, Brother. I told you I don’t want to.”

“How long are you planning to stay holed up in your quarters? People won’t stop whispering until you show them you’re perfectly fine!”

At his irritated outburst, I finally understood why Tang Seho had been pestering me to go out so much.

He wanted to put an end to the ugly rumors circulating about me.

“...Fine. Give me a little while.”

“So you’re coming out with me? I’ll send someone ahead to the restaurant.”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“No changing your mind! Meet me at the main gate in an hour!”

Tang Seho broke into a grin at my answer, spun around, and sprinted off.

You said you were sending someone. Why are you running there yourself?

A laugh escaped me, but it was hard to complain when he was trying so hard to look after me in his own way.

I don’t even get a chance to be bored. Am I supposed to be grateful for that or annoyed...?

Just then, a tremendous commotion erupted outside.

Judging by the endless rumble of wheels, someone seemed to be hauling goods in by the cartload.

I blinked indifferently, wondering whether someone had gone on a particularly extravagant shopping spree, when Songji called for me.

“My lady, I think you should come outside for a moment.”

There was bewilderment in her voice.

I looked out through the doorway and frowned.

What is all this?