Late evening.

Word came that the Alliance Lord’s party had arrived.

Seolhwa did not go out to receive them.

She had her own quarters, and while the Clan Lord was looking after her, Seolhwa considered her place within the Namgoong Clan to be that of an honored guest—nothing more, nothing less.

Only, because the Alliance Lord had invited her to dinner, Seolhwa dressed herself for the first time in fine clothes and ornaments.

The maid Yeryul fixed a blue hairpiece in Seolhwa’s hair.

It was an ornament made of clear stone.

It looked like a snowflower.

“Truly... you’re so beautiful....”

Yeryul’s eyes welled as she looked at Seolhwa, her dressing done.

Who knew what was running through her head; she stared blankly for a moment.

Then, as she straightened Seolhwa’s attire again, she spoke.

“Did you know?”

“?”

“Of everyone in the Namgoong Clan, I think you’re the most beautiful, miss.”

“...Me?”

There are so many good-looking, striking people here.

Hwarin was a bit free-spirited, but cute.

“Hwarin’s mother was pretty, too.”

And the maid standing right in front of her—Yeryul—was a beauty as well.

“Flattery like this must be part of a maid’s virtues.”

“I mean it. I fell for your beauty and volunteered to stay by your side.”

“I see. Thank you. Thanks to you, I’m comfortable here.”

“I’m glad I’ve been of help.”

A wistful smile touched Yeryul’s lips.

It soon turned into a bright one.

“All right, all done. Now—”

Just then—

Knock, knock.

Yeryul and Seolhwa looked toward the door.

“Miss, it’s Ryeong.”

Within the Namgoong estate, Ryeong served as a guard, and she was also the liaison to the Hao Sect Lord.

For her to come first—when she usually never did—meant it was likely Sado Union business.

“Could you give us a moment?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Yeryul withdrew, and Ryeong stepped into the room.

Once inside, Ryeong cast a Qi Screen around the room and came to Seolhwa.

Urgency showed on her face.

“Union Lord. A letter has arrived from the Hao Sect Lord.”

“What does it say?”

“It’s about the Flesh Curtain. I thought you needed to know....”

Ryeong handed the letter to Seolhwa.

****

Dinner was to be held in the Clan Lord’s Hall.

On the way there,

Seolhwa felt, for some reason, a sense of familiarity.

And the more familiar it felt, the more a faint headache troubled her.

The air was fresh, and the people of the Namgoong Clan could not have been kinder.

So why this discomfort?

At the entrance into the Clan Lord’s Hall,

someone was waiting for her.

It was Seop Mugwang, the one who had escorted her when she first came to the Namgoong estate.

Thump. Thump.

“?”

Seolhwa knit her brows.

“What is this?”

She hadn’t felt this the last time they met.

The instant she saw him, her heart dropped and pounded hard—unlike before—as if her instincts feared him.

“You’re here.”

“....”

Seolhwa dipped her chin in greeting.

As he had before, Seop Mugwang gave a wry smile at the guarded look crowding her face.

Seop Mugwang flicked his fingers and tapped her forehead. “Tak-!”

“Ow.”

Seolhwa covered her stinging forehead and took a step back.

“No need to be so wary. Whatever you become, I’m on your side.”

“Then why hit someone on the same side?”

“Your eyes are insolent.”

“....”

What kind of person is this?

She was so taken aback she couldn’t even think of a retort.

She moved to ignore him and go into the Clan Lord’s Hall, but he stretched an arm to bar her way.

She was about to say something when Seop Mugwang suddenly thrust something out before her.

A long object wrapped in clean cloth.

“...A sword?”

“You know it without even unwrapping it?”

“Things like this. I’ve received one before.”

The old woman from the village came to mind.

She had given her a sword, too.

That sword was put away carefully where she was staying now.

“Don’t tell me—you remember that, too?”

“?”

Seolhwa looked at Seop Mugwang.

For some reason he looked a little hopeful.

“I received it after I lost my memories.”

“Ah.”

He rubbed his nose, a bit sheepish, then held the sword out again.

“Take it, quickly. My arm’s going to fall off.”

“Why me?” 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“It’s originally yours.”

“!”

Seolhwa turned to him, startled.

Her original sword.

So the one the old woman returned wasn’t originally hers?

Hearing that it was her own made her chest flutter for no good reason.

“Open it.”

When Seolhwa took the sword and untied the cloth, its appearance was revealed.

A snow-white scabbard adorned with gold.

A hilt tightly wrapped in leather that fit her palm just right. A red tassel knotted to the end of the hilt.

It was incomparable in refinement to the sword the old woman had returned.

Shiiing—

The sound of drawing it was like moonlight flowing.

Under the evening glow, the blade glittered as if greeting her with a glad hello.

Seolhwa swallowed without thinking.

“Do you like it?”

Seolhwa looked back at Seop Mugwang.

Perhaps he wasn’t all that bad.

In her mind, her appraisal of him rose a notch.

Chuckling, Seop Mugwang reached out and thump-thump, patted her head.

“This is the same, too.”

“And you, Unit Lord, are still the one to make the first move.”

Seolhwa and Seop Mugwang turned their heads at once.

There stood Namgoong Mun, who had visited earlier, saying he was the Namgoong Clan’s Chief Steward, hands clasped behind his back.

Seop Mugwang chuckled and folded his arms.

“Jealous?”

“Jealous.”

“If you’re jealous, you lose.”

“I’ve lost again.”

Heh-heh.

When the Chief Steward admitted it so readily, Seop Mugwang’s interest seemed to wane; he clicked his tongue and asked,

“Why are you out here?”

“The Alliance Lord asked that I bring Miss Seolhwa. Thanks to someone jumping the gun, everyone’s waiting.”

“Ah.”

Seop Mugwang scratched the back of his neck.

“Well now, I’ve made this awkward. Go on, get inside.”

After a small nod of greeting to Seop Mugwang, Seolhwa followed behind the Chief Steward.

Once inside the Clan Lord’s Hall, the air was thick with mouthwatering aromas.

Come to think of it, she was hungry.

“You must be. This way.”

The Chief Steward led Seolhwa to an inner room of the hall.

When they reached the door, the Chief Steward turned back to her.

In one of her hands was the sword she had just received from Seop Mugwang.

“Shall I take the sword to your quarters, miss?”

“Ah.”

Now that she thought of it, carrying a sword with banquet dress didn’t quite fit.

No matter how fine a sword it was, she couldn’t bring it to a dinner she’d been invited to.

“He’s always been dull at reading a room.”

When Seolhwa still hesitated, the Chief Steward smiled kindly again and spoke.

Having attended the Clan Lord all his life, he was quick to read what she was worried about.

“Rather than entrusting it to anyone else, I will personally take it to your quarters. Please don’t worry.”

Only then did Seolhwa hand the sword to the Chief Steward.

“Then, I’ll trouble you.”

The Chief Steward took the sword and dipped his chin, and the maids standing by the door quietly opened it.

As the door opened, Seolhwa stepped inside.

The moment she entered, she flinched before she knew it and halted.

It felt as if some vast, unknown force was swirling through the room.

With a tense expression, Seolhwa looked to the one seated at the place of highest honor.

“That one... is the Alliance Lord....”

She knew it instinctively.

The Alliance Lord was an immense master.

One with power beyond any comparison to her own.

Perhaps it was because of that.

She felt like a small animal standing before a fierce beast.

Seolhwa, face taut, approached the table.

The beast’s keen gaze seemed to spear straight through her.

“You’re here.”

“....”

Seolhwa bowed her head to Namgoong Mucheon.

His low, deep voice was gentle, but she could not let down her guard.

“Sit.”

Seolhwa took the empty chair.

Those gathered were only three: Seolhwa, Namgoong Mucheon, and Namgoong Cheongun, the Namgoong Clan’s Lord.

“So. Are you hurting anywhere?”

“No.”

“How do you find staying here?”

“The Namgoong Clan has been very considerate so I can stay comfortably.”

Namgoong Mucheon nodded.

There was much he wanted to ask, but he knew Seolhwa was wary of him.

“Just like five years ago, when she returned to the main house.”

Back then, too, she’d been this rough-edged and wary.

“Eat. The food will get cold.”

“Yes.”

The meal began.

Only the light clink of utensils and the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} occasional exchange between Cheongun and Seolhwa filled the table.

Amid this, Seolhwa realized something was odd.

“Why is there so much food in my bowl?”

She kept eating, eating, and eating, yet strangely the food in her bowl only increased.

Why?

Once she thought that, she watched more closely and saw that every time Namgoong Cheongun spoke to her, not only he but Namgoong Mucheon too would place food in her bowl.

What are these people doing?

“So then, while you’ve been here, was there anything that puzzled you? Anything you needed?”

As Namgoong Cheongun asked again, he laid a slice of duck on her bowl.

Namgoong Mucheon likewise set a tender piece of pork on her plate.

Seolhwa stared for a moment at the growing mound on her plate, then set down her spoon and chopsticks.

Then she looked to Namgoong Cheongun.

“There is.”

“Is there something you need?”

“No, a question.”

“....”

Cheongun dipped his head slowly.

“Ask. Anything.”

“I...”

In that moment, Namgoong Mucheon poured cool tea into her empty cup.

As the tea rose with a gentle burble, Seolhwa asked,

“Am I the Clan Lord’s daughter?”