“Mister, what do you mean by that?”
Hye-ryeong frowned in confusion and asked me.
After pondering how to respond to Hye-ryeong’s question, I glanced at Mok-kyeong and said,
“It’s because this person came to ask me something they’ve been curious about, so please calm down.”
“What could someone wielding a sword possibly want to ask? I even saw them place a blade to your neck!”
Hye-ryeong’s voice was more agitated than usual. Was she upset because she learned I’d been assaulted? To calm her down, I placed a hand on her shoulder and said,
“There was just a bit of a misunderstanding, so please don’t get too angry. You should head back. Patrol duties start soon, and you should get more rest.”
“Ah, yes… Thank you, Eun-gong. Then…”
After I subtly signaled her a few times, Mok-kyeong quickly slipped out of the room.
Now that I’d sent her off, I needed to resolve this situation as well.
I sat on the bed and lightly tapped the space beside me. Though she wore a sullen expression, Hye-ryeong obediently sat next to me and looked up.
“Explain it to me. I was so startled I couldn’t even properly wrap the bandage and came here!”
Bandage?
What did she mean by bandage? …Then…
My gaze naturally fell downward. It was a basic instinctual reaction.
“Stop staring like that, it’s embarrassing…”
Hye-ryeong covered her chest with her hands and blushed.
The meaning behind “not wrapping the bandage”… Unwelcome thoughts started creeping into my mind before I could stop them, so I immediately slapped my own cheek.
“Mister?!”
“It was just a moment to regain my senses, so don’t worry.”
Even though I’m a former knight, it’s embarrassing to be caught ogling a lady’s chest. I forced myself to meet Hye-ryeong’s eyes instead of letting my gaze wander downward again.
“Ahem, so you were asking who the person who visited earlier was, right?”
“What have you been doing behind my back?”
“It’s nothing serious. I just ended up forming a connection with that person’s uncle and delivered a message, that’s all.”
Although I glossed over it somewhat, fortunately Hye-ryeong didn’t press further. She simply gazed up at me.
“Is that really true?”
“Of course.”
“…Since you said it, I believe you.”
When she said that, it made me feel a bit uncomfortable.
I silently looked up at the ceiling.
Though it’s hard to see in the dark, my mind was a cluttered mess, and paradoxically, I welcomed the darkness.
At least it wouldn’t become any more complicated.
Having cleared my thoughts, I turned my gaze back to Hye-ryeong and said,
“Hye-ryeong, you should go to sleep.”
“Can’t I stay a little longer?”
“It’s awkward for a grown woman to be in a man’s room for too long.”
“Mister, you really sound like an old man. You only say boring things.”
Am I really that old? Even though Western faces might appear older to Eastern eyes, in the West, I’m considered someone who looks younger than their age.
“You and I are only a year apart.”
“Are you really lying so confidently because you want me to call you ‘older brother’?”
Her skeptical stare made me sigh.
Do you really not believe me?
“Really.”
“…Are you saying that just to hear me call you ‘older brother’?”
“Older brother? Do I really look that old to you? Old enough to be called ‘mister’?”
“…Don’t people think you’re at least thirty?”
Thirty?
“…It hasn’t been long since I passed the threshold of young adulthood, and it’s embarrassing to be treated like an old man.”
“Are you really serious about being only one year older than me?”
“That’s right.”
Hye-ryeong blinked at me with wide eyes. Clearly, she found it hard to believe.
“It’s hard to tell colored-eyed people’s ages.”
“Just call me whatever you like.”
“Then… older brother?”
This feels a bit intense.
While “mister” makes me feel like I’m being called by a clueless kid, which is kind of cute, “older brother” feels like it closes the distance between us. Rather, her tone of voice feels different somehow.
Is it a sticky kind of feeling?
“The feeling changes completely when the title changes.”
“…Hehe.”
Did my words please her? Hye-ryeong beamed and leaned closer to me.
“Older brother.”
“It feels nice, but you should go to sleep soon. The schedule doesn’t stop.”
“That’s true.”
“Also… I think this level is appropriate for now.”
“Huh?”
“The state of affairs in the Central Plains these days isn’t peaceful for idling around. Let’s say… right now isn’t the time.”
If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve just rushed forward without hesitation.
It’s obvious that the people from the Hainan Sword Sect are pushing things forward, and Hye-ryeong has definitely become more clingy. There’s no way I didn’t notice.
But… not now.
“You’re underhanded, Mister.”
What’s this? Why did it go back to “Mister”?
Were my words hurtful? As I glanced down at Hye-ryeong’s slightly wounded expression, I absent-mindedly scratched my head.
This situation is too awkward for me.
“What can I do? The world is in turmoil.”
I couldn’t afford to get distracted while the heads of the Heaven Horses are hanging in the market. If I do, it would be a one-way ticket to a bad ending.
Heaven Horses aren’t the kind of enemy that I could casually neglect.
I have a mountain of responsibilities, and to reach the heights I need within a short period is already daunting. Let alone the piles of work before me.
Hye-ryeong must’ve understood my meaning as well, because with a face full of reluctant understanding, she nodded.
“Why does this kind of event happen in a time like this? I’m blaming heaven.”
“If that didn’t happen, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation now.”
“That’s true. Hehe…”
Her voice, filled with regret, tickled my ear. Even though I don’t know exactly what she’s thinking, if I get involved in a reckless pleasure here, it might be hard to break away.
I patted her back and said,
“So, go back and sleep. We’ll be busy tomorrow.”
“Yes, Mister.”
“Looks like we’ve gone back to ‘Mister’ after all.”
“Mister suits you the best. B~ye.”
With that, she sticks her tongue out and closes the door. I listen to the gradually fading footsteps before lying down again.
“The road ahead is long, so far…”
My eyelids feel heavy. I let go of the brain’s signal to sleep and close my eyes.
—————-
“…Uncle.”
In the early hours of dawn when the moon has partially opened its eyes and the world still lies in stillness, Dan Mok-kyeong gazed up at the sky, lost in thought.
“I never expected to hear news about you from someone so unexpected…”
After the Yunnam Dan Family was wiped out by that mysterious assailant, she joined the Martial Alliance for the sake of revenge and uncovering the secrets of her family, yet it turns out the information has come from an unexpected source.
Mok-kyeong was unsure if she should feel happy or not about this fact.
However, one thing was certain:
“Uncle… you’ve passed…”
Though she had not held much hope that her uncle, who had gone into hiding, was still alive, hearing the news still sent ripples through her heart.
“I promised I wouldn’t cry anymore…”
Emotions that have stayed bottled up and unexpressed will inevitably rot. Lost in thought as she gazed at the sky, Mok-kyeong spoke words that would never reach anyone but the heavens.
“Uncle… I will certainly avenge you.”
She didn’t contemplate whether it would succeed or not. She resolved to simply find and avenge the person responsible for that fateful day. The flame deep in her heart erupted once again with fierce fervor.
“… Perhaps I’ll have to contact that man again.”
Though she usually preferred to go her own way, she realized that William was one of the few people who possessed some of the limited information she had.
“I’ll need more information.”
There are no connections to seek information from the Beggar Sect, and no money to obtain it from the Hawkmaster Sect.
To begin with, she had few options available.
So, there was no choice but to reach for this lifeline that suddenly appeared.
“There’s no need for me to sneak around like a thief again, so it is better to make contact during the day this time.”
Since there was no longer any need to secretly meet like a thief in the night, she would now have to attempt contact during the daylight hours in the near future. With this decided, Mok-kyeong glanced at the ground while absentmindedly scratching her cheek.
“…Though it’s awkward to contact a man…”
Despite intentionally keeping her distance from others within the patrol group, she now had to reach out to a foreigner with colored eyes. She gazed at the direction of the quarters of the Hainan House, her eyes filled with awkward discomfort.
“…But he doesn’t seem to be a bad person, so I should be fine, right?”
The man who willingly delivered her uncle’s last words was at least not an evil person.
Having reassured herself, Mok-kyeong sighed deeply and headed toward her bunk in the patrol camp.
Since she had to endure the endless schedule of the patrol team, she needed every moment of rest she could get.
Thus, the ghost of vengeance, finding a new objective, melted back into the darkness.
