Na Clan-1
On the first day she returned to the Na Clan, after meeting Madam Min, Naseoyu had been left with nothing to do for two whole days. She could only sit blankly in her room, waiting.
And today, at last, Madam Min summoned her again.
It was the first summons in two days, after treating her as if she didn't exist.
When they met again, Naseoyu already looked much thinner, despite only two days having passed.
Her stepmother's sharp eyes caught this and curved with a fleeting, twisted smile before she once again put on a stern face and said:
"Do you not even greet your younger brother?"
At those words, Naseoyu turned to the young man sitting beside Madam Min.
A young man with the same arrogant features as his mother, staring at her with a mocking smile—her half-brother, Na seo hwang.
It was the younger brother who should greet his elder sister first, but here it was the opposite. And no one in the room found it strange.
It had always been this way.
Naseoyu forced a smile and greeted him.
"Seohwang, it's you. Have you been well?"
But no answer came.
Na seo hwang only continued to smirk with contempt.
When he gave no reply, Madam Min acted as if it were perfectly natural and asked Naseoyu instead:
"So, have you thought about your marriage?"
Her two days of isolation had been deliberate—Madam Min knew that, left alone, Naseoyu's guilt would fester.
And Naseoyu, no longer a child, also understood well what her stepmother wanted from her.
Thus, with a heavy heart, she replied:
"No. I do not wish for such a marriage."
The room fell into silence.
Madam Min and Na seo hwang's cold eyes bored into her bowed head.
Finally, Madam Min spoke quietly.
"So, you truly intend to cling to your selfish desires until the end? Very well. If that is your decision, then there's nothing more to say. Leave."
With difficulty, Naseoyu rose, bowed her head, and left the room, the cold gazes of her stepmother and half-brother following her out.
After she left, Na seo hwang turned to Madam Min.
"Why did you just let her go? Shouldn't you slap her or scold her, like before?"
Madam Min ground her teeth.
"You think I wanted to let her go? I wanted nothing more than to grab that girl by the hair. But… she's been on the frontlines. When I looked into her eyes the other day, they were unsettling. Sharp, like those of a warrior who's reached a high realm. It's dangerous to act rashly with her now."
Na seo hwang sneered.
"Hah! As if she could have become a top-tier warrior! And even if she had, what then? Just call men to subdue her. You've grown too timid."
Hearing her son's complaints, Madam Min soothed him with feigned patience.
"In matters like this, breaking the spirit is more important than the body. Let's wait until she comes crawling on her own."
But Na seo hwang snapped.
"It's been two days already! What if she keeps being stubborn and just returns to the frontlines? What about the marriage arrangement with the Killing Hand Gang? You want me to cancel it?"
That revelation was shocking.
They had already sent word of a marriage proposal to the Killing Hand Gang without even speaking to Naseoyu first.
Madam Min smiled wickedly.
"Hmph! Don't worry. Strength in martial arts doesn't change one's nature. That foolish girl will never change. Wait and see. Leave her a few more days and she'll come begging—pleading to be allowed to marry, just for a chance to see her father. You know well how foolish she is."
"Hmph. Foolish, yes… but beautiful. If she weren't my half-sister, I'd rather keep her for myself than give her away."
Clicking his tongue as if regretful, Na seo hwang smirked, but Madam Min scolded him in mock severity.
"Enough! You will be the next lord of the Na Clan. How could you lower yourself to a wretch like her? You must marry someone who will raise you higher."
Neither of them realized that someone was listening.
Above their chamber, crouched on the roof, Seonu Jin was eavesdropping through Jicheong Technique.
Watching silently, he muttered:
"I ran myself half to death, relieved there were no Iron Ghosts… only to find two beasts here instead."
From his vantage point, he saw Naseoyu's weary figure slip back into her room.
The one woman who had been the sole object of his affection across two lives.
Seonu Jin felt a fiery killing intent flare toward people again—for the first time in a long while.
Naseoyu sat alone in her room, lost in thought.
Her stepmother's intentions were obvious.
Once again she was using her father and the Na Clan as a pretext to control her—and this time, to force her into a political marriage.
The problem was, even knowing this, she had no means of resisting.
"Father…"
She was desperately worried for him, said to be too ill to move.
If only she could know his true condition—or at least see his face—her heart would not be so heavy.
She was nearly sick with worry.
Of course she knew Madam Min was holding her father and the Na Clan hostage to blackmail her.
She also knew she must not yield.
And yet…
Mother is holding Father and the clan hostage. Against that, what can I possibly do?
For Naseoyu, her clan's safety and her father's well-being were the most important things in life.
Thus, the option of rebelling against her stepmother and causing turmoil in the clan did not exist for her.
In despair, she muttered:
"Must I… really marry?"
She even wondered whether yielding to marriage would at least let her see her father.
But…
"Captain Seolpung, what should I do?"
The vivid image of Captain Seolpung's face rose in her mind, making it impossible for her to accept such a fate.
Marriage to anyone but him? Unthinkable.
And yet, because of that very heart, she wondered if she was indeed selfish, as Madam Min accused, for choosing her feelings over her father.
It left her torn and confused.
To protect my family, I must sacrifice myself.
Even as an adult, she could not free herself from this belief, drilled into her since childhood by her stepmother's manipulation.
As she sank deeper into turmoil, another day passed, the third since her return.
Then—
Knock, knock.
Someone tapped gently at her door.
Naseoyu startled.
Until now, no one in the household had spoken to her, likely by Madam Min's orders.
And yet someone was knocking on her door at night?
"Who is it?"
She opened the door cautiously—and gasped.
Standing there was the last person she ever expected to see.
"Lord Seonu?!"
Seonu Jin smiled faintly and pressed a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.
Then he stepped into her room.
In a whisper, Naseoyu asked:
"Lord Seonu, what's going on?!"
"Well, actually…"
Seonu explained about the three Iron Ghosts that had slipped past the Fifteenth Squadron, and why he had hurried here ahead of the others.
At that, Naseoyu finally smiled.
"You came to save me. Thank you, Lord Seonu."
Her warm smile made Seonu smile back as he answered:
"Of course. If Lady Na is in danger, it's only natural."
The two of them shared a brief smile, gazing at each other.
And Naseoyu realized something was different.
No—he was different.
The Seonu Jin she had known would have blushed and looked away if she smiled at him.
But now, he held her gaze steadily, his eyes deep and unwavering.
Instead, it was she who blushed and looked away first.
Such a thing had never happened since he joined the Seventh Squad.
Flustered, Naseoyu quickly asked:
"S-So… since the Iron Ghosts aren't here after all, will you be returning now?"
Seonu smiled again.
To him, her flushed face, her averted eyes—she was unbearably endearing.
And though he didn't realize it, this was the very thought Naseoyu had always had when looking at him.
"No. They may still come, so I'll remain. And… there's something I must tell you."
"What is it? Something to tell me?"
To her confusion, Seonu spoke firmly:
"Your father is not unconscious."
For a moment, Naseoyu could not comprehend his words.
"…What?"
Seonu then began to explain.
"It's true he cannot move his body, but his consciousness is perfectly clear. In fact, he was asking if there hadn't been any letters from Lady Na, saying he missed you dearly."
"…What?"
At last understanding Seonu Jin's words, tears welled up in Naseoyu's eyes.
After his arrival, Seonu had moved in secret, surveying every part of the Na Clan residence.
He had even followed Madam Min and confirmed with his own eyes the chamber where the Na Clan Lord—Naseoyu's father—was lying.
And he had heard the man's own voice, asking whether there had been any word from his daughter. Clearly, Madam Min had not told him Naseoyu had returned.
Hearing this, Naseoyu pressed a hand over her mouth as her sobs broke out.
"How could this be…."
Her eyes trembled with a storm of emotions: relief that her father was conscious, anger at Madam Min, gratitude toward Seonu Jin.
Seonu smiled gently and asked:
"So, shall we go see him now?"
"…What?"
"Your father. If we go quietly, we can meet him without anyone knowing."
Visit him secretly, without permission.
Such a thought had never crossed Naseoyu's mind before.
"But… Mother said he needed complete rest—"
Seonu shook his head.
"Do you still believe her? From what I heard, he seemed more heartsick that you hadn't come. I think he'd regain some strength just by seeing your face. Surely you don't mean to accept her terms—that you can only meet him after agreeing to marry?"
Naseoyu quickly realized he was right.
If seeing her would not harm his health, then Madam Min's words held no weight at all.
Her face cleared as she nodded.
"You're right. There's no need to mind her words. I must see him now."
Seeing her newfound resolve, Seonu grinned.
"Then let's go."
Together they moved with stealth, climbing atop the Na Clan's rooftops.
Avoiding the guards was no difficulty—neither for Seonu nor for Naseoyu, who had long trained in light footwork beside him.
As they went, Naseoyu suddenly spoke through voice transmission.
—Lord Seonu, you seem… different somehow.
Seonu smiled faintly.
She must have sensed the change in his heart.
With a touch of pride, he asked:
—Me? Different in what way?
Naseoyu hesitated, then replied:
—Hmm. Before, you were like a cute son. But now… more like a grown, respectable one?
—Ugh.
So he was still "a son" in her eyes.
The taste was bitter, but he decided to take comfort in the progress. At least she had dropped the word "cute."
Soon they reached the clan lord's chamber.
Two guards stood at the door, but they were already nodding off. Seonu slipped forward silently and struck their pressure points; they slumped into deeper sleep, never realizing.
Naseoyu's face brimmed with emotion as she carefully opened the door.
Inside, a weary middle-aged man lay under his covers, asleep.
"Father…."
At the sight of his haggard face, her tears overflowed.
She moved quietly to his side, whispering softly so as not to wake him.
But even that slight presence roused him. He stirred, then called out urgently the moment he saw her.
"Seoyu… Seoyu, is that you?"
His voice was full of yearning, as though he had sought her even in his dreams.
Choking with tears, Naseoyu called:
"Father…."
And at once, his gaunt face lit up.
"Seoyu! Truly Seoyu! It's really you, not a dream! You've come back to me!"
"Father!"
They fell into each other's arms, sobbing for a long time.
From outside, keeping watch, even Seonu's eyes grew moist at the sound of their cries.
A father who had longed for his daughter even in his dreams; a daughter who, too afraid of troubling him, had held back from seeing him. Their reunion was overwhelming.
Seonu, listening, suddenly thought of his own father back at the Seonu estate, and a pang of longing struck him too.
Father and daughter wept silently in each other's arms.
Only after some time could they finally speak.
The Na Clan Lord gazed at her with deep affection and asked:
"Your stepmother told me circumstances kept you away. Has that matter been resolved?"
Naseoyu could not tell him the truth. With a dark expression, she said:
"…There were urgent circumstances. I had to come secretly, without Mother knowing. Please, Father, don't tell her I was here."
Her father studied her for a moment, then asked with a grim face:
"Was it she… who stopped you from coming to me?"
The unexpected truth in his words robbed Naseoyu of speech.
He sighed deeply.
"So it was, after all. To realize her treachery only now, laid up like this…. Fool that I am."
It seemed he too had begun to suspect her lately.
Holding his daughter's hand tightly, he spoke with sorrow.
"She's blinded me all this time, and only from this sickbed do I finally see it. And then I thought… how much you must have suffered. My kind Seoyu must have held her tongue, never wishing to worry me."
"N-No, Father. I only—only…."
But though she denied it, her tears fell in torrents.
For the first time, her father understood her pain—and she could not stop crying.
Her father, too, shed tears as he asked:
"Seoyu… did she also lie that you stubbornly demanded to go to the frontlines?"
"Ah!"
Naseoyu clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her sobs.
Three years ago, she had been forced to take her brother's place at the front because of Madam Min.
At the time, the Na Clan Lord had raged when told—by Madam Min—that his daughter had insisted she wanted to go. But the woman had always insinuated herself between them, leaving them no chance to speak directly.
Thus Naseoyu had believed her father wanted it that way, while he had believed his daughter went of her own will.
Now, the truth lay bare at last.
Once again, both were crying as they clung to each other.
"I'm sorry. Forgive me, my dear daughter, Seoyu!"
"No, Father. Don't say that. Please."
They held one another and wept for a long time.
Finally, the clan lord asked again:
"Then surely… the letter saying you wished to marry into the Killing Hand Gang was false as well."
He had received such a letter, supposedly from her, just days before—asking him to arrange the marriage.
Naseoyu shook her head firmly.
"No. Father, I would never write such a thing."
He groaned in anguish.
"A forged letter, imitating your hand… and I believed it."
He had been bitterly disappointed then, thinking she would not come see him but only ask for a marriage arrangement.
But now the truth was revealed.
Grasping her hand, the Na Clan Lord said with fervor:
"Seoyu, you must marry only the one you truly love. The clan, this father—none of that matters. If there is no such person, then stay with me always."
Overwhelmed by his affection, Naseoyu nodded through her tears.
"Yes… yes, Father. I understand."
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