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Chapter 247

Chapter 247: Unintended Companion (4)

“Oh.”

As soon as I saw Namgung Bi-ah’s face, I let out a surprised sound without even realizing it.

She had been waiting right at the entrance of the camp since she arrived.

Since when…?

I wondered how long she had been waiting.

Now that I thought about it, I left without saying anything to her.

…But could I really tell her?

I didn’t expect Moyong Hi-ah to show up instead of Gu Jeolyub.

Namgung Bi-ah’s face was as cold as ice. I could sense a difference in her expression—her eyes slightly narrowed and her lips tightly pressed together.

Considering Namgung Bi-ah usually showed almost no change in her emotions, this level of difference indicated that I was in a lot more trouble than I imagined.

“…About that.”

What excuse should I come up with?

Or do I even need to explain myself?

I’m technically a victim in this situation too.

But I can’t exactly spill everything, can I?

As I recalled the Moyong Hi-ah I saw last night, my mouth struggled to form words.

The world ending over a marble? Please. I was the one in danger of meeting my end at that moment.

I tried to tug my lips into action in an attempt to at least offer her a suitable excuse, but no words emerged.

Meanwhile, Namgung Bi-ah silently stared at me.

It seemed she was waiting for me to say something.

What should I even say?

Time ticked by.

It might have only been a few seconds, but it felt like several eternities to me.

Even among that silence, the sight of Namgung Bi-ah patiently waiting for me felt intimidating. I couldn’t help but wonder what would follow this awkward silence.

My head felt like it was glitching.

I needed to say something, but it was harder than I anticipated.

Then,

“You should head in first.”

“What?”

“Young Master Gu. You’re busy, after all.”

Moyong Hi-ah spoke up as she stepped forward.

She’s telling me to just walk in like this?

Wouldn’t that just make things worse?

If I did that, it would seem like I was running away after hearing Moyong Hi-ah’s words.

Dismissing my thoughts, Moyong Hi-ah kept talking while looking at Namgung Bi-ah.

“The Sword Dancer. Isn’t it better for us to talk instead of with the Young Master? Seems we have something we can discuss.”

“…”

Despite Moyong Hi-ah’s statement, Namgung Bi-ah continued her silence.

Frown.

Though she frowned slightly, indicating her discomfort, she kept her lips sealed.

“Am I wrong?”

When Moyong Hi-ah asked again, Namgung Bi-ah avoided looking at her and turned her gaze towards me.

That was a strange look.

Did she want me to do something? I started to hesitate about whether I should leave.

“…Go… inside.”

Namgung Bi-ah’s words caused me to pause.

“You want me to leave?”

“…Yes.”

Her calm tone made me hesitate even more about whether I should go.

“It’s fine… but when you come back… Tell me everything.”

Was that some sort of agreement?

After she said that, Namgung Bi-ah turned around and walked away.

From the way she was heading, it looked like she was going towards a secluded area in the forest.

As Namgung Bi-ah strolled away slowly, Moyong Hi-ah followed suit.

“Young Master.”

“…Hmm?”

“I enjoyed our last meeting.”

“Such an oddly phrased compliment.”

After I replied, Moyong Hi-ah smiled while covering her mouth with her fan.

Her reaction was oddly cheerful.

…Huh? Was that done on purpose?

I began to wonder if Moyong Hi-ah orchestrated Namgung Bi-ah being here, but I had no evidence to back that up.

I only had my suspicions.

Right after Moyong Hi-ah followed Namgung Bi-ah, I, left alone, stared at the direction the two of them had disappeared.

…Did I survive?

Could it be that surviving means I’m still here?

For some reason, I felt deeply unsettled.

After a few minutes of following Namgung Bi-ah, Moyong Hi-ah arrived at the expected location, a forest with almost no people.

She felt a sense of unease due to the lack of presence surrounding her.

Should I have brought some escorts?

She never thought the Sword Dancer would intend to harm her.

Though she didn’t like Namgung Bi-ah for personal reasons, Moyong Hi-ah, ever the rational and calculating person, knew that Namgung Bi-ah wasn’t the kind of person who would resort to such actions.

Pause.

Namgung Bi-ah, who had been walking steadily, suddenly stopped, prompting Moyong Hi-ah to halt as well.

In the transition from midnight to dawn, Namgung Bi-ah turned around and locked eyes with Moyong Hi-ah.

Moyong Hi-ah observed the deeper, bluer hue of Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes; they sparkled like gems.

What a beautiful person.

That was the most fitting description for Namgung Bi-ah.

In her every gesture, in the rhythm of her breath, there was an elegance that wrapped her in an aura of beauty.

Yet she’s strong beyond measure, too, and dignified.

She possessed qualities that Moyong Hi-ah could scarcely fathom.

Moreover,

She is a person who holds the one thing I desire most.

That was who Namgung Bi-ah was to Moyong Hi-ah.

Someone who seemed somewhat similar yet was utterly different.

She appeared to carry all the things Moyong Hi-ah wished she had.

As she thought of Namgung Bi-ah, Moyong Hi-ah felt a stirring emotion in her heart that begged for definition.

Jealousy.

Yes, this was undoubtedly jealousy.

A toxic, dark, and filthy feeling bubbling within her.

This was definitely jealousy.

“Are you just going to keep staring at me?”

“…”

“The Sword Dancer. You called me here because there’s something you wish to say.”

Moyong Hi-ah struggled to suppress these feelings, while Namgung Bi-ah stayed silent, gazing at her, seemingly unaware of the turmoil inside.

It was exasperating.

She questioned why Namgung Bi-ah maintained that silence.

Not to approach that man.

Not to covet what was hers.

Not even to glance in his direction, as they were already engaged and destined to marry.

Those were the words Moyong Hi-ah wished Namgung Bi-ah would utter.

It stemmed from her anxiety, wanting to perceive Namgung Bi-ah as less than perfect.

“The Sword Dancer—”

“…Not me…”

When Moyong Hi-ah, irrevocably frustrated, tried to call out Namgung Bi-ah again, she swiftly interrupted.

“…But you… have something you want to tell me.”

…!

Namgung Bi-ah’s soft words blew into Moyong Hi-ah’s ears like a whisper of wind, suddenly striking deep within her.

“Isn’t that right…?”

…What are you talking about?

Moyong Hi-ah attempted to respond but could feel it.

Deep inside, she was shaken to the core.

Just from that utterance.

Me?

The omniscient Moyong Hi-ah?

That couldn’t be true.

“What do you mean, I’m the one with something to say to you?”

Namgung Bi-ah met Moyong Hi-ah’s gaze with an intensity that felt almost piercing.

I can’t afford to waver.

I mustn’t crumble.

“I… don’t have anything to say.”

“…Hmm.”

Namgung Bi-ah simply nodded in response to Moyong Hi-ah’s statement.

She did not press her further, appearing willing to let the matter drop.

Yet for some reason, this calm demeanor was unsettling to Moyong Hi-ah.

How could she act so unfazed? Surely she witnessed what transpired earlier.

There’s no way she doesn’t know about my feelings for him.

So why.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

From the moment they first crossed paths, she found it distasteful.

The way she seemed to be from an entirely different world.

Her radiant beauty while wielding a sword felt otherworldly.

As she led her life in tranquility, unbothered by any turmoil in the world.

And that Namgung Bi-ah occupied space in the heart of Gu Yangcheon.

All that.

Moyong Hi-ah felt resentful.

“Don’t you hate it?”

…Hmm?

“Don’t you loathe the fact that I’m trying to take what’s yours?”

At Moyong Hi-ah’s words, Namgung Bi-ah’s eyebrows knit slightly.

That signified she had reacted, and seizing on this, Moyong Hi-ah pressed on.

“Don’t you resent me for attempting to disrupt your peace?”

“I do.”

…!

This was unprecedented.

It was the first time Namgung Bi-ah had articulated her sentiments so decisively.

In the year they had been together, they hadn’t exchanged meaningful conversation.

Their relationship began to crumble since Moyong Hi-ah had started receiving Yangcheon’s attention.

Given Namgung Bi-ah’s feelings for Gu Yangcheon and Moyong Hi-ah confronting him with her own feelings, their relationship was bound to keep deteriorating.

“I figured as much; you despise me—”

“But I don’t care.”

…Excuse me?

“If it’s what he desires, I won’t mind anything.”

Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes still shone blue, but that light felt unusually intensified.

“Don’t deceive yourself.”

Her voice was sharp and icy.

Compared to her usual drowsy manner of speaking, Namgung Bi-ah was a completely different presence.

Moyong Hi-ah found herself biting her lips at the sight of this formidable Namgung Bi-ah.

“…What do you mean by ‘don’t deceive yourself’? You think I can’t possibly steal Young Master Gu from you?”

Namgung Bi-ah shrugged lightly to affirm that wasn’t what she was alluding to.

Then what—

“He’s not mine.”

Moyong Hi-ah’s eyes widened at Namgung Bi-ah’s words.

“I belong to him instead.”

Namgung Bi-ah’s assertion sounded akin to rectifying a crucial misunderstanding.

“He is narrow-minded.”

Then she casually criticized Gu Yangcheon.

If Gu Yangcheon had heard that remark, he would have been stuck coughing up a storm.

Narrow-minded? What suddenly brought this on?

As Moyong Hi-ah struggled to comprehend, Namgung Bi-ah continued.

“He’s exceedingly narrow-minded and by merely having me around, he’s saturated.”

…!

His mind was indeed narrow.

When Namgung Bi-ah proclaimed that just her presence filled his emotional capacity, it felt both confident and like sharp knives pricking at Moyong Hi-ah’s heart.

It meant that she had already become his and her existence occupied his complete emotional space.

Moyong Hi-ah was baffled as to where Namgung Bi-ah derived such fortitude, but she could scarcely counter what had been stated.

“…Sword Dancer, you—”

“Thus, whether he opts to expand that capacity, or replace me with someone new, is his prerogative.”

Even amidst those sentiments, Moyong Hi-ah felt an unwavering assurance radiating from Namgung Bi-ah, indicating she wouldn’t simply be tossed aside without a fight.

How was she able to pose like this?

Was she not the least bit anxious?

Did she hold such confidence merely because of the engagement ties their clans had?

Moyong Hi-ah couldn’t grasp it nor did she wish to try.

Still, she had no words to counter what had been said.

Thousands of rebuttals whirled in her mind, making an attempt to silenced Namgung Bi-ah’s claims, but the stirrings in her heart shackled her voice.

There was a stark awareness that no matter what retort she formulated, she couldn’t overpower the simple yet absurd claims and thus sway Namgung Bi-ah’s mind.

Taking a deep, trembling breath, she sought to collect herself as she faced Namgung Bi-ah.

“Thus.”

Snap.

As Namgung Bi-ah stepped a bit closer, Moyong Hi-ah instinctively took a step back.

She hadn’t drawn her sword nor exuded any lethal intent, yet Moyong Hi-ah felt as if Namgung Bi-ah posed an overwhelming challenge.

“Don’t exploit your anxiety to manipulate him.”

Moyong Hi-ah instinctively flinched at Namgung Bi-ah’s chilling words.

It wasn’t merely out of fear.

It was the very last thing she wished to hear.

“…This is the sentiment I wanted to convey to you.”

Observing Moyong Hi-ah in silence, Namgung Bi-ah, after delivering her final words, smoothly bypassed her toward the camp.

Left by herself, Moyong Hi-ah stood still for moment.

Then she sunk to the ground and remained there for what felt like an eternity.

*

At the front lines, Gu Clan’s campsite.

In the Captain’s tent.

After saying goodbye to the two of them, I entered Gu Huibi’s tent.

I gave a brief report on the examination of the status of the marble found in the depths of the forest.

While I was intensely concerned about the conversation taking place between Moyong Hi-ah and Namgung Bi-ah, another part of me warned that if I went to their aid, I would be crushed under the weight of their pressure.

Above all else,

Surely Namgung Bi-ah will handle it well.

She was somewhat slow, naive, and struggled at belittling others, which made me hope she wouldn’t end up manipulated by Moyong Hi-ah.

Hence, I decided to finish my report and soon check on her.

“…What did you just say?”

But all my thoughts vanished into thin air upon hearing Gu Huibi’s sudden statement.

“W-Who came, you said?”

“…”

After hearing my question, Gu Huibi appeared perplexed while I merely returned her bewildered look.

After a brief silence, Gu Huibi finally spoke.

“…Mother.”

The current Lady of the Gu Clan.

“Mother has returned to the clan.”

She had returned to the family.


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