Namgung Gangchang scowled.“Hey, hey, knock it off. That servant from earlier suits you perfectly. Don’t get funny ideas and embarrass yourself—know your place.”A Hwangbo warrior let out a sneer.“It looks like you’re the one embarrassing Namgung, Young Hero.”“Exactly. The Namgung folks must have it rough.”“Ugh, when we get back, let’s bow deeply to our Grand Elder.”“Right. If I’d been born in Namgung, I’d have had my four limbs’ sinews severed and gone straight off to take vows.”“Same.”Light laughter burst out here and there.“Young ladies, that’s going too far!”Unable to endure the insult, Namgung Gangchang flared up.“Ah, we were rude, that’s true. Sorry. It seems a rude way of speaking has rubbed off on us, being in this seat.”When one Hwangbo young lady spoke with a barb, even the Namgung youths let out small laughs. Only Namgung Hyun was quiet.He was still looking at that Tang woman—as if that were his only purpose. He erased everything around him.Namgung Gangchang often picked fights with Namgung Hyun and made him suffer. Calling it “picking fights” and “pranks” was putting it kindly; most of it was violence to the point he could hardly attend training.Even when beaten like that, he never cowered, and, just as now, treated Namgung Gangchang as if he didn’t exist.If he had at least looked at himself getting mocked and laughed along, it wouldn’t have felt this infuriating.Because Namgung Hyun erased his very existence, Namgung Gangchang’s temper spiked high.Soon his anger veered down a familiar path. Snorting, Namgung Gangchang glared at Namgung Hyun.Then a servant coming this way behind Namgung Hyun caught his eye.The servant was carrying a tray as big as her body. On it were piled dishes steeped in thick sauces—braised pork belly, duck, stir-fried vegetables.Looking back and forth between Namgung Hyun’s neat clothes and the food, Namgung Gangchang’s lips tilted.Namgung Hyun was still watching the Tang woman crossing the bridge. To reach the Tang table, she would have to pass right by here.Namgung Gangchang swallowed a laugh.And the instant the servant passed by Namgung Hyun—Taat.He flicked his hand with a touch of internal energy. Not strong, but a dangerous gust for a servant barely holding her balance.“Ah!”Startled by the sudden wind that fluttered her skirt, the servant stumbled back.“Ugh, no! No!”Losing her balance, the servant screamed and squeezed her eyes shut. But even after a good while, no sound came.No shattering plates, no scolding.‘…What?’Slowly opening her eyes, the servant blinked.Far from pitching over, her body was upright.As the tension released, the servant finally checked herself.She flinched when she found a hand around her waist.Lifting her gaze, the servant’s mouth fell open. A warrior in green held her by the waist with one hand, and with the other, he held the large tray.With worried eyes, he looked down at her and asked,“Are you all right?”The servant recognized him at a glance. Though he wore green instead of black, he was unmistakably Hanwon of the Black Tiger Unit.‘Why is a Fourth Guard warrior here?’The flustered servant’s mouth opened and closed. As she understood it, during events the warriors of the Black Tiger, Red Tiger, Blue Tiger, and White Tiger handled inner-court security and could not attend.There must be some circumstances. So the servant, not wanting to be presumptuous, kept quiet and bowed her head.“Th-thank you. Please hand me the tray.”But Hanwon did not return the tray; he scowled.“I don’t think you’re all right.”Muttering as if to himself, Hanwon turned his body.“My lady. I think this girl has sprained her ankle.”My lady?At the address that marked rank, those watching the commotion startled. Their eyes slid after Hanwon. At the end of that line stood a woman in a light-green ceremonial robe.Recognizing the woman, the servant’s face went pale.“N-no! I—I’m really fine!”“Fine? Hold on. If my lady takes a look, you’ll be well in no time.”Why would my lady examine a servant’s body!The servant screamed inside, but she did not have the guts to raise her voice before the Fourth Guard.With a tearful face, she tried to take the tray and retreat, but Hanwon passed the tray to another servant who had come up beside him.In that time, Tang Sohwa, now close at hand, lowered her gaze.“May I take a look?”“Eh? Y-yes? Look at what?”Frozen stiff, the servant creaked like a wooden puppet. Then a member of the notorious Gujeongak narrowed his eyes and smiled.“Well, if your leg’s hurt, it’s hard to show it here.”A gentle voice tickled her eardrums.That was what frightened the servant.She recalled the rumors that if you offended the Sixteen of Gujeongak, you would spit blood and die in the blink of an eye; that no trace would remain on your body, making it a dog’s death in the truest sense; that if death were mercy, they would instead slowly ruin your body so you lingered in a life worse than death.The terrified servant’s face turned paper white. Then something even more frightening happened.“Eek! My lady!”My lady bent down and took her by the ankle.The servant, ashen, bent down as well. She began to plead through tears.“My lady! I’m really fine. Please get up. Your clothes will get dirty.”“How can you say you’re fine when you can hardly walk?”Tang Sohwa spoke in a soft voice, brows dipped as if in pity. Then she drew a small wooden case from her sleeve.Inside were needles and pills.The onlookers narrowed their eyes at the sight.‘…Who carries needles around at the Five-Family Alliance?’As the unusual item blurred the spectators’ gaze for a moment, the Tang young lady covered the servant’s flesh with her wide sleeve and, beneath it, set the needle.Her hands were very skillful.A Hwangbo young lady, horrified, slapped her elder sister’s arm.“Gasp! S-sis, I think I know who that young lady is.”“Who?”“The Clan Head of Tang’s eldest daughter! I heard at the Pang table earlier that the Clan Head’s eldest daughter had visited the Divine Physician and the Shaanxi branch. They say the two of them treated a Mount Hua disciple…. Heavens, I think it’s her! Seeing her carry medical tools at the Five-Family Alliance—who else could it be?”“Shaanxi branch? Why would the Clan Head’s eldest daughter go all the way to Shaanxi to treat a Mount Hua disciple?”“How would I know? Yesterday Elder Pang Shihyeon told the Pang kids to try to get close to that eldest daughter. Said Daoist Wu So regards that young lady as a benefactor, that something’s there.”“What nonsense is that? Why would Daoist Wu So regard Miss Tang as a benefactor. The treatment would have been the Divine Physician’s doing.”“They say that’s not it! Apparently, at the Shaanxi branch….”They whispered in low voices, but those attending the Five-Family Alliance were warriors with keen senses; the words rang clear.Over the scene of the Tang Clan Head’s eldest daughter performing acupuncture, tales about her spread in ripples.The Hwangbo young lady, who had been listening quietly to her sister, knit her brows.“Impossible. She even stopped by the Hubei branch—how could she be standing before us now?”“If she rode all night, it’s possible, isn’t it? Seeing she arrived late to the luncheon, I think the rumor is actually right! They say the Clan Head of Tang is strict about punctuality; to arrive late, it would take something like that.”Just then, Namgung Gangchang shot to his feet.A man with a sturdy sense of pride, Namgung Gangchang asked the question everyone was curious about without reading the room.“Young lady, are you perhaps the Clan Head’s eldest daughter, Tang Sohwa?”But Namgung Gangchang’s voice was unsteady.‘No! There’s no way that young lady is Miss Tang Sohwa! She must not be the Clan Head’s eldest daughter!’With his cheek muscles twitching, Namgung Gangchang waited anxiously for an answer.The rumor about the Tang eldest daughter that had spread through Namgung differed from the common one.Talk of her being despised or plain had long since been pushed aside by the sensational rumors in Namgung.‘I heard she and the Little Clan Head, Namgung Jin, are like that!’Just now Namgung Gangchang had indulged in a stout dream of becoming a son-in-law and manipulating Tang, so at the words that she was the Clan Head’s eldest daughter, he felt as if the world were crumbling.‘How do I beat Namgung Jin!’For the prideful Namgung Gangchang, there was only one man he acknowledged as above himself. The Little Clan Head, Namgung Jin.Waiting with anxious eyes for the Tang young lady’s reply, he heard her speak after quite a pause.“Young Hero.”But the woman did not answer the question; she responded with one of her own.“Before you ask, isn’t it right that you apologize to this girl first?”Her voice was as clear as her elegant appearance. It took a moment to realize it was rebuke.Coming to his senses, Namgung Gangchang knit his brows.“Eh? Apologize? To whom?”To the servant? Me?When he retorted in a grudging tone, the Tang young lady nodded.“As I understand it, it’s forbidden to use martial arts at the Alliance. Yet you attacked an innocent servant—one who hasn’t even learned martial arts.”“Eh? What martial arts did I use! I just sent a little breeze, pitying her working up a sweat.”Tang Sohwa looked straight at Namgung Gangchang, then turned her head and spoke to the servant.“Don’t take it too hard. I’ll inform your superior, so go in and rest.”“N-no! Thanks to my lady, I really don’t hurt anymore. I’m amazed myself.”The servant waved her hands as she spoke.But Tang Sohwa coaxed her in a gentle voice uncharacteristic of her.“Weren’t you frightened? If you’re worried your coworkers will struggle, go help in the cooks’ tent.”In truth, the servant was afraid to remain at the Namgung table, so she gratefully accepted the consideration.“Yes, I’ll do so. Thank you.”Watching for the right moment, the servant left.Seeing this, a Hwangbo young lady slyly put her lips to her younger sister’s ear.“…Hey, I think you’re right. Just as Elder Pang Shihyeon said, she really is like an immortal.”“Right?”At their whispering, Hanwon clicked his tongue inwardly.‘…Those young ladies had better be careful not to get swindled. An immortal? Who on earth?’He wore a sour look at Tang Sohwa’s behavior, which he could not get used to at all.Tang Sohwa tucked the palm-sized wooden case back into her sleeve and stepped off without a word. But her gaze lingered a moment on someone. The Namgung bastard who had been staring at her all along.Silence descended over the surroundings.Because the Tang young lady openly looked at the Namgung young hero.It could never be called a split second. It was long enough to feel taut.In that moment, Hanwon winced as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t.Because Tang Sohwa lowered her gaze and smiled. As if feeling shy.‘Wow, what did I just see? Water—where’s water. I want to wash my eyes.’He could not understand his lady’s intent. He wanted to check if she was a Blood Cult member wearing a human-skin mask.As soon as they stepped away from the Namgung table, Hanwon asked, face uneasy,“…What on earth are you doing?”“What?”“None of your actions are like you, my lady. You seem like a completely different person.”At that, Sohwa’s lips quirked.It was a smile that came from the heart, not the affectation seen at the Namgung table.“Really? I seemed completely different?”“Yes. I’m sorry to say it, but I feel unwell.”“Good.”That I didn’t look like myself.Sohwa swallowed those words.As the Tang table drew near, Hanwon couldn’t hold back and asked again.“Why are you doing this? There’s always a reason for your actions, but this one—I truly don’t understand.”“The reason to do this at the Five-Family Alliance is obvious, isn’t it?”“What is it?”Tang Sohwa answered in a voice full of sincerity.“To form a fated match.”“…I think I misheard.”Ignoring Hanwon’s words, Sohwa walked on.As she remembered it, this year’s Five-Family Alliance was a very troublesome event for the Tang.Because the Namgung Grand Elder’s only son had been poisoned to death.On the first day’s luncheon, the brat bullied a servant, and that servant was framed as the culprit, causing Father great vexation.There was no evidence, and the Namgung Clan Head did not suspect the Tang, but Father consoled Namgung by handing over precious items.At the time she thought the Namgung Clan Head let it pass quietly because of his friendship with Father, but thinking on it now, it seemed he knew who the culprit was.That day the Grand Elder’s son had not only bullied a servant. He used the servant to humiliate Namgung Hyun, so there was one more suspect.Sohwa let out a laugh without mirth inside.‘A snake of a man.’You handled the Grand Elder’s son without dirtying your own hand.She recalled how Father lost face over that matter and had to mind himself at the Alliance for a while. Sohwa’s eyes turned cold.“From tomorrow, watch Namgung Gangchang closely.”Not knowing the circumstances, she did not plan to save Namgung Gangchang, but she had no intention of lending the Tang’s hand either.“My lady, but…”Suddenly Hanwon asked in a grave voice.“…You’re not planning to form a fated match with Namgung Gangchang, are you?”When Tang Sohwa glared with chilly eyes, Hanwon flinched.“N-no, it’s just—you said you’d form a fated match, and then told me to watch Namgung Gangchang closely, so I…”Cowled by her force, Hanwon stammered.This reaction he preferred.Now he felt a bit at ease. Seeing those cold eyes, he thought at least his lady hadn’t lost her mind.‘…No.’He wasn’t sure this counted as normal °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° either.“Don’t get strange ideas. Watch what he eats, where he goes, and make sure he doesn’t die.”“Eh? Die? Disguise?”Tang Sohwa let out a deep sigh.“…I should have brought Cheolho. If Cheolho weren’t only young, I’d have him handle the disguise.”“Why are you bringing up Cheolho now?”When Hanwon scowled, Sohwa gave a small shake of her head and went to sit at the Tang table. Hanwon, unable to say more, took the seat at her side.Hanwon’s eyes were full of dissatisfaction.But he was not the only member of the Tang dissatisfied with Sohwa’s eccentricities today.

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