Chapter 98: Naga Grounds-1
Chapter 98: Naga Grounds-1
On her first day at the Na estate, Na Seo-yu met with Madam Min. After that, she was forced to spend the next two days sitting blankly in her room, doing nothing, simply left to wait.
And today, Madam Min finally summoned Na Seo-yu again.
It was a summons after two days of neglect, during which she had been treated as if she didn't exist.
When Madam Min faced Na Seo-yu again, she found her grown markedly gaunt in just those two days.
The mental anguish must have been extreme.
After stealing a glance at her haggard state and allowing herself a briefly nasty smile, Madam Min addressed her with a stern expression once more.
"Do you not even offer a greeting upon seeing your own dongsaeng?"
At those words, Na Seo-yu looked at the young man sitting beside Madam Min.
The young man who looked back at her with a nasty smile and an arrogant expression that was the spitting image of Madam Min, was none other than Na Seo-hwang, her half-brother.
It was a situation where the older sister, the noona, had to greet the younger brother first, rather than the dongsaeng greeting his noona first. Yet, no one present thought this was strange.
For it had always been this way.
Na Seo-yu forced a smile and greeted him.
"Seo-hwang-ah. Have you been well?"
But no answer came back.
Na Seo-hwang simply stared at Na Seo-yu with a contemptuous smile on his face.
When Na Seo-hwang gave no reply, Madam Min, as if that were only natural, asked Na Seo-yu nonchalantly.
"So, have you thought somewhat about your marriage proposal?"
The past two days of being ignored by Madam Min had been a means to break Na Seo-yu in.
Having watched Na Seo-yu for a long time, Madam Min knew that, given Na Seo-yu's personality, the longer she was left alone, the more guilt she would feel.
And Na Seo-yu, no longer a child, also knew well what Madam Min wanted.
Thus, she opened her mouth heavily and answered.
"No. I do not wish for such a marriage."
At that, a silence hung in the room for a moment.
Madam Min and Na Seo-hwang were wordlessly glaring with cold eyes at Na Seo-yu, who had bowed her head.
Then, after a moment, Madam Min quietly spoke.
"I see. So, even to the very end, you have no intention of casting away your selfish greed. Very well, if that's how you feel, it can't be helped. Begone from the Na household."
Na Seo-yu struggled to her feet, bowed her head, and left the room, while Madam Min and Na Seo-hwang silently glared at her retreating figure with icy gazes.
A moment after she left, Na Seo-hwang asked Madam Min.
"Why did you just send her away like that? Shouldn't you slap her cheeks and thoroughly scold her as you used to?"
At this, Madam Min gritted her teeth and answered.
"Do you think I wanted to just let her go? I would love to grab that wench by the hair this very instant. But, isn't she still a wench who was at the frontlines? When I saw her eyes last time, they were rather unsettling. They were remarkably sharp, like looking at martial artists of a high realm. It seems there would be no good result from handling her carelessly."
At those words, Na Seo-hwang scoffed.
"Hmph! Even if that's the case, do you suppose that wench has somehow become a first-rate warrior? And even if she did become a first-rate, so what? We just call some warriors in and subdue her. You've just become too fearful, that's all."
At her son's dissatisfied remark, Madam Min coaxed him gently.
"Isn't it more important, in matters like this, to subdue the mind rather than the body? Let's wait a little longer until that wench breaks down of her own accord."
At that, Na Seo-hwang burst out loudly.
"That's what I'm saying, since she hasn't broken her stubbornness even after two days! What do you plan to do if she refuses to break to the very end and just returns to the frontlines?! We've already presented a marriage proposal to the Salsangbang—are you telling us to cancel it?!"
It was a shocking revelation.
The mother and son had already presented a marriage proposal to the Salsangbang even before speaking to Na Seo-yu.
At that, Madam Min smiled viciously and replied.
"Hmph! You needn't have that worry. Do they say a person changes just because their martial arts grow stronger? That stupid wench is absolutely incapable of it. Just watch. I'll ignore her for a few more days and she'll come seeking me out first to beg. Saying she'll gladly accept the marriage if I just please let her see her father. Don't you know well just how much of a fool that wench is?"
"Hmph! That bitch is foolishly kind indeed. And her face is quite fair too. If only our blood wasn't mixed, I'd have kept her for myself rather than giving her away."
As Na Seo-hwang said this and clicked his tongue as if regretful, Madam Min feigned a scolding.
"Eo-heo! How can you, who will soon be the gaju of the Na estate, let your gaze fall on such a lowly wench? Shouldn't you be seeking a woman who can raise you to a higher position?"
But the two, conversing this way, were completely unaware.
Of the fact that someone was on the roof above their room, eavesdropping on their conversation through the Earth Listening Technique.
Seonwoo Jin, who had been hiding on the roof and listening in, soon muttered to himself.
'I rushed over here like mad, worried myself sick when I lost track of Cheol-gwi, only to find two beasts here instead.'
From up on the roof, the dejected figure of Na Seo-yu trudging back to her own room suddenly entered Seonwoo Jin's gaze.
The back of the only woman he had held affection for across two lifetimes.
Seonwoo Jin could feel a fiery killing intent rising against another person for the first time in a long while.
***
Na Seo-yu sat alone in her room, lost in thought once more.
Madam Min's intention was obvious.
To manipulate her again using her father and the Na estate as a pretext, and this time, to use her for a political marriage.
The problem was that even knowing this, she had no way to respond.
"Father...."
She was so worried about her father, who was said to be too ill to move.
If only she could know his current condition, if that wasn't possible, if she could just see his face once, her heart wouldn't be in such agony.
Na Seo-yu felt truly like she was going insane with worry.
Of course, Na Seo-yu knew well that Madam Min was currently using her father and the Na estate as hostages to blackmail her.
And that she mustn't fall for it.
But....
'Mother took Father and the Na estate as hostages. What on earth can I possibly do against such a mother?'
Na Seo-yu simply could not tell.
For the family's safety and her feelings for her father were the most crucial values in her life.
Therefore, the option of causing strife within the family by opposing Madam Min simply did not exist for her at all.
Na Seo-yu eventually murmured in despair.
"Must I... truly go through with this marriage?"
She was even thinking that perhaps Madam Min was right, and it would be better to just accept the marriage and see her father.
But....
"Squad leader, what am I supposed to do."
The face of Seolpung, vividly rising in her heart, was preventing her from ever accepting it.
The thought of marriage to a man other than him, such a thing was utterly unimaginable.
Yet on the other hand, guilt was creeping in that she was indeed being selfish, just as Madam Min said, unable to see her father because of her feelings for Seolpung Jojang.
She felt so frustrated and confused.
'To protect my family, I must sacrifice myself.'
Even though she had become an adult, it was this difficult to escape the notion that Madam Min had practically brainwashed her with since childhood.
While Na Seo-yu remained lost in anguish, the day faded into night once more.
It was already the third day.
Just then.
Tok! Tok!
Someone knocked on her door.
Na Seo-yu was startled.
Because, likely on Madam Min's orders, no one in the Na estate would make contact or even speak with her.
Yet someone was knocking on her door in the middle of the night?
"Who is it?"
Na Seo-yu, who asked this as she opened the door, was taken aback.
Because someone she had never imagined seeing here was standing before her door.
"Seonu Gongja?!"
At that, Seonwoo Jin smiled gently, pressed a finger to his lips, and signaled her to be quiet.
Then he entered her room.
Na Seo-yu whispered softly.
"Seonu Gongja, what is happening?!"
"The truth is...."
Seonwoo Jin told Na Seo-yu about Cheol-gwi, whom he had lost track of at the Fifteenth Outpost, and explained that this was why he had been forced to rush here alone first.
At that, Na Seo-yu finally smiled and said.
"You came to rescue me. Thank you, Seonu Gongja."
At Na Seo-yu's warm smile, Seonwoo Jin also smiled and replied.
"It's nothing. With Na Sojeo potentially in danger, it's only natural."
The two of them smiled and looked at each other for a moment.
And Na Seo-yu could sense that something about Seonwoo Jin seemed different.
No, he was clearly different.
If this had been the Seonwoo Jin of the past, when she smiled and looked at him, he would have certainly flinched in surprise and averted his gaze first.
But this time, he did no such thing.
Instead, he continued to meet Na Seo-yu's eyes with a deep and gentle gaze.
So much so that it was Na Seo-yu who had to blush slightly and look away first.
It was the first time such a thing had happened since Seonwoo Jin joined the Seventh Squad.
Na Seo-yu, slightly flustered, spoke up.
"Uh, but now that we've confirmed Cheol-gwi is gone, does that mean you'll be returning, Seonu Gongja?"
At that, Seonwoo Jin smiled once more.
It was because Na Seo-yu, unable to meet his eyes and blushing, looked so incredibly adorable.
And though he didn't know it, this was the exact same thought Na Seo-yu had always harbored whenever she looked at Seonwoo Jin.
"No. He might not have arrived yet, so I should stay a while longer. And besides... there's something I need to inform you about, Na So-jeo."
"Huh? Something to inform me about?"
To the puzzled Na Seo-yu, Seonwoo Jin spoke firmly.
"Your father, Na So-jeo, is not unconscious."
For a moment, Na Seo-yu couldn't grasp what he meant and asked again.
"...Huh?"
So Seonwoo Jin elaborated.
"It seems true that he can't move his body, but his consciousness was perfectly clear. In fact, he was asking if any letters had come from you, Na So-jeo, and missing you dearly."
"...What?"
Only now, understanding Seonwoo Jin's words, did tears begin to well up in Na Seo-yu's eyes.
After arriving earlier, Seonwoo Jin had used his stealth techniques to thoroughly investigate every corner of the Na estate.
And by tailing Madam Min, he had also been able to confirm the room where Na Seo-yu's father, Na Clan Lord, lay bedridden.
He had even heard Na Clan Lord's voice asking if by any chance a letter had come from Seo-yu, as it seemed Madam Min hadn't mentioned Na Seo-yu's arrival at all.
Upon hearing this, Na Seo-yu covered her mouth with her hand and sobbed.
"How could that be...."
Na Seo-yu's eyes wavered with a multitude of emotions.
Relief that her father was conscious, fury toward Madam Min, gratitude toward Seonwoo Jin.
Toward her, Seonwoo Jin asked with a grin.
"So, shall we go meet him now?"
"...Huh?"
"Your father, Na So-jeo. We could secretly and quietly visit him and return now."
Visiting him secretly and quietly.
With her mindset, it was something Na Seo-yu had never been able to do until now.
"But... Mother said he absolutely had to have stability."
Seonwoo Jin shook his head and asked.
"Do you still believe that? From what I heard, he seemed deeply heartbroken that you, Na So-jeo, hadn't come. It looked like he would only regain some strength if he could at least see your face. Besides, you weren't actually planning to only meet him after the marriage was arranged, as that woman claimed, were you?"
Na Seo-yu could instantly realize that Seonwoo Jin's words were correct.
If it wasn't true that meeting her might worsen her father's health, then there was absolutely no reason to heed Madam Min's words.
Na Seo-yu, her expression finally brightened, nodded.
"You're right. There really was no reason to heed those words. I must go see him right now."
At Na Seo-yu's relieved attitude, Seonwoo Jin also grinned and said.
"Then let's go."
The two immediately moved with stealthy movements, climbing onto the rooftops of the Na estate.
Traveling across the rooftops without being detected by the Na estate's warriors was not difficult for Seonwoo Jin, nor for Na Seo-yu, who had always trained in movement techniques alongside him.
While en route, Na Seo-yu suddenly sent a telepathic transmission to Seonwoo Jin.
- By the way, Seonu Gongja, you seem a little different somehow.
Seonwoo Jin grinned.
It was because he thought Na Seo-yu seemed to be feeling the change in his own mindset on her skin as well.
With a slightly pleased heart, he asked with a hint of expectation.
- Me? How am I different?
Na Seo-yu then pondered for a moment before answering.
- Hmm, before you were like a cute son, but now you're like a son who has grown up splendidly?
- Ugh.
As expected, he was still in the son category.
He felt bitter, but he decided to find meaning in the fact that there was some change.
'At least he dropped the word 'cute,' right?'
The two soon arrived at Na Clan Lord's room.
There were two guards before the door, but they were already nodding off, so Seonwoo Jin silently approached and pressed their pressure points.
They probably wouldn't even remember when they had fallen asleep.
With an overwhelmed expression, Na Seo-yu carefully opened the door and entered.
Inside the room, a middle-aged man with a haggard face lay asleep under the blankets.
"Father...."
The moment she saw him, tears streamed down Na Seo-yu's eyes.
It was because she could not hold back her tears at her father's gaunt appearance.
Na Seo-yu moved carefully so as not to wake her father and sat beside him, murmuring, but Na Clan Lord awoke from his sleep at even that small presence.
As soon as he jolted awake, he called out his daughter's name.
"Seo-yu, is it Seo-yu?"
It was an earnest voice, as if he had been looking for her even in his dreams.
Na Seo-yu, her voice choked up, called out to him as tears fell.
"Father...."
At that, the haggard face of Na Clan Lord instantly brightened.
"Seo-yu! It really is Seo-yu! It really is Seo-yu! It wasn't a dream, my Seo-yu has really come!"
"Father!"
The two embraced and sobbed for a long while.
The voices were so heartfelt that even Seonwoo Jin's eyes, who was keeping watch outside the door, quickly reddened.
The heart of a father who searched for his daughter even in his dreams, and the heart of a daughter who was too worried about her father to even dare visit him, both welled up with emotion.
It was a moment where he suddenly missed his own father, who would be at the Seon-woo family estate.
Na Clan Lord and Na Seo-yu wept wordlessly for a long time.
And only after a while were they able to begin talking.
Na Clan Lord looked at Na Seo-yu with affectionate eyes and asked.
"I heard from my wife that you couldn't come due to certain circumstances. How did that matter get resolved?"
Unable to reveal the truth to her father at that question, Na Seo-yu answered with a darkened face.
"...There were urgent matters, so I came to see you in secret without Mother's knowledge. Would you please keep my visit a secret from Mother?"
Then, Na Clan Lord looked at his daughter for a moment before asking with a grim face.
"Could it be... that my wife prevented you from meeting me?"
At the unimaginable truth that came from her father's lips, Na Seo-yu could not readily answer.
Then Na Clan Lord lamented.
"Huh, so it was indeed so. To realize her cunning true nature only now, when I am bedridden."
It seemed Na Clan Lord had also sensed something about her recently.
He tightly grasped Na Seo-yu's hand with a pitiful face and said.
"I only came to know after being confined to this bed that she had been blinding my eyes all this time. Looking back, I can also guess how hard it must have been for you. You, being kind, surely kept silent about her, not wanting to cause me worry."
"N-no, Father. I just, just...."
But as she tried to deny it, unstoppable tears poured down from Na Seo-yu's eyes.
It was because she absolutely could not hold back her tears at her father's words, now finally understanding her heart.
Na Clan Lord also shed tears as he asked again.
"Seo-yu, was it also her lie that you stubbornly insisted on going to the frontlines?"
"Sob!"
Na Seo-yu covered her mouth with her hand at the sobs bursting out.
Three years ago, Na Seo-yu had been forced to go to the frontlines in place of her younger brother because of Madam Min.
At that time, Na Clan Lord had been furious upon hearing from Madam Min that Na Seo-yu was stubbornly insisting on going to the frontlines, but because Madam Min had skillfully interposed between them and given them no chance to talk, they could not know each other's true feelings.
So Na Seo-yu had also thought that her father believed she, rather than her younger brother who would inherit the Na estate, should be the one to go.
But that wasn't true.
Tears streamed down again from the eyes of the two, who had only now learned each other's true hearts.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. My kind daughter, Seo-yu!"
"No, Father. It's not your fault."
After again embracing and weeping for a long while, Na Clan Lord asked once more.
"Then, of course, it must also not be true that you sent a letter saying you wanted to marry into the Salsangbang."
A few days ago, Na Clan Lord had received a letter from Na Seo-yu, delivered by Madam Min.
It was a letter stating she wished to marry a man from Salsangbang and asking him to proceed with it.
Na Seo-yu shook her head and answered.
"No. I have never sent such a letter, Father."
Then Na Clan Lord once again lamented deeply.
"It was a fake letter imitating your handwriting. Not knowing that, I...."
Upon receiving a letter that didn't even come with a visit to her father but merely contained a request to arrange a marriage with Salsangbang, Na Clan Lord had been deeply disappointed at the time.
But sure enough, that wasn't true either.
Na Clan Lord grasped his daughter's hand tightly and said.
"Seo-yu, you must marry the person you love. There's no need to worry about the Na estate or this father at all. If no such person exists, then you can simply live with your father."
At her father's words, so full of affection, Na Seo-yu shed tears and nodded.
"Yes, yes, I understand, Father."