The Mood
After the physical and mental exhilaration had faded.
As the morning sun grew brighter, Baek Yuseong's mind grew increasingly complex.
He still had not sorted out the terms for her, the Grand Commander of the Martial Alliance, Jegal Yeong-yeong, and Namgung Yurin. Their faces kept flashing through his mind throughout the night.
'If I report to the clinic tomorrow, I'll see Yurin and the Commander too.'
Even though he knew Namgung Yurin was waiting for an answer, he could not refuse Jegal Yeong-yeong's temptation.
It was only natural for his heart to belong to her, with no room for excuses.
Every day during his rest period, the female healers who treated him often threw flirtatious advances at him.
Their appearances were certainly a big factor, but anyway...
Even after he learned that some of them deliberately got him to treat their sore throats, there were those who never gave up.
'They said they like me. Just once, let me sleep with you.'
Despite being a eunuch, Yuseong could treat women who threw flirtatious advances at him and even said they wanted to sleep with him without batting an eye, because he had no feelings for them at all.
It was the same when he treated them in secret places.
If it had been just about satisfying his physical desires, there would have been countless opportunities for Yuseong.
But...
Jegal Yeong-yeong, who carried feelings for each other...
even though she herself was a first-timer, had entered full of fear and trembled all over as she gathered her courage...
how could he have refused?
'Even while saying she wouldn't force anything to persuade me.'
Integrity in this era was almost as important as a woman's life, which was important in modern times as well.
To give it up as just a night's memory was far too valuable.
It was Jegal Yeong-yeong who had made that decision to abandon such a precious thing.
If Yuseong had stubbornly refused, he would have given her an irreparable wound instead.
At the very least, Yuseong had thought that way and resolved to do so.
'I will take responsibility for the Commander.'
Even if it was a little cowardly, sending her his true feelings would have to wait a little longer, because there was still an unsolved problem.
Namgung Yurin was waiting for his answer right now, just like always.
Unlike Jegal Yeong-yeong, who had vaguely sensed the connection between them, she knew nothing about it.
A sense of gratitude brought with it a touch of guilt and remorse.
In fact, there was no sharp breakthrough at the moment.
But Yuseong had obtained a strong motivation to hone his skills as soon as possible.
'If I can't become a great person, I don't even have the right to covet two peerless beauties from the Five Great Clans.'
There was a precondition here.
'I wonder if Yurin will still like me even after she learns about the Commander's existence?'
No, even if she likes me, wouldn't receiving that heart wound her instead?
The elders of the Namgung Clan also crossed his mind.
His mind was complicated.
Yuseong shook his head and sprang up from bed.
'Hah... It's a waste of time to be this troubled. If Yurin finds out all the facts, I have to become someone worthy of her affection.'
After that, he would respect Namgung Yurin's decision. That seemed to be the proper order.
Yuseong left the courtyard and began his morning training.
Namgung Yurin greeted Yuseong as he entered the clinic with a bright smile.
'Good morning, Sir Yuseong.'
'Ah, Yurin-ah. Did you sleep well?'
His voice was the same as usual, though a little hoarse.
Namgung Yurin did not read any special meaning into that subtle difference. Everyone was a little different every morning.
She smiled and nodded her head.
'Yes, thank you.'
She gazed at his face for a long time, intending to memorize it. Yuseong seemed to like it, and it had become her daily routine.
But his gaze briefly, just for a moment, wavered.
'Are you tired?'
She was worried. Had she been too demanding with the Emperor's Sword Form training lately?
'I must have been greedy. I need to shorten our training time together. He seems to be forcing himself because of me lately.'
Soon after Yuseong entered the consultation room, she stood at her usual post for work.
Standing guard duty was tedious work.
Unless there was some special reason, she could not leave her post before the next worker arrived, and she could not move her body greatly.
Compared to other warriors, however, Namgung Yurin had a small source of joy, so it was much better.
The moment the consultation room door opened and the servant Jang Chil entered to tidy inside, Namgung Yurin exchanged glances with Yuseong sitting inside the room.
'Have a good day.'
She sent a telepathic message, and he answered with his mouth shape.
'I'll do my best.'
He used to answer with 'Thank you,' but now he showed a stronger resolve.
After Jang Chil finished his business and closed the consultation room door again, Namgung Yurin predicted what would happen next.
'It's about time for him to come...
With nothing to do, she found a small enjoyment in watching whether her predictions were correct or not.
As expected.
'Please come in, Chief Strategist.'
Jegal Yeong-yeong entered the clinic.
She often received treatment before the clinic officially opened because of her busy schedule.
Namgung Yurin greeted her as usual.
Normally Jegal Yeong-yeong would greet with a slight nod of her head, but...
'Oh, good morning. Is your work going well?'
A warm question flew at her with a bright smile. Even including the first meeting, it was the first time she had smiled at her like this.
'Was there a good event? It hasn't been like this before...'
It was different from Jegal Yeong-yeong's usual attitude, which had been so hard to get close to.
Namgung Yurin's gaze stayed on her. She was dressed in her usual neat white scholar's robe, but her complexion looked even fresher.
Was it because she was smiling brightly?
'No, that's not it.'
Looking closely, her skin had a shine. She must have slept well, that small thought crossed her mind.
Anyway, even if she was curious, it was far better than being distant. Namgung Yurin answered with a smile.
'Thanks to the Commander taking care of me. I was able to come to the place I wanted because she specially hired me in the military department. I'm obviously satisfied. I haven't been able to speak properly to you until now, but I'll give you my thanks now.'
She spoke with sincerity.
At that moment, Jegal Yeong-yeong's eyes filled with deep laughter, and she burst into laughter with a shout.
'Ahaahahaha!'
'Why is she laughing so hard?' Jegal Yeong-yeong covered her mouth with her fan while laughing.
'...'
Namgung Yurin looked at her in confusion, and Jegal Yeong-yeong stopped laughing suddenly.
'Sorry. Suddenly a happy thing came to mind. Anyway, I'm glad you said you're grateful. Then I'll be going.'
She lightly patted Namgung Yurin's shoulder and turned toward Yuseong's consultation room.
Namgung Yurin looked at the shoulder where Jegal Yeong-yeong's hand had touched it with a puzzled expression, then looked straight ahead again.
Jang Chil, who met eyes with Namgung Yurin, jumped in surprise and looked away. He ran to the front of Jegal Yeong-yeong and opened the consultation room door.
'The Chief Strategist has arrived.'
The moment the consultation room door opened, Namgung Yurin shook off the strange feeling. No need to worry about small things.
She peeked over Jegal Yeong-yeong's shoulder. She wanted to see Yuseong's face.
But...
'...'
As the door opened and Jegal Yeong-yeong entered the consultation room and closed it again, Yuseong's gaze did not reach her even for a single moment.
It was a subtle difference that ordinary people could not distinguish, but to her eyes as a Peak Master, it was clearly felt.
'Why does he keep looking only at the Commander and not at me?'
It was a familiar thing for Yuseong to visit the clinic every morning, but he had occasionally sent a glance toward her even with her coming and going.
'It's an odd day today. I don't know the reason, but... somehow it's not great...'
She did not know exactly what was not great. That point made Namgung Yurin frustrated.
'Thank you for your hard work.'
The next worker arrived, and Namgung Yurin finished the simple handover with her.
After finishing work, she had personal training time. Same as today.
On her way to the training ground, she discovered a group of people gathered near the entrance.
'What's going on?'
It seemed like outsiders had come at a glance, but high-ranking people from the Murim Alliance were also gathered.
She pondered for a moment whether to look who they were, but Namgung Yurin chose to head straight to the training ground.
By chance, the personal training ground assigned to Namgung Yurin was the place where she had first trained with Yuseong.
'Even though everything didn't go as planned, at least I can spend more time with him.'
It was a place with good memories. Somehow, she felt that today's training would go well.
She stepped firmly on the ground with both feet and straightened her waist.
'Hah...'
She regulated her breathing. Her mind and body had to be stable to properly infuse power into the sword.
After a few deep breaths, her breathing quickly became quite regular.
She lifted the sword and raised her concentration.
It would be good if she could enter the state of no-self like when she trained with her grandfather, but that was not easy to find.
She had to abandon the greed. If she was too attached, she would not find it.
For a while, Namgung Yurin had been keeping her eyes closed, and suddenly she heard a shout from the next training ground.
Her brows naturally narrowed.
'No, I heard shouting sounds all the time before too?'
It was strangely not concentrating.
She forced herself to ignore the training sounds of other warriors and stepped forward one step while raising the sword.
Even the place where she stepped felt uncomfortable.
'It wasn't like this before... Is the ground uneven?'
She briefly looked down at the ground.
The servant had managed it well, and there was not a single stone.
Thinking that she was being too sensitive today, Namgung Yurin ignored it and unfolded one of her basic forms.
'Ah...!'
A shout escaped her without her knowing.
It was not refreshing. The tip of the sword felt slightly shaking.
'Why am I like this today?'
She forced herself to continue training.
After a few head tilts to correct the misalignment, she finally unfolded a form that could be looked upon.
But it was a little less efficient than her usual solo training, so she was sorry.
In the end, she had no choice but to finish her training early.
'Tomorrow will be different, right?'
People were different every day.
While Namgung Yurin was returning home after promising herself to rest fully, she noticed a woman in a green neat military uniform far away.
Her outfit was neat, but her steps were strangely cautious. Her hair was a faint purple tint. It was a strange color she had never seen before.
At just the right moment, the woman in green looked around and met eyes with Namgung Yurin.
At that moment...
Namgung Yurin felt the subtle displeasure that had bothered her all day vanish as if it had been washed away.
'Sister Harin!'