Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 61. Sword Examination
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Nangong Yurin trembled faintly on her shoulders, shedding endless tears.
Yuseong pulled out a handkerchief he carried in his bosom and handed it to her.
“Sniff, th-thank you.”
The sound of her sniffing her nose felt a bit cute.
Nangong Yurin turned her head and dabbed at her eyes repeatedly with the handkerchief.
‘Her past is much heavier than I thought…’
There was nothing Yuseong could do right now, so he had to wait for her to calm down.
What words of comfort should he offer?
He pondered for a moment but gave up.
He thought it would be impossible to console her with just a few words.
Hadn’t she gone through it multiple times? No, she was someone with rich sensitivity and outstanding empathy.
For her to have turned a close maid into that state with her own hands must have been a huge wound.
Especially since she wasn’t an adult back then, but a child.
A short while later, by the time Yuseong’s handkerchief was soaked through, she finally managed to stop crying.
Her eyes were red.
“I’ll wash this clean and return it to you.”
“You don’t have to return it. Anyway, it must have been tough for you. It’s regrettable what happened to her.”
“My sister didn’t die, you know?”
Nangong Yurin glared at him.
“Ah, sorry.”
He had assumed she died because her face was deeply slashed.
Treating a living person as the deceased—Nangong Yurin’s gaze was understandably sharp.
He hurriedly changed his words.
“That’s a relief. Then, may I ask what her condition is like?”
She shuddered as if recalling a horrific memory.
“Her face was slashed long, but she survived. Instead, the wound… had to be stitched up quite a bit. It left a severe scar. In the end, my sister was dumped by her fiancé. It was all because of me.”
Marriage in this era wasn’t something done without seeing each other’s faces,
and a woman’s beauty was surely important.
Being a little less pretty was fine, but having a hideous scar was another matter entirely.
It wasn’t just about injuring the other person; it was self-blame for ruining a woman’s life in an accident right before her marriage.
Whether it was because she watched Nangong Yuhyeon’s spar, an accident during the spar, or both.
Those things must have created painful memories about sparring.
“So watching spars has been painful for you too.”
“Yes…”
It was understandable that Nangong Yurin, with her tender heart, had suffered a great shock.
Yuseong had listened to her past with the goal of treating her trauma, but it didn’t seem very helpful right now.
Still, he would see it through.
“What do you think of the young lady of the Nangong family regarding your maid?”
In Yuseong’s view, it was an accident.
If the victim forgave her, wouldn’t the burden on Nangong Yurin’s heart lighten considerably?
However.
Nangong Yurin let out a sigh.
“My sister doesn’t remember anything from that day.”
‘Layer upon layer of mountains.’
In cases of great shock, short-term memory can sometimes vanish.
It seemed she had unluckily hit that case.
Without memory of that day, she couldn’t even receive sincere forgiveness.
In the end, Nangong Yurin’s trauma had deepened over nearly ten years.
“That’s unfortunate. But is your maid doing well within the family?”
If she were treated well, it would be much better, but Nangong Yurin sighed again.
“Sigh, the opposite. My sister lives under sharp glares. Father and Grandfather think she was careless and got hit by me. They even think I ended up like this because of her carelessness.”
“How could they think that?”
“They didn’t believe my words. Of course, even the Medical Pavilion Leader might find it hard to believe, but I didn’t lie about a single thing.”
He had one guess.
“You mean they didn’t believe you executed the Changgung Mu-ae Sword Technique, which you hadn’t learned?”
“Yes.”
Even the Sword King hadn’t believed her—watching someone execute a martial art and replicating it exactly was something even he couldn’t do, it seemed.
From the maid’s position, far below in skill, suddenly unleashing an advanced technique she hadn’t learned—it was no wonder they were bewildered.
“Then, if you had demonstrated the Changgung Mu-ae Sword Technique again then, they would have believed you?”
“I wanted to. But when I tried again, perhaps because I was shocked, I couldn’t execute it at all. A little later, they formally taught me the Changgung Mu-ae Sword Technique… so in the end, I couldn’t clear it up.”
“That must have been very frustrating.”
“Yes. But… do you believe me?”
Nangong Yurin looked at Yuseong with eyes full of doubt.
Her story of watching a brief spar and executing the Changgung Mu-ae Sword Technique, which she had never learned.
Even her own flesh and blood hadn’t believed her, yet Yuseong seemed to accept it?
She might be pretending to believe out of consideration.
But.
“Of course I believe you. Both that you mimicked the forms, and that you felt frustration when executing the technique.”
“…Really?”
“Absolutely.”
Nangong Yurin scrutinized Yuseong’s eyes.
His deep pupils, as if they could draw her in, seemed filled with strong trust.
‘He seems sincere…?’
He readily believed words that even her blood kin hadn’t.
‘I’ve been through so much all this time.’
A knotted corner of her heart felt slightly unloosed.
Grandfather had said there was no need to cover for the maid with such lies out of affection, and to steel her heart…
Of course, Yuseong truly believed her.
Hadn’t he experienced it himself?
Yuseong had also felt frustration when executing the Baek Family Manor’s techniques.
‘Why does it have to extend like this? Just a slight adjustment would make the power much greater.’
That frustration was one of the reasons Yuseong constantly sought to improve martial arts.
And.
While internal energy operation was hard to mimic immediately, Yuseong could replicate a technique’s forms after seeing it once.
Having learned the Nangong family’s heart method, which shared the same roots, Nangong Yurin could have imitated the Changgung Mu-ae Sword Technique.
Provided one condition was met.
‘If Nangong Yurin is a genius who far surpasses the Sword King and Nangong Yuhyeon.’
He had expected she had some talent, but her martial aptitude seemed truly extraordinary.
For such a genius to harbor resistance to learning martial arts due to trauma—it was an immense loss.
One more reason to unlock the Purification skill quickly.
After that, from various conversations.
“It’s a shame, but your emotional wounds won’t heal right away. But if you wait, I’ll definitely treat you. And your maid’s facial scar too.”
Scars that had already healed into keloids were beyond his current Healing skill, but there was a next stage to the Healing skill.
Nangong Yurin snapped her head up.
“Really? You can heal mine too, and my sister’s scar?”
“Of course. Do you trust me?”
Implanting trust in the patient was important.
That way, the wounds wouldn’t worsen.
Nangong Yurin, perhaps because she had cried buckets just before, smiled with eyes even more dewy than usual.
“Of course I trust you.”
It was the brightest and prettiest expression Yuseong had seen from her today.
***
The day after Yuseong visited the Medical Pavilion.
Jang Chil heard one piece of rumor.
He was careful not to let strange rumors about Baek Yuseong leak out, but he still perked up his ears to rumors from outside.
“Yesterday, Nangong Yurin said in front of the Sword King that she wouldn’t return to the family. Don’t know why, though. Heard anything?”
“No idea.”
“Really? Oh, apparently the Sword King requested a training ground at the Murim Academy. Seems like he’ll be staying here a bit.”
He nodded along appropriately to his friend sharing various info.
Though he said he didn’t know, Jang Chil somehow felt he knew the reason.
Yesterday was the day rumors said Nangong Yurin might return to the family, and Yuseong had gone to see her.
‘The atmosphere between those two at the pavilion before was unusual… As expected, Lady Nangong Yurin must have stayed because of the Medical Pavilion Leader.’
Jang Chil recalled the sight of those two he had seen before.
A handsome man and beautiful woman sitting side by side in a picturesque pavilion, gazing at the night sky and whispering something.
‘It’s certain. Lady Nangong Yurin is very close to the Medical Pavilion Leader. And they suit each other so well.’
He had realized something this time, so he absolutely wouldn’t voice it, but thoughts didn’t harm anyone.
Hadn’t Nangong Yurin been the only Murim Academy cadet to apply to the Medical Pavilion? And he’d witnessed them exchanging glances often?
Worried Yuseong might be curious, Jang Chil relayed Nangong Yurin’s updates as soon as he learned them.
“Lady Nangong Yurin is learning martial arts from the Sword King.”
“I see.”
He even shared ordinary daily matters.
“Her expression has been much brighter lately.”
“Has it? That’s good.”
He shared her mood too.
“A little while ago, she seemed down about something sad… I heard she went toward the pavilion where you two were before.”
“Yes? Ah, yes. I see.”
He even relayed situations and locations that seemed important.
Yuseong looked puzzled, but Jang Chil thought it was because he was keeping his relationship with Nangong Yurin secret.
Then one evening.
As Jang Chil prepared for his shift change, Chief Strategist Jegal Yeongyeong spoke to him.
“Is the Medical Pavilion Leader inside?”
Her face, usually furrowed when visiting the Medical Pavilion, was calm.
‘She came this morning too, what hurts now?’
He had questions but answered faithfully.
“The Medical Pavilion Leader has gone back.”
“Huh? Isn’t he on duty today?”
“Ah… He was, but he had something to do, so he switched shifts with Physician Cha. Are you hurting somewhere?”
“It’s not that I’m hurt. Then where did the Medical Pavilion Leader go?”
“He’s probably at his quarters. He said he had work to do at home.”
“I see. Thanks.”
Jegal Yeongyeong headed naturally toward Yuseong’s quarters.
‘Not hurting, but why…? I once suspected something like that, but thought not… Could the Medical Pavilion Leader and Chief Strategist too?’
Jang Chil was confused.
***
The reason Jegal Yeongyeong visited Yuseong was work-related.
“Sorry for coming so late at night. I came urgently because there’s an agenda item that needs handling by today.”
“What is it?”
“Baek Jinseong of the Honam Baek Family Manor has applied to the Murim Academy. How should we handle it?”