Chapter 20
"Ah, I dropped it."
"Yeah, you should've held on tighter. What are you doing? Give it back."
So U-ak snickered as he spoke.
"·····."
I let out a sigh and pulled one peony from the box.
But as Baek Ri-pyo pretended to take it, he dropped it again.
Two peonies lay crushed side by side under Baek Ri-pyo's foot.
"······."
"There's still more. Give me that one at least."
Now only one remained in the box.
I stopped forcing a smile and simply stared at the twins.
"What? Accidents happen. Got a problem?"
"Yeah, it could slip a little."
Don't they sense it?
The sharp, piercing aura emanating from Namgung Wan behind me.
I subtly stepped in front of Namgung Wan as he moved to intervene.
Then I slammed the wooden box shut.
"You...!"
"Here."
I cut off So U-ak, who was about to pick a fight, and shoved the entire box toward Baek Ri-pyo.
"Wh-what?"
Baek Ri-pyo looked flustered.
"You said you were giving it to Ri-ri, right? Now even if you drop it, it'll stay inside—no more stepping on them."
Flustered and at a loss for words, Baek Ri-pyo snatched the box away.
"······Hmph! Should've done that from the start. You made us waste two because of you. Let's go!"
Baek Ri-pyo bolted through the gate like he was fleeing.
So U-ak and Baek Ri-myeong followed behind.
Then Baek Ri-myeong paused in front of me.
"Ri-yeon is so nice. Haha."
He patted my shoulder and crossed the gate.
"······."
"······."
A long silence followed before a voice grinding its teeth spoke from right beside my ear.
"Outrageous."
I glanced at Namgung Wan.
"Why did you stop me?"
"Weren't you trying to hide your identity?"
"······."
Namgung Wan would have had to reveal himself the moment he stepped in.
A man of unknown background couldn't reprimand the direct line of the Baek Ri Clan.
"And······."
I sighed and knelt before the trampled peonies.
"It's a losing battle anyway."
Namgung Wan tilted his head, demanding an explanation.
I pouted.
"There's three of them. The twins and Cousin Baek Ri-myeong. If I'd refused to give them the flowers, what do you think would've happened?"
I tried to sound nonchalant and composed, but a hint of gloom slipped through.
"I'd just be the stingy girl who won't even share flowers with her cousins."
"······."
"If I'd gotten mad about them stepping on them······ then I'd be the mean kid picking on them over a 'mistake.'"
"It wasn't a mistake."
"But if the twins and Baek Ri-myeong all claim it was, whose side would people believe?"
It was a situation I'd endured countless times before my regression.
No one······ no one ever believed me.
"What do you mean...!"
Namgung Wan's shout was cut off by the sound of approaching hooves.
Followed by a familiar voice.
"Ri-yeon? What are you doing here?"
"Father!"
The moment Father lightly leaped from his saddle, I ran to him.
A faint medicinal scent wafted from his arms as he effortlessly scooped me up.
Father looked at me with puzzlement.
"Why are you out here instead of inside? Where's Un-du? And why is your hair down?"
"I was waiting for you, Father!"
"For me?"
Father blinked his slightly widened eyes.
Then he smiled so tenderly it surprised even me, who saw him every day.
"Where's Un-du? And your hair...?"
He brushed my hair as he spoke.
"Father, you have a guest!"
"A guest?"
Father tilted his head, then spotted Namgung Wan.
"······You!"
His face showed clear shock.
Father glanced between me and Namgung Wan before whispering lowly.
"Ri-yeon, do you know who he is?"
I shook my head calmly.
"No. But the handwriting on the letter matched yours, so I knew he was your guest."
"Then why wait out here instead of going inside?"
"Exactly. Even a six-year-old could recognize my handwriting, but the gatekeepers couldn't."
Namgung Wan adjusted the brim of his bamboo hat.
The gatekeepers hadn't even looked up properly since Father arrived.
Now, hearing Namgung Wan's words, their faces paled.
Father's expression hardened at Namgung Wan's grave tone as he turned to the gatekeepers.
"What does that mean?"
The men who had been so brazen toward me and Namgung Wan now clamped their mouths shut as if glued.
What could be harder than admitting one's own fault?
"Why is no one speaking?"
They could ignore me, but not my father.
Finally, one gatekeeper stammered.
"We... we couldn't let an unknown person into the Baek Ri Clan, so we, uh, stopped him."
"······An unknown person?"
"Enough."
As Father furrowed his brow to press further, Namgung Wan intervened.
Then he slowly removed his bamboo hat.
At least one gatekeeper recognized him—his pale face had turned ashen blue.
"The Baek Ri Clan's gates are as lofty as the heavens. How could someone like me cross them carelessly?"
With the veil covering his face lowered, gasps escaped them.
Namgung Wan twisted his lips and pulled out an irrefutable clan token.
"I am Namgung Wan of the Namgung Clan. May I enter now?"
His cold gaze swept over the gatekeepers as he dropped his bamboo hat to the ground.
Crack.
Namgung Wan crushed the intact hat underfoot and kicked it.
With a sharp thwack, the gatekeeper who had mocked him most obnoxiously clutched his face and collapsed.
The now shapeless hat rolled before the fallen man.
Jackpot······!
Technique score: 10. Artistry: 10. A perfect shot.
"······Young miss, little miss."
"Mmm."
"Little miss! Little miss, wake up! You asked to be woken!"
"Ah! Gasp!"
It had been quite an eventful outing.
I thought I'd recovered a lot, but my stamina apparently disagreed.
Having exhausted my paper-thin endurance, I'd collapsed into bed the moment I returned to my quarters.
Now I get why they let me come back early from lessons······.
Under Un-du's supervision, a maidservant wiped my face with a steaming towel and tried to braid my hair.
I slipped from her hands and hopped down from the chair.
"Later—let's go first!"
I left the room with Un-du.
But still drowsy, I yawned and wobbled along.
"······That was too much. Hitting someone with a bamboo hat... I've never seen such rudeness in my life······."
"Be glad it ended there······."
The voices grew clearer as we neared Father's room.
"······You're a young clan head leading your own house now. You can't act like that just because you're angry······."
"Are you saying I should watch my words for others' sake?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Isn't it? Ah, right—you have to side with the Baek Ri gatekeepers."
"······."
"Or not? Why the silence? They insulted me, and I made them pay!"
Bang!
The sound of a table being slammed echoed.
Aigoo, they're fighting. Just as I thought.
Un-du trailed anxiously behind me, unsure what to do.
I waved her off.
"Bring some tea and snacks."
Un-du had realized early on that this six-year-old young miss was no ordinary child.
"Then······ I'll leave it to you."
Relieved, Un-du bowed and hurried away.