Chapter 302: The Jegal Family (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 302: The Jegal Family (4)
The sky was thick with clouds tonight.
As I walked with Jegal Hyang through the dark garden, where not a single ray of moonlight reached, a thought suddenly struck me.
‘…Isn’t this dangerous?’
At first, I thought we would run into someone else soon enough.
But perhaps because the estate was so vast, not a soul was near us for almost five minutes.
Late at night, a direct descendant of the family, of marriageable age, having a secret rendezvous in the garden with an outside man?
A scandal even greater than what happened during the day could erupt.
Of course, since it was happening within the family grounds, they could prevent rumors from spreading, but the problem was that I couldn't predict how the family head would react if he found out.
The most likely outcome was that he'd glare at me as if he wanted to kill me during breakfast, or perhaps he'd try to force a marriage between Jegal Hyang and me.
Though that possibility was slim.
Unless the other party was the imperial family, it was common sense that a direct descendant of the Jegal family becoming someone's second wife was, even to me, unthinkable.
‘Unless, of course, that someone was the strongest person under heaven.’
In any case, the right answer was to avoid anything that could become a problem beforehand.
“Young Lady Jegal, the night is late. We should head back—”
“Is that young lady Young Hero Kang’s lover?”
Just then, a breeze blew, scattering Jegal Hyang’s hair and sweeping away the clouds that filled the night sky.
Bright moonlight illuminated the garden, and seeing Jegal Hyang’s face looking at me, bathed in that light, I swallowed a bitter smile.
Her eyes looked as if they would spill tears at any moment, her cheeks were flushed as if dyed with balsam flower water, and her pale red lips trembled faintly.
It was only then that I realized the feelings she held for me were not simple goodwill.
But I didn't understand.
‘But why?’
It hadn't even been a full day since I met Jegal Hyang. She was a direct descendant of the Jegal family head and a promising martial artist who had earned a place among the Three Phoenixes at a young age.
Moreover, her beauty was such that it would be no exaggeration to call her the greatest beauty in Hubei.
What could a woman like that possibly want from me, a man she just met today?
Was she after my martial talent?
But that couldn't be the reason. If that were true, the Jegal family head would have nominated her, not a member of a branch family, as a candidate for a political marriage.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't figure out the reason, but one thing was certain.
“…Yes.”
At the very least, her feelings for me were not a lie.
That alone made it impossible for me to just brush this situation aside.
“Circumstances don’t allow for it right now, so we’ve postponed it, but we have indeed promised our futures to each other.”
“Ah…”
At my answer, Jegal Hyang reacted with unconcealed hurt. Her tear-filled eyes trembled delicately.
She looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Seeing her like that, a corner of my heart grew uncomfortable.
I rubbed the back of my neck, hesitating, before finally saying what I had been holding back.
“Am I to understand that your question implies that you, Young Lady Jegal, have developed romantic feelings for me?”
“…”
I bet everything on one last possibility.
The possibility that this was all just my misunderstanding.
But Jegal Hyang simply lowered her head and nodded silently.
Even under the fading moonlight, it was plain to see that the rims of her ears had turned bright red.
“May I ask why?”
“That is…”
Jegal Hyang’s voice trailed off.
“If it’s difficult to say, I won’t ask again. Let’s just leave this matter here—”
“…my type!”
“Pardon?”
Cutting me off, Jegal Hyang lifted her head, her face looking like it was about to explode as she cried out.
“Y-your face is my type…!”
*
Born as the eldest daughter of Jegal Hyeon, the head of the Jegal family, Jegal Hyang had a secret she couldn't tell anyone.
No, actually, it wasn't much of a secret.
It was simply that she had a thing for fierce-looking men.
Of course, that didn't mean she liked third-rate ruffians from the marketplace.
She liked a man who, despite his fierce face, was warm-hearted and skilled in martial arts.
If he also had a dependable physique, it would be absolutely perfect.
In that respect, Jegal Hyang had thought the men of the Hebei Peng family matched her tastes.
But it didn't take long for her to realize that was a misconception.
Following Jegal Hyeon, the Chief Strategist of the Murim Alliance, to the alliance headquarters, Jegal Hyang saw many martial artists from the Hebei Peng family. When she participated in the Dragon Phoenix Gathering as one of the Three Phoenixes, she even met the young master of the Hebei Peng family, who held the title of Lightning Dragon.
They were all fierce-looking, well-built, and skilled in martial arts.
But not a single one of them stirred her heart.
How should she put it?
It was like looking at a greenhouse rose. It had thorns, yes, but it didn't seem dangerous.
Not long after, the young master of the Hebei Peng family proposed, but Jegal Hyang flatly refused.
After that, she spent her days faithfully carrying out her duties as a strategist for the Murim Alliance.
She held onto the quiet hope that one day she would meet her ideal type, someone who would make her heart pound.
But as time went on, her hope turned to disappointment.
Countless men, drawn to the renowned beauty of Hubei, approached Jegal Hyang with affection, but not one could sway her heart.
With the Strongest Under Heaven Martial Arts Tournament a month away, Jegal Hyang returned to Xiangyang, her worries deepening by the day.
Two paths lay before her.
Either make a name for herself as the next Chief Strategist of the Murim Alliance, or marry someone chosen by her family.
The latter was the inescapable fate of a daughter from a prestigious family.
The former, on the other hand, was a precious, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that Jegal Hyeon had secured for her, having recognized her talent early on.
Naturally, Jegal Hyang chose the former, but she couldn't help the feeling of regret that lingered in a corner of her heart.
Or perhaps it was a lingering attachment.
The reason she was lost in thought at an inn she would normally never visit was that she wanted to calm her restless heart, even just a little, before returning to the main house.
As she was sipping bitter leaf tea and gazing out the window, it happened.
Shiver—
‘?!’
A wave of Qi from somewhere alerted her.
Having been sensitive since childhood, she was able to detect the faint wave of Qi, but that aside, it was difficult to comprehend.
No one was audacious enough to cause a disturbance in Xiangyang, a city under the Jegal family's control. Especially not a master capable of emitting such a powerful Qi wave.
That meant it had to be one of two things.
An absolute master from the Evil Faction who could take on the Jegal family alone, or a reclusive master unfamiliar with the ways of the world.
Either way, as a direct descendant of the Jegal family, she couldn't just stand by.
Suppressing her fear, Jegal Hyang went down to the first floor and came face to face with a man who looked to be her age.
And she immediately doubted her eyes.
‘…Hic!’
Sharp eyes, a sturdy build, and on top of that, a level of martial prowess so profound it was impossible to believe he was her age.
Although she didn't know his personality, she somehow felt it would be good.
Was it because she had finally met the ideal type she had longed for?
Thump, thump, thump—
Jegal Hyang realized her heart was pounding as if it would burst.
She had never believed in love at first sight.
But now she knew.
Jegal Hyang suddenly recalled something a young maid at the main house had said while reading a cheap novel from the market.
—There's no reason for love!
Just as the maid said, there was no logical reason for the feelings she was experiencing now.
Jegal Hyang imagined a happy future with Kang Hyun-woo.
It was a sweet fantasy of holding a wedding ceremony amid everyone's blessings, spending their first night in a heat that wouldn't die down until morning, and eventually filling the family estate with the fruits of their love.
However, Jegal Hyang's brilliant mind, against its owner's will, found a flaw in the current situation.
It was the fact that Kang Hyun-woo's martial arts were far too powerful.
Her own personal guard was a promising master from the Jegal family, someone who had reached the Peak Realm at thirty.
But from what her sensitive senses told her, Kang Hyun-woo's martial prowess far surpassed her guard's.
Logically, that was impossible.
Above all, judging by his unrealistically handsome (and this was purely subjective) appearance, he had clearly reached the state of Metamorphosis.
‘Could he be… a master who has undergone Rejuvenation?’
Of course, this possibility was also slim.
But that was a far more plausible explanation than a rising expert her age having reached a realm beyond the peak.
The moment she realized their connection was impossible, Jegal Hyang felt a deep pain clench her chest, a pain she had never felt before.
“…If it’s not too much trouble, I would like to treat you to a drink, Senior. Would you be able to spare a moment?”
But to give up just like that… the feelings she harbored were something her reason could not suppress.
Deceiving herself with the flimsy excuse that creating a connection with a reclusive master would benefit her family, Jegal Hyang couldn't let go of her lingering feelings.
But in the end, she was coldly rejected. She stood frozen in place for a while, staring blankly at the inn entrance through which Kang Hyun-woo had departed.
It felt like her world was collapsing.
Swallowing the tears that threatened to fall, Jegal Hyang fled the inn.
She was wandering the streets aimlessly, not even knowing where to go, when it happened.
“…Senior?”
By sheer coincidence, she met him again.
It was a second chance that had come like a miracle.
With the sole determination not to let this chance slip away, Jegal Hyang poured all her effort into it and finally succeeded in inviting Kang Hyun-woo to her family's home.
And perhaps the heavens were moved by her efforts.
When Jegal Hyang learned that Kang Hyun-woo was not an old master who had undergone Rejuvenation, she had to pinch her thigh to stop herself from shouting for joy, all thoughts of dignity forgotten.
He was even two years younger than her.
‘…W-would it be so bad to be called nuna?’
To Jegal Hyang, this all felt like a midsummer night's dream.
It was a struggle to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up at every moment.
But it didn't take long for her to wake from that dream.
He had a lover, and it was impossible for her, a direct descendant of her family, to become someone's second wife.
Faced with this cruel reality, Jegal Hyang's eyes, which always shone with intelligence, grew dim.
Despair at the reality that she could not be with the one she loved; envy and jealousy toward Cheon Yeo-hwa, who could be in his arms anytime and anywhere, unlike her; and an affection for him that she could not erase no matter how hard she tried.
A wave of chaotic emotions engulfed her.
In the end, Jegal Hyang made an impulsive choice.
She brought Kang Hyun-woo to the garden of her private residence, a place no one could enter without permission, save for the guards beyond the wall.
No matter what happened, there was no fear of being discovered.
‘…It's not like I'll ever be with anyone else anyway. Wouldn't it be okay to make just one small memory before then?’
It was the kind of thought that would have made Jegal Hyeon clutch the back of his neck and collapse from high blood pressure.
*
“Y-your face is my type…!”
“…”
Hearing Jegal Hyang's answer, I couldn't easily open my mouth.
Of course, I was happy.
Realistically, what man on earth wouldn't be happy to hear such a compliment from a beauty who could put most celebrities to shame?
But the problem was Jegal Hyang's reaction that followed.
“Young Lady Jegal…?”
As if mustering her courage, her face looking like it was about to burst, Jegal Hyang closed the distance between us.
Even without reaching out, we could feel each other's warmth.
Grabbing my collar, Jegal Hyang looked up at me, her pale red lips parting slightly.
Her pitifully trembling eyes seemed to hold a scorching heat.
“…I won't be greedy. So please, for just this one night… won't you hold me?”