Tang Soyeong
The warm night air brushed against her skin in a way she could clearly feel.
For a moment, dusk seeped down like thin mist spreading over the earth, and before she knew it, stars were glittering across the sky.
The full moon, half veiled by clouds, hid its pale face shyly.
Suddenly, she remembered what the servants had been saying.
Wasn’t the rainy season supposed to be close?
Right—wasn’t it almost the Seventh Night Festival?
Maybe that was why the sky had been so strangely overcast today.
“……”
After gazing up at the heavens for a long while, the girl soon lost interest and lowered her head, her expression going blank again.
It wasn’t as if she had ever had a hobby of studying the stars to begin with.
She had only come outside because she didn’t want to stay in that place any longer.
Turning her head, she looked back at the enormous manor behind her.
The grounds were already swallowed by darkness, but the haughty household clearly didn’t care; lanterns had been lit everywhere, throwing warm light across the estate.
By now, the atmosphere inside must be growing lively.
“…Boring.”
Still, none of it had anything to do with her.
No one would be looking for her anyway.
It’s not that they’re excluding me. I’m the one who’s not meeting them.
They’re still just immature kids, aren’t they? Someone as refined as me doesn’t need to get mixed up with that sort of crowd.
When the time came to fight for the position of successor, they would all be enemies anyway. Getting close to them now would only make her soften up for no reason.
She was used to walking alone now.
It was far better to use that time to train her martial arts.
Chirrr—
The cry of some nameless insect stabbed at her ears.
Leaving the noisy banquet behind, she slowly walked toward the pond.
The wind that swept down over the mountain ridge sent her purple hair, which reached her shoulders, swaying beautifully.
With every step the girl took, grasshoppers and crickets scattered in all directions.
“…Heh.”
Before long, a faint smile touched her lips as she strolled by the water’s edge.
She thought of herself as an adult, but in truth, she wasn’t.
Still carrying all the awkwardness of youth, the girl wandered around the pond for no particular reason, occasionally swinging her arms as well.
Chirr—
By that little pond, she was a merciless tyrant like her father, and at the same time a benevolent monarch like her late mother.
What a strange night this was.
Those were things she would never normally have done, but—
Chirr—
Whether it was because the moon had hidden behind the clouds and darkness had settled thickly over everything, or because of all the loneliness that had piled up inside her, she didn’t know.
“Hehehe….”
Tonight, just this once, she felt a little different.
Maybe that was why she met him purely by accident.
Just as the crickets’ cries were fading away entirely—
Splash!
“As the mountain sinks at dusk, snow piling high; evening clouds scatter like a silk parasol.”
Seated by the pond, she tossed stones into the water while reciting verse.
A paired verse was supposed to have a matching response, but for a girl who always traveled alone, answering herself had long since become second nature.
Poetic question and answer.
Just as she was about to continue, someone picked up the thread from behind her.
“How swiftly the years pass; deep in my heart, these anxieties grow suffocating.”
Startled, she turned around.
“……”
“……”
The moment her gaze met that of a handsome boy, she froze.
He looks about my age.
It was a face she had never seen before. She couldn’t tell which family he belonged to, but at the very least, he was not from the Sichuan Tang family.
“Though the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl stand far apart, they’ll meet again soon enough.”
“The bright moon hangs high in the dawn sky; every night, I pass the third watch alone.”
That wasn’t the important part.
For some strange reason, the moment she saw him, her heart had started pounding.
Without realizing it, she stood there with her mouth slightly open, staring at those clear, transparent eyes.
“……”
“Young lady, shall I continue?”
His gentle voice snapped her back to her senses, and she rose to her feet.
It was only a brief lapse into dazed stupidity. She wasn’t so inexperienced that she’d never gone through something like this before.
He’s the same too.
People only approached her because of the Tang bloodline. None of them cared about her.
All the more reason to handle this properly.
“How rude. State your name.”
She snapped at him sharply, and the boy rubbed the back of his head with an awkward look.
“I’m not some suspicious fellow. I was out for a walk nearby when I heard you and came to see what the sound was.”
“I asked for your name, didn’t I?”
“I’m Jin Sojin, young lady.”
“……”
Jin?
A family immediately came to mind, but she shook her head.
It’s probably just the same surname. It doesn’t matter.
He was likely from some obscure minor family near Sichuan. Even if this was a banquet hosted by the Tang family, there would be no reason to send a direct descendant; if he were a branch member, there would have been some explanation attached.
To think I figured that out so quickly… as expected, I’m a genius.
“May I ask your name?”
Why was he asking?
He must have already known everything before approaching her.
Even though he looked young, his acting was top-class.
Or was he really asking because he didn’t know?
“Hmph! I’m from the Tang family. I’m sure you know exactly what that means.”
When she said that, the boy opened his mouth in a voice full of uncertainty.
He sounded as though he truly didn’t know.
“Tang family? You’re a young lady of the Tang family?”
The weight of the name Sichuan Tang family was never light.
Even if she held hatred and resentment toward her father, the family head, she still took pride in the family name.
“Are you trying to make a fool of me?”
So this kind of wordplay was annoying.
“Didn’t you say Tang family young lady?”
“No! That means someone from the Tang family!”
“Then your name is…?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Then, Tang family young lady.”
“Don’t call me Tang family young lady!!”
“Then what about Sichuan young lady?”
“Are you insane?”
He was attaching the region before her name. He really had to be out of his mind.
“Tang family lady? Hmm… that doesn’t sound very good as a name. I’m sorry, young lady.”
“……”
His tone carried not the slightest hint of apology, and Tang Soyeong felt herself growing angry.
H-How dare he joke around like that without knowing who I am…!
“……”
What irritated her most was the way he kept adding the word family when he spoke.
He could just call her Tang young lady, couldn’t he?
After that, he continued giving her bizarre names for quite some time.
“Hmm… how about Insect Young Lady?”
…Strangely enough, she didn’t hate that one quite as much.
“Enough, stop it! Haa… my name is Tang Soyeong.”
Only then did he grin and nod.
“So you’re Soyeong young lady.”
“That’s right.”
Somehow, it felt like she’d been tricked.
No. That’s not it. I just… told him because I felt sorry for that idiot of a man.
It was the duty of a great family to guide the foolish.
She comforted herself with that thought and forced her anger down.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Jin Sojin of the Guangdon Jin family. I’ll be staying at the Sichuan Tang family for a while starting today. I came here for martial training.”
He smiled brightly and gave a light martial salute.
“Ah…?”
Martial training?
Why would a blood relative of one of the Eight Great Families be here?
Then he’s a guest of our family?
Once that thought occurred to her, embarrassment washed over her.
She had suspected him for no reason.
It was just that this was her first time seeing a direct descendant of one of the Eight Great Families here.
Martial training itself wasn’t unusual.
“So this is how we meet. I look forward to getting along with you.”
His dazzling smile nearly made her lose her composure again.
Her heart thudded like mad, and when she brought a hand up to her face, her skin felt hot—burning hot.
“……”
W-Why am I like this? Calm down…
Whatever it was, it was because of that boy. She had to pull herself together.
Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she saw that his body seemed full of openings.
He’s way too defenseless…?
His careless, unguarded bearing made her worry a little.
The Sichuan Tang family was not a place where fools could live comfortably.
Then, all at once, their eyes met.
“Young lady, would you show me around the family estate?”
“W-Why should I do that?”
“You don’t have anything else to do anyway, do you?”
“W-Who says I don’t have anything to do? I’m busy, you know? Hmph!”
She haughtily shouted and turned to leave, but the next moment—
“Let’s go.”
He caught her arm.
“Huh?! H-His hand! His hand!!”
*
After that, contrary to her worries, Sojin quickly adapted to the Tang family.
“Good work, Jin-gongja.”
“You too, brother.”
Leaning against a tree with her arms folded, she watched him.
“……”
Unlike his appearance, he was a diligent martial artist who liked sparring and trained every day.
“Were you waiting for me, Soyeong young lady?”
He came walking toward her with a bright smile.
“Hmph, who was waiting for you? I just came because it was time—ah!”
That smile.
That grin was driving her crazy.
“What a shame. So you weren’t waiting for me…”
When he looked so dejected, it was just too adorable!
When she touched her face, it was, as expected, burning hot.
“Huh?”
That was when something began to trickle from her nose.
This was—
“A nosebleed?! Young lady, are you all right!”
“Eek!”
He tore off the hem of his long robe and held it out.
“Soyeong young lady, use this to stop the bleeding! No—wait! I’ll do it for you.”
“What? W-Wait a second!”
I thought we’d spend our whole lives helping each other like this.
Even though his childhood friend and some merchant family daughter caused trouble here and there, I was sure I could beat them all.
At least, until he brought back that pink-haired woman and introduced her as his fiancée.
That was when things became a complete joke.
His inner energy seemed to have been sold off somewhere, because I couldn’t even feel it anymore, and he kept shouting about some weird nonsense that no one could tell was the act of an escort, a hero, or a beggar.
Maybe that was why.
From that point on, whenever she saw Sojin, anger flared up inside her.
He had become unbearably pathetic.
As time went on, he seemed to be regressing more and more.
It irritated her so much that she tormented him again and again with absurd little things, but every time, he only laughed like an idiot, and that only fanned the flames in her heart even more.
And in the end…
*
Her eyes slowly opened.
Outside the window, the sunset was already sinking.
The familiar ceiling, the usual sight—everything was no different than always, yet—
“Ah…”
What she felt first was regret.
It was nice.
She smacked her lips several times, like a child tasting honey for the first time.
In her dream, there had been no disgusting pink-haired fiancée and no awkward Sojin either.
Just as she was still half drunk on sleep—
Bang, bang—
She heard someone pounding on the door.
There shouldn’t be anyone looking for me…?
Could it be?
Her heart began to race.