A Little Sister Is Born
"Then, here I go..!"
Jegal Min intended to subdue Namgung Yujin only to a modest degree, crafting the most graceful scene possible.
She was, after all, nowhere near his level of mastery, so he judged that merely unfurling his formation would send her toppling on her own. It wouldn't look good for the woman who was to become his wife to be beaten too badly, after all.
And yet—
"The young lady is breaking through the formation..!"
Before his eyes, Namgung Yujin was dismantling his formation as casually as if she were taking an afternoon stroll.
How..?
Pure warrior's curiosity and displeasure welled up inside him. Contrary to common belief, the Jegal clan's Seven Illusion Formation was not easy to break even for someone who knew the correct answers, because it shifted from moment to moment.
Even if that woman had studied frantically in the little time she had, breaking it like this should have been impossible.
That left only two possibilities.
First... she's learned the Seven Illusion Formation herself... impossible.
The Seven Illusion Formation was an extraordinarily advanced martial art that could not be mastered in a short span even if someone within the family had leaked its secrets.
There was no traitor among the party that had accompanied her on this visit, and Yujin simply hadn't had the physical time to learn it.
Jegal Min twisted the formation slightly and sent flames bursting up at Yujin's feet.
As expected, she seemed to have anticipated it — she twisted her body, defended, and unleashed a heavy surge of energy.
The pressure was at a level hard to believe from a second-rate warrior, and before he knew it, Jegal Min shifted his formation into a defensive posture, damming up her energy.
"Impressive, my lady."
"Not at all. Shall we call it the might of the Jegal clan?"
Trading hollow courtesies, each prepared their next move.
Second... that person is... a warrior with the perception and instinct to leap clear over my mind and the formation built on generations of history. I don't want to believe it..!
There's no such person in the world — of course there isn't!
"Seven Illusion Soul-Bewildering Formation."
One facet of the Seven Illusion Formation. A bewitching array so cruel that whoever fell into it was shown the very thing they feared most — something closer to malice than to martial virtue. It was hardly a refined technique befitting a formal exhibition match. That was precisely how unwilling Jegal Min was to accept the situation before him.
"Unite!"
As if to shatter his hopes completely, Yujin stamped down hard on the formation's angle and broke it apart.
"What fear could possibly stand in the footsteps of a sovereign?"
As she closed in, radiating her oppressive momentum, Jegal Min stumbled backward without meaning to.
The Sovereign's Sword was a blade that dominated the field around it, subduing and compelling submission from its opponent — and right now, she was showing him a stride truly worthy of a king.
Of course, it was no deeper understanding of the Sovereign's Sword. It was pure performance — a showman's talent.
Impossible... impossible..!
Even before the match began, Jegal Min had carried a quiet confidence that Namgung Yujin would crumble helplessly before a formation deployed by a peak master such as himself. That she was an undeniable beauty made the prospect of taking her as his wife rather pleasing, and he had meant to preserve her dignity and win her favor. So how on earth had it come to this!
Yujin leveled her sword at him and asked,
"May I consider this my victory?"
A duel between a peak master and a second-rate warrior.
If the contest had been settled with internal energy and close-quarters combat, Jegal Min would have held the advantage, even if not an overwhelming one. There was a gap in raw strength, after all.
But for a formation master to be defeated by his own formation — he could hardly flail his fists about in such an undignified manner. Jegal Min glanced sideways at Jegal Munhwi, the clan head's younger brother and his own uncle.
The man's face was a muddle of bewilderment, fury, and pity.
In the end, Jegal Min sighed and raised both hands.
That's going to bruise for a long while..
"I concede."
At his declaration, no cheers arose — only silence.
So... what happens now?
The same thought filled every head present. A marriage regarded as the single most important matter between two great clans — could it really be undone by a mere sparring exhibition?
And yet, nor could they overturn an agreement already made.
In the end, no one could easily find their tongue, and every gaze converged on the victor, Namgung Yujin.
"I...."
A gulp.
"I have no wish to see the harmony between the Jegal and Namgung clans disturbed. However, taking back words already spoken is not the way of a prestigious family. Therefore...."
A gulp..!
Namgung Wi stood trembling in his boots, watching a situation already slip entirely beyond his control. One might ask how the head of a great clan could carry on so — but Jegal Munhwi, the Jegal clan's representative, was trembling in exactly the same way.
The two of them were undoubtedly thinking the identical thought.
Please... please..!
And Namgung Yujin served up an answer that fulfilled their hopes perfectly.
"Therefore! In place of marriage to young clan head Jegal Min, I propose an alternative: a sworn sisterhood between myself and Jegal Seorin."
"....!"
Not a bond of true blood, but one of equivalent weight. If Namgung Yujin and Jegal Seorin became sisters, the alliance between the two great clans would never need to be withdrawn — and the arrangement looked rather elegant, too.
Brotherhood by oath or marriage would be ideal, yes... but the water's already spilled. What matters is mopping it up.
"What say you?"
Faced with her proposal, Jegal Munhwi threw back his head and laughed heartily — as though this had been the plan all along, as though he'd seen it coming. Cold sweat was streaming down the back of his neck, of course.
"Hahaha! I knew the Namgung clan was no ordinary house, but I never dreamed it was this formidable!"
"You flatter me."
Walking toward Yujin as she offered a courteous fist-and-palm salute, Jegal Munhwi gave Seorin's shoulders a pat and nudged her forward.
"Splendid. Splendid! Haven't you always said how much you'd like an older sister, Seorin? And with this, the young clan head may devote himself fully to his martial training — there could be no finer solution, my lady."
To wear his beard and smile so warmly even after his clan's young head had lost — Jegal Munhwi was truly no ordinary man. Yujin, playing along with his rhythm, stole a glance at Namgung Wi. The Jegal clan had tossed the ball; now it was the Namgung clan's turn to return it. Yujin composed her voice and spoke loudly enough for all to hear.
"Truthfully, I had no wish to leave my father's side just yet, either. Gaining one more younger sister is a happy occasion in its own right. Young lady Seorin — would an older sister such as I suit you?"
A playfully teasing tone, as if to thaw the frozen atmosphere — layered on top of a display of filial devotion toward her father, opinion steadily tipped in Yujin's favor.
The outcome of the match is one thing... but isn't this a rather decent compromise?
If things stand thus... we could arrange the young clan head's marriage elsewhere... and profit by it, no less.
The whispered murmurs drifted into Namgung Wi's ears, but he pretended not to hear and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Hear me, all! As I declared before, nothing changes by the result of this match. Only the shape of the bond is different. Let this day seal the eternal friendship between the Namgung and Jegal clans!"
He drove his sword into the ground with a resounding thud to command their attention, and only then did the assembled dignitaries burst into applause and cheers.
And so, no one saw the bewildered, flustered face of Jegal Seorin — or the sly smile spreading across Yujin's.
With the unexpected turn of events, the union of the two clans was settled, the remaining schedule was scrapped entirely, and a banquet was held in its place.
"The mighty Namgung clan and the cunning Jegal clan, joined as one — surely the title of finest under heaven is now within their grasp."
"Hahaha!"
To Jegal Seorin, the banquet — where cups collided ceaselessly and men roared with drunken merriment — was dreadfully dull. It always was, but never more so than on a day as bewildering as this one.
Having abruptly acquired an older sister out of nowhere, Seorin sat in a corner sipping cold tea, wetting her throat. Perhaps that was why Namgung Yujin — the other protagonist of the day — was the only one at the center of the hall, holding court among the guests.
The sight of her steering the banquet with such practiced ease felt impossibly distant.
"Ugh.."
Her heart thrown into needless turmoil by the sight, Seorin mumbled some excuse and began stealthily edging toward the door, intending to slip away to her room.
Her mind was this tangled and chaotic for two reasons: not only had Yujin set all this in motion without asking her a single word about it, but the aftershock of those shocking days past had yet to fade.
Father said that if we kissed, we'd surely... become lovers... mm..
Her shoulders slumped, Seorin crept step by step until she was nearly at the door — when a rough hand seized her by the shoulder.
"Eep—!"
"Seorin. Where do you think you're going!"
It was Jegal Min, the young clan head of the Jegal clan. His older brother impressed him, sitting through the event smiling handsomely even straight after his defeat — but Seorin hadn't the strength to humor a drunk.
"Brother, I was just heading in for the night."
"Aren't you one of the stars of the day? You should stay at your post."
Jegal Min, who would normally have let her go, was flush with liquor and stubbornly refused to release her. Beating him in this state was impossible. Seorin heaved a deep sigh and gave up on returning to her room. And in that very instant, a scent brushed past her nose — vast as an autumn sky, sweet as a ripened peach. Long black hair flowing straight as running water, deep blue eyes. Long lashes still gleaming, lips red and smooth without a trace of pigment.
The woman who was to become her sister — Namgung Yujin — was sweeping her shoulder with long, slender fingers.
"One moment, if you would."
"Ah, my lady! Ha-haha..."
Still awkward around Yujin, Jegal Min hastily beat a retreat. Considering she was both his former betrothed and the woman who'd beaten him in the match, it was only natural.
"Ah... my lady."
Sweeping her hair behind her ear, Jegal Seorin looked up at Yujin. Unlike other days, Yujin wore a deep blue robe draped loosely about her, lending her a languid allure. Am I allowed to feel this way about someone who's going to be my sister? — and in the very instant the thought crossed her mind, Yujin's fingertips brushed gently down Seorin's cheek.
"We're not 'strangers' anymore, you know."
"...Then what..."
Then what are we? Not strangers, but...
Sisters? We're not blood sisters. But could two women even become lovers? Somehow that doesn't seem like how it works.
But we did kiss.
So then I'm... what, exactly...
Knotting the unsolvable tangle tighter and tighter inside herself was one of Seorin's worst habits. And Yujin always severed that knot with a single stroke.
The hand that had traveled from her cheek to her shoulder slid down along the robe.
"Ahaha. There's nothing fun here. Shall we get out of this?"
Yujin smiled, her upswept eyes curving sweetly.