Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Part 10: Self-Sacrificial Move
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In a secluded garden at the remote edge of the Won-gak Pavilion.
'Has Father finally clashed with the Eldest Young Master?'
Yeom Baek-ha, pale as a ghost, had been shouting at Iryeong for some time.
"Let me go to my father right now! If anything happens to him!"
While Iryeong engaged in some transmitted voice conversation, the maids blocked her path like an iron wall.
"If I can't, then at least the guard captain...!"
The maids responded strictly according to the emergency protocols for every situation.
"You must remain here until the situation is resolved."
The response protocols personally drafted by the Eldest Young Master were more than law to them, so no matter how much Yeom Baek-ha pleaded, it was futile.
"Guard captain...!"
Her hands trembled as she cried out to the guard captain standing silently to protect her.
"Miss..."
But the guard captain merely shook his head, as if powerless to act.
Defying control in such a situation was tantamount to declaring battle, and without grasping the circumstances, it would only heighten the chaos.
"I have orders from the lord to protect you."
Yeom Baek-ha tried to shout something, but the raw anguish on the guard captain's face left her speechless.
She could only suppress the quaking in her body and steady her ragged breaths.
After all, this guard captain was the one among her subordinates who had served her father the longest.
The self-reproach and pain he felt now must surpass even hers.
"Situation resolved."
Iryeong let out a sigh of relief upon receiving the transmission and turned to Yeom Baek-ha.
"Miss, you can relax now. It seems there was just a brief misunderstanding while the two were talking."
Iryeong's eyelashes fluttered, betraying her own frustration at not being by her master's side in such a moment.
"Ah..."
With the tension released, Yeom Baek-ha collapsed to the ground.
The guard captain courteously supported her.
Her body was drenched in cold sweat, feeling icy to the touch.
"So there was no physical clash?"
Iryeong nodded immediately.
"They say Elder Yeom, who had raised his aura, soon burst into loud laughter, so it was nothing serious."
"..."
Yeom Baek-ha felt relief at those words, yet sank into despair.
'Father raised his aura before the Eldest Young Master, who knows no martial arts, and ended up laughing?'
Only one scenario came to mind.
'The moment of accepting defeat.'
At that point, Iryeong apologized with a regretful expression and sought Yeom Baek-ha's understanding.
"I need to return to the scene in this situation, so I'm sorry, but I must step away briefly."
She pointed to two maids with a gesture.
"Still, these two will stay, so if you need anything..."
Yeom Baek-ha, seated, shook her head.
"I'm fine. Take these maids too. I just need some time alone..."
The White Tiger in cat form licked her cheek, worried for its master.
"Yes, then we'll step away for a bit."
The Won-gak Pavilion staff bowed politely before launching into lightness skill and vanishing.
Watching their retreating figures, the guard captain smiled and turned to Yeom Baek-ha.
"Miss, the lord must have everything under control. So please relax..."
"I've reached my limit..."
But Yeom Baek-ha didn't see the guard captain's smile.
"Miss?!"
Her trembling had grown so intense she could no longer sit upright, pitching forward.
"Miss! Miss!"
The seizure she had suppressed until then could no longer be hidden.
Fortunately, the guard captain lunged to catch her, but her condition looked dire.
The guard captain, who had dismissed it as mere tension before, realized in that instant how wrong he was.
Her ashen face, lips turning blue, slender frame shaking uncontrollably.
"A seizure?!"
It was unmistakably the onset of her chronic illness.
Though it was his first time witnessing her seizure firsthand, he had been thoroughly trained for it and rummaged through his bosom.
"Miss, just hold on a little! I'll get the pill right now...!"
The pills specially formulated for her by the Medicine King had been passed down among those closest to her.
"Miss?!"
But a frail hand gripped his wrist.
"N-No...!"
It was none other than Yeom Baek-ha.
"What are you saying? Right now...!"
She seemed delirious from the seizure.
He tried to shake off her hand, but froze at her next words.
"...Th-this is the... only way... Father can... win."
"What do you—?!"
The guard captain felt breathless at the fierce resolve in Yeom Baek-ha's gaze upon him.
"If I... die..., no need... for negotiations..."
She was hurtling toward death in real time, yet her eyes burned fiercer than ever.
"Miss! That's absurd...!"
If Yeom Baek-ha died, Elder Yeom would hold no weakness over the Eldest Young Master.
There would be no need for negotiations with him at all.
Even a simple warrior who had rolled through battlefields his whole life could grasp that.
"I can't accept such a request..."
"Listen to me—!"
Yeom Baek-ha's hoarse voice echoed through the woods.
"I... am Father's... successor. At least once... let me... fulfill that role..."
Blood gushed from her mouth.
The White Tiger wailed mournfully.
"Miss!"
"I... for everyone's sake... it's my turn... to sacrifice..."
In truth, since the meal ended, Yeom Baek-ha had sensed something wrong with her body.
And then she resolved herself.
If the worst came, she would fulfill her duty as the family successor.
At least once.
She wished this useless body could be of help, just once.
But she couldn't know if her plan would succeed.
The conditions were stringent.
She had to confirm her father's negotiations were heading toward defeat, and only persuadable people could be nearby.
A slim chance, but luckily, she had seized this opportunity.
'Not just a frail thing to protect—I wanted to be everyone's comrade in arms.'
She wanted to fight alongside them.
Stand shoulder to shoulder.
Even just once.
In this way, at least.
"Miss!"
Now aware of her resolve, the guard captain could only sob and shed tears, helpless against the pouch of pills.
"I... too... now a comrade..."
The White Tiger wept from its large eyes, desperately licking its master's cooling cheek.
"If Father... can be... proud..."
Her vision blurred.
Only then did the beautiful scenery of the Won-gak Pavilion, called a fairyland, enter her eyes.
Gentle sunlight, leaves swaying peacefully, flowers blooming profusely everywhere, petals scattering in the breeze.
'Eldest Young Master...'
Then an old man's voice reached her ear.
"Proud? What father in the world boasts of his daughter committing suicide?"
The guard captain, lost in a daze, startled and looked up.
"Y-You... who?!"
The old man approached with a sullen expression.
"Yes. I am the Medicine King."
The Medicine King strode forward and snatched the pill pouch from the guard captain's hand.
"How did the Medicine King get here...?"
As the Medicine King took out a pill to check its preservation, he replied.
"There's one in the Won-gak Pavilion who hears and watches everything."
As the Medicine King approached with the pill, Yeom Baek-ha writhed in fierce resistance.
"N-No...!"
The moment she took that pill, her plan failed.
But would the Medicine King of the world stand by and watch a patient die before his eyes?
"Tch! Stay still!"
"Mmph! Mmph...!"
The Medicine King deftly and gently subdued her, preparing to administer the pill.
"Wait, actually..."
Yeom Baek-ha looked up curiously as the Medicine King's hand paused.
Ignoring her gaze, the Medicine King pocketed the pill and stood.
"Elder...?"
The Medicine King pulled his pipe from his bosom and lit it.
"Thinking about it, now's not the time for this pill. Nearly made a mistake."
"What do you...?"
Then a commotion sounded from afar.
"Baek-ha! Baek-ha!"
It was her father's desperate cry, smashing through obstructing trees in a straight line.
"Elder!"
Elder Yeom dropped to his knees at the sight of the Medicine King.
"Please! I beg you like this—save my daughter!"
Perhaps he misunderstood the Medicine King just puffing on his pipe.
"I apologize for what happened before! Elder!"
"You fool!"
The Medicine King snapped in anger.
"Do you take this Medicine King for a petty man who abandons patients over such trifles?!"
"Pardon?"
Elder Yeom looked up through tears at the Medicine King.
"Forgotten already? That a seizure is precisely the chance to perform the procedure to fully conquer this vicious illness?"
"Ah...!"
The Medicine King smiled kindly.
"Acupuncture is just a tad better in my disciple than me, so wait for him to arrive. This child can hold on plenty."
A voice came from the thicket then.
"As I always say, I'm not your disciple."
Emerging as expected was Yeon So-hyeon, ever in his leisurely demeanor.
"But I heard you admit my acupuncture surpasses yours."
"I never said that!"
Yeon So-hyeon ignored the Medicine King hopping mad.
'Ah...'
Yeom Baek-ha squeezed her eyes shut.
It was the face of Yeon So-hyeon she always longed to see most, but never less than in this moment.
Because...
"Eldest Young Master!"
Elder Yeom knelt before him.
"This Yeom Gak-chu! Henceforth, at your command, I'll plunge into hell itself—please, just save my daughter! Please!"
Just as she knew her father would say.
'Father...'
Tears streamed from Yeom Baek-ha's eyes.
It was the moment she most wanted to avoid.
The instant her plan crumbled in the worst way.
In the end, because of her useless body, she had to witness her father on his knees.
"Eldest Young Master! Please! I beg you!"
Yeon So-hyeon ignored Elder Yeom.
"Still plenty of time..."
After calmly assessing her condition, he ordered the maids appearing with agile movements.
"Move this patient immediately."