The Unbreakable Draw
Ahead of the sparring platform, Danmok Seong clenched her fists tightly and muttered under her breath.
"The future of the Danmok Clan rests on my shoulders...."
Ryeon glanced back at the voice coming from beside her. It was a pleasant autumn day, with a gentle breeze brushing past. The leaves rustled softly, and the Geum Clan retainers had gathered at a distance to watch, every last one of them.
Some people crumbled under pressure from the weight of expectation, making mistakes, while others turned it into a sense of duty and pushed themselves even harder. Danmok Seong fell into the latter category, but even so, in her past life, all that effort hadn't been enough.
The thought made Ryeon's chest ache a little.
Seong-ah was the same back then, too....
She recalled Danmok Seong sending Danmok Bi ahead first. Amid the vultures swarming a dying clan like flies on spoiled food, Danmok Seong and Danmok Bi had fought desperately, along with the rest of the family.
Ryeon straightened the collar of Seong's training uniform and wrapped her own slightly smaller hands around the girl's chilled ones.
"D-Danmok Ryeon. What are you doing?"
"Cheering on Seong-ah."
Seong flinched as if the contact tickled, shrugging her shoulders a bit before taking a few deep breaths and finally pulling her hands away.
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm already fine without you doing that."
For someone who said that, she'd held on a bit too long, but Ryeon just smiled and didn't point it out.
As Danmok Seong stepped onto the sparring platform, Geum Jongha made his appearance to match her. Dressed in splendid silk training robes with a hero's headband wrapped around his head, he was clearly a tall, handsome boy raised in luxury.
One of the Geum Clan's warriors rang the bell signaling the start of the match. At the same moment, Seong and Jongha exchanged formal bows with clasped fists, then each drew a blunted practice saber.
"Hmph. I'll watch closely and see just how splendid your saber arts are!"
"Think you can even comprehend them?"
Seong shot back, her eyes narrowing fiercely.
"Quiet!"
It was Geum Jeokgeol who spoke up. Unlike Ryeon's match, there was no neutral third party, so the highest-ranking person among them had no choice but to stand in the center.
"This is a spar to learn from each other! Understood? No dirty tricks, no killing blows. Fight fairly and honorably—do not toy with your opponent."
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Geum Jeokgeol swallowed a sigh and stepped back off the platform. The two youths clashed immediately. And in Ryeon's activated Divine Eye, stars flickered to life in her pupils.
"Haaah!"
Seong moved first, lunging forward. Geum Jongha twisted his arm to block the dangerously approaching saber, then swung fiercely from the other side.
It was quite different from her spar with Ryeon. For one, this was saber against saber, and Jongha had clearly grown a step stronger since facing Ryeon.
I didn't think Seong-ah would win easily, but...
There was an age gap—Jongha was two years older—and though he'd trained swordsmanship longer, could a child who'd only learned saber arts for a single month really overpower him that easily? Ryeon had given Seong a crash course based on her own experience with the Geum Clan's saber style, expecting it to help at least a little, but Jongha proved surprisingly solid.
Plus, I figured Jongha would underestimate Seong-ah a bit. Did I beat him up too badly last time?
Seong was bigger than Ryeon, but still smaller than Jongha, and with just a month of training, he'd likely take her lightly—or so Ryeon thought. But things didn't go as planned.
"Urgh!"
"Kuh!"
The boy and girl clashed again. At first, Seong seemed a bit pushed back, but she gradually regained her momentum.
The moment their blades met, Ryeon caught Seong's eye over Jongha's shoulder. She clenched her fist encouragingly without thinking.
"Hraaah!"
But the fight showed no sign of ending soon. Seong's clever strikes were blocked by Jongha's sturdy defense, and his hidden-angle swings were parried by Seong's quick wits.
Jongha's hero's headband had fallen off long ago, his clothes torn and dirtied with sweat and dust. Seong was in the same state—her tightly bound hair disheveled, scratches on her hands and cheeks.
As both panted heavily and their swings slowed, Geum Jeokgeol and Danmok Hyeon-yo outside the platform exchanged glances and nodded in unison.
Geum Jeokgeol signaled the warrior guarding the platform, who leaped lightly onto it and grabbed the practice sabers—one in each hand—bringing them to a halt.
"Sparring halted! No victor after more than an incense stick's time—declaring a draw."
Draw Declared
No sooner had the declaration ended than Danmok Hyeon-yo dashed onto the platform like a gust of wind. Her face nearly in tears, she frantically wiped her daughter's with her sleeve.
Seong, squinting through sweat-soaked eyes, seemed to finally register the "draw" verdict.
"M-Mother...."
Hyeon-yo, frustrated at not seeing a clear winner, bit her lip hard and shook her head vigorously at her daughter's walnut-wrinkled chin.
"You did amazingly. Seong-ah, you were wonderful!"
"...Aunt."
"Drawing with the Geum Clan's heir after just a month of training—what greater achievement is there? You're a true gem!"
"A-Aunt!"
Ryeon, who had followed Hyeon-yo, listened silently as she comforted Seong. But as her words grew more uncontrollably effusive, Ryeon hurriedly intervened.
In the meantime, Lady Song of the Geum Clan was holding her son Jongha tightly.
"Aigoo, you rascal! To a martial artist, victory and defeat are mere clouds passing!"
"Ugh... Mother...."
Jongha bit his lip hard, red-eyed and fighting back tears.
"Our son fought well. You gave your all—that's what matters. Just train harder next time!"
"I... I can do more! Even in life-or-death duels between martial artists, they don't stop after just an incense stick!"
Jongha stubbornly protested, but his hand trembled so violently around the saber he nearly dropped it. Lady Song quickly snatched it away and handed it to the other warriors.
The Danmok Clan members and Geum Clan folk eyed each other with strange expressions.
Hyeon-yo, grasping the situation, stood stiffly as Wijicheong slipped between them with a smile.
"Our Lady Hyeon-yo loves her daughter so fiercely, she could barely watch the match properly."
Her words implied understanding for the overzealous maternal love, prompting the Geum lord to clear his throat awkwardly.
"Madam, please come here and stop."
"Aigoo."
Lady Song sighed with an embarrassed look, gave her son's cheek a hearty wipe, and returned to her husband Geum Jeokgeol's side.
Geum Jeokgeol's face hardened briefly again—he hadn't seen his son dominate as hoped.
"Hoo."
But he stifled his regret with a short, deep sigh. What could he do? The match result was plain for all to see; he couldn't change it.
After the intense spar, Jongha gulped down a full ladle of water, glared at Seong with reddened eyes for a long moment, then took a huge breath, raised his hand high, and shouted.
"Father! Mother! Danmok inner and outer matriarchs! Then we'll go review the match!"
"Ah, no, Jongha. What are you going to do looking like a beggar?"
Song Yeongnang protested in horror.
Jongha, who had thrust his hand up, shrugged.
"Lady Seong-ah fought quite fiercely too, so both should clean up and change before reviewing. We'll prepare refreshments in the meantime."
Hyeon-yo, having regained her composure, looked at Song Yeongnang—and at Geum Jeokgeol behind her. Her gaze toward him swirled with unspoken emotions.
Geum Jeokgeol said nothing.
Hyeon-yo turned to Wijicheong beside her. Wijicheong smiled faintly, gently wrapping and patting her hand.
Only then did Hyeon-yo exhale once, flash a bright smile at Geum Jeokgeol and Song Yeongnang, and say,
"We brought some pastries and small gifts anyway. It's fortunate we can share them together."
At Hyeon-yo's permission, Song Yeongnang beamed and promptly sent the two youngsters off with attendants.
It was an unbearably awkward time. Ryeon suppressed a sigh rising to her chin and gently fanned herself with the white jade fan in her hand.
Whether it was their young age or their exceptional talents, both were growing by leaps and bounds.
"But...."
Ryeon was about to voice her question—why was she here for their match review? But when she met their gazes—simultaneous and desperately pleading—she shut her mouth again.