Chapter 167
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 167
“Do—do you really think you’ll get away with this?!”
The woman shrieked, her body trembling violently as she watched Cheong-ha approach.
“I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t,” Cheong-ha replied nonchalantly, snapping her fingers in the air.
At the sound, the plant vines began to constrict the woman even more tightly.
“Urgh…!”
The woman writhed in midair as the stinging vines tore through her clothes and dug into her skin.
“Let go… right now… or else… ugh…!”
But the more she struggled, the more the vines clung to her, burrowing deeper and more painfully into her flesh.
Realizing her own abilities were no match for Cheong-ha’s vines, the woman attempted a beast transformation.
Pop!
The woman transformed into a massive bear with a crescent moon mark on its chest. Simultaneously, the vines wrapped around her snapped.
Taking advantage of the opening, she tried to flee, only for a long spear to plunge into the ground before her with a heavy thud.
It was none other than Cheong-ha’s spear.
The woman gasped and recoiled in shock. Immediately, a whirlwind of leaves erupted from the tip of the spear, sweeping toward her.
“Aaaaah!”
Cheong-ha let out a short snort as she watched the woman flee for her life, tail tucked between her legs.
Did she really think all that talk about the White Tiger Palace’s regulations would work on her?
This was Cheong-ha, a woman who had treated the rules of the Cheonghae Palace like mere suggestions back in her own home.
“So-ya, dear. Your mother has learned one thing in all her years of living.”
Cheong-ha spoke softly, her voice carrying the gentle tone of a parent imparting a profound life lesson.
“If you’re going to cause trouble, you might as well do it spectacularly.”
“Pardon…?”
As So-ya blinked in confusion, Cheong-ha’s lips curled into a smirk.
“Because your mother has no intention of letting that woman go so easily.”
Before So-ya could even respond…
Whoosh—!
With the sound of rushing wind, blue hair fluttered before So-ya’s eyes. Cheong-ha vanished from her sight in an instant.
“KYAAAAAAAH!”
At the sound of a piercing scream, So-ya whipped around. She saw Cheong-ha using sheer force to suppress the fleeing half-moon bear.
“…”
So-ya’s mouth fell open at the sight.
It was the first time she had ever seen her mother—who always wore a bright, refreshing smile—make such a terrifying expression and use such a frightening voice.
‘Come to think of it, back then…’
Suddenly, she remembered how her mother had recklessly attacked her father when they first met.
[“Now, little bird. I’m not a bad person. What you saw earlier was just me saying hello to your father.”]
[“Mhm. Sa-eon and I have been greeting each other like that since we were kids.”]
At the time, So-ya had been so startled by Cheong-ha pointing a spear at her father that she had burst into tears.
But the Cheong-ha who was now attacking an opponent in earnest was incomparable to that moment.
Thinking back, her mother hadn't used her supernatural abilities then, nor had she worn such a terrifying expression. She had even withdrawn her spear immediately when So-ya begged her not to hurt her father.
‘That… really was just a casual greeting.’
Realizing the truth of those words anew, So-ya cheered fervently for Cheong-ha as she cornered the woman from the Half-Moon Bear Clan.
*
Eventually, the commotion drew a crowd, and the situation escalated.
“Even if Lady Cheong-ha was once the mistress of the White Tiger Palace, she is now clearly an outsider! An outsider has exercised force within the palace walls—and against our Half-Moon Bear Clan, no less! We, who have guarded the borders of the Western Land from the demonic beasts of the North for the past ten years!”
Having rushed from afar upon hearing the news, the Half-Moon Bear Clan Head bowed before Sa-eon in front of the retainers, his voice thick with indignation.
“If you recognize our clan’s contributions, Lord Sa-eon, then please punish that woman and uphold the honor of the Half-Moon Bear Clan!”
At his words, the other retainers of the Western Land began to murmur in agitation.
“…An outsider, you say.”
Sa-eon, who had remained silent with a void of expression, finally spoke slowly.
“Who, exactly, is the outsider?”
He looked down at the crowd with chilling eyes. His bleak voice, cold enough to freeze the very air, was so terrifying that even the woman from the Half-Moon Bear Clan—who had long admired him—shrank back in fear.
“Jeok Yeong.”
At Sa-eon’s call, Jeok Yeong stepped forward, carrying the family register of the White Tiger Clan.
Flip—
Even without a direct order, Jeok Yeong, who could read his master’s mind, flipped to a specific page and held it up for everyone to see.
Then, he said with a playful grin, “Our Clan Head was so excited that he added the Madam’s name to the register the moment she arrived.”
“...!”
“...!”
“...!”
Everyone stared with wide, shocked eyes.
There, right next to Sa-eon’s name, Cheong-ha’s name was written.
The Half-Moon Bear Clan Head’s face turned deathly pale.
“H-how could…”
Ignoring the man’s bewildered stuttering, Sa-eon stood up and walked toward Cheong-ha.
“Sa-eon…?”
As she blinked at him, he suddenly snatched her hand and muttered under his breath.
“I knew it. I didn’t missee it.”
The reason he had been in a foul mood for a while now was because of a tiny scratch on Cheong-ha’s finger. It was a wound she had received during her scuffle with the woman from the Half-Moon Bear Clan.
“Haha, you certainly have sharp eyes.”
Cheong-ha laughed awkwardly and tried to pull her hand away. She wondered how on earth he had spotted such a minuscule scratch.
“…”
Sa-eon stared at her hand in silence for a moment before whipping around to glare at the woman from the Half-Moon Bear Clan.
“You dared to wound the body of the mistress of this house.”
“L-Lord Sa-eon…!”
The Half-Moon Bear Clan Head squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his forehead against the floor.
“My daughter and I have committed a grave sin by failing to recognize the Madam!”
The Half-Moon Bear Clan Head was a man of fierce loyalty to the White Tiger Clan. Regardless of how the incident started, now that Cheong-ha’s name was on the family register, he believed it was entirely his daughter’s fault for failing to recognize her.
“My daughter surely acted out of ignorance, so if you could find it in your heart to forgive her just this once… Ju-ri! What are you doing?! Hurry and apologize to Lord Sa-eon and the Madam!”
“P-please forgive me…”
The woman sobbed beside her father as she begged for mercy.
Cheong-ha waved her injured hand dismissively with a bored expression.
“This is just a scratch, and I’ll let the way she treated me slide since she didn't know who I was.”
In truth, Cheong-ha herself had only just learned that her name was back on the register, so she had no intention of punishing the woman for failing to recognize her as the mistress.
However…
“I expect a proper apology for the things she said to my daughter.”
She could not overlook the insults directed at So-ya.
“Calling her an impudent girl, saying she’s not a real White Tiger and only acts like a direct descendant because people indulge her, calling her a rootless cotton ball from who-knows-where… those kinds of things.”
With every word Cheong-ha spoke, Sa-eon’s expression hardened into something terrifying.
The people of the White Tiger Palace never treated So-ya with anything but respect. Anyone who spent even a little time in the palace could see that So-ya was a beloved young lady.
Even a bear beastkin, famous for their dull wits, couldn't have missed it.
The only reason she had said such things was because So-ya was young and had a gentle appearance, making her seem like an easy target.
But before Sa-eon could say a word, the Half-Moon Bear Clan Head exploded in rage at his daughter.
“How dare you commit such a heinous crime against the masters of the West!”
“F-Father…”
“I thought I raised you to be worthy of our family name, but to think you would disappoint me like this!”
While her rudeness toward Cheong-ha could be attributed to ignorance of her reunion with Sa-eon, her insults toward So-ya were a grave offense with no room for excuses.
“I beg for punishment for my daughter’s sins. Please, punish me and my daughter, and let your anger be appeased.”
The Half-Moon Bear Clan Head formally apologized to Cheong-ha and So-ya once more.
“What do you want to do, So-ya?”
Sa-eon asked for his daughter’s opinion.
“I understand the Clan Head’s sincerity. Therefore, I will accept the apology.”
So-ya, who had been quietly watching the Clan Head and his daughter, took a step forward.
“However, accepting an apology and granting forgiveness are two different things. Simply forgiving the Half-Moon Bear Clan for insulting me and my mother would set a poor precedent for the honor of the White Tiger Clan.”
So-ya spoke with a firm, humorless face.
“I want the Half-Moon Bear Clan Head to personally calculate the value of my forgiveness and return to make amends.”