Chapter 653
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 653
Chapter Title: Heart Demon…!
"What I'm going through is something I brought upon myself. I was greedy without thinking of myself."
Yu Wol-a spoke calmly, her expression bittersweet in contrast to her words.
The bitterness seemed reserved for her daughter—regret and sorrow for her.
She was calm and composed when it came to herself.
She believed it was all her own fault.
"It's not Mother's fault. Why do you think that?"
Yeon In-hu spoke with a face that absolutely refused to accept it, and Yu Wol-a looked at her son with a faint smile.
It was a smile clearly different from the one she gave her daughter.
It carried pride and trust.
He was a handsome boy, and he had such a warm, magnanimous heart as well.
Even as his mother, she had to admit he had been blessed with everything.
Her daughter, on the other hand, had been given nothing.
Nothing except the bloodline of the Yeon Clan's direct descent.
She was even lacking in martial talent.
That was why she felt sorry and regretful.
It all felt like it stemmed from her own greed.
"Father is the one making the mistakes."
Yu Wol-a shook her head at Yeon In-hu's words.
"I knew my position, yet I indulged in needless greed and stubbornness. What happened to me is fitting punishment for that, so it doesn't matter... but I'm sorry to you children."
Her voice was calm, but her sincerity rang true.
"Meeting you was the greatest blessing of my life, yet that blessing—you children—are suffering because of my karma..."
"I'm the only one suffering. What does Brother have to complain about..."
Yeon Da-hye shot back immediately at her mother's words.
That was how she saw it.
Her brother had been born with everything.
Even talent in martial arts.
Among the Yeon Clan's younger generation, he was the only one who could rival Yeon Gong-hu.
In other words, he had reached the peak realm.
Yu Wol-a silently stroked her daughter's head.
She couldn't bring herself to say harsh words, understanding her daughter's desperate feelings.
Even though she knew it wasn't for her daughter's good.
Believing it all her original sin, she could only watch silently in the end.
Still, there was one thing she had to tell her son about Yeon In-hu.
"You don't know, but your brother went through tremendous hardships too."
Yu Wol-a.
Daughter of the head of the Kimui Merchant Guild, the largest trading house in Uichang.
Yeon Ja-kyeong, needing wealth to solidify the Yeon Clan's position as the world's greatest clan, pushed for a political marriage with the Kimui Merchant Guild.
The guild, in turn, needed protection from a powerful sect, so their interests aligned perfectly.
Yeon Ja-kyeong had five sons, and Kimui Guild head Yu Eon-bi had one precious daughter.
Yu Wol-a.
Though known in Uichang for her plain looks,
that was no issue for Yeon Ja-kyeong or Yu Eon-bi.
What mattered was marrying off son to daughter.
But a problem arose.
Yu Eon-bi's daughter, Yu Wol-a, proved stubborn.
She refused to marry anyone but Yeon Ja-kyeong's third son, Yeon Baek-pung.
At the time, Yeon Baek-pung was Uichang's famed handsome man.
He had stolen the hearts of every woman there.
To Yu Wol-a, he was an unattainable dream.
But with a political marriage on the table for mutual benefit, she dared to hope.
Though plain-faced, she too preferred handsome men.
When the chance arose to marry Uichang's top bachelor, she staked everything on it.
Yeon Baek-pung had unwittingly stolen her heart as well.
Naturally, he refused.
He was as picky with women as he was handsome.
Besides, he already had someone in mind.
A clan maid, so he couldn't tell his father.
Jin Na-yeon.
Yeon Baek-pung had feelings for Jin Na-yeon at the time.
Deep enough that he considered making her his proper wife, not a concubine.
So he desperately refused his father's order.
But Yu Eon-bi insisted on granting his daughter's wish, threatening to cancel the marriage otherwise.
Yeon Ja-kyeong, needing the money, forced Yeon Baek-pung into it.
The secret condition—that he could do as he pleased after two children—was known only to father and son.
Neither Yu Eon-bi nor Yu Wol-a knew.
By the time two children were born, the Yeon Clan and Kimui Guild were too entangled to separate.
That had been Yeon Ja-kyeong's aim.
Moreover, Jin Na-yeon was gone from the clan.
She'd married some odd fellow and left.
So Yeon Baek-pung simply maintained the marriage.
But he thoroughly ignored his wife.
Her status as the guild's sole heir made her untouchable.
So he ignored her.
His anger turned toward his daughter instead.
Unable to vent at his wife, it poured onto his powerless daughter.
She even resembled her mother.
His son fared little better.
Better than the daughter, but still not to his liking.
The fact that he resembled himself irritated him.
Yeon Da-hye didn't know.
That her brother had suffered her father's brutal contempt too.
That Yeon Baek-pung's attitude changed only after Yeon In-hu showed talent and gained recognition.
"It's all my fault. I should have let my admiration end as admiration, without that greed beyond my station..."
Yeon In-hu asked, gazing at Yu Wol-a as she spoke.
"Do you regret it, then?"
She smiled faintly and shook her head.
"It was my mistake, but I don't regret it. It gave me you children."
Yeon In-hu smiled at her answer.
That was enough.
The world gossiped about her plain looks, but to Yeon In-hu, his mother was the world's greatest beauty.
During the days of his father's rage-filled oppression, she had embraced him with pure, unconditional love.
Without her, who knows what would have become of him.
His feelings toward his father were ice-cold.
Exactly mirroring what his father had shown him.
"Mom, don't you find that woman repulsive?"
Yeon Da-hye blurted out, her face full of incomprehension.
She could understand her brother's side, but not her mother's attitude toward Jin Na-yeon, Yeon Ha-min's mother.
Wasn't she her rival, after all?
"Da-hye, you mustn't use such crude words for Second Mother. Conduct yourself with the dignity befitting a Yeon Clan direct descendant."
Her tone was calm, but unyielding on this point.
Yeon Da-hye pouted at her mother's words.
"Lady Jin—no, Second Mother—is pitiful and heartbreaking too. I brought this on myself with my greed, but she was dragged into others' desires despite staying out of it..."
Yeon Da-hye couldn't comprehend her mother speaking that way.
She would never have stood for it; instead, her mother was defending her.
"In-hu, do you think the same as Da-hye?"
Yeon In-hu shook his head.
"I have no interest whatsoever."
Indifference.
That was Yeon In-hu's chosen path.
Honestly, even he couldn't view Jin Na-yeon with the same compassion as his mother.
Still, he tried to honor his mother's wishes as much as possible.
He pitied Yeon Ha-min for what her uncle had done to her.
But Second Mother Jin Na-yeon was different.
She was his mother's rival, after all.
What he couldn't forgive most was his father lusting after his late brother's wife.
"With Ha-min back, she'll face more ordeals. In-hu, please look out for her."
Yeon In-hu nodded at his mother's request.
"Hmph."
Yeon Da-hye just snorted.
The words nearly escaped—that at the clan meeting, Yeon Ha-min's punishment would be decided by clan law, per her brother's opinion.
She swallowed them.
She knew it would only upset her mother.
After a bit more talk, Yeon In-hu and Yeon Da-hye left.
Alone, Yu Wol-a murmured bitterly.
"My greed has returned as such heavy karma..."
The clan's chaos felt entirely her fault.
Especially after the odd rumors from the maids and servants around Yeon Baek-pung.
Unlike his handsome looks, he was narrow-minded and petty.
Yu Wol-a, though plain, had excellent character and a broad heart, so the servants trusted and followed her.
Not just those around her, but throughout the clan.
Thus, events in the young master's office reachable by servants reached her ears.
"I must somehow help Second Mother..."
Yu Wol-a murmured, her eyes conflicted.
The situation now differed from when she married.
While the children enjoyed snacks in another room, Jin Na-yeon returned to the reception room.
With Dan So there with the kids, she wasn't worried about that side.
"Shall we continue our talk?"
Jin Na-yeon said with a smile.
But her voice was a soft whisper.
"No need to be careful; the children won't hear."
Ha Mu-baek had already set up a barrier to block sound.
"As expected of an absolute master."
Jin Na-yeon said admiringly.
"Absolute master?"
Ha Mu-baek tilted his head, murmuring.
"It's what my late husband called his benefactor."
Jin Na-yeon smiled faintly.
Ha Mu-baek gave a hollow laugh.
Absolute master, indeed.
"That's not all to Second Brother-in-law's affairs, is it?"
She remained composed despite her daughter being nearby.
In truth, after elder brother Yeon Baek-un's death, even when Yeon Ha-min was in the clan, Yeon Baek-pung had subtly shown such ambitions.
Of course, he couldn't be overt while watching Yeon Baek-ryang's intentions.
He couldn't covet Jin Na-yeon while Yeon Baek-ryang did.
But with Yeon Ha-min gone and Yeon Baek-ryang dead, things changed completely.
"Yes. Young Master Yeon told me yesterday."
"He came yesterday too, I see."
Jin Na-yeon looked unsurprised, as if she'd expected it.
"As you heard. Young Master Gong-hu is trying to protect me somehow. But I just feel sorry for him."
Her tender gaze turned to Yeon Gong-hu.
"Right now, Second Brother-in-law is persuading the clan elders. With their support, getting the patriarch's approval will be easier."
"What do you mean?"
"I hear among the northern nomads, there's a custom called levirate marriage."
Brother-dead-take-sister-in-law.
Exactly as it sounds: marrying your brother's widow upon his death.
Yeon Baek-pung was using this to convince the elders it wasn't against ethics.
"That's a custom born of their harsh environment. Right for them, but different in the Central Plains."
"To Second Brother-in-law, such distinctions don't matter. Just that it exists somewhere does."
Yeon Ha-min clenched her fists tightly.
That explained her recent unease.
Such a horrific thing was happening to her mother.
"If the patriarch—my father-in-law—approves, I can't refuse."
Jin Na-yeon's eyes trembled faintly.
The reason was obvious.
For Yeon Ha-min's sake.
A mother's heart to protect her daughter.
"So that's why the clan atmosphere has been strange lately."
Even Yeon Gong-hu hadn't heard this from her yesterday.
He looked shocked too.
As if he hadn't known either.
"I didn't tell you to avoid needless worry."
Yeon Baek-pung had secretly summoned Ha Seol-ran multiple times to discuss it.
Ha Seol-ran was at a loss for how to react to the unbelievable story.
"Hm."
Ha Mu-baek cleared his throat briefly.
"I had planned to originally, but now I have no choice."
"What do you mean?"
Jin Na-yeon asked, puzzled.
"Ha-min's recent progress has stalled."
Ha Mu-baek explained.
"She doesn't realize it, but it's as if a heart demon has taken hold."
"Heart demon...!"
She was a woman of the martial world.
She knew what a heart demon was.
Her worried eyes turned to her daughter.