Seolhwa looked at Namgung Mucheon. She had done wrong, but she did not regret it. The Twelve Moons would not have revealed themselves unless she made a move.
It was not because she distrusted Namgung Mucheon.
"I thought it was right for me to solve the problem I had brought."
"Was your responsibility so great that you would deceive the family's elders?"
"If I hadn't done that, you would not have let me go."
"I was not trying to confine you. Rather, I was trying to protect you."
"Grandfather."
Seolhwa raised her head and met his gaze. It was an unwavering, exceptionally resolute gaze.
"If you tell me to starve, I will starve. If you tell me to be flogged, I will be flogged. Be it for three days or a week, I will accept it."
"... What?"
"I will gladly accept any punishment you give me. If you wish, I will take it all. If that is what it takes to appease the anger of you and the family elders. So..."
From the moment she deceived Seop Mugwang and climbed over the wall, she had been prepared to be punished. Thus, she feared no punishment. However, what Seolhwa feared was something else.
"Just please do not tie my hands and feet."
Being controlled and watched under the pretext of protection simply because she was a child. And thus, being unable to do anything. Knowing the future yet being unable to change anything, fated to meet the same end as her previous life, was Seolhwa's greatest fear.
"I did not return to be protected. If I were afraid of them, I would have gone into the mountains where no one lives and hidden myself away."
For a short while after returning, she had even thought it might be better to hide in a place the Blood Demon could not find and live quietly until her death. After all, if she went deep into hiding, she would neither have to confront the Namgung nor be used by them. But that thought did not last long.
'If I disappear, will the Namgung be safe?' 'No.' If she disappeared, the Blood Demon would take another child from the Namgung and raise them as the Heaven-Destroying Sword. Even if not from the direct line, he would find a suitable child from a branch family and bring down the Namgung with their own hands.
The Blood Demon was, after all, a man fanatically obsessed with achieving his desires. In that case, it was better to keep the Blood Demon's attention tied to her. Then, at least, the other children of the Namgung family would be safe.
"I returned to fight. I came back to fight, so if you prevent me from fighting, then I no longer have a reason to stay here. Grandfather."
"You..."
Namgung Mucheon’s mouth, which had been about to say something, closed again without uttering a word. The child's gaze was proud. While admitting her own wrongdoing, the child was not ashamed of her own choice.
Namgung Mucheon realized. 'This child's conviction cannot be broken.' Even if he could go back to last night, the child would have made the same choice and chosen to fight for herself.
His expression was complex as he looked at Seolhwa. What could he say to a child who, despite being proud of her choice, asked to be punished? To a child who thought of that punishment as a matter of course, as corporal punishment.
But, that being said, how could he, as her grandfather, leave a child in danger?
"I will not die easily."
"..."
Seolhwa's final words shook Namgung Mucheon's complicated heart even more. The words that she would not die. It was the best promise Seolhwa could offer, for she knew what truly worried Namgung Mucheon.
"I will do my best to survive. I will try not to get hurt. So..."
"..."
"Would you protect me so that I do not die?"
Namgung Mucheon let out a low sigh and gently closed his eyes. She was a child dull to both emotions and senses. Paradoxically, because of that, the child did not know how to hide her feelings.
The child's straightforward attitude was always sincere and true. Thus, her words about leaving home if he confined her were likely not a mere childish tantrum. 'I had hoped she would now grow up beautifully, having lived such a difficult life.'
The child was determined to walk a path of thorns. She was trying to leap into a blood-splattered war. What parent can win against their child?
And this was a grandchild who could overcome that child, so this was an unwinnable battle from the start.
"One cannot tell a huntsman not to climb the mountain because the tiger is fearsome."
A voice mixed with a heavy sigh flowed softly from his lips.
"If you say you must fight, I will no longer stop you."
"...!"
"However."
Namgung Mucheon opened his eyes and looked at her. His gaze had become much more serious.
"You too must follow my will. As the Family Head, and as your grandfather, I have a duty to protect you."
Seolhwa obediently nodded her head. Namgung Mucheon held up one finger.
"First. Do not deceive me like this again. Not just me, but there must be no instance of you deceiving the family elders and acting alone. Whatever you intend to do, at least inform me."
"Yes, Grandfather."
Namgung Mucheon held up a second finger.
"Second. I will assign escorts to you. No matter how mature you may seem, you are still only thirteen. Until you reach the age of twenty, you will receive the family's protection. However, if your realm reaches the peak of a supreme master, I will not force it upon you."
The peak of a supreme master was a realm one might never reach even if they dedicated their entire life to martial arts. However, Namgung Mucheon did not doubt that Seolhwa would soon reach that realm. Seolhwa, too, did not think it was an unreasonable condition, as she had already ascended to a realm beyond that in her previous life.
'Twenty, the peak of a supreme master. It will likely be around the same time...' If she worked harder, she might be able to achieve it at an even earlier age.
Seolhwa nodded her head with confidence.
"I will do so."
It was not that he expected her to protest that the condition was absurd, but the child's answer was overly confident. It was as if she was certain that she would reach the peak of a supreme master. Namgung Mucheon, who had been quietly watching Seolhwa, finally let out a hollow laugh.
"What am I to do with this pitiful thing."
"...?"
"Seolhwa."
Namgung Mucheon's thick hand stroked Seolhwa's head. It was still a hand like a rock.
"Do not try too hard all by yourself."
"..."
"Are you and I not family? Just as much as you think of the Namgung, I, too, think of you. So it is all right to ask this grandfather for help when you need it."
'Family...'
Seolhwa unknowingly murmured the word in her mouth. The concept of family was something she understood in her head, but she could not truly comprehend it. What was family, that one could freely ask for help when needed?
No, was it only help? In her previous life, the people of Namgung laid down their lives for one another and willingly endured pain for one another. Did not even Namgung Cheongun, with whom she had lived as an enemy for over twenty years, give up his life for her?
What on earth was family?
"..."
While Seolhwa was lost in her thoughts, Namgung Mucheon, who was looking at his granddaughter quietly bowing her head under his hand, stood up from his seat with a bitter smile. Seolhwa looked up at him.
"It is time for your father to return, so I must be going now."
Seolhwa's eyes grew wide. Looking at her blinking eyes, which showed a surprised expression, Namgung Mucheon asked with puzzlement.
"Do you have something to say to me?"
After hesitating for a moment with a slightly furrowed face, Seolhwa asked in a cautious voice.
"Are you not going to punish me?"
Namgung Mucheon's brow twitched. He once again wiped at his eyes with a tired sigh.
"Seolhwa."
Namgung Mucheon knelt down on one knee. Now at eye level with Seolhwa, who was sitting in the chair, he grasped her shoulders and met her gaze.
"I promise you. No matter what happens, I will neither strike you nor starve you."
"... Why?"
Did he mean there was a punishment more certain than that?
"I do not know what kind of life you lived for eight years, but in the Namgung family, we do not inflict corporal punishment on a child who has done wrong."
The hands holding her shoulders tightened.
"Punishment is merely one method for an adult to guide a child who has done wrong toward Enlightenment; it can never become a reason to harm that child."
Seolhwa nodded her small head. She did not fully understand all of Namgung Mucheon's words, but she could tell that he meant he would not punish her.
"It was wrong of you to deceive the elders, but since you have returned safely, I will let it pass this time."
After stroking Seolhwa's head once more, Namgung Mucheon stood up from his spot.
"Rest now."
It was when he had given his farewell and was turning his body to leave. At the force of the child's hand gripping his own tightly, Namgung Mucheon turned his half-turned body back to look at the child.
"Grandfather."
While firmly holding onto Namgung Mucheon's large, thick hand that she still could not grasp even with both of hers, Seolhwa spoke.
"Please help me."