Seolhwa's movements came to a sudden halt. Staring blankly at the sword that blocked her, Seolhwa— "...!
Hah! Keoheup...! Keoheok!
Hah!"
Cough, cough, she choked out the breath that had been caught in her throat. As she frantically gasped for air, someone silently supported her.
"Hah... Heo-eok..."
When her breathing had calmed somewhat, Seolhwa raised her gaze to look at the person. Seop Mugwang, who had been watching her with a firm gaze, tilted his head and asked.
"Why are you so angry?"
"... Was I angry?"
"Yes. Very."
Seolhwa straightened herself and let go of his arm.
"It was quite menacing. There was no killing intent, but the will to utterly destroy anyone who got in your way was palpable."
So that's how it was.
"I'm not so sure."
Seolhwa looked down at her sword.
Anger?
I wasn't trying to be angry.
"Well, it's not a bad thing."
Seop Mugwang chuckled, "Keke," and ruffled Seolhwa's hair.
"You need to get angry sometimes. Cry, too. And it's even better if you laugh."
Seolhwa curved the corners of her lips gently and replied.
"I laugh often these days."
"Not that kind of forced smile. You know, the bright one that makes people feel good just by seeing it..."
The kind of child-like giggle. Wouldn't a normal thirteen-year-old burst into laughter even at a falling leaf? Could such a laugh ever come from this child?
As he had that thought and glanced at her, Seolhwa tilted her head.
"Isn't it time for you to get married?"
Seop Mugwang's expression crumpled.
"... What?"
"I heard it somewhere. That if you start to like children, it's time to get married."
"... Let's just drop it, you little squirt."
Seop Mugwang grumbled and took his hand off Seolhwa's head. The sound of him muttering, "What am I even saying to a block of stone, what am I saying," could be faintly heard.
"How did you get in here?"
She had clearly told Yeoyul and Ryeong not to let anyone in.
"How did I get in? I jumped over the wall."
Seop Mugwang casually pointed to the wall behind the Training Ground. Seolhwa thought that Seop Mugwang was probably the only person in this Namgung estate who could speak so brazenly about climbing over walls.
"What, you have a problem with that?"
"No." Seop Mugwang chuckled, "Keke," with a satisfied smile, then asked.
"What's going on?"
She was a child who didn't show her emotions. No, she was a child who didn't know how to show them. For such a child, the anger felt in her sword was by no means trivial.
"..."
Seolhwa stared intently at Seop Mugwang. He hasn't heard. It was a rumor spreading among the servants of Namgung.
Unless the one who started the rumor was a fool, they would have taken measures to ensure it reached the Family Head's ears as late as possible. Even if not, no servant was foolish enough to speak ill of his cherished granddaughter near the Family Head's Hall.
Therefore, it was possible that Seop Mugwang, who was always by the Family Head's side, hadn't heard the rumor either. Having thought that far, Seolhwa nodded.
"I was pondering something."
"Pondering what?"
"I was wondering, to what extent is the justice of Namgung permitted?"
Seop Mugwang stroked his chin with a puzzled expression and tilted his head.
"Looking at you, little squirt, you have a strange side to you, don't you?"
"I do?"
"You seem to often think things I wouldn't expect you to."
When they met in front of the Family Head's Hall a while ago, she asked if it was sad when family members die.
"So, what are you plotting this time?"
"How did you know?"
"That expression of yours."
Seop Mugwang pointed to Seolhwa's expression. His eyes narrowed.
"It's the same expression you had when you first came to Namgung."
Hit right on the mark, Seolhwa rolled her eyes and avoided his gaze. She looked into the distance for a moment, and when she turned her head back, he was still watching her with narrowed eyes.
"What is it?"
"To what extent can I use the authority that comes with being a Namgung young lady?"
"Is there a rat you want to catch?"
"Yes."
"Internal? External?"
"Probably... internal."
The corner of Seop Mugwang's mouth twisted into a sardonic smile. Heh heh, his laugh was like someone from the Unorthodox faction.
"As the Family Head's closest aide, I can confidently say this: at least within Namgung, it will be fine no matter what you do."
"No matter what I do?"
Really?
"Yes. As long as you're not getting rid of a Hall Master or something. You're not planning on going around killing people, are you?"
"That's not it."
"Then anything."
Seop Mugwang grinned and ruffled Seolhwa's hair once more.
"Do whatever you want. It seems the Family Head cherishes you more than you think."
At that moment, a ticklish feeling returned to her chest. The more she mulled over the words that Namgung Mucheon cherished her more than she thought, the more the tickling sensation grew. As Seolhwa frowned and scratched below her neck, Seop Mugwang let out a small laugh and said.
"Try doing that thing from before again."
"From before?"
"Let me see your sword."
"Ah."
Seolhwa nodded and immediately got into her stance. After a long, deep breath, she swung her sword. Shhh— Shwiik— The afterimages of her sword energy once again lingered in the air.
But this time, unlike before, her sword was light and impeccably clean. She thought she understood why Seop Mugwang had said her sword was filled with anger before. When she was moderately out of breath, Seolhwa stopped her sword and looked back at Seop Mugwang.
He, who had been watching with a serious gaze, grinned and nodded.
"How is it? Do you think you understand what I meant?"
"Yes. It's not difficult."
"A sword that pours out and a sword that is free are bound to be different. It's good to imbue your sword with emotion. Sometimes, emotion can make a sword strong, like sword energy. However."
Seop Mugwang raised his index finger. His gaze sharpened.
"One, do not let your emotions control your sword. That will only eat away at your body and mind."
"..."
"Especially anger. It blinds the eyes. It impairs judgment. While it can sometimes be a stronger driving force than any other emotion, most of the time, anger is what will try to gnaw away at your life."
Wield your emotions, but do not be wielded by them. That was what Seop Mugwang wanted to say to Seolhwa. But when he finished speaking, Seop Mugwang couldn't help but feel a bitter taste.
Because as the child nodded and looked down at her sword, he could read an emotion on her face like one facing a difficult homework assignment. She comprehends the sword without being taught, yet she can be so ignorant about emotions.
On his way to this pavilion, he had seen more than one or two maidservants laughing as they walked around. In this Namgung estate, this child was the only one who couldn't laugh freely. That was why he felt more concerned for her.
"If you weren't a child of Namgung, I would have taken you as my disciple. What a shame."
Seolhwa blinked her eyes.
"Just because I'm a child of Namgung, do I have to learn only the sword of Namgung?"
"...?"
"To be able to learn the sword of the Storm Thunder God would be an honor for me."
Storm Thunder God was the title used in the Martial World to refer to Seop Mugwang. Calling him by his Martial World title, rather than his Namgung position, was an expression of respect for his martial strength.
Because the title Storm Thunder God was not earned as the leader of Namgung's greatest martial force, but through his own self, his own power, his own sword. Seop Mugwang, who had been blinking his wide-open eyes blankly, burst into laughter.
"Khahahaha!"
"Well now! What a sharp kid! I know it's just flattery, but it's nice to hear, you know?"
"It's not flattery."
Seolhwa genuinely wanted to learn his sword. Although he was overshadowed by Namgung Mucheon, Seop Mugwang's martial strength was high enough to be compared to the ten great masters. Moreover, it was an achievement he had reached not through belonging to any sect or family, but through his own unique martial art.
Anyone who had learned martial arts, even a three-year-old, would know how incredible that was. Seop Mugwang's expression inadvertently turned serious.
"... Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what that means?"
For a child of Namgung to learn another sword instead of the Namgung's sword was the same as giving up the right of succession. In other words, it meant renouncing the position of Namgung's Family Head.
"Do you know that you cannot learn the family's secret techniques if you are not the Family Head? Even after seeing your grandfather, you still want to become my disciple?"
Namgung Mucheon's sword was the very pinnacle of the sword, something that anyone walking the path of the sword could not help but admire. An overwhelming energy that dominated the surroundings and an extreme heavy sword that one could not block even knowing it was coming.
A sword that was impossible to forget after seeing it once, a sword that one would find themselves unconsciously following when it was wielded—that was the sword of Namgung Mucheon. To think she would give up that sword.
"Stop this. As one who also walks the path of the sword, I honestly do not recommend it. I may be a master who doesn't fall short anywhere, but isn't your grandfather the Sword Sovereign?"
"It's not that I don't want to learn the sword of Namgung."
"No matter how much of a martial genius you are, you cannot walk two paths at the same time."
"It's not that I intend to walk two paths, either."
"Then?"
Seolhwa pondered for a moment.