Chapter 1110: Scorched World.

“…….”

Our eyes met, and I had to freeze for a moment. Personally, I was doing my best to avoid running into them if at all possible.

Partly because of Father. And also because I anticipated that meeting the Mother of this era would only lead to trouble.

‘If possible.’

As much as I was trying my best to leave this place, I also didn’t want to create any unnecessary trouble.

From that standpoint.

‘I never thought I’d actually run into them.’

I hadn’t expected to run into Mother in a place like this.

Not completely white hair, but hair with a slight purplish-red tint, and the same eyes I’d met in Man-gye.

She wore a gentle smile, but there was also a subtle aura that felt somewhat alluring.

Feeling like the Mother I knew, yet different, I swallowed hard.

‘Why.’

Why is Mother here?

‘I didn’t sense them.’

Just like last time, I hadn’t sensed their presence. Because of that, I’d allowed them to approach.

“Annyeong?”

Mother asked, looking at me. Hearing that, I pondered.

What should I say? How should I react? After a brief moment of thought, I carefully managed my expression and said,

“……Annyeonghaseyo.”

I tried to sound as calm as possible, and Mother’s smile deepened.

“We saw each other last time. Right?”

“Ne.”

“It’s nice to see you. Are you happy to see me too?”

“Ne. Ne, well, I am-“

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you sleeping? Aren’t you hungry?”

“…….”

Before I could even finish, the conversation moved on. What is this? This feeling of my energy being drained? We hadn’t talked much, but strangely, I felt like my energy was being drained.

“I’m a little hungry.”

“Ah…… yes.”

She said, stroking her stomach as if to prove her hunger. Seeing that, I kept thinking of Wi Seol-ah.

It was like when we met at the food supply cart last time. She seemed to be eating something constantly back then too.

‘Was Mother always like this?’

My memory is hazy. I don’t have many memories of Mother to begin with.

Even if I did remember, it wasn’t to the point of recalling her eating habits.

Just then.

“I’m hungry.”

“……?”

Mother spoke again. It was the same thing.

What am I supposed to do?

As I narrowed my eyes and looked at her, Mother spoke to me again.

“……Do you have anything to eat?”

This time, she was quite cautious. More precisely, she seemed to be looking around, perhaps fearing someone might come. As if she were afraid of getting scolded.

“……Is someone chasing you?”

“Ah, no?”

Mother reacted with a start at my words. She said no, but anyone could tell she was lying.

‘If someone is chasing her.’

The culprit is obvious.

‘Father?’

Father, who had grabbed Mother and put her in the carriage. If she was afraid of someone, it was highly likely to be Father. That means…

‘She must have snuck out.’

It meant Mother had run away without anyone knowing. In that case…

‘Isn’t that bad?’

It meant she was likely in serious trouble if caught.

‘Hmm.’

Thinking that far, I pondered for a moment before speaking again.

“First off, I don’t have any food.”

I wasn’t the type to pack food. And it was ridiculous to be looking for food in someone else’s place.

“Eh…… really?”

At my words, Mother looked disappointed. What the heck? Is this something to be disappointed about?

“Oh…… you don’t.”

“Yes. I don’t. So… maybe you should just quietly go back-“

“Then, wanna look for it together?”

“……What?”

The person who was just disappointed now spoke, her eyes gleaming again. And then.

Grab-!

“Let’s do that!”

She grabbed my wrist, seemingly excited for some reason. Uh oh, this isn’t good.

“Let’s go!”

Then she suddenly tried to drag me along. Naturally, if I put up resistance, I shouldn’t be dragged.

Grip-!

‘Huh…?’

But… her strength was immense. It meant the grip trying to drag me was much stronger than I expected.

‘What the…?’

This is problematic. With this much strength, she must be at least Master level. That means…

‘She still has her full strength?’

It also meant that Mother might not be in that foolish state she seemed to be in. I had thought the current Mother wouldn’t be in the same state as the one I saw in Man-gye. So, I assumed she wouldn’t have much strength either.

‘I don’t know if she has all of it,’ but at least I knew she wasn’t completely powerless.

“Hmm?”

When I didn’t yield to her strength, Mother inadvertently showed signs of surprise. Then she looked at me as if it were strange.

“What?”

“That’s what I want to ask you.”

“Uh. What is it?”

She still looked completely bewildered. Was she surprised that I wasn’t moving despite her strength? I don’t know about that, but anyway.

“I’m not going. Please let go.”

I don’t know where she wants to go or what she wants to find, but I can’t get involved any further. I wanted to avoid unnecessarily provoking Father or anyone else. Thinking that, I tried to pull away,

“Why? It looks like fun.”

“……Huh?”

This time, a voice came from another direction. I looked over, half-expecting it, and there was Hyeon So-yeon. Her face, damp from training, looked blankly as she stared this way.

‘Ah, damn.’

I narrowed my eyes. Was it because I was focused on Mother that I didn’t notice her approach?

‘No.’

Even if I had suppressed my senses, it wasn’t enough to miss someone approaching like this. This is…

‘Is it Mother’s influence?’

Mother, whose presence was hard to sense. Furthermore, because I was near her, my perception seemed to have dulled. Was this also a problem?

‘How would I know?’

There’s no way I would. I’ve never experienced this before. I could only assume it might be because Mother’s very existence felt unnatural.

‘I’ll leave this for now.’

Putting the issue of my senses aside, I looked at Hyeon So-yeon in front of me.

“Why?”

She looked at me, reacting as if asking why I was staring.

“It’s weirder if you don’t hear me when I speak that loudly, isn’t it?”

“…….”

“You weren’t trying to talk secretly, were you?”

That was true. Mother’s voice was loud. So Hyeon So-yeon heard it? This is getting a bit tricky.

“……I wasn’t exactly trying to eavesdrop.”

“Yes? Ah.”

Eavesdropping on training was quite rude, so I offered an apology first, but…

“It’s fine. I wasn’t doing anything particularly grand.”

Hyeon So-yeon responded nonchalantly, as if she didn’t care. Then, she took out a cloth from her pocket, roughly wiped her face, and said,

“Never mind this. So, are you going to do it?”

“……What are you talking about?”

“You said you were hungry. Food. Are you going to eat?”

Food, suddenly? I just narrowed my eyes, unsure what she was going on about. Then, Hyeon So-yeon sighed, as if finding me more frustrating,

“I’m hungry too. I was already thinking of causing some trouble. Isn’t it better for three people to cause trouble than just one?”

“……Cause trouble?”

“Wanna do it?”

“No, I-“

“Let’s do it. Then I’ll forgive you for watching my training.”

“…….”

This is absurd? At her confident words, I opened my mouth slightly and said,

“You said earlier you didn’t really mind.”

“Well, I thought about it, and it kinda bothers me now. How about it? I’ll forgive you, so let’s do it? Then.”

Hyeon So-yeon smiled brightly and pointed at Mother beside me. Mother looked at me with expectant eyes.

“I’ll also stay quiet about this person here.”

“…….”

Ah. Right. Hyeon So-yeon didn’t know Mother had snuck in.

‘Damn it.’

The situation got tangled up in all sorts of ways. I felt like sighing at the complicated mess.

“So, what do you say?”

Hyeon So-yeon continued speaking with a smile, as if she knew all of this. Seeing that, I realized.

‘She has Namgung Bi-ah’s face,’ but she’s a completely different person inside. Recalling that clearly, I said,

“……What exactly are you trying to do?”

My tone sounded quite uneasy, even to myself.

---

As night fell, we moved out together.

Naturally, Namgung family members were on guard duty, but Hyeon So-yeon moved through them as if it were nothing.

“I memorized their patrol routes after walking around a few times. We won’t get caught if we go like this.”

She had memorized the paths of the patrolling guards. What kind of bizarre thing is she saying so confidently?

“Ah, but be careful. I heard the guards were knocked out earlier today, so security has been tightened.”

“…….”

I flinched inwardly. It was obvious to anyone that this was the repercussion from me trying to enter Bi-go.

“From here… like this.”

Hyeon So-yeon and I moved through the alleys. Where on earth was our destination? Hyeon So-yeon confidently told me to just trust her and quickly navigated through various places.

“How much longer? I’m hungry.”

“Shhh. If you speak loudly, won’t they not give us food?”

“……Mmph.”

I silenced Mother, who was about to complain, with just a few words. After weaving through for a short while.

“Here it is.”

She skillfully slipped into a building through an unguarded opening. Just as she said, there was no sense of security.

“There are many other things to guard. They wouldn’t have made security this tight here, so it’s easy to get in.”

After hearing her explanation, I surveyed the surroundings. This place is…

‘…A kitchen connected to a warehouse?’

It seemed like a place used by the Namgung family’s lodgers. The smell of cooking utensils and faint spices wafted through the air. Hyeon So-yeon entered the place she’d breached without hesitation. Her actions seemed very practiced. Then, she lit a torch on one side, naturally illuminating the wall.

At that moment.

“Up.”

“Huh?”

“Oh.”

As soon as the light came on, we made eye contact with someone inside. It was Namgung Hyung, chewing on a carrot.

‘What the…?’

Why is this guy showing up here again…?