Chapter 28: Foul Smell. (1)

Foul Odor (1)

After spending the night in the lodgings, morning dawned.

Strictly speaking, it was dawn, but I had to wake up around this time for an early departure.

As I stretched my stiff body and came outside, Wi Seol-ah was just coming out of the servants’ quarters next door.

Since she was rubbing her eyes and couldn’t quite wake up, I approached and lightly flicked a peanut at her.

“Ouch…!”

“Open your eyes, hurry down and wash your face.”

“It huuurts…”

“Stop whining. In this world, where are the attendants who wake up later than me?”

“The unnis left without waking me…”

“You should wake up on your own.”

“Hmph, I’m sorry…”

Wi Seol-ah goes downstairs with hesitant steps.

How long will preparations for departure take? Maybe about two hours?

Screeeech.

Hearing the sound of a door opening nearby, I looked over, and it was Namgung Cheon-jun coming out of the door.

He was impeccably dressed, as if he had finished preparing in advance.

When he and I made eye contact, he frowned slightly.

Should I greet him? I really thought about it for a moment. Given what happened yesterday, it didn’t seem necessary to bother.

Instead, the guy glared at me and was about to say something.

Namgung Bi-ah pops out from the room next door, as if she had been waiting.

Namgung Cheon-jun saw that and immediately changed his expression. He was exactly the same gentle, charming young master I’d met yesterday.

“You’re up early. Gu So-hyup, did you rest well through the long night?”

“…..Yi-ya.”

All I could manage was an exclamation. What is this uniquely crazy bastard?

I thought of Peng Woo-jin, whom I had inwardly labeled a crazy person, and felt sorry for him.

Peng Woo-jin, even if he was crazy, seemed like a good person.

This bastard was just plain crazy, and clearly a bad one at that.

Namgung Bi-ah tilted her head as she looked at us, with a look that seemed to ask, ‘Why are you two here?’

“I met Gu So-hyup by chance when I came out after waking up. It seems Unni just woke up too.”

“Ah… right…”

“We have to depart soon, so Unni should prepare herself. I’ll send a servant to your room.”

“…Mm-hmm.”

Namgung Cheon-jun’s skill at cutting in, just in case I might say something, was masterful. It wasn’t a skill he’d only tried once or twice.

Namgung Bi-ah gave a short yawn and went back into her room. Then, Namgung Cheon-jun immediately glared at me.

He added words.

“Remember the warning I gave you yesterday.”

After saying that, the guy passed me by and went downstairs.

Was the person named Namgung Cheon-jun, who would later become the Thunder Sword, originally like this? At least, before Namgung Bi-ah completely lost her mind and erased the Namgung clan with her own hands.

He was a man highly regarded as the next generation’s head of the Namgung family, claiming to uphold justice and chivalry.

Anyway, the Namgung clan members are out of their minds. Whether it’s the head or the elders. Let alone the children.

At least, that’s how it seemed, even just considering the things I’ve seen.

‘To be the center of the Four Great Families in such a state, it’s the end times, truly the end times…’

After shaking my head, I also went downstairs.

Downstairs, the Gu family’s servants were already gathered.

Mu-yeon noticed me coming down and approached.

“Young Master, would you like to eat?”

“Hmm… I don’t really feel like it.”

“They say the dumplings are delicious.”

“Then I should eat some.”

As if they had been waiting for my words, dumplings appeared.

Wi Seol-ah, with a half-asleep, dazed face, had her hair being attended to by the other attendants.

“Seol-ah has nice hair too.”

“Isn’t it because she’s young? I had nice hair when I was young too…”

“What are you talking about? Your hair was totally like a dog’s fur, so much so that Older Brother Gae-dong said it would be fine to sweep with it like a broom.”

“Don’t bring that up. Last time, when he brought up that story, I scratched his face once.”

“…No wonder there was a scar on his face. When I asked, he said a cat scratched him, but it was you?”

“Is Older Sister Hong-hwa’s hair dog fur?”

“Uh-uh, Seol-ah, you shouldn’t learn to say things like that.”

It was useless chatter. Even amidst this, Wi Seol-ah was half-asleep.

…But she’s naturally holding dumplings in her hand? Is she perhaps eating even while sleeping?

I also followed suit and picked up a dumpling to eat.

The ones just steamed were indeed delicious.

Scrape.

While I was eating dumplings, I heard the sound of a chair being dragged nearby and looked over to see Namgung Bi-ah had appeared out of nowhere and sat down in the seat next to me.

Why are you sitting there…?

“…Young Lady, the place you should be sitting seems to be over there, not here.”

Directly across, the Namgung people were gathered and sitting.

But why aren’t you going there and sitting next to me, what the hell?

Because of that, that crazy Namgung brat is staring at me with burning eyes.

Whether she knew or not, Namgung Bi-ah reached for a dumpling, so I immediately blocked her with my chopsticks.

“Young Lady, this dumpling is mine. Anyway, that’s that, but I asked why you sat here?”

“…I just sat somewhere close…”

“Your brother’s gaze is really hot, you know?”

“…?”

Namgung Bi-ah looked towards Namgung Cheon-jun at my words, and whether he had managed his expression in the meantime, that Namgung brat was wearing a faint smile.

‘…He’s truly a creepy guy.’

If you’re going to act, why not do it for everyone? Why are you acting up only towards me? Did I do something to deserve being targeted?

Namgung Bi-ah looked back at me as if asking what the problem was, so I just left it up to her to handle it.

But don’t touch the dumplings, you bitch…

I shoved even the last dumpling into my mouth and roughly got up.

Namgung Bi-ah’s gaze seemed to be fixed on the dumpling going into my mouth, but what could I do?

Perhaps she looked quite pathetic, because before I knew it, Wi Seol-ah appeared holding dumplings and handed them to Namgung Bi-ah.

The sight of the round little glutton giving away food was always fascinating. Especially since she probably didn’t have enough to eat herself.

Then, Namgung Bi-ah, having finally obtained the dumplings, gently stroked Wi Seol-ah’s hair.

Wi Seol-ah also gave a bright smile, then came near me and sat down.

As if asking if she did well, she pushed her head forward for me to stroke it too, so I playfully hit her head with a ‘kong’.

“Eek!”

“For what good deed are you asking for praise!”

“Grandpa said that giving food to a hungry person is a good deed…”

“There are plenty of people to give to besides you! Go eat more dumplings.”

“Okay…”

She went back with dejected steps and started eating dumplings among the servants.

As I sighed seeing that, Mu-yeon approached.

“Young Master, we will likely depart in about an hour.”

“Departing earlier than expected. Are preparations all finished?”

“Yes, as soon as the meal is finished, we should be able to load the supplies and go.”

It seems we’ll arrive around late afternoon.

Then, fortunately, it seemed we would arrive exactly as expected.

“Then, first, let’s get ready to go…”

As I was speaking, I saw Mu-yeon turning his head in a strange direction.

Wondering why he was doing that, I realized Namgung Bi-ah was persistently staring at Mu-yeon’s sword beside him.

If it’s really this much, it’s definitely madness.

“…Young Lady Namgung, aren’t I telling you I won’t do that? Stop staring. You’ll burn a hole through him at this rate.”

Thinking it wouldn’t be good to stay longer, I told Mu-yeon to go quickly.

Mu-yeon bowed to me and disappeared half a step faster than usual.

“No, out of all the things, why are you obsessing over Mu-yeon?”

“Because he’s a strong sword practitioner… I think I’ll learn a lot if we spar…”

“Then why don’t you spar with your brother over there, who’s staring like crazy?”

“Cheon-jun…”

Namgung Bi-ah tried to speak, but closed her mouth.

I found it puzzling that she swallowed her words.

Isn’t Thunder Dragon strong enough? Even glancing at him, he seemed one or two levels above Gu Yeonseo or Gu Jeolyub right now. I’m not sure compared to Mu-yeon, though.

For starters, Namgung Cheon-jun was at a level I couldn’t beat, even if I forced myself to use techniques like I did when sparring with Gu Jeolyub.

Suddenly, a question arose.

It was about Namgung Bi-ah.

‘Come to think of it, why isn’t she known?’

The Sword Empress of Demonic Arts is a peerless swordswoman.

In terms of swordsmanship, she was enough to make even the Sword Demon concede a point.

Someone like her couldn’t possibly not have blossomed in talent at her current age.

Although I can’t see her properly, even at the very least, she doesn’t seem inferior to that Namgung guy over there who’s staring at me like he wants to kill me.

Her first and last epithet, earned by such a person, is none other than the Sword Empress of Demonic Arts.

This means the time she started making a name for herself as a strong individual is still a long way off.

…What could be the reason? Even among the later generation talents, there are ranks, but she doesn’t seem like someone who wouldn’t make it into the Five Dragons and Three Peaks.

Is there something I don’t know?

“Then I shouldn’t be curious.”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s nothing. Young Lady, please finish the dumplings you were having, and I’ll get up and leave.”

Jumping up, I headed out of the inn. As if she had been waiting, Wi Seol-ah followed, holding two dumplings in her hand, perhaps to eat.

“Planning to eat two? You might get indigestion if you move while eating.”

“One is for Young Master!”

“That’s a pretty good idea.”

We headed towards the carriage, amiably eating dumplings.

Following Wi Seol-ah’s example and constantly picking up and eating things, my own intake seems to have increased.

I can feel some fat accumulating on my sides, so it seems I need to increase my training regimen.

---

Namgung Bi-ah kept watching the backs of the boy going outside and Wi Seol-ah.

Her gaze wouldn’t leave them.

Asking herself why, she already knew the answer.

Suddenly, Namgung Bi-ah felt a foul odor.

She wanted to cover her nose, but Namgung Bi-ah knew it wasn’t a scent that would disappear just by covering it.

“Unni.”

Namgung Bi-ah slowly turned her head to look at her younger brother.

It’s strong. All foul odor. Why was her younger brother emitting such an unbearable foul odor?

She couldn’t understand.

She didn’t want to be near her father, the elders, or even her younger brother.

Her younger brother doesn’t act maliciously towards her and treats her well, but Namgung Bi-ah couldn’t define the growing emotion within her.

Was this guilt towards family, or purely hatred towards them?

‘…I want to escape.’

I want to escape to a place without foul odor.

“We are all over there, so why are you sitting here?”

Namgung Cheon-jun asks.

Because the smell is worse where everyone is gathered.

Namgung Bi-ah couldn’t bring herself to state the reason clearly.

“…It was just closer here.”

“If you do this, it could cause trouble for others. Please sit properly next time.”

“Yeah… I’m sorry.”

Namgung Cheon-jun’s smiling face came into view, but something felt blocked inside me.

I want to escape.

‘To where?’

Namgung Bi-ah asked herself. Suddenly, a boy came to mind.

Surprisingly, there was no foul odor at all around the boy she met by chance.

No smell at all. It was the first sensation I had ever felt in my entire life.

Even the man named Mu-yeon and the people of the Gu family emitted a slight foul odor, but when near the boy, even that wasn’t felt.

She couldn’t understand the reason for the annoyance towards her felt from the boy, or the sudden distance he seemed to want to keep, but.

Rather, even that felt comfortable.

It was becoming increasingly difficult for Namgung Bi-ah to bear this disgust she felt, even when slightly away from his side like now.

Jumping up, she moved her feet.

“Unni… Where are you going?”

“The carriage… I’ll go there first and rest.”

Leaving her brother behind, Namgung Bi-ah followed Gu Yangcheon with quick steps.

Soon after, Namgung Cheon-jun, left alone, saw Namgung Bi-ah going outside and changed his expression.

His face changed from acting like a kind younger brother to one completely devoid of smiles.

“What could be the problem.”

Crack. Crack.

The cracking sound from his fingers; it was Namgung Cheon-jun’s habit.

Something went wrong. This shouldn’t have happened; where did it go wrong?

“I really hate obstacles.”

The sound stopped, and then Namgung Cheon-jun slowly turned around.

What was reflected in Namgung Cheon-jun’s cold eyes, now that he had turned around, was clearly murderous intent.