HDCLSSRS Ch 179
by berryChapter 179 Encounter (3)
How long had he been sitting there?
The Owl was inwardly startled.
Outwardly…
He showed nothing.
Without the slightest change in expression, he simply lowered his gaze back to the brazier.
“I have no obligation to answer you….”
Baek Ryeoil leapt lightly down from the tree.
His landing was nearly soundless.
“Listen.”
He spoke in a low voice.
“I don’t think you realize how much patience I’ve been exercising.”
“But I’m about at my limit.”
“……”
Flap. Flap.
The Owl continued fanning the fire as though Baek Ryeoil weren’t even there.
“What exactly are you thinking, following us all the way here?”
“Yakseon?”
“Is she really so weak that the two of you have to rescue her yourselves?”
“And that medicine…”
“What are you plotting?”
With each sentence…
Baek Ryeoil’s voice grew more heated.
“And Paeng Dohwan…!”
“Do you still not understand what kind of man he is?”
“Go back.”
“You two won’t help rescue Yakseon.”
“So just return and wait quietly.”
“Before things become even more dangerous.”
“I don’t understand what you mean….”
At last…
The Owl spoke.
“But if we’re comparing the two of you…”
“And deciding which one is more dangerous…”
“It’s you.”
“……”
The answer was clearly not what Baek Ryeoil had expected.
His eyes widened.
“Leave us alone.”
“That is the greatest help you can give us.”
“And if you truly cannot do that…”
“Then go remove Badger’s mask.”
“Take it off.”
“See for yourself who is hiding beneath it.”
“And whether the face beneath is truly the one you’ve been searching for.”
“So…”
“Why can’t you do it?”
“……”
Baek Ryeoil slowly clenched his fist.
His hand trembled violently for a long time.
Then…
Without saying another word…
He turned and disappeared.
Just as I thought…
Baek Ryeoil already knows who Badger really is.
That, however, wasn’t the only reason the Owl had chosen to travel alongside him.
If Baek Ryeoil had been alone…
The moment he saw Seong Muyon, the Owl would have fled with him to somewhere no one could ever find.
The variable…
Was Paeng Dohwan.
As long as Seong Muyon’s identity remained hidden beneath the mask…
Paeng Dohwan would never allow Baek Ryeoil to lay a hand on him.
As long as Baek Ryeoil continued targeting Seong Muyon…
Paeng Dohwan, driven by both his resentment toward Baek Ryeoil and his own straightforward nature, would inevitably do everything possible to protect him.
That delicate deadlock…
Was precisely what the Owl intended to exploit.
Still…
One question remained.
For some reason…
Baek Ryeoil doesn’t seem to want Paeng Dohwan learning Maknae’s identity…
Perhaps…
He feared Paeng Dohwan would take his revenge before he could.
Perhaps…
He wanted to keep Seong Muyon entirely to himself.
To take revenge somewhere no one else knew.
Without yielding him to anyone.
Whatever the reason…
The subtle balance between the two men had become a safety net.
They had to find Yakseon…
Before that safety net broke.
It was their only chance.
Working late into the night…
Jegal Un suddenly looked up from his desk.
It’s about time I heard from her.
Once every three months…
He secretly met with Yakseon so she could prepare Seong Muyon’s medicine.
Around this time…
She should already have sent word regarding the meeting place and date.
Yet…
Nothing had arrived.
…Surely she didn’t forget?
The Yakseon he had come to know was certainly as meticulous and composed as the rumors claimed.
But beneath that exterior…
She possessed many surprisingly ordinary traits.
Yakseon.
The unrivaled authority on medicine.
The Divine Physician who healed the sick.
In reality…
She was terrible at taking care of herself.
Her room was perpetually a mess.
She drank until she lost consciousness with alarming frequency.
And despite her cold appearance…
She possessed far too much compassion to ignore people in need.
She even accepted Seong Muyon, the Seventh Young Master of the Demonic Cult…
How had someone with no blood relation to him managed to do what even his own family could not?
“……”
To think…
The aunt we’d searched for all these years was ultimately found within the Demonic Cult.
Remembering the truth he had struggled so hard to forget…
A familiar bitterness slowly welled up from deep inside him.
Eventually…
Jegal Un set down his brush and rubbed his tired eyes.
Just then—
Creak.
The door opened.
“Still awake?”
“Father?”
Jegal Un immediately rose.
“What brings you here so late?”
As he moved to prepare tea…
The Clan Head raised a hand.
“No need.”
“…Father?”
“I’ve felt uneasy all day.”
He sighed.
“And only just realized why.”
“Today is your aunt’s birthday.”
“Ah…”
Jegal Un’s expression dimmed.
The Clan Head held out his hand.
Understanding immediately…
Jegal Un removed a necklace hidden beneath his robes and placed it in his father’s palm.
“Lately…”
The Clan Head gently traced the gold necklace with his fingers.
“I’ve been worried.”
“You seem to have neglected searching for your aunt.”
“I know the world is in turmoil.”
“And I know you’ve been busy.”
“I too became occupied dealing with troubles arising everywhere.”
“I even forgot my own elder sister’s birthday….”
His fingers continued slowly stroking the necklace.
“But searching for your aunt…”
“That is our destiny.”
“Our family must never forget it.”
“Keep those words in your heart.”
“Never forget them.”
“……”
“Do you have some complaint?”
When no answer came…
The Clan Head’s eyes turned sharp.
His gaze pierced his son’s lowered head.
“No.”
“You and I should feel guilty merely for sitting in these seats!”
“The position of Clan Head was never mine!”
“It belonged to your aunt!”
“Our duty…”
“Is simply to preserve the clan until its rightful owner returns!”
“Have you grown attached to honors that were never yours?”
His rebuke was merciless.
Jegal Un had heard these words countless times throughout his life.
The true heir of the Jegal Clan had always been his aunt—
Jegal Mimi.
He himself merely served as temporary caretaker until her return.
When he had been young…
He had believed exactly the same thing.
Protect the clan.
Then return it to its rightful owner.
That was only proper.
But…
As he grew older…
His thoughts changed.
His aunt had vanished over a decade ago.
She wasn’t coming back.
Everyone believed that.
Everyone…
Except the Clan Head.
Then…
Who truly owned the clan now?
Jegal Un clenched his teeth.
He devoted himself to becoming the very best.
The moment his father believed someone else better suited to the clan’s future…
He would remove Jegal Un without hesitation.
He had sacrificed sleep.
Worked endlessly.
Built this family with his own hands.
He couldn’t allow his father’s impossible fantasy to hand everything over to someone else.
Least of all…
If that person was Seong Muyon.
If that’s greed…
Then perhaps it is greed.
That was why…
Jegal Un had to hide Seong Muyon’s existence.
The elder sister his father had searched for all these years no longer existed.
But…
She had left behind one final legacy.
If Father knew…
He would gladly hand the position of Clan Head to Aunt’s child.
Even if…
That child were a prince of the Demonic Cult.
“Are you listening to me?!”
His father’s shout snapped him back to reality.
Suppressing everything inside…
Jegal Un answered calmly.
“Yes, Father.”
“My apologies.”
“It is true that I’ve neglected Aunt recently.”
“But…”
“I won’t give up.”
“Good.”
Only then did the Clan Head smile.
“That’s my son.”
He returned the necklace…
Then patted Jegal Un on the shoulder.
“Sleep well.”
Click.
Only after the door had fully closed…
Did Jegal Un finally let out the breath he had been holding.
Seong Muyon…
That didn’t mean he intended to leave him to die.
The cleanest ending would have been for Seong Muyon to quietly disappear from the world…
Taking that secret with him.
It wasn’t mercy.
Nor pity.
Jegal Un was certain he wouldn’t shed a single tear even if Seong Muyon died before his eyes.
He might even feel relieved.
And yet…
When Seong Muyon had been dying…
Jegal Un couldn’t turn away.
He had revealed the secret…
Just to save him.
I really have no right to criticize Yakseon.
He laughed bitterly at himself.
Then his expression hardened once more.
Did something really happen…?
He sighed deeply.
The cousin he had finally found…
Had irritated him from the very beginning.
Even now…
He seemed to do nothing but cause trouble.
And yet…
Jegal Un couldn’t stop worrying about him.
Why…?
“Someone!”
“Yes, Young Master?”
A servant hurried inside.
“Prepare for a journey.”
“I’ll be leaving.”
“At this hour?”
The servant blinked.
“Is something urgent?”
“Should I summon a Protector to accompany you?”
“No.”
Jegal Un shook his head.
“That’s unnecessary.”
“I’ll return in three days.”
“Understood.”
Jegal Un was the sort of person who hated disrupted plans more than death itself.
Ordinary people…
Would naturally send word before disrupting an arrangement.
Unfortunately…
Neither Yakseon…
Nor Seong Muyon…
Could be expected to behave so sensibly.
If the tiger refuses to leave its den…
Then I’ll simply go into the den myself.
Looking utterly exhausted…
As though carrying every burden in the world upon his shoulders…
Jegal Un stepped out of the room.