Chapter 16
“Hah… what kind of kid even is that?”
Only after Eun Sowol had long since left did Dokgo Cheonun finally speak.
“She really is Hwayoung’s daughter. That stubbornness popping up in all the wrong places—it’s exactly like her mother.”
Ryu Heerang’s displeased voice followed.
She was only five. Far too young to be a real threat to their positions—but the fact that she was Dokgo Hwayoung’s child was enough to be threatening.
And when she saw the look in Dokgo Ildo’s eyes as he’d watched Eun Sowol moments ago, her unease solidified into conviction.
Father sees Hwayoung in that child.
At this rate, it would be like returning to the days when she had lived in the shadow of Hwayoung—ignored, powerless, and completely irrelevant.
She had long since given up trying to earn her father-in-law’s affection. But the power she’d managed to secure once Hwayoung disappeared—that, she would never surrender.
“Father, are you really going to accept that child?”
Dokgo Cheonun’s voice was soaked with protest. Dokgo Ildo looked at him flatly.
“She’s a thankless little brat who doesn’t even know to be grateful for being taken in. If you let her stay, she’ll only disrupt the order of the clan. Please reconsider. Or just summon Dokgo Ryung and let him take her off our hands.”
“She’s only five years old. Are we really saying the mighty Dokgo Clan is so weak we’d be swayed by a five-year-old?”
“That’s not what I meant, but—”
“There are plenty who’d support her just because she’s Hwayoung’s daughter.”
Ryu Heerang chimed in, siding with her son.
“Even if you deny it, everyone in the clan knows you favored Hwayoung above all.”
It had been eight years since Dokgo Cheonun became the next clan head, yet even now, some whispered that the clan was better off when Hwayoung was around.
“No one thinks a child will seize control of the clan… but someone could use her to build a new power base.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Father!”
Cheonun jumped at the chance to reinforce the point.
“Please reconsider what you intend to do with that child.”
“She cannot be allowed into this household.”
As the protests continued, Dokgo Ildo pressed his fingers against his forehead in frustration.
“Enough! That’s enough!”
His thunderous roar shook the room. Only then did the two finally shut their mouths.
“You’re doing all this scheming just to cast out one little girl. Is it Hwayoung you hate, or is it the idea of accepting your new niece as family that’s so unbearable?”
When neither responded, Dokgo Ildo let out a heavy sigh.
“I understand your concerns very well. But you don’t need to go to such lengths to chase her away.”
“But, Father—”
“Quiet. I’m not finished. As for Eun Sowol, that child—”
What followed made the others in the room widen their eyes in disbelief.
“You don’t need to worry. What you fear will not happen. So stop making fools of yourselves.”
“…We’re sorry, Father.”
“I don’t blame you for your feelings. But she’s a pitiful child. Don’t treat her cruelly.”
Dokgo Cheonun and Ryu Heerang exchanged glances.
“We acted rashly.”
“As her elders, we’ll do our best to set a good example.”
But their curled lips and narrowing eyes were like venomous snakes preparing to strike.
Meanwhile
“Ugh… cold…”
Shivering, Eun Sowol hugged herself tightly. Dokgo Haeryang quickly wrapped her in his long robe and hurried toward the medical hall.
“Physician! The child’s temperature is dropping fast! Come, take a look—quickly!”
“This is bad… Lay her here.”
As Haeryang placed Sowol onto the treatment table, he and the head physician moved swiftly to tend to her.
“S-So cold…”
It felt like she’d been thrown into the heart of a frozen winter.
That’s strange… Winter’s over…
It was spring. There was no reason she should feel this kind of chill. Was her fever so high that it made her feel cold?
But her hands and feet felt like they were freezing solid.
Why am I sick? I hate being sick…
Tears welled up in her eyes. Overcome with sudden misery, Sowol burst into sobs.
“Waaaahh! It hurts…!”
“Sweetheart, just a bit more. The physician is preparing medicine. Just hang in there a little longer…”
“Huaaaaang! Mooooom!”
She was in pain, but what hurt most was having no one to cling to, no one to call out to.
“Uncleoooon! I’m sick!”
Even Dokgo Ryung, who had left her behind, was someone she desperately wished to see right now.
Where are you, Uncle? I thought you were my family… but weren’t you?
She kept crying out for him, but of course, he didn’t appear.
Meanwhile, at Huayu Inn, Nanchang
A man sat in the corner of the inn, repeatedly downing bottles of liquor.
His face was dark, his aura emanating killing intent. No one dared go near him.
“Server.”
At the sound of his low voice, the nearby inn staff flinched.
“Y-you go.”
“I just went last time! You go this time.”
“I’m not going! That guy’s terrifying.”
“What if he loses it and draws his sword?”
While the servers bickered nervously, the man drinking barked again.
“Server!”
They all straightened in panic.
In the end, the newest hire was pushed forward, trembling.
“C-can I help you with anything…?”
“One more bottle of baekju.”
“Uh…”
The server glanced back. His coworkers were shaking their heads frantically.
Tears practically in his eyes, the rookie stammered:
“S-sir… if you drink any more, it might not be good for your health. Maybe you should—”
“…What?”
Clack—
The man’s icy eyes narrowed as his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. The server nearly passed out on the spot.
Just then—
“Huh? Isn’t that you, Sir Gwangryong?”
Saviors appeared. A few pyo-sa recognized the man.
“We didn’t expect to find you here.”
“Why are you alone? Where’s Sowol…? Oh, the stench—don’t tell me you drank all this yourself?”
The man silently stared at them, then, seemingly realizing something, pointed a finger.
“…Ah! You’re the ones who were nice to the little girl. You all came to drink together, huh? If there’s no room…”
When he tried to rise, swaying, the lead pyo-sa hurriedly caught his arm.
“You’ve had too much, sir.”
“No, no. The floor just tilted a bit. Come, sit here.”
Dokgo Ryung pulled the man into a chair.
It was nothing like his usual stoic demeanor. The lead pyo-sa gave a signal, motioning for others to sit nearby and ordered some food and drinks from the inn.
Then he realized—
Even though Dokgo Ryung was smiling, his face was hollow.
“…So you sent the girl away after all.”
Dokgo Ryung paused mid-drink.
“Well… that was the plan from the beginning.”
“How did Sowol take it? Did she understand?”
“If she didn’t, what was she gonna do about it?”
“Sounds like she didn’t want you to leave.”
Dokgo Ryung had no reply.
The girl’s cries still echoed in his ears like a haunting chorus. He kept drinking, trying to drown out the hallucination.
Waaahhh! Uncleeeee!
See? He could still hear it.
Dokgo Ryung slapped both sides of his head and downed more alcohol.
“She’s still a kid. What could she possibly learn from staying with someone like me? A man with no home, drifting from place to place… what good is that life for her?”
His laughter came bitterly, maybe mocking himself, or maybe relieved that she was now in a stable place.
The lead pyo-sa watched him silently.
“…Then why do you look like that? Why do you look like someone who’s lost everything?”
Dokgo Ryung glared at him.
But there was no killing intent in his eyes. No rage.
His face looked… like he was about to cry.
Wounded. Deeply so.
“Lost everything? Ha. You think I, Gwangryong, am despairing?”
“I have kids too. I understand. There’s nothing harder than parting from a child you’ve grown attached to.”
“She’s not my kid.”
“I know. I’m speaking metaphorically. That child really trusted you.”
The pyo-sa thought back to the chatty girl from the past few days.
She never stopped talking, even as she followed behind Dokgo Ryung’s cart. Never tired, always chattering.
“We were all saying we hoped she’d come with us again on the way back.”
“…”
“If even we miss her already… how must you feel, after spending so much more time with her?”
“People adapt. I’ll get used to it eventually. Besides… someone like me has no right to raise a child.”
It seemed Dokgo Ryung was desperately trying to convince himself—of all the reasons he shouldn’t have kept Eun Sowol.
