Chapter 8
‘Ryong, what were you thinking? If someone else had caught you, it definitely wouldn’t have ended well.’
‘But… I want to learn too.’
Little Dokgo Ryong sobbed, and Dokgo Hwayoung looked at him with a sorrowful expression, comforting him.
‘…I understand your feelings. After all, you are a member of the Dokgo family. Do you want to learn martial arts?’
‘Yes! I want to be strong like you, like the others!’
‘Until your father gives his permission, I can’t fully teach you the Dokgo Sword Techniques.’
At those firm words, Dokgo Ryong’s face slowly fell. His eyes welled up, but he tried to hold back the tears. Seeing this, Dokgo Hwayoung quickly scanned the surroundings. There was no one else in sight.
‘In that case, I’ll teach you the very basics of our family’s sword techniques and inner cultivation method.’
Dokgo Ryong’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked up at her. Dokgo Hwayoung smiled slightly and raised a finger to her lips.
‘Of course, this is a secret between the two of us, okay?’
That was the first martial art Dokgo Ryong ever learned.
“Looking back, it was a dangerous thing to do.”
“Dangerous? Why?”
“I’m someone who’s not recognized at all by my family. They were just busy hiding their own shame from the outside world.”
The Dokgo family was one of the prominent families in the martial world, known as one of the Ten Great Families, with their founding ancestor being the greatest in the land. They were immensely proud of this fact.
But paradoxically, they were ashamed of the fact that their ancestor was a wandering outcast. Thus, the family developed a strong emphasis on righteousness, honor, and proper etiquette.
“In such a family, what do you think a bastard child would be treated like?”
Dokgo Ryong was as if invisible to everyone.
From family members to servants and even slaves, no one paid him any attention or cared for him.
Dokgo Ryong’s birth mother died during childbirth, so he had been completely alone from the moment he was born.
“But Mom taught you martial arts, didn’t she?”
“That’s why it was dangerous. If anyone found out, not only would I have been beaten, but you would have likely been punished too.”
At the time, he had been so excited to learn martial arts that he didn’t realize it, but looking back, he could see that Dokgo Hwayoung had made a significant decision to teach him.
‘If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have rushed out upon receiving the letter or been burdened with carrying a child around.’
He hadn’t meant to talk about these things, but somehow the words spilled out unexpectedly.
‘Still, now that I’ve said this much, she probably won’t bother me anymore.’
Dokgo Ryong glanced at Eun So-wol. She was puffing her cheeks angrily, her face flushed red.
“You’re terrible!”
Eun So-wol shouted, her cheeks puffed up in frustration. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she struggled to keep them from falling, looking like a ripe apple.
“Why are you picking on my uncle, when he didn’t even want to be born?! The Dokgo family is so awful!”
Dokgo Ryong froze in shock.
“The reason the Five Great Families can’t become the Ten Great Families is because of their rotten hearts! What’s the point of being a famous family? They’re all so deceitful!”
Eun So-wol couldn’t contain her anger anymore.
“If they didn’t want a bastard, they should have kept their waist in check! Argh! It’s so frustrating!”
Eun So-wol stomped her foot in her fit of rage, and Dokgo Ryong couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all.
“Waist in check… what?”
For a moment, Eun So-wol froze.
‘Oh right, I’m only five… Did I just say something strange?’
“W-waist… You should hit it with a solid pine tree! Why? Is what I said weird?”
“…Forget it.”
Dokgo Ryong gave her a puzzled look, but Eun So-wol grinned at him.
“Do you even know what that means?”
“I do! You’re saying the Dokgo family is bad to my uncle!”
When he learned martial arts, Dokgo Ryong must have been around the same age as Eun So-wol now. He had grown up without receiving any kind of respect, which saddened him. It wasn’t just sadness—he felt a burning rage.
“My mom didn’t leave to marry my dad just for the marriage!”
Marriage might have been an excuse, but he wondered if she had wanted to break free from the Dokgo family all along.
‘No, I’m sure that’s the case.’
‘So-wol, look at that bird. Doesn’t it look so free? If Mom had wings, I think she would have flown freely like that bird.’
She had shown signs of longing for freedom once in a while.
“I bet Mom doesn’t regret teaching Uncle martial arts.”
In that moment, Dokgo Ryong saw the image of his younger self being taught martial arts by Dokgo Hwayoung, and the pain of it hit him.
‘I’m sorry I could only teach you this much, Ryong. When I become the head of the family, I’ll make things much easier for you. I’ll make sure you live in a family where you don’t have to worry about others looking down on you.’
Back then, he was so young that he hadn’t understood the feelings behind those words.
‘…Generational transmission of skills, huh.’
“Uncle must have had a hard time.”
Without him realizing, Eun So-wol had moved close to Dokgo Ryong and gently patted his head.
Normally, he would have hated any kind of sympathy, but…
‘This isn’t so bad.’
Dokgo Ryong closed his eyes and quietly let her do as she pleased.
“If anyone dares to be mean to Uncle again, tell me. I’ll teach them a lesson, this cute and pretty niece will handle them!”
“Yeah, sure, what can such a tiny thing do?”
“Huh? I really can handle it!”
Eun So-wol clenched her tiny fists and swung them around aimlessly. Dokgo Ryong couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
“Who knows? Maybe I’ll get strong like my mom. If that happens, you’ll be too old and weak, so I’ll protect you.”
Dokgo Ryong’s cheeks stiffened, and he smiled slightly as he rested his head on Eun So-wol’s stomach.
“…I’ll look forward to that.”
The rustling sound made Dokgo Ryong open his eyes.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Pyo Du stood there with an awkward expression, holding a bundle in his hands.
“It’s chilly at night, even in spring. You don’t want to catch a cold, do you?”
He had brought it out of concern for Eun So-wol, but she had already wrapped herself in Dokgo Ryong’s coat like a sleeping bag. Seeing this, Pyo Du chuckled softly.
“Despite everything, this child seems so mature. She clearly trusts you a lot.”
Dokgo Ryong silently looked down at Eun So-wol. She had been chattering away just a moment ago, but now she had her head resting on his knee, soundly asleep.
It had been awkward at first, the physical distance between them, but after a few camping trips, she always snuggled close to him at night, and he had gotten used to it.
“By the way, I didn’t hear where you’re going. Do you have business in Namchang?”
“…I’m taking the child somewhere.”
“Pardon?”
Pyo Du was taken aback, then watched as Dokgo Ryong gently patted Eun So-wol.
“Isn’t it you who’s raising her?”
“Me?”
Dokgo Ryong smirked and scoffed.
“If she grows up under someone like me, she’ll ruin her life.”
“But…”
‘You’re doing a great job of taking care of her.’
Gwangryong, a nickname known to all who lived in Hanam-seong, was widely recognized as a bounty hunter who caught fugitives. However, there was another side to this nickname.
He was rumored to be a ferocious, cruel, and unpredictable man.
‘I was surprised when I saw him bringing a child along. Would we really be safe?’
But after observing him for the past few days…
Dokgo Ryong had proven to be quiet and unassuming, and it was Eun So-wol, his noisy niece, who made the most noise.
Now, Pyo Du could approach him because of that noisy little girl.
“May I say something, though?”
Dokgo Ryong raised his head in silence.
“I think you’re raising her just fine. Children can’t be so affectionate to people they don’t trust. So-wol already sees you as her protector, doesn’t she?”
“…”
“Of course, you must have your reasons. But unless there’s a clear reason to send her somewhere else, don’t you think you should reconsider?”
Pyo Du bowed his head and left, leaving Dokgo Ryong to look down at his niece.
“Hmm, Uncle…”
Eun So-wol mumbled in her sleep, and Dokgo Ryong grimaced in pain.
