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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: cyno
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Yoo So-eun’s Dream—
“Your name is Namgoong Cheolbin… right?”
Yoo So-eun cautiously took a step toward Namgoong Cheolbin, who stood by the railing, gazing at the night sky.
It was an unusually bright night, the crescent moon shining vividly.
“You’re the Sword Flower of Mount Hua. Still awake at this hour?”
“I sweated a lot during the day, so I can’t sleep.”
Earlier, the two had fought together in the Nine Dragons Seven Flowers Tournament—a side battle held under the sun.
Perhaps it was because of the banquet after the tournament?
A faint flush of drunkenness colored Namgoong Cheolbin’s face.
Yoo So-eun, a Taoist, had not touched a drop of alcohol during the feast.
“If you’re returning to Mount Hua’s quarters, you’ll have to walk the night path. I’m worried.”
“Oh? Is the person who lost to me earlier saying that?”
“My apologies for my careless words.”
“Hehe, it’s fine. Besides, I wasn’t planning on going back anyway.”
“…What?”
When Namgoong Cheolbin turned to her with startled eyes, she blushed, as if embarrassed.
“D-Don’t look at me like that…”
Avoiding the boy’s intense gaze, Yoo So-eun playfully punched his side with her small fist.
Thud.
Perhaps it was the strange atmosphere cast by the moonlight, but Yoo So-eun’s bashful expression was enchantingly beautiful—enough to captivate any man.
And at that time, Namgoong Cheolbin was not an emotionless regressor but a passionate young man.
“Ahem. My apologies if I’ve been rude.”
“N-No, it’s fine…! And… I…”
Yoo So-eun lowered her head slightly and spoke.
The warm scent of alcohol from Namgoong Cheolbin’s breath thickened the air around them.
“What you said earlier… I meant it…”
A boy of nineteen and a girl of seventeen.
Both were young, both were inexperienced.
“…The moon is bright. Shall we admire it together?”
“Yes, let’s.”
Namgoong Cheolbin hooked his finger around the hem of Yoo So-eun’s sleeve and pulled her closer.
The girl complied willingly, and soon, the two stood side by side, gazing at the night sky—keeping a subtle distance between them.
Glance—
While pretending to look at the sky, Yoo So-eun rolled her eyes slightly to peek at Namgoong Cheolbin’s profile.
His glossy black hair and sapphire-like pupils shimmered brilliantly under the moonlight.
Even during their duel earlier, she had noticed—his eyes were full of life.
“You’re handsome…”
“Huh? What did you say just now?”
“A-Ah, nothing…! Just talking to myself…!”
“Hmm, if you say so.”
Lost in admiration for a moment, Yoo So-eun snapped back to reality at his words.
Namgoong Cheolbin, who had been silently watching her, spoke nonchalantly.
“You’re beautiful.”
“Huh…?”
“The fairest flower in the world.”
“W-What did you just…”
“A humble verse dedicated to you. If it offended you, I apologize.”
“N-No need…! You don’t have to…!”
An awkward silence followed.
Though Namgoong Cheolbin mustered the courage to whisper sweet words, like Yoo So-eun, he had no experience with romance.
As the uncomfortable atmosphere stretched on, he grew restless—until:
“And…”
Yoo So-eun took half a step closer to him.
“I… liked it…”
“…”
Since they had only just met at the Nine Dragons Seven Flowers Tournament, the awkwardness between them lingered even as their arms brushed against each other.
But within that awkwardness lay a heartbeat—
A thrilling sensation neither had ever felt before.
“Earlier… your Soaring Heaven Unrestrained Sword was so cool…”
“Your Plum Blossom Swordplay was truly beautiful as well.”
“It was the most impressive swordplay I’ve ever seen. Is that how all Namgoong swordsmanship is…?”
“Haha, you flatter me. Mount Hua’s swordsmanship is the finest I’ve ever faced.”
A continuous exchange of compliments.
Perhaps because both were speaking more carefully than when they had wielded their swords—
With each word, Namgoong Cheolbin and Yoo So-eun felt their fondness for each other deepen.
Then, suddenly—
“U-Um…”
Yoo So-eun rubbed her fingers together and spoke.
She was already half-smitten with Namgoong Cheolbin.
Having lived as a Taoist of Mount Hua, she had never seen men as anything more than fellow disciples—but Namgoong Cheolbin was exactly her ideal.
“Why… didn’t you use the Imperial Sword Form earlier…?”
Moreover—
“If you had used the Imperial Sword Form, the Namgoong Clan’s ultimate technique, you would have had a ninety percent chance of winning…”
The character revealed in Namgoong Cheolbin’s words—
“The Imperial Sword Form is only to be used in the name of justice—that is the Namgoong Clan’s tradition.”
“Ah…!”
—had completely captured her heart.
“Namgoong, I must apologize in advance. I’m sorry.”
Whoosh—!
“Y-Yoo So-eun? You’re getting too close— Ugh!”
Smooch—!
“Mmmph…! Hah…!”
“Nngh…”
“Hahh… Actually, the moment I saw you at the tournament grounds, I fell for you at first sight.”
“…You are the woman I could only dream of meeting.”
That night, though she hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, Yoo So-eun’s lips carried the scent of intoxication.
### —
While Yoo So-eun was lost in her rare, blissful dream—
“ABANDON LOVE!”
A sudden, deafening roar echoed through her dreamscape.
Whoosh—!
At the familiar shout, Yoo So-eun jolted upright, throwing off her blanket.
Lately, this unpleasant cry had been haunting her every night.
“Haa… haa…”
Cold sweat beaded on her neck and forehead.
Thud—!
“…! Soo-ah!”
The sudden movement sent Namgoong Soo-ah tumbling into the wall, hitting her head.
Yoo So-eun hurriedly checked on her, but the girl, exhausted from the Seven Flowers Tournament, remained fast asleep.
“Mmm… Dad…”
“Phew… Thank goodness she didn’t wake up.”
After settling Namgoong Soo-ah back into bed, Yoo So-eun finally noticed the state of her own sleeping space.
Drenched in sweat, her pillow and sheets were soaked.
Not just the bedding—her entire body was damp.
“Ugh…”
Thanks to Namgoong Soo-ah burying her face between her breasts as she slept, the cleavage was sticky with sweat and tears.
And between her thighs—perhaps because she had dreamed of their first kiss—was uncomfortably warm.
“I need to wash up.”
Muttering to herself in exhaustion, she grabbed a nearby washbasin—one she had prepared for morning ablutions.
Splash—
Her mind still foggy, Yoo So-eun gulped down the water from the basin, her throat parched.
Gulp, gulp—
Though it was no different from drinking water, it was unlike her—someone who valued cleanliness and composure.
“Guh…”
After rising, she roughly splashed water on the sweatiest parts of her body.
Then, throwing on a light outer robe over her undergarments, she left the room.
She needed to find a river to bathe in.
The nightmare had left her heart heavy.
But once outside—
Rumble—
“What…? There weren’t any dark clouds earlier…”
The sky had turned pitch black, as if ready to unleash thunder and lightning.
“Strange…”
Though the unnatural weather unsettled her, Yoo So-eun didn’t stop walking.
She was too distraught to care.
More than anything, she just wanted to walk.
Some days were like that.
Days when she wanted to clear her cluttered mind, to walk without thinking.
Today was one of those days.
And so, she kept moving forward.
“Huh…?”
Then, she encountered someone she never expected.
“Wh-What are you doing here…?”
It was a coincidence.
Had Okhwa not called for Byeok-rak, had Yoo So-eun not been drenched from her sweet dream, had she not been unsettled by the nightmare—
Had even one of these factors been absent, this meeting would never have happened.
But as they say, no one can predict the twists of fate.
“I was feeling gloomy, so I went for a night walk. Is that a problem?”
By sheer coincidence—
She had run into him.
“…No. What could I possibly have to say to you?”
“Then I’ll be on my way. You seem to be out for a walk as well—take care on your way back.”
Of all times—
When her heart was in turmoil.
When her sweat-drenched body was unbearably uncomfortable.
And—
“Fine, go ahead.”
“The night is cold—don’t stay out too late.”
“Yeah, I won’t.”
Step, step—
Tap, rustle—
“Hmm. What’s wrong?”
Of all times—
When she had just dreamed of him, leaving her heart aching with lingering attachment.
Thump, thump—
Yoo So-eun’s heart beat irregularly.
She had hooked her finger around the hem of Byeok-rak’s sleeve as he tried to pass by.
Just like how he had pulled her close on the day of their first kiss.
But the situation was very different now.
“…Lord.”
She had succeeded in stopping him—but he didn’t take a single step closer.
It was just—holding him back.
“Why the sudden formal address?”
“Lord. My lord.”
“Speak properly. Why is your voice trembling?”
Yoo So-eun didn’t know why she was doing this.
Was it because she had just dreamed of that day?
Or was it because the moment she saw him, a tingling heat pooled in her lower belly?
‘…The moment I saw him?’
Her gaze fell on Byeok-rak’s chest, shrouded in darkness.
More precisely—on the red stains splattered across it.
The blood Okhwa had left behind.
“Wh-What’s that blood…?”
“Ah, this?”
“Don’t tell me… you caused trouble again…?”
The dark clouds in the sky came to mind.
Since ancient times, whenever her husband stirred up trouble, the sky would darken, and thunder would strike.
“Y-You…!”
Tears welled up in the corners of Yoo So-eun’s eyes.
They swelled, then spilled over, streaming down her cheeks.
“Sniff… Sob…”
She resented him.
Everything—the state of their family, her own misery, their daughter’s worsening condition—was his fault.
And yet, seeing him like this, having seemingly caused trouble again—
“Hic… H-Huuu…!”
It was heartbreaking.
Realizing how pathetically she still clung to him only deepened her sorrow.
Clutching his sleeve, Yoo So-eun bowed her head and sobbed.
“Please… just stop already…!”
“Stop what?”
“Why did you change so much…? You used to be so kind… You used to joke around, you valued life above all else… Even if you lost in duels, you upheld your clan’s principles—you were the most admirable man in the world…!”
“…”
Grab—
Yoo So-eun reached out and seized Byeok-rak’s left hand.
A desperate, wretched gesture.
“Sob… H-Huuu…”
Her legs weakened. Her knees buckled slightly.
“Just… just…”
It was humiliating.
“Can’t you just love me…?”
To beg like this—to a husband who had betrayed her.
“It’s not hard… A husband loving his wife… I’ve always done it… Why can’t you…?”
It was shameful.
“D-Don’t you find me pretty anymore? That’s not true, you told me I was beautiful. You whispered sweetly that I was the woman of your dreams… the fairest flower in the world…!”
Tears ruined her face as she looked up at him.
“Or is it my body? D-Do you not like it anymore? You used to say you were afraid it would wear out…! After giving birth, it became even more voluptuous, and though you acted embarrassed, you secretly loved it…!”
Her face burned.
Why was she clinging to this man?
“Y-You loved my breasts…! You used to knead them sometimes…! You said their fullness was so soft and comforting that just idly touching them eased your mind…!”
What sin had she committed—
Thump—
—to be reduced to this? Pressing his hand against her chest in such a humiliating, degrading way, begging for his affection?
“Sob… How… How can love just disappear…?”
Slap—!
But what hurt more than anything—
“Enough. What kind of indecent behavior is this?”
—was how he recoiled in disgust when she offered her breasts, as if to say, “I don’t see you as a woman at all.”
It made her regret abandoning her life as a Taoist to live as his wife.
“Huu… Sob…”
Thud— Clutch—
Finally, her knees hit the ground.
The cold earth bit into her bare skin.
It felt like the heavens were mocking her.
“Look at how pathetic you’ve become.”
A failure both as a Taoist and as a woman.
“I’m so tired…”
“What a pitiful sight.”
Tap—
Yoo So-eun rested her forehead against Byeok-rak’s knee.
Earlier, she had forced herself to look up, but now she couldn’t bear to raise her head.
“Just… can’t you love me a little…?”
She couldn’t stand how wretched she had become.
To the martial world, she was nothing but the Sword Saint’s scorned wife.
To her family, she was a useless burden.
Her only solace—her daughter—was growing more unstable by the day.
And if she sought refuge in Mount Hua, the place she grew up, she would only face the ridicule of the Hundred Flowers Faction that had always despised her.
“I’d be fine with just that… I don’t care what else you do, just love me…”
Yoo So-eun leaned against Byeok-rak’s knee.
Strangely, even though he was the one who had ruined her—the most hated pillar in her world—
“That’s all I need… I don’t need anything else… So why can’t you even give me that much…?”
Leaning against him like this brought her comfort.
Even though his knee was cold and unyielding—even though he refused to so much as rest a hand on her head.
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