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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Cyno
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“……!”
For the first time in a long while, Namgoong Bin felt a chill run down his spine.
Neither when he first met Salseong nor when he faced Gwanjon had he sensed such real killing intent.
This was proof of just how furious Salseong was.
“I should hurry.”
Forgetting even to close the basement door behind him, Namgoong Bin trudged down the hallway.
The Segain members who should have been stationed in the corridor were all lying unconscious, foam bubbling at their mouths.
He quickly checked their conditions—no visible wounds.
They had all lost consciousness from the sheer pressure of Salseong’s aura.
‘Damn it, the money and reasoning I prepared should have worked…’
He knew his destination might very well be his end, but Namgoong Bin didn’t back down.
When he thought about it, ever since he first turned Namgoong Cheolbin into an enemy, his life had been no different from walking on a blade’s edge.
Backing out now, after coming this far, would be absurd. With that thought, he headed toward the epicenter of the killing intent—the family head’s office, where he spent most of his days.
But something felt off.
“……?”
The murderous aura that had filled the estate earlier was now completely gone.
The closer he got to the office, the more he felt only a strangely warm energy.
‘Damn it… A madwoman is harder to deal with than a wicked one…’
A deep unease settled over him at this bizarre phenomenon. Slowly, he pushed open the office door.
Salseong Hongryeon.
Originally, she had been in an extremely foul mood when she arrived at the Namgoong Estate.
Because someone had disrupted her meeting with the Sword Saint.
For that reason, she had stormed into the family head’s office, radiating thick killing intent—
Only to find them.
Items steeped in the Sword Saint’s lingering presence.
“H-Hyuk…!”
It had been a year since Namgoong Cheolbin was ousted as family head and Namgoong Bin took his place.
Meaning, this office was where Namgoong Cheolbin had resided as family head for over thirteen years.
His scent, his lingering traces—they were still unmistakably present.
“Is… is this paradise…?”
The killing intent that had wrapped around Hongryeon just moments ago melted away like snow.
In its place, only a dizzyingly sweet fragrance remained, so intense it felt like her nose might bleed at any second.
“T-That’s…! My enemy’s clothes…!”
Nearly a decade had passed since she was first saved by Namgoong Cheolbin, but she still hadn’t forgotten his distinct, cool, faded scent. Naturally, she could easily distinguish his clothes from Namgoong Bin’s.
Sniff—
With the nimble movements of a flying squirrel, Hongryeon buried her face into one of Namgoong Cheolbin’s robes hanging on the wall.
“Snnniiifff— Haaa… Snuuuuuff— Haaaaa…!”
She took deep, euphoric breaths, savoring the moment.
And that was precisely when Namgoong Bin entered the office.
“Hmm…?”
“……!”
“What are you doing?”
Hongryeon jerked her face away from the robe at lightning speed, but Namgoong Bin had already seen everything.
Normally, she would have sensed his approach, but she had been too absorbed in her… appreciation.
“Ahem…! W-What does it matter?!”
“…Well, I suppose it doesn’t.”
“I explicitly forbade anyone from interfering with the Sword Saint! Yet you dared collude with Gwanjon to target him!”
Flustered, Hongryeon lashed out aggressively.
Namgoong Bin knew this reaction stemmed from embarrassment, but the overwhelming killing intent still triggered an instinctive fear in him.
‘I’ve reached the seventh stage of the Blood Heavenly Divine Art… and I’m still far from her level.’
The towering wall of reality made him swallow a bitter taste.
Still, he didn’t panic.
Though physically weak, Namgoong Bin was far from mentally fragile.
“Before that, let me ask you one thing.”
“Answer me first—!”
“Why haven’t you carried out the assassination request for the Sword Saint yet?”
“……!”
Hongryeon’s mouth clamped shut. As Namgoong Bin narrowed his eyes at her, she averted her gaze, as if guilty.
“I can… roughly guess.”
“……”
“You let personal feelings interfere with your duty as an assassin, didn’t you?”
Hongryeon spat out an excuse.
“I-I tried to kill him! I even had him on the verge of death!”
“That just means you failed to complete the mission.”
“…I did try to fulfill the request. I only came back because I heard news of you. So, was your pathetic slander just to interfere with my work?”
Instead, she turned the question back on him. She was far more shameless than Namgoong Bin had anticipated.
Not that Salseong had ever possessed a shred of morality to begin with.
And strictly speaking, nothing she said was false.
She had gone to kill the Sword Saint.
And she had turned back upon receiving the messenger falcon about Namgoong Bin.
Whether she would have completed the request had she not received it was debatable, but her logic wasn’t technically wrong.
“……Messenger falcon?”
But Namgoong Bin wasn’t so easily swayed.
At the very least, when it came to rhetoric and logic, he was no pushover.
“You had me watched?”
“Yes, I did. Got a problem with that?”
“I do. It means you never intended to fulfill the request in the first place.”
“What nonsense. You’re just trying to muddy the issue.”
“……”
Seeing that words alone wouldn’t work, Namgoong Bin shook his head slightly and prepared his next move.
“Fine. Since it’s all in the past now, I’ll make myself perfectly clear.”
“Hmm?”
“The assassination request I entrusted to you—I’m formally withdrawing it.”
“You think requests are so trivial?”
“I’ll pay the full penalty. I won’t even ask for the deposit back. In fact, as compensation for wasting your time, I’ll pay you ten times the original fee.”
His voice was steady, unshaken. As he spoke, he pulled out a single sheet of paper from his sleeve.
A promissory note.
And not just any—
“A promissory note for ten thousand gold pieces.”
“……”
Hongryeon understood what this meant.
“Quite the offer. Ten thousand gold isn’t just spare change.”
“That’s none of your concern. Will you accept?”
The choice was hers: take the money and leave, or refuse.
For Hongryeon, there was no real downside to accepting.
“Fine. I’ll take it.”
“I’m deeply grateful for your generosity, esteemed Salseong.”
Snatch—
Hongryeon plucked the note from Namgoong Bin’s hand.
Seeing this, Namgoong Bin smirked. He had prepared numerous arguments and plans, but now, none were needed.
Things had gone smoothly.
“Good, now then—”
Or so he thought.
“Shall I punish you?”
Until the dagger in Salseong’s hand began spinning.
“W-What are you saying?! You took the money!”
“Who could refuse such a generous offer?”
“……! You know what that note means!”
“Then you should have made yourself clear. I know nothing.”
From the start, Hongryeon was an assassin.
Expecting honor from someone like her had been Namgoong Bin’s fatal mistake.
“W-Wait!”
Swish—!
Just as Namgoong Bin tried to bring out his prepared arguments—
Hongryeon’s dagger flashed like a streak of lightning.
‘There was a place like this in the main estate…?’
In a secluded hallway of the Namgoong Estate—
While Hongryeon and Namgoong Bin were locked in their battle of wits, another incident was unfolding in a blind spot, far from their sight.
‘A basement… Who built this?’
Tap—
Yoo So-eun’s footsteps echoed quietly through the corridor.
Unable to sleep due to an unsettling dream, she had stepped out to clear her head.
By sheer coincidence, she noticed light leaking from an unclosed basement door—left ajar when Namgoong Bin rushed out to deal with Salseong’s unexpected visit.
Creak—
Her small, slippered foot crossed the threshold into the basement.
‘Is this… a dangerous place?’
Yoo So-eun paused for a moment, observing the basement’s exterior before stepping inside.
Had it not been left open, the entrance would have blended seamlessly into the wall, nearly undetectable.
This was no ordinary space.
‘A place like this in the Namgoong Estate… I should investigate.’
Assuming a stance ready to unleash her martial arts at any moment, Yoo So-eun cautiously entered.
As she stepped fully inside, bright light flooded her vision.
Yamingju—a rare luminous stone more valuable than most gems—was embedded throughout the walls.
“……!”
Swallowing hard, she was drawn deeper inside.
Sweat dripped from her tightly clenched fists, betraying her tension.
Just then, a voice called out from the depths of the basement.
A high, light voice—undoubtedly a woman’s.
“Hmm? These footsteps don’t belong to a Namgoong.”
“W-Who’s there?!”
Startled, Yoo So-eun took a step back and shouted.
“You dare ask for my esteemed name?”
“T-This is the Namgoong Estate! I am Yoo So-eun, wife of the Namgoong family! Identify yourself!”
Back pressed against the thick wall, Yoo So-eun clenched her fists and yelled as loudly as she could.
She regretted not bringing her sword, but there was nothing to be done now.
Yet, contrary to her fears, the response she received was nothing like what she expected.
“Yoo So-eun? The Sword Saint’s wife, Yoo So-eun?”
The voice held no hostility—only curiosity.
“You… know me?”
“Of course! How could I not know the Sword Saint’s wife? I’ve tried to capture you as a hostage thousands of times!”
“…What?”
In a corner of the basement, Namgoong Cheolbin’s carefully preserved diary fluttered slightly.
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