The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan

"Kyaaaak—!"

A sharp scream erupted from Suseonghwa's mouth.

A crazy woman was pointing a sword at her in the middle of the night, so such a scream was bound to come out.

Namgung Yeon was rushing at her with a sword, as if she were really going to kill Suseonghwa.

"St-stop!"

It was then.

Namgung Il, who had appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Namgung Yeon's body from behind with an urgent voice.

'Wh-what strength...!'

Although he hugged her body tightly from behind, Namgung Yeon, like an unbridled colt, showed no signs of stopping.

How could such strength come from such a slender body?

Thinking that pure physical strength was not enough, Namgung Il began to hold onto Namgung Yeon, even drawing on his internal energy.

"Sister! Please stop for a moment!"

"..."

As if Namgung Il's voice had finally reached her ears, Namgung Yeon finally stopped in her tracks.

"Il-ah, why are you here?"

Why am I here? I followed you because I thought you were going to cause trouble.

And his intuition was spot on.

If he hadn't grabbed her from behind, it seemed that Namgung Yeon would have really swung her sword at Suseonghwa.

No, in reality, she might have just been trying to threaten her, but swinging a sword at the mistress of the Namgung Clan was by no means an act that could be done with normal thinking.

"Sister, can't you put that sword away first?"

"...Alright."

When Namgung Il said that, Namgung Yeon finally put the sword she was holding back into its sheath.

Click—

As the sound of the sword being sheathed was heard, Suseonghwa peeked her head out.

As soon as she confirmed that there was no sword in Namgung Yeon's hand, Suseonghwa immediately showed herself from under the table and shouted at Namgung Yeon in a loud voice.

"You crazy bitch! How dare you point a sword at me?"

"..."

"Do you think you can get away with this? I'm going to go to your father right now and tell him everything about this!"

Please just shut up!

I just calmed her down, and if you provoke her like that again...

Fwoosh—

At that moment, Namgung Yeon's figure quickly disappeared from the spot.

With one leap, the distance between her and Suseonghwa narrowed in an instant.

Namgung Yeon pulled her right hand back and brought it down on the table as she descended.

Crash—!

With a loud noise, the huge table instantly split in two and collapsed.

Startled by the sound, Suseonghwa fell backward and landed on her bottom. Without even a moment to rub her sore bottom, she had no choice but to turn pale when she saw Namgung Yeon looking down at her.

"Go ahead."

"...!"

"But if you mess with my letters again... and if anything happens to my brother while I'm away, you'd better be prepared."

When Namgung Yeon said that right in front of her, Suseonghwa couldn't refute anything with the same vigor as before.

She just trembled slightly and stared at Namgung Yeon.

Looking down at her, Namgung Yeon turned her body back as if her business was finished.

"...Wow."

Such an exclamation naturally escaped Namgung Il's lips.

My sister wasn't just pretty.

Although she seemed quite reckless, the sight of her shutting Suseonghwa's mouth with a single punch was quite impressive.

'Uh... I don't think I need to protect her.'

At least, Namgung Yeon seemed stronger than his current self.

What is this... It's a rather strange feeling.

In order to keep the promise he had made with that brat, it seemed he needed to become much stronger than he was now.

"Let's go, Il-ah."

Namgung Yeon, who had returned to her original face, said to Namgung Il.

Still in a daze, Namgung Il left the room with Namgung Yeon.

Before passing completely through the door, Namgung Il glanced back and looked at Suseonghwa.

"..."

Suseonghwa was still sitting on the floor with a dazed face.

Seeing her like that, she seemed to have received a considerable shock.

He was a little worried that the woman might retaliate against Namgung Yeon later... but well, he probably didn't need to worry about that.

Namgung Yeon was a much stronger woman than he had expected.

Tatadat—

As soon as the two left the room, a maid came in.

Her face turned pale when she saw the broken table and Suseonghwa sitting on the floor.

The maid hurriedly approached Suseonghwa and helped her up.

"A-are you alright?"

"..."

When the maid asked, Suseonghwa's gaze returned to normal.

Soon, her face turned red.

As Namgung Yeon's figure disappeared from her sight, the fear receded, and the emotion of anger gradually rose.

"How dare... How dare that bitch give me such a humiliation?"

Suseonghwa disliked Namgung Yeon the most, even more than Namgung Il.

First of all, every time she saw her face, she was reminded of that woman's face, and her actions, which always seemed to not recognize her as the mistress of the Namgung Clan, were also annoying.

"My lady... should I report this to the clan head?"

Just then, the maid asked, watching her expression.

However.

"...No, don't say anything."

"Pardon?"

"I'm saying to bury what happened today as something that only happened here."

For some reason, Suseonghwa was saying that to the maid.

'Even if I tell him, he'll just give a mediocre punishment and be done with it.'

No matter how much she was the mistress of the Namgung Clan, in the end, the ones with higher positions within the clan were the children who had inherited Namgung Cheong's blood.

Especially since Namgung Yeon was also talented in martial arts, Namgung Cheong tended to spoil her more, so unless it was a really big crime, she wouldn't be able to get a satisfactory result no matter what she said.

'Tomorrow... I have to crush that bitch's face somehow.'

Suseonghwa knew well that Namgung Yeon's weakness was Namgung Il.

So, if she thoroughly trampled on Namgung Il in the spar tomorrow, wouldn't that be her revenge on Namgung Yeon?

As if a satisfactory idea had come to her, Suseonghwa began to laugh in a low voice.

* * *

Morning came.

Namgung Il sat up from his blanket and yawned as if he were tired.

'Is it morning already...'

As his tired face showed, Namgung Il had gone to bed later than usual last night.

The reason was his sister.

Because Namgung Yeon hadn't left his room until well past midnight, Namgung Il couldn't sleep either.

"There's a teacher at the academy who looks like a mouse."

"Oh, really?"

"When I first saw that teacher, I tried really hard not to laugh."

"There was a brat I knew who looked exactly like a mouse, I'd like to compare who looks more like a mouse."

"Really? That's amazing."

The conversation was fun at first.

How could it not be fun to talk with his sister, and such a pretty sister at that?

Moreover, he could also hear about the current Flying Dragon Academy, so it was quite fun to compare it to when he had attended.

However.

"Most of the classes at the academy are fun, but the instrument class is a bit difficult, so it's tough."

"...It was tough?"

"Yeah. I can't make a sound as well as the other kids. I don't know how they can make a sound so easily."

"...You don't know?"

"Yeah, and you know."

Two hours... and for three hours, the conversation didn't stop, so Namgung Il couldn't help but be exhausted.

How could she continue the conversation without a break even if he just answered mechanically?

If he hadn't mentioned that it was late in the middle, Namgung Yeon would probably have continued the conversation until now.

'I think it's true that she sent me letters every day.'

From what he had experienced last night, it was entirely possible.

Although it hadn't been long since they had met, his sister was... well, unpredictable.

A sister who gives him a warm smile. A sister who splits a thick table with her bare hands. And a sister who continues to talk nonstop like a skylark.

It seemed it would take quite some time to figure out what his sister's true self was.

'Well, still, I can be sure of one thing.'

It was clear that Namgung Yeon loved him more than anyone else as a family.

Wasn't it all for him that she had done such a thing to Suseonghwa with a cold expression yesterday?

This was just his own speculation, but since he had lost his mother early, it seemed that Namgung Yeon had been acting as his mother until now.

'...She's a good sister.'

It would have been better if she just talked a little less.

He was just saying, and the fact that he had such a sister was a great blessing in itself.

Woong—

Namgung Il was already sitting cross-legged on the blanket, practicing Qi Circulation.

His body slowly waking up with each breath.

As expected, there was nothing like Qi Circulation to wake up.

"..."

After completing the Great Heavenly Circulation, Namgung Il opened his eyes.

The Qi Circulation ended in about thirty minutes.

If one was unskilled in handling internal energy, it would take longer, but that did not apply to Namgung Il.

"You're up?"

"...Sister, what are you doing here now?"

"Watching my younger brother."

As soon as he opened his eyes, Namgung Yeon's figure was in front of him.

Since when had she been sitting there watching him?

No matter how engrossed he was in Qi Circulation, to think that he hadn't noticed her presence... He could feel again that Namgung Yeon's skills were at a considerable level.

"I came to wake you up, but you were already up and diligently training your internal energy?"

"Well... it's something a martial artist should naturally do."

"Yes, you're admirable."

"..."

Normally, he might have felt bad being treated like a child by someone much younger than him.

But why was it that, as long as it was Namgung Yeon, it didn't feel so bad even if she treated him like a child?

'Is my body used to it?'

Or maybe it's because she's a pretty sister.

As they say, if you're pretty, you're a sister.

"Sister, what brings you here so early in the morning again?"

"Do I need a reason to come and see my younger brother?"

"...That's true."

"Let's eat together after a long time. Actually, I've wanted to do this since yesterday."

A meal.

Yes, that's not a difficult thing, so he could do it with her.

And today, he would have to eat a particularly hearty meal.

Tatadak—

It was then.

The rough sound of footsteps approaching from the corridor.

Soon, the door opened, and Namgung Ji shouted, looking this way.

"Namgung Il! Are you prepared for today?"

"...?"

"I came to personally check so you don't run away..."

Namgung Ji shouted and then his words trailed off as he saw someone.

A somewhat familiar back over there.

At first, he didn't recognize who it was, but Namgung Ji soon realized who the person was and his face turned pale.

"...Prepared? What do you mean by that?"

"...!"

Haaah—

Why did this Namgung Ji brat come here on his own two feet in the morning and dig his own grave?

Seeing Namgung Yeon's gaze already changing, Namgung Il could only let out a sigh.

(End of Chapter)