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“……”

Eyes met, and for a moment, I froze. It was a situation I had been trying to avoid as much as possible.

Partly because of Father. And partly because I expected that meeting Mother in this era would only lead to trouble.

‘If possible.’

Since I was trying my best to leave this place, I also wanted to avoid unnecessary complications.

From that perspective.

‘Who would’ve thought we’d run into each other?’

I never expected to meet Mother in a place like this.

Her hair wasn’t pure white but had a slight scarlet tint, and her eyes were the same as when we met in Mankye.

Her gentle smile was there, but there was also a subtly enchanting atmosphere.

It felt both similar and different from the Mother I knew, and I swallowed hard.

‘Why.’

Why is Mother here?

‘I didn’t sense her.’

Just like last time, I didn’t sense her presence. That’s why I allowed her to approach.

“Hi?”

Mother looked at me and asked. I hesitated upon hearing that.

What should I say? How should I react? After a brief moment of thought, I managed my expression and spoke.

“…Hello.”

I tried to sound as calm as possible, and Mother’s smile deepened.

“We saw each other last time, right?”

“Yes.”

“Nice to see you. Are you happy to see me too?”

“Yes. Yes, I guess so-.”

“What are you doing here? Not sleeping? Aren’t you hungry?”

“……”

Before I could even finish, the next topic came up. What’s this? Why does it feel like my energy is being drained? We hadn’t talked much, but it strangely felt like my energy was being sucked away.

“I’m a little hungry.”

“Ah… yes.”

She rubbed her stomach as if to prove her hunger. That image kept overlapping with Wi Seol-Ah.

Like when we met on the food supply carriage last time. Back then, she seemed to be eating non-stop too.

‘Was Mother always like this?’

My memories are hazy. I didn’t have many memories of Mother to begin with.

Even if I did remember, it wasn’t to the extent of recalling her eating habits.

At that moment.

“I’m hungry.”

“…?”

Mother repeated herself. The same words.

What does she want me to do?

I narrowed my eyes slightly and looked at her, and Mother spoke to me again.

“…Do you have anything to eat?”

This time, she was quite cautious. To be precise, she seemed to be looking around as if worried someone might come.

Like she was afraid of getting scolded.

“…Is someone chasing you?”

“Ah, no?”

At my words, Mother reacted with a start. She said no, but her reaction clearly suggested otherwise.

‘If someone is chasing her.’

The culprit is obvious.

‘Is it Father?’

Father, who had dragged Mother into the carriage. If she was afraid of someone, it was highly likely to be Father.

Which means.

‘She sneaked out.’

Mother had secretly escaped without anyone knowing. And if that’s the case.

‘This isn’t good, is it?’

There’s a high chance things will get very messy if she’s caught.

‘Hmm.’

After thinking that far, I hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“First of all, I don’t have any food.”

I wasn’t the type to carry snacks around, and it was ridiculous to expect to find food in someone else’s house.

“Eh… really?”

At my words, Mother looked disappointed. What? Is this really something to be disappointed about?

“Nothing, huh…”

“Yes. Nothing. So, you should just quietly go back-.”

“Then, do you want to look together?”

“…Huh?”

The person who had just been disappointed now blinked her eyes and spoke. Then.

Thud-!

“Let’s do that!”

For some reason, she seemed excited and grabbed my wrist. Uh-oh, this isn’t good.

“Let’s go!”

Then she tried to drag me along. Of course, if I resisted, I shouldn’t be dragged.

Squeak-.

‘Huh…?’

But… her strength was strong. The grip Mother had on me was much stronger than I expected.

‘What the.’

This is troublesome. With this level of strength, she’s at least beyond the Transformation Realm.

Which means.

‘Does she still have her full strength?’

It also implies that Mother isn’t in a completely foolish state right now.

I had thought that Mother in her current state wouldn’t be the same as when I saw her in Mankye.

So, I assumed she wouldn’t have much strength either.

‘Though I’m not sure if she has all of it.’

But at least I know she’s not completely powerless.

“Hmm?”

When I didn’t budge despite her strength, Mother also seemed subtly flustered. Then she looked at me curiously.

“What’s this?”

“That’s what I want to ask.”

“Oh. What is it?”

She still looked confused. Was she amazed that I wasn’t moving despite her strength?

I’m not sure, but anyway.

“I’m not going. Please let go.”

I don’t know where she’s planning to go or what she’s looking for.

But I can’t get involved any further. I’d rather not provoke Father or anyone else.

Thinking that, I tried to step away.

“Why not? It sounds fun.”

“…Huh?”

This time, another voice came from a different direction. I looked over, and there was Hyun So-Yeon. Her face was damp from training, and she looked dazed.

She was visible, looking this way.

‘Ah, this.’

Narrowing my eyes. Did I not notice her approaching because I was focused on Mother?

‘No way.’

Even if I had suppressed my Qi Perception, I wouldn’t fail to notice someone coming this close.

This is.

‘Mother’s influence, perhaps.’

Mother, whose presence is hard to sense. Plus, being around her seemed to dull my own senses.

Was this also a problem?

‘Is there any way to know?’

No way. I’ve never experienced this before. It’s just that Mother’s very existence is so alien, it might be causing this.

‘Let’s set this aside for now.’

Putting the issue of Qi Perception aside, I looked at Hyun Soyeon in front of me.

“Why?”

She reacts as if asking why I’m staring at her.

“It’s weirder not to hear when you’re speaking so loudly, right?”

“……”

“You weren’t trying to say something secretly, were you?”

Definitely. Mother’s voice was indeed loud.

Did Hyun Soyeon hear that? This could be troublesome.

“……I wasn’t particularly trying to spy secretly.”

“Huh? Ah.”

Since watching someone’s training without permission is quite rude, I first offered an apology.

“It’s okay. It’s not like you did anything major.”

Hyun Soyeon responded indifferently, as if it didn’t matter.

Then, she pulled out a cloth from her pocket, roughly wiped her face, and spoke.

“That’s enough. So, are you going to do it?”

“……What are you talking about?”

“You said you were hungry. Are you going to eat?”

Suddenly, food? I didn’t understand what she was getting at and just narrowed my eyes. Seeing this, Hyun Soyeon sighed as if she found me more frustrating.

“I’m hungry too. I was even thinking of causing a little trouble. It’s better to do it with three people than alone, right?”

“……Cause trouble?”

“Want to?”

“No, I-.”

“Let’s do it. Then I’ll forgive you for spying on my training.”

“……”

Speechless? I opened my mouth slightly at her bold statement.

“You said earlier you didn’t really care.”

“I did, but thinking about it, it does bother me a bit. How about it? I’ll forgive you if you do it, okay?”

Hyun Soyeon smiled brightly and pointed to Mother beside her with her hand.

Mother was looking at me with expectant eyes.

“I’ll keep quiet about this person too.”

“……”

Oops.

Right. Hyun Soyeon didn’t know Mother had sneaked in.

‘Damn it.’

The situation is getting tangled in all sorts of ways. I felt like sighing at the complicated mess.

“How about it?”

Hyun Soyeon continued, smiling as if she knew everything.

Watching her, I realized.

‘Nangong Bi-ah and her face are the same.’

But she’s a completely different person inside. I clearly recalled that and spoke.

“……What are you trying to do?”

Even I thought my tone was quite uneasy.

* * *

As night fell, we all moved together.

Of course, the Nangong Clan’s personnel were on guard, but Hyun Soyeon moved past them as if it were nothing.

“I memorized the patrol routes by walking around a few times. This way, we won’t get caught.”

She had memorized the patrol routes of those around. What kind of bold and strange statement is this?

“Ah, but be careful. They say the guards fainted this afternoon, so the security has been tightened a bit.”

“……”

I felt a pang inside. It was obvious that it was the aftermath of my attempt to enter Biwaegun.

“Here…… like this.”

We moved through alley after alley with Hyun Soyeon. Where could the destination be? Hyun Soyeon confidently told us to trust her and quickly moved around here and there.

“How much longer? I’m hungry.”

“Shh. If you speak loudly, I won’t give you food.”

“……Ugh.”

Mother, who was about to complain, was subdued with a few words.

After moving around for a while.

“Here we are.”

She slipped into a building through a familiar gap where people were absent.

As she said, there was no sense of security.

“They have a lot to guard elsewhere. They wouldn’t tighten security here too much. It’s easy to get in.”

Listening to her explanation, I looked around. This place is……

‘……A kitchen connected to the warehouse?’

It seemed like a place used by the Nangong Clan’s cooks. The smell of cooking utensils and light spices wafted through.

Hyun Soyeon entered without hesitation where we had broken in. Her actions looked too familiar.

Then, she made a torch from one side and naturally lit the wall.

At that moment.

“Oops.”

“Huh?”

“Oh.”

As soon as the light turned on, I made eye contact with a human inside.

It was Nangong Hyeong, chewing on a carrot.

‘What the……?’

Why is this guy here again……?

 

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