DKM 15

“No one should be visiting at this hour. What is going on?”

“……Huh?”

Noisy? It was so quiet. I blinked, looking around the garden where there was no one but us. But a moment later, servants with panicked expressions came rushing in.

“Clan Leader! Something terrible has happened! You must come quickly!”

“What is it? Who on earth has visited to cause such a commotion?”

“It’s, well, the Madam is currently……!”

—Clink!

The teacup slipped from Soseo’s hand. The unauthorized copyMadam? If it was the Madam, then Read on Read BL Novelssurely……. I recalled the portrait I had seen earlier.

“Come out! Paeng Seoyu! Come out right now!”

A shrill voice echoed through the garden. We quickly stood up. The moment Myoryeong linked his arm with mine, a woman dressed in light pink silk appeared, struggling with the servants who tried to block her path.

“Today is the day we settle this! I will settle things with you and take my sons back!”

“Madam! Please don’t do this! Please come to your senses!”

“Let go of me!”

“Madam, please stay calm……! Ack!”

A servant recoiled, clutching his face. Wow, for a second, I thought I had stepped into a thriller movie instead of a martial arts novel……! Myoryeong and I, horrified, clung closer to each other. This was because a cold, blue blade was flashing in the hand of the woman who looked exactly like Soseo. Upon arriving in front of the pavilion where the meal was set, the woman’s eyes glared wildly.

“Oh, my darling sons! You were here!”

“……Mother.”

“I missed you so much! Haven’t you longed for your mother’s embrace? Come here, quickly!”

“…….”

Soseo said nothing. Nor did Soyu, who usually laughed boisterously. A suffocating silence fell. The Clan Leader, who had been staring blankly at the woman—the Madam—stepped forward to block Soseo and Soyu.

“……Why are you here?”

“What do you mean why? I’ve simply come to see my children.”

“Go back! I cannot let you see the children!”

“Who do you think you are?”

—Crack.

The woman snapped her neck in a chilling manner.

“They are the brats I suffered to give birth to! They are the sons born of this Moyong Soha!”

Moyong Soha? If it was Moyong Soha……. I thought of the Moyong Family, which, like the Paeng Clan, was one of the five great families. The Madam’s family background is impressive, too. While I was purely admiring this internally, the Clan Leader looked disgusted.

“……Please, stop throwing these tantrums! Nothing is going to change because of this!”

“……Father.”

The Clan Leader shouted abruptly.

“Paeng Soseo, Paeng Soyu! Go inside!”

“……Paeng Soseo? Paeng Soyu?”

Moyong Soha muttered the names of her children as if hearing them for the first time. The Madam’s head moved strangely again.

“Why are those children of the Paeng Clan? I gave birth to them. If they are my children, they should naturally be the pride of our Moyong Family. Why are they living as members of the Paeng Clan? Hmm?”

The Madam began to mess up her hair wildly.

“Why are you children from another family? If it were you, you could do it; if it were you, truly…….”

Muttering just enough to be understood, the Madam began to giggle, her shoulders shaking. After laughing for a long while, her expression suddenly shifted, and she cried out.

“Yes! You can do it! You aren’t children who belong here! Come quickly to the Moyong Family, my beloved brats!”

The Madam opened her arms with immense benevolence and strode toward them.

“If I take you with me, everyone will acknowledge me……! Urgh!”

Just as she was about to snatch Soseo, her body suddenly collapsed limply. The Clan Leader had knocked her unconscious. Holding the limp Madam in his arms, the Clan Leader spoke quietly.

“……Why.”

He asked so piteously, like a wounded animal whimpering.

“Why are you and Soha here, Moyong Hwa?”

The servants parted to the sides. Then, a boy walked out with steady steps. Like the Madam, he wore luxurious silk clothes and had a sword strapped to his waist. The moment I saw the boy smiling leisurely, a certain animal immediately came to mind.

……A cat?

I almost blurted it out loud. I quickly covered my mouth. With [Read on Read BL Novels]the sharp, upturned corners of his eyes and that stolen contentrelaxed smile, the boy’s composed face reminded me of a so-called “rich house cat.” The boy performed a cupped-fist salute.

“It has been a long time, Uncle.”

“……I asked why you and Soha are here, Moyong Hwa.”

“I wonder. Even if you ask me…….”

“Moyong Hwa!”

Moyong Hwa merely replied while leisurely twirling a single braid of hair with his finger.

“I simply told my mother that I was curious to see how much the children she is so proud of had grown.”

“So it was your doing after all! A mere brat being unnecessarily cunning……!”

“Father, please calm down.”

Soseo placed a hand on the Clan Leader’s arm and spoke coldly.

“He isn’t worth getting angry over.”

“……Ahem, that is true!”

“Father, please move Mother to her room.”

The corners of Moyong Hwa’s leisurely upturned lips dipped for a brief moment. A gaze passed between Soseo and Moyong Hwa. Moyong Hwa tilted his head.

“It’s been a while, Brother Soseo?”

“Who are you calling brother!”

Soyu flared up at the title of ‘brother.’ However, Moyong Hwa was not flustered.

“Then what should I call my older brother? Do you want me to be rude to Brother Soseo?”

“Not that!”

“Brother Soseo.”

Moyong Hwa pretended to whisper into Soseo’s ear as if sharing a secret.

“It seems Soyu wants me to be rude to you. How strange. My aunt told me that Soyu really likes Brother Soseo. Could it be that while my aunt was away, Soyu came to dislike Brother Soseo?”

Soyu’s face turned pale.

“No, I never meant that……! No, Brother……!”

“Soyu.”

Soseo called Soyu in a low voice.

“I know you wouldn’t do that, so it’s fine.”

“Brother……!”

Soyu’s eyes welled up with emotion. Soseo stepped back from Soyu and spoke.

“Welcome to the Paeng Clan, Moyong Hwa.”

“Thank you for the welcome. I thought you might be angry that I visited so suddenly.”

“Why would I be angry? On the contrary, I’m grateful you brought Mother all this way. However.”

Soseo smiled with an elegant expression befitting a young noble.

“I would have been more grateful if you had contacted me in advance.”

“……My aunt missed you both so much that I didn’t have the composure to do so.”

“Oh dear.”

Soseo looked genuinely sorry.

“How distracted must you have been to forget to contact me, despite being so intelligent.”

“……Yes, I am overwhelmed by your understanding.”

“Still, it would be better to be careful next time. You are the one who will lead the Moyong Family in the future. No matter how busy you are, you must take care of the essentials.”

“Thank you for the advice, Brother Soseo. You really haven’t changed.”

“You are more than before……. No, since we’re meeting after a long time, I should only say good things, right?”

“……Leaving a sentence unfinished is a bad habit, Brother. Once you start speaking, you should finish.”

“Is that so? I think it’s a better habit than clinging to and nitpicking every little thing.”

“Do you think so? Others might not think that way.”

Wow, it feels like noble ladies in a social circle having a power struggle. I watched with great interest as the two exchanged thorny words with smiling faces.

“Um, young masters.”

Just as the conversation reached a peak of intensity and their smiles deepened, someone intervened.

“What is it?”

It was Grandpa Jang.

“I am very sorry for interrupting your conversation, but the Clan Leader asked me to tell you that he has called a physician to tend to the Madam.”

“……Is that so?”

“Also, why don’t you head inside? The wind is chilly.”

“……Right, it wouldn’t be polite to keep a guest standing here.”

“I was enjoying talking with my brother so much that I forgot the time.”

“Go inside and rest. You must be tired.”

“Yes, I have accumulated some travel fatigue [stolen content]from Read on Read BL Novelsrushing here. Since my aunt’s condition doesn’t seem great, I will shamelessly impose on the Paeng Clan for a while, Brother.”

“Is that so? We don’t mind, so rest well until you feel better.”

“My apologies, Brother.”

“No, you know you’re sorry, so it’s fine. Old man, please guide Hwa to his room. Myoha, Myoryeong. Let’s go inside too.”

“Yes, Young Master Soseo.”

The two maintained their tense psychological warfare until the very end. Ah, it felt like watching a romance fantasy novel after a long time; I loved it. With a fluttering heart, I followed Soseo. Before following him into the house, I turned my head slightly. Moyong Hwa was glaring at us with a dissatisfied look.

The next morning, the servants had to wake up earlier than usual. Because of the sudden guest, the entire house had to be cleaned. Since we only had to attend to Soseo, we didn’t originally need to help with the cleaning, but we decided to help because we thought gaining favor with the servants now would make things easier in the future. And anyway, we had to wait outside while Soseo studied.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes, ma’am. Don’t worry.”

“Good kids……. I’ll get you something delicious later.”

We scrubbed the hallways with rags in silence. Unconsciously, Moyong Hwa’s face kept floating in my mind.

“……Hey, Myoryeong.”

“What?”

I became serious.

“I didn’t know, but I like the ‘cat-type’ look.”

“Cat-type? Ah, that guy. Moyong Hwa?”

“Yeah.”

Until now, if anyone asked whether I preferred the ‘puppy-type’ or ‘cat-type,’ I would have said puppy-type without hesitation, but it was simply that I hadn’t met a cat-type character who fit my taste until now. I thought of Moyong Hwa glaring at us yesterday. Thinking about it again, he’s totally my type. Of course, only the face. I absolutely detest people with bad personalities because they’re exhausting.

“Come to think of it, if I had to pick whether Seolhwa was puppy-type or cat-type, he was cat-type too.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, I wonder how Seolhwa is doing.”

“We have to believe he’s doing well.”

As usual, we missed Seolhwa out of habit. After rinsing the rag and scrubbing the floor diligently again, I heard Grandpa Jang’s voice.

“Then, Young Master. This should be enough for you to stay without any discomfort.”

“What, is the tour over here?”

“Pardon? Yes. Is there a problem?”

We quickly stopped scrubbing and bowed our heads. The old man wasn’t alone. He was with Moyong Hwa. It seemed Grandpa Jang had been showing Moyong Hwa around the house. Moyong Hwa spoke with genuine pity.

“How can a house be this small? The Paeng Clan is nominally one of the five great families.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes. The Paeng Clan has more people than we do, so I don’t know how they live in such a cramped place. And…….”

Moyong Hwa’s eyes turned toward us.

“It seems they just hire anyone for their servants.”