When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Having been organizing the invitations, her white hand slowly stopped moving.
‘Thinking about it.’
Sehwa’s blank gaze briefly stared into the void.
Thinking about it now, now that time had been reversed,
‘The time I spent at the Baek Clan, it wasn’t so bad.’
The tip of the brush pressed down on the area near her lips.
How fickle was the human heart.
At the Baek Clan, she could not bear the fact that she was nothing.
Her position as a daughter of an elder in the Ju Clan was of no use at the Baek Clan.
Perhaps that was why her time at the Baek Clan had felt so difficult.
If she actually thought about it, although they were the victors of the war, the six-clan alliance still held reverence for the Ju Clan.
Of course, there had been humiliating comments and urgings for her to find the missing people.
But they had not actually physically subdued or threatened her with murder.
Although there had been instances such as being given spoiled food every meal and having waste thrown on her, pretending it was an accident, before Baek Giha had noticed and corrected it.
‘I guess that isn’t so bad now.’
It was a mystery as to why that had seemed so miserable and unbearable back then.
When much worse was waiting for her when she returned.
She would lose all of her sisters, and she also hadn’t known that, for the purpose of making her father rebel against the Mystic Ruler, she would be locked up in a secret dungeon, and her fingernails would be pulled out and that she would be subjected to all kinds of torture.
“What is going on.”
‘…….’
Another low, gentle voice seemed to reach her ears.
‘That was probably after someone had thrown waste on me again, wasn't it?’
That day, the three sisters had been temporarily sent elsewhere due to certain circumstances.
Although she usually wouldn't leave her room unless there was a special reason to, for some reason, she had had to go outside that day.
And just as it had been predetermined, she had been splashed with water that smelled disgusting, as if someone had just washed a rag in it, and she had been pushed by someone and rolled across the floor.
She was barely returning to her room in her beggar-like appearance, when Baek Giha had appeared in front of her.
“Who did this? You didn’t just fall on your own, did you?”
If it looked like she had just fallen on her own, then they had to pull their eyes out. Because they would be useless and there would be no need to keep them attached.
She had been at a loss for words due to how ridiculous he was, and had tried to pass him by.
But she had already injured her ankle from rolling on the floor.
Not wanting to show those Baek Clan members, who had put her in this state, that she was hurt, just as they had wanted, she had forced herself to walk with strength, pretending that she was fine.
She had thought that she had done a good job acting, but it had not worked on the divine beast’s eyes, and soon, a firm and solid arm had embraced her.
He had not cared that his body was becoming dirty, and he had not let her down even when she asked him to do so.
After taking her to her room, he had personally brought her a bath and even prepared clothes for her to change into.
‘I’m sure I was cursing him inwardly, thinking that he was being a wolf in sheep’s clothing, offering a cure after making me sick, right?’
Because she hadn't said a single word to him, even though he had been constantly asking her questions.
A small smile formed on her lips as she recalled that moment.
Baek Giha had sat down on one knee in front of her, not minding her reaction at all.
He had looked her in the eye and added in a somber tone, without a single hint of a smile on his face.
“I’m sorry.”
It seemed that that was the first time she had properly seen Baek Giha’s face.
A face that was ten thousand times more handsome than Ju Kyunghyun's, and yet, at the time, she had only thought, ‘He’s only a bit more handsome than our Young Lord.’
She could not doubt the sincerity that was held in his jet-black eyes.
‘It wasn’t this man who had ordered it.’
From the moment she had had that thought, the time she spent at the Baek Clan had felt a little more comfortable than before.
Besides that, the messy torment she had been experiencing had become a bit less severe after that day, which meant that Baek Giha had clearly told his kin to stop it.
She had stayed there for 12 years.
Towards someone who had been constantly coming to her, even the heart of Ju Sehwa, who had hated the Baek Clan, could not help but soften a little.
For her, who had no friends, he was almost like her only friend.
‘How far has he come?’
From the moment she had realized that he was coming to the Ju Clan’s territory, she could not stop being concerned about it.
‘He’s no longer immortal, and he’s coming here alone. Just what does he think he can do? Could it be that he’s in a dangerous situation?’
Regardless of what the situation of the clan was, if the members of the Ju Clan enjoyed their day, that was all that mattered, and so gatherings were being held every day without rest.
That was the same even in the human realm. The young members of the Ju Clan, who lived aimlessly, enjoying their days like mayflies, were still living lavishly every day after having left the chaotic Mystic Realm to hide in the human realm.
Therefore, even if she didn’t particularly wait for them, invitations were always sent and stacked up.
While she was busy sorting the invitations, she continued to think about Baek Giha, and so it was late at night by the time she had finished her work.
“It’s done.”
When she put down her brush after finishing the last signature and sighed, Sa Youngmu looked back, surprised.
“Hah. Are you really going to go to all of these places?”
Youngchae, who was picking up the letters that she had replied to, also tried to persuade her.
“Young Lady, if you go to all of these places, you will collapse from heart disease even before you collapse from overwork.”
“Heart disease?”
“You don't know since you haven't gone to many banquets, Young Lady.”
“Yes. In short, banquets where the members of the Ju Clan who have yet to complete their exuviation are rampant are like the battlefields of Asura where poisonous snakes and scorpions gather and compete with each other to say whether they are better, or they are.”
“……”
“I'm not trying to put down the members of the Ju Clan, but it's hard how they will try and find fault in every single word that is spoken.”
“That’s right. You could just be saying ‘They’re beans’ but the next day, they’ll say ‘That woman said that they were peas.’, ‘She said they were rice.’, ‘Really? I heard her say that the stones on the street were beans.’, ‘What? I heard her call the dog poop in her yard beans’ and the words will be twisted in that way.”
“……”
As Sehwa chuckled silently, Youngmu chimed in.
“It may sound like a lie, but that’s the truth. Even if they take it up to the point of rice, it's fine, but it's just strange to see it go all the way to something as irrelevant as stones and dog poop. After they create such rumors by linking it with all sorts of strange things, they force you to get tired of it.”
“……You guys seem to have a lot of pent up feelings. Was it that difficult whenever you attended a banquet?”
‘I was living comfortably in the human realm, without knowing any of that.’
She had rarely ever attended banquets, unless they were important events.
When there was an event that she could not refuse with just a letter, she would usually send the three sisters with gifts.
“It wasn't difficult, but there were many times when I felt disillusioned by them.”
“Yes. Just to tell you one thing, there’s that young lady Cheonryung from the family of Elder Seoheung. The one who got pregnant although she hadn’t yet completed her exuviation or had a betrothal.”
“We saw her when we were handing over gifts. She was crying as she was confiding in her close friends about her situation in a corner of a pavilion.”
“It seems that the man she had been sleeping with had run away, using the war as an excuse, and had broken all contact.”
“She was crying so sorrowfully. Even we, who had unintentionally overheard the situation, were really worried about what to do.”
“And her friends were getting angry and crying with her, taking her side so passionately.”
“It was somewhat reassuring that she had made good friends. But since it was such an important situation, we couldn't leave that place right away. For fear that we might get caught for listening.”
“We just hoped that those people would leave their seats soon, when oh my heavens……”
“Heavens?”
“As soon as Young Lady Cheonryung had left to fix her messy makeup from crying, they started to laugh gleefully. Saying that they knew it would turn out like this.”
“……What?”
“It might sound like a lie, right? But that’s the truth. Young Lady Cheonryung wasn’t a bad person, her personality was decent, but how could they laugh and gloat like that?”
“And that wasn’t just something that had happened to Young Lady Cheonryung. This sort of backbiting and shamelessness was an everyday occurrence amongst the young members of the Ju Clan.”
“……”
“Our young lady didn't have a need to know about such things, which is why we hadn't told you about this until now. But if you're going to attend banquets from now on, you absolutely have to be aware of it. That you shouldn't believe everything you see at face value.”
Listening to Youngmu and Youngchae’s passionate opinions, Sehwa was momentarily at a loss for words.
‘So that was why you guys didn’t react much to the bullying that happened at the Baek Clan. You had already seen worse things.’
Even those from their race who had not completed their exuviation had been attending banquets since they were young.
The purpose was to expand their connections and to learn how to enjoy life.
But Sehwa had barely ever shown her face at such gatherings.
Her father and brothers were risking their lives on the battlefield to protect the clan, so how could she, who was living comfortably in their territory, be so shameless as to enjoy the banquets while surrounded by wine and song?
But now, she knew that that decision had only been a short-sighted thought.
Just like her father and brothers had risked their lives roaming the borders, her battlefield was here, but she had not realized that then.
“Where’s Yeonju?”
“She is at the safehouse right now. She even opened the barrier as she pleased after entering it. It's said that she’s called for a doctor three times today. What should we do?”
Sa Yeonju, who could not cross the gate to the Mystic Realm alone, had entered the safehouse, as if she was planning to stay there while they remained in the human realm, without even asking for permission.
The safehouse was a place that was surrounded by all sorts of shields in preparation for a sudden exuviation or the twisting of their spiritual power, and for when they were in other situations.
Even though it was a location that they did not open to the public, Sa Yeonju was now using it as she pleased.
Judging by how she was acting without the permission of the elders, even after her father had returned, she could tell how little she thought of them usually.
Thinking that, Youngmu’s voice dropped.
“Shall we drag her here?”
“No. Leave her be.”
Sehwa's eyes shone coldly.
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