When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Even that piercingly sharp gaze was so beautiful that it threw Ju Kyunghyun into confusion.
He barely managed to open his mouth.
“That is.”
“……”
“That is, well…”
Normally, Ju Kyunghyun’s trusted guard would have snapped him out of that state.
But, at that moment, his guard, Cheonryeong, was also mesmerized and was unable to do anything.
‘How can such a beautiful being exist?’
Barely managing to suppress his exclamation, Cheonryeong came back to his senses after a long while.
Seeing his master's stammering state, the guard's face turned pale.
If he left his master like this, his master, who was so sensitive about his reputation, would surely not let him live.
“Young Lord.”
“I was just saying… What?”
“Young Lord. You came to see the Baek Clan Head.”
Only then did Ju Kyunghyun also return to his senses.
‘Right, the Baek Clan Head!’
But that was only for a moment, as soon as his gaze turned to the woman in front of him, his mind seemed to cloud over again.
‘Baek Clan Head. I need to talk about the Baek Clan Head…’
However, what came out of his mouth was completely different.
“In three days, the Mystic Ruler will personally hold a banquet to welcome the Baek Clan Head. Do you know that?”
“……”
Sehwa didn't reply.
Until only a few days ago, that dismissive behavior would have irked him immensely.
‘Well, it’s fine. What’s the big deal about not answering?’
Clearing his parched throat, he spoke again, “I came to tell you to be my partner to enter with me that day. Keep that in mind. That day I’ll escort... no, well, tomorrow, I’ll come back. No, wait, were you eating? I also haven’t eaten, let’s have it together.”
At his master's incoherent words, the guard gaped.
‘Y-Young Lord?’
“What are you doing? Cheonryeong, you need to quickly clear the table and bring the food. Sehwa, you should come and sit here while the food arrives.”
Ju Kyunghyun gestured towards Sehwa.
“Come here, just for a moment. Quickly.”
Sehwa felt so dumbfounded that she was about to laugh.
Suppressing her surging emotions, she answered coldly, “Even if you are the Young Lord, you cannot order an Elder's daughter around like an attendant within their own residence.”
“What? An attendant?”
Ju Kyunghyun raised his long, elegant eyes upwards.
“Are you saying that I just treated you like a servant?”
“Didn’t you? Or was it an animal you were calling? If you had something to say, you could have sent a letter through your attendant. Yet instead, you barge into someone else's residence uninvited in the morning and order the owner around. What kind of behavior is that?”
Those words themselves were just absurd to Ju Kyunghyun.
Hadn’t he come barging in like this countless times? Dozens of times.
Who was it that greeted him happily every time, without a word, and was suddenly acting like this?
“Besides, it seems that you have no intention of honoring my wish to never see your face again. You are even disregarding your own words about not needing to greet each other again. I didn't realize you were someone who couldn't even keep their own promises.”
“You!”
“Are you going to hit me?”
“What?”
Pulling up the corners of her mouth, she stepped closer to the incensed Ju Kyunghyun with a smile.
As a smile bloomed on her jade-like, beautiful face, Ju Kyunghyun's heart began to pound uncontrollably.
“Go ahead and hit me. You can do whatever you want, can’t you, Young Lord?”
“You…”
“……”
“Y…”
Though he was angry, he was unable to continue speaking when he looked at that face.
Besides, this wasn’t a good time.
He was willing to use force if necessary to set things straight, but what if that child harmed herself like she had threatened before?
And if that delayed the trip to the Baek Clan?
‘……That absolutely cannot happen.’
As he stepped back, Sehwa, her smile now gone, also took a step backwards.
“So, please don’t come here anymore. Let me spend time with my family until I leave.”
“Sehwa.”
Ju Kyunghyun cleared his throat before softly calling her name.
“I think you are misunderstanding, but the time you will spend in the Baek Clan won’t be that long.”
“……”
“Do you think the Mystic Ruler wouldn’t be able to catch a mere criminal? You may return as soon as you arrive.”
“……”
“So there is no need for you to be so afraid. If the busy Mystic Ruler can’t pay attention to that, I’ll take the lead and-.”
“Young Lord.”
“Yes?”
“The Baek Clan Head is resting because he's exhausted from helping with my exuviation. I'm in the middle of caring for him. My father is also busy preparing for my journey, so if you don't have anything else to say, please leave now.”
“Sehwa.”
“Please, don’t come anymore. I've already told the Mystic Ruler that I will never marry you, and we no longer have any reason to see each other.”
“Seh…”
Sehwa, coldly shaking off the large hand that was grasping at her wrist, turned around and left the reception room.
Even though she could hear his voice calling after her, she didn’t even turn back once.
Her expression hardened, she walked down the long corridor to return to the room where the Baek Clan Head and her father were.
As she turned a corner of the corridor, she saw someone leaning against the wall.
It was Baek Giha.
Startled, Sehwa blinked and asked, “Why are you here?”
“You’re one to talk.”
“What?”
“You already said that you wouldn’t marry him? To the Mystic Ruler? So, there’s no engagement with the Young Lord?”
Unable to understand Baek Giha’s reaction, she asked back, “Am I crazy? Why would I do that cursed thing again with that bastard?”
“……”
“Why are you smiling?”
“Nothing… It’s nothing.”
“If you followed because you were worried, come this way. There is no need to be concerned.”
Sehwa started to walk again, with her head held high, as if nothing had happened, but Baek Giha looked back a couple more times, as if he was concerned about something.
“But is it okay to speak to the Young Lord like that?”
“What do you mean?”
“What are you planning? You might make him and your family wary unnecessarily.”
“That won’t happen. We only need to be careful of the Mystic Ruler,” Sehwa said, shaking her head coldly. “Right now, his mind is completely filled with thoughts about sending me to the Baek Clan in his place, so he won’t be able to do anything that might influence that.”
She said, smiling, that that was why she was doing this now. “Besides, just wait and see. This will lead to something quite interesting.”
“Something interesting? What is it?”
“If that Young Lord has even a bit of sense, or if the guards around him are smart, then my cousin will probably have a rough time.”
“Cousin?”
“Yes. No matter how harshly I speak to my cousin, she wouldn’t be hurt by it at all, but it’ll be completely different if it comes from that Young Lord.”
She said that she would simply sit back and enjoy the show.
As Sehwa thought about what was to come, her eyes sparkled with a pleased purplish-black color.
Ju Kyunghyun, who had been staring at the door where Sehwa had disappeared for a long time, slumped back into his chair.
He felt as if he had been possessed by a ghost.
“Young Lord.”
“What do you think that child was thinking?”
“Pardon?”
“I am asking you what you think she was thinking, to act like that towards me. Even if it was out of fear of going to the Baek Clan, it was too much, no?”
He had only ever seen her smiling face, and had thought that was the only expression she had.
And yet, all these different expressions were hidden under that skin?
‘She will return soon anyway. Is she treating me like this just because she's so afraid of that? Does that even make sense?’
“There must be some other reason for it. But I can’t guess what it might be. What about you? Do you have any ideas? Or do you also think the trip to the Baek Clan is the only reason why she changed?”
Cheonryeong, who had been quietly looking down, added quietly after a long pause: “There is one thing I thought of.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Perhaps…”
“Perhaps?”
“Perhaps… could it be jealousy?”
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