The Return of the Namgoong Clan’s Granddaughter - Chapter 96



Only Noblemtl

Episode 96

“Yeah, yeah! You guys!”

The boy came out from behind the hay, looking sheepish. His cheeky shouting didn’t match his shyness.

“Oh, hello?”

As expected, the friendly Yugang shook Hwarin’s hand and greeted the child.

The child was startled and screamed again.

“Where are you from? I’ve never seen you before.”

Yu-gang moved Hwarin’s hand that he was holding and pointed across the river.

Hwarin laughed out loud, thinking it was funny.

“We’re so far away. You? Live here?”

“Yeah, yeah! This is my house!”

‘Are you a family of enemies?’

“If you came from so far away, you’ll go back, right?”

“I guess so?”

The child became sullen at Yoo Kang’s unhesitating answer.

“You need a friend?”

Come to think of it, there were hardly any children here.

I could see babies and children of a certain age being carried on backs, but there didn’t seem to be anyone the same age as the child in front of me.

“No! I don’t need friends!”

“Hmm?”

“I’m looking for my brother!”

The child who said that had a sparkle in his eyes for the first time. He was sincere.

“sibling?”

“Yeah! So, do you want to be my brother?”

Yoo Kang’s eyebrows furrowed at the contradictory words.

The child hurriedly added, perhaps thinking that the expression meant rejection.

“If you become my brother! I’ll show you my treasures! I’ll show you something special!”

“What kind of treasure is it?”

“That’s something only my brother can see!”

“Hmm.”

Yoo Kang stroked his chin. Then, as if a good idea had come to him, he smiled brightly and grabbed Hwa Rin’s hand again.

“good!”

“really?!”

“Instead, show me around here. I haven’t been here long, so I don’t know the way around yet. If you show me around here, I’ll think about that brother!”

‘Hmm?’

You’re trying to check the structure of the waterway using the child as an excuse.

It seemed like he was trying to figure out the entire structure of the waterway in advance so he could escape if necessary.

Seolhwa nodded as Yugang looked back with a proud face.

“good!”

The child didn’t seem to particularly dislike it either.

And there… .

‘He was trying to order us to do something, but he saw a child approaching and turned back.’

A woman who had been talking nonsense approached with a bucket, then turned back.

This child’s business takes precedence over what he is told to do. That means that this child’s status is high within the Surochae.

‘Come to think of it, it seems like Maeng Deung-ho had a child.’

* * *

The child guided us around the waterway while chattering away.

He knew the structure of the waterway inside out, wondering if it was true that he was home.

Yu-gang walked ahead, holding Hwa-rin in one arm and the child’s hand with the other, while Seol-hwa followed behind them, a step behind.

‘Black Devil Maeng Deung Ho.’

This person was like the right arm of the flesh and blood lord.

Maeng Deung-ho was known for his cold personality and cruel hands, so he was called the Black Devil.

However, there was a rumor going around that the nickname “Black Devil” came from him, and if I recall correctly, it was because he committed merciless murder for his children.

Seolhwa approached the child.

The child was startled when he saw the fairy tale and took a step back.

Seolhwa sat down in front of the child, her gaze focused on him, and the corners of her lips curved gently.

“But what is your name?”

“That’s… why…?”

“You need brothers. If you become brothers, you have to share the same last name, so you need to know what last name you will have.”

The child’s eyebrows twitched. The feeling of not saying anything and the urge to say something were clashing.

“If you like the surname, you can think more positively about it?”

“True medicine!”

“…what?”

“My name! It’s Jinso-yak!”

Seolhwa frowned slightly.

‘True medicine?’

You’re not Mr. Maeng?

‘Weren’t you Maeng Deung-ho’s son?’

Even so, it is true that the status within the Surochae is high.

It’s like exchanging friendly greetings with the people you meet, and no one says anything to you as you play with the child.

‘Are you a debtor’s child?’

Seol-hwa’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the medicine.

I feel like I’m missing something, something important.

* * *

Jinso-yak took Seol-hwa’s party around the waterway until it got dark.

At first, the child who was introduced to the water wheel quietly became more and more excited and even brought in games he had always wanted to play.

In short, I played all day long.

Of course, in the meantime, Seolhwa and Yoo Kang were busy secretly trying to figure out the strict security system and structure of the water well.

“Oh, that was really fun!”

Soyak stretched out his arms with a satisfied expression.

I don’t know when I last had this much fun playing in a water park with no one my age.

As if he had noticed my excitement too late, Soyak put his arm down and said, “Hot.”

Then he looked back at Seolhwa and her group with an embarrassed expression.

“Joe, it was a little fun. Thanks to you guys.”

Yu-gang, who was following So-yak while holding Hwarin’s hand, narrowed his eyes and said, “Hmm.”

“A little? You look really excited.”

“No…! It was just a little bit fun!”

“Really? I had so much fun playing with Soyak!”

Soyak stepped back in surprise. His cheeks quickly turned red.

He quickly turned around and hid his reddened face.

“Will you follow me? I have something to show you one last time.”

The place Soyak took them was behind the barracks of Surochaeju.

As he walked around the barracks of the Surochaeju, Soyak put his finger to his lips.

“You really have to be quiet from now on! This is a place that only I know, so I can’t let anyone find out!”

Yoo Kang and Seol Hwa looked at each other reflexively. The two nodded and quietly followed So Yak.

The water cannon’s barracks were backed by a log fence. As he looked up at the tall fence, Soyak whispered softly.

“This way!”

In front of where he crouched, there was a hole big enough for a child to fit through.

The bottom of the log had rotted away, creating a passage leading outside.

Jinso-yak went out of the fence first, followed by Yu-gang and Hwa-rin.

Seol-hwa, who was counting the number of people in the barracks with her counting board, was the last to pass through the hole.

Rustle.

Outside the hole was a dense bush. A hand suddenly popped out from within the bushes.

“This way.”

It was Yoo Kang.

Holding Yu-gang’s hand, we passed through the bushes and came across a small space where five or six children could sit around.

On the other side, there was a large, thick tree, and Soyak was crouching under the tree and digging the ground.

“I think there’s something hidden there.”

Bang, bang.

In the quiet of the night, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of a soyak digging the ground.

A child who didn’t even know how to use his internal energy didn’t care if his fingertips got stained with dirt.

After a while, Soyak took out a bundle from the ground.

I shook off the dirt on the bundle and carefully untied the knot.

Seol-hwa’s group naturally sat around the bundle and looked at the items wrapped inside.

A palm-sized empty bamboo stick, a book, a red knot, a jade tag, a few beads, etc. They were not particularly special items.

“These are my treasures.”

The child looked at ordinary objects as if they were more precious than anything else.

“My dad gave it to me as a present every birthday.”

Seolhwa looked back at Hwarin without realizing it.

‘birthday….’

Hwarin was looking at Soyak’s treasure with sparkling eyes.

“You know, my dad is really great. He’s so busy every day, but he never misses playing with me on my birthday!”

Hwarin’s sparkling gaze turned to Soyak.

Soyak continued speaking urgently in a voice that seemed to indicate that this was the moment.

“He’s incredibly strong! He has a ton of subordinates! He’s tall! And he’s also… incredibly cool!”

It was all about my dad’s pride.

“elegance.”

Hwarin’s eyes sparkled as she admired the boast.

“When you wake up, ask me every morning if I slept well! And pat me before I go to bed! Like this!”

Soyak grabbed Hwarin’s hand and pressed her head hard.

“Wow.”

Hwarin’s small mouth kept opening wide.

“What do you think? Is our dad really good?”

“huh.”

“Then Hwarin, you… will you be my sister…?”

Hwarin blinked her round eyes.

Soyak quickly pushed the bundle towards Hwarin.

“I’ll give you all of this.”

“I have a question!”

Yoo Kang asked, raising his hand.

“Why are you looking for a brother? Don’t you need a friend?”

‘That’s right.’

Seolhwa also looked at Soyak with curious eyes.

Soyak had been looking for a ‘brother’ from the beginning.

Even though I was a child who had no friends my age and was happy just hanging out with them.

If you’re lonely, isn’t it normal to look for a friend? Why do you want a brother?

“Tch, my friend….”

Soyak couldn’t speak easily. He hesitated to answer, wiggling his fingers as if he had been on guard when they first met.

“Friends… no.”

The child’s voice, which had opened with difficulty, was heavy.

“Friends… can’t be children to their fathers… Our fathers… need children…”

“Does Dad need a child?”

Soyak raised his head and sniffled, and the bridge of his nose was red.

The child had a determined expression, as if he had decided on something.

“I’m going to die soon.”

“!”

“The congressman said. My body was born with a strange constitution and I won’t live long.”