Chapter 05
The Daughter-in-Law of a Murim Clan 005
“No, wait. Clan Head.”
When I hurriedly tried to get up, my vision spun and I staggered. He spoke in a low, calm voice.
“You have not recovered yet, so do not push yourself. Lie down.”
“That is not it.”
Do I look like I can just lie down right now?
“For the time being, focus on recovering your health.”
When I first arrived, you clearly did not seem happy to see me.
Why did you suddenly change your mind and decide to take responsibility for me?
While I was frozen with fear and confusion, the Clan Head rose as if he had finished saying everything he wanted to say.
Gathering every bit of courage inside me, I grabbed the hem of his clothes.
“I am not the one! I am not someone who belongs in this clan! This is something I cannot handle, so please, take back your decision!”
At my desperate plea in a hoarse voice, he stared at me and asked,
“Did you not say that you were wandering about with nowhere to go? Why would you refuse my offer to accept you as a member of the clan?”
“That is, well…”
Because if they find out I lied, I am screwed.
When I hesitated, the man’s gaze became even more serious.
He spoke in a deeply calm voice.
“I already know what is in your heart.”
“…?”
“You are worried that your lowly status might become an obstacle to Un-gyu’s future. You love that child so much that you cannot even dare to wish to remain by his side.”
This is driving me crazy.
That is not it!
While I could not even close my mouth properly because of his ridiculous conclusion, Hwangbo Ryung continued with a solemn expression.
“I told Mother everything about you a moment ago. The marriage of our family is decided by Mother, the Grand Matriarch. After hearing everything, she also expressed her intention to accept you as Un-gyu’s betrothed.”
“No, wait.”
The Grand Matriarch? Marriage?
Betrothed?
Before I could say anything more, he quietly handed me an envelope.
When I absentmindedly glanced inside, I saw a folded letter.
“It is Un-gyu’s Four Pillars of Destiny.”
‘Kuh-heup.’
I was so shocked that I dropped the envelope I was holding. He quietly picked it up and held it out to me again.
“Why are you giving me his… destiny chart?”
“My foolish son did not even tell you his name, let alone his proper age or family background. As his parent, I thought it was my duty to give it to you in his place.”
His destiny chart?
His son’s destiny chart?
An uneasy feeling once again wrapped around me.
It was a suffocating fear, as if accepting this would mean crossing a river that I could never return from.
“Since your birth and place of origin are unclear, our family will take care of that matter. We will choose an auspicious date soon and exchange the marriage documents.”
“No, wait a moment, please.”
“From now on, you will stay at Cheongpungwon as Un-gyu’s betrothed and future bride, and receive the education appropriate for that position.”
“…!”
Horrified, I tried to get up to stop him, only to collapse again because of my dizziness.
He supported me and gently patted the back of my hand as if he knew everything.
“Do not worry. The family council has already approved this matter. From now on, you are a member of the Hwangbo Clan.”
At those words that finally came out of his mouth, my head rang.
They say that when something is too absurd, you cannot even speak.
I should have immediately shouted that this could not happen and fiercely refused, but no words came out of my repeatedly opening and closing mouth.
“A, a, a…”
“I will definitely find Un-gyu and bring him back, so do not worry. Even if that child does not return, you will still be a member of our clan. From now on, forever.”
Forever?
Maybe because all the heat had rushed to my head.
My vision became dizzy, and I started to have trouble breathing.
When my body could no longer endure it and tilted to the side, he laid me down with surprisingly gentle hands, covered me with a blanket, left that cursed ‘destiny chart’ behind, and slowly disappeared.
Fuck.
Unable to bring myself to stop the man as he walked away, I quietly pulled the blanket up to my forehead.
And I quietly sobbed.
After crying all night, again and again, I came down with a terrible flu.
By the time I finally got up after being sick for several days, everything had already been settled.
When I reluctantly opened my eyes to the dazzling sunlight, a pretty maid came running over and greeted me.
“Did you sleep well, young lady?”
“Yes. Did you sleep well too?”
Bingbing, the maid the Clan Head had assigned to me, smiled brightly.
“Perhaps because you have been sleeping well lately, your complexion looks much better.”
“Really?”
“Please wait a moment. I will bring you some water to wash your face.”
I watched Bingbing hurry away before looking around.
A soft bed.
Maidservants who carefully attended to me every morning, and splendid meals served at every mealtime, enough to make the table legs break.
“My life… is pretty good.”
If it were not for the problem that I would be brutally killed the moment they discovered the truth, I would want to stay here for the rest of my life.
Of course, that was impossible.
While I swallowed a sigh and pushed my hair back, someone approached with light footsteps and greeted me.
It was a calm-looking maid named Chimhyang.
“The Grand Matriarch said that if you are feeling well enough, you should come to her residence. There are some ladies she wishes to introduce to you. So it would be best to dress neatly today.”
“Okay. I will do that.”
They say humans are creatures of adaptation.
Ever since the maids began taking care of me, I had definitely started to look different.
Now, even if someone told me I was the young lady of some great family, they might believe it.
“Let us depart now.”
At Chimhyang’s quiet urging, I raised my head and looked at the clear blue sky.
Ah, I really do not want to go.
However, when a figure suddenly appeared from one side of the garden, I had no choice but to get up.
“I was just about to go.”
I definitely was not being lazy.
Bang Jin-woo, the former leader of the Bang unit, who had now been demoted and assigned to guard the area around Cheongpungwon, silently bowed his head toward me.
The moment he appeared, exuding murderous intent, the maids hurriedly disappeared.
Hey, I am scared of him too.
How horrified had I been when I saw his face covered in blood after he slammed his own head into the ground while begging to be punished for daring to act disrespectfully?
I reluctantly told them to punish him by cutting his salary, so why did he suddenly volunteer to become my bodyguard?
‘Do not worry. Bang Unit Leader’s martial prowess is fairly high. If there is no interference around him, he can detect every sound made by living creatures within a radius of two or three ri, and no one will be able to escape his eyes and harm you.’
He can detect living creatures within a radius of two kilometers, and they call that ‘fairly high’?
The problem was, did that not also mean that I could not escape either?
I looked at his cold face, which seemed to belong to the Grim Reaper himself, before trudging along.
The Grand Matriarch was personally waiting for me in front of Sumi Hall.
“Come in.”
The old lady patted me with a kind smile.
“You must not have eaten because you came so early. Come, let us have a meal together while we talk.”
The moment I entered, a delicious smell greeted me.
Unable to resist, I swallowed my saliva, and a light laugh came from somewhere.
When I raised my head, I saw several noble ladies I had never met covering their mouths as they laughed.
“Now, you should greet them, shouldn’t you?”
“Lady Gye greets you.”
Following the greeting I had hastily learned, I bowed. One of the ladies who had been smiling softly spoke.
“I have been hearing about you and have wanted to meet you for some time. Un-gyu’s beloved woman. That child has already grown enough to share his feelings with a woman.”
Gulp.
Her voice was soft and emotional, filled with sentiment.
I lowered my head deeply to hide my lifeless eyes.
That Un-gyu.
That beloved woman.
I wanted to tear my own mouth apart right now, since it was the beginning of all this trouble.
“My goodness. How much must you miss him that you cannot even raise your head just from hearing his name?”
At the sympathetic voice, I desperately tried to calm my increasingly rough breathing.
This had only just begun, yet I was already feeling suffocated.
“Now, let me introduce you.”
Come to think of it, she was right.
All the estates packed closely together inside this vast area surrounded by walls were residences for members of the clan. In other words, this place was a clan village—a large family settlement.
Among the ladies gathered, a relatively young-looking woman approached and introduced them one by one.
“This is your great-aunt.”
“This is your elder aunt.”
“This is your aunt.”
“Oh, and this is your youngest aunt.”
“This is Un-gyu’s paternal aunt. You probably will not see her very often.”
The moment I realized that everyone here was an elder from my husband’s family, I felt as if another reason had been added to the list of why I could not possibly remain in this family.
“Everyone is busy with their own affairs, so it is unfortunate that we cannot introduce everyone at once. I will introduce the rest to you little by little, so do not worry.”
There are more besides these people?
I had already greeted so many people that my mouth was dry. And there are still more?
As I looked at the smiling aunt, I suddenly realized something.
I had not even met the strongest opponent in married life yet—the ‘mother-in-law.’
Moreover, even if the missing man never returned, did this mean I still had to fulfill my duties as the youngest ‘daughter-in-law’ of this family?
Even becoming a widow for a man whose face I had never even seen?
Is there nowhere I can file a complaint?
Who the hell sends someone across dimensions like this?
You damn XXXs.
