TYDS 16

Chapter 16

The Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan Was Supposedly Unloved

“Ugh…! The lizard…!”

Gyogyo’s groans, tormented by nightmares, leaked out from her residence.

The maids rushing in and out busily struggled to bring down her fever.

Even late into the night, the lights in Gyogyo’s quarters remained brightly lit.

A small pavilion overlooked those lights from above.

Several people gathered there whispered amongst themselves like rats.

“What kind of Tang Clan member faints at the sight of poisonous creatures?”

“Is she really the replacement brought in for that youngest daughter?”

“How could she not be? The Clan Head personally brought her in. Right after that youngest daughter became useless, too!”

“That’s why the Elder immediately adopted her as his granddaughter. Otherwise, all that effort would’ve been for noth—”

The man who had been speaking suddenly shut his mouth.

“…You’ve arrived.”

Everyone rose to greet Elder Tang Seo-o.

In the silence, only the tapping of his cane could be heard. Then came the slow scraping of chair legs as the elder sat down.

“Was the evidence dealt with?”

His old, greasy voice echoed through the pavilion.

At the short question, everyone except two people sat back down.

The remaining pair answered stiffly with lowered heads.

“T-that is… Young Master Yi mobilized the merchant guilds….”

“B-but we destroyed all the decisive evidence.”

Tang Seo-o’s eyes narrowed.

He snorted in displeasure.

“Hmph. So tomorrow that arrogant brat will challenge me again.”

“…We are sorry. Even with ten mouths, we would have no excuse.”

“We don’t know how to make up for this….”

“The clan assembly is tomorrow already. Wash your necks and wait. If things go wrong, you two will be the first to bleed.”

A chilling atmosphere brushed past their throats.

They swallowed nervously.

As the mood grew heavier, one of the people sitting beside the elder awkwardly spoke up.

“Surely things won’t go wrong. Hahaha….”

Those hidden in the shadows quickly chimed in.

“T-that’s right. The clan assembly won’t even open.”

“The Clan Head would never abandon the clan decree and return. Not unless he’s insane!”

Tang Seo-o clicked his tongue and lifted his teacup.

“Tsk. Pathetic. To think you couldn’t even handle one little girl.”

Taking a sip of hot tea, he glanced sideways at the two still standing. They flinched.

“But if he really does return, what should we do then?”

“Didn’t you say all decisive evidence was destroyed?”

“Still, what if….”

“Even if he returns, it doesn’t matter.”

Tang Seo-o interrupted the timid voice.

Idly rubbing his cane, he chewed and swallowed the tea leaves floating in his cup.

“As long as the Supreme Elder doesn’t interfere, Sichuan will remain our world even if the heavens split apart. You all know this already. The Clan Head’s authority exists only because of that man’s protection.”

At Tang Seo-o’s certainty, the anxiety on their faces lessened.

“And besides.”

He grinned sharply, as though driving in the final nail.

“Do you truly think the Clan Head would come back?”

His fierce eyes gleamed within the shadows.

His lips split wide, revealing blackened teeth.

“For the sake of one useless daughter?”

At Tang Seo-o’s words, they exchanged glances.

Right.

There was no way the Clan Head would cast aside the clan decree because of a mere girl like that.

Since the Clan Head’s departure, taking control of the clan had gone smoothly.

And it would continue to do so.

When daylight came and the sun climbed high into the sky, we headed toward the place where the clan assembly would be held.

The meeting hall stood atop a high hill near the Clan Head’s residence.

Dressed in heavy ceremonial robes, I was carried in Tang Dam’s arms as we climbed the stairs.

‘Thank goodness I have a bodyguard.’

Just imagining myself climbing all these stairs in such cumbersome clothes without Tang Dam made chills run down my spine.

Resting against Tang Dam, who didn’t even break a sweat, we soon reached the summit.

The first thing I saw was a training ground paved neatly with blue stone.

Behind it stood a low bronze-colored building.

A large number of people stood in front of the building, divided into two groups on either side of the entrance.

‘Is that the meeting hall?’

As we approached, I began recognizing faces.

“Huh?”

Among the crowd, I spotted two familiar faces.

Gwiheon and Tang Rim were standing among the people on the left, speaking with them.

The moment Tang Dam set me down, I called out,

“Oppas!”

Maybe I shouldn’t have shouted.

Both groups turned to look at me at once.

Pretending not to notice, I ran toward my brothers.

“So that’s the….”

“Right. This entire situation….”

I could hear people from the right group whispering unpleasantly while glaring at me.

At the center of that group stood Tang Seo-o.

‘So those are the branch family faction.’

Then the left side must be our allies.

“Yeon-ah.”

By the time I reached them, Gwiheon and Tang Rim turned toward me.

“Good morning.”

“Still sleepy? Your eyes are full of sleep.”

Tang Rim poked my cheek.

“I’m not! I’m fully awake!”

“Awake, my foot.”

Tang Rim chuckled, and even Gwiheon smiled faintly.

The two of them looked just like always.

Weren’t they nervous at all?

‘Even while those people are staring at us like they want us dead.’

I glanced back toward the group on the right.

Tang Seo-o and Gyogyo were there.

‘They’re smiling?’

And very boldly at that, almost as though they wanted me to see.

The moment I saw their smiles, a bad feeling passed through me.

“…No way.”

I carefully turned my head.

It felt like I shouldn’t show any sign of panic.

Truly, without exaggeration, everyone was staring at me.

As I slowly scanned the surroundings, I became certain.

No one was there.

Not the steward, nor Tang Eum, who had supposedly departed alongside him.

‘…He still hasn’t come.’

The Clan Head.

My father.

On the way here, I had deliberately tried not to think about him.

Because every time I did, my chest hurt.

My heart pounded so hard it physically ached.

But now, realizing that Father still hadn’t appeared even right before the assembly, my blood turned cold.

‘Both of us prepared so hard for this.’

I tugged lightly on Gwiheon’s sleeve and asked in a small voice,

“Oppa, where’s Father?”

For just a brief moment, Gwiheon’s expression stiffened.

But it quickly relaxed as though nothing had happened.

“He’s simply running a little late.”

He spoke as though Father would arrive soon, trying to reassure me.

But I had already seen that expression freeze.

My own face darkened as well.

“They say there’s been heavy rain over there. The roads must be rough, that’s all.”

Tang Rim added casually while resting his hands behind his head.

If anything, Tang Rim looked even more relaxed.

“What if he’s not coming?”

“That won’t happen.”

Tang Rim answered firmly.

His expression didn’t waver in the slightest.

How could he be so certain?

I looked up at him, full of doubt.

“Young Master Yi.”

Tang Seo-o’s voice cut through the air.

“It’s been quite some time now. Yet there’s still no sign of the Clan Head’s procession.”

Tang Seo-o’s group was now openly staring at us.

“No, didn’t someone confidently proclaim the Clan Head would come?”

One of them mocked openly, and the others laughed darkly.

“Did it ever make sense to summon the Clan Head over something this trivial?”

“Exactly. All this did was confirm the Clan Head’s absence. Hahaha.”

“You should be thanking Young Master Yi.”

Their insults and scorn were aimed squarely at Gwiheon.

I became worried about him.

No matter how smart he was, or how much older he was than us—

‘He’s still only fifteen.’

Watching clan elders openly mock him made my chest ache.

“Oppa. Let’s go inside. Let’s just wait inside, okay?”

I tugged at Gwiheon’s sleeve again.

Gwiheon lowered his gaze from Tang Seo-o to me.

I carefully examined his face.

If I saw even the slightest hint of tears, I felt like marching over there and teaching them a lesson.

At least in my heart.

“Do your legs hurt?”

Thankfully, Gwiheon looked completely fine.

If anything, his eyes only held disgust toward them.

‘As expected, Gwiheon isn’t ordinary either.’

And neither was Tang Rim, who was glaring at them as though he wanted to kill them.

“I’ll carry you. Come here.”

Gwiheon easily lifted me into his arms.

As he lightly tapped my curled twin braids, he spoke softly.

“Endure it just a little longer. Once Father arrives, we can go inside.”

I nodded.

It seemed the meeting hall doors wouldn’t open unless the Clan Head himself attended.

That must be why even Tang Seo-o was obediently waiting outside.

“Moonyak. Ring the bell.”

Cutting through the mocking laughter, Tang Seo-o’s voice rang out again.

The man standing beside him bowed and stepped forward.

Grabbing the rope attached to the bell hanging before the meeting hall, Moonyak shouted,

“Due to the Clan Head’s absence, the clan assembly will be dismissed!”

“What?!”

“We haven’t even waited that long! Let’s wait a little more!”

Our side erupted into commotion.

My mind went blank amidst the angry protests.

‘He really… didn’t come?’

Was it truly ending just like this?

If the clan split apart, the future wouldn’t change.

If they couldn’t even resolve an internal crisis properly, how could they possibly stop the enemies that would come from outside?

“I will count to five before dismissing the assembly. One.”

Ignoring the protests, the man began counting.

Panicked, I looked back and forth between Gwiheon and Tang Rim.

Gwiheon patted my back, while Tang Rim stared fixedly at the bell.

Even now, his eyes remained unwavering.

Did they really still believe Father would come?

“Two. Three.”

Father isn’t coming.

He doesn’t love me as much as my brothers do.

That’s why he left me behind.

“Four.”

Of course he wouldn’t come. It would be stranger if he did.

“Fi—”

Just as the man pulled the rope—

A fierce wind swept through the area, and a black figure flew onto the roof of the building.

The swaying bell stopped instantly.

A man dressed in black martial robes had appeared out of nowhere, pressing down on the bell with his foot.

“Hyungnim…!”

Tang Rim cried out excitedly.

It was Tang Eum.

His long straight hair fluttered wildly, obscuring his face, but we all knew instantly.

Tang Eum, who had departed alongside Father, had returned.

Which meant—

“W-what?! He definitely wasn’t there before!”

The people on the right side began murmuring in alarm.

Every single one of them turned toward the staircase.

No one should’ve been visible from that angle yet.

But they could feel it.

The presence of the one ascending those stairs.