Chapter 19
Unconsciously, I glanced toward Tang Seo-o’s face.
He was smiling.
His eyes gleamed with greed, as though everything was unfolding exactly as he had expected.
‘No way…’
No. That couldn’t be true.
Abandoning his real daughter and bringing in the girl who bullied her as an adopted daughter—
Was the very situation I had feared all this time actually about to happen?
My body turned cold.
I heard a rattling sound, only to realize it was my own jaw trembling.
“I do not know, Clan Head.”
Gyogyo hid her excitement and bowed politely.
“If there is a reason, may I ask what it is?”
She asked in an innocent tone.
Swallowing nervously, I looked up at Father.
Everyone else’s eyes were fixed on him too.
Everyone in the city had probably thought the same thing deep down.
That Gyogyo, the only branch-family girl living in the Central Courtyard, might replace me.
That Father had brought her in for exactly that reason.
This moment would decide whether those suspicions—and my fears—were true.
Father slowly closed and opened his eyes.
His shadowed gaze was astonishingly calm.
Then his answer came.
“A companion.”
“…What?”
I blinked.
Not just me—everyone except Tang Rim and Gwiheon looked stunned.
Looking down at the dumbfounded Gyogyo, Father continued coldly,
“My daughter has no sisters of her own. I brought you in because I thought she might feel lonely.”
“L-lonely…?”
Gyogyo’s mouth fell open.
“……”
Mine did too.
The answer was so utterly insignificant.
Suddenly, all the tension I’d felt seemed ridiculous.
All the days I’d spent feeling miserable while comparing myself to Gyogyo flashed through my mind like a passing lantern.
‘Father! Then you should’ve just said so!’
I barely restrained myself from blurting it out.
“…You never told me that…”
Gyogyo asked blankly, half out of her mind.
Father pressed his lips tightly together.
After letting out a deep breath through his nose, he spoke quietly.
“When one brings home a dog, does one explain every reason to the dog itself?”
It was phrased like a question, but it was really a firm answer.
A response that meant:
I never expected you to forget your place and act like this.
Comparing her to a dog was admittedly harsh, but honestly, that barely registered to me.
My mind was completely occupied by one thought.
‘Then Father didn’t bring Gyogyo in to replace me.’
He brought her in for my sake.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Father likes me.
The realization finally hit me clearly, and warmth spread through my chest.
I wanted to run over to Father immediately and tell him how much I’d missed him.
Just like an ordinary father and daughter would.
And I wanted to stick my tongue out at Gyogyo and tease her.
That I wasn’t jealous of her doting grandfather anymore.
‘Because I have a father too.’
The trembling in my body stopped instantly.
I could feel Tang Rim’s arm wrapped protectively around my waist.
I could see Gwiheon standing before me like a shield.
This was my family.
My real family.
“Hehe…”
A weak laugh escaped me, and I quickly covered my mouth.
Perhaps she heard it, because Gyogyo turned and glared at me.
“…In any case, if your relationship with my daughter is as you claim, then there is no reason for you to remain here.”
Father turned toward Tang Seo-o as he spoke.
“You may take your adopted granddaughter with you, Elder.”
“W-what nonsense is this…!”
Even Elder Tang Seo-o seemed shaken, unable to speak properly.
So Gyogyo had only been an adopted granddaughter.
I’d honestly thought she was his real granddaughter because of how affectionate he acted.
“G-grandfather…”
Gyogyo hesitated and looked toward Tang Seo-o.
But Tang Seo-o merely fumed without even glancing at her.
Completely deflated, Gyogyo returned to her seat.
“Then this matter is settled, is it not?!”
Tang Seo-o finally spoke after suppressing his anger.
“You cannot prove who brought in the poisonous herbs, nor can you prove whether this child knowingly used them. What conclusion can possibly be drawn? Let us end the clan assembly here—”
“No.”
Gwiheon, who had been silent until now, interrupted him.
As though he had been waiting for that exact moment, the corners of his lips curved upward.
“We can prove it.”
The skin around Tang Seo-o’s eyes twisted.
He looked as though he wanted to kill Gwiheon on the spot.
I could see him gripping his cane impatiently over and over.
“And what exactly do you intend to prove, Young Master? Are you planning to force another absurd argument?”
Tang Seo-o sneered.
He showed no signs of panic whatsoever.
As though he were certain no further evidence could appear.
Honestly, I’d thought the same.
With the culprit dead, it should’ve been impossible to prove their crimes here and now.
But Gwiheon clearly thought otherwise.
“At the very least, we can prove that the Elder’s adopted granddaughter is suspicious.”
Gwiheon pulled a small pouch from inside his robes.
Handing it to the Vice Hall Master, he said,
“This is the evidence.”
The Vice Hall Master opened the pouch and examined its contents.
Broken wooden fragments and crumbled leaves.
“……”
He rolled the pieces across his palm with his thumb, then seemed to notice something and brought them to his nose.
After smelling them briefly, he reached toward the wooden box set aside nearby.
Placing the pouch’s contents beside the herbs from the box, he began comparing them one by one.
I stretched my neck out and examined both items just as intently as he did.
And immediately my eyes widened.
“They are the same herbs, and from the same container. Where did you find this, Young Master?”
At the question, Gwiheon turned toward me.
Smiling brightly enough to reveal his dimples, he answered,
“We found it in the collapsed watchtower yesterday.”
I stared at Gwiheon with my mouth hanging open.
‘Gwiheon found it.’
The hallucinogenic herbs Gyogyo had hidden in the collapsed tower.
How had he managed to find something so small amidst all that rubble in just one day?
He must have been that desperate too.
“Yeon-ah.”
Gwiheon called me.
“Tell them what happened yesterday.”
“…Okay.”
Clenching my hands tightly in my lap, I nodded.
Tang Rim gently set me down and patted my back.
It felt like he was telling me to be brave.
I walked forward as confidently as I could.
I deliberately ignored the burning stares coming from the right side.
Then I stopped and lifted my head.
The Vice Hall Master seated above.
Father seated at the highest position.
The sight of both of them looking down at me felt overwhelming.
How did everyone else endure those gazes?
Even I, the Clan Head’s daughter, felt suffocated.
“Hello.”
First, I folded my hands politely and bowed my head.
I saw the Vice Hall Master give a slight nod.
Father merely slowly closed and opened his eyes again.
With no response, the atmosphere became awkward for no reason.
Pushing through the discomfort, I began speaking.
“…Well, yesterday I saw Sister Gyogyo. Coming out of the watchtower.”
Pretending to glance nervously toward Gyogyo, I continued,
“There was… a familiar scent coming from her. The scent that let me see Mother. Though it was poison…”
For a brief moment, I thought Father’s expression flickered.
“I thought Sister might’ve hidden the poison in the tower, so I went there, but…”
I considered mentioning the fight and Tang Museon too, but held back.
The hallucinogenic herbs were what mattered right now.
“…The watchtower collapsed. So I couldn’t find it.”
As I awkwardly finished speaking, the hall stirred once more.
The Vice Hall Master closed his eyes, nodded, and said,
“We have heard enough. You may return now.”
“Ah, yes! Goodbye.”
I bowed again and hurried back to my seat.
Tang Rim immediately patted my head and praised me.
Smiling back at him, I thought to myself:
‘There’s no way they can deny this now.’
Everyone knew about the chaos yesterday.
After all, a building within the city had suddenly collapsed without warning.
Turning my eyes slightly, I looked toward Gyogyo.
Her face had gone completely pale.
Even Tang Seo-o had stopped smiling so smugly and now looked serious.
Unbothered by the tense atmosphere, Gwiheon continued speaking.
“This box was found within that collapsed watchtower. Gyogyo knew exactly what those hallucinogenic herbs were yesterday. Yet instead of disposing of such dangerous substances, she hid them. Furthermore…”
Tilting his head slightly, Gwiheon looked directly at Tang Seo-o.
“How exactly did Gyogyo obtain such expensive poisonous herbs, Elder?”
