A brief summary of the article published by the Demonic Cult News:
Ju Na Rin’s appearance, and behind it, there may be hidden political intentions to shake up the succession structure.
Furthermore, it subtly introduced rumors that were heard for the first time, such as whether Ju Na Rin’s existence was manipulated from the beginning, or whether Gong Son Wu was hiding the Asura Sword, and at the end, it blurred the words by saying it was difficult to ascertain the truth.
It’s a typical instigation article.
“Blinded by the desire to sell a few newspapers, they write this nonsense and call it writing!”
Gong Son Wu shouted, crumpling up the newspaper and throwing it.
“It doesn’t seem like they simply lost the scoop to the Heavenly Demon News and wrote a sensational article.”
Ju Na Rin picked up the newspaper Gong Son Wu threw, spread it out on the table, and continued speaking while pointing at each character with her finger.
“Look here. The way they emphasize ‘a demon girl from the Central Plains’ in every paragraph. Drawing lines, diluting, dividing… They can’t hide their skill.”
“Skill?”
“Rogues. Professional imitators.”
“Are you saying the Demonic Cult News has backers?”
At that, Na Rin looked up and met Gong Son Wu’s eyes.
“Of course they do! What have you been hearing so far? You’re really frustrating.”
“Why, this girl!”
“Elder brother. Father is stupid so he won’t understand. Please assign me a smart helper. Someone quick-witted, good at work, and with a sense of ownership like family.”
“I’ll find someone.”
“Cult Leader!”
“Speak.”
“What if you just listen to everything the child says? She’ll develop bad habits.”
“I didn’t just listen to her. I allowed it because I considered it a reasonable request.”
Dokgo Cheon gently stroked Na Rin’s head and continued.
“Anyway, if she’s going to stay at Somyeong Palace, she’ll need a few of her own people.”
“I’m moving there?”
“Right. Last time you said you didn’t want to.”
“I don’t want to. But…”
Dokgo Cheon’s finger pointed to a part of the newspaper article.
“Somyeong Palace’s ranking is shaky!”
“It mustn’t be shaky.”
Somyeong Palace is not a simple successor training institution.
It was also a mirror where one could foresee how the future power map of the Demonic Cult would be drawn, and a brutal battlefield where the young masters and ladies competed for the position of the Junior Cult Leader.
“The future is inherently uncertain. Thus, Somyeong Palace is easily consumed by anxiety. Like a willow tree swaying in the slightest wind.”
When Dokgo Cheon said “wind,” he looked at Na Rin.
“As long as Ju Na Rin stays in Somyeong Palace, the wind will not stop. When the wind blows like that, no one knows whether it will become a storm of blades or a storm of blood.”
Na Rin gulped.
The most famous story about the Demonic Cult’s situation known in the Central Plains.
In the Demonic Cult, when a new Cult Leader takes the throne, they kill all the siblings who might pose a threat in the future. It is said to be a place where fratricidal strife between siblings sharing the same blood occurs routinely.
‘That’s how the saying “the Demonic Cult respects the strong” spread widely.’
In such a situation, a youngest sibling who suddenly appears cannot be viewed favorably.
Moreover, if it becomes known that she spends all day by Dokgo Cheon’s side…
“I’m against it.”
Gong Son Wu tightly crossed his arms and spoke defensively.
“Na Rin is already catching attention. Entering Somyeong Palace now is like voluntarily making herself prey, saying ‘come eat me.'”
“Prey?”
“Yes. Prey.”
“Ju Na Rin?”
“…”
Gong Son Wu’s gaze flickered toward Na Rin and quickly returned to its place. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t imagine Na Rin being beaten or threatened.
‘Rather the opposite, maybe.’
In the end, Gong Son Wu loosened his tightly crossed arms powerlessly.
“A-anyway! It’s certain that if Na Rin enters Somyeong Palace, she’ll be at the bottom of the ranking! You haven’t forgotten that he has forty children, right?”
“Forty?!”
Na Rin’s eyes widened.
‘He was busy giving birth with such a fresh face!’
Of course, the father’s share in the production process(?) was not very high, but still, it was tremendous stamina.
“Then, then am I the forty-first daughter?”
“That’s right.”
Na Rin felt somewhat complicated.
It was as vivid as yesterday that she was lonely, saying she had no blood relatives under the sky, but suddenly she had forty older brothers and sisters, so should she be happy?
Or should she be disappointed that she finally found a successful biological father, but he already had forty children, so she became the lowest in rank?
“But you know what.”
Gong Son Wu spoke with a somewhat dissatisfied expression.
“You keep saying Ju Na Rin, Ju Na Rin… Her name is now Dokgo Na Rin. She’s the Cult Leader’s daughter. Did you forget?”
“Ah. I see.”
Dokgo Cheon showed a disinterested expression as if it didn’t matter.
To Dokgo Cheon, who had never acted as a father despite having many children, his concubine’s younger sister Ju Na Rin was more important than his youngest daughter Dokgo Na Rin.
“Na Rin, it may be awkward for you too, but call him Father, not Cult Leader.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Tsk tsk. The father and daughter are as alike as the moon cakes eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival.”
Moon cakes. Sounds delicious.
Grrrrrr!
A loud sound came from Na Rin’s stomach.
“How can you be hungry after eating so many sesame oil cakes…?”
Gong Son Wu made a face of tremendous shock.
Na Rin calmly said:
“Entering Somyeong Palace is a matter for later.”
“No, don’t you have to seriously go to the hospital? If there’s a beggar in your stomach, you have to get it out.”
“First, what should we do about this newspaper? We should either hire our own imitators, or find the backers and confront them. Father, what do you think is good?”
Gong Son Wu finally surrendered to Na Rin’s attitude of gritting her teeth and pretending not to know.
“…If possible, it would be better to confront them. Though it won’t be easy.”
“Why isn’t it easy?”
“Everyone knows you’re a disciple of Dongcheon Palace, yet they’re openly picking a fight like this, meaning they’re not afraid of me. Would the backers be easy opponents? But if the Cult Leader directly intervenes, it would prove favoritism and increase the instability in Somyeong Palace.”
Gong Son Wu sighed.
‘In the end, there’s no choice but to fight fire with fire by bringing in imitators.’
It can be done. However, in the process of arguing who is right and wrong, there’s no way to avoid getting dirty. And in this case, since the opponent is not revealing themselves, the only one who will be covered in dirt is Na Rin.
“For now, I’ll secretly take action. You hide and be careful for the time being…”
“Elder brother.”
“Hm?”
“Don’t even think about doing politics from now on.”
Na Rin loosened her body, cracking her neck.
“This disciple will take care of everything.”
Gong Son Wu closely observed Na Rin’s attitude, which seemed to have something to believe in, and spoke.
“Do you have a sharp plan?”
“I don’t know if it’ll be sharp or blunt, but it’ll be effective for now.”
Who would have thought the experience of living as a maid in the imperial palace in the 4th life would be used like this?
Na Rin smiled confidently and said:
“Have you heard of the term ‘gukppong (國奉)’?”
“What is that?”
The character ‘guk (國)’ means country, and ‘bong (奉)’ means to serve.
It is called ‘gukppong (國奉)’ because it means serving the country.
“It’s a political tactic in the Central Plains that exaggerates a group to maximize an individual’s pride and sense of belonging. It’s so useful.”
“There are all kinds of crafty tactics.”
Gong Son Wu shuddered as if he had heard something wicked.
“If you do that, the people will not be able to distinguish between their own interests and the interests of the group, and they will make decisions that harm themselves. No matter how useful it is, I cannot use such tactics.”
Na Rin stared at Gong Son Wu, who was making a fuss, and opened her mouth.
“They’re using it in the Azure Dragon Division.”
“Huh?”
Gong Son Wu, who made a dumbfounded sound out of surprise, cleared his throat and said, “Ahem.”
“How can that be? You must have misunderstood something.”
“No. Don’t they line up every morning and shout? We, the proud members of the Azure Dragon Division, become the hands and feet of the great guardian of the East, Lord Jiguk Cheonwang, and burn our bodies to light the path the Heavenly Demon walks, and so on…”
“T-that’s…! It’s because they need to feel a sense of purpose in their work and boost their loyalty and morale!”
“Right? I told you it’s useful.”
Gong Son Wu, unable to say it’s not true, let out a groan.
“So what should we do? Should we compose a song praising you and sing it around?”
“That’s good too, but it takes too long.”
In times like this, you need a decisive move.
When the emperor wants to strengthen royal power, when the atmosphere in the inner palace is turbulent, and even when children in the academy can’t focus, they unleash a decisive move.
‘In times like this, rice cakes and plays are the way to go.’
Na Rin looked at her father, no, the Cult Leader with sparkling eyes.
“Elder brother.”
“Speak.”
“Na Rin has made a great contribution, right? She brought back the Asura Sword.”
Dokgo Cheon, unaware of the fact, nodded his head without much thought.
“If there’s a reward you want, tell me.”
“No, not a reward.”
Na Rin twisted her body and flashed her eyes for a moment.
“Praise me.”
“Praise, you say.”
“Yes. Very grandly.”
What does it mean to ask for grand praise?
Dokgo Cheon’s question could be resolved before long.
The next day, Na Rin submitted an event plan that was three scrolls long.
[This is the timeline separator]One month after the Bongmadong incident.
Na Rin’s surroundings underwent quite dramatic changes.
The first was that she completely withdrew from the academy where she already rarely went out. They say that as a demon girl, she is not allowed to study with commoners, but.
They probably did that because they were worried I would do poorly in my studies.
Just because you have a grandiose title like Heavenly Demon’s bloodline doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have good grades.
‘They probably can’t whip a demon girl for not doing homework even if she has a prestigious title.’
But if they openly discriminate against other students, there will certainly be backlash, so how troublesome would that be? This is all for the peace of the Demonic Cult.
The second change was Na Rin’s position in the Ilwol Sect.
The reason was that even though the people were the same, the status had changed, so the previous treatment as a mere errand girl was uncomfortable. Na Rin thought she would be fired from the Ilwol Sect like the academy, but the result was the opposite.
“A Central Plains Consultant?”
“Yes. It’s Demon Girl Na Rin’s new position.”
The Ilwol Priestess handed Na Rin an ivory tablet with a bright smile.
“Do you like it?”
“I like it, but… why?”
Na Rin tilted her head, truly puzzled.
Because, to be honest, the only work Na Rin had done as an errand girl was sweeping the front yard of the Ilwol Sect a few times, like beans in a drought.
The Ilwol Priestess smiled warmly, as if she understood, and said:
“As the Demon Girl knows, I have lived my entire life only within the cult. But the Ilwol Sect is the beginning and the end of the Demonic Cult. We must be more knowledgeable about outside affairs than anyone else. In that regard, a demon girl from the Central Plains like Na Rin is an indispensable existence to me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Only then did Na Rin laugh, hehe.
The Ilwol Priestess laughed with Na Rin and maintained her usual calm expression. But inside, she was cheering for her excellent investment sense.
‘Of course! How did we form this connection!’
It had been a while since she poured money like water into a broken jar, trying to get on Gong Son Wu’s good side by taking in Na Rin as an errand girl.
How much demonic money had flowed out during that time? Sometimes she doubted and blamed herself, wondering if she had made the wrong judgment.
But that ends today.
‘Who would have thought this greedy squirrel was of the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline!’
Isn’t this truly great foresight?
All that’s left now is to reap the rewards.
The Ilwol Priestess’s eyes looking at Na Rin seemed to drip with honey.
“By the way, Lady Ilwol.”
“Yes, Lady Demon Girl.”
“How much is the salary?”
__________
My Clingy Little Husband (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.
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