Na Rin was sick and tired of fakes.

Fake Asura Sword, fake Eternal Cold Iron.

Why were there so many fakes in this world?

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Perhaps it was because her conversation partner was a child.

Once she told a lie, it felt easier to continue than she had expected.

Ae Deok Hwa added a few plausible excuses to increase credibility.

“At first, I didn’t know either. The Gwangmok Heavenly King confirmed that it was not Eternal Cold Iron.”

“So you came to Seocheon Palace?”

Ae Deok Hwa nodded.

Na Rin glanced at the white outer walls of Seocheon Palace, sunken in darkness.

It was an unfamiliar building, but it didn’t feel unfamiliar because she was acquainted with its owner.

‘The West Saja, Gwangmok Heavenly King Sa Ma Jil.’

A strategist well-versed in matters outside the sect, skilled at manipulating people, and unafraid to get his hands dirty. A middle-aged man with distinctive catfish-like long mustache, a skinny frame, and round glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

‘He’s involved with no ordinary person.’

Na Rin’s eyes, which had been gazing at Seocheon Palace, caught the servants busily moving between the entrance of Seocheon Palace and the carriage.

The large, square objects wrapped in colorful cloth they were carrying. They were likely chests.

“Ah, those are……”

Ae Deok Hwa took the initiative to explain even before Na Rin asked.

“After a long business trip left me penniless, the Gwangmok Heavenly King took pity on me and gave me a consolation gift.”

“A gift?”

That couldn’t be.

Sa Ma Jil was the type of man who hated giving away anything for free the most.

On the other hand, he was also the kind of guy who would gladly sell even his own family if the price was right.

‘It’s not like I haven’t benefited from him, so I can’t just criticize.’

Sa Ma Jil truly sold anything.

Even selling information about his allies to the enemy during wartime, as long as the price was right, he didn’t care.

In other words, Na Rin had been his regular customer.

“The Gwangmok Heavenly King is so generous… Young lady? Young lady!”

Ignoring Ae Deok Hwa’s words, Na Rin jumped onto the carriage’s cargo compartment. She quickly scanned it with her eyes and saw that each carriage contained twenty chests. And there were six carriages.

‘If we assume each chest is worth about a hundred nyang……’

Twelve thousand nyang.

Damn it. Even if there had been an auction, she would have lost.

At this rate, she couldn’t even try to take it by force with money.

‘Sigh. I’m still too poor.’

Na Rin shook her head, repeating a thought that would stir public outrage if others heard it.

“What is the meaning of this! Rummaging through someone else’s belongings!”

Na Rin stared intently at Ae Deok Hwa.

Before long, he avoided her gaze, revealing a discomfited look. As expected, he was hiding something.

“Generous, you say?”

Na Rin said.

“If that geezer, no, he’s not quite a geezer yet. Anyway, if that old man heard he was being called generous, more than a few people would be so dumbfounded they’d faint.”

“Young lady, just where have you come from to speak so rudely?”

“Myeonggung.”

“……!”

Ae Deok Hwa’s body trembled greatly.

That was the reaction of a thief afraid of getting caught.

Na Rin carefully observed Ae Deok Hwa’s change in demeanor at the mention of ‘Myeonggung’ and probed further.

“Looks like he sold something incredibly expensive.”

This time, his face noticeably darkened.

“Please leave now.”

What was this? Did he sell at a loss?

‘If he thinks he made a loss even after receiving twelve thousand nyang…….’

It meant he didn’t just sell the Eternal Cold Iron.

Na Rin probed once more.

“Or did someone gain leverage over him?”

“I told you to leave! I have nothing to sell to you, young lady!”

Ae Deok Hwa shouted angrily, then quickly entered the carriage.

“Depart at once! Hurry!”

Whatever his reason for leaving at this late hour, his escape looked exactly like a night flight.

There was only one thing Na Rin learned from this.

‘That old man Sa Ma Jil has started to make his move.’

The deep night where even shadows had become faint at Seocheon Palace.

Na Rin’s eyes, gazing into that abyss, sparkled as brightly as the North Star rising in the dark night.

“……Hm?”

She had a feeling she was forgetting something.

‘Since I can’t recall it well, it must not be a big deal?’

Na Rin shrugged it off as unimportant.

As is often the case in such situations, the matter Na Rin had forgotten was quite significant.

“Dokgo Na Rin.”

“Yes.”

“Are you a child in your right mind?”

“I apologize.”

Kneeling in the main hall, Na Rin was getting thoroughly scolded by Dokgo Cheon for the first time. It was no ordinary matter for him to scold her in the main hall rather than his bedroom.

‘Well, I mean. I admit I was in the wrong.’

But wasn’t this almost like being treated as a criminal?

It felt too harsh for a six-year-old baby.

“What time is it now?”

“It’s the Haesi (21~23 hours).”

“A young child wandering outside at the Haesi is a big problem in itself, but if you knew you would be this late, shouldn’t you have had someone relay a message in advance?”

He had a point.

Na Rin bowed her head, trying her best to show a remorseful attitude.

“I was wrong.”

“Why did you do it?”

Na Rin slightly raised her eyes and glanced at Dokgo Cheon’s face. His expression was as cold as an inanimate object, with only an additional wrinkle between his brows, but the chilling anger beneath it was no joke.

‘Let’s try to appease his anger first.’

The first reason for Na Rin’s late return was largely due to losing track of time while writing a letter to Jaha. But mentioning that wouldn’t be of any help to Na Rin.

“I encountered bandits on my way back.”

This was where the story should start.

“Bandits……”

Dokgo Cheon looked at Na Rin with a doubtful gaze.

Na Rin was objectively famous. There was her achievement at the last New Year’s Festival, and she was also the protagonist of a fairy tale. Even if someone didn’t know her face, it would be hard to feign ignorance upon seeing that white hair.

“What bandit in this world would dare harm the daughter of the highest authority? It lacks plausibility.”

“It’s true!”

As Na Rin abruptly stood up, Dokgo Cheon gestured with his chin as if giving a cue.

Ugh. Na Rin had no choice but to kneel again.

“So what happened to that bandit?”

“I put him in the Uiwang Palace. What did they say, that he had broken bones and internal bleeding……. They called him frail or something like that.”

“Did you use your hands?”

“I only pretended to use my hands, it was mostly my feet.”

Na Rin thought this was her chance and quickly began to tell the story about the thief.

“The bandit was originally trying to die. After hearing his circumstances, half of it was pitiful and the other half was idiotic, but it was a problem that could be solved with money, so he risked his life to commit robbery.”

“Still, he shouldn’t have done that.”

He was right.

“So I taught him a lesson!”

“Well done. But why did you put him in the Uiwang Palace instead of the Naeok? Why bother treating a criminal who was going to die anyway?”

“Die?”

“He attempted robbery against a Magongnyeo, so he should pay with his life, shouldn’t he?”

So that’s how it turns out.

‘Strictly speaking, it was attempted though.’

The mere attempt was indeed a serious crime.

If the other party had not been Na Rin, a terrible incident could have occurred. However, having heard the thief’s pitiful yet foolish story in detail, Na Rin found it distasteful to just let him die.

“Is there no other way than killing him?”

“Why.”

“If he’s going to die anyway, I thought I could make use of him. When I enter Somyeonggung, I won’t have any servants to take with me, so I’ll teach him well and try to make a proper person out of him.”

Dokgo Cheon shook his head.

“A criminal must pay for his crimes according to the law. If a criminal does not pay for his crimes, it may have the effect of encouraging crime. And when it comes to servants who will attend to you, trust is the most important thing. Who would bring along a bandit as a servant?”

He was right about this as well.

However, Na Rin did not back down.

“I don’t like it! I want to use him! It’s hard to find servants, you know!”

Of course, saying that wouldn’t suddenly give her nonexistent persuasive skills.

Na Rin spoke in a whining tone, like a child begging for a toy.

“I’ll make sure he properly pays for his crimes. I’ll make him repeat every day, ‘So this is hell, I should have died back then.’ Please let me keep him, Father!”

Dokgo Cheon let out an awkward laugh with a perplexed face and said,

“All right. I grant permission.”

“Really?”

“But in return, you must put him through proper hardship.”

“Yes! Of course!”

Na Rin cheered, happy to have saved the thief’s life and gained a new servant. Whether the thief would be happy about it was uncertain though.

“Is that the only reason you were late?”

“Ah, there’s one more thing.”

Na Rin told him about the merchant from Bukhaebinggung who appeared with the fake Eternal Cold Iron, and how that merchant received an enormous gift from Seocheon Palace.

“What do you think?”

“It’s a common occurrence.”

“Is it?”

Na Rin widened her eyes in surprise.

“The Demon Sect pays the highest price for Eternal Cold Iron. It’s only natural for a merchant to drop everything and rush to the Demon Sect. However, not many people can usually distinguish between ordinary cold iron and Eternal Cold Iron. It’s natural to want an appraisal beforehand.”

“But why at Seocheon Palace of all places?”

“Gwangmok Heavenly King Sa Ma Jil runs the largest merchant group and battlefield in Simmandeasan. He is well-versed in matters from all over the world, so he can be considered a suitable person to entrust with the appraisal of Eternal Cold Iron.”

Even after hearing Dokgo Cheon’s words, Na Rin still did not let go of her suspicions. It was because she knew Sa Ma Jil’s character of never offering free goodwill.

“But the wealth he received from Seocheon Palace was like a mountain. There were six carriages, each containing twenty chests!”

“Did you see what was inside?”

“I couldn’t see that, but if it was wealth, it would be worth at least twelve thousand nyang!”

“Bukhaebinggung has rare ice crystals and gems in abundance, but lacks food. If the chests contained food, it wouldn’t be strange for the quantity to be large.”

“B-but it might not be food……”

“Na Rin.”

Dokgo Cheon looked at Na Rin with a somewhat puzzled expression and asked,

“Is there something troubling you?”

Upon reflecting on herself after hearing those words, she felt that she had been too sensitive.

It was true that she had a bias against Sa Ma Jil, but the real reason Na Rin didn’t take Ae Deok Hwa’s words at face value was different.

“I wanted the Eternal Cold Iron. So I didn’t want to believe it was fake.”

“The Eternal Cold Iron?”

Na Rin nodded.

“I wanted to make a sword.”

“I suppose none of the swords in the Armory caught your fancy.”

Initially, Na Rin had planned to choose one of the divine weapons in the Armory as her exclusive weapon. She had taken it lightly, thinking she could just grab any of them since they were all famous swords.

However, reality was not so simple.

“When I actually thought of them as my swords, there were one or two shortcomings or things that bothered me about each of them.”

Dokgo Cheon nodded as if it was understandable.

“The weapons in the Armory are items wielded by heroes who commanded the world. They are so outstanding that they may be uncomfortable for someone other than their true owner to use.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

Then, when she heard about the appearance of Eternal Cold Iron, she thought this was her chance.

This time, she could finally have a sword that was entirely her own.

“Sigh.”

As Na Rin sighed dejectedly, Dokgo Cheon quietly watched her and said,

“If you really want one, you can take the Eternal Cold Iron from the Cheonmabigo and melt it down. You can bring out any single item from there.”

Na Rin shook her head.

“I don’t feel like melting down a weapon.”

“There are things other than weapons too.”

Dokgo Cheon crossed his arms and continued, as if recalling an old memory while looking upward.

“I’m certain there was a palm-sized iron plate.”