I deliberately blocked the sight to avoid making eye contact with Namgung Ryeo, but Baekho, angered, scratched my sleeve.

‘Ugh, it’s upset again.’

Anyway, Baekho is fussy. If it walks beside me or secretly follows me, who would say anything? It’s hearing the ungrateful cat remarks because it’s so openly cradled like a baby in my arms.

To divert the attention from Baekho, I brought up a casual topic.

“What’s famous in Anhwiseong? Like a delicacy?”

“I don’t even bow my head this way, so I don’t know.”

But the reply was unfriendly. It was when I was about to ask how on earth she had spent her time in Anhwiseong. Grandfather answered instead.

“The black tea is very famous. The Yellow Mountain of Anhwiseong is not only beautiful but also grows green tea of good quality.”

“Oh, so that’s why the roasted black tea is famous.”

“Yes. It comes from Gimoonhyeon, so it’s called Gimoon black tea.”

“Wow, that’s fascinating.”

Gimoon black tea! As I was admiring it, Namgung Ryeo grumbled again.

“There’s nothing fascinating. The grasshopper taste is all the same.”

He really was consistently contemptuous of his family and clan. It wouldn’t be easy to cut off your family and bloodline like that.

I was both amazed and astonished and exclaimed.

“Namgung Sojeo is really brave.”

“I wasn’t like that from the beginning. How could a child, who has grown up outside the family, hated and moaning, be brave? Just a dull child, conscious of people.”

Namgung Ryeo spoke coolly, as if talking about someone else’s story. But I was not so dull that I couldn’t feel the weight in her words. As I kept my mouth shut, searching for words of comfort, Namgung Ryeo spoke again with a broad smile.

“But after witnessing thrilling revenge, I thought I shouldn’t live like this.”

“Thrilling revenge?”

Who exactly took revenge on whom? Blinking in confusion at the unfamiliar words, Namgung Ryeo changed the subject.

“By the way, aren’t you hungry? It seems to be lunchtime.”

As if to prove it was no joke, a loud rumbling sound echoed from her stomach.

(This is a time divider.)

Namgung Ryeo’s slightly upturned round eyes took in the woman, who was lightly walking with a white cat in her arms.

‘Jegal Yeon.’

The woman she had long sought after.

‘I didn’t know her name had changed, and she was in the North. I almost had to search the whole central region.’

Marrying into Jegal Jihyeon was her luck. Thanks to that, she could naturally enter the Jegal family, and meet Jegal Yeon, who was not easily met otherwise.

‘And I got something tasty.’

Namgung Ryeo fiddled with her fingers. Tied to her waist was a small pouch filled with snacks that Yeon had packed for her before leaving Jegal’s house.

‘I want to eat them all, but then I can’t eat them when I want to again.’
Feeling regretful about the food diminishing was a first. All this time, she had hurriedly emptied her food.

And it had something to do with her childhood.

After the stepmother tried to poison her, she was punished heavily.

And almost halfdead, Namgoong Lye was sent to a mountain sanctuary with one of the family warriors. It was because they said the energy of the mountain sanctuary would heal her body automatically.

Automatically.

Without doing anything.

It was unreasonable to expect the accompanying warrior to play any role.

He didn’t want to look after a young girl, an annoying child who would collapse easily, so he made her do the same tasks repeatedly.

For example, practicing punching or repeated kicking.

“Huff, huff. I’ve done 400 punches.”

Young Namgoong Lye went to the warrior, sweating profusely, having finished the task he had given.

But the warrior, lying down, answered without even opening his eyes.

“Do it again.”

“What? I just did 400 times? And now I’m hungry…….”

“If you’re hungry, pick some grass and eat it.”

The warrior, who had refused to give even one bowl of rice to a growing child, grumbled and rolled over.

“What is this situation I’m in. If I’m going to die, I should just die quickly.”

With those words, Namgoong Lye precisely understood her situation.

‘My father still doesn’t care about me.’

He may have punished the stepmother to please others’ attention and gaze, but he doesn’t particularly love Namgoong Lye. If he keeps looking at her, memories of losing his beloved wife because of this girl keep coming up.

That’s why he sent Namgoong Lye to a distant mountain, under the plausible excuse of detoxification.

‘But he’s still my father. He temporarily cast me aside because he’s hurting now, but he’ll turn around soon.’

Namgoong Lye comforted herself that way, but she knew it wasn’t likely.

So winter came and spring came and winter came again, how many times had it repeated?

It was one day in the same daily routine when he came looking for Namgoong Lye.

A sound as large as a giant rolling its feet resonated in the mountains. Hungry and looking for edible grass or fruit, Namgoong Lye perked up her ears.

‘What’s that noise?’

It was clearly an artificial sound. Without people chopping wood or mining stone, there was no way such a sound would be made.

‘Perhaps Namgoong’s third child could be a person.’

Hope ignited in her heart.

‘Then I can get out of this mountain!’

It was then, as Namgoong Lye ran towards the sound with a bright face.

Something burst out with a very, very dull sound. It was only a long time later that she realized it was blood.

“Huh?”

Namgoong Lye looked at the disaster unfolding before her with a stunned expression.

Crumbled rocks, broken houses and trees, and people lying in front of them like rags.

Lastly, a boy with black hair, dropping blood from his hand, glared with eyes as black as his hair.

“What are you?”

It was Danmokbi.