Chapter 125: How could I have known that?!

༺ How could I have known that?! ༻

Tang Soyeol wondered if she had simply misheard her.

Namgung Bi-ah just said she had slept with Gu Yangcheon while holding his hands.

But now she was saying she might bear his child...?

Tang Soyeol then wondered if Namgung Bi-ah’s words were figurative.

When she said she slept with him while holding his hands, she might have meant that holding his hands was a part of sleeping with him. Tang Soyeol, recovering from her shock, began asking Namgung Bi-ah questions.

“Sis, are you saying your hand... um... the...”

However, the issue was that she did not know how to ask the question. She struggled to choose the most appropriate vocabulary.

She tried to ask anything, but at the same time she could feel her ears getting red.

Tang Soyeol finally asked after stumbling over her words for a long time.

“...So you slept only holding his hands?”

“No.”

“...!”

After hearing Namgung Bi-ah’s reply, Tang Soyeol bit her lip. So it wasn’t all figurative, then...

Tang Soyeol had to hide her emotions, which were beginning to plummet.

“I-I also hugged him too...”

“Hmm...?”

“I think... I also touched his cheek.”

Namgung Bi-ah, who was talking while avoiding eye contact, had slightly reddened cheeks, as if she was embarrassed. When Tang Soyeol saw that, she felt like she was getting closer to the truth.

It was strange.

Like, very strange.

Tang Soyeol then asked Namgung Bi-ah with her eyes opened wide.

“...What about after?”

“Do I... need to do anything more after...?”

“...”

After Tang Soyeol learned that she had just misunderstood, she felt that her mood improved.

But could a grown-up woman like that really have no knowledge in this department? Tang Soyeol started to wonder just how much Namgung Bi-ah didn’t know.

Did the Namgung Clan not have sex education?

Not only did Tang Soyeol get sex education from her clan, she willingly studied more in this department herself, so for her to hear that babies were conceived by holding hands was...

It would’ve honestly made more sense if she had said a phoenix, stork, or even a crow had delivered the baby for them. Hearing that babies came from two lovers holding hands was just that nonsensical.

In the end, Tang Soyeol stood up and sat next to Namgung Bi-ah. The sword-crazed girl couldn’t help but wonder why her friend decided to sit closer to her.

Tang Soyeol was trying to be as respectful as she could. Tang Soyeol could not bring herself to say it bluntly while facing the naive Wi Seol-Ah who was sitting next to Namgung Bi-ah.

“W...What’s wrong...?”

“Sis... Babies aren’t made like that.”

Tang Soyeol wondered if it was okay for her to tell her, but she also thought that she couldn’t just leave Namgung Bi-ah like this.

Tang Soyeol then whispered quietly into Namgung Bi-ah’s ears. She started telling Namgung Bi-ah what she knew in this field.

Did Tang Soyeol know that she was actually rather good at explaining things?

That day, Namgung Bi-ah found out the truth and got to see a whole new world because of it.

It was an eye-opening day for Namgung Bi-ah.

* * * *

I could not return to my residence until it was time for dinner. Namgung Jin had kept me longer than I expected.

Thanks to that, though, I was able to go through with the contract.

「I did not expect that Namgung child would accept that easily.」

“Neither did I.”

Both Elder Shin and I couldn’t help but wonder why Namgung Jin had accepted such a contract so easily.

I called it a contract, but it was more of a spell that was cast on him since some words on paper weren’t going to be that effective.

– Clomp.

As I walked back, I made sure to keep my body in motion. After sitting for several hours doing little more than circulating my Qi, my body felt stiff. It was also not simple to use such a spell on a martial artist at the fusion realm.

「I didn’t expect you to know how to put a seal on people.」

“Just an extra thing that I learned back in the day.”

The seal skill I used was a bit complicated, but it also wasn’t that impressive of a skill either.

I couldn’t even call it a seal when I compared it to the seal that the Heavenly Demon cast on people.

The seal of the Heavenly Demon held exorbitant power. Even if the person tried to escape from its grasp, they would never be able to escape.

We called that a curse.

On the contrary, the seal I used was similar to the one the Murim Alliance used. Not only did it require the caster to have their hands on the target while casting, but the person the seal was being put on had to flow their Qi in accordance with the movement of the caster’s Qi. Due to the process requiring so many things, it wasn’t a very effective skill.

「So it’s not really usable in a life-or-death situation.」

“Yeah.”

It was effective once cast, but overall, it wasn’t that much of a seal as it required the approval of the target.

Because of that, we had to spend a long time discussing the seal and our agreements. This included how long the spell would last, our goal for it, and many other things.

“He said he would do anything for the sword, but he still had a lot to say.”

It was understandable, though, as it was a process of literally putting a seal onto oneself. With his position, Namgung Jin had to give it some serious thought.

Nonetheless, he did go through with it in the end.

But I did not learn this spell so that I could use it as a weapon or to get what I wanted; rather, I did it because I wanted to earn people’s trust.

– To not betray

– To not hold grudges against each other.

– To believe in each other.

This spell was created by a friend in order for us to survive the damned Abyss. Thinking about it now, that spell didn’t even work in there.

But, ironically, we humans continued to believe that the spell was effective simply because we chose to believe so. Even after surviving the Abyss and living through a different timeline, I still wondered if perhaps that seal was still on me.

‘The seal does work.”

It just didn’t work in the Abyss, so I was still able to use it outside of that hell.

Quite a few times, actually.

Every time I used it, I remembered his voice; the voice of the man who was responsible for its creation.

– I swear I’m gonna kill you if you use this outside of this place.

– Why bark at me when you made it for us to use?

– I’m saying this because I didn’t make it for you to use it, you dimwit...!

He told me many times not to use this spell, but I used it to the fullest without listening one bit.

How could I not if this was the only seal I knew how to use?

「Even if he’s only half-complete, he’s still a man who’s reached the fusion realm. Shouldn’t you check if the lock is working in the first place?」

Elder Shin made some alarming comments, but I was not the least bit concerned.

‘With Namgung Bi-ah? I guess it makes sense since they’re friends, but did they have a reason to come to my place?’

“Lady of the house and the Sword Master are also here currently.”

“Oh yeah, I was already told. Why did they come here anyway?”

Hongwa tilted her head a bit after hearing my question.

“Uh, they said the Young Master invited them to dinner today...”

“I did what?”

‘Did I?’

I felt like I had said we should have dinner together sometime, but was that today?

I could’ve sworn we hadn’t set an exact date for that.

It was still good, though, since I planned to see the Sword Master in the near future anyway. While I was thinking, Hongwa spoke with a worried tone.

“Young Master...”

“Yeah.”

“Lady Namgung’s expression didn’t look too good.”

“What? Does she feel sick?”

“No, it didn’t seem that way.”

“Hmm, all right, I’ll go ask her.”

It was rather rare for a servant to worry about a child of a different clan, but it was understandable as I had seen Namgung Bi-ah and Hongwa talk to each other from time to time.

‘Her expression didn’t look too good, huh.’

Almost never did her facial expressions change, and even when they did, few people would have noticed, so how bad was the change for even Hongwa to notice?

Concerned that she might actually be ill, I walked with rapid steps.

I saw Namgung Bi-ah flinch as soon as I opened the door.

Tang Soyeol was next to her, and they both flinched when I entered, as if they were having a private conversation.

“Lady Tang, you are here.”

“Hello, Young Master Gu...”

“What brought you here? Oh, was it because of the reason you were here before?”

“Oh, that is not it. Sister Bi-ah said she wanted to eat with us...”

“Here? Together?”

“Is that not... possible?”

“...Nah, it’s fine.”

I might have said it was fine, but I couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable after learning that Tang Soyeol had feelings for me. I didn’t know what to do with her.

‘I’ve never had to deal with anyone having a crush on me.’

It was such a new feeling for me that it was obvious I would feel uncomfortable.

「To word it differently, it takes a Tang girl like that for you to finally notice.」

‘Why do you always pipe up when I think about those things?’

「It’s the joy of my life.」

I let out a sigh and asked the two girls who couldn’t fix their expressions.

“You both seemed very surprised when I came in. What were you two talking about?”

“N-Nothing. We weren’t talking about anything! Right, sis?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Why were they acting this way? Anyone could tell they were talking about something.

They must have been very focused, since first-rate martial artists like them didn’t even notice me approaching the door.

I first looked at Namgung Bi-ah.

As Hongwa had said earlier, her expression did seem rather different. I even saw that her face and ears were slightly heated.

I approached Namgung Bi-ah and asked, “You feeling okay?”

“No... I’m fine.”

“No? You don’t look fine, though?”

“I’m... fine... so please back off a little.”

She seemed to have a fever, so I tried to place my hand on her forehead.

I didn’t really hesitate to do so since I had done this a few times before. I thought it was the same for Namgung Bi-ah.

-Slap!

“Hmm?”

However, I was wrong.

Namgung Bi-ah slapped my hand away. She seemed surprised by herself too, as she covered her mouth with her hand while her eyes widened up. It was a novel sight to see Namgung Bi-ah make such a shocked expression.

“You found it uncomfortable for me to touch your forehead? You should’ve told me.”

“No... It’s not uncomfortable. I was just surprised...”

“I don’t think I did anything too shocking... I can call you a medic if you don’t feel well.”

“Today is just a bit hot...”

“...You know it’s already fall, right?”

Even I felt the chilly weather despite my body being tempered with my flame arts, so how could she be hot?

Tang Soyeol interrupted the conversation because I was looking at Namgung Bi-ah suspiciously.

“S-Sis must be sweating because she worked out earlier.” Right?”

“...Yeah.”

It seemed like Tang Soyeol was talking for Namgung Bi-ah for some reason. That being said, Namgung Bi-ah’s clothing looked too neat.

Furthermore, she even looked different from usual, as she had some makeup on, though not as much as on the day of the engagement. That meant that she didn’t train.

That was my thought, but I didn’t intend to argue any longer.

I thought that I should just let it be since they seemed to be having a secret conversation.

“All right. I’ll tell the servants to prepare more meals.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, by the way, the Sword Master might be joining us for the meal, would that be okay?”

“O-Of course, I came here without any notice, so I have no right to-“

Tang Soyeol, who was replying joyfully, suddenly stopped. After a brief pause, she opened her mouth again.

“Wait, Young Master Gu.”

“Yes?”

“...Who did you say we were eating with?”

“The Sword Master.”

Tang Soyeol’s expression changed strangely after hearing my words, as if she had misheard me.

I noticed that Tang Soyeol seemed to have lost her posture, so I asked her.

“Did you not know that the Sword Master was here in the Gu Clan?”

“How could I have known that?!”

Tang Soyeol shouted back.