Chapter : 25
“Y-You…!”
Yu Geon-myeong couldn’t stand; he could barely straighten his upper body as he looked up at Tak Mu-seong.
Tak Mu-seong warned him,
“Just because you’re betrothed to her doesn’t mean she belongs to you. You’re only a stepping stone where she may rest for a while. While she leans on you, make sure she doesn’t get entangled in anything dangerous.”
There was not a trace of exaggeration in Mu-ryeong’s threat—that if he failed, both him and the Daejeong Merchant Guild would vanish without leaving even a single foundation stone behind.
So that’s why he came all the way to Baekho Hall—to say this, Yu Geon-myeong realized.
Then it seemed he lost his composure after hearing Oh Min-gi’s nonsense.
When he left, he didn’t even spare Oh Min-gi a glance.
Whether it was a shred of mercy—or simply that he felt no need to kill a man who was already half a corpse—no one could tell.
Yu Geon-myeong let out a long sigh.
“Geon-myeong!”
“Are you okay?”
His friends rushed over, calling his name.
Just the fact that he hadn’t run away in front of Mu-ryeong was admirable enough, so they tried to put on their best faces.
Yu Geon-myeong brushed himself off and stood up, saying he was fine. He asked them to throw Oh Min-gi into the medical pavilion.
Left alone, the first thing he did was check the item in his chest pocket.
“…Phew.”
Fortunately, the box was unharmed.
He had been so worried it might have been crushed during the ordeal.
He opened the lid of the small box, barely large enough to sit in his palm.
Inside was a pair of ring-shaped earrings made of red jade.
“Getting these was ridiculously hard.”
A one-of-a-kind blood jade had appeared on the market, and he’d desperately wanted to buy it, but the opportunity never came.
He even considered investigating the imperial palace, thinking no one else could have bought something that precious—before giving up.
So he settled for the next best option. Red jade was also an extremely rare treasure and had cost him a considerable sum.
Still, the more he looked at them, the more he liked them.
I need to give these to her before the betrothal ceremony—I should hurry.
Of course, not looking like this.
Yu Geon-myeong returned to his quarters.
His whole body ached, so he figured he should check his injuries.
As he trudged along, he thought none of the Three Spirits were in their right minds—then remembered Jae-ryeong.
Since Jae-ryeong had helped make his marriage with her happen, it felt wrong to lump him in with the insults.
“At least Lord Jae-ryeong is sane,” he muttered.
He had no idea what was about to happen soon.
* * *
Namgung Manor was bustling with preparations for the betrothal ceremony.
If it were only for Namgung Yeon-hwa or Yu Geon-myeong, they wouldn’t have gone this far—but since all three Spirits had announced they would attend, nothing could be lacking.
So when Yeon-hwa arrived at the manor, no one was there to greet her.
Even though it’s my own event, it feels like I’ve been excluded.
She felt no particular emotion about it.
She only worried that Chief Steward Mang might blame himself later.
It’s fine. If he feels bad, I’ll just say I was so busy I didn’t even notice being neglected.
And it was true.
Before the ceremony, she had to meet many people who wished to present gifts and pay their respects in advance.
Most came merely for appearances, but some were individuals she had already approached for persuasion—each side with their own motives.
Talented individuals who were ostracized as non-mainstream or branch family members had ability but no opportunity, while Yeon-hwa lacked people she could truly call her own.
Of course, she didn’t yet have the power to elevate them—but she had found a way to make up for that and had moved on to the next step.
She asked those outsiders and branch members to help form a new, rising faction within the Namgung clan—one that could breathe fresh life into it—and established cooperative relationships with them.
Trust didn’t exist yet, so they would begin with small benefits and gradually build a solid foundation.
Though exhausted from receiving guests—something she was never good at—the moment she heard the name of her final visitor, her eyes snapped open.
Vice-Commander of Changyeong Unit, Seong Ha-ran!
Unlike the others, she was not an outsider or branch member but part of the main line—the second daughter of the Seong family, a key vassal house of the Namgung clan.
There was an age gap between them, so they hadn’t interacted much, but she had been childhood friends with Brother Seon-yu and extremely close to him.
Truthfully, when people spoke of Brother Seon-yu’s closest companions, everyone mentioned the Three Spirits first…
But Seon-yu, who loved making friends and giving generously, always had people around him—there was no way he had only those three as friends!
They simply weren’t as publicly known as the Three Spirits.
Yeon-hwa had been searching for trustworthy old friends of her brother to seek help from—and Seong Ha-ran was the first and most important person, someone who could become the center of this effort.
Of course, she had no intention of begging solely based on past ties or her brother’s name.
That would be no different from her relationship with the Three Spirits.
She would use her brother’s name only to make the first connection; afterward, she would provide what they truly needed.
Just like with Young Master Yu—and the people around me now. I can’t give much right away, but I do have some respectable martial skills and a name with weight.
If she gathered people, built connections, linked individuals to what they needed, mediated conflicts, and helped everyone resolve problems with minimal damage…
That, too, would be a fair exchange.
In the martial world, money alone rarely gets you what you want. Absolute authority is rare, and saving face matters immensely…
Sometimes, a single well-timed word from the right person—knowing when to step forward or step back—could make all the difference.
“Thank you for coming all the way here when you should be at the main house.”
At Yeon-hwa’s greeting, Seong Ha-ran looked down at her.
“You’ve grown a lot.”
Sadness, grief, longing—and even affection—briefly crossed her face.
But she quickly smiled as if nothing had happened.
“I didn’t come just to see you. The Five Dragon Unit has been assigned a mission outside the Alliance, so each of the Five Great Clans is sending personnel from their main houses to fill the vacancies left behind.”
The reason didn’t matter.
What mattered was that they were now face to face.
Yeon-hwa nodded and asked several questions about the Namgung main house, then explained the current situation at Namgung Manor.
They exchanged information about the current martial world and parted ways.
Before leaving, Seong Ha-ran turned back.
“Long ago, the eldest young master said you were very lonely and that someday he would personally find you a kind husband. So… how is it? Is your partner… acceptable?”
Yeon-hwa didn’t know what expression she made.
But Seong Ha-ran looked slightly surprised and then, for the first time, gave a faint smile.
“When a daughter of a great clan marries… it’s enough if either the partner is a good person, or someone she likes. If it’s both… nothing could be better.”
After she left, Yeon-hwa tilted her head.
She didn’t fully understand what it meant, but their conversation and atmosphere hadn’t been bad—so that was enough.
Betrothal Ceremony — The Day Of
The main gates of Namgung Manor were thrown wide open.
Many guests arrived—but how many were truly there to celebrate?
“When will the Three Spirits arrive?”
“Ha! To get the chance to see all three Spirits up close!”
Most guests had their own ulterior motives—so much so that no one even considered such talk rude.
After dismissing the people who wanted to decorate her room, Yeon-hwa changed clothes and sat quietly, wearing only minimal adornments.
“Oh no… what do we do? There’s not a single red item! Should I run out and borrow something?”
Hong-ri—whom Yeon-hwa had taken in after she was punished and expelled from Namgung Hye-ju’s quarters—fidgeted anxiously.
“Can’t I just go out like this?” Yeon-hwa asked.
“N-No! Absolutely not! Absolutely not, my lady!”
Hong-ri turned pale with panic, looking like she might faint, so Yeon-hwa agreed.
She didn’t bother asking whether she could just borrow a red handkerchief from someone outside and tie up her hair—she could simply act when necessary.
As the two stayed in the room, voices sounded from outside.
“Oh? My lady, didn’t someone say they’d bring red items? They must be here!”
At her previous workplace, Hong-ri had spent all day walking on eggshells and barely able to breathe—but now she was happy serving a somewhat absent-minded lady who paid little attention to servants.
She wanted to do everything she could and make her mistress as beautiful as possible for the ceremony.
But having no red items was like missing everything!
So how precious and welcome must the person be who came to solve this problem?
Hong-ri beamed and flung open the door.
“Welcome—…ghk!”
She froze, choking on her words as she saw the face right in front of her—and collapsed in shock.
As Yeon-hwa patted Hong-ri’s back, tilting her head in confusion, she muttered,
“…What is this?”
The person standing outside was someone utterly unexpected.
