Chapter 20
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Seo Han-eol, the mouse.
He had one thing that set him apart from ordinary mice. It was the fact that he had a ‘fear of cats’.
It was natural for a mouse to fear cats, but his case was severe.
The mere sight of cat droppings made his legs tremble, and on days when he so much as glimpsed a cat’s tail rounding a corner, his body would freeze stiff.
His more daring friends would sometimes make bets to pluck a whisker from a napping cat. But to him, that was a world away from his own.
‘It’s all because of that childhood memory.’
Back when he was just a fuzzy little baby mouse, he had been caught by a mischievous cat.
He was nine-tenths certain to die.
But heaven’s luck was on his side.
He was swatted by a paw and sent flying over a wall, which allowed him to barely escape.
From that day on, he had only one goal.
‘I will live my whole life in a place without cats!’
That place was his utopia, his paradise.
Therefore, as soon as he came of age and married a like-minded wife, he set out to find a place free of cats.
That place was none other than the Namgung Clan.
Once he settled in Azure Sky Pavilion, true peace finally found him.
The brooms wielded by the servant girls were no problem.
He was confident he could scurry away from human hands.
Besides, as befitting a great clan, the food here was so plentiful!
Especially recently, a cute little girl had arrived, and perhaps because of her, the amount of delicious food had noticeably increased.
‘Today, I’ll take the red bean-filled rice cake from the tea table.’
The thought of his pregnant wife eating it with joy made him want to dance.
So, as soon as night fell, he quickly climbed onto the tea table.
Who would have thought he would meet a pair of cat-like, jewel-blue eyes there?
‘Could this child be a… a cat beastkin?’
In that moment, he silently bid farewell to the mortal world.
‘I’m sorry, my dear. Please raise our fatherless child well.’
How much time had passed since then?
As he lay unconscious, tears and snot streaming down his face, a sweet scent tickled his nose.
‘Isn’t this… the smell of sweet red beans?’
Oh, my.
So they have sweet red beans in the afterlife, too.
What about my wife, who must be weeping her eyes out with her heavy body, unable to even eat a red bean rice cake because of me?
He couldn't believe how pathetic he was, having died from fear of a cat.
Just then, a strange voice reached his ears.
“Mister.”
Huh?
Since when did the Black and White Impermanence, the escorts of the dead, have the voice of a little girl?
“Mr. Squeaky, please wake up.”
Still suspicious, he kept his eyes squeezed shut.
This time, a voice he couldn't refuse called out.
“Squeak (My dear, open your eyes).”
It was none other than his wife’s voice.
‘Don’t tell me my pregnant wife followed me to death!’
Seo Han-eol’s eyes flew open.
---
Seo Han-eol was dumbfounded.
The child’s dark eyes, filled with concern, were sparkling right in front of his nose.
“Are you all right, Mr. Squeaky?”
A clear face with rosy cheeks that were just beginning to fill out. Her delicate features made it clear she was the young mistress of this residence.
‘Which means… she’s a… a cat!’
To think he was close enough for his nose to touch a cat’s!
Seo Han-eol gasped.
Just as he was about to faint again after waking up, his wife spoke to him.
“Squeak (Well, Lady Cat has been diligently looking after you since you fainted).”
“Squeak (Me)?”
Come to think of it, he was now lying on an embroidered pillow as if it were a bed.
A silk handkerchief was even draped over him up to his neck like a blanket.
“Squeak (And when I rushed over in a panic, she gave me these red bean rice cakes to eat).”
True to her words, a small pile of finely chopped red bean rice cakes sat on one side of a plate. It seemed his wife wasn't lying.
“Squeak (Why… why would Lady Cat do this for me)?”
Strangely, Hong-seol could understand the mouse’s speech.
As Seo Han-eol rolled his eyes in confusion, Hong-seol spoke cautiously.
“Grandfather Namgung Ho taught me. He said this is what you do for someone who’s had a fright.”
She was talking about the day she came down from Mount Daechok.
Although she was a cat beastkin, this was the first time Hong-seol had seen a mouse in person.
Before she turned five, back when she was still loved, she had only seen them in picture books and heard stories about them. As it happened, the main character of one of those books was named ‘Squeaky’.
For that reason, Hong-seol felt a sense of familiarity with Seo Han-eol, not dislike.
‘Mr. Squeaky was probably scared because I’m a cat, right?’
She remembered how her grandfather had taken her in when she collapsed, covered her with a warm blanket, and fed her delicious food. Having received such kindness, she felt she should naturally do the same.
So she had simply checked that the fainted mouse’s pulse was still beating and taken care of him.
“Squeak (Lady Cat)!”
Suddenly, Mr. Squeaky prostrated himself on the pillow-bed.
“Squeak (Thank you for saving my life, Lady Cat)!”
“Oh, no. I just did what I was taught.”
“Squeak (From now on, my wife, my unborn children, and I will all serve you as our lord)!”
“Your lord?”
“Squeak (Yes, our lord! How could we not serve a mighty cat who also possesses the compassion to look after the weak)?”
Tears of overwhelming emotion poured from Seo Han-eol’s eyes as he lay prostrate.
“Squeak (I don’t have many talents, but I am excellent at overhearing rumors and secretly fetching small items. Is there anything you’re curious about)?”
Curious about?
I can really ask about anything?
In that case…
After a moment of hesitation, Hong-seol opened her mouth.
---
The promised two months flew by like an arrow, and the day of the duel dawned.
Strangely, the Namgung Clan had been bustling since morning, even though today’s duel was merely a match between eight-year-old children.
Regardless, Hong-seol was at the training grounds with Namgung Uigyeol.
“You mustn’t exhaust yourself, so just do a light warm-up for now.”
“Yes, sir!”
Answering energetically, Hong-seol began to jog lightly around the training grounds. Namgung Uigyeol watched her with a pleased expression.
“Lord, an urgent message.”
Just then, a warrior from the Azure Sky Unit approached and handed him a note. After reading it, he spoke to Hong-seol.
“Young Miss, something has come up, and I must step away for a moment.”
Hong-seol, who had been jogging, paused for a moment and then nodded.
“I will return before the duel begins.”
Namgung Uigyeol bowed his head respectfully and departed.
A short while later.
A boy dressed from head to toe in only the finest clothes kicked the door open and strode in.
“Is this the training ground for the direct line?”
His voice was quite insolent.
Hong-seol, who had been quietly jogging around the grounds, nodded with a slightly frightened look.
‘Who is he? Besides Baek, Heuk, and Jeok, were there other direct family members I didn’t know about?’
“Who are you?” the boy asked.
That was what Hong-seol wanted to ask.
“And who might you be, Young Master?”
“I am the grandson of Elder Namgung Mu-yeong of the great Namgung Clan.”
“And who is…?”
When Hong-seol asked, Namgung Jong-u’s pride seemed wounded, and he coughed dryly, ahem, ahem.
“My name is Namgung Jong-u. Remember it well. One day, there will be no one in the martial world who doesn’t know my name.”
“Okay.”
I see.
Hong-seol felt little impression from the boy’s boastful words.
It was probably because she had seen so many people with truly formidable auras.
There was the former clan head, Sword King Namgung Ho; Grandfather Snake; the Lord of the Azure Sky Unit, Namgung Uigyeol, also called the Thousand-Pound Sword Virtuoso; and even her brother, Namgung Baek.
‘Even though this boy is younger than Brother Baek, their spirits can’t even be compared.’
Coincidentally, the two were of a similar age.
Namgung Jong-u would probably spend his entire life in Namgung Baek’s shadow.
The thought made his posturing seem almost pitiful.
“What’s your name?”
“My name is Hong-seol.”
“Ah!”
Finally recognizing Hong-seol as his opponent for the day, Namgung Jong-u gave her a contemptuous look.
“The likes of you dare to use the training grounds of the direct line.”
He himself had only been granted special permission to enter today, yet he acted with the arrogance of someone who owned the place.
Sitting down on a wooden chair in the corner, Namgung Jong-u suddenly stuck out his right foot.
A black leather shoe flew in a long arc and landed in front of Hong-seol.
Resting his chin on one hand propped on the armrest, Namgung Jong-u gestured toward Hong-seol with his chin.
“What are you doing?”
“Pardon?”
“You should pick up my shoe.”
“…”
“You’re a child indebted to the Namgung Clan, aren’t you?”
His tone was as if he were teaching her an important piece of etiquette.
“So it’s only natural that you attend to me.”
“I see.”
The boy before her was vastly different in temperament from the other young masters of the Namgung Clan she knew, but…
‘It’s true that I’m a child indebted to the Namgung Clan.’
Hong-seol didn’t even think it was strange and picked up the shoe from the floor, approaching him.
Perhaps thinking he had successfully intimidated her, a vile smile spread across Namgung Jong-u’s face.
He waited for Hong-seol, his shoeless foot stuck out.
It was the moment Hong-seol, without a second thought, was about to put Namgung Jong-u’s shoe on for him.
A white hand suddenly shot out and snatched Namgung Jong-u’s shoe.
“Let me put your shoe on for you.”
Recognizing the owner of the hand, Hong-seol’s eyes widened.
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