“There shouldn’t be anyone coming at this time. What’s going on?”
“…Yes?”
If there’s a commotion, why is it so quiet? I blinked, looking around the garden. There was no one else there but us. But after a while, servants with panicked expressions came running in with a gasp.
“Family Head! We’re in big trouble! Please come quickly!”
“What’s the matter? Who came to see you? Who on earth is causing all this fuss?”
“Well, right now, the Madam…!”
-Clang!
The teacup fell out of Soseo’s hand. The Madam? If it’s Madam, then surely….. I remembered the portrait I saw earlier.
“Come out! Hey, Peng Seoyu! You come out now!”
A loud voice rang out in the garden. We quickly stood up. The moment Myoryeong wrapped her arms around mine, a woman dressed in light pink silk appeared, arguing with the servants who stood in her way.
“Let’s end this today! Today is the day I’ll definitely settle this with you and take my children with me!”
“Madam! Please don’t behave like this! Please come to your senses!”
“Let me go!”
“Madam, please calm down…! Ack!”
The servant stepped back, clutching his face. Wow, for a moment, I thought I was inside a thriller film, not a martial arts novel…! Myoryeong and I clung to each other even more in shock. There was a flashing blue sword in the hand of the woman who looked exactly like Soseo. The woman’s eyes sparkled as she arrived in front of the pavilion where the meal was served.
“Oh, my cute children! Here you are!”
“……Mother.”
“I’ve missed you so much! Didn’t you miss this mother’s arms after being apart all this time? Quickly come here!”
“…….”
Soseo didn’t say anything. Neither did Soyu, who is always broadly laughing. There was a suffocating silence. The Family Head, who was looking blankly at the woman, no, the Madam, blocked Soseo and Soyu from her sight.
“…Why are you here?”
“What do you mean why? I’ve come to see my children.”
“Go back! You can’t see them!”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?”
– Snap.
The woman aggressively snapped her head.
“I gave birth to these children after much pain and suffering! They are my, Moyong Soha’s, sons!”
Moyong Soha? Where did I hear Moyong Soha from… Oh, I remember. The Moyong Family, one of the Five Great Families, just like Peng. Isn’t the Madam’s family also outstanding? While I was purely admiring the Madam on the inside, the Family Head had enough.
“……Please, stop being so stubborn! This won’t change anything!”
“……Father.”
The Family Head suddenly shouted.
“Peng Soseo, Peng Soyu! You two go inside!”
“……Peng Soseo? Peng Soyu?”
Moyong Soha murmured as if she was hearing her children’s names for the first time. The Madam’s head moved strangely again.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Qts jgf atfs regcjwfv Ufcu? Ktfs’gf ws mtlivgfc. Po atfs’gf ws mtlivgfc, atfc atfs cjaegjiis rtbeiv yf atf qglvf bo beg Zbsbcu ojwlis. Vb kts jgf atfs ilnlcu jr lo atfs kfgf qjga bo atf Ufcu Mjwlis?”
Zjvjw wfrrfv eq tfg tjlg.
“Qts vlv sbe yfmbwf mtlivgfc ogbw jcbatfg ojwlis? Po sbe mbeiv vb la, atfc wjsyf sbe gfjiis…”
The Madam’s, who was muttering barely audibly, shoulders started shaking and she burst into laughter. After laughing for a long time, her face suddenly changed colors, and she shouted.
“Yes! You can definitely pull it off! You really do not belong here at all! Let’s go to Moyong, my lovely children!”
Madam strode up with her arms wide open in a very tender manner.
“If I take you with me, everyone will acknowledge me…! Ugh!”
Just as she was about to try and grab Soseo, the Madam’s body suddenly fell down. The Family Head had knocked her unconscious. He held her limp body in his arms and quietly opened his mouth.
“……Why.”
The Family Head asked with a pitiful tone, like an injured beast.
“Why are you and Soha here, Moyong Hwa?”
The servants split into two sides. And then a boy came trotting out. Like the Madam, he wore fancy silk clothes and a sword hanging on his waist. The moment I saw the boy’s leisurely smile, an animal came to my mind.
…A cat?
I almost said it out loud. I quickly closed my mouth. From his slightly raised eyebrows to his relaxed smile. The boy’s relaxed expression reminded me of a spoiled cat. The boy greeted the Family Head.
“Long time no see, uncle.”
“….I asked why you and Soha are here, Moyong Hwa.”
“Well, if you ask me…”
“Moyong Hwa!”
Moyong Hwa lazily twisted his braid with his fingers, and only said.
“I just told her that I was curious about how well the children my aunt was so proud of had grown.”
“As I thought, this is your doing! You uselessly evil little bastard who’s still wet behind the ears…”
“Calm down, Father.”
Soseo put his hand on the Family Head’s arm and said coldly.
“This is not worth getting angry about.”
“…Cough, you’re right!”
“Father, please go put Mother in a room.”
The corners of Moyong Hwa’s mouth, which had been rising leisurely, lowered for a moment. He and Soseo’s eyes met for a while. Moyong Hwa shook his head.
“Long time no see, Soseo Hyung-nim?”
“Who’s your Hyung-nim?”
Soyu was furious at the title. However, Moyong Hwa was not embarrassed.
“Then if I can’t refer to him as Hyung-nim, then what should I call him? Do you want me to be rude to Soseo Hyung-nim?
“That’s not it!”
“Soseo Hyung-nim.”
Moyong Hwa pretended to whisper to Soseo as if he was telling him a secret.
“I guess Soyu really wants me to be rude to you. That’s strange. My aunt said Soyu liked Soseo Hyung-nim a lot. By any chance, did Soyu start to hate Soseo Hyung-nim while she was away?”
Soyu’s face paled.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that…! No, Hyung-nim…!”
“Soyu.”
Soseo quietly said.
“It’s okay. I know you aren’t that kind of person.”
“Hyung-nim…!”
Soyu’s eyes were wet with emotion. Soseo said after pulling Soyu back.
“Welcome to the Peng Family, Moyong Hwa.”
“Thank you for welcoming me. I thought Hyung-nim would be mad at me for visiting so suddenly.”
“Why would I be angry? Rather, thank you for taking my Mother all the way here. But,”
Soseo smiled like a graceful young nobleman.
“I would’ve been more grateful if you had contacted us in advance.”
“……My aunt wanted to see you so much I didn’t have time to think about that.”
“Oh my.”
Soseo was sincerely sorry.
“How hectic must it have been for you, such a smart child, to forget to send word?”
“…Yes, thank you for understanding. I’m so grateful I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“But you should be more careful next time. You’re the one who’s going to lead the Moyong Family in the future. No matter how busy you are, you can’t forget to take care of important things.”
“Thank you for your advice, Soseo Hyung-nim. You really haven’t changed.”
“Compared to before, you also… Forget it, since it’s been a long time since we last met, we should only talk about good things, right?”
“…Not finishing your sentences is a bad habit, Hyung-nim. Once you say something, you have to follow it through.”
“Really? I think it’s a better habit than to not overlook even trivial things and not letting anything go.”
“Is that so? I don’t think other people would agree.”
Wow, they look like two noble daughters fighting in high society. I watched with interest as the two exchanged thorny words with a smile on their faces.
“Excuse me, Young Masters.”
When the conversation reached its peak of brutality and the two’s smiles grew darker, someone intervened.
“What is it?”
It was Grandfather Jang.
“I’m very sorry for interrupting your conversation, but the Family Head told me to let you know that he called a doctor to take care of the Madam.”
“…Is that so?”
“So why don’t both the Young Masters go inside now? It’s cold outside.”
“…Yes, it’s not polite to keep our guests standing here.”
“I had so much fun talking to Hyung-nim after not seeing him for a long while that I forgot about the time.”
“Quickly go in and rest. You must be tired.”
“Yes, I was in a hurry to get here, so I really am a bit tired. Aunt seems to be in a bad condition, so I shamefully ask you to let her recover in the Peng Family, Hyung-nim.”
“If that is the case, we don’t mind taking care of her until she gets better.”
“I’m sorry, Hyung-nim.”
“Oh no, I know you’re sorry, so it’s fine. Grandpa, show Hwa to his room. Myoha, Myoryeong. Let’s go inside too.”
“Yes, Young Master Soseo.”
The two had a tense war of nerves until the end. Oh, it was nice to see a RoFan scene after a long time. My heart was throbbing as I followed Soseo. Before following Soseo into the house, I slightly turned my head. Moyong Hwa was glaring at us with dissatisfied eyes.
* * *
The servants had to get up earlier than usual the next morning. Since we had an unannounced visitor, we had to clean the whole house. We actually didn’t need to get up earlier, since our only duty is to take care of Soseo, but we thought our future would be easier if we scored points with the servants in advance, so we decided to help with cleaning. We had to wait outside while Soseo studies anyway.
“Then, please.”
“Yes, Auntie. Don’t worry.”
“Nice children… I’ll treat you to something delicious later.”
We silently mopped the corridor. Without realizing it, Moyong Hwa’s face appeared in my head.
“…You know, Myoryeong.”
“What?”
I became serious.
“I apparently like people who look like cats.”
“People who look like cats? Oh, that guy. Moyong Hwa?”
“Mn.”
Until now, when asked which one I liked better between puppy-like people and cat-like people, I’d reply puppy-like people with no hesitation, but it seems I just hadn’t met a good cat-like character yet. I remembered Moyong Hwa, who was glaring at us yesterday. On second thought, it’s really to my taste. Of course, just his face. I’m sick and tired of bad-tempered people.
“Come to think of it, if I had to decide whether Seolhwa’s face was puppy-like or cat-like, I would also say cat-like.”
“Oh, that reminds me, I wonder if he’s doing well?”
“I certainly hope so.”
As has become our habit, we missed Seolhwa today too. As I washed the mop and went back to mopping the floor again, I heard Grandfather Jang’s voice.
“Then, Young Master, I hope you enjoy your stay here.”
“What? This is the end of the tour?”
“What? Yes. Is something wrong?”
We quickly stopped mopping and bowed. Grandfather Jang was not alone. He was with Moyong Hwa. It seems that he was showing him around the house. Moyong Hwa said with sincere regret.
“Why is this house so small? The Peng Family is also part of the Five Great Families.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. The Peng Family has more people than we do, I really have no idea how so many people manage to live in such a small place. And…”
Moyong Hwa looked at us.
“It really seems like just anyone can become a servant here.”
I just need a refresher, how old are these children??? Like damn, you guys what, 12-14? Why you guys so vindictive much?
Thanks for the chapter