"Why would he go to such lengths to hide his illegitimate daughter? It's not like having a child out of wedlock is a big deal for a family like that."
But then he suddenly brings in this hidden illegitimate daughter, and bam, she gets attacked on her way home.
'Was the plan all along to kill her on her way home?' That doesn't make any sense either.
"Chang-a, were you and the other maids the only ones who knew about Namgung Soyo?"
"No! There was an 'uncle' and an 'aunt,' but they headed back to their hometown before we left."
"Do you know where their hometown is?"
"Uh, I'm not really sure..."
Nobody knowing where the other servants went was perfect for hiding Yeo-il's identity.
'So, basically, the only one who knows Namgung Soyo's real mother is the head of the Namgung family. But, get this, even he hasn't seen Milgon.'
Maybe she was feeling cooped up inside? Chang-a, after glancing at the little garden outside, came over to Yeo-il.
"Soyo, are we going to stay holed up in here the whole time?"
"That's the plan for now. It's better to stay put than to wander around and cause trouble."
At least, the Namgung Soyo that Yeo-il is playing is supposed to be quiet and demure.
"Gotcha. If you want to stretch your legs, just let me know! I'll go with you."
Yeo-il smiled back at Chang-a's grin.
For now, it's best to lay low and avoid any unwanted attention. For now.
That night, after the sun had set and even the moon was hiding behind the clouds, a visitor Yeo-il had been expecting showed up. But, here's the kicker, they came in through the roof, not the hallway!
'Just one person, coming right down without a second thought... Are they here to kill Namgung Soyo?'
Yeo-il stuffed the bed with pillows and hid in the shadows. Soon enough, a man in black, who'd crept up to the bed, pulled out a dagger, and whoosh, Yeo-il was right behind him.
"Ugh." The assassin, hit in a pressure point out of nowhere, just dropped. After checking out the guy's face, Yeo-il quietly called towards the door, "Seol-yeong, get up."
Soon, there was a little rustling, and Seol-yeong opened the door and shuffled in. "Yaaawn, what's going on so early... Huh? Who's the dude in black? Did you hire a new guy already?"
"I was going to, but he wasn't cutting it, so I'm getting rid of him. Drag him out and dump him in the backyard."
Seol-yeong blinked sleepily. "Huh? You're not going to kill him? Wouldn't it be easier to just, like, break his arms and legs?"
"He'll be out cold for a while, so it's fine. Just let him wake up and leave. If he's not up by sunrise, give him a little slap."
"Tsk, that guy's a real piece of work... If you let him go, he'll be back for sure. Oh well, I'll do what you said."
Yeo-il, after watching Seol-yeong haul the assassin out like a sack of potatoes, lay back down.
They clearly knew the layout of this place. Which means they knew exactly where Namgung Soyo's room was. The enemy has to be someone on the inside.
So many attempts on her life. Namgung Soyo might be more than just some random illegitimate child.
After settling into the Namgung place. Today, same as always, none of the big shots are around.
Chang-a, fed up with waiting, took it upon herself to bring in news from the outside.
"Word is, the young master's been out partying it up yesterday and today, the second son's busy handling the family business 'cause the young master's a slacker, and the third son's stuck at home, hitting the books... I mean, training."
"And the head honcho?"
"The maids don't have a clue... Shouldn't we just go find the young master ourselves? Sigh, we've been laying so low, I think everyone's forgotten you even exist..."
Yeo-il was already planning to make a move, anyway. She patted Chang-a's tired head and pointed towards the door.
"Let's give it 'til the end of today. How about we get some fresh air?"
"Oh... Yeah! I've already got the whole layout memorized. I'll take you to the most chill spot."
Yeo-il, eyes closed, leaning on Chang-a, left the room for the first time since coming back.
It's pretty quiet around here. Usually, the Five Great Families, like the Namgungs, have tons of people living together, but all she saw were maids, servants, and some guards.
Since the only grown-up living there was the head honcho's brother, it made sense that it was kinda dead.
At some point, while listening to Chang-a's play-by-play of the scenery, a sharp whooshing sound caught Yeo-il's ear. 'A sword.'
Yeo-il, listening closely, headed towards the sound. "Chang-a, let's go over that wall."
"Huh? But that's Namgung Heemyeong's place..."
"It's fine, we're just going to peek."
Hopping the wall and sneaking a look, she saw a kid practicing his swordsmanship alone under a peach tree. It was Namgung Heemyeong, long hair tied up, looking kinda intense.
While she was there, she checked out the third son's build and moves.
He was seriously good, way better than other kids his age. Word is, kids from big-shot families get special training young to, like, become masters super fast, and Namgung Heemyeong seemed to be one of those.
Namgung Heemyeong was already a natural, but they said he was nothing compared to the young master, Namgung Jeokmyeong, so she suddenly got curious about how good the young master really was.
Just then, Namgung Heemyeong, who'd been totally in the zone with his sword practice, suddenly stopped. 'Hoo...' A big sigh. From his annoyed, scrunched-up face, something was bothering him.
He took another swing as soon as he got his breath back, then stopped again, clenching his fist. He kept repeating the same moves. The swordwork itself was powerful and all, but the more he did it, the more it looked like he was just flailing around.
'Is it his form?' The sight of the kid grinding his teeth and focusing so hard on his sword brought back a bad memory for Yeo-il. That awful memory from years ago that made her become a martial artist. Was it because of that? Yeo-il's lips, which had been pressed tight, opened on their own.
"What's the rush?"
"Who's there?" Namgung Heemyeong, who'd jumped, whipped around to look at Yeo-il, eyes narrowed. She stifled a laugh at his intensity and spoke calmly.
"I can sense the tension in your movements. Your sword sounds like you're swinging a club. Why the rush? Your skills aren't going anywhere, Heemyeong."
"What? Who are you? What are you talking about, acting like you know swords?" At the harsh words, Yeo-il lowered her head.
"Sorry if I butted in. Since I've been blind my whole life, I kinda have a habit of trying to read people through sound. I'll watch it in the future."
At that, his anger started to fade. He seemed intrigued by what she said.
"Hey, I don't know jack about swords. How can you tell what's going on in someone's head just from the sound of them swinging a sword?"
"Is the sound of a sword special or something? A thing's just a thing. Even if you were holding a teacup, Heemyeong, I'd have said the same thing."
"So how'd you figure it out?"
"Oh, you're curious?" Namgung Heemyeong scoffed, put away his sword, and crossed his arms.
"Well, duh, I'm curious! Spill it, let's hear what kinda weird stuff you're gonna say."
"Okay, so, the way I figured out what was going on in your head is..." silence "The way is..." silence "It's a secret."
"...Huh?"
"If you really wanna know, try living with your eyes closed for, like, ten years. You'll get it in a flash."
Yeo-il grabbed Chang-a's hand and turned away before Namgung Heemyeong's short temper could explode. They booked it back to the room.
After that, she sent Chang-a to keep tabs on Namgung Heemyeong. "He's been practicing his swordwork for over an hour since you left. I hear he spends most of his day practicing, that guy."
An hour. He could've easily lost focus after Yeo-il butted in, but he kept at it for another hour? Maybe that little tip she tossed out actually helped.
'I think we can rule out the third son for now. He was so into his sword practice, he didn't seem to notice Namgung Soyo, or anything else for that matter.'
So it's gotta be one of the others sending those killers after me...
'Now, I just gotta wait and see who comes after me next.'
Who could it be?
With a little smile, Yeo-il took a bite of a pretty, flower-patterned, light-blue snack.
That night, a second screw-up came to Namgung Soyo's room.
That's probably when it started. The rumor going around the Namgung family that 'every night, you can hear these awful screams coming from Soyo's room.’
