The first to break the silence wasn’t me or Moyong Pae. It was the Young Master, Moyong Muhyeok, who’d rushed over after hearing the commotion. Looked like he’d come in a hurry—just threw a clan coat over his thin white robe.
“What is the meaning of this disturbance?”
Moyong Muhyeok took in the servant lying on the ground, covered in blood, and his face hardened. One of the household men ran up and quietly reported what had happened.
“…There were such rumors? And why did no one see fit to inform me?”
The lines between his brows, normally neat and gentle, now crackled with ice. With Elder Pae and now Moyong Muhyeok here together, the lower servants shrank their necks like terrified turtles.
Then Moyong Muhyeok’s eyes met mine. Judging by his expression, he’d only just noticed me and Dang Iheon standing there—and he looked even more troubled. No surprise, given the subject of the rumor and the man tied up in it were both right here.
Moyong Muhyeok let out a long sigh, then addressed Moyong Pae.
“Elder. These are baseless rumors. Better to handle this quietly than allow it to spiral further.”
“Handle it quietly? Young Master, for all that you dote on your younger sister, you are far too naive. The entire clan is already gossiping over this sordid affair—how could we possibly keep it quiet?”
“……”
“This is clearly the work of someone attempting to slander the Moyong Clan and the Sichuan Dang Clan. We must uncover the hand behind it and deal with them harshly! And we must publicly clarify the truth to restore proper order.”
Now Elder Pae was dragging the Sichuan Dang Clan into it. Moyong Muhyeok’s face grew even graver.
But the crowd gathered here was watching my face far more intently than either Elder Pae’s or Moyong Muhyeok’s. Sure, they were curious how this would all play out, but more than that—they wanted to know if the rumor was true.
I stood there, a little dazed, thinking just one thing.
“Oh, is that all it was!”
It popped out of my mouth, too gleeful to stop. My lips kept twitching up on their own.
So that “deceit” scrawled on that note tied to the arrow—was just about this bullshit. It wasn’t about them knowing my true identity. What a relief.
Honestly, I felt a bit grateful to Elder Pae for solving my little mystery right here in the dead of night.
Everyone’s faces showed varying degrees of bafflement.
Moyong Muhyeok asked seriously,
“Ahwa. Were you aware of these rumors?”
I shook my head without hesitation. If I’d known they were this trivial, I wouldn’t have worried at all.
Moyong Muhyeok exhaled, then turned to Dang Iheon.
“Young Lord Dang, it seems you were already informed.”
“…Yes, I heard of it this morning.”
That did surprise me for half a second, but I accepted it quickly. We’d already agreed to break off the engagement, so he probably didn’t think it was worth bringing up. Fair enough.
But when it became clear Dang Iheon already knew, Moyong Pae’s eyes only darted around harder and started frothing again.
“You see! What disgrace is this? The Moyong and Sichuan Dang Clans built deep trust long before this betrothal. But now our reputations are stained by such scandal! It will spread beyond Liaoning, all the way to Sichuan—how will we contain it then? Who would ever marry a woman so debauched?!”
Hm. If he was so worried about rumors spreading, maybe he should start by lowering his own damn voice. At this rate, people in Hainan would hear him.
Moyong Muhyeok pressed his fingers to his brow, clearly troubled and annoyed. His next words came with a faint chill.
“Send that injured man to Yakwang Hall for treatment and keep him confined. If there truly is someone behind this, we must watch him closely to uncover it.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“And from this moment, no one within the clan is to have contact with outsiders. Any messages or visitors from outside must be reported directly to me. If you see suspicious movements, you may apprehend them without prior approval.”
I’d heard that the Clan Head, Moyong Wi, had passed the Young Master’s position to Moyong Muhyeok almost eight years ago. Maybe it wasn’t just because he was the eldest son—maybe it was that composure under pressure.
Naturally, Elder Pae looked displeased. Given that his own son was dead and his only grandson was that degenerate Moyong Gyeom, I sort of got it.
“And what good does that do us now? The rumor has already spread far and wide—locking the barn after the horse has bolted! No, the only way the Moyong Clan’s honor survives is if the person concerned makes the truth clear herself!”
“Elder. I understand your wish to protect our clan’s honor. However, Yeonhwa is the Moyong Clan’s legitimate daughter. For her to even speak such groundless rumors aloud would be an insult.”
Moyong Muhyeok didn’t retreat—instead, he became even more firm, which only seemed to grate Elder Pae further. The look he threw at the battered servant being carted off to Yakwang Hall was downright murderous.
He bit out each word.
“Then what you’re saying, Young Master, is that I’m wrong to raise my voice for the sake of our clan’s honor?”
Moyong Muhyeok stayed perfectly calm.
“It seems you misunderstand. As Young Master, and as Yeonhwa’s elder brother, I intend to settle this quietly within the family.”
“……”
“As you yourself said, if someone is trying to tarnish the Moyong Clan’s name, we must investigate thoroughly and capture whoever spread this rumor.”
No one so much as breathed too loudly. They might not have caught every nuance, but it was obvious this was a power struggle, and it was rare to see it play out so openly.
Before Elder Pae could retort, the Young Master gave a respectful salute.
“I am deeply grateful, Elder, that you would care so much for the Moyong Clan’s honor even at this late hour. I will report everything to the Clan Head at first light…”
“What is all this about?”
A frail voice cut in out of nowhere. Every head, including mine and Dang Iheon’s, snapped that way.
It was Moyong Sohae. Her wide-eyed tilt of the head made it clear she didn’t understand a thing. She listened to a quick explanation from her maid, and then her face drained of color. In a flurry of small steps, she rushed right up beside me.
“Grandfather, Young Master. Yeonhwa would never do such a thing. You know that.”
Huh. She’s taking my side?
I shot her a quick sidelong glance, a bit surprised. Her brows were pinched with such genuine distress that it actually looked real.
But… why would she suddenly jump to defend me like this?
“Everyone knows how long Yeonhwa has longed for her engagement to Young Lord Iheon. How could we tarnish her pure, devoted heart like this? The marriage was only delayed because Young Lord Iheon needed time— it was never because of anything shameful on her part.”
Her voice cracked, almost pleading, and a murmur rose around us.
“That’s true… Young Lady Yeonhwa did pine for Young Lord Dang for so long…”
“But when the marriage talks never resumed, didn’t everyone start saying it was as good as off?”
“Maybe that’s why she…”
“Hey, watch your damn mouth!”
People started smacking each other to shut up again. Even so, suspicion only grew in the looks they sent me and Dang Iheon.
Oh… I’d just been relieved it was something minor, but now I saw this might blow up more than I thought. If it were only rumors about me being strange, I wouldn’t care. But the Dang Clan was tied up in this.
Dang Iheon stood there, face rigid, silently drilling holes into Sohae.
Sohae clutched my hand with tears brimming.
“Yeonhwa would never get caught up in such filthy rumors. Everyone knows how affectionate and kind she is.”
“…Sohae. It’s not that we don’t trust Yeonhwa. Please, don’t get so worked up.”
“No, this time I have to speak. Hurting Yeonhwa is the same as hurting me.”
Even as Moyong Muhyeok tried to calm her, Sohae stubbornly shook her head.
“She raised our clan’s honor at that auction I hosted. How can we smear her now with vile gossip? Do you know how hard she worked for me, like it was her own affair?”
It was weird. Standing here while Moyong Sohae so publicly championed me, dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief, made me feel oddly awkward. And vaguely uneasy.
Because based on both the family dynamics and my gut feeling, I knew Moyong Sohae didn’t only have ‘fondness’ for me. So why this big performance, tears and all, in front of the whole clan?
“At that auction, she was so busy helping me, I barely had time to speak with her. Even after, I hardly saw her. She was like a savior to me. Could you really believe she was sneaking off to meet some man late at night? I refuse to!”
She curled in on herself, as if the idea was so filthy she couldn’t even stand to say it. The watching servants all shifted uncomfortably. Looked like they had plenty to say but didn’t dare.
And that’s when it clicked.
She’s trying to screw me over.
If I vanished late at night, most would leap to conclude I was out meeting some man in secret. Maybe Moyong Sohae hated me more than I realized.
Sigh. Yeah. No one ever takes your side for no reason.
Pretty clear now that either Elder Pae or Moyong Sohae had sent that arrow.
Once it all slotted into place, I felt oddly calm. This absurd spectacle over nothing was almost funny.
“If you’re going to slander Yeonhwa like this, you’d better have proof!” Sohae declared, clutching her collar in anguish. It was a performance that’d have everyone clapping at her ‘deep sisterly love.’
But now that I’d figured her out, I wouldn’t fall for it twice.
I let out a soft laugh and stepped forward.
“Has anyone actually seen me committing this supposed infidelity? Who would dare—”
“I-I did…”
…Eh? Come again?
“O-On the night of the charity event, Young Lady Sohae wasn’t feeling well and sent me to the carriage for her medicine. When I came out, I—I saw Young Lady Yeonhwa emerging from behind the dark… dark bushes. Her clothes had leaves all over them… I’m so sorry!”
The speaker was clearly a maid. She trembled so violently she might’ve been bowing to a tiger, forehead smacking the ground.
I was terrible at remembering faces, but something about her seemed familiar…
“Aren’t you… Sohae’s maid?” Moyong Muhyeok asked coldly. Ah, that’s why. I must’ve glimpsed her during the auction.
Sohae whipped around with a start, scolding her maid sharply.
“You! Do you even realize what you’re saying? If you spout baseless nonsense and hurt my sister, I won’t forgive you!”
“B-But I truly saw it… I—I swear it on my life…”
Elder Pae’s voice turned frigid.
“Then why keep silent until now?”
“B-Because it was too shameful… And I—I serve the Moyong Clan. How could I be the first to say such things?”
The maid wept, but even stammering, she got out every word. Elder Pae wore a mask of outrage, but I caught the glint of delight in his eyes.
Watching all this, my feelings were… a bit complicated.
Because I had come out of those bushes that night. After joking around and eating sunflower seeds with Sahyeon.
But what could they do if I simply played dumb? Sohae’s maid would get punished, but—
Then Dang Iheon, silent until now, stepped forward.
“I don’t quite understand what this uproar is about. But since everyone seems so distressed, allow me to apologize first.”
“…What do you mean, Young Hero Dang? Apologize for what?”
Even Elder Pae looked genuinely taken aback. Sohae’s face, especially, went corpse-pale.
Dang Iheon gently smoothed the Dang Clan coat still draped over my shoulders, then stepped forward, half-shielding me.
“Yeonhwa was with me.”
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