Under the table, Sohae’s hand was clenched tightly around the hem of her skirt. It took everything she had not to leap up and storm out of there.
She’d come in determined to handle this head-on, thinking a frontal assault was the best move. But the atmosphere was even worse than she’d expected.
She’d come here hoping to rally a few allies before the rumors spread too far—but there was a major problem. Most of the attendees at this tea tasting were daughters of political heavyweights.
Those tied to the world of politics might fear martial artists, but they also quietly looked down on them. At the end of the day, they still saw them as nothing more than gangs of thugs waving around blades. They weren’t nobility by birth. Not really.
So even when the children of Martial Clans sat there in silk, just like the rest of them, they were quietly looked down on.
And Moyong Sohae wasn’t even a daughter of the main Moyong Clan line. Add to that a nice juicy scandal? The timing couldn’t be worse.
The ladies gathered here today—every last one of them—were practically tripping over themselves to rip her apart.
“I mean, someone like us could never even imagine doing something like that.”
“Exactly… If it were me, I’d never show my face again.”
“That’s not even the worst part. Her reputation’s ruined. She should’ve just died. Can’t go dragging her whole clan down.”
“Clawing at things that were never hers to begin with… Some people really can’t escape their roots, can they?”
From the moment she walked in, it’d been nothing but sneering comments and whispers. Now they didn’t even bother whispering—just planted her at the end of the table and talked loud enough to make sure she heard every word.
And of course, they’d always toss in one fake little add-on.
“Oh dear, I wasn’t talking about Young Lady Moyong, of course. Please don’t misunderstand~”
In her head, she’d already stood up and thrown boiling tea in their faces about ten times. But in reality it wasn’t an option. And they knew it.
The reason they could sneer like that, with their noses so high in the air, was because they came from truly powerful houses. Families that could basically rewrite reality with a word in this region.
But Moyong Sohae was the daughter of a Martial Clan, and from a collateral line no less. She couldn’t throw a tantrum here. Not without paying dearly for it.
All she could do was pretend not to hear and focus on “tasting” the tea.
“The aroma’s very pleasant. The first note is bitter, but it finishes with a rich and mellow depth. Very refined.”
“You’re more knowledgeable about tea than I expected?”
The one who’d organized this little gathering—Haanyeo of the Ha Clan—burst into laughter. The mockery wasn’t even subtle.
“…Yes. My grandfather is very well-versed in tea. I picked up a bit by watching him.”
“Oh, how lovely. If I’d known you had such refined tastes, I would’ve invited you more often.”
Sohae ground her teeth. They were mocking her to her face and there was nothing she could do. People who’d at least acted polite before were now treating her like dirt. Because they had an excuse.
And every bit of this was Moyong Yeonhwa’s fault.
Then Haanyeo, her fingers trailing over the teaware, posed a question.
“If you’re so knowledgeable, could you tell us where this tea was grown?”
“Pardon? Ah…”
Truth was, Sohae didn’t give a damn about tea. Actually, that’s putting it mildly—she hated it. But Moyong Pae had drilled it into her like she was cramming for an imperial exam.
“I’m afraid I’m not quite that knowledgeable. But I’d be honored to learn, if you’d care to enlighten me.”
She smiled as she answered. It looked convincing enough, but her lips were trembling.
Haanyeo answered smoothly.
“It was grown in Sichuan. Oh right, isn’t the ‘Sichuan Dang Clan’ based there? I’ve heard of them a few times.”
Giggling broke out all over. Sohae’s ears flushed dark red. The whispers sank into her like knives.
“Young Lady Moyong certainly seems to have a deep connection to Sichuan.”
“With two men from there she wants to marry, how could she not?”
“Usually, when you get greedy, you lose both.”
“I remember Moyong Yeonhwa seemed bright and easygoing… but I guess not all family take after each other.”
Sohae wanted to scream. Her insides were boiling. Her temples throbbed with rage. Being compared to Moyong Yeonhwa was the worst insult of all.
She had spent years keeping up appearances, carefully currying favor with these daughters of power.
Now it was all for nothing. Wasted. Gone. They’d never liked her, and now they didn’t even bother pretending. Their eyes were full of open contempt.
Haanyeo watched her quietly as Sohae flushed red, then pale, then red again. Then she said, with perfect calm:
“It seems your mind is quite preoccupied today, Young Lady Moyong. Perhaps it was too forward of me to invite you like this. I’ll be more considerate next time. My apologies.”
That was anything but an apology. That was basically a: never show your face here again. Haanyeo sipped her tea with a smug little smile hidden behind her cup.
Sohae couldn’t sit there another second. She stood up, sudden and stiff. Her fury burned so hot, it was impossible to hide.
“No, no. It seems I’m the one making others uncomfortable. I’ll see myself out.”
One of the girls—normally the first to call Martial World people savages—suddenly looked annoyed.
“You might want to be careful with your words. That almost makes it sound like we’re casting out some poor, blameless lady.”
“You all gathered here to mock me anyway. I’m sure I’m doing you a favor by leaving.”
“Unbelievable. So crude… I’m honestly glad this whole thing came out. Otherwise, we might’ve kept you around, never knowing who you really were.”
Sohae turned and stormed out, biting back a scream. No one stood. Not even for appearances. No one even tried to stop her.
Even as she marched straight through the front gate, not a single word.
She tried to hold her head high, to walk tall and proud—but it was pointless.
* * *
Reception room of Moyong Sohae’s quarters.
By the time I finished the bunch of grapes, Jaeyu was pouring tea beside me. Well, pouring at me, more like—her hands were shaking so badly that half of it splashed across the table.
Could’ve been from fear, or maybe because she’d just been punished. Who knows. Not my concern either way.
Normally, Jaeyu would’ve snapped at me for barging in uninvited, let alone into a hall where even the owner wasn’t present. Today? She bowed her head so low she nearly smacked the floor.
“S-Sorry, I… I apologize…”
Then she scrambled to wipe up the spilled tea like a scolded puppy—so flustered she even used her sleeve.
I slowly picked up my teacup and smiled.
“It’s fine. It’s not like the Moyong Clan’s running out of tea leaves. So what if you spill a little.”
“Th-thank you for being so generous…”
“But you know, if my clothes do end up soaked, I’m real curious—who would you punish this time? Last time tea was spilled on Sohae’s clothes, you wanted to whip the girl who did it, didn’t you?”
Jaeyu went pale. Deathly pale.
I hadn’t even been that mad about it at the time, but hey—she tried to screw me over back then, so I figured it was about time I returned the favor.
“Your lady is running late, huh?”
Asked casually, but Jaeyu turned the color of chalk.
“T-that is… I-I serve Lady Yeonhwa now, so I don’t really…”
“Oh, please. You serve me? Let’s not lie just ‘cause your mouth’s twisted. Be real with me—I heard all about how you used to scurry off to Sohae every damn time she snapped her fingers.”
“……”
“Oh, we’re out of grapes?”
“I’ll! I’ll go fetch more right now, My Lady!”
She snatched up the empty tray and nearly bolted. Nearly. She might’ve pulled off her escape, too—if the door hadn’t slammed open and Sohae strolled in right then.
Jaeyu froze mid-step, tray in hand. Sohae spared her a glance—quick, cold, and sharp as glass—then locked eyes with me. No fake smiles today. Just pure venom.
Exactly what I expected. And somehow, that made it worse.
Sohae spoke with an icy edge.
“What a surprise. You went out of your way to visit my quarters, Sister.”
“Well, you’ve always taken such warm care of me. Would’ve been rude not to return the favor, right?”
“How could you possibly know when I’d return? You’ve been sitting here on a whim, haven’t you?”
“Thought you’d be back soon. Don’t worry—I had a lovely chat with Jaeyu while I waited. Such a fun little talk.”
I really leaned on that ‘lovely,’ and Sohae shot Jaeyu a look that could’ve frozen magma. For a second, I actually felt a tiny bit bad for her.
Sohae peeled off her outer robe and tossed it carelessly at Jaeyu, then took the seat across from me. Pressing her fingers to her temple, she asked flatly,
“So. What urgent business made you wait here for me while I was out?”
“I just missed you. Wanted to see your face, maybe have a chat.”
“You missed me? Me? That’s… surprising.”
Tone said ‘surprising,’ but her expression said, ‘not in the slightest.’ I straightened my back, recalling the wisdom of Young Lady Dang Choye, my wonderful teacher, and forced my best polite smile.
“If that’s how you feel, then I, as your sister, clearly need to pay much closer attention to you—every little detail. After all, you’re my only sister in the clan.”
Sohae visibly flinched. Huh. Guess that one landed. Just earlier, I’d basically told her, ‘From now on, I’m gonna fuck with every little thing you do.’ Seemed to have hit home.
“Oh, speaking of—wasn’t the weather just lovely yesterday? Would’ve been a waste to stay indoors. Did you go anywhere nice?”
“…Yes. It was a beautiful day.”
Her face turned to stone. Like she wanted to lunge over and rip mine off. Honestly impressive how she’d managed to hide that kind of rage until now.
“I spent mine having a meal with Young Lady Choye and Young Lord Iheon.”
“Oh. Did you? Are the two of them well?”
“Very. We met somewhere you might recognize. Don’t you want to know where?”
Sohae’s jaw clenched so hard the muscle twitched. Didn’t even wait for her to pretend interest—I just gave her the answer.
“We met at the Hwaan Tea House. I heard about it from you, after all. Proprietor Chae asked after you. It’s a shame you weren’t there as well.”
Drew that last sentence out nice and slow. Then I noticed her hand on the table—her knuckles were white. She shoved it out of sight the second she realized I’d seen.
Her voice came back colder than ever.
“If you’d really wanted me there, you could have said so. You came all this way just to throw these little jabs—was that the point?”
“Please. What would I gain by mocking you?”
“Then why are you here, saying all this?”
“I told you. Thought we were getting a little distant. Wanted to talk. So I asked what you did yesterday, but you never answered.”
By now, Sohae had dropped all pretense. She yanked her hand back out and slammed her palm on the table.
“Sister. What the hell are you trying to hear?”
“Fine. I’ll be honest. I heard you’ve found yourself quite a… promising connection.”
“…What?”
“I mean, that’s what sisters do, right? We’re supposed to share all the juicy details—whisper about our secrets and loves. But I figured you might be too shy to come to me, so I came to you. Now, go ahead. Spill.”
That was the last straw.
Sohae shot to her feet. A vein bulged at her temple—bright and blue. The adorable, lovable Moyong Sohae of old? Gone. This was a full-blown demoness, born straight out of a thousand years of hellfire.
“But hey, Sohae. You don’t look so good.”
“……”
“You didn’t like the man I introduced you to, huh?”
She didn’t answer.
Just dropped the mask she’d been wearing. Grabbed the teacup off the table.
And hurled it straight at my face.
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