The Return of the Namgoong Clan's Granddaughter-Chapter 10

“What is it?”

“If something dangerous were to happen... what should we do? If we intervene directly, someone is bound to figure out the honored guest’s identity.”

“Hm...”

Namgoong Yeom stroked his chin.

Even if the guest had expressed a desire to move about alone, and even if this was the Namgoong Clan’s own domain—if anything were to happen, it would be no different from a stain on the clan’s name.

“Perhaps we should assign a bodyguard after all...”

Namgoong Yeom gave a slight nod.

“Assign people with light steps. Instruct them not to reveal themselves unless absolutely necessary.”

“Understood.”

“Good.”

This was the first honored guest the Celestial Guest Courtyard had received in an entire year.

As long as the guest remained within Namgoong, not a single thing should be lacking.

“Have the tea heated and prepare fresh dishes in time for the guest’s return. Prepare bathwater and clothing as well, just in case. Be ready to serve food at a moment’s notice if requested.”

“Yes, sir.”

Namgoong Yeom emphasized again,

“Take every precaution so that the honored guest experiences not even the slightest discomfort.”

“We will take it to heart.”

****

There were six military divisions within the Namgoong Clan.

The Secret Wind Sword Corps, which served directly under the Clan Head.

And the Five Dragon Divisions, divided by color: Yellow Dragon, Blue Dragon, Red Dragon, White Dragon, and Black Dragon.

Of these, only the 1st through 10th battalions of each sword division were eligible to be promoted to the Inner Hall as official martial artists. The rest remained in the Outer Hall and were called "sword units."

The training ground Ilhwa had found belonged to the Red Dragon Division, whose members wore red martial uniforms with plain red sashes.

Inside the grounds, there were children in red uniforms as well, and at the center of the grounds—on the martial platform—the Red Dragon swordsmen were in the middle of practicing their sword techniques.

“Great Flame Sword Art, First Form!”

“Haa!”

When a man with a gold-lined sash gave the command, the martial artists wearing plain sashes all executed the technique in perfect unison.

Even with more than a dozen people moving, their motions were disciplined and precise, not a single movement out of place.

Ilhwa stood and watched the sword techniques for a moment.

In her previous life, these were people who would drop dead the moment she swung her sword. She had never spared them a thought. {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} But now, things were different.

These people were the very roots supporting Namgoong. A tree with strong roots doesn’t fall easily.

If she was to rebuild Namgoong’s strength, it had to begin with them.

Watching the Outer Hall swordsmen train with seriousness, Ilhwa formed a quiet judgment.

This isn’t swordsmanship.

The movements, honed through countless drills and repetition, were sharp and efficient—worthy of pride.

They were flawless techniques, forming the foundation of the swordsmanship that supported Namgoong.

But there was one glaring flaw.

None of them have actually fought before, have they?

The technique was perfect—but the sword was missing.

In other words, what they had mastered was not the sword, but only its motions.

To an untrained eye, it would seem fine—but to Ilhwa, who had spent her entire life crossing blades with Namgoong swordsmen, the flaw was plain.

If they ever ended up in a real fight, they’d be dead before they even got a chance to use their sword forms.

Of course, these were basic forms, shown even to outsiders, but the Namgoong sword was never weak.

And yet—they were weak. Very much so.

There’s a long way to go.

With a short sigh, Ilhwa turned away from the martial platform and walked toward the weapons rack.

Even if she understood the problem, there was nothing she could do about it right now. She decided to focus on her own training and leave the Red Dragon Division’s swordsmanship for another time.

But just as she was about to pick up a wooden sword—

“Hey! You there!”

A voice called out.

Ilhwa turned her head toward the sound.

As expected, the one approaching was the man with the gold-lined sash who had just been leading the drills.

He was the squad leader of the 11th Red Dragon Battalion.

Not bothering to wipe the sweat streaming down his body, he glanced at the wooden sword Ilhwa had been about to grab and spoke bluntly.

“You can’t just touch anything you like. These aren’t toys for little kids to play with. Leave them be.”

Ilhwa glanced to one side of the training ground.

There, children around her age were practicing sword techniques.

The squad leader followed her gaze and let out a mocking snort.

“They’re not like you, kid. They’re being formally trained in the sword. You, at best...”

He looked her up and down.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

She wasn’t wearing a uniform. Her clothes weren’t particularly expensive-looking, either.

A child servant, maybe?

Had she failed the martial artist’s entrance trial?

There were always kids like that—those who desperately wanted to learn the Namgoong sword, failed the test, and tried to sneak in as servants to pick it up anyway.

The way she’d been watching their training with such intense focus earlier... wandering freely through the training grounds... it fit the profile exactly.

Training ground cleaning duty.

What a pain. Don’t the servant handlers watch their kids anymore?

“Hey, kid.”

The squad leader stepped up close.

His towering frame cast a long shadow over Ilhwa.

“The sword, you see, isn’t something you can learn just by mimicking it. Don’t hang around here and get hit by a flying wooden sword. Be a good girl and go finish your cleaning duties.”

He snatched the wooden sword from her hand.

Ilhwa looked at the stolen sword for a moment, then quietly turned and walked back to the weapons rack.

Oh?

He’d raised his voice to scare her off, but she didn’t seem the least bit intimidated. The child heading straight back to the rack left the Red Dragon squad leader blinking in disbelief.

“You little brat...”

Thump, thump—the squad leader stomped over and snatched the new wooden sword Ilhwa had just picked up.

Ilhwa’s brow twitched slightly as she stared at the sword in his hand.

“Are you ignoring an adult when he’s speaking to you? Where are your manners, girl? Maybe a proper scolding will knock some sense into you!”

“....”

“Where’s your assigned supervisor? I’ll have a word with them—see if they can teach you some respect—”

“Haa...”

Ilhwa let out a sigh.

She had chosen the public training ground precisely to avoid drawing attention—and somehow, it was drawing even more.

Should I just go back?

Maybe she should’ve gone to the private training ground in the Celestial Guest Courtyard from the beginning.

As she stood there debating, the veins in the squad leader’s forehead slowly began to bulge.

To his eyes, Ilhwa’s quiet, contemplative look appeared like blatant defiance.

“You little—!”

The wooden sword in his grip creaked under the pressure of his tightening hand.

“You disrespectful little—!”

The Red Dragon squad member swung the wooden sword at Ilhwa’s shin.

But the moment the blade reached her—

Tap. Tap.

Ilhwa lightly kicked off the ground and stepped gently on the swinging wooden sword midair, then landed smoothly back on the floor.

She hadn’t even glanced at the incoming strike.

What...?

The force behind the wooden sword vanished in an instant, as if it had evaporated.

An uncanny stillness settled briefly.

Thud—

The Red Dragon squad leader, having lost his balance, collapsed to the ground in a pathetic heap.

“...?”

What... just happened?

Why am I...?

Still lying face-down, the squad leader blinked in confusion, completely unable to grasp the situation.

The one responsible—Ilhwa—simply picked up the wooden sword that had fallen and walked away without so much as a glance, her footsteps calm and measured.

“Hahahaha! Squad Leader! Weren’t you going to put that brat in her place? Why are you the one on the floor?”

“What, did you trip over your own feet? Trying to catch a kid and getting taken down yourself? Pfft—hahaha!”

His teammates, watching from a short distance away, burst into laughter at the sight.

...!

The squad leader’s face flushed a deep red.

Humiliation like this had no equal.

To fail at restraining some kid servant and end up sprawling on the floor like an idiot?

The only saving grace was that none of his subordinates seemed to suspect the child had taken him down.

And unfortunately, neither did the squad leader himself.

“Stop right there!”

He pushed himself off the ground with both hands and jumped up.

That no one had realized what truly happened meant no one had seen the child's actions clearly—but his judgment had already been clouded too much to think that far.

I don’t know what trick she pulled...

It had to have been some fluke—his own misstep, no doubt.

“I said stop right there!”

At his second shout, the child halted and turned to look at him.

Her expression was strangely uninterested, almost bored.

The squad leader’s eyes burned with fury.

“Oh, you little—!”

Maybe she got lucky once—but not twice!

“I’ll break your damn legs if that’s what it takes to teach you some respect!”

Whoosh—

The squad leader’s wooden sword sliced through the air again.

The swing was heavy enough to stir the wind, a sharp rushing sound echoing through the training ground.

His blade once again arced toward Ilhwa’s legs.

Thwack!

With a clean, crisp snap, a wooden sword spun up into the air, tumbling end over end.

The gazes of everyone who had been watching drifted upward in sync, tracking its path through the sky.

The flying sword was the squad leader’s.

What...?

Once again, the squad leader was dumbfounded.

Before he could even process what was happening, the child moved her arm.

Thud—!

“Gah!”

A blunt, jarring pain exploded behind his knee.

Like being struck with a thick club—heavy and brutal.

Thump!

By the time he realized what had happened, he was already kneeling in front of the girl.

At that exact moment, the sword he’d lost clattered to the ground a good distance away, and the bystanders shifted their gazes back to the two of them.

“Gasp!”

“...!”

Their eyes widened in unison.

Before they knew it, the Red Dragon squad leader was on his knees in front of the child.

It had all happened in an instant.

Even the squad leader himself looked dazed, unable to comprehend the situation.

A dark shadow fell over his head.

“You want to keep going?”

The voice was incredibly young—far too young to belong to the person who had just knocked him down.