The Return of the Namgoong Clan's Granddaughter-Chapter 62
Chapter 6: What Was Lost, What Had Been Forgotten
Early dawn. Seolhwa returned to the Scarlet Dragon Division’s training grounds for the first time in a while.
She arrived exactly at the time she used to train. But even before stepping into the hall, she could already hear the sharp cries of exertion from within.
Inside were Namgoong Jipyeong and the members of the Scarlet Dragon Eleventh Unit—the ones who used to train at dawn with her.
That’s... unexpected.
“Grrrgh...!”
“Rrrrgh...”
“Yaaaah!”
They were diligently following the exact training she’d described before.
Seolhwa stepped lightly into the sparring hall.
The first to notice her was Namgoong Jipyeong, who stood at the front of the group.
“Oh! Miss Seolhwa!”
At his delighted voice, the other unit members turned their heads as well.
“Honored Guest!”
“Master!”
“Esteemed One!”
Each called out to her with their own choice of words.
Seolhwa walked up to them.
“You’re all working hard. It feels like the weight’s increased quite a bit too.”
Even though increasing load was no easy task, Namgoong Jipyeong and the others were now carrying twice as much as they had the first time she saw them.
Though their bodies were reinforced by internal energy, their external techniques had lagged behind. Thanks to the intense training, those techniques were now rapidly improving.
As members of the Eleventh Unit—the strongest among the outer hall's martial divisions—they were clearly talented.
Eventually, that growth would slow as they neared their limits, but for now, it would continue at this pace.
“The Celestial Martial Rite is only nine days away now. The first selection is in seven, so we’re preparing with everything we’ve got.”
The inner hall’s martial advancement test was divided into two rounds.
The first was a martial duel in front of the outer division captains. The winners advanced. The second took place during the Celestial Martial Rite itself, where the family elders observed and selected candidates directly from among those who passed the first.
Only seven days remained for the first selection.
Namgoong Jipyeong gestured toward his team with a proud smile.
“They all say they’ve got a good feeling about this one. I didn’t even tell them to—they started coming out half an hour early on their own.”
“That’s great.”
The Celestial Martial Rite... Now that she thought about it, the junior disciples had mentioned it briefly in passing.
So it’s that time already.
“Um... Esteemed One.”
“...?”
“If it’s not too much, may I ask something?”
The members behind Namgoong Jipyeong had an odd sparkle in their eyes.
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“Well... are you... a... lady...?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean... your name...”
“It’s Seolhwa. Namgoong Seolhwa.”
“Hahh...!”
Namgoong Jipyeong practically gasped.
And the members behind him weren’t any calmer.
“Wha— I told you! I told you I thought it was her...!”
“It’s really her...?”
Only now did Seolhwa realize she had never officially told them her identity.
When they first met, she hadn’t yet been acknowledged as a member of the Namgoong Clan. That was what had led to this misunderstanding.
Suddenly, Namgoong Jipyeong dropped to one knee with a thud and raised his hands in a martial salute.
“Namgoong Jipyeong, Captain of the Scarlet Dragon Eleventh Unit! I pay my respects to Lady Seolhwa!”
The rest of the unit followed suit in unison.
“Namgoong Gimu, Scarlet Dragon Eleventh Unit!”
“Namgoong Hwang, Scarlet Dragon Eleventh Unit!”
“Namgoong Seorin, Scarlet Dragon Eleventh Unit!”
“Namgoong Baekwi, Scarlet Dragon Eleventh Unit!”
The four men all shouted in chorus—
“We pay our respects to Lady Seolhwa!”
All of the earlier playfulness was gone. What remained was the solemn, fierce presence of true martial artists.
They raised their heads and looked at her, faces full of emotion.
“Though it’s late, welcome home. It’s an honor to see you in person, my lady,” Namgoong Jipyeong said, his voice trembling with excitement.
“Welcome home!”
The rest echoed with joy.
“I always had a feeling you were extraordinary... but to think you were our lady!”
“To be able to train under you—it’s an honor!”
“You’re beautiful! I’ve thought that from the start!”
Laughter broke out among them.
To be able to directly celebrate her return—they were genuinely happy.
Seolhwa responded to their joy with a soft smile.
“You may rise now.”
She took Namgoong Jipyeong’s still-raised hand and gently helped him up.
“I told you, didn’t I? That your opportunity would come.”
“M-My lady...!”
Namgoong Jipyeong's face flushed with embarrassment—he understood exactly what she meant.
“That’s not what I was trying to ask when I asked your name. It’s just... your stay as an honored guest and your return lined up so precisely that I was overcome by the feeling. That’s all...”
“I know.”
She might be emotionally detached, but even she could tell the difference between sincerity and flattery now.
And Seolhwa had no doubt—these men were sincere.
“First, let me say this: I have no intention of dismissing your sincerity. But what I’m about to say has nothing to do with that. This is something I’ve been planning for a while.”
Namgoong Jipyeong and the others sensed something serious in her tone.
A quiet tension settled over their faces.
“I intend to make all of you inner hall martial warriors.”
“...!”
“Gasp...”
“You’ve all more than earned it.”
The weight of Seolhwa’s words froze the five men in place.
She’d said something similar before—but it felt completely different now.
Back then, she was just a passing expert. Now, she was the Namgoong Clan’s granddaughter.
If it had been simple martial advice, it wouldn’t have mattered. But when it came to the affairs of the Namgoong Clan, the weight behind her words was impossible to ignore.
“You told me before,” Seolhwa said. “That in a place like Namgoong, strength alone isn’t enough.”
“Th-that’s...”
Namgoong Jipyeong’s face turned pale.
He’d basically criticized the clan’s politics right in front of its young lady.
“...I was out of line.”
“I’m not here to scold you. The opposite, actually.”
“...Pardon?”
“I intend to stand behind you from now on.”
“...!”
“If anything stands in your way that isn’t your skill—I’ll remove it.”
Seolhwa spread her arms shoulder-width apart, addressing them all.
“I get it. You’re probably thinking: ‘What can some little girl who just got back to Namgoong possibly do?’ And maybe that’s fair. But just like I believe in you—I want you to believe in me.”
It might have sounded ridiculous, asking grown men to put their trust in a thirteen-year-old.
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But not one of them laughed.
They’d seen her martial skill firsthand. And the quiet authority in her voice gripped them.
“The only thing I can’t decide is what’s in your heart.”
The will to act.
The will not to give up.
The will to accomplish something—no matter what.
“For the next seven days, I want you to put everything you have into growing stronger. So when the time comes, you don’t get held back by something as trivial as a skill gap. Do that—and you will see results.”
She ended with a gentle smile.
Even after her words ended, the five of them stood in stunned silence, the echo of her voice lingering in the air.
To them, she wasn’t just a young lady.
She was a light.
Namgoong Jipyeong was the first to slam a fist to his chest and shout,
“Namgoong Jipyeong will give it everything he’s got!”
The rest followed without hesitation.
“Me too! I’m going all in!”
“I’ll train until I die!”
“I’ll train even if I am dead!”
“And if I do die...? Screw it! Then I’ll die! Let’s die, whatever! I’m ready!”
One after another, they pledged their determination like they were offering up their lives.
Seolhwa nodded in satisfaction.
“Good. In that case—how about a spar today?”
Namgoong Baekwi had already rushed over to the weapons rack and brought back a wooden sword.
“Here you go!”
“Thanks. Now then, who’s up fir—”
“It’s gotta be the captain, right?”
Namgoong Jipyeong spun the wooden sword in a flourish.
He had already sparred with her once before—and this time, with even more muscle packed onto his bulky frame, he bared his teeth in a grin.
“This time will be different!”
All that external training really had paid off—he looked noticeably larger than before.
Seolhwa took up her stance with the wooden sword, calm and without excess.
It was flawless. Precise. Clean.
“You’d better come at me like your life depends on it.”
Her lips curled ever so slightly.
“Because I’m not quite the same as last time, either.”
Whoosh—
Her body vanished from sight.
Immediately after—smack!
Followed by: “AAAGHHHH!”
The sparring hall shook with the sound of blows, yelps, and screams.
The chaos continued until all five men were flat on their backs.
Only then did the sparring session end.
****
A quiet place—so still that birdsong and crickets felt like the loudest sounds in the world.
This hall, where Namgoong’s elders who had retired from the front lines now resided, was the most peaceful and tranquil place in the entire clan.
Namgoong Cheongun ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) sat straight, looking across at the old man seated before him.
Though his frame was thin and his body withered, wrinkled and frail, the elder exuded a deep, strange pressure—an uncanny strength that could not be ignored.
He was the former Head of the Martial Instruction Hall, now the Elder Council’s leader.
Namgoong Pungak.
“Well then. What is it you came here to say?”
It took a full quarter-hour before the elder finally spoke.
Cheongun gathered himself and answered.
“Please... lend me your support.”
Pungak turned his gaze on him.
Within those black eyes, buried in layers of age and fatigue, there was still a sharp light—a fierce will that could not be hidden.
“You left the clan for eight years. Turned your back on all its affairs. And now you want to claim the seat for yourself?”
