THUD. THUD. THUD.
The ground rumbled.
It wasn't an earthquake.
It was the tremor made by the footsteps of a man walking out of the darkness.
On instinct, I half-hid behind Namgung Seol.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘That's...... a person?’
He was enormous.
No, he was colossal.
Even at a glance, he stood close to eight chi (about 240 cm) tall.
His shoulders were wider than most doorways, and his hairy forearms were thicker than my thighs.
His broad chest looked as if it had been chiseled out of hard granite.
The eldest son of the Hebei Peng Clan.
Hegemon Bear, Peng Mu-gwang.
His nickname needed no long explanation.
He was simply a giant bear standing on two feet.
Every time he snorted through his nose, I even had the illusion that the air around him grew hotter.
Peng Mu-gwang stopped right in front of us.
An enormous shadow fell over Namgung Seol.
The pressure was suffocating.
Even his palms were as big as a pot lid.
A guy like that was Namgung Seol's husband-to-be?
Beauty and the Beast.
There could hardly be a moment where that phrase fit better.
“......”
I swallowed dryly.
“......Ah.”
A dumb exclamation slipped out of Peng Mu-gwang's mouth.
His pupils were shaking as if an earthquake had struck them.
The man's gaze was fixed precisely on Namgung Seol's face.
White skin that seemed to hold the moonlight after the rain.
Proudly upturned eyes.
Pitch-black hair fluttering in the wind.
Even under Peng Mu-gwang's burning gaze, Namgung Seol only blinked a few times.
Her face said she didn't quite understand why that enormous man had frozen at the sight of her.
Meanwhile, Peng Mu-gwang's fierce face flushed red in an instant, like a ripe persimmon.
“A, a fairy maiden......?”
“......”
I doubted my own ears.
What did that big lug of a bear just babble?
A fairy maiden?
Namgung Seol tilted her head slightly.
“Would you mind stepping aside?”
Namgung Seol said calmly.
“I am a guest of the Peng Clan. I have an appointment to see the Clan Head.”
It seemed Namgung Seol still didn't realize that the man in front of her was her marriage partner.
Her voice was as cold as frost.
But Peng Mu-gwang didn't budge an inch.
Instead, he began twisting his huge body this way and that, not knowing what to do with himself.
Crack. Crick.
As that enormous mass of muscle squirmed with shyness, every joint of his bones screamed.
Just watching it made my stomach churn.
Peng Mu-gwang scratched the back of his head with a hand the size of a pot lid.
A whole handful of hair came out, but he didn't seem to notice the pain.
“P-pleased to meet you.”
He stammered.
“My name is Mu-gwang. I am the eldest son of the Peng Clan.”
“......”
“Did you...... fall from the heavens?”
“Pardon?”
Namgung Seol's eyes went round.
“Or are you the princess of the Dragon Palace? In all my years, I have never seen anyone so lovely.”
Aha.
I pressed a hand to my forehead.
I'd figured out the situation.
These two were meeting for the first time today.
It was supposed to be a political marriage, and they hadn't even known each other's faces.
And Peng Mu-gwang had fallen for Namgung Seol's beauty at first sight.
And very thoroughly, at that.
“Um...... Master. Please wipe your drool.”
Unable to watch any longer, I chimed in.
Peng Mu-gwang flinched in surprise and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
It was wet.
“Ah, ahem!”
Peng Mu-gwang cleared his throat and puffed out his chest.
“I, I lost my senses for a moment there. My apologies.”
He seemed to be trying his best to look dependable, but to my eyes he looked like nothing more than a big brown bear doing tricks.
“But you said you have an appointment with the Clan Head. Could it be that you are......?”
“I am Namgung Seol of the Namgung Clan.”
“Ahh!”
Peng Mu-gwang let out an exclamation.
“I knew it! You are the one who is to be my match!”
He pounded his chest with a boom and laughed.
“Father said he would bring in a peerless beauty as his daughter-in-law, and he was not exaggerating!”
Though his earlobes had turned red, he smiled brightly and approached Namgung Seol.
Then he boldly held out his hand.
“Pleased to meet you, Lady! No, Wife! Let us get along well!”
Namgung Seol frowned slightly and stepped back.
“We have not yet held the wedding.”
Her voice was polite but firm.
“Please correct how you address me.”
“Ah, oops. My heart got too far ahead of itself.”
Peng Mu-gwang awkwardly withdrew his hand.
But the corners of his mouth were still stretched to his ears.
I clicked my tongue.
So even a bear turns into a fool when he falls in love.
Still, in a way, it was a relief.
At least I wouldn't be beaten to death by this bear anytime soon.
“Um, Master.”
I carefully spoke up.
“Are you going to keep doing this in front of the gate? Our legs are getting a little sore.”
“Oh my!”
Peng Mu-gwang finally came to his senses with a start.
“To leave such a precious guest standing outside the gate! What was I thinking?”
He made a great fuss and cleared the way.
“Come in, come in! This way! I, I shall escort you most comfortably!”
Peng Mu-gwang took the lead and stomped along.
It looked as if an invisible tail was wagging behind him.
‘This is driving me crazy, really.’
Swallowing a sigh, I looked back at Namgung Seol.
Her face was still composed.
There was no way to read whether she liked Peng Mu-gwang or was disappointed.
The only thing was that she was hugging the silk box in her arms a little tighter than before.
‘Even if she doesn't like him, what can she do?’
I smiled bitterly.
‘The clans have already made the promise.’
“Th-this way! Watch your step.”
Peng Mu-gwang hurriedly took the lead and showed the way.
He was desperate to make a good impression on Namgung Seol.
The problem was the way he went about it.
“Hm, this jutting rock has a very rude look to it.”
Peng Mu-gwang spotted a fist-sized rock sticking out in the middle of the path and frowned.
“How dare it block the fairy maiden's way?”
An ordinary person would just walk around it.
Peng Mu-gwang was different.
Crack.
When he flicked it with the tip of his foot, the hard granite rock instantly turned to sand and scattered.
“......”
“Ah, that branch over there is bothersome too.”
This time the problem was a thick branch sticking out overhead.
He clicked his tongue, then grabbed the trunk of the huge tree with a hand the size of a pot lid.
CRACK!
He wasn't pruning it.
The entire tree shook down to its roots.
He simply pulled up the bothersome tree altogether and threw it far away.
“Now it is nice and clear! Hahaha!”
Peng Mu-gwang laughed heartily and looked back.
The look of a puppy wanting praise.
No, the look of a brown bear.
I watched the scene with my mouth hanging open.
‘Is that courting, or a threat?’
It was like a bear who couldn't control his strength making a ruckus trying to protect a butterfly.
At this rate, being escorted like that, we'd be buried in stone dust and tree splinters before we even reached the Peng Clan's Main Hall.
“Master, you're...... as strong as a giant.”
When I said that with an awkward laugh, Peng Mu-gwang puffed up proudly.
“This much is not even exercise.”
He raised a thick forearm to show me.
“Do you think my nickname is ‘Hegemon Bear’ for nothing? It is a name given to me as the bear who will seize hegemony over the martial world.”
Hegemon Bear.
Judging by the presence I'd felt earlier and his build alone, he certainly lived up to his name.
Though right now, winning a single glance from Namgung Seol seemed more urgent to him than hegemony over the martial world.
“Miss, welcome to the Peng Clan.”
Peng Mu-gwang kept looking back, trying to meet Namgung Seol's eyes.
“My father—no, the Clan Head—will be delighted as well.”
“Thank you.”
Namgung Seol bowed her head demurely.
Her attention didn't linger on Peng Mu-gwang for long.
Her hands were still wrapped around the silk box.
As if what was inside was everything she had.
“I have a gift for the Clan Head.”
Namgung Seol said.
“Would you take me to him right away?”
“A, a gift? For my father?”
Peng Mu-gwang's eyes sparkled.
“Your heart is lovely as well. A woman of great filial devotion is the best choice for the eldest daughter-in-law of the Peng Clan. Indeed, the very best.”
He was beating both the drum and the hourglass drum all by himself.
He was clearly already picking out names for his grandchildren in his head.
“Follow me!”
Peng Mu-gwang strode off in high spirits.
“I shall escort you to the Main Hall myself! I will not let any other bastards come anywhere near!”
THUD, THUD, THUD.
The ground rumbled again.
We passed through an enormous training ground and headed toward the Peng Clan's Main Hall.
Hundreds of martial artists were training on the training ground.
The heat pouring off the blades they swung was sweltering.
“Huh? Young Master?”
“Who's that beside him......?”
The martial artists who'd been training paused when they saw Peng Mu-gwang.
But their eyes soon fixed on Namgung Seol following behind him.
Astonishment.
Admiration.
And doubt.
A beauty unrivaled under heaven was walking side by side with that monstrous Hegemon Bear.
And with the Hegemon Bear leading the way, clearing the path and fussing over her, no less.
It had to be a sight never seen before or since in the history of the Peng Clan.
Feeling their stares, I stuck close behind Peng Mu-gwang's back.
Standing out less is the secret to a long life.
“There, we have arrived!”
Peng Mu-gwang proudly stretched out his hand and pointed.
“That right there is the Main Hall!”
An enormous hall was waiting for us, its mouth gaping like a wild beast's.
The tips of its eaves soared sharply as if to pierce the sky, and a single pillar was so thick that three grown men would have to stretch their arms out just to barely embrace it.
The Main Hall.
The place where the Clan Head of the Hebei Peng Clan resided.
When we reached the door, I stopped walking.
This was it.
My guiding job was over now.
This much was certain.
Meddling any further was dangerous.
Because I was a waiter.
“Well then, this is as far as I go.”
I grinned at Namgung Seol and gave a clasped hands greeting.
Then, wearing the kindest smile as naturally as I could, I said.
“Miss, my guiding is done, so I'll be taking my leave now.”
I didn't want to get caught up in this bloodcurdling family reunion.
I slowly edged backward.
But.
Grab.
“What are you talking about?”
Namgung Seol seized my sleeve.
It was a slender hand.
But its grip was relentless and heavy.
“You are coming in too.”
“Pardon? Why would I go in there?”
“I need a porter.”
“For what luggage?”
I looked at the silk box she was holding in her arms.
“You've got nothing but that one box!”
Namgung Seol glanced down at the box for a moment.
Then she said nonchalantly.
“It might get heavy, might it not?”
“What might?”
“The atmosphere.”
“......”
Just then, Peng Mu-gwang, who'd been walking ahead, whipped his head around.
“Hm?”
His eyes turned toward me.
“What is this guy? He has been trailing along behind us this whole time.”
His gaze turned fierce in an instant.
The face that had been grinning foolishly at Namgung Seol just a moment ago was nowhere to be found.
The look of a man eyeing a love rival?
No, it wasn't even that.
It was simply the look you'd give a stray dog wandering the street.
“The Miss's porter? The Peng Clan has servants everywhere, so why bother with a scrawny guy like that?”
Peng Mu-gwang snorted.
When he took a step closer, his enormous shadow fell over me.
I looked desperately at Namgung Seol.
It was a look that begged her to save me.
“Ah, he is my subordinate.”
Namgung Seol said calmly.
“A subordinate?”
“He has suffered a great deal coming all this way, so I would like him to at least pay his respects to the Clan Head.”
She smiled ever so slightly.
“Would it not be a great honor for him as well, to be shown the dignity of the Peng Clan?”
Peng Mu-gwang's face flushed red again.
Simple.
He really was simple.
“Ah, ahem! If it is the Miss's request, then.”
He cleared his throat for no reason and raised his chin.
“There is no harm in letting one more rat inside. Come in! I shall show you the spirit of the Peng Clan!”
“W-wait a minute! I don't need any honor......”
My cry didn't get to finish.
Still holding my sleeve, Namgung Seol walked into the Main Hall.
Creeeak—.
The heavy door opened, revealing the inside of the Main Hall.
It was vast.
And heavy.
An enormous tiger skin was spread whole across the floor, and the walls were decorated with gleaming axes and great blades as tall as a man.
And straight ahead.
On the highest dais.
Sat a white-haired old man who felt even more intimidating than Peng Mu-gwang.
The Clan Head of the Hebei Peng Clan.
Peng Jin-ak.
When he snapped open his closed eyes, the entire space seemed to be crushed down.
“You have come.”
His voice seemed to ring not in my eardrums, but through my whole head.
Namgung Seol knelt gracefully.
I hastily threw myself flat beside her too.
The tiger fur on the floor tickled the tip of my nose.
“Namgung Seol, daughter of the Namgung Clan, greets the Peng Clan Head.”
“......Lee Gap-saeng, a waiter, pays his respects, sir.”
Peng Jin-ak's gaze swept over us.
They were the eyes of a wild beast.
“Heo-heo-heo. Well done. You have worked hard coming such a long way.”
Peng Jin-ak laughed heartily.
Unlike his fierce appearance, his voice was quite warm.
He looked over the girl who would become his daughter-in-law and nodded as if satisfied.
“My son may be big, but he is green as can be, and yet he is to take such a lovely match. This is a joyous day for the Peng Clan.”
Peng Jin-ak stroked his beard.
“The Namgung Clan Head has kept his promise.”
“You flatter us.”
Namgung Seol bowed her head.
Then she carefully brought out the silk box she had been holding.
“This is a gift my father sent to congratulate the Clan Head on his birthday.”
“Ohh! The Namgung Clan Head even remembered my birthday!”
Peng Jin-ak's eyes widened.
“Bring it here. Let me see.”
An attendant approached to take the box.
But Namgung Seol didn't hand it over.
“Clan Head.”
“Hm?”
“Please open it right now.”
Namgung Seol said, holding the box up with both hands.
Her face was still composed.
But there was strength in the fingertips gripping the box.
“My father said he very much hoped the Clan Head would check it personally.”
It was urging.
A situation that could ordinarily have been seen as rude.
But Peng Jin-ak, now in a good mood, let it pass without a second thought.
“Heo-heo, how impatient. All right, all right. I cannot ignore my in-law's sincerity.”
Peng Jin-ak beckoned.
The attendant withdrew, and Namgung Seol personally approached to the foot of the dais.
With my nose to the floor, I watched the scene out of the corner of my eye.
The atmosphere was strange.
Taut tension was flowing from Namgung Seol's back.
‘What on earth is in there that she's making such a fuss about him opening it himself?’
Gold and jewels?
A precious elixir?
Or something else.
Peng Jin-ak rose and took the box.
His rough hand grabbed the red knot.
“Let us see if there is a treasure of the Namgung inside.”
The sound of the knot coming undone was unusually loud.
Shhhk.
Peng Jin-ak's hand rose to the lid of the box.
Namgung Seol held her breath.
Peng Mu-gwang watched the scene with a contented face.
Without knowing why, I felt cold sweat soaking my palms.
Clatter.
The box opened.
The moment its contents saw the light of the world.
Hissssss—!
There was no dazzling glimmer of jewels.
What poured out of the box was thick purple smoke.
A pungent, revolting stench.
A reek like rotten eggs mixed with the stench of blood filled the Main Hall in an instant.
“......!”
Peng Jin-ak's eyes flew wide.
It was the instinct of an expert of the land.
“Poison!”
He stopped breathing and reflexively hurled the box in his hand out the window.
CRASH!
The paper-paned door shattered, and the box flew outside.
It was an astonishing reaction speed.
But the poison was faster.
A single wisp of smoke was sucked up into his nose like a snake.
It was a very tiny amount, but that was enough.
“Keu, heok!”
Peng Jin-ak clutched his chest and staggered.
It happened in an instant.
His ruddy complexion began to die off into a dark bluish black.
His veins bulged out like earthworms, and black blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.
“F-Father!!”
Peng Mu-gwang screamed.
His enormous body leapt up onto the dais.
“Fatheeeeer!”