NOVEL NEXT Chapter 238
Chapter 238: The Girl’s Happiness
“If you’re going that far, I’ll forgive you completely.”
I said while gently patting Jeoksawol’s head.
At my words, Jeoksawol’s eyes lit up. With teary red eyes fixed on me, she carefully asked, “R-Really, are you going to forgive me completely?”
I nodded.
I never planned not to forgive her from the start.
I had known her disguised identity the entire time. To me, Jeoksawol was like Sun Wukong on Buddha’s palm. I already knew all the tricks she was trying to pull, and they didn’t particularly annoy or disadvantage me.
It was just cute antics, quite literally.
Though cute, I worried that if she kept acting like this, Jeoksawol might become unrecognizably ugly.
Moreover, she still didn’t show any sincerity.
That’s why I continued to avoid her, waiting for her to confess first.
And today, now that she’s confessed and let everything go…
There was no reason not to forgive her.
“Since as agreed, Woolma has confessed everything, it’s only natural.”
I smiled and stroked Jeoksawol’s head. Again, tears welled in her eyes upon hearing my words.
“G-Gaga!”
She called me Gaga and burrowed back into my arms, trembling.
“Then does that mean the girl deserves to be Gaga’s woman?”
She asked cautiously.
It was a fragile sight, 180 degrees different from her usual proud and arrogant self.
“Yes. That’s enough.”
After all, Jeoksawol was already a candidate for the Samcheosacheop I had placed a mark on.
There was no way I could let her go.
Jeoksawol’s face turned bright red upon hearing my words, as if her entire body were heating up. A sweet fragrance wafted from her.
“Gaga. Thank you… It’s only you, Gaga…”
“Don’t forget the promise about the White Snake masterpiece in a year, okay?”
I said while watching Jeoksawol tear up, even though I felt a bit shy.
She nodded enthusiastically at my words.
With her neck flushed bright red, she whispered to me, “Of course I haven’t forgotten. How could I forget such a precious promise, Gaga?”
“That’s good. So don’t worry anymore. I’ll take care of Woolma myself.”
As I said that, I tried to pull her away from my embrace.
But Jeoksawol snuggled up against me again.
With a quivering voice, she muttered, “I just want to stay like this for a little longer. Is that okay?”
She stammered.
Yeah, she should have been honest about her feelings earlier.
“Of course it is.”
Saying that, I asked her one more question.
“But why did your speech suddenly change? You were using honorifics earlier, but now you’re using informal speech…?”
A small gasp.
Her body trembled at my words.
She replied, “I-I made a mistake. Is it more comfortable for you if I speak formally?”
She spoke cautiously, bowing her head, looking like she was on the verge of tears.
I was only teasing her for a moment, but her reaction was adorable.
I playfully pinched Jeoksawol’s cheek and said, “No, do whatever you want. Informal speech suits you better, after all.”
“R-Really? Hmhm. Then I will do so.”
Jeoksawol’s face lit up with a blush at my words. She squeezed me tighter and muttered, “Thank you, Gaga.”
Thanks indeed.
*
Jeoksawol felt Gaga’s warmth to her heart’s content.
She felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
‘How foolish I was. I should have confessed and let everything go sooner.’
As the most important existence, the face of the Safa Clan, and the Most Beautiful in the World, she had put away everything for Gaga.
Thus, her heart felt light.
Gaga accepted her as she was. He forgave her.
‘As expected of Gaga.’
Only Gaga accepted her ugly heart and forgave all her shameful actions.
Tears in Jeoksawol’s eyes began to dry up. She took out a handkerchief from her robe and wiped her tears. Gaga’s warm embrace felt comforting after a long time.
She never realized that facing each other’s true feelings could bring such joy.
From childhood to now.
In her sixty-five years, Jeoksawol had never once genuinely connected with someone or trusted anyone. Not her birth mother or her master.
Even the heavenly relationship turned its back on her. If her master and mother treated her this way, outsiders would be worse. Everyone had looked at her appearance and tried to use her.
That was why Jeoksawol never truly believed in anyone.
It was for this reason.
Even in front of her lifelong love, Gaga, she couldn’t trust him and maintained her pride along with her disguise.
But Jeoksawol, reborn anew, was different.
‘I now completely trust Gaga.’
She cast aside her pride and face, completely trusting Gaga. She finally loved him unreservedly.
While she might not trust others, she could trust Gaga completely. Jeoksawol finally broke free from the shadows cast by her master and mother, which tormented her for so long.
Though she was sixty-five years old, in her heart, she was still a teenage girl, wounded and crying because of her mother and master.
It was all thanks to Gaga.
He led her towards a bright future.
‘I never knew trusting someone completely could feel this relaxing.’
Today, Jeoksawol realized for the first time what it meant to mutually trust someone. And that this peace of mind could only be felt from Gaga.
Regardless of her appearance, if it weren’t for Gaga—who forgave and loved even her ugly heart—she could never have grown out of being the girl crying in the shadows all her life.
‘I received a great gift from Gaga.’
Gaga was no longer just an object of crush.
He was her only refuge, the one whom she completely trusted, her savior, her everything.
Her life was now divided into before and after meeting Gaga. And she could never return to how it was before.
She owed Gaga an immeasurable debt of gratitude. So now, she had to repay that kindness.
From now on, she had to protect Gaga.
The thought of confronting Hyulma popped into her mind.
Hyulma’s Martial Arts were overwhelming. He had lived for three thousand years and it was indeed true that he possessed the beginning and end of all martial arts.
His Mind’s Martial Arts, Manryu Gwijong.
A technique that unfolded the mysteries of all martial arts in the Nine Provinces and Eight Monarchs at the same time—a preposterous technique.
When the time came for Gaga to face that technique directly…
The despair of that moment resurfaced.
And yet, she also felt a sense of relief. Gaga survived. But Jeoksawol knew that his victory wasn’t normal.
Hyulma.
That guy’s Great Method was incomplete. It was an imperfect descent, which left openings that shouldn’t have existed in a normal situation.
So weak it could barely be noticed, this flaw could only be discovered by the Eye of Spiritual Perception that Gaga had opened.
‘If you’re really going to fight Hyulma, then…’
Jeoksawol’s gaze lowered heavily.
That overwhelming power was still there.
But it was just a fraction of its power. It might not even be the ultimate technique that it could have been. It was possible that it wasn’t the Supreme Absorption Technique either.
So she needed strength. She needed great power that would ensure she wouldn’t be helpless again.
‘Gaga, I will protect you.’
Swallowing the feeling of helplessness from watching Gaga get beaten by Hyulma, Jeoksawol slipped away from Gaga’s embrace.
Her sight fell on Gaga, who had completely regained his health, looking exactly like the beautiful young man he originally was.
Jeoksawol smiled.
The thought of their promise popped into her mind. Gaga had once again promised the White Snake masterpiece today.
One year.
Yes, in a year, Jeoksawol planned to offer her long-held purity to Gaga.
Her heart raced.
Her lower abdomen felt hot. Jeoksawol unconsciously touched her lower belly and smiled.
From now on, it would be her time.
*
Having brought Jeoksawol back from being a reclusive lump of flesh to a normal person, I stepped out of the Separate Wing with her arm in mine.
Now that Jeoksawol had confessed everything, her face bore a sense of relief.
“Hehehe.”
She tightly pressed against me, beaming with a natural smile, her clothes scandalously tight due to her position as the head of the Safa clan.
Thanks to that, I could feel the soft touch of her chest on my arm.
Well, I didn’t mind, so I decided to leave it as it was.
I held Jeoksawol and returned to the main building of the villa.
Creek.
As the door opened, Geumhu, Wi Soryeon, and Sosumahu, all seated at the table, came into view.
Their gaze turned towards me, more specifically, to the fact that I was intimately linked with Jeoksawol.
Receiving their attention, Jeoksawol puffed out her chest proudly.
“Flame Maiden, get away from daddy this instant!”
Sosumahu was the first to react.
She glared at Jeoksawol, growling. But seriously, why was she still calling me daddy now that she was in her right mind?
Let’s not dwell on that.
I secured the Upper Clear Secret, so once the Gold Restriction was lifted, everything would return to normal. Then she’d probably stop calling me daddy.
“Hmph. You dare complain, mother? Daddy has brought home an odd woman!”
Sosumahu flailed her arms at Wi Soryeon. Upon hearing Sosumahu’s words, a frown appeared on Wi Soryeon’s face.
At that moment, as Wi Soryeon was mumbling her lips…
“Yeomwang-senpai! Long time no see. Are you feeling alright? A master should never lower their guard. They say martial artists grow senile as they age.”
Geumhu took the lead. Her cold gaze and voice locked onto Jeoksawol.
“Senile? Me? What a laugh! Eun Seol-ran, I suppose you’re only worried about me today because I’m in a good mood.”
Jeoksawol gave a seductive smile while sticking even closer to me as she looked at Geumhu.
Creek.
She temporarily pulled away from me to move a chair and said, “Now, come sit. Gaga.”
Gaga.
The moment that title came out, a white aura surged from Sosumahu. The temperature in the room dropped, not joking, but for real.
Geumhu’s icy gaze shot towards Jeoksawol.
I had to keep my expression neutral no matter what. I maintained my poker face as I sat down on the chair Jeoksawol had provided.
Just as Jeoksawol was about to sit next to me…
“The seat beside daddy belongs to me!”
Suddenly, Sosumahu, who had snuck in, stole Jeoksawol’s spot. She hooked her arm around mine just like Jeoksawol had done moments ago.
Sosumahu’s volume was smaller than Jeoksawol’s, so I felt nothing at all.
The moment I saw Jeoksawol’s face turn red…
“By imperial decree! The Gongdong Sect’s Martial Department, Lee Cheol-soo, and his women are to honor the emperor’s command!”
Through the open door, a court official entered, holding a golden edict.
So that ominous presence I had felt earlier was this?
But why is this happening now? What in the world does the emperor want?