Youngest Daughter of the Ultimate Martial Master Namgung Family

Chapter 8

She was a baby who couldn’t freely move her hands or feet, so the easiest and clearest way for Heeran to express her intent was to cry.

Ah, instead of pissing me off, I said to go! So why aren’t you going?!

Normally, he would have jumped out the window as soon as she started crying, but Hwi couldn’t seem to leave easily today.

Huh?

At that moment, Heeran felt a change in her body—her loud cries suddenly became quieter. Blinking her teary eyes, she tried to understand what was going on.

Hwi had picked her up and was holding her in his arms.

“Shh. Don’t cry.”

He smelled like ink, but that wasn’t what struck Heeran. It was the fact that being in his arms was warmer and cozier than expected.

What the...? Why is he so good at holding a baby?

Heeran was taken aback. Except for the nanny, no one held baby Heeran. Or, to be precise, they did try to hold her, but she never stayed in their arms for long because she would start crying profusely to express her discomfort. She even felt uncomfortable in the arms of Soso, who held her carefully and with the utmost care.

But why is it comfortable in Hwi Namgung’s arms?

A strange look came over Heeran’s face. Hwi definitely didn’t have children, so how could he be so skilled at holding a baby? But despite her many questions, her baby body soon became limp with the fatigue brought on by crying. Her blinking eyes slowly closed.

And even though he knew Heeran had fallen asleep, her eldest brother stood there holding her for a long time.

***

Soso fed Heeran and watched the baby eat her gruel like a baby bird. She was so happy that she didn’t know what to do with herself.

“Ah, you’re eating so well today! That’s it, my lady! You have to eat well like this to grow up strong.”

When you ate a lot, you had to go to the bathroom a lot. Because of that realization, Heeran had subconsciously been reluctant to eat her fill. In turn, many misunderstandings had arisen that she was a picky eater. But she had decided since yesterday to stop this course of action and eat as much gruel as she could.

Soso looked on affectionately as she watched her charge chew. “Oh, you’re such a dear.”

Heeran grinned at her. Unlike before, she had a new goal now. I need to eat well and grow up fast so that when I face a situation like last night, I’ll be fast enough to grab the rattle.

Heeran’s eyes burned with determination.

“Oh my. You emptied the entire bowl today!”

The bowl that always had leftover food was empty. After Soso happily put down the bowl, she picked Heeran up and patted her on the back to burp her. But even after she did, Soso did not put her down. She knew that the only time that Heeran didn’t cry in her arms was when she was burping her.

“Can you not cry like this other times too, my lady? I want to be able to hold you often like Madam does.”

Heeran pretended not to see the maid’s teary face. No matter how much Soso pleaded, what was uncomfortable was still uncomfortable.

It was truly peculiar that Hwi Namgung was able to hold me so well last night.

Even though he had not fully grown up, the hand that had supported her neck had felt so natural and comfortable—for a moment, she had felt like she was in her nanny’s arms.

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Nanny. Heeran looked around the room. It had already been several days since she had seen her.

“By the way, Madam must be very busy.”

Heeran flinched at Soso’s words—it was like the maid had peeked into Heeran’s inner thoughts. Soso sighed and said, “The day before yesterday, she went to see the Chief Officer because of budget issues in the annex, and yesterday, she was busy personally checking on the ingredients for your meals since some kind of problem came up.”

It was true that Nanny had always been meticulous. After she had her question answered, Heeran nodded and smiled.

“How are you so pretty and gentle, my lady?” With a bright smile, Soso continued to chat away. “If the Young Masters and Eldest Miss would see you just once, they wouldn’t be able to stop coming back. So how can they not stop by?”

Why are you, of all people... sulking about that? Heeran looked at Soso with a sour face.

“Oh, by the way, I heard that the Second Young Master fainted again today, so the medical hall was turned upside down. I suppose the Second Young Master has an excuse since he’s bedridden, but what about Patriarch and Eldest Miss? They’re so indifferent.” Her voice was dripping with disappointment and regret.

Heeran burst out laughing as she looked at Soso, who believed that her siblings’ indifference would change if they saw her even once.

While I don’t know about the others, Hwi Namgung sneaks in every day like a thief. She had no idea what kind of thoughts were in that jerk’s head.

After shaking her head, Heeran suddenly saw a mirror in the corner of the room. She could see her and Soso’s reflection in it.

Clear, big eyes. Delicate facial features. Plump cheeks and a fair complexion. When Heeran looked at her young self in Soso’s arms, she also thought she looked lovable.

If I were Soso, I would’ve said the word “pretty” all the time too.

When she was growing up, she had been called many insulting things like Namgung’s Waste of Space that couldn’t master a single form, and of course, Namgung’s Shame. But there was one title that she found convincing: Namgung’s Thorn Flower. If you were captivated by her flashy appearance and tried to talk to her, you’d get hurt by her biting remarks and coldhearted actions.

As she pondered the past, Heeran let out a snort. I guess those people didn’t think about how annoying they were with their low-grade taunts.

While she had been called Namgung’s Shame for not being able to master the family’s martial arts style, she was still a direct descendant. But those idiots had ignored that. They constantly made up gossip about her, which then resulted in the creation of the Thorn Flower nickname.

Back then, she hadn’t really been interested in her looks, but seeing herself now as a baby gave off a different feeling. She looked chubby and lovable, as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

“But I don’t think I could live like Madam. Just looking after you keeps me busy, so how could I pay attention to anything else? Right, my lady?”

“You’re saying nonsense in front of Miss Heeran again. Didn’t I warn you to watch your mouth?” While Soso had been talking freely to Heeran, the absent Nanny had suddenly appeared behind her.

“I-I apologize!” Soso flinched when she noticed that Nanny’s tone was sterner than usual.

Nanny looked at her with cold eyes. “Paying attention to things like that is how Miss Heeran can live comfortably.”

“I-I made a mistake!”

Nanny sighed and said, “I shouldn’t have entrusted her to you.”

Although it seemed like she would accept Soso’s repeated apologies and sweep the incident under the rug, Nanny’s cold expression showed no signs of softening. Heeran considered her nanny’s anger. She didn’t know what Nanny had been doing away from the house, but whatever it was, it must not have ended well. Heeran wasn’t used to seeing her on edge like this.

Moreover, because Soso was scared and frozen, Heeran felt more uncomfortable in her arms.

Heeran quietly sighed. Ugh, I guess I have no choice but to resolve this. In any case, it was Soso who had taken good care of her while Nanny had been away, so she could at least help her out a little.

“Goo-goo, gah-gah!”

Heeran squirmed and drew attention to herself. Only then did Nanny’s hardened expression relax. She lifted Heeran from Soso’s arms as if stealing her.

“Yes, my lady. I’m back.”

“Goo-gah.”

In case Nanny was about to start nagging Soso again, Heeran babbled as loudly as she could. Soso stood by and just stared at them meekly. Nanny looked over at her again and gave an order.

“What are you doing?”

“Pardon?”

Nanny sighed. “Put away Miss Heeran’s meal and start cleaning up.”

“Yes, understood!”

Nanny’s face looked somewhat relaxed when she looked at Heeran, but it became stiff when she ordered Soso.

If I’m being generous, I might as well go all out.

Heeran looked at Nanny with a big smile. Seeing that, the woman’s harsh mood softened. She smiled at Heeran as if she couldn’t help it.

“Oh my, I only have my lady. How can you be this lovable?”

“Goo-goo.”

Yeah, so stop being mad at Soso and just look at me. She did take good care of me while you were gone. And thanks to her chatting, I wasn’t too bored.

Heeran smiled and waved her hands.

Sighing deeply, Nanny patted her on the back and kept repeating the same words.

Something seemed to be troubling her. “Yeah, you don’t need anyone else, right? Our Lady only needs to trust me. Then everything will be fine.”

Heeran, who had been staring at Nanny, yawned and then wrinkled her nose. There was an unfamiliar scent on Nanny’s collar.

What is this smell?

It wasn’t her usual powdery smell, but it smelled refreshing, like that of an orchid.

It doesn’t seem like it’s a sachet to scent the clothes either.

While being puzzled over the unfamiliar smell, Heeran dozed off without realizing it. Her baby stamina wasn’t strong enough to keep thinking.

In the end, it wasn’t long before she fell asleep in Nanny’s arms.

After putting down the sleeping infant in her cradle, the nanny’s gaze turned to Soso. She said in a low voice, “Soso.”

“Yes.”

“I remember telling you time and time again to be careful with your mouth. You know what you did wrong, right?”

“I-I apologize! It was a mistake, Madam! P-please forgive me just this once! I won’t do it again!” Scared that she had fallen out of favor, Soso hurriedly knelt down in front of Nanny.

Unlike Hwi, the new patriarch, and the other older siblings, Heeran was a newborn baby who obviously couldn’t express her own opinions yet. That was why everything that would’ve been ordered and decided by Heeran was in the nanny’s hands.

It would have been different if the other Namgung siblings paid attention to her, but this was the current situation because neither the Namgung siblings nor the Namgung Family statesmen looked after her. In other words, the nanny was the one who chose Heeran’s maids and decided what would happen to them.

As she knew this very well, Soso fell flat on her face. “I apologize, Madam!”

Soso fidgeted haplessly, and Nanny looked over her with cold eyes. She had kept Soso by her side because, unlike the other maids, her true feelings were clearly visible on her face. However, Soso’s recent behavior had begun to bother her.

“You said that the hardest job for maids is doing laundry, right?”

“Madam, please.”

“If I see you using your mouth carelessly in front of Miss Heeran one more time, I will personally send you there, so make sure you behave properly.”

Soso hastily nodded her head. Fortunately, she had been given one more chance. Soso trembled with relief and fear.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you leaving?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Soso hurriedly turned around. She didn’t know what had happened, but she was sure that her taskmistress was not in a good mood.

Heeran’s daily life as a baby went by quickly, without anything special going on. Hwi still secretly visited her every night while Nanny and Soso took good care of her. It was a monotonous life.

“Goo-goo.”

Heeran whined, expressing her dissatisfaction. The gruel she always ate was cold today.

“Goo-gah!”

While Nanny was usually quick to notice her dissatisfaction if it was expressed in this way, she didn’t show much of a reaction today.

It’s not hot, but it is colder than usual, so I guess it’s fine to eat.

The cold gruel actually wasn’t the problem. Since the day she had scolded Soso, Nanny’s mood had been very strange. It also seemed like her mind was somewhere else.

Did something bad happen?

In addition, Nanny no longer allowed Soso to comfort Heeran by holding her, and she didn’t let Soso feed her.