Chapter 2
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Black Heavenly Gate.
It is the name of the clan to which I belong.
Currently, the world of Moorim is divided into factions and sects.
In factions dominated by one side of the old faction and the five generations, the one called ‘Black Heavenly’ is the representative.
The owner of the Black Heavenly Gate is my grandfather, Mazon Kangcheon.
My grandfather had three sons. My father was the second of them.
Usually, the eldest son becomes the heir, but this is Black Heavenly Gate. Heirs are not determined simply by the order of birth.
Only the strongest and surviving can become the heir.
So, who will be the next to follow in the footsteps of Mazon?
At this point, it was the father and the uncle who fought bloodlessly.
Both martial artists were strong, and their forces were so mixed that it was impossible to easily distinguish between superiority and inferiority.
But I knew from the first round of life who would be the likely victor in this fight.
Neither the father nor the uncle.
‘That’s right…”
Then, someone’s shadow appeared from beyond the door.
“Lady, I’m here to pick you up.”
Is the time already here?
The door opened without me telling them to come in first.
My stepmother’s handmaiden was looking at me with a mocking expression.
She spoke without even saying hello.
“From now on, the young lady must move to Cheongbinjeon.”
Chungbinjeon.
Cheongbinjeon Hall, called the Cold Palace of Black Heavenly Gate, was a place where concubines who failed in internal affairs were mostly thrown away.
It was also a place occupied by crazy women who were once the ministers of powerful people.
I shook my head. Now I had somewhere else to go.
Then my stepmother’s handmaiden frowned and tried to warn me.
“Lady, are you going to reject your mother’s orders?”
It was not the attitude that a maid of honor should show me, the eldest daughter of the second young master, so I should’ve arrogantly commanded.
However…
“Forgive me.”
With a pitiful, stupid-looking face, I burst into tears.
I lowered my head and wiped the tears with the cuffs of my sleeve.
“Step-mother bestowed her grace… Cheongbinjeon is a great place for me to go.”
“…”
“I was not clever enough.”
I was a stupid, naive little girl who didn’t even notice that the villain was now my stepmother. Therefore…
“I would rather go to Shimokgye.”
“!”
As expected, the maid was startled.
There is a huge underground crypt in the main mountain where the Black Heavenly Gate is located.
It was a place like a garbage dump where losers who could not endure in the world of strength inside the Black Heavenly Gate were thrown away.
A prison so deep that once abandoned, you can’t see the sky again.
People called it Shimokgye.
It was a hundred times more terrible than the Cheongbinjeon.
No matter how much I didn’t have a backbone, I was still the granddaughter of the Black Heavenly Gate’s head and the eldest daughter of the 2nd young master.
Although my stepmother is making all kinds of decisions instead of my father, who is indifferent, she could not blindly send me to Shimokgye.
‘Unless I asked for it myself.’
I added in a lonely way with my eyes down sadly.
“I will commemorate those who died there because of my ignorance all my life.”
The maid’s expression was strangely distorted.
Perhaps you are thinking: Is she serious?
Shimokgye is cruel even within the clan.
It was a famous place.
How can you put complacent words like “lifetime” in such a place?
Even I thought it was a silly thing to say.
The maid must have thought so too.
As a maid who is well aware of the fact that my stepmother hates me terribly, she will probably see this moment as a golden opportunity.
“If that’s what you want…”
As expected, the maid could not hide all her expressions.
She was probably excited at the thought of receiving a prize in return for the fact that she could send me to Shimokgye.
‘How stupid.’
It made the job easier, but it was so easy that I almost yawned.
‘Hey, I have no choice but to do it.’
In my first life, I lived and died in the Black Heavenly Gate for twenty-two years.
Our Black Heavenly Gate was a place not only to absolutely venerate power, but also to slander, conspiracy, and even murder to defeat our opponents.
The strong one wins.
The victor has everything.
That was the absolute program.
In my first life, I was praised as a ‘natural fit’ for such place.
Otherwise, without a mother to support me, there was no way I could survive under an indifferent father and cruel stepmother.
However, after reviving, my only interest is to live quietly with my people, so I have never fully exercised my mind.
‘It’s easy to manage a careless maid…’
I had been immersed in happiness for several years, but I can’t fail now.
As expected, the maid said:
“Then, once I communicate with your mother…”
No.
“Well… Is it okay if you bother my mother over trivial things?”
“What?”
The maid’s eyes are now filled with doubt.
“I… I’m worried that if it becomes known that I’m going to the Shimokgye realm, there will be people who will oppose it.”
“That-that…”
The maid was perplexed.
Because what I said was unmistakably true.
No one else knows, but my father, the second young master, would not let his daughter go down to the realm of Shimokgye, for the sake of face.
“…”
Taking a glance, the maid had a conflicting look.
She had to tell my stepmother first because of the procedure, but even if she tried to follow the procedure, she could have smashed her chances of being recognized.
No, maybe she should be held accountable for missing a golden opportunity to deal with me.
I looked into her eyes and said at the right time:
“I think it would be better for me to go down quietly for now.”
I used the voice I used in my first life to inspire the greed and desires of others.
“It would be very difficult for someone to call me back after I’m already there.”
Eventually, you will not be able to overcome your greed.
“What do you think?”
“…I don’t know. If that’s what you mean… Of course I have to help you…?”
“That’s right.”
Contrary to my inner thoughts, I decorated a look that looked endlessly pure, greeted the maid with “thank you” and handed her a silver.
“Oh my, you don’t have to do this…”
As a result, even a word of suspicion seemed to have disappeared from her head.
While the maid was excited, I looked back on the situation.
‘My stepmother hates me terribly, but she doesn’t want to reveal it.’
This was because my stepmother was the daughter of a rare member of the current clan.
She wanted to pretend to be elegant, dignified, and good in this strong world.
‘It’s an incomprehensible desire.’
After all, such a stepmother’s handmaiden helped her stepdaughter down into a deep prison realm? It was impossible.
In all likelihood, she’ll try to draw a line that it was unrelated to her.
‘The easiest way… It is to punish the maid who dared to do such a thing.’
The appearance of a stepmother who would have to give up her servant while grinding her teeth, and how excited I would be to see that stupid maid doing her job was exhilarating.
‘But this is not the end.’
This is just the signal to start it all.
It’s like a silly joke that can’t even be called revenge.
I didn’t go down to the Shimokgye Realm to get revenge like those kids’ pranks.
In any case, my stepmother will punish the maid, but she cannot help but rejoice over the news that I have gone down to the realm of Shimokgye.
While my stepmother secretly rejoices like that, I just need to fulfill my true purpose of descending there.
The purpose is…
“How are you, uncle?”
It was to have this man on my side.