Namgung Hyun, who had raised his brush, suddenly set it down again. Perhaps he disliked the ink the attendant had ground; quietly, he began to grind it finer.Sohwa watched him for a moment.She almost laughed at how unchanged he was.When it came to script, Namgung Hyun lost his reason. Not even Yeon-a could win against Namgung Hyun’s heart for calligraphy.Tang Sohwa already considered the outcome decided.Only the situation itself felt strange to her.Sohwa’s gaze shifted to the side.It was her first time speaking with Zhuge Jihwi like this, and she had not known his disposition was so free.Unlike the cautious Namgung Hyun, Zhuge Jihwi, as if he had little attachment to victory or defeat, began boasting of his script first. Because it ran out unimpeded, his brushwork had a brisk, refreshing charm.After taking in Zhuge Jihwi’s figure, Sohwa lowered her eyes to her own paper.A clean sheet with nothing written on it came into view. Sohwa set her brush upon it.Small, plain characters began to fill the blank.The hand she had practiced for three years was drawn with care.The flowing brushwork moved as if it had no attachment to the secular world, light enough to fly into the sky at any moment. Yet the seeping ink was like an evil ghost, more attached to life than anyone, snatching away others’ lives at random in order to survive.Like heavy drops of blood, the ink soaking into the paper felt sticky.Even after completing the final character, Sohwa could not set down her brush.A residue of attachment lingered at her fingertips.The surroundings were quiet, unlike before. Not even the sound of a moving brush could be heard. Realizing that everyone had finished their calligraphy, Tang Sohwa slowly raised her head at last.In her widened field of view, Namgung Hyun came into sight. He was looking at Sohwa’s paper.Her face felt taut; her expression had stiffened until it almost hurt. Forcing down that discomfort with all her might, Sohwa smiled.Neat and gentle.Just in the taste he used to flaunt, keeping her beside him as if to insult her.Sohwa’s script was the script Namgung Hyun of the previous life had made for her.It was not long after they held their wedding. Playing the part of a tender man, he changed one by one the habits of Tang Sohwa that did not please his eye.A hand that extended softly and completed compact characters. The curve of arcs bent naturally, and the ends of strokes did not trail long but finished neatly.If a person shows through writing, this was not her script.It suited the atmosphere of the lover he always kept at his side.Sohwa let out a silent, bitter laugh inside.For all that your longing ran so deep, to see you endure it for over a dozen years—truly remarkable. To achieve your aim, you endured me.Looking at her husband made young, Sohwa smiled with ease.'…Hyun, I truly respect you from the bottom of my heart.'I, several times a day, debated dropping everything and twisting your neck—but you, even after despairing that you would die following Yeon-a, lived well for more than a year. Sitting in the highest seat of Namgung that had insulted you, enjoying the things you achieved. Well, it took you so long to achieve them; it must have been hard to give that life up.While she was retracing the past, Namgung Hyun’s gaze lifted. Perhaps he had not expected to be looking at her; he flinched.The smile carved on Sohwa’s lips deepened.'Yet in the end I was the one who cut off that breath of yours, so full of attachment.'If any memory remains to you, I want to ask. In this life as well, are you that full of attachment to life?Only then did Tang Sohwa let go of her lingering attachment and set down the brush.Her lips rose smoothly; her face, holding the sunlight, was at ease. It was a countenance hard to guess at, as to what she might be thinking.Thus, depending on the watcher, that smile felt different.Pang Yiran, who had been watching, poked the Tang young master beside her.“...It really looks like Young Lady Tang has true feelings for Young Master Namgung.”“What?”When Tang Hak scowled, Pang Yiran answered.“She hardly even looked at the writing Young Master Namgung did and just kept staring at his face.”“Th-that’s…”Tang Hak could not readily reply.Because he, too, found it strange.Judging by the mood, it seemed they were not the only ones thinking so.Those watching the calligraphy duel kept glancing back and forth between Young Lady Tang and Young Master Namgung with odd looks.Pang Yiran tilted her head.Moreover, even to Pang Yiran, who had no interest in calligraphy, there was something that matched between the two people’s hands. How to put it—if script had male and female, they were a perfect pair.Pang Yiran slowly looked over the three hands and marveled inwardly.'Come to think of it, script truly can reveal a person.'Elder Brother Jihwi’s writing carried the wind-and-clouds of a rake who lives as the flow carries him. Though written as if scattered and swift, the spacing and the size of the characters were consistent. It felt as if his free nature had been refined by the strict Zhuge family rules. Perhaps because she knew Zhuge Jihwi’s disposition—or perhaps she truly saw him in the characters—strangely enough, that was the impression she felt. The hand itself was precarious, yet it gave the person facing it a sense of stability.By contrast, Young Master Namgung and Young Lady Tang wrote slowly but precisely.This was why Pang Yiran felt they were a matched male-and-female pair.As if matching steps, their speed and footprint were similar. The size was neither big nor small but just right, and as if measuring while writing, the letter spacing was eerily uniform. Not only were the straight lines even, but even the bending of curves was consistent. It meant they could freely control minute changes in brush pressure.The two hands facing each other were this similar.Only, if there was a difference, Young Lady Tang’s characters had a rounded feeling with ends finished softly, while Young Master Namgung’s lines stretched cleanly and broke off naturally.The one that looked more complete was Young Master Namgung’s. A script that clearly asserted its presence while tightly controlling itself. By contrast, Young Lady Tang’s script felt slightly out of place, as if wearing someone else’s clothes.“Wow, so this is why they call it calligraphy. It truly is art.”Zhuge Jihwi muttered. The people around the table quietly agreed with his words.“I’m not someone who loses to anyone when it comes to script either, but the hands of Young Lady Tang and Young Master Namgung are truly flowing and elegant.”Tang Sohwa spoke while keeping her gaze on Zhuge Jihwi’s paper.“Little Clan Head, your brushwork is astonishing. I’d like to hang it in my study.”“Ha ha, shall I give it to you?”“I’m grateful for the words, but I shouldn’t. If I keep something too precious on me, I won’t be able to sleep.”“Ah, in that case it can’t be helped. I’ll be understanding.”Tang Sohwa traded jokes with Zhuge Jihwi.“But why does Young Master Namgung not say a single word?”“Pardon? Ah, yes.”Namgung Hyun, who had been staring at Tang Sohwa’s hand the whole time, lifted his head as if his senses finally returned. At once his eyes met Tang Sohwa’s.Tang Sohwa was looking at him, waiting for an answer. His throat went dry for no reason; after a false cough, he turned his gaze to Zhuge Jihwi.“It’s originally hard to rank script above or below. In truth it’s a matter of taste, so how about we each say which script we prefer, and the one who receives the most acknowledgment wins?”“I’m fine with that.”“I also agree.”The murmuring thickened. The onlookers, among themselves, had begun picking the script they liked most.Zhuge Jihwi spoke first.“Mm, both are excellent, but I ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) slightly prefer Young Master Namgung’s brushwork.”Tang Sohwa nodded at Zhuge Jihwi’s opinion.“I do as well. I think I see why the Alliance Leader asked that Young Master Namgung be sent to Headquarters.”“Ha ha, if Young Master Namgung goes to Headquarters, my younger brother is there—please look after him.”“...The two of you, that’s enough.”When Zhuge Jihwi and Tang Sohwa kept teasing him with praise, Namgung Hyun, face flushed, reproached them. Then he calmly added his own impressions.“Little Clan Head’s hand is dashing yet fluid and elegant, which is splendid, but my taste is for Young Lady Tang Sohwa’s script.”Namgung Hyun parted his lips and elaborated.“To be honest, I was a bit surprised. I also once tried to write in a hand where the ends finish in a rounded way like this, but perhaps because my hands are large, it never came out the way I imagined. Yet seeing a hand similar to what I had in my head—more beautiful than I thought—made me marvel.”As Namgung Hyun poured out words quickly, Zhuge Jihwi tilted his head in surprise.“What? Was Young Master Namgung always so talkative?”Namgung Hyun’s face flushed again.“My apologies. I become like this only when it’s about calligraphy.”At that sight, Zhuge Jihwi burst out laughing.“It was praise. Now you seem a bit human.”Just as the mood was warming, Namgung Gangchang, standing behind, shouted in a hurry.“Me too! I also prefer the script of the Tang young lady!”He could not bear to see Namgung Hyun winning.Namgung Gangchang had no thought of taste or anything, but since Tang Sohwa had received one vote, he tried to drive the momentum that way to block Namgung Hyun’s victory. His intent was so blatant it made those watching knit their brows.“Mm, it would be good to hear others’ thoughts as well. Everyone, what do you think?”Voices rose here and there. Only, there were few who spoke loudly; most merely murmured their opinions quietly.Zhuge Jihwi asked the attendant,“Do we have one more sheet left?”“Yes, here it is.”The attendant took out one more of the large sheets that had been set on the grass.“Thank you.”On that sheet, Zhuge Jihwi wrote the three people’s names. Then he set it upon the table.“Let’s gather the votes by marking with the character for ‘correct’.”

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