The silence was broken in an instant.
“She passed?”
“Lady Ryeonghwa, really?”
“She passed the Ip-gwan Examination at seven years old?”
Not only the examinees, but even the family members who had been watching could not hide their astonishment.
Father finally lowered his head. A smile spread across his lips along with a relieved sigh.
“……My daughter, you did it.”
For a moment, I could not say anything.
An official physician trainee.
It was recognition I had never once received, even in the countless lives I had lived over and over again.
Something hot welled up deep inside my chest.
I clasped my hands together and bowed deeply toward Grandfather, Father, and the four Elders.
“……Thank you.”
My voice trembled slightly.
I bit my lips tightly before opening my mouth again.
“I’ll…… really work hard.”
I had tried to speak confidently until the very end, but my voice trembled a little in the end. My vision had also become blurry before I knew it.
When I sniffled softly, Father quickly came over and put an arm around my shoulders.
“Well done, Ryeonghwa. It’s all over now. So you can cry as much as you want.”
I lowered my head for no reason and pressed firmly at the corners of my eyes.
“……I-I’m not crying.”
“Yes, yes.”
“I’m not crying… ngh……”
“Of course. Go on, sniff.”
Father laughed as he gently pinched the bridge of my nose before patting my back affectionately.
For some reason, the touch made the tip of my nose sting even more.
Still, I quickly wiped my eyes and smiled brightly.
Perhaps that was why.
I failed to notice that someone was glaring at me with eyes colder than ice.
***
After the Ip-gwan Examination.
I returned to the detached quarters and collapsed onto the bed without even having time to wash.
Apparently, my body had been much more exhausted than I had realized, because I had no memory of anything after closing my eyes.
How much time had passed?
I slowly opened my eyes at the faint sensation of someone stroking my head.
“……Mmm.”
It was such a warm touch.
When I barely managed to lift my heavy eyelids, the first person I saw was Father.
When he saw that I had awakened, he smiled brightly.
“My daughter, you’re finally awake.”
“……Father?”
I mumbled sleepily, and Father chuckled as he tucked the strands of hair that had fallen over my forehead behind my ear.
“You slept for a whole day.”
“……A whole day?”
“Yes.”
I sat up with a start.
“I slept that long?”
“You accomplished something that great, so you deserved to rest. It seems you were quite nervous.”
At that, I gave an embarrassed smile.
“Actually…… I was a little nervous.”
“A little?”
Father laughed incredulously.
“I could see you trembling even from a distance. Maybe no one else noticed, but this father did.”
“……W-Was it that obvious?”
The tips of my ears grew hot for no reason.
I had thought I had behaved fairly calmly, but apparently, Father could see right through me.
“Still, you did well.”
The playful expression on Father’s face softened.
His large hand gently wrapped around mine.
“You really did well. My Ryeonghwa.”
“…….”
“You were absolutely wonderful.”
Those words made the tip of my nose sting again for no reason. I lowered my head slightly and smiled.
“……Thank you.”
Father smiled warmly, as though my reaction were adorable.
“Your grandfather said you did very well, too. He said he would properly celebrate with you on the day of the entrance ceremony.”
“……Grandfather did?”
“Yes.”
Father chuckled softly.
“Right after the Ip-gwan Examination ended, he worried about you first. He asked whether we had pushed you too hard.”
I blinked in surprise.
Grandfather had said that?
Of course, he had treated me warmly in this life, but it still felt a little unfamiliar to know that Grandfather worried about me and cared for me.
Perhaps noticing my expression, Father quietly continued.
“It’s just that your grandfather isn’t good at expressing himself. He cares about you very much.”
Then he added slyly,
“Though perhaps not as much as this father does.”
“Hehe.”
A laugh escaped me before I knew it.
“……I think so, too.”
“What? That your grandfather cares about you?”
“That you care about me more.”
“That’s right! You know it very well.”
Father smiled in satisfaction.
Warm sunlight filtered through the paper window and seeped into the room.
After looking at me for a while, Father suddenly murmured as if speaking to himself.
“Now then, what should I give my daughter as a present?”
“……?”
“Now that you’re a physician trainee, should I have a new needle case made for you?”
“……!”
My heart dropped.
‘A needle case!’
Come to think of it, I had a needle case I bought at the market.
I had personally picked it out as a gift for Grandfather, but after what happened with my Uncle and all the preparations for the Ip-gwan Examination, I had completely forgotten about it.
“What is it?”
Father looked at me strangely.
“Your expression suddenly looks odd.”
“N-Nothing!”
I hurriedly shook my head.
‘I have a present for Grandfather.’
……It felt awkward to say that.
Because I didn’t have a present for Father…!
‘I should prepare something separately for Father, too.’
I firmly resolved this inwardly and forced myself to smile as though nothing was wrong.
“I’m fine. Just having you come back like this is enough for me.”
“……Huh.”
Father was momentarily speechless.
Then he suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“You little rascal. When did you start picking such pretty words to say?”
Pat.
His large hand landed on the top of my head and thoroughly tousled my hair.
“Ugh……! My hair is getting all messy!”
“If it gets messy, I can tie it up again.”
I stopped moving completely.
“……F-Father. You know how to tie hair?”
“I don’t.”
“…….”
“But don’t you get better at things like that after doing them a few times?”
I stared at Father’s large hands for a moment.
Then I said very seriously,
“But what if I go bald before that?”
“What?”
“What if all my hair gets pulled out……? I don’t think even medicine could fix that.”
A brief silence followed.
Then—
“Hahahahaha!”
Father grabbed his stomach and started laughing.
“Father! I’m seriously worried about this!”
“All right, all right. I’ll never touch your hair.”
“Really?”
“Yes. This father admits defeat.”
Laughter filled the room for the first time in a long while.
After laughing for quite some time, Father wiped at the corners of his eyes and said,
“The day of the entrance ceremony and your formal greeting to the Elders who will become your teachers is a week from now.”
“A week from now?”
“Yes. Until then, you need to take good care of your body first.”
I obediently nodded.
“Yes.”
“And on that day……”
The corners of Father’s lips curled upward.
“This father plans to celebrate more grandly than anyone else.”
“……I don’t want anything too extravagant.”
“Why?”
“B-Because it’s embarrassing……”
“Hahaha! Still, no. My daughter finally became a physician trainee, so this father has to show off a little.”
I eventually covered my face with both hands.
“Still, please keep it reasonable.”
“I can’t promise that.”
Father could not hold back his laughter.
Then he glanced toward the door and smiled.
“Now, I suppose this father should be leaving.”
“……Yes?”
“It seems there’s someone outside who has been waiting for you this whole time.”
I opened my eyes wide.
“For me?”
“Yes. They’ve been waiting for you to wake up. It seems they want to congratulate you personally.”
Father rose from his seat and gently patted my head.
“My daughter.”
“Yes?”
“Congratulations again.”
I peeked out from between my hands and smiled.
“Thank you, Father.”
After Father opened the door and left, a moment later—
Bang!
“Laaady!”
The peaceful door flew open, and I immediately understood who the person Father had said was ‘waiting’ was.
“Eek!”
I looked up in surprise as Ryujin came rushing in with both hands full of things.
In one hand was a plate piled high with delicious-looking fruit, while the other held an abundance of sweet snacks.
“What is all this?”
“The Young Family Head brought lots of things for you to eat together! He said they were to celebrate your passing the Ip-gwan Examination!”
“Father did?”
“Yes! And he also told me to make sure you eat well!”
Ryujin puffed out his chest as though he had been entrusted with a very important mission.
I looked back and forth between the food and Ryujin before bursting into laughter.
“So that’s why you brought so much?”
“It’s a celebration feast!”
“For the two of us?”
“Kkyuu! (I’m here, too!)”
At that moment, the otter poked its head out from behind Ryujin as though protesting.
“Yeoul was here, too?”
“Kkyu!”
As though it had been waiting for this moment, Yeoul boinged onto the bed.
Then it placed something it had been clutching tightly between its front paws onto my palm with a soft tap.
“Hm?”
It was a small, round pebble.
Its surface was smooth and polished, as though it had been washed by water for a very long time. When the sunlight fell upon it, a faint bluish hue shimmered across its surface.
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