Release tension, but don't lose focus. Yunseo recalled Hwi's teaching and stepped forward quite nimbly to thrust the sword in. Hwi lightly deflected it and immediately counterattacked. When Yunseo raised the wooden sword diagonally to block, the corner of Hwi's lips rose faintly.

At the look that said he was impressive, his shoulders rose of their own accord. Looking back on when he had first learned swordsmanship from Hwi, he could confidently say he had improved in leaps and bounds.

Back in his novice days, trying to raise the sword would have had him tripping over his own feet, or allowing an attack to nearly strike his head. Of course, in any situation Hwi never struck Yunseo with the sword — but the mere motion of it was enough to make him sharpen his focus.

"By now you're as good as a low-ranking imperial guard."

Three years of time, and all he'd reached was the lowest rank. But he wasn't disappointed. The imperial guards were made up of only the finest soldiers in all of Daeryeong.

Yunseo exchanged a few more passes with Hwi. Naturally, Hwi did not exert himself fully — but thanks to his exceptional martial skill, Yunseo had been able to learn swordsmanship without being injured even once. Moreover, having learned everything according to proper form and built a solid foundation, there could be no better teacher.

"Shall we stop here?"

"Yes, the weather has certainly warmed. I'm sweating."

Hwi brought a damp cloth and wiped the back of Yunseo's neck. The feeling of his heated skin gradually cooling was pleasant. Just as he let out a cool sigh of satisfaction —

"Father!"

A spirited voice rang out from afar. He turned his head and saw Yeongin running over at full speed. She's going to fall at that rate. In truth Yeongin usually chose to fly instead of falling, but watching her toddling sprint still made him nervous.

Yeongin whipped out a wooden sword from the barrel at the entrance. Since the sword was bigger than the child, Yeongin's body wobbled for a moment — but Yeongin quickly regained balance and lunged at Yunseo.

"Spar with me!"

Yunseo quickly blocked the sword aimed at his thigh. Yeongin grinned brightly and unleashed a fairly convincing series of attacks — and Yunseo, receiving the child's sword, was genuinely taken aback. He had known she was tremendously strong, but even what appeared to be simple swings carried a fairly sharp edge.

"One must not attack one's father."

Hwi lifted Yeongin up and stopped the movement. Yeongin obediently handed over the wooden sword to Hwi and shook her head.

"It's not an attack, it's a spar!"

"A spar is not rushing at someone suddenly and swinging a sword — it is carried out after both parties have made sufficient preparation. Otherwise you could hurt your opponent. And what did the Crown Prince do?"

"…I came running."

Yeongin, who had been brightly lively all along, stole a cautious glance — and Hwi flicked his chin. Yeongin turned to look at Yunseo and bowed her head forcefully.

"I am sorry, Father!"

Such a resounding apology that laughter slipped out naturally. Yunseo patted Yeongin's head gently in a gesture of forgiveness. Yeongin quickly regained her smile and swung her short legs.

"But this father was surprised. Our Yeongin is quite skilled."

"Not yet! I couldn't beat Huije."

Already planning to beat Huije — what grand dreams. Yeongin wriggled in frustration and Hwi set the child down. At that, the child began to demonstrate martial arts at thin air. Yunseo clapped to keep time for her and whispered quietly.

"I was genuinely startled. At this rate it seems I'm going to lose."

"Ha ha. Are you planning to compete with your daughter?"

"Not compete — but still. I'll need to work harder. I can't show her father losing this early."

"Yeongin is a dragon-descendant. You must not compare yourself to a dragon-descendant. And since that child's strength ought to be used to protect you, there should be no winning or losing between you."

The dignity of a strict father showed in Hwi's expression. At the same time, an affection that would not change no matter what was deeply and thickly nestled there. Yunseo looked at Hwi quietly for a moment, then let the corners of his mouth crumble and took his hand.

Hwi pressed his lips to the top of Yunseo's head and held his hand in return. Yeongin, who had been happily playing alone, suddenly looked back at the two of them and beamed so broadly that her chubby cheeks were pushed up.

Finding that sight so precious, Yunseo opened one arm — and Yeongin, without hesitation, ran over and burrowed into his embrace.

"How was your studies today?"

At Yunseo's question, Yeongin let out a heavy sigh and rattled off what she had found difficult point by point. Even with all this complaining, he knew she was a student with good posture who was curious and full of passion for all kinds of learning. Yunseo listened attentively to Yeongin's words and secretly kept touching her rosy cheek.

As a newborn, Yeongin had been the spitting image of Yunseo — but now even others could see glimpses of Hwi in her. He couldn't precisely pinpoint what was similar, but sometimes he would wonder if Hwi had looked like that as a child, and Yunseo often indulged in that pleasant imagining.

"Listening to what you've said, our Yeongin's enthusiasm is impressive. Shall we eat rice cakes with Yeondeok at the hour of the Monkey?"

"Yes! I very much like that!"

Yeongin, who especially followed and was fond of Yeondeok, seemed to have stars blooming in her eyes. Could she really be that happy? The child whose every emotion showed on her face was remarkable to him, and watching quietly, a fullness rose even without having eaten anything in particular.

In truth, at first it had felt a little like having a very young little sister. He had been confused about how to tell the difference between a sister and a daughter, and how the heart of a brother differed from that of a father — but having spent three years with the child, he had naturally come to understand the feelings of a father toward a child.

A memory suddenly surfaced of a piece of wisdom Hwi had offered when he had confided his concerns.

'As long as there is love at the end of whatever path you take — isn't that enough? We are each other's firsts, and this child's as well — of course it's natural to be lost on a first journey.'

After hearing those words, many worries had melted away gently. It may be an obvious and perhaps slightly strange thing to say — but how reassuring and joyful it was that Hwi was Yeongin's father. Since the child was born, coming to know more about Hwi was both wondrous and wonderful.

"Oh? That! I want that!"

Yeongin pointed somewhere — he went over and set her down, and a few bristle grasses were growing on the ground. Seeing Yeongin excitedly pull up one of the bristle grasses, he thought of Hwi who had once come to find him with one of those.

"Blood doesn't lie, it seems."

"I have you, and the Crown Prince has a different puppy."

"A different puppy?"

Just as Yunseo was furrowing his brow in puzzlement —

"Kkamkkam!"

Yeongin suddenly cried out. Kkamkkam — it sounded as though she was calling someone, but there was no way to know who. He looked around, but aside from the palace servants, there was no one else nearby. It didn't seem like a person's name to begin with.

Just as he was wondering who she could be searching for with the bristle grass waving about so energetically and was about to ask, a black shape suddenly rushed toward Yeongin from somewhere.

Startled for a moment, Yunseo reached out — and Hwi caught his shoulder. He calmed his pounding heart and looked properly — and what was nestled in Yeongin's arms was a black-furred dog. It wasn't large but was quite lean and nimble.

"Is… this puppy Kkamkkam?"

"Yes, Father. It's my puppy."

Yeongin said proudly and petted the black dog's head. The coat was not glossy and was uneven, suggesting it was not a palace-kept dog. He looked at Hwi with eyes that required explanation, and Hwi spoke.

"Some time ago I received a report that the Crown Prince was playing with a dog. It seems to be a dog that came in from outside, but how it got in is a mystery. Judging by the Crown Prince's attitude, it seems it was not the first or second time."

"I'm seeing it for the first time too now. I'm glad it doesn't look dangerous."

"Even the foul-tempered colts become docile in front of the Crown Prince — this may also be that child's power."

He gave a small sound of admiration and nodded — when a sudden memory of his own childhood flashed before his eyes. Yunseo looked back on that time, then thought that if the dog wanted to, it would be good for it to live here with Yeongin. When he conveyed that intention to Yeongin, the child snapped her head up.

"Is that true?"

"It is true."

"Did you hear? So don't run away anymore! Our father likes you too."

The expression "our father" made laughter slip out naturally. Whether understanding the words or not, the dog glanced at Yunseo and then burrowed further into Yeongin's arms, then leapt up and circled around her.

"Then I will take my leave at the hour of the Monkey!"

Yeongin bowed in a proper manner and left with the dog. Her lively retreating figure left a fresh impression behind. Yunseo watched until Yeongin disappeared, then spoke.

"I wonder if Kkamkkam came from the word for 'pitch black.'"

"Most likely."

"I called mine 'Ink.'"

Hwi's gaze came to rest on Yunseo. Yunseo told the story of the black dog that used to come to his private residence when he was young. He had named it Ink because it was black as ink, and the dog's bark had sometimes sounded like "Ink!" — so he had been excitedly convinced it understood its name and was responding.

He had completely forgotten about it — but thanks to Yeongin and that dog, a memory that had been buried under dust for a long time came back to life. As he talked about Ink and the things connected to it with Hwi, before he knew it they had arrived at their quarters. The moment they entered the room, Hwi turned him to face each other and stroked his cheek.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Every time you talk about something joyful, your eyes sparkle exactly like Yeongin's."

"I suppose blood doesn't lie, after all."

At his nodding as though it was obvious, Hwi laughed softly several times and then caught Yunseo's lips. Their lips touched briefly and parted, over and over, making a ticklish sound.

As the gentle kiss deepened, their lower bodies naturally came together. The sun was still high in the sky and the room was bright, but in a space that was only theirs, there was nothing embarrassing or hesitant anymore.