Chapter 141
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Chapter 141
Beneath the fractured moonlight, platinum-silver hair swayed with ethereal grace, and gently curved cyan eyes possessed an otherworldly beauty that seemed to transcend reality itself.
Such beauty could never be adequately captured by mere mortal words—handsome, striking, refined—they fell woefully short of describing this transcendent visage.
The mysterious young Emperor, impossibly only sixteen years old, gazed at Jeok Soya with an elegant smile playing at his lips.
"Did you truly intend to leave after merely confirming that I was well?"
Jeok Soya, who had drawn close to the window, asked while gripping the frame with both hands.
"The hour grows far too late."
"That's unfair. You're making me out to be someone who cannot even thank her benefactor."
Jeok Soya spoke with playful reproach, then smiled brightly and offered her gratitude.
"I heard that the one who saved me today was His Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty."
Tae Irim answered only with a deep smile.
The quiet, intimate night air carried the gentle chorus of insects.
Jeok Soya, brushing back the hair that danced in the spring breeze behind her ear with a graceful gesture, asked him in a soft, measured tone.
"We agreed to meet again at the banquet, but yesterday was so chaotic. Your Majesty must have been equally busy and overwhelmed, yes?"
"Mm."
Tae Irim closed his lips, unable to answer readily.
"Your Majesty?"
At Jeok Soya's call, he offered an awkward smile.
"...What am I to do about this."
He murmured in a perplexed tone, then gazed at Jeok Soya and let out a soft chuckle.
"Do you know, Soya? The Yellow Dragon cannot speak falsehoods."
"...?"
"It is a divine commandment bestowed by the Heavenly Emperor when he created the world. Thus, I find myself uncertain how to answer your question."
Puzzled by his cryptic words, Jeok Soya blinked, wondering if she had posed such a difficult question.
"At yesterday's banquet, you seemed somewhat preoccupied and failed to notice me, or so it appeared..."
Tae Irim answered gently in his characteristically low, measured tone.
"Yet my eyes saw only you."
"I...?"
"You were far too beautiful. Even from a distance, I could see no one but you."
"...!"
At his unguarded confession, Jeok Soya's face flushed crimson in an instant.
"However, even for one such as I, saying such things feels rather embarrassing."
Yet the expression on Tae Irim's face as he spoke was entirely devoid of embarrassment.
While he explained in a composed voice, it was Jeok Soya alone who bore the weight of shame.
"T-that sort of jest is far too cruel. Are you trying to mock me...?"
"I told you, Soya. The Yellow Dragon cannot speak falsehoods."
"..."
"Mm. It seems such words are indeed quite embarrassing. The ancients say that rulers are shameless, yet it appears even the words of sages contain falsehood."
Tae Irim laughed softly as he spoke.
At this, Jeok Soya's delicate, flour-soft complexion flushed a deep crimson that reached all the way to her eyes.
Jeok Soya was grateful that the distance obscured her face from view, and she fanned herself with her hand to cool the heat rising within her.
The night air, which she had moments ago found merely crisp, now felt strangely suffocating.
"It is enough that I have seen you in good health."
"Your Majesty, wait."
At that moment, Jeok Soya caught Tae Irim's sleeve as he turned to leave.
"Five years ago, when Your Majesty visited Baek Ho Palace, you helped me awaken my abilities."
Five years ago.
Having just overcome her fear of transformation, Jeok Soya had harbored a fervent wish to manifest her powers quickly so that she might become useful to her father and the people of Baek Ho Palace.
Yet progress eluded her, leaving her somewhat despondent—until Tae Irim offered his guidance.
[Borrowing strength from those who possess great power—that is your true ability.]
I still remember the counsel he gave me that day.
Tae Irim had seen through the very nature of my power with perfect clarity.
[The Flame of Purification—that is its name.]
He was also the one who revealed the truth of the purifying flame to me.
How could he not know?
That I am the one destined by the oracle—the one who will awaken the ancient Divine Beast and bring peace through its power.
That I am the Yellow Dragon's Bride.
"You knew from that moment, didn't you? What kind of power I possess."
"Yes."
Tae Irim answered without hesitation.
Though Jeok Soya had suspected as much, she found herself swallowing hard at his confirmation, and she asked carefully.
"Then why... did you pretend not to know?"
"Because you did not wish for it to be known."
Jeok Soya froze at those words.
"For the same reason you yourself conceal that power."
"No, that's not... I don't reject this power. I simply..."
Jeok Soya spoke in a flustered voice, offering explanation.
She had worried that hiding her identity as the Yellow Dragon's Bride might sound like a rejection of him.
"Jeok Soya."
Tae Irim cut off her words with a soft voice.
"I wish for you to be bound by nothing. Not even the walls of this Imperial Palace shall dare confine you."
“....”
Jeok Soya's lips parted in surprise at this unexpected answer.
"So fly freely, wherever your heart desires. Let no place be forbidden to you."
As Jeok Soya listened in silence, a melancholy light appeared in her eyes.
"Your Majesty... why do you speak such tender words with such sorrow in your voice?"
For the first time, Tae Irim's expression showed surprise.
"So that is how I appeared to you."
He then gazed at Jeok Soya with his eyes gently closed.
In that moment, his rounded eyes held such a sorrowful and tender light that Jeok Soya felt her own heart being drawn into that emotion.
"If I appear sorrowful, that's merely your misunderstanding, Soya."
"...."
"I am happier than I have ever been."
His quiet voice drifted through the night air and reached Jeok Soya's ears.
Jeok Soya found it difficult to believe his words about being happier than ever, yet she could not disbelieve them either.
He was the Yellow Dragon, after all.
The Yellow Dragon who could not speak falsehoods, who must speak only the truth.
For a time, only serene silence flowed between the two of them.
It was Tae Irim who first broke that tranquil silence.
"Long ago, Soya. When I visited the Joojak Residence. Do you remember meeting me that night?"
"Yes, I remember."
Jeok Soya nodded.
How could I forget?
That day when I, who had endured three years of coldness from my family, felt another's kindness for the first time.
"That day I said I had urgent matters to attend to at the Imperial Palace and would visit the Imperial Palace Archives to examine something."
A bitter smile crossed Tae Irim's face as he recalled the promise he ultimately could not keep.
"It was an ancient tale from before you and I were even born. There was a Grey-Feathered Tribe that was driven out from the Southern Lands."
A pause.
Jeok Soya's eyes widened at those words.
When she was very young—back when she was still a beloved young lady of the Jujak Family.
Every night, her Father and Older Brothers would tell her old stories at her bedside.
Among the tales they shared were amusing fairy tales and legends suited to a child's understanding, but occasionally they also recounted actual events that had occurred in the Southern Lands.
Something about the story Tae Irim had just mentioned stirred a faint, elusive memory within her.
But....
'An ordinary winged beastman could not possibly deceive the Jujak Family.'
At the hypothesis that surfaced in her mind, Jeok Soya's eyes hardened.
'But what if they were not ordinary? What if they had obtained extraordinary power through some means?'
Then, in that moment, she recalled the thick scent of dark sorcery she had detected earlier this afternoon.
"Your Majesty, might I ask a favor of you?"
Jeok Soya asked with a face that suggested she had reached a decision.
"I heard that in five days, you will perform a ritual and offer incense at the Yellow Dragon Altar to commemorate this victory."
The altar where the ritual would be held was the very same altar where the Emperor's coronation ceremony had taken place, the one with the great stone statue of the Yellow Dragon.
"The Yellow Dragon Altar is the most sacred place in the Imperial Palace, so all beastmen's supernatural abilities are nullified there, is that not so?"
"That's right. More precisely, all supernatural abilities are nullified when one passes between the two Yellow Dragon stone statues erected before the altar."
Generally, beastmen's supernatural abilities fell into two categories.
Those that manifested as immediate techniques upon activation, and those that maintained a specific state continuously.
"On that day, could you order not only the generals but all the guests attending this banquet to observe the ritual?"
At that request, Tae Irim's eyes widened.
"Of course."
Tae Irim nodded readily.
"There is nothing you ask of me that I cannot grant, Jeok Soya."
At his tender words, her eyes—which had been rigidly fixed—widened with wonder.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
A radiant smile bloomed across Jeok Soya's face.
* * *
Seol Yo, drenched to the bone, wrung out his garments with methodical precision, squeezing the water from the fabric.
He had plunged into the pond searching for Jeok Soya's luminous orb, but ultimately had to emerge empty-handed.
The hour had grown late, and more than anything, the darkness was suffocating.
'When dawn breaks tomorrow, I'll search again.'
Seol Yo walked forward alone, his head bowed in contemplation.
He knew how difficult it would be to find a lost pearl in that vast pond.
But he despised seeing Jeok Soya distressed.
He wished she would smile every single day.
Because Jeok Soya was beautiful always, yet infinitely more so when she smiled.
He wanted to protect that exquisite smile—the one that made the entire world seem to melt into softness.
Lost in such thoughts, Seol Yo's footsteps suddenly halted.
He had discovered Jeok Soya and Tae Irim conversing through a window between them.
'Jeok Soya is....'
The graceful curve of her eyes and the subtle upturn of her lips drew his gaze captive.
'Smiling....'
Seol Yo stared at her, transfixed.
So beautiful that he could not tear his eyes away.
After watching her for a time, Seol Yo's gaze shifted to Tae Irim, who stood at a distance from her.
'....'
Something was wrong.
Jeok Soya was smiling so beautifully—so why did his chest ache with such a piercing sensation?
Moments ago, he had been filled with the desire to protect her smile....
Yet watching the two of them together, I suddenly felt myself shrink to nothing.
Seized by the inexplicable sense that he should not intrude upon their conversation, Seol Yo turned away silently.
Drip, drip.
Droplets from the pond traced his path across the floor.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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