Chapter 148
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Chapter 148
"Grrrrr...."
"Grrrrrrr...."
Demonic beasts suddenly emerged from the darkness, encircling Sayeon and Ahan.
"Master! We're in danger!"
Jeok Young, who had drawn a line saying he knew nothing of tigers like these, shouted toward Sayeon from a distance.
Instinctively sensing the perilous situation, both Sayeon and Ahan immediately ceased their quarrel.
"What in the world is this...."
Sayeon was just beginning to furrow his brow and draw his sword.
"Wait."
Ahan stepped forward to stop him, opening his mouth.
"They're not demonic beasts. That is...."
His voice trailed off uncertainly, and Sayeon's eyes narrowed to slits.
Soon, a bewildered tone escaped between his teeth.
"People...?"
They were not demonic beasts. They were people.
* * *
Though it was late evening, Jeok Soya remained awake, pacing before the pavilion as she waited for Sayeon.
Because of what had transpired that afternoon, Sayeon had been summoned again shortly after returning Jeok Soya to her residence.
She had expected him to return before dinner, but his arrival was taking longer than anticipated.
An inexplicable worry bloomed in her heart.
Though Riri had been taken away, she sensed this was far from over.
Because Dochul, the malevolent beast who had granted Riri the power of dark magic, would surely be lurking somewhere nearby.
At that moment, a black ponytail moving stealthily through the darkness caught her eye.
"Oh? Seol Yo!"
"J-Jeok Soya?"
Seol Yo startled and turned to face her.
"Where have you been sneaking off to every night lately?"
"U-um?"
"Suri mentioned it. He said you've been going out every night and coming back completely drenched. Are you practicing swimming at the Palace Pond or something?"
As Jeok Soya asked with an innocent smile, Seol Yo's face flushed crimson in an instant.
"I-it's just a secret...."
Seol Yo averted his gaze from hers, stammering his response.
"Come on, what kind of secret is that? Real friends don't keep secrets from each other, you know."
"...."
At those words, Seol Yo's shoulders trembled slightly.
In truth, though he had never told Jeok Soya, Seol Yo had harbored a secret for the past two years.
Concealing the heaviness that suddenly weighed upon his heart, Seol Yo answered hesitantly.
"I'm just... looking for something."
"What is it? Let me help you."
"Well, that's...."
"If we search together, we'll find it faster!"
"Uh, um...."
Seol Yo had no idea what excuse to make.
Until now, I had always searched with Jeok Soya in situations like this, so suddenly refusing would seem far too suspicious.
'This is bad. What do I do?'
If I had been a better talker like Baek Gahyun, I could have made a plausible excuse.
Or if I had been as shameless as Baek Gayul, I would have flatly refused and bolted away without hesitation.
But in the end, unable to find an excuse or make an escape, I had no choice but to head toward the Pond with Jeok Soya, who clung to my side and followed along timidly.
"Seeing how you go searching every single day, it must be really important."
"Y-yes, it is, but...."
"But wouldn't it be hard to search at such a late hour?"
"Yes, but today I had no choice...huh?"
As I scratched my head while answering, I noticed a boy standing rigid across from me, staring directly at me.
No, rather—his gaze was directed not at me, but at Jeok Soya beside me.
'That man... red hair....'
Realizing he was someone from the Jeok Family Estate I had seen at the gathering not long ago, I glanced sideways at Jeok Soya.
"Let's go quickly, Seol Yo."
Jeok Soya grasped my hand and spoke in a somewhat stiff voice.
"Y-yes!"
I was hurrying to follow Jeok Soya, who was trying to leave the place quickly with rapid steps.
"Did you know?"
Jeok Hwayou's voice stopped our footsteps.
Jeok Soya released my hand and slowly turned around.
Then she faced Jeok Hwayou.
Though I had encountered the Jeok Family Estate members again at the Imperial Palace, this was my first time facing Jeok Hwayou at such close range.
[...Thank you so much, Older Brother.]
[I've always wanted to go to the Summer Festival. Thank you so much for remembering and bringing me here.]
My last memory with him was from the Summer Festival five years ago.
[I have somewhere to go for a moment, so wait here.]
He left me behind and never returned, and so I was abandoned.
I, who had already been abandoned long before that, came to truly understand in my heart that day that I was completely forsaken.
I still cannot forget that day.
That last day of the humid summer festival, the loneliness and pain I had to feel in that moment of being abandoned alone....
"Tell me the truth. You knew, didn't you?"
"What do you mean?"
"That girl—that she's a cuckoo."
Jeok Hwayou barely managed to ask, as if merely speaking it aloud was abhorrent.
Father didn't come, my brother didn't come, and with my heart in turmoil, I was walking alone when I discovered Jeok Soya.
And the moment I found her, without thinking, I reached out and grabbed her.
"How could I have known something even you didn't know?"
Jeok Soya answered in a measured voice.
"You lured her onto the Altar with promises of forgiveness."
But Jeok Hwayou immediately struck back.
"Like a chess game perfectly orchestrated, you exposed her identity that way."
"...."
Jeok Soya responded with silence.
"I must have looked ridiculous, deceived by a cuckoo."
Jeok Hwayou's lips twisted bitterly as she let out a harsh laugh.
"That's not it."
"Are you pitying me?"
At her composed retort, he suddenly flared up.
"Don't misunderstand. Both you and that cuckoo. You both deceived me...."
"Don't say such strange things. Why would I pity you?"
Jeok Soya's expression suggested she'd just heard the most absurd words in the world.
"Isn't it shameful, speaking as though you're the most unfortunate person alive?"
"...."
At her piercing words, Jeok Hwayou flinched and clenched her fists.
"And what could possibly be funny about it?"
There was a faint tremor of emotion in Jeok Soya's voice as she asked.
"How could it be funny to watch you and your father abandon her the way you abandoned me?"
"What...?"
"You may be able to laugh at such things, but I cannot."
"...."
"There was nothing funny about it."
"...."
Jeok Hwayou stared at Jeok Soya with a vacant expression.
Abandoned....
Because that word struck so deeply....
"I...."
She barely managed to open her mouth, fighting against lips that had gone dry and a throat that felt constricted.
"I didn't abandon her. I only...."
Even as she spoke, her excuse sounded pathetic and wretched.
But then, Jeok Soya suddenly stiffened and spun around sharply.
"Jeok Soya...?"
Jeok Hwayou called out to her in a confused voice.
"Seol Yo!"
Boom!
At Jeok Soya's cry, Seol Yo transformed in an instant into a massive black wolf.
Jeok Soya immediately leaped onto his back.
"Where are you going all of a sudden...?"
"And Jeok Hwayou, I never deceived you."
"What...?"
But Jeok Soya offered no further explanation.
Rather, there was no time for it.
"This way, Seol Yoya!"
Jeok Soya abandoned the bewildered Jeok Hwayou and bolted away astride Seol Yoya.
Jeok Hwayou, who had been standing dazed in confusion, belatedly sensed something amiss in the atmosphere.
A tumultuous energy emanated from the direction Jeok Soya had fled toward.
Regaining his senses, he pursued Jeok Soya and Seol Yoya.
And there, he discovered people transformed into demonic beasts.
Jeok Soya stood ahead, her lower lip clenched between her teeth, staring at the transformed creatures.
Witnessing this, Jeok Hwayou instinctively lunged forward.
"It's dangerous—you should return to your residence...!"
Boom!
Before his words could finish, Jeok Soya's form transformed into a small bird in an instant.
"Screee!"
Jeok Soya cried out with a bird's voice as she soared high into the sky.
Jeok Hwayou froze in place.
Beneath the dark night sky, a single crimson feather fluttered and drifted down before his eyes.
* * *
Tae Irim sat leaning against the window at an angle.
Beneath the round moon hanging high above, the image of Jeok Soya's face surfaced in his mind—the way she had asked him in that pure, clear voice.
[Your Majesty knew from the beginning, didn't you? What kind of power I possess.]
A faint smile bloomed across Tae Irim's face.
Yes, I knew.
How could I not know, my consort?
I recognized it from the moment I first saw you.
That you are my bride.
Words he could not speak before her tumbled restlessly within his chest.
A tremor both tender and joyful—one that remained inscrutable even after all these countless hours had passed.
Just then, he sensed the approach of someone.
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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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