Peek-a-boo in the Dark
"M-madam……!"
The Crown Prince's voice rang out in sheer alarm. Along with it, darkness came flooding in like a rising tide.
The candles burning in the bridal chamber were snuffed out in an instant. Even the moonlight that had been seeping faintly through the window was swallowed whole.
A darkness so complete that even my own hands vanished from sight filled every corner of the room.
I couldn't see anything either. The gift of seeing through darkness belonged to Ansi, not to me.
And yet, I wasn't afraid of it.
It's a lot like the Samdocheon.
It was darker here than inside that pitch-black river, but in being cold-free and breathable, this was actually the better deal.
Still, an unnatural fear came creeping up my spine, slow and insidious.
So it's a power that summons fear.
For me it was merely unpleasant, but a human could very well suffocate from terror like this.
But I'm fine.
I stepped toward where the Crown Prince had been standing and reached out my hand. My fingertips brushed against silk.
Before the startled Crown Prince could stumble backward, I seized hold of his sleeve.
"Crown Prince."
"M-madam, you're too close. It's dangerous."
"Your Highness, don't be afraid."
"……Pardon?"
"I told you not to be afraid of me, and now you're the one who's the most frightened of all."
I looked up at him as calmly as I could manage. I couldn't see him, but he could surely see my face.
"I'm not scared of you, Your Highness."
Through the collar I was clutching, I felt him flinch. Holding tight to the sleeve that kept trying to slip away, I went on.
"So don't be scared either."
"And what, exactly, would I be frightened of?"
"Your own darkness."
"……!"
"You said it yourself, didn't you? The more you fear it, the bigger it grows. So you mustn't fear this darkness either, Your Highness."
The Crown Prince said nothing. The darkness was too thick for me to make out his expression. He was the one who had to calm down for this darkness to shrink.
How do I soothe him?
When I used to be terrified, what did Mom and Dad do? Mom taught me how to deal with scary things, and Dad……
He's still just a child. I'll do it the way Dad did.
I stretched out my arms and pulled the Crown Prince into an embrace. I was too small to wrap him up properly the way Dad used to, so it probably looked more like an awkward, half-crouched cling than a hug.
Either way, holding the boy, I patted his back the way Dad used to, gently, rhythmically.
"Nothing to fear, nothing to fear. All the scary things, go away, go away."
"……"
"If you're scared, squeeze your eyes shut. Close them tight, and say: it's all right, it's all right, nothing to fear, nothing to fear. Then everything will disappear."
"……"
"Eyes squeezed shut, go away, go away — and now let's open them. What's there when you open your eyes? Is anything still scary?"
In the darkness, I felt a gaze upon me. The Crown Prince was looking down at me.
I quickly covered my face with both hands, then flung them open with the biggest, goofiest grin I could manage —
Just like Dad used to do for me.
"Peek-a-boo!"
"……Pfft."
A laugh burst out of him, air escaping like from a deflating bellows.
He laughed!
The moment that laughter sounded, the darkness slowly began to fade, as though light were seeping into shadow.
The candles flickered back to life. Lamps lit along the corridor. Moonlight climbed over the windowsill once more.
The darkness shrank smaller and smaller, until it stopped — at about the size of the Crown Prince's own shadow.
There we go! Thank goodness…….
In the soft, warm glow, I finally saw the Crown Prince's face.
"Wow."
The admiration slipped out of me the moment I laid eyes on him. Elegant brows, striking features, hair and eyes black as ink against a pale face.
How could a boy's face, still soft with baby fat, be so flawlessly handsome?
He's like an ink-wash painting.
I was staring, spellbound, when the boy gazing down at me in a daze flushed faintly red.
"Is my face…… strange, somehow?"
"Oh — sorry. I was staring too hard, wasn't I."
I apologized sheepishly, let go of him, and retreated into the bridal chamber.
So Dad's method really does work. Thanks, Dad.
If it hadn't, I'd have had to resort to Mom's way — rougher, but far more reliable.
Good thing it went smoothly.
The moment relief washed over me, exhaustion came crashing in.
The Vermilion Bird thing…… it's all well and good, but so heavy.
My body felt light — had I overdone it? This day would have floored my old body long before now.
Did my guard finally come down? I'm sleepy…….
I'd confirmed the Crown Prince wasn't a lunatic, and I'd settled his darkness — there was nothing left to worry about tonight. Could I just go straight to sleep?
Come to think of it, Ansi should have been here by now. Why hasn't she come?
I lifted my head mid-yawn and found the Crown Prince standing outside the door, staring straight at me.
"What are you doing over there? Come in."
I beckoned him with one hand while rubbing my eyes with the other. The boy shuffled in, his expression blank.
Even with his mind gone wandering, he still looks so composed.
Every movement was like a brushstroke in an ink painting — it was mesmerizing. I was marveling to myself when he shut the chamber door, walked to the far corner, and sank down against the wall.
"Why are you sitting all the way over there?"
"……I feared you might be frightened of me, Your M-madam."
"I'm not scared at all, so come here. No — come here, please."
Looking back, I'd slipped into casual speech without even noticing. Why hadn't he called me out on it?
I cleared my throat and pointed at the flower crown atop my head.
"Your Highness, could you come help me take this off?"
Ansi had braided and pinned it all so skillfully that I didn't dare try undoing it alone. Startled by my request, the Crown Prince fumbled over his words.
"B-but it is improper for man and woman to……!"
"I can't undo it by myself. And we're married now, aren't we?"
"……"
"Please help me, Your Highness? Pretty please?"
"F-fine."
The Crown Prince rose, his face stiff with tension, and came over. I turned around quickly and bowed my head to him. The sooner this came off, the sooner I could sleep.
With clumsy, tentative fingers, the Crown Prince began untying the ribbons, bit by bit, then spoke.
"Madam…… did you already know about my darkness?"
"No. I only realized just now, when I saw it."
"Then how could you remain unafraid, even within it? Do you, perhaps…… know what this darkness is?"
Frankly, I was taken aback.
Don't tell me he doesn't even know what he himself is?
No — I didn't know for certain right away either.
It was such an unprecedented case that I'd only been sure after experiencing it firsthand. It made sense that humans wouldn't recognize it.
The Crown Prince was an Eodukseoni.
And quite possibly the first in all of history — a human Eodukseoni.
An Eodukseoni is neither a monster nor a ghost. It is no living creature that eats and breeds the way monsters do, nor a being bearing grudges and obsessions the way ghosts do.
It is said that when the dark void between the stars of the night sky swells and overflows, spilling down to the earth below, that fallen darkness becomes an Eodukseoni.
Each one takes a different form. Darkness falling upon a tree becomes a tree Eodukseoni; upon a rabbit, a rabbit Eodukseoni; upon a whale in the sea, a whale Eodukseoni.
Their shapes may differ, but they share common traits, and so they are all called Eodukseoni.
An Eodukseoni has four defining features.
First: it extinguishes nearby light.
Second: it spreads a darkness that breeds fear in those around it.
Third: if someone fears it, it feeds on that terror and grows ever larger and stronger.
Fourth: all these traits manifest clearly only after the sun sets; by day, it appears no different from any ordinary creature.
All four matched the Crown Prince exactly.
Mom always said that even though Eodukseoni are docile, they're far more terrifying than most monsters.
It's said Eodukseoni never attack or devour other living things, nor do they need to eat at all. So long as they exist beneath the night sky, they recover their strength — that alone sustains them.
But even when an Eodukseoni does nothing at all, those who come near its darkness are crushed by their own terror and driven mad, or simply die.
That's what makes them dangerous.
Even immortals quite often fainted or lost their minds upon encountering one. Even true Immortals were at risk facing a fully grown Eodukseoni, and only a deity or above could withstand its fear unscathed.
Even a small creature like a rabbit or a sparrow becoming one is that dangerous — and he's a human Eodukseoni…….
I'd heard that beings with souls as strong as a human's were never supposed to become Eodukseoni. I couldn't imagine how the Crown Prince had ended up as one.
A human Eodukseoni — as far as I knew, it had never happened, not even once.
Something unprecedented means unforeseen problems — and problems no one knows how to solve. Like me.
……Is it really all right for me to tell him this?
I had no idea how much humans knew about Eodukseoni. If suspicion fell on me, I'd have no excuse ready.
Handled wrong, that's divulging heavenly secrets.
I hesitated, then decided to deflect for now.
"I'm afraid I don't know what your darkness is either, Your Highness."
"Then how could you not be afraid of it?"
"Because I could see you worrying that it might hurt me. That's what made it not scary."
"……You weren't afraid because I was worried for you?"
"Yes. You said you had no wish to harm me, didn't you? And you told me that fearing it only makes the darkness grow."
"……"
"So I figured that as long as I wasn't scared, and as long as you weren't scared of your own darkness, everything would be fine."
"Merely that……"
The Crown Prince swallowed the rest of the sentence as if forcing something down, then pressed on with difficulty.
"That alone — that is all it took for you to trust me, someone you met for the very first time today? To summon such courage?"
"No, it really was just that I wasn't scared."
"Madam, you are truly a brave soul. Far younger than I, and yet."
Looking down at me, the Crown Prince's lashes trembled faintly.
He's got the wrong idea about something right now, doesn't he.
It wasn't that I trusted you and steeled myself — I'm Princess Cheonmyeong, so it never affected me in the first place!
I even know exactly what you are, and I'm playing ignorant on top of it!
Watching him look so genuinely moved, my conscience pricked at me, sting by sting.
How do I make this right? I have to actually do something for him…….
As I fidgeted helplessly, something suddenly came to mind, and I spoke up.
"Then let me help you!"
"Pardon? Help me with what?"