Chapter 589: The Young Lady of the Ice Palace of the North (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 589: The Young Lady of the Ice Palace of the North (4)
In a small room on the upper floor of the merchant association building.
The space felt far too cramped for so many people to occupy at once. At least five or six individuals were crowded together within those narrow walls.
On a simple, thinly padded bed sat the guest of honor. Lady Mi offered a brief, formal bow toward her.
“I am Hyoran of the Mi Clan, the one responsible for the White Flower Merchant Association. It is an honor to meet the Young Lady of the Ice Palace.”
As Lady Mi spoke, the person on the bed gave a faint smile.
“Oh my, you don’t have to be so formal. Please, make yourself comfortable.”
A tomboy? No, a child… wait, no. The Young Lady of the North Sea waved her hand dismissively at Lady Mi.
At that moment, a man standing behind her spoke up.
“You must not, Young Lady. How could you speak so casually to someone from the Central Plains?”
He appeared to be a guard.
“You must receive the treatment you deserve, no matter where you go—especially in an unfamiliar place like this.”
The aura he radiated was formidable. I could tell at a glance that he had easily surpassed the Peak Realm.
Next to him stood another man dressed in similar attire. He was likely a guard as well.
At her guard’s words, the Young Lady looked distressed.
“Woobeom… this isn’t our land. How could I possibly expect greater courtesy than this? Besides, I’m the one who caused trouble, didn’t I?”
I had no idea how she could say that so proudly.
Rustle.
The Young Lady carefully shifted her posture to sit up properly, intending to show her own courtesy.
“Young Lady…!”
The guard, startled, tried to stop her, but she spoke first.
“My name is Yuri. I am known as the Fourth Star of the North Sea. Thank you for welcoming me like this.”
Her white hair shimmered as she gave a light bow. She then lifted her head and smiled slightly.
“This wasn’t exactly how I planned for us to meet… hehe.”
Of course not.
She probably didn’t expect to be caught immediately after running away from home.
“This is a little awkward. Goodness,” Yuri said, scratching the back of her head.
Silence followed. No one said a word for several seconds.
Finally, it was Lady Mi who broke the silence.
“I express my gratitude once more for such a distinguished person gracing the Central Plains with her visit…”
“Hehe, it’s nothing.”
“However, there is something I must ask first.”
“What is it?”
“Before we could officially welcome you, you attempted to flee. I would like to hear the reason for that.”
“Ah.”
It seemed Lady Mi wanted to know why she had slipped past the guards and vanished earlier.
“Perhaps… you were not pleased with the association’s arrangements?”
“That’s not it.”
“If so, I would like to know why you took such an action.”
As Lady Mi calmly pressed for an answer, Yuri offered a slight smile.
“I just… wanted to look around.”
“Look around… you say?”
The answer was so simple that even Lady Mi failed to maintain her composure. I wondered what kind of excuse that was supposed to be, but the expression on Yuri’s face was completely sincere.
“I really wanted to come to the Central Plains. Especially Henan, where the Murim Alliance is! I thought I’d die without ever getting to see it. Now that I’m finally here, I just couldn’t hold back.”
Her face, bright with a cheerful smile, was filled with genuine excitement.
“I wanted to see the Murim Alliance… and the famous Shaolin Temple, too.”
“…And that is why you fled?”
“I’m sorry about that. But I had a feeling that once I came here, I wouldn’t be allowed to go outside. And that’s probably true, isn’t it?”
Hearing Yuri’s words, a question formed in my mind.
‘She won’t be allowed out once she arrives at the merchant association?’
The certainty in her voice was a bit strange.
“So… since it’s come to this, couldn’t I just look around for today…?”
“You may not,” Lady Mi cut her off decisively. “The Central Plains are more dangerous than you think, Young Lady.”
“Aww… but just for one day…”
“We have been tasked with ensuring your safety for the duration of your stay. Roaming outside carelessly is not only dangerous…” Lady Mi’s eyes narrowed slightly. “But considering what the Ice Palace requested of us for your sake, it is an action we absolutely cannot permit.”
“…Ugh.”
Yuri groaned at the firm refusal.
Seriously, the more I saw of her, the less I understood.
‘Why is someone who looks like that such an airhead?’
To say she resembled Moyong Hi-ah meant she was a cold beauty who exuded an icy aura. In fact, perhaps because of her white hair, Yuri seemed to have an even colder atmosphere than Hi-ah.
How could her actions and speech be so different from her appearance?
‘Anyway, why was I called here?’
Still unable to grasp the situation, I was silently observing when she spoke again.
“But…! He hasn’t even arrived yet.”
“Young Lady? What do you mean by that…?”
“The Red Feather of the Central Plains!”
…What feather? Yuri’s shout made everyone’s expression turn strange.
“Doesn’t the conversation only proceed once he gets here?”
At the bizarre title, Lady Mi’s brow furrowed. Red Feather? Who in the world was that? It was a title she had never heard before.
‘Seems like Lady Mi is just as lost as I am.’
Lady Mi pondered the words for a moment, then her eyes widened.
“Ah?”
As if she’d realized something, she looked over at me.
What? Why are you looking at me?
After staring at me for a moment, Lady Mi quickly shifted her gaze back to Yuri.
“Young Lady. Could that perhaps be…”
“If we have to wait for him for the story to move forward anyway… then I can look around until then, right? Even for just a little while—”
Yuri, who was about to throw a tantrum, looked away from Lady Mi and toward me, standing in the back.
“Huh?”
Then she pointed a finger straight at me.
“You…! You’re the one who hit me!”
As Yuri suddenly exclaimed this, the guards behind her reacted instantly. An unnecessary tension filled the already cramped room.
“Hit you…?”
I could feel the guard’s gaze growing murderous. Ah, this wasn’t good.
“No, that’s not it. The situation was a bit…”
Just as I was about to offer an excuse, Yuri suddenly changed her posture again.
“How was I supposed to do this again? Ah, right.”
She knelt down and folded her hands demurely, looking directly at me.
What is she doing now?
As I stood there, baffled by her bizarre behavior, she spoke.
“Excuse me.”
Her voice had changed. She was awkwardly mimicking a man’s voice. No, that’s exactly what it was. Why was this woman suddenly talking like that?
Just as that question crossed my mind, Yuri looked at me and said:
“Would it be alright if I were to marry you?”
“…?”
The atmosphere turned ice-cold in an instant. Not just speech, but even the sound of breathing seemed to cease. My thoughts came to a grinding halt.
The silence probably lasted for only a second.
“What the hell is this crazy bitch saying?”
The words escaped my lips before I could stop them. It was a harsh curse I hadn’t uttered in a long time.
“Hah…”
I heard Moyong Hi-ah gasp beside me. Yes, if I could, I would have covered my own mouth. A cold sweat ran down my back at the words I had blurted out.
Just then, Yuri, the target of the insult, reacted.
“Wow.”
She looked delighted.
“He swore! Wow!”
A reaction completely different from what I expected burst forth.
“Oh my, he called me a crazy bitch. How fascinating! This isn’t the answer I was hoping for, but it’s so refreshing, I like it.”
“…”
“H-hey, can you do it one more time? It’s my first time being sworn at.”
At her words, I unconsciously took a step back. It seemed she really was a crazy bitch. This was troublesome.
‘Even I don’t want to deal with someone who’s genuinely insane.’
She already made me uncomfortable by looking so much like Moyong Hi-ah, but her personality made things even more annoying. She was the type of person I was least compatible with.
Sensing this would not be easy, I was contemplating whether I should just make a run for it when the guard behind Yuri stopped me.
“Hey.”
Vwmmm.
My dantian suddenly reacted. Feeling the surge of energy, I looked at my opponent.
“Savage. What did you just say to the Young Lady?”
“Savage?”
Now that was a new one. I’d been called a thug, a scoundrel, and a madman, but a savage? How novel.
“To spew such vile words…! You Central Plains bastards are just as vulgar as they say.”
His choice of words is fucking terrible, I thought. His growling voice was laced with killing intent.
“Do you have any idea who you are speaking to? How dare you!”
“She introduced herself, didn’t she?”
“Shut your mouth!”
You’re the one who asked. Why get pissed off after asking a question?
“For a lowly race like yours to dare spew such nonsense at a Star of the North Sea…! You should be grateful she even graced you with her presence!”
“Uh, Woobeom. Isn’t that going a little too far…?” Yuri tried to intervene.
“Stay back, Young Lady. I will protect your dignity from these people.”
“You don’t have to—!”
Yuri tried to stop him urgently, but Woobeom had no intention of listening. He took a step forward, his hand moving to the sword at his waist.
“I will show you mongrels what the sword of the North Sea is.”
Click!
Just as he was about to draw his blade, he froze.
Thud!
He couldn’t pull the sword from its scabbard. He couldn’t even move.
The sharp tip of a dagger was pressed firmly against his neck.
“Don’t move.”
Drip.
A trickle of blood ran down his throat.
“This bitch…?”
The one who had subdued Woobeom was, surprisingly, Tang Soyeol. At some point, she had moved with blinding speed and was now threatening him with her blade.
Flustered by the unexpected reversal, Woobeom’s eyes started darting around.
Watching him, I spoke.
“Three times.”
All eyes turned to me—the Young Lady, Lady Mi, Moyong Hi-ah, and the idiot named Woobeom.
“First, I let it slide when you spouted that fucking bullshit at Lady Mi,” I said in the calmest voice I could manage. “Next, I let it slide when you spouted nonsense at me.”
The man’s expression twisted, as if he couldn’t comprehend what was happening. It didn’t matter if he understood or not.
“Finally, I even let it slide when you tried to draw your sword.”
I smiled faintly at him.
“I’m in a really bad mood today. But I’ve already been patient three times, haven’t I?”
I stared into his eyes.
“If you say one more word, you’re fucking dead.”
There would be no next time.
“What are you saying…”
Unable to swallow his pride, he spat out another word. I was actually worried he might stay silent, so this was a relief.
My hand was already at his neck.