Chapter 591: The Young Lady of the Ice Palace of the North (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 591: The Young Lady of the Ice Palace of the North (6)
It didn’t take long for Yuri to regain consciousness.
Fifteen minutes at most?
That was thanks to me carefully controlling my strength. I had applied just enough force to knock her out momentarily, ensuring she would wake up quickly so we could resume our conversation.
“I’ve shown you an unsightly side of myself…”
Those were Yuri’s first words upon waking.
Her hair was disheveled, and a faint trace of drool lingered at the corner of her mouth. It seemed she had slept quite soundly.
“Ugh…”
Yuri rubbed the crown of her head, the pain clearly still lingering. After a few moments, her gaze shifted toward me, her eyes filled with an unreadable resentment.
“I never actually thought you’d hit me.”
You and me both. I never thought I’d actually do it either.
“My apologies.”
I offered the apology without hesitation. Even if I had a reason, striking her without warning had crossed a line.
“...”
Hearing my blunt apology, Yuri’s lips twisted into a strange expression. I had laid hands on a member of a ruling bloodline from beyond the borders. She had every right to make a formal grievance out of it, but…
“…If that’s the case, you’ll overlook my escort’s mistake, won’t you?”
I had to suppress a laugh. She’s more pragmatic than I thought.
If she had tried to make an issue of me hitting her, I was planning to counter with the fact that her guard had attempted to draw his sword. I hadn't expected her to be so composed.
“Young Lady…! How can you say such a thing!”
Woobeom, his face still caked with dried blood, shouted in anger. The glare he’d directed at me while the Young Lady was unconscious had been fierce. Perhaps I hadn't hit him hard enough? Regardless, I had to give him credit for his sheer bravado.
“A member of the great bloodline of the North has been treated so harshly…!” he yelled, the veins in his neck bulging.
He had remained silent while Yuri was out, only to start this performance the moment she woke up. Should I just rip his head off now? I was trying to be patient, but he was constantly grating on my nerves.
I was planning to deal with him quietly later.
Why did he keep acting up and demanding my attention? It was infuriating. I decided to wait and see how far he would push it.
But then.
“How can we let this slide—”
“Woobeom.”
The one who stopped him was Yuri herself.
Her hair was still a mess, and she hadn't even wiped away the drool, yet she smiled.
“That’s far enough.”
In that instant, the air in the room grew subtly heavy.
“You know you shouldn't cross that line, right?”
Her voice was gentle, accompanied by a fresh smile, but it carried an indescribable weight.
“...”
Woobeom’s eyes trembled—even more so than when I had nearly killed him moments ago.
“Woobeom. Your answer?” Yuri prompted.
“…My… apologies.”
Woobeom’s lips hesitated before finally uttering the words. Yuri smiled brightly and continued.
“No. That’s not it, Woobeom.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”
“…!”
The intention was clear. Woobeom’s face contorted, but Yuri remained firm.
“Go on.”
“...”
Woobeom’s gaze shifted toward me. Traces of blood still stained his nose and mouth, and his eyes remained fierce, but…
“…I apologize.”
He actually did it. This was an unexpected turn of events. I never imagined a man like him would swallow his pride like this.
And more importantly… he did it solely because of the Young Lady’s command.
To me, that was the most surprising part.
She just seemed like a ditz.
Apparently, there was more to her than met the eye. It was unsettling. Watching Yuri, a thought that had been circling my mind since our first meeting began to solidify.
Something about her was off. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, which only made it more bothersome.
Clap!
Once Woobeom was forced into submission, Yuri suddenly clapped her hands together.
“Well then, since we’ve all calmed down, shall we get to the main topic?”
I wondered who exactly she thought had "calmed down," but I didn't question it. For now, I would watch. This was a time for observation.
The main topic.
The chaos had momentarily distracted me, but this matter was vital. The affairs of the North were somehow connected to me. And specifically…
…What feather?
There was that ridiculous rumor about me spreading in the North. Of all the things to be called, why something so embarrassing?
Just who the hell spread that? If I ever found them, I’d fold them into the shape of a star.
As I ground my teeth in annoyance, Yuri’s gaze returned to me.
“So… you’re…” Her eyes still held a flicker of disbelief. “…You’re the Red Feath—”
“Do not call me that.”
“Okay.”
I spoke sharply, and Yuri nodded instantly.
“…You’re saying you’re him?”
“I don’t know who ‘him’ is, but I am Gu Yangcheon.”
I desperately wanted to deny the title, but I held back. The conversation wouldn't progress if I kept playing word games. Even with my confirmation, Yuri’s face was filled with doubt. She seemed to find it genuinely hard to believe.
What on earth had she heard to make her react this way?
“…I understand.”
“You look like you don’t believe a word of it.”
“It’s not something that will change just because I wish it weren’t true.”
“So, you do wish it weren’t true?”
“Leader Mi.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
She casually ignored my jab. I’d suspected it for a while, but this girl definitely had a formidable personality.
Though I was a bit taken aback when she cried after I hit her.
But seeing how she handled the situation after waking up… she wasn't just some ordinary airhead.
Is that why? Is that where this sense of dissonance comes from?
I watched her carefully, wanting to resolve this unsettling feeling as soon as possible.
“Could you please have your people step out for a moment?” Yuri asked with a smile.
Lady Mi glanced at me. I immediately turned to Tang Soyeol and Seong Yul.
“Step outside for a bit.”
“Yes.”
As the two left the room, Yuri glanced back at Woobeom.
Woong—!
A wave of energy erupted from Woobeom’s body, enveloping the room. A sound barrier. She intended to have a serious conversation.
The atmosphere shifted, and a brief silence followed.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly.”
Yuri bowed gracefully.
“I am Yuri, the Fourth Star of the Ice Palace of the North.”
She said "us," but her words and gaze were fixed solely on me. It was a prompt for me to reciprocate.
“…I am Gu Yangcheon of the Gu Clan.”
“Tch.”
“…?”
Did I hear that right? I could have sworn someone just clicked their tongue.
“…So it was real.”
Now that she’d heard a formal introduction, it seemed her last shred of hope had vanished.
“Why on earth is my name spreading in the North?” I asked.
The North was a distant land. How did a member of their ruling bloodline even know who I was? And with a name as ridiculous as "Red Feather," no less.
Yuri hesitated. “That’s… the White Fox…”
“White Fox?”
A fox? What was she talking about? As I frowned at the non-sequitur, she shook her head.
“…Never mind. That isn’t the important part, is it?”
“It seems pretty important to me…”
“If you are indeed him… there’s something I’d like to ask you first.”
Yuri changed the subject to divert the conversation. I didn't press her. The rumor could wait; the main point was why someone from the North had traveled all this way to see me.
Yuri looked me in the eye. “Is it true that you were the one who lifted Hi-ah’s curse?”
“…?”
I had heard the word "curse" before. I assumed it referred to her illness. But what struck me was how Yuri referred to Moyong Hi-ah.
Hi-ah?
It was a very familiar way to address her. I glanced at Moyong Hi-ah, who looked flustered.
“…I have not given her permission to speak so informally,” Moyong Hi-ah clarified.
“Hm?”
As Moyong Hi-ah sighed, Yuri explained, “Oh, come on, we’re cousins. And we’re the same age, right? I suggested we be casual… but she wouldn’t have it.”
“You’re the same age?”
“Yes.”
Identical looks and the same age. Furthermore… they were cousins.
Moyong Hi-ah’s mother was a princess of the Ice Palace. Yuri was also a current princess. This meant the previous Lord of the Ice Palace had stepped down and a successor had taken the throne.
If the Ice Emperor stepped down, then who…?
It was likely one of Moyong Hi-ah’s mother’s siblings. I couldn't know for sure; I didn't know a single soul from the Ice Palace.
I’ll set that aside for now. I had a more pressing question.
“By curse, do you mean the Severed Meridians?”
“Ah, is that what you call it here?”
“You’re talking about the cold Qi ravaging the body, aren’t you?”
“That’s right. We call it a curse.”
“I don’t quite understand.”
A curse. She had called it the Curse of Ice Crystals. It sounded grim, and in reality, it was lethal. In my past life, Moyong Hi-ah had died from that very "illness."
However…
“Aren’t you people of the North?”
Moyong Hi-ah’s problem arose because she inherited her mother’s constitution while being half-Central Plains. Because the blood of the White Heavenly Sword was mixed in, her body couldn't handle the northern cold Qi. So why would the pure-blooded northerners also call it a curse?
Yuri tilted her head at my implication. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Hm?”
“If anything, it’s dangerous because we’re from the North.”
“…What do you mean?”
“The curse… is something that afflicts every member of the Ice Palace bloodline. It is a fate naturally borne by those who protect the Ice Crystals.”
At Yuri’s words, both my eyes and Moyong Hi-ah’s widened.
“…Everyone has the Severed Meridians?”
A disease that afflicted every member of the bloodline? Did she mean they were all born with cold Qi that would eventually freeze them to death?
“But how?” I started to ask. How were they even alive?
“Conversely, it is also the source of our power. It is the constitution required to master our Ice Arts.”
I finally understood. So they don't cure the constitution; they use it for cultivation.
They harnessed the cold Qi through a specific method, which likely allowed them to sustain their lives.
“That’s impossible…!” Moyong Hi-ah suddenly shouted. “I never heard… anything like that from my mother.”
I nodded inwardly. That was the next logical question. If such a method exists, why didn't Moyong Hi-ah’s mother pass it on to her daughter? As a member of the bloodline, she should have known how to manage it.
“This is a power passed down only to the direct bloodline. It cannot be carelessly shared or passed on to just anyone,” Yuri explained.
Moyong Hi-ah still looked lost.
“Besides…” Yuri added, “…there’s a reason a curse is called a curse.”
“That’s—!”
“So.”
I cut Moyong Hi-ah off. Now was not the time for an emotional outburst. She looked at me, startled, then bit her lip and lowered her head, barely containing herself.
I turned back to Yuri. “What does any of this have to do with me?”
The Severed Meridians, or the "curse." What did my ability to soothe it have to do with her?
“…As I said, this is a curse. Every member of the bloodline has it. No one can escape it.”
“And?”
“But… I heard you were able to break it. Is that true?”
I thought for a moment. It was true that I could remove Moyong Hi-ah’s cold Qi, but I couldn't be certain I had "cured" the underlying constitution permanently.
Still. “More or less.”
At the very least, the lethal cold Qi was gone.
“...”
Yuri’s expression turned strange. She looked at Moyong Hi-ah.
“…Certainly, I can’t feel a trace of the curse on her anymore. How on earth did you do it?”
“Is that important? You said your people have a way to control it anyway.”
Moyong Hi-ah hadn't known that way, and she had almost died. In my past life, she did die. But why would that matter to Yuri? If they already had a way to manage the cold Qi, why seek me out?
Yuri bit her lip, mirroring Moyong Hi-ah’s earlier expression.
“That’s…”
“And first,” I interrupted again, “how did you know I could cure it?”
“...”
Yuri’s lips sealed shut. The fact that I had treated Moyong Hi-ah was a secret known only to a few. I had intentionally kept it quiet. So how did the Ice Palace find out?
Yuri avoided my gaze. “…I received information.”
So there’s a spy.
It wasn't entirely shocking. While we weren't enemies, we were from different regions. And Moyong Hi-ah was technically one of their own. It made sense they’d keep tabs on her, but…
The fact that a spy is close enough to know this is disgusting.
The idea that someone close to us was leaking information was irritating. I’d have to hunt them down later. But for now, I set it aside.
“So, the reason you wanted to see me was for a cure.”
“Yes,” Yuri answered. “If you are capable of lifting ‘our’ curse, then I wanted to humbly request your help in treating it.”
“Hmm.”
I stroked my chin. I didn't give her an answer immediately.
The Curse of Ice Crystals. The term was unique, but it clearly referred to the constitution I had dealt with. And because I could supposedly "break" it, a princess had traveled across the continent to find me.
It seemed to make sense, but…
Something’s wrong.
The words she spoke, the situation she presented—it didn't add up. A suspicion began to take root. It wasn't a certainty yet; I needed to test it.
“To fix a constitution that you can already control, you came all the way here just for me… is that it?”
“Yes. No matter how well it can be controlled, it is still a curse… I desperately wanted to be free of it.”
Drip.
In the silence of my mind, a single drop of water fell, creating ripples.
“Hmm.”
I glanced at Moyong Hi-ah. Her emotional turmoil had vanished, replaced by an ice-cold mask. To an outsider, she looked like she was simply listening. But I knew her.
You’re thinking the same thing I am.
That was my confirmation.
“Therefore…”
“The Lord of the Ice Palace.”
Flinch.
Yuri flinched. It was a fleeting moment, but I caught it. She tried to force a smile, a belated attempt at damage control.
It was too late.
“What are you suddenly talking abou—”
“The Lord of the Ice Palace must be in danger.”
“...”
The smile vanished. Seeing her reaction, I finally understood the source of that dissonance.
“In grave danger, at that. Right?”
“...”
Ssshaaa—
A sudden chill permeated the air. Yuri stared at me with a blank, hollow expression. The ditsy, playful atmosphere was gone. It was as if she had become a different person entirely.
Like ice had taken human form.
“You,” she said.
Her tone was completely different—heavy, cold, and sharp.
I smiled. Ah, so that’s it.
The reason she had been bothering me this whole time… I finally understood.
My gut was right.
The reason I was so irritated, as if I were looking at something repulsive, was simple.
This woman was hiding her true self, pretending to be a fool.
“Who are you, really?”
I just couldn't stand the sight of a fake.