Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: The Blank in the Manual
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Hoo— hoo— whoo—
Yeon Jeokhwa stood before the doors of Blood Heart Hall, steadying her breath, unable to bring herself to step inside.
She had been pushed into coming here alone, but midway through, she had resolved to face the Palace Lord boldly.
After all, now that she had succeeded in deciphering fragments of that martial art, she surely had something to say on the matter.
But as she reached the entrance, right on the verge of going in...
"I just can't do it...!"
The person she had brought here, introduced as her close friend, had disobeyed the Palace Lord's orders. The full responsibility would fall squarely on her shoulders.
Yeon Jeokhwa couldn't even begin to imagine what scolding she might receive from the Palace Lord afterward.
As she clutched her head in anguish before the doors...
Sun Jong, who had been watching her, shook his head slowly.
Unable to bear it any longer, he knocked on the door himself and announced,
"Palace Lord, the Little Palace Lord has arrived."
"W-Wait a moment...!"
Yeon Jeokhwa's frantic voice followed, but it was too late.
"Let her in."
Yeon Jeokha's subdued voice echoed from within, and soon the doors swung wide open, ready to receive her.
Yeon Jeokhwa shot Sun Jong a glare filled with resentment, then slouched her shoulders and cautiously stepped inside.
She approached directly before Yeon Jeokha, seated upon the upper palace throne in Blood Heart Hall, straightened her posture, and spoke.
"I pay my respects to the Palace Lord of the Blood Clan."
Yeon Jeokhwa barely concealed her trembling, speaking in a steady tone.
She controlled her emotions so masterfully that most people wouldn't notice her tension.
But that lasted only a moment.
"......"
With no reply coming, she began to break out in a cold sweat.
This was the first time the Palace Lord had reacted this way to her greeting—her entire body froze solid.
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air, as if decades had passed without a word.
After a brief moment, Yeon Jeokha's voice finally rang out.
"Your side is empty."
It was a short phrase, but it was enough for Yeon Jeokhwa to sense the Palace Lord's deep displeasure.
"I clearly summoned two people."
"Th-That is..."
Under Yeon Jeokha's interrogation, Yeon Jeokhwa's words caught in her throat.
As Yeon Jeokha seemed about to pronounce punishment, she steeled herself.
Looking straight at him, she spoke in a calm voice.
"Palace Lord, I have something to report."
His eyes flickered with a strange emotion at her gaze.
This child isn't answering my question.
She's even changing the subject.
What on earth happened here while I was in seclusion?
Yeon Jeokha regarded her with two simultaneous thoughts.
If what she was trying to say by deflecting was truly useful, then she had grown a step as Little Palace Lord.
She had finally acquired the composure to deal with someone of a higher realm than herself.
However, if her upcoming words proved fanciful or empty...
It would merely be a lie to escape danger.
That would be even more disappointing than now, forcing him to lower his evaluation of her.
'Something to report,' she says.
Yeon Jeokha stared down at her intently.
There was a slight tremor in her shoulders, but her eyes were resolute.
With that, he granted her permission.
"Very well. Speak."
Yeon Jeokhwa nodded and carefully began to part her lips.
"I have succeeded in interpreting the martial arts manual you gave me."
"The manual I gave you?"
Yeon Jeokha furrowed one brow, repeating her words.
Then, realizing what she meant, he spoke.
"You mean the one I gave you when you ascended to Little Palace Lord."
"Yes, that's right."
At her response, Yeon Jeokha let out a hollow chuckle.
'She interpreted that? Ridiculous.'
Even he had needed far deeper insight than what he possessed as Palace Lord to even vaguely grasp the text.
Yet she claimed to have succeeded in interpreting it.
Unable to believe it, as he opened his mouth to dismiss her words in disappointment...
"The blanks."
"......What?"
"There are blank sections not written in that manual. And it's not a complete, flawless martial art—merely a fragment, isn't it?"
The entire hall fell deathly silent.
After a brief pause, Yeon Jeokha rose abruptly from the throne and shouted.
"You truly succeeded in interpreting it?!"
"Y-Yes? Yes, that's correct."
His excited voice startled her.
She had never seen the Palace Lord reveal his emotions so openly.
But her surprise was nothing compared to what Yeon Jeokha felt.
How on earth?
He still couldn't believe his ears.
The facts about the blanks and it being only a part were known only to him under the heavens.
One couldn't know such things without succeeding in the interpretation.
"Incredible."
Sinking back into the throne, Yeon Jeokha glanced at her.
He closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts.
It couldn't be the Little Palace Lord herself.
Objectively, it was a realm her insight couldn't reach.
Then...
"Did you perhaps entrust the interpretation to this 'close friend' of yours?"
"Yes."
At her answer, Yeon Jeokha clutched his throbbing head.
He should punish her for showing the main palace's martial arts to an outsider, but at the same time, he had gained a clue to solving the long-standing enigma, so he couldn't simply blame her.
After pondering her punishment, Yeon Jeokha finally spoke.
"Who is this person you brought who succeeded in interpreting it?"
"The one I mentioned before—the man who interfered when we tried to acquire the Blood River Connection Divine Art at the auction."
"So that man is now helping the main palace..."
Yeon Jeokha hadn't believed from the start that the person she brought was truly a close friend.
He had only wondered who it was.
But for someone once an enemy to now hold the key to the main palace's treasure...
Can I truly trust his intentions?
As complex thoughts swirled in Yeon Jeokha's mind, one fact brushed past.
"Wait."
His expression shifted subtly as he asked her,
"The man you met at the auction before—surely you're not referring to that fellow?"
He knew she had been investigating a certain man for quite some time.
Half in disbelief, he asked, and...
"Yes, that's him."
Yeon Jeokhwa nodded with an innocent expression.
Yeon Jeokha fixed her with an icy, frost-like gaze and said,
"So you're saying you've brought that man into your quarters?"
"......!"
Startled, Yeon Jeokhwa waved her hands frantically.
"N-No, wait! Yes, I did bring him to my quarters, but truly nothing happened! And I only did so because I was worried about taking the manual outside and risking its loss!"
Has she ever been this flustered?
Her desperate excuses seemed almost awkward, deepening Yeon Jeokha's suspicions.
It didn't seem like an ordinary relationship.
Perhaps not mere acquaintances, but something more intimate.
His wary gaze intensified.
But if that man succeeded in fully interpreting the manual...
Better to marry him off to her.
The moment he interpreted it, he'd be bound to Blood Heaven Divine Palace for life.
And a warrior with such talent would surely become a great asset to the main palace.
Come to think of it, Yeon Jeokhwa being close to him wasn't so bad.
Of course, as her father, there was discomfort, but for the future of Blood Heaven Divine Palace, it was a fine outcome.
But all this hinged on that man truly succeeding in the full interpretation.
Thus...
"I must verify it myself."
Having decided, Yeon Jeokha dismissed her.
"Return."
"Yes, understood."
He could have interrogated her further, so why send her away so quickly?
A question flickered in her mind, but she couldn't miss the chance.
As she turned to leave swiftly, his voice rang out from the throne.
"And tomorrow, at this same time."
She flinched.
"Bring him here."
"......!"
The Palace Lord's repeated command carried a firm warning.
Forgiven once, but not twice.
Yeon Jeokhwa hesitated, then acquiesced and withdrew.
"Yes, I will."
Once outside, she exhaled the breath she had been holding.
'I-I survived.'
She knew the Palace Lord wouldn't kill her over this, but still, it felt like walking into the jaws of death on her own feet.
Having returned alive, her pounding heart hadn't yet calmed.
But the issue wasn't fully resolved.
Rushing back to her quarters, she found Hyeok Mulin leisurely surveying the courtyard.
Racing to him, she heard him say as he saw her,
"You're back sooner than expected."
"Thanks to someone nearly getting me killed, but surprisingly, they let me go quickly."
"Did the conversation go well?"
"I don't even know how to answer that... I'm not sure."
Could that exchange truly be called a smooth conclusion?
Even reflecting on it, Yeon Jeokhwa still didn't know.
But one thing was certain.
"By the way, he ordered me to bring you tomorrow at this time. You will go this time, right?"
In her view, disobeying the Palace Lord's order once had mercifully been overlooked.
He was an outsider, not a palace servant, after all.
But if it happened twice, there would be no mercy.
Thus, Yeon Jeokhwa gazed at Hyeok Mulin with pleading eyes.
But the response she received...
"Y-You'll come with me... right?"
Was merely a calm face bearing a faint smile amid the silence.
"......Little Palace Lord."
The next day, Yeon Jeokhwa entered Blood Heart Hall.
But...
"Do my words amuse you?"
The scene was identical to yesterday.
Hyeok Mulin was nowhere to be seen, leaving only her trembling before the throne.
"I clearly ordered you to bring him here. Where did that bastard go?"
"Th-That is..."
Amid the menacing aura, Yeon Jeokhwa stammered in a quivering voice.
Clenching her eyes shut in dizziness, she relayed Hyeok Mulin's message in a crawling whisper.
"He said... if you have something to say, come find him yourself......"
Kwajik.
Veins bulging on the back of his hand, he gripped the throne's armrest, nearly crushing it.
"......Interesting."
His voice was even, but Yeon Jeokha's lips twisted viciously.
Caught between them, Yeon Jeokhwa could only lament her fate, swallowing her deep bitterness as tears.