Chapter 304: Myself
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 304: Myself
“I have already told you. To me, Lady Hayuri is like the sun. She saved my life and gave me a reason to live.”
“And didn’t I tell you that was only because you looked useful?”
“Even if I know that, it does not change the fact that I am indebted to you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re in love with me. I can see it in your eyes. When you served me, when you looked at me, you never said it, but you always looked at me as if you loved me. Kekek. And on the rare occasions I told you I loved you, you pounced on me like a beast. Don’t you remember?”
“That is not true.”
Perhaps because Jeong Ji-young’s tone was so calm, Choi Seulgi muttered in an annoyed voice.
“Fucking frustrating bastard. Can’t you just spit it out? What’s all this about being indebted? Anyone can see you’re in love with her.”
“Just wait. I think it’s about to come out.”
As if on cue, the moment I finished speaking, Jeong Ji-young slowly opened his mouth.
“The truth is…”
“What.”
“The truth is… what you said may be true, Lady Hayuri.”
“Puhahahahahat!”
Ha Yuri wasn’t a fool; she must have known that Jeong Ji-young was in love with her. I had seen and heard much about their situation over the years, but despite it all, Jeong Ji-young had never said such a thing to Ha Yuri until now.
Whether out of fear or for some other reason, Jeong Ji-young had always hidden his feelings.
“At first, I simply wanted to watch over you. Just being by your side was enough to make me happy. In fact, I cannot describe how overjoyed I was when you first called for me, Lady Hayuri. The same goes for everything that happened after.”
“…”
“When you insulted me, when you playfully told me you loved me… I pretended it was nothing, but in truth, I was happy.”
It was an unexpected confession. Considering they had been together for over a hundred days, such a reaction wasn’t strange, but it was incredibly amusing. Choi Seulgi also spoke, her voice filled with interest.
“Yes, that’s it!”
“Puhahahahahat!”
A smile crept onto my lips as well. It was because the Sword Saint’s expression had twisted. It wasn’t a distortion born of displeasure. It would be more accurate to say it twisted because his reaction was different from what she had expected.
Normally, Jeong Ji-young might not have said such useless things. But the potion Lee Jihee had created was undoubtedly affecting him, even if the Sword Saint was unaware. After spending such a long time sharing pain and conversation in the darkness, the man’s heart had been swayed. It could have been the drug, or it could have been the atmosphere. But whatever the cause, it didn’t matter.
“Shut up.”
The Sword Saint muttered, but Jeong Ji-young didn’t stop.
“Just as you said, just as you expected and thought… I… love you.”
“Kuh…”
It was truly the confession of a lifetime. The confession of a knight who had stood by Ha Yuri’s side his entire life was more moving than embarrassing. But from our perspective, it was a comedy, an absolute delight.
“What’s this? Is it done?”
“Maybe, maybe not. What’s certain is that the woman has been struck dumb.”
Just as I said, the Sword Saint did nothing but mutter “shut up,” saying nothing else. In the strange silence, the dark room grew even darker. In stark contrast to the heartwarming atmosphere, the small prison felt like it was slowly sinking into a swamp.
*
Normally, she would have retorted with a playful “I love you, too,” or hurled a stream of curses at him. Ha Yuri ground her teeth.
‘Fucking bastards… I’ll rip them to shreds.’
No, more than that, she couldn’t understand why she had even asked such a question.
‘Why?’
She had a vague sense that a strange powder was continuously seeping into the prison. Even now, under the influence of her holy power, this much was nothing to her. She had inhaled it countless times over the past hundred days, but it was nothing.
No, to be precise, her mind was clear. But considering the powder didn’t seem to be harmful to the human body, it was also strange to think it had no effect at all. Holy power could only protect the body from things it deemed harmful or abnormal.
After hearing Jeong Ji-young’s confession, her heart was pounding, seemingly of its own accord.
The powder flowing through the prison was probably affecting her. It wasn’t an aphrodisiac. She figured it was the type of substance that merely amplified existing emotions. Possessing the Seat of Pride, Ha Yuri was sensitive to emotions.
‘I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them.’
She couldn’t understand why they were doing this through Jeong Ji-young. She didn’t know what kind of fucked-up game they were playing, but one thing was certain: they had a goal, and she was falling deeper and deeper into their trap.
‘I shouldn’t have engaged in conversation from the start.’
It was a pitch-black darkness. When she pushed a little holy power into her eyes, Jeong Ji-young’s form came into view. He was a wreck. A cleaning rag would look cleaner than him.
‘Useless bastard. Incompetent bastard.’
A surge of irritation washed over her as she thought it was likely the influence of that day.
“You.”
“Yes.”
“Never mind.”
She wanted to share her holy power with him, but it was highly likely to be part of their plan. They were undoubtedly scheming to control her through Jeong Ji-young, or perhaps to steal the Holy Sword. The thought made her suspect that Jeong Ji-young himself had been bought by them.
But…
Ha Yuri knew better than anyone that it couldn’t be true. That man was an idiot. He was the type to do anything and everything he was told; he was stupid enough that if she ordered him to eat shit and piss, he’d do it.
‘It’s not him.’
He was probably being used without even realizing it.
Even after several more days passed, Ha Yuri didn’t speak to Jeong Ji-young. She was quietly assessing the situation when it happened. Two figures, a man and a woman, entered with a light.
‘Blood Dagger, Choi Seulgi.’
The fucking pair who had taken everything from her had returned. As the bright light flooded in, Ha Yuri squeezed her eyes shut. Soon, Choi Seulgi’s voice rang out.
“Did you have a good time? It’s time to say goodbye now… right?”
“Die, you fucking whore. And you, you fucking demon bastard, you too.”
“Really? You think we’re the ones who are going to die? Shouldn’t you be more worried about your precious little prince right in front of you?”
“Kill him if you want. He’s a useless bastard anyway. I don’t know what you bastards are thinking, but while I might feel sad over the death of a pet dog, I’m not some stupid bitch who’d be shaken by it. You pieces of trash.”
“So smart, aren’t you? But that part about feeling sad catches my attention. Hmm… yes… that’s enough.”
Ha Yuri bit her lip. She had a feeling things were going exactly as they wanted. What if Jeong Ji-young died? For now, it felt like it would be nothing. But a part of her chest ached.
‘Fuck…’
Of course, she couldn’t identify the emotion. It was a feeling from her early childhood, one she couldn’t even remember. In the end, Ha Yuri spoke softly.
“Don’t die.”
“I will not die.”
Those words were enough. That knight would surely never die if it was an order. For a man who would eat shit and piss, an order not to die would be incredibly easy. He would survive, no matter what it took.
Ha Yuri didn’t realize how anxious she was becoming. She didn’t think she loved him.
It was just…
‘I just grew a little attached to a dog I was raising.’
That was probably all it was. There were no other feelings. No matter how many times she thought about it, nothing else came to mind. Watching Choi Seulgi and Blood Dagger drag Jeong Ji-young away like a dirty rag, Ha Yuri didn’t even notice the blood trickling from her own lips.
It would have been better if Jeong Ji-young had never been here in the first place. The heavy silence that descended upon the dark space was bearable, but it was infuriating.
“Fuck.”
Her low voice filled the room.
It was then.
“Fuck.”
Before her stood a woman with the exact same face as her own. Anyone would recognize her as Ha Yuri. She hadn’t noticed her enter. She must have slipped in when the door opened a moment ago, while her eyes were closed against the bright light. She hadn’t seen her since that one time before. Ha Yuri ground her teeth and shouted.
“You…! You son of a bitch!”
It was the one who had insulted her. No doubt about it. She didn’t know what kind of fucked-up trick this was, but it was only natural for her anger to boil over. If she could move, she would have rushed the bastard right then and made living itself an agony. She thrashed her body, but the spears wouldn’t come out. In fact, they seemed to dig in deeper, but Ha Yuri didn’t care and continued to twist.
“Change back… to your original form right now, you crazy bastard. Right, you fucking bastard, I’d forgotten about you. Once I get out of here, you’re next after those two. I don’t know how you’re wearing my face, but…”
She was hurling a mix of curses at the figure, but there was no reply. It was only natural that she felt something was off. Despite her rage reaching its peak, Ha Yuri continued to spit curses at the figure.
“Try talking shit again. Go on, you fucking bastard!”
“…”
“You…”
Ha Yuri slowly began to examine the self standing before her. What was slightly baffling was that the aura this one exuded was different from the one who had stood on the castle walls before the war. She had been able to tell that one was a fake.
But this one was different. She didn’t know what kind of magic had been used, but she had never even heard of such a spell. It was impossible for that worm-like bastard to deceive one’s very essence like this. No, to be precise, the being before her was perfectly… her.
‘Damn it…’
Finally, Ha Yuri’s eyes shot open as she muttered to the self before her.
“What are you…”
And then, the other Ha Yuri’s lips parted.
“I am you. From when you were a child… remember?”
Ha Yuri’s breath caught in her throat.
*
“Kim Taesung, are you really sure about this?”
“It’ll probably be fine. No matter how much they talk about love and all that, she still won’t get it, so we have to make her realize it from our end. And it doesn’t matter if she figures out it’s the drug. That potion was never meant to create feelings that weren’t there in the first place. She probably knows that best herself. She won’t want to admit it… no, she’ll die before she admits it.”
“No, of course I’m worried about that, but it’s not just that…”
“Ah…”
“I think it might not be a bad idea to take things a little more slowly… The idea was good, but if it fails here, it feels like all our hard work will have been for nothing…”
“…”
“No… I’m sure it will succeed. After all, a drama shines brightest when a special supporting character makes an appearance. And when it comes to this kind of work, that guy’s a pro.”