The Wall She Could Not Find
That was why I couldn’t find… the gate in her.
“Couldn’t find the gate? You mean that gate you need to open your Ineung?”
Mirpia slowly shook her head at Crow’s Duck’s question, then corrected herself.
“If there truly was no gate, that would be the case. But for her, it wasn’t that there was no gate at all—it was simply that I could not find it. What I saw was not a gate, but a wall. A massive wall with cracks running through it in places.”
“A wall…? And cracks? I have no idea what you’re even saying.”
Crow’s Duck frowned deeply at Mirpia’s explanation. It seemed he found her words utterly incomprehensible.
“The only undeniable truth is that the Ineung he will awaken in the future must be truly special. After all, I read the Emperor’s Ineung and saw Fate itself.”
“Special Ineung? It can’t be the Ineung of Black Dark, can it…?”
“U-uh…”
“Ahem!”
Feltics’s quiet utterance of the word “Black Dark” made Ushin and Gwanyun stiffen visibly.
The Emperor and Mirpia looked slightly startled as well, but only Crow’s Duck waved it off as nothing unusual.
-Why does that sound so shocking now?
“Crow’s Duck, however, Black Dark is an exception. You know better than anyone that it is the only Ineung no one has ever wielded except the founder of the Ahrirang clan.”
-The Emperor, after letting that brat spit out Hwigwang, how can he possibly refuse to accept Black Dark?
“Even so, the Ineung of Black Dark is… um…”
Since it would be pointless to explain further, the Emperor swallowed his words and changed the subject.
“For now, this incident will be kept completely secret. We will monitor Haru and the others closely. Does anyone have any objections?”
““…”
The people gathered in the room answered with silence, politely accepting the Emperor’s suggestion.
“Very well. We have confirmed all the details of the incident, so I will excuse myself so that Your Majesty may rest in peace for the next week. I will spare no effort to ensure a speedy recovery.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
-This generation has so many strange points. It must mean the war is drawing near… Hmph, I’ll take my leave too. Take care of yourself. If you get hurt, I won’t be able to show my face to your sister.
“Hehe. Understood. I’ll see you again, Uncle.”
-You foolish kid. Look after them well. I don’t want my niece to suffer like this ever again. Do you understand?
““Yes, Your Highness.”
-Then I shall take my leave.
After the Emperor, Feltics, and Crow’s Duck had all departed.
“Your Majesty, we too shall take our leave. Junior and I will guard this place as firmly as iron walls at all times. If there is anything you need, simply call for us.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
CLANG.
Once Ushin and Gwanyun had also left, Mirpia was left alone in the bedroom. She closed her eyes and once again recalled the moment she had looked into Haru’s heart that day.
Break through alone. Teraden. Protect.
Maru… Maru comes first.
Not a single one. Not even one. I will not let any of you escape alive. I will kill you all.
I have come here myself to punish you. Watch. Admire. Tremble. Open.
All the Ineung in this world belong to me!
Enough. Stop there. I will not allow you to spy on the path any longer. Return now.
Having finished her recollection, Mirpia bit her pale lips tightly.
Haru-nim… what are you…? Was it truly right for me to hide this?
* * *
“You came just in time. Sit here.”
“Yes, Lord.”
After the situation had largely settled, Jubern found Lan in his private office.
“Are you feeling better?”
SWOOSH. CLINK.
Jubern accepted the tea Lan offered with utmost respect.
“I am fine. Thank you, Lord.”
“Good. That’s a relief.”
Lan sat down lightly on his chair and carefully examined Jubern’s posture.
He hasn’t slacked off in training for even a single day.
It had been a long time since the two of them had truly met like this.
After the incident with Haru and the Pope, the circumstances had been too dire for casual conversation. Since the visit to Gaya with Haru, this was the first time they had faced each other properly in quite some time.
“Gukseon is one of the few warriors who can stand comparison with our Seven Pillars. Even if it was only as a threat, do you have any sense of what it felt like to fight alongside him?”
“Gukseon’s soft sword is enormous like Mount Tai yet also incredibly heavy.”
“It was known as the method of subduing strength with softness—Yongneungje-gang, or the way of restraining rigidity with flexibility. But when it comes to someone like Gukseon, softness naturally contains heaviness and sharpness as well. Had you been yourself during the time in Seo-Wangdo, your body would have been split in two by that sword alone.”
“Pfft!”
Lord, your praise is too much. But even so… to split it right in two? My liver nearly burst…
Jubern finally spat out his tea at the Emperor’s harsh words.
“S-sorry! Lord!”
“Haha. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. So, why did you call for me?”
“I’m going to be away from my post for a while and came to seek your approval.”
After wiping his sleeve, Jubern spoke in a serious tone.
“You want to step down?”
“That’s right, Lord.”
Lan rested his chin on his hand and closed his eyes for a moment.
The Welcome Night has safely ended. Even if those people participate in the Danju Selection, there’s still time until the preliminaries, so it should be fine.
There were no problematic elements, yet Lan slowly shook his head.
“I’m sorry.”
Why is the Lord apologizing? What does he mean?
Jubern trembled like a willow in the wind at the inexplicable apology and tried to stop him.
“N-no, Lord! My judgment was too short. As the head of the guard, I… I can’t leave the two of them behind to step down…”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Did I hear wrong?”
“We’ve been together for a while now, yet you’ve never taken a proper rest. Those people will be staying inside the National Academy for a while anyway, so it should be fine to step away.”
“Thank you, Lord!”
“But why do you want to step down?”
“That is…”
Some time ago, Jubern had been ordered by Lan to escort Haru’s group who had been sent to Dongye.
And what he witnessed there was yokai who had kidnapped humans.
Jubern had personally confirmed that Baron Blanser, who held temporary commander status, had killed every single one of the yokai without leaving a single survivor. Yet the report from Dongwangdo stated that the culprits had been arrested and that a detailed investigation into the incident would proceed.
How could the report be falsified? It was impossible to overlook the suspicious part.
Jubern told Lan in detail about the discomfort he had felt.
“Hmph. Originally, that report was created by the Dongwangdo side. If what you say is true, then information has been deliberately concealed. It is indeed extremely suspicious.”
“Yes. So I plan to investigate it. Please grant me permission.”
“Very well. I’ll leave the investigation to you. Begin once you have fully recovered.”
“Understood, Lord!”
“And before that, there is somewhere I wish to visit with you.”
“Somewhere to visit…?”
* * *
On a rocky hill overlooking Crow’s Duck’s city.
A man with scarlet hair flowing wildly stood silently watching.
The city spread out before him seemed quite ordinary.
Not tall, but with sturdy walls and soldiers maintaining strict discipline.
A clean and orderly city where laughter never ceased.
Those suffering from poverty could not be found anywhere, and minstrels sang the name of Crow’s Duck both inside and outside the city.
Just silently watching the peaceful scenery was the man when a neatly dressed Jaksan silently approached from behind and prostrated himself.
“Have you been in good health for the past several days, Pillar Master?”
Jaksan’s posture was completely different from before.
Actions like tilting his hat or loosening his collar were things that could not be seen even with the naked eye.
From his appearance, the man seemed no older than Jaksan’s peer.
Not only Jaksan, but also the Lan who had met the man before and even Cheongtong—all of them had shown the man infinite respect and deference before him.
The man glanced back at the greeting sent by Jaksan, then turned his gaze back to the city.
“You have gone to excess. You always show me too much courtesy.”
“…”
“If you continue to seal it off alone, soon you will face yokai you cannot handle. That is why I judged that now was the time to call you… Has the doubt been resolved?”
“No, Your Majesty. How could I possibly harbor doubt?”
“You have suffered greatly. For the time being, remain in this city.”
“I will obey. If there is any order, I will come to you immediately.”
After bowing once more to the man, Jaksan vanished down the path, and as the man had said, he would remain here in a normal capacity for a while.
However, since Jaksan’s identity was among the Seven Pillars, “normal” had long since become impossible.
“I greet the great pillar of the continent!”
Even though the bell was not rung, the moment he entered, voices of those who recognized him began to echo loudly, offering greetings at every step he took.
Those who had received the report and rushed out followed him, observing every single action of Jaksan without missing anything.
Of course, Jaksan was not unaware of the clumsy surveillance, but he chose to ignore it. Right now he had to be an ordinary person.
But unfortunately, this was soon reported upward and eventually reached even Crow’s Duck’s ears.
“Thank you. Duty officer of the Operations Control Room. How may I assist you, Communications Security?”
-Yes, Fulssung. This is Officer Park.
“Huh? Vice… Why?”
-A big problem has just occurred!
“What? Tell me what happened.”
-D-don’t be surprised! Patrol squad reported that the 6th Seat of the Seven Pillars is currently inside the city!
“W-what?! Hey, why are you only telling me this now?!”
-I reported it the moment I heard it…
“I-I see. I understand. Thank you for the report. I’ll report to the commander immediately.”
The officer who received the report dashed to the duty commander,
“What?! Duty officer! Why are you only telling me this now?!”
“I-I… I reported the moment I received it.”
The duty commander who heard the report also rushed to Crow’s Duck as if fire was burning his soles.
“Your Majesty! His Highness the Grand Duke—!”
“Why the uproar?”
“Th-that’s… the 6th Seat…! The 6th Seat is currently in the city!”
“Huh? Six Seats? Why is that guy here? First, take me there.”
“Yes, yes! I will lead the way!”
The duty commander led Crow’s Duck to Jaksan, sweating profusely.