Memorial Rite (2)
The blood loss is too severe. He needs an immediate transfusion…
“Take mine…! Our blood types match…”
“You mustn’t, my lady! Your own body is still frail. To do such a thing…”
“I don’t care if I die—just draw it now!! Even if you drain every last drop from me… please… just save him… Hic…”
“How is he?”
“We’ve managed to stabilize his breathing for now, but we must monitor his progress. His body was already terribly weak, and the demon race’s poison has spread throughout his system. Whether he can recover… at this point, the outlook is rather grim…”
“Save him by any means necessary. Cost is irrelevant. If you keep him alive, I will repay you a hundredfold—no, a thousandfold—later. So please…”
“Haa… haa…”
Snapping out of the fleeting flashback, the blood-soaked girl drew ragged breaths. Golden particles flickered along the delicate lines of her slender frame, and at her feet lay dozens of assassins’ corpses, utterly motionless. It was a gruesome sight she had already encountered multiple times since arriving in the capital.
Target confirmed. Eliminate her along with the male beside her and withdraw from the scene.
The beastly language she had overheard that day still swirled chaotically inside her head. Had she not understood the demonic tongue, she would have simply assumed she had been unlucky enough to run into remnants of the demon race that had crossed the barrier. But they had clearly come for her on someone’s orders.
The rival families hostile to the Paecheon, members of her own house who feared the birth of a powerful new competitor, and countless other factions bound to her by blood and grudges. There were far too many with motive to attack her; narrowing down the list felt nearly impossible.
If she remained dazed like this, she would only continue to be helpless. Leaving the boy at a hospital in the satellite city, the girl who had reached her decision returned to the capital for the first time in years. She announced that she had awakened as a mage and reclaimed her place as a member of the Paecheon.
Though several weeks had already passed since then, the only thing the girl could face was the darkness of night stained with blood and filth. To him, she had boasted only about the capital’s shining merits, never mentioning the ugly underside of that splendor.
Faction against faction, family against family, even member against member within the same house. People who had smiled at one another in the assembly yesterday would send assassins, and siblings would casually slip poison into each other’s meals. This was also the life she had originally been meant to live.
It felt like she was paying the price for spending several years in that paradise-like place, utterly detached from reality. She had come to the capital to uncover even the slightest clue about the attack’s mastermind, yet now the girl could only spend her nights with hollow, exhausted eyes, unable to take even a single step forward.
“I miss you…”
What tormented the girl even more in this hostile environment was the emptiness. Her heart was filled only with a piercing loneliness. Without the boy, everything felt meaningless. But if she could be with him, she wouldn’t mind rolling around in a pit of filthy sewage.
She had firmly resolved to return only after solving every problem, but the happiness she had once tasted had changed her. She could no longer endure the solitude of the past. Overwhelmed by the powerful urge to be held in his arms again, the girl moved as if possessed.
A shabby hospital room at dawn, bathed in soft moonlight.
The sight that greeted the girl was the boy lying on the bed, his entire body and face wrapped in bandages. The sight of him barely asleep thanks to narcotic painkillers tore at her chest like it was being ripped apart. The bandage around his eyes still seeped blood, especially tormenting her.
He had ended up like this trying to protect her. Moreover, he had barely clung to life, only to lose everything in exchange. Of course, Baek Seoyeon herself could not understand that emotion. The things he cherished were, to her, utterly meaningless.
Family, friends, hometown—none of it. The only reason she had shown him her changed self was to become the ideal woman he desired. If there was a single meaning to her life, it was the boy now breathing faintly before her eyes.
And only after seeing him groan in pain did the girl finally confront the reality she faced.
The Paecheon was one of the nation’s foremost prestigious families, yet over the past decade its tyrannical actions had created countless enemies. On top of that, the current family head’s tendency to deliberately encourage competition and slaughter meant there was almost no bond between members.
Despite bearing the Paecheon surname, the reason the girl had been able to live without threat in a remote countryside village was simply that her life had been destined to end early due to Particle Hypersensitivity Syndrome.
Yet somehow the girl had survived. Not only that, as compensation for enduring the syndrome she had obtained transcendent magical talent. But that fact had been leaked by someone, and ever since the demon race’s attack, she had been subjected to relentless, persistent assaults even after arriving in the capital.
The perpetrators were all different, but one thing was certain: this was the only opportunity to eliminate her. No matter how transcendent her magical talent, until she honed and perfected it, she was nothing more than an unstrung bead. Moreover, the current girl knew only a handful of proper magic formulas to protect herself.
She still had no solid faction to firmly support and back her. Of course, the girl had no intention of meekly offering up her life. Eventually the surroundings would stabilize, and factions would naturally flock to her, moved by her strength. It would take some time, but it was only a temporary problem.
Just as the boy had eventually fallen to her, there had never been anything she set her mind to that did not come true. Paradoxically, however, her connection to the boy was now Baek Seoyeon’s greatest weakness.
In any case, she was currently at a level where protecting even herself was difficult. Although she had mobilized all her resources to erase every trace as thoroughly as possible, she could not absolutely guarantee that no one would be able to trace him back if they truly wished to.
And if the boy’s existence were revealed, the link to her would inevitably follow. Even her impulsive return to the hospital was, in truth, an act that carried enormous risk. The long effort she had poured into making him her captive had suddenly come back like a boomerang in this situation.
Their relationship had been built on mutual dependence and pathological obsession. It was hard to imagine that a boy who had lost everything would easily accept being separated for long from the last thing that remained his. And he would never leave such a girl alone.
Rather than preserving his own life, he was the kind of person who would willingly sacrifice himself for her. Just as he had done in the past. This was not a matter of strength but of his innate character.
“Ah… ugh…”
The girl let out a pained groan. There was no time to deliberate. She had to return to the capital before dawn, avoiding prying eyes. Yet no matter how many times she turned it over in her mind, the conclusion was always the same.
To temporarily sever his connection with her completely. To make him lose interest in the danger and hardship she faced. What she needed, then, was the courage to be hated.
Even if it meant receiving resentment from him as painful as death, it would only be temporary. A brief period of resentment was far better than letting him face another life-threatening crisis.
“Mmm…”
As if sensing her presence, the boy stirred. The girl steadied her chest, which felt like it would tear apart at any moment, and composed her expression.
“Yeon…?”
Then and now, she was confident in her acting.
“…Hello.”
She had promised the doctor a generous reward to keep the boy there by any means, and she had ordered her longtime attendant Yeo Jin—who had served her faithfully—to guard him discreetly and report regularly from the shadows. Once everything was settled, she would return to him, kneel, and apologize for her past wrongs.
Hearing his resentment would be the most terrifying and trembling thing in the world, but she believed he would eventually recognize her efforts. He would surely lift her up with his own hands after all her suffering, embrace her tightly, and stroke her hair with gentle hands.
However, the one mistake the girl had made was that, blinded by the emotion called love, she had overestimated how firm and stubborn his heart truly was. And when an unexpected betrayal was added on top, the plan had gone wrong from the very first button.
All traces should have been perfectly erased.
Yet there was one thing she had not anticipated—the near-maniacal obsession Baek Seoyeon harbored toward him.
“How… how could you do this to me!! Not anyone else—how could it be you!!”
It was a rare outburst of rage from Baek Seoyeon. It sounded closer to a scream of despair. Her hair was dry and tangled, a complete mess. Tears welled in her bloodshot crimson eyes. Her eyelids were sunken, dark shadows pooling beneath them. Every time her throat trembled, the scorched ring hanging from her neck swayed in the air.
And just behind her, a woman in servant’s attire lay collapsed in a pool of blood, breathing faintly. It was Yeo Jin—the attendant who had served the girl since childhood all the way to the village, who had later grown rather close to Lee Hyun as well.
“He called you ‘Noona’ and adored you so much… and yet you put out a hit on him…!!”
“Haa… haa…”
Even under the continuous torrent of fierce condemnation, the woman only breathed, saying nothing. Seeing this, Baek Seoyeon ground her teeth and spat in an icy tone.
“…There’s no way you decided something like this on your own. Who’s behind it? Who ordered you to do this!!!”
“Cough…! Kgh!!”
Golden particles coalesced in the air and crushed her like a massive boulder. Unable to withstand the pressure, Yeo Jin coughed up blood-flecked phlegm. Finally unable to endure any longer, she opened her mouth.
“The… the eldest young master…”
“What…”
At that name, Seoyeon’s pupils dilated dramatically.
Baek Seojun. Among the numerous half-siblings of the Paecheon, he was the one clearly leading the race for succession. Though his magical ability could not compare to hers, his political acumen was exceptional, and he commanded a considerable number of supporters.
Long time no see, our youngest. Welcome back.
He had been the only one to greet her with a smile when she returned to the Paecheon, yet she had always sensed a subtle unease behind it. The siblings entangled with him frequently went missing or suffered major injuries, dropping out of the competition.
And in the end, that unease had returned as the worst possible outcome—the doctor and the boy being assassinated together.
“Why… why would that person target Hyun…”
“Cough… to eliminate… cough! Any possible evidence…”
“What…”
It was the moment the girl realized who had truly destroyed her paradise. Seoyeon, who had been hanging her head in shock, asked Yeo Jin again in a dry voice.
“…Since when have you been following him?”
“From the moment… I first began serving you, my lady…”
“…Ha.”
Seoyeon let out a small, hollow sigh. After a brief silence, she spoke again.
“…I will spare your family. But… you must pay for your sins.”
"The price of betrayal is death."
⟨ Frozen Spike ⟩
—Thud!
“Urk…!”
A thick ice spike frozen in midair instantly pierced Yeo Jin’s chest. With a short death rattle, the woman collapsed to the floor and lay still.
“…Hic…”
Tears of rage and sorrow flowed quietly from the eyes of the betrayed.
“Sister… I’m sorry… I’ve tarnished your reputation…”
“Silly girl. Don’t worry about that. Just focus on getting better, alright?”
“Hehe… Sister…”
When Baek Seoyeon smiled kindly and squeezed the girl’s hand, the blonde student lying in the hospital bed blushed deeply, looking bashful. After a brief visit, Seoyeon slowly walked out of the ward.
From behind her came an urgent voice.
“Seoyeon… huff… Seoyeon-ah…!”
“I-re…? What’s the matter…? Why are you in such a hurry…”
A female student with neatly braided hair and glasses came running, panting heavily. She was Choi I-re of the Seongsan Choi family—one of the few students Seoyeon could say she was personally close to, along with Kwon Yuri. Just as Seoyeon was about to express her surprise at the usually dignified girl’s behavior—
“I found it…! That thing you mentioned… finally…”
“…What?”
At the words that burst from I-re’s mouth, Seoyeon’s complexion changed instantly. She followed the girl who was pulling her along with hurried steps. Inside her mind, past memories began swirling up to the surface once more.
“Hello, Brother.”
“Oh… who could this be… huff… our adorable little sister has come to visit… huff…”
In a secluded safe house, a man greeted Seoyeon warmly with a friendly voice as she opened the iron door and stepped inside. Though bound to a chair and covered head to toe in blood, he was unmistakably a handsome man who bore a strong resemblance to her.
Seoyeon maintained an expression of deliberate indifference and businesslike detachment. But inside, it felt as if her intestines were rotting and twisting in agony. The greatest culprit who had twisted her life was right there before her.
“I heard the news… whew, you took first place at the Cradle? Outstanding from the very first semester… You must have earned Father’s considerable trust… That’s why you were assigned to the pursuit squad like this… huff…”
“Brother. Why exactly did you run away?”
“…”
The man who had been chattering noisily suddenly clamped his mouth shut. The friendly mask on his face gave way to his true savage, dark nature. Setting aside her grudge against him, the question had come from pure curiosity.
Seoyeon had believed the time was not yet right. So she had simply shown herself living quietly, and after enrolling in the Cradle at the family head’s command, she had devoted herself solely to secretly building her own power. She had maintained a polite attitude toward her eldest brother as well.
But by suddenly vanishing, the position and authority he had held fell far too easily into her hands. It could have caused her revenge to collapse meaninglessly, but fortunately she had caught his tail and managed to capture the fugitive.
“…Never mind. There’s something else I want to ask you, Brother.”
At his continued silence, Seoyeon changed the subject. Though she found it strange, the reason he had fled was not her concern. Suppressing her emotions, she brought up the topic she had wanted to raise all along in a indifferent tone.
“…What is it?”
“One year ago. The one who sent the demon race to kill me. Was it you?”
The man looked at her with eyes that seemed to ask how she could possibly know. His panic was understandable. Had Seoyeon not learned the demonic language, she would have simply dismissed it as an unlucky ambush.
“…”
“Don’t worry. I’m not like you, Brother. I simply want to know the facts and the circumstances clearly. Depending on your answer, I might even let you go.”
“Is that… really true…?”
For the first time, hesitation appeared in the eyes that had been full of pretense. Only then could Seoyeon somewhat understand the way he thought. What he pursued was neither noble values nor magical achievement. He prioritized only his own survival.
Eliminating competitors, abandoning in an instant the position he had gained through such hardship, and the way his eyes wavered at a single word from her with no guarantee—all of it stemmed from that behavioral pattern.
“It’s true. I have no interest in such things. I don’t want to see blood spilled between siblings either. You know how I’ve lived all this time.”
“…”
“Of course, this is an internal family matter. I intend to handle the external side properly. So I’d appreciate it if you told me the truth. No matter how much of a Paecheon successor you once were, there’s no way you could have mobilized that many demons and burned down an entire village on your own. You must have had outside collaborators. Am I right?”
“…If I tell you the complete truth… will you really let me go…?”
“I don’t lie.”
Agony filled the man’s face. At last, his lips uttered the name of a completely unexpected faction.
“The Five Families… the Jeokhwa Yeon clan.”