Chapter 225
Chapter 225
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 225
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
This was a month before Seolhong—that enigmatic girl whose true identity remained unknown—met Kang Seol in a remote village.
Hongyeon, the imperial capital.
If you asked anyone in Hongyeon where the most dazzling spot was amid streets adorned with fantastical lanterns, every soul would answer: the Dragon Palace.
The Dragon Palace was the dwelling of the Dragon Emperor, founder of the Khan Empire and progenitor Hongcheon.
Step...
Step...
Seolhong arrived at the entrance to the Latent Dragon Hall, where the palace's major events were held.
A burly guard with a thick chest scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.
Seolhong, far smaller in stature than the guard, asked him,
"Hoo... where do I go?"
"Lady Seolhong, your seat is over there."
"...Isn't it too far from the dais? I won't be able to see properly from here..."
"It would be the same from there as from here. Regrettably, the assigned seats follow the Dragon Emperor's established rules."
Seolhong flashed a bright smile.
"Then there's no helping it! I'll try to open my eyes as wide as possible!"
"......"
The guard kept silent, offering no further words.
He, too, was well aware of Seolhong's circumstances.
Swish...
Seolhong took her seat.
The corner of corners—a spot so remote it felt like it belonged to another universe altogether.
There was no special reason she ended up there. She simply lacked influence.
"Seolhong?"
"Ah, big brother."
"Big brother? Call me by name."
"Jahyo, isn't our spot too out of the way?"
"No choice. We, the Dragon Emperor's illegitimate offspring, can't sit up front."
"Self-deprecation isn't good for you!"
"It's just knowing your place, Seolhong. You know how the world works."
Jahyo was Seolhong's half-brother.
Yet the Dragon Palace was an environment that made calling him "brother" feel rather awkward.
The Dragon Emperor Hongcheon was a monster who had lived for over three hundred years. It was inevitable he had no shortage of concubines.
Among them, his current concubines alone numbered over five hundred. Naturally, his children were innumerable.
With a father who had lived over three centuries, his children's ages varied wildly. In fact, more than half had likely preceded him to the afterlife.
Of course, that didn't mean only elders remained among the concubines and children. New ones kept being added, birthing fresh offspring.
Though hundreds of the Dragon's children had gathered now for the palace's most crucial affair, the elderly were few.
The man Jahyo in front of Seolhong was in his thirties, unlike teenage Seolhong.
"Hmm? Haha! Who's this? Seolhong?"
"Oh? It really is."
A man and woman who recognized her approached.
The bucktoothed man was named Hyun, and the freckled woman was Soeun.
"How ever... stuck in such a remote seat..."
"Kuhuhu... At least the seating seems fair. Look at you shoved into this corner."
Seolhong smiled sweetly in response.
"Hello!"
"Sure, but did you really need to come here today?"
"Yeah. Aren't you just taking up space for no reason?"
Step...
Step...
Someone approached.
"Out of the way."
"Who—ugh..."
If there were children of concubines, there were also children of wives. Among them, those from particularly influential wives received preferential treatment from birth.
The steel-faced man now looking down at Hyun was one such.
With an arrogant gaze, he glanced at Hyun and said as he passed,
"Why wouldn't trash like you dirtying the Latent Dragon Hall give even Seolhong a reason not to show? Shut your mouths and return to your seats. It's about to start."
Grind...
"Ah, understood."
The man who rescued Seolhong from Hyun and Soeun was Taeyul, the legitimate heir.
Born to the principal wife, he was hailed as the top contender for successor among the Dragon's children—a genius among geniuses.
Yet even after his rescue, Seolhong's expression didn't brighten.
It stemmed not from goodwill.
It was merely a tool to flaunt his authority.
This was that kind of place, filled with that kind of people.
In any case, the Dragon Emperor had yet to appear.
"Silence! Be still!"
Moments later, Prime Minister Banghyu—the Dragon Emperor's right-hand man, second only to him—ascended the dais and spoke.
"Today, the Dragon Emperor will not grace the Latent Dragon Hall."
"What?"
"My goodness..."
"What in the world...?"
Snap-!
Banghyu unrolled a scroll and read aloud.
"Flowers of the Khan Empire. A flower must not boast merely its color and form. Scent is equally vital. Even in this land of the Dragon, places untouched by my hand, Hongcheon's, persist."
Gulp...
Aside from Banghyu's voice, only the sound of tense swallows filled the air.
All eyes fixed anxiously on him alone.
"A flower's scent gains worth the farther it spreads. Thus, I, Hongcheon, task you with righting the world's chaos. Dragon Blossoms, venture forth and prove your value."
Dragon Blossoms.
All children of the Dragon were called Dragon Flowers.
Each bore a flower's name reflecting their traits—some real, some imagined.
"I know your abilities and growth differ. Thus, I expect not the same from all. You shall receive missions befitting your level; fulfilling them alone earns high praise."
Praise.
Praise, out of nowhere?
Question marks floated on every face.
And soon turned to exclamation points.
"From these ongoing trials' evaluations, I, Hongcheon, shall select the Dragon to lead the Khan Empire's new era in my stead. All—shed blood, suffer... and triumph!"
In an instant, all wore dazed expressions, mouths agape.
The Dragon Emperor sought to name a successor.
After ruling alone for over three centuries, he would pass the nation to one.
Stunned into speechlessness, one alone bowed his head.
"I shall uphold your will!"
The legitimate heir, Taeyul.
Soon, everyone in the Latent Dragon Hall bowed and cried out.
"I shall uphold your will!"
Even Death Flower Seolhong was among them.
* * *
That event was a full month past.
Seolhong's mission: dismantle one of the endlessly thriving bandit gangs in the borderlands—the Jackals—and slay their leader, Hoseo.
"Haa..."
Getting to the borderlands had gone smoothly.
No interference from siblings, no travel troubles.
But things differed after arrival.
The Jackal band's scale was far grander than imagined.
Though Seolhong, imperial-born, had trained in martial arts, it wasn't enough to wipe out the whole gang.
Moreover, at barely mid-teens and not yet fully grown, any fight would pit child against adults.
"Lady Seolhong... cough... have you arrived?"
A single old woman lay in Seolhong's lodgings.
Her handmaid and nursemaid from birth.
Seolhong's mother had died birthing her.
Bestowed the flower's name "Death Flower" upon birth without a mother.
A bloom from Khan legends said to summon death and rarely fully open.
That curse-like name clung to her.
"Yeah. No need to get up. Lie down, Cheonju!"
The wrinkled old woman named Cheonju grimaced tearfully and lay back.
"I'm sorry to fall ill during the expedition... for hindering you, Lady Seolhong..."
"Don't say that. Without you, I couldn't have reached here."
Seolhong well knew Cheonju's efforts: arranging the carriage, finding safe yet swift paths for her inexperienced self.
Had she only avoided the local endemic disease, things might have gone smoother.
Creak...
Seolhong, perched on the bed's edge, spoke.
"Cheonju."
"Yes..."
"Should I... quit the Dragon Struggle?"
"What are you saying?"
"What right do I have to rule Khan? I'm just a concubine's child, lacking talent..."
"Seolhong! Cough... Whose death do you seek right now?"
"Uh, what?"
"Your mother was an extraordinary woman. Don't belittle her as mere concubine to the Dragon Emperor! She was... prouder and more steadfast than any woman I've known. I, who saw her up close, vouch for it!"
Seolhong gazed at Cheonju with watery eyes.
The old woman's pain-twisted face hurt Seolhong too.
"But... time's short. Need a physician for you, and..."
"Are you afraid?"
"......"
"Of mere bandits?"
"Yeah. I don't know what to do."
"I heard you went out today seeking help."
"Yeah. No one... no one even glanced my way."
Seolhong continued.
"You know? Outside rumors say huge interest in Dragon Struggle Blossoms. Warriors hoping to catch an imperial eye for a post, merchants seeking connections for profit."
"......"
"Warriors might even snag a Dragon Stone if lucky—this Struggle's the chance."
Dragon Stone.
Term for a Dragon Blossom's closest retainer.
More precisely, their sword.
Weak Blossom Dragon Flowers bolstered positions with such Dragon Stones.
"Is there any Blossom like me, without even a Dragon Stone?"
"Don't say that. Your time hasn't come. Someone will recognize your true worth someday."
"But if not this Struggle... if not now, what's the point?"
"Guess not. I need to shake this off by tomorrow to spare your whining, Lady Seolhong."
"Cheonju..."
The old woman smiled faintly, stroking Seolhong's hair.
"Stay strong... we'll overcome this."
Seolhong hugged her.
Their talk was overheard from outside by someone who then departed.
* * *
'How can this be...'
The one eavesdropping briefly on Seolhong and the old woman was none other than Kang Seol.
He now grappled with confusion upon realizing her identity.
Not from her status, but her very existence.
- So the princess in a succession war?
- That kid?
- Grandma and granddaughter so pitiful ㅠㅠ
- Grandkid? ㅋㅋㅋ Looks like a maid.
- Dragon Struggle? No clue, but sounds fun?
- Why's Snowman's face like that ㅋㅋ?
- Sweating bullets;;
- Yeah, something up?
Kang Seol occupied the room next to Seolhong and Cheonju's.
Remote village, shabby inn—snagging a room was easy as pie.
Here, where Seolhong's name and quest arrow had persistently led, Kang Seol confronted a shock.
"Seolhong... then... my... my..."
He knew Seolhong's mother.
The woman the Dragon Emperor loved most: Sword Dancer Yuhwa.
Yuhwa was one of Kang Seol's horses.
He had raised thirty horses as a player, unbound by rules.
Sometimes female, sometimes异種.
Indeed.
Like a god, he had possessed all manner of beings.
Sword Dancer Yuhwa was one such vessel from long ago, possessed by the god called Kang Seol.
Thus, her daughter was effectively his own.
'No, that's a stretch?'
Playing Life Game didn't mean owning the horse's life. So Seolhong was merely Yuhwa's daughter, not his.
Whether she was or wasn't mattered little.
Truth be told, he should have realized upon meeting Hamin, heir of Orgo.
That traces of his horses in Pandea still lived and breathed somewhere.
Seolhong was one such.
New footprints sprouting unchecked after his own.
Stumbling upon the forgotten Seolhong made Kang Seol's heart pound gravely.
Key question: how to respond.
Must he act for her?
No.
Then staying back was right? That too felt ambiguous.
'Certain. She bears Yuhwa's legacy. Must confirm.'
Contact was unavoidable.
When?
'Delaying worsens it.'
Kang Seol changed clothes and approached the innkeeper.
Moments later.
Knock- knock-
"......"
Knock knock knock...
"What's the matter?"
Someone rapped on the door of Seolhong and Cheonju's room.
"Um... it's just..."
"Out with it."
The innkeeper scratched his head.
"A physician... has come."
"W-What? Really?"
A casual remark to the innkeeper days ago, yet he'd actually fetched one.
Creeeak...
Seolhong flung open the door.
There stood Kang Seol in unfamiliar attire.
"I heard there's a patient here."
[The Quack's special ability activates.]
[The target does not suspect your identity.]
"Cheonju! Get up, the physician's here!"
Kang Seol stared piercingly at Seolhong's face.
At the lonely trace he left in this world.