Chapter 18
Translator: uly
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Murong Sang-ah, the Heroine of a Martial Arts Dating Sim
I quickly stole a kiss and tried my hardest to calm the reaction in my lower body.
My lower half protested, asking why I was passing up the chance of a lifetime, but I swiftly suppressed it, as my neck was in the danger of a lifetime.
"Listen carefully from now on. Please accept this."
I took out some documents from my inner pocket and showed them to Murong Sang-ah.
"What is this?"
"Documents that prove you are my wife, and an inventory of the Kang Family assets in the Central Plains. Even if I die, I have designated my wife as the heir. Even if someone claims our marriage is invalid, since my official seal is stamped on these, all Kang Family assets outside of Joseon belong to my wife. Use this to take possession of all the Kang Family property outside Joseon."
If things progressed according to the original story, she would absorb the Kang Family assets anyway, but I prepared this in advance in case history changed due to my actions.
"I cannot accept this."
"If my wife does not take them, the Joseon court will simply swallow them whole. Take them."
I folded the paper and placed it directly into Murong Sang-ah's inner pocket. Murong Sang-ah did not resist much. As I roughly stuffed it into her pocket, I felt the touch of her chest, which no one had ever touched before. It was a sensation worth savoring, but my life was more important right now.
"Must I really send the Changbong Guard to take your life, sir? Can't you just run away as you are?"
"Did I not say? If I run away, the marriage remains valid. Murong Bi will absolutely never annul the marriage. On the contrary, he might even send you directly to Joseon to make you a slave. Only if I die today can the marriage be annulled."
"Sir. Is there truly no other way?"
Murong Sang-ah asked me again. I nodded and spoke.
"My wife, I am sorry for making you a praying mantis widow who killed her husband. But if my neck can save you, I am content with that."
"How can the one giving his life be the one to apologize!!"
Tears welled up in Murong Sang-ah's eyes and began to fall.
"I'm sorry. So very sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't meet you sooner. I'm sorry I couldn't come running to you sooner. I'm sorry I cannot be by your side, my wife, who will be pointed at and scorned."
"I... I am the one who will kill you, sir."
It's good that you understand. Because right now, I feel like I might really die.
"Do not blame yourself. All these decisions were made by me, not by my wife. On the contrary, I am satisfied just that I am not dirtying your hands. Even if I go to Joseon, I am a dead man walking. I wish to spend it for you."
"Sir......"
I released her hand and stood up from my seat.
"We've spent too much time. If this continues, people might misunderstand and think my wife has been defiled, so I shall take my leave now. Once I leave the Murong Family estate, send the Changbong Guard. In Joseon, they say if your head is cut off, your spirit wanders the Nine Heavens, so I would appreciate it if you could send my body back to Joseon intact."
I deliberately forced a bitter smile.
"......"
Perhaps she knew only farewell remained. Murong Sang-ah could not utter a word. I slowly walked to the door of the bridal chamber and looked back. Now only the final farewell was left.
"In the situation of leaving you behind, I am too sorry to tell you to be happy. Survive."
"What good is it for the woman who killed her husband to survive!!"
At my final words, she finally could not hold back. She retorted to me with a voice choked with emotion. If you die, the protagonist's story progression will be difficult. Don't die.
"Actually, I lied to you about one thing, my wife. I said the reason I came to save you was to rescue a lady in distress, but there was actually one more reason."
"What is it?"
"I fell for you at first sight. I wished for you to live. So, live. Survive and reclaim the Murong Family. And when it's all done, place a single flower on my grave. I shall take my leave now."
"Sir! Sir! Please don't go! Sir!"
I left the bridal chamber, leaving behind Murong Sang-ah's desperate cries.
Whew, operation successful.
"Young Lady! I heard you were insulted! It is said that Lord Kang Yun-ho got angry and left the Murong Family estate!"
A good while after Kang Yun-ho had left, the Leader of the Changbong Guard urgently stood before the closed door of the bridal chamber and spoke.
"Leader of the Changbong Guard."
Murong Sang-ah bit her lip to hold back the tears threatening to fall and spoke to the Leader beyond the door.
"Yes, Young Lady."
"As soon as day breaks, pursue Lord Kang Yun-ho, who is heading to Joseon, and kill him."
"Young Lady, have you decided!? I heard you were insulted, but this is actually for the best. If we kill Kang Yun-ho, your marriage will be annulled! Shall I go kill him and bring back his head?"
"I've heard that in Joseon, if one's head is cut off, their spirit wanders the Nine Heavens. Send him off as cleanly as possible and send his body directly back to Joseon. If there is anything else that can serve as proof besides his head, bring that."
In truth, it would have been correct to bring Kang Yun-ho's body back for confirmation. However, Murong Sang-ah did not have the courage to face her husband's body again, the husband who had left with a smile.
Therefore, Murong Sang-ah thought it was right to send his body to Joseon without beheading him, following his last request.
"Yes. I will prepare and depart immediately."
After the Leader of the Changbong Guard disappeared, Murong Sang-ah broke down and wept bitterly.
*******
The Leader of the Changbong Guard caught up with Kang Yun-ho's party a little past noon.
It is said Kang Yun-ho had informed his party in advance, so there was no resistance.
"He couldn't bear to face the moment of his own death, so he took medicine and was sent while asleep. We placed the body in a prepared coffin to send to Joseon and brought this, which he was wearing."
The Leader of the Changbong Guard reported thus and handed a ring to Murong Sang-ah.
A ring made of Changbai Pure Silver.
The keepsake of her late mother-in-law,
and the final gift he had tried to give her.
"All members of the Changbong Guard, you have worked hard. You may return to your posts now."
Murong Sang-ah spoke to the guards, suppressing her overwhelming grief as much as possible.
*Thump*
Once the Changbong Guard members had left, Murong Sang-ah, holding the ring, entered her room.
Murong Sang-ah sat in a chair and looked at the mirror.
In the mirror was a woman with a hairpin, barely holding back a dam of sorrow.
The hairpin worn for the wedding ceremony was originally supposed to be removed by the husband himself on the first night.
But now, there would be no one to remove her hairpin.
Murong Sang-ah looked at the ring her husband had left behind.
A ring made of Changbai Pure Silver.
She gazed at the ring for a long time, then finally placed it on the fourth finger of her left hand.
If there is a chivalrous hero, there is a villain who opposes him.
One who constantly obstructs the hero's path and seeks his life.
Today, she had become such an evil.
A villain who could not even confess her own faults before him. She was afraid his excessive love might turn to anger.
She took advantage of his sacrifice.
The moment he decided to offer his life, she weighed his death against her own gain.
By killing him, she could prove her chastity. As his wife, she could seize all his property.
That base scale had won out in her heart. Now that scale was falling into the endless black abyss within her chest.
A villainess who killed the husband who loved her more than anyone.
The chivalrous hero who sought her out through the Dragon's Pool and Tiger's Den for the sake of one woman had thus given everything to the villainess and met his death.
Yes. Today I became a villainess.
What can't the woman who killed her husband do now?
I will become an evil more vicious than the Demonic Cult.
If only I can erase the Demonic Cult from this world, I will do anything.
When that day comes,
Sir. I will come to see you.
I will die before your grave.
Please, just wait until then.
A month after Murong Sang-ah's wedding and the tragic events.
The Kang Family of Joseon was branded as traitors and exterminated. It is said Murong Sang-ah killed Kang Yun-ho, to whom she was married, on their first night.
Some said she killed him in anger after being insulted, others said she killed him upon learning he was part of a traitorous faction.
The Murong Family was flustered by the unforeseen events, but it was concluded that Murong Sang-ah's marriage, which was not consummated, was invalid.
In Joseon, however, they recognized Murong Sang-ah as Kang Yun-ho's wife. Furthermore, citing her merit in exposing the traitors, they did not make her a slave and bestowed upon her a significant portion of the Kang Family's assets. The fact that she was a foreign woman, not of Joseon, and thus difficult to enslave, also played a major role.
Murong Sang-ah found herself in a strange situation: she was unmarried, yet also Kang Yun-ho's wife.
Murong Sang-ah used this to seize most of the Kang Family assets, forming a major power base within the Murong Family.
The viper-like woman who killed her husband.
The villainess like a praying mantis widow who devoured her husband.
The martial world began to point fingers at Murong Sang-ah.
"I barely survived."
A black-haired man who heard that news was looking up at the blue sky of the Central Plains and smiling.