Chapter 56: The Ring
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 56: The Ring
I returned to the North Sea Ice Palace.
It had been nearly a month.
Perhaps because we had pushed our lightness techniques for so long, everyone except Cheon Deung-jin—who had been infused with Extreme Yang Qi—collapsed the moment we arrived at the palace.
Upon hearing the news of the Little Snow Unit’s arrival, the Chief Officer, Seol Su-hyeok, came out to greet them.
“This must be the Young Palace Lord of Potala. I am Seol Su-hyeok, the Chief Officer of the North Sea Ice Palace.”
“Ah, yes. I am Cheon Deung-jin, the Young Palace Lord of Potala Palace.”
Seol Su-hyeok tilted his head as he looked at Cheon Deung-jin.
He had heard from the Palace Lord that the Young Palace Lord of Potala was a man. However, the person standing before him had such a slender frame that one could easily believe they were a woman.
“Everyone is exhausted from pushing themselves to the limit to get here. I’d like them to get some rest.”
“I will show you to the guest rooms.”
Swish—
As Seol Su-hyeok turned around, a clump of accumulated snow kicked up and landed on Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s head. It wasn’t a threat, and since he welcomed the coolness, he just left it there.
Pat, pat—
“Are you alright?”
Seeing this, Cheon Deung-jin began to brush the snow off Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s head.
At that moment, a strange sensation tickled the back of his neck. Feeling a sharp, icy chill, he turned around.
“…Young Palace Lord.”
There stood the Young Lady of the Ice Palace, Seol Yerin.
“Thank you.”
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom, his head now clear of snow, stiffened as he spotted Seol Yerin.
“Lady Seol.”
—Krrr-wong!
Tam Ya leaped from Seol Yerin’s arms toward Hyeok Ryeon-yeom. The wolf seemed to be rubbing its head against him as an excuse to absorb his Extreme Yang Qi.
“You arrived just in time.”
“Yes. But… are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I am simply tired from training. You may let go now.”
Eun-bin and a woman he hadn’t seen before released their hold on Seol Yerin’s arms.
“I don’t recall saying you should bring her all the way out here,” Seol Su-hyeok remarked.
“The Young Palace Lord said she wanted to come, so I simply brought her,” the woman replied.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom watched as Seol Su-hyeok approached and spoke with the woman who had been supporting Seol Yerin.
“And this is?”
“That is Elder Han,” Eun-bin whispered.
“She is also Chief Officer Seol’s wife,” he added.
“By the way, won’t you introduce your companion?” Seol Yerin asked, pointing toward Cheon Deung-jin.
“Ah, this is Cheon Deung-jin, the Young Palace Lord of Potala Palace.”
“I am Seol Yerin, the Young Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace.”
A shiver began to crawl up Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s spine.
—Chuckles. I think she’s onto you.
—A woman’s intuition is far more terrifying and accurate than you’d think.
The Sword Venerable and the Demon Empress chimed in.
To be honest, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom hadn’t done anything wrong. His father-in-law had told him the person was a man. He had treated the Young Palace Lord under that impression. The process had been very different from how he treated Seol Yerin.
The problem was…
‘Seol Yerin doesn’t know that.’
He had two choices: grit his teeth and feign ignorance, or come clean first. She was bound to find out eventually anyway.
“Lady Seol. Could we speak for a moment…?”
“I need to rest as well. Since the engagement ceremony is tomorrow, the Captain of the Little Snow Unit should rest too.”
Seol Yerin turned away.
—See? I told you she noticed.
—She’s definitely sulking.
The Sword Venerable and the Demon Empress added their two cents again.
“…I will escort you.”
Han So-young led Seol Yerin away, and Seol Su-hyeok began to lead the rest of the group. Hyeok Ryeon-yeom couldn’t follow Seol Yerin immediately.
“The Palace Lord is waiting for you.”
His father-in-law had effectively blocked any chance of a conversation with Seol Yerin.
*
The Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, Seol Baek-ho, stared at the returned Hyeok Ryeon-yeom and the Young Palace Lord of Potala, Cheon Deung-jin, who stood beside him.
“…So, you’re saying the treatment was mostly successful?”
He had heard the full account of what transpired at Potala Palace from Hyeok Ryeon-yeom.
“Yes. However, because so much Fire Spirit Energy entered the body, I believe a full recovery will only be possible once the Extreme Yin Qi is circulated through the system.”
“I see.”
In other words, Cheon Deung-jin needed treatment through Seol Yerin. But there was a significant hurdle.
“I cannot simply ask the Young Palace Lord to perform such a treatment on a strange man.”
“Ah, if it’s that, it should be fine.”
The answer came from Cheon Deung-jin. When Seol Baek-ho looked at her in confusion, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom spoke up.
“…The Young Palace Lord is not a man, Palace Lord.”
“……?”
At Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s answer, Seol Baek-ho looked back at Cheon Deung-jin. Her appearance and physique made it impossible to tell. But when he focused his senses on her energy…
‘She was a woman?’
The Palace Lord of Potala hadn’t been raising a son; he had been raising a daughter.
“…And the reason you are telling me this?”
“The Palace Lord of Potala asked me to convey that this is for the future bond between the Ice Palace and Potala Palace.”
In a way, sending Cheon Deung-jin here alone must have been a massive gamble for the Palace Lord of Potala. Seol Baek-ho himself could never imagine sending Seol Yerin to Potala Palace alone.
“…Tell him I am moved by his grand gesture of trust.”
“Thank you.”
With that, the issue of Seol Yerin treating Cheon Deung-jin seemed resolved.
Wait.
Seol Baek-ho, who had been staring at Cheon Deung-jin, suddenly turned back to Hyeok Ryeon-yeom. Talking about ‘treatment’ had reminded him of the method Hyeok Ryeon-yeom used to treat Seol Yerin.
“You… surely you didn’t…”
—The thing you are worried about, Father-in-law, did not happen.
His tone was definitive. Seol Baek-ho felt a sense of relief.
‘Relief?’
Reflecting on his own reaction, Seol Baek-ho looked at Hyeok Ryeon-yeom with a fresh perspective.
—However… there is a problem, Father-in-law.
Another secret voice transmission arrived.
—What problem?
—I think Lady Seol has realized the truth.
—…….
Seol Baek-ho suddenly began to look elsewhere, feigning ignorance.
—Father-in-law?
—Ahem. Well, that is something you’ll have to handle on your own.
—This is all because you—
“You must be exhausted. Go back and get some rest immediately.”
Seol Baek-ho issued a dismissal.
*
Thud.
“Um, did I perhaps do something wrong?”
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom shook his head at Cheon Deung-jin’s question as they stepped outside. As he had thought repeatedly, Cheon Deung-jin was innocent.
“Please just get some rest for now. The engagement ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow, so you likely won’t be able to see the Young Palace Lord then. I will arrange an opportunity for you to meet her while you stay at the palace.”
“…An engagement ceremony? Who is the Young Palace Lord getting engaged to?”
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom answered her question.
“Me.”
Cheon Deung-jin’s eyes grew as wide as saucers.
“I need to prepare and rest as well, so I’ll be going now. Please rest well, Lady Cheon.”
“Ah, yes.”
Leaving Cheon Deung-jin behind, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom started toward his quarters but then changed direction. He decided to head toward the Young Palace Lord’s hall. The engagement was tomorrow; if things remained strained with Seol Yerin, it would be difficult for him and disrespectful to those who had prepared the ceremony.
—Chuckles. Are you going to soothe her heart empty-handed?
—Did you prepare the Unity Wine?
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s expression stiffened at the mention of Unity Wine.
—He didn’t prepare it.
—Tell that cook who makes tasteless food to at least brew some liquor using the Blood Eye Snake.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom nodded at the Demon Empress’s suggestion.
‘I didn’t even prepare a ring.’
He was woefully unprepared. Even though he knew the engagement was coming, he had only focused on arriving on time and hadn’t thought about a gift at all.
He turned back once more. This time, he headed to his own quarters as the Captain of the Little Snow Unit.
—What are you looking for?
—Is that a gold bar?
She saw correctly. Hyeok Ryeon-yeom pulled out several gold bars from the safe he had stocked with treasures from Han Seol the Demon Empress’s secret vault.
Whoosh—
As he poured Extreme Yang Qi into them, the gold bars began to melt.
“Hmm?”
—Whine.
Internal energy erupted from his dantian. Using the Iron Blood Divine Art, he began to delicately manipulate the molten gold.
What Hyeok Ryeon-yeom was crafting was…
‘A gold ring.’
Sharing the Unity Wine was important, but he wanted to give her something symbolic.
‘Was it about this size?’
He calmly recalled the feeling of her hand when they had held each other to balance their Extreme Yang and Yin Qi. Recalling the length and thickness of her ring finger, he focused on the shape of the gold ring.
This was a crucial task that his lifelong reputation depended on. He worked more carefully and delicately than he ever had with any divine technique.
—Kyuuu.
As he passed Extreme Yang Qi to Tam Ya, he received the Extreme Yin Qi the wolf held in return.
Sizzle—
As he began to cool the red-hot gold rings with the Extreme Yin Qi, a pair of gold rings soon took shape.
“Success.”
Hoping this would be enough to melt Seol Yerin’s heart, he headed back toward the Young Palace Lord’s hall.
*
The Young Palace Lord’s Hall, North Sea Ice Palace.
Seol Yerin was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
—Are you alright?
The scene of Cheon Deung-jin brushing snow off Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s hair kept replaying in her mind.
‘That person… wasn’t a man.’
Contrary to the rumors, the Young Palace Lord of Potala, Cheon Deung-jin, was not a man. Since Hyeok Ryeon-yeom had gone all the way to Potala Palace to treat her, the thought that he might have used the same treatment method he used on Seol Yerin kept swirling in her head.
“…The Third Young Master might not have known the Young Palace Lord was a woman.”
But was that true? Did he really not know? The questions repeated endlessly.
“I wish he had told me what happened at Potala Palace.”
Even though she knew he was exhausted from running day and night, she couldn't help but feel a sense of resentment.
“She was dressed as a man, but she looked like she’d be beautiful if she dressed up.”
Sigh.
A sigh escaped her lips involuntarily.
“The engagement ceremony is tomorrow.”
She didn’t feel like she could go through with the ceremony properly with her heart in this state.
“Fine, let’s just ask.”
It might be rude. It might disturb his rest. But she had to ask. She had to know what happened between him and Cheon Deung-jin at Potala Palace.
Just as she bolted upright to head outside…
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone tapped on her door.
“Lady Seol, it is Hyeok Ryeon-yeom.”
Scramble.
Seol Yerin quickly dove back into bed and spoke in a voice that sounded like she had just woken up.
“…What brings you here at this hour?”
“I came because there is something I wish to tell you.”
“Come in.”
Slide.
The door opened, and Hyeok Ryeon-yeom entered. Seol Yerin, sitting on the edge of the bed, stared at him.
“Weren’t you going to rest?”
“I was on my way back from reporting to the Palace Lord. I felt I should report to you as well, so I stopped by.”
For a moment, Seol Yerin’s eyes sparkled.
“What report?”
“I’ve been all the way to Potala Palace. Aren’t you curious about what happened to me during this past month, Lady Seol?”
Flinch—
She was curious. She was dying of curiosity. But she couldn’t bring herself to ask. The words simply wouldn’t come out.
“……What happened?”
“I came to tell you that. But before that.”
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom reached out his hand.
“Could you give me your hand for a moment?”
“How can you say that in this situation?”
“There is something I need to check.”
“……Here.”
Seol Yerin gave him her hand as if she had no choice. She felt something warm touch her left ring finger.
“Huh?”
“What a relief. It fits perfectly.”
“This is……”
“An engagement gift. I hope you like it.”
A shimmering gold ring was now perfectly fitted onto Seol Yerin’s left ring finger.