Chapter 146
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 146
Dragged away by the imperial soldiers, Ri-ri was locked in a prison in the western wing of the Imperial Palace.
She was consumed by a sense of profound injustice.
At the time, she had been too preoccupied with the fact that her identity as a "cuckoo" had been exposed to think deeply. But looking back, it was clear: this was all a trap set by that wicked girl, So-ya.
So-ya had used illusions to deceive her, recorded her confession to expose it before the crowd, and lured her onto the altar with the false promise of accepting an apology.
The reason that girl had set such a trap was obvious.
“It’s because I’m the Bride of the Yellow Dragon. She wanted my position. Once I get out of here, I’ll make that girl pay…”
“Tsk.”
A small click of a tongue interrupted her.
Ri-ri’s head snapped up.
“So, you failed to obtain the orb after all.”
“You…!”
It was Do-cheol, draped in black rags.
“Get me out of here! This isn't fair! That wicked girl trapped me!”
Ri-ri screamed, gripping the wooden bars of her cell.
“You said you needed the Yellow Dragon’s Orb, didn't you? You can’t get it without my help!”
[I need your help, Cuckoo. If you help me, I will help you become the Bride of the Yellow Dragon.]
[…And what is it you want?]
[The Yellow Dragon’s Orb.]
In exchange for making her the Bride of the Yellow Dragon, the Peril Beast had demanded nothing less than the orb itself—the mystical pearl the Yellow Dragon was said to bestow upon his mate.
“Well, now.”
Contrary to Ri-ri’s expectations, Do-cheol spoke in a voice thick with indifference.
“I didn’t expect much from you from the start, Cuckoo.”
“What…?”
“How foolish. To think a mere cuckoo could achieve anything of significance.”
“Wh-What’s wrong with being a cuckoo…!”
Ri-ri shouted, her temper flaring.
“And I’m not just a cuckoo, I’m the Bride of the Yellow Dragon! I’m the woman who will become the most noble person on this continent! Just you wait. I might be locked up now, but once my father and brothers arrive…!”
Ri-ri’s words cut off abruptly.
The memory of her father’s face—looking at her with eyes filled with vivid horror—flashed through her mind.
She knew.
She knew her father and brothers wouldn't come to save her.
She knew they no longer considered her family.
And all because she had shown them those gray eyes and that gray hair!
‘How could they? It’s as if all the kindness they showed me until now was a lie…’
As Ri-ri gritted her teeth and gripped the wooden bars, Do-cheol let out a low, raspy chuckle.
“The seed of evil has fully bloomed,” he muttered.
“What does that—ugh…!”
Before Ri-ri could ask what he meant, a sudden, suffocating pain seized her throat, and she collapsed to the floor.
“You… what… are you… doing… ugh…”
“Do not feel too wronged, Cuckoo. This is the path to fulfilling your final purpose—by becoming grand nourishment.”
“…!”
Ri-ri’s pupils dilated to their limit, and then, suddenly, all her movement ceased.
As she lay there, stiff as a corpse, black veins began to throb and surge near her spirit core. Soon, the black veins spread across her entire body, crawling beneath her skin.
Her rigid body finally relaxed, and she slowly stood up.
“Oh, my Lord!”
Do-cheol knelt before Ri-ri, his voice trembling with emotion.
—Do-cheol…
A low, heavy voice leaked through Ri-ri’s teeth.
—This vessel… is too weak…
“Do not worry, my Lord. Tonight, a great chaos will erupt within this palace.”
Do-cheol bowed his head deeply, a smirk spreading across his face.
“I, Do-cheol, will take that opportunity to offer you a much stronger body.”
* * *
Following Ri-ri’s imprisonment, a somber atmosphere settled over the Vermilion Bird Clan.
“She had already tried to harm So-ya a long time ago. Regrettably, there is no physical evidence, only circumstantial.”
In front of his father and younger brother, who both remained dazed with pale faces, San-yu reported what he had investigated over the past few days.
“On the final day of the summer festival five years ago, the Three-Legged Crow attempted to kill So-ya. The Baek Clan Head saved her and took her to the Western Land.”
“…That is a lie.”
Jeok Ah-yun, who had been listening in silence, finally spoke.
“That cannot be. Such a horrific thing could not have happened within our own family…”
“You speak nonsense. You yourself committed deeds far more horrific while I was away,” San-yu said coldly.
His gaze toward his father held a faint trace of contempt.
“Hwa-yu, surely you agree with me to some extent.”
“…”
Hwa-yu kept his head bowed, his lips pressed firmly together.
The questions that had been surfacing regarding Ri-ri were finally finding their answers, one by one.
How a child whose spirit core was supposedly so damaged she couldn't undergo beast transformation could manifest the power of a divine beast; her lack of interest in their deceased mother, which sometimes felt cold; her avoidance of their mother’s grave, claiming she was afraid of it.
And even why she had referred to So-ya as ‘the child I thought died five years ago’… he felt he understood it all now.
She was a child who had crossed their threshold with the intent to deceive them from the very beginning.
And for five years, they had been completely fooled, failing to see the truth.
He had thought he would do anything for Ri-ri. No, he felt he had to.
Because after So-ya was sent to the Cold Palace, the mansion had become as desolate as hell, and it was only after Ri-ri arrived that it finally felt like a place where people lived again.
And so, what lengths had he gone to for Ri-ri’s sake?
At Ri-ri’s request to get rid of So-ya… he had…
“…”
Jeok Hwa-yu squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again.
One question remained.
Why had Ri-ri spoken with such certainty that So-ya was a fake?
He thought that since she was such a self-centered child, it might not have meant much, but still…
“Clan Head! Clan Head!”
A family servant came rushing in, breathless.
“What is it?”
“The Cuckoo has disappeared from the prison!”
“What…?”
The faces of the three men of the Vermilion Bird Clan hardened instantly.
* * *
Several hours ago, upon receiving the servant’s report, Jeok Ah-yun had immediately set out to investigate the situation.
Even though the sun had long since set, he had not yet returned.
San-yu looked up at the round moon hanging in the dark sky.
‘It’s a full moon.’
The night of the full moon—the time when Yin energy was strongest in the month.
Throb, throb—
Suddenly, pain flared in his bandaged palm.
It was the wound Ri-ri had treated not long ago.
It had clearly healed perfectly, but a few days ago, it had begun to fester again.
‘They said it looked like evil arts were used. Is it because of that?’
He had called a physician to treat it, but there had been no significant improvement.
As he walked through the front courtyard, thinking he should have it looked at again soon, he heard the hushed whispers of people nearby.
“How could she deceive everyone so perfectly? It’s truly chilling.”
“That Cuckoo even lied about being the Bride of the Yellow Dragon. They say her purification power was a fake created through evil arts.”
“And that’s not all. They say she tried to poison So-ya… that young lady who’s been adopted into the White Tiger Clan. How could someone so young do something so terrifying?”
“She must have known she was a cuckoo all along. To be honest, I always thought…”
San-yu glanced at them briefly before turning away.
On the day So-ya had her first beast transformation, had they whispered about her like that too?
Finding it difficult to listen to them any longer, he left the pavilion and wandered into the secluded rear garden.
His expression was grim.
It was a dark face, devoid of even a hint of a smile.
He missed So-ya.
But he knew that comforting So-ya was no longer his role; it belonged to her new family.
‘If I go to see her, it might only make her feel worse by reminding her of Father or Ri-ri…’
At that thought, San-yu let out a bitter, self-deprecating chuckle.
‘This is truly upsetting. She had a face that made me want to comfort her so badly, yet as her brother, I can’t even offer her a kind word.’
As he walked with a heavy heart, he sensed a presence ahead and looked up.
There stood Ga-ya, looking at him with a bored expression.
San-yu wiped away his dark look and offered a gentle smile, as if he had never been upset.
“Good evening, Master Ga-ya.”
“Good evening?”
Ga-ya’s brow furrowed.
“What kind of nonsense is that, coming from someone with a face like a funeral?”
“Haha. You’re as sharp as ever today.”
“Don’t force a smile. It’s unpleasant to look at.”
“…”
San-yu let the corners of his mouth drop, abandoning the false smile.
“You’re right. I wonder when I developed this habit of smiling falsely.”
He muttered in a lonely voice, then gave Ga-ya a genuine, faint smile.
“Thank you for the comfort.”
“Comfort? Me? When?”
Ga-ya blinked, looking genuinely confused.
“Despite appearances, aren't you and I close friends, acknowledged by So-ya herself?”
“Don’t say such horrifying things.”
“Hahaha.”
As expected, Ga-ya reacted with disgust, drawing a hearty laugh from San-yu.
“Ugh…”
Suddenly, a sharp pain made San-yu wince.
“What is it?”
“This… could it be…?”
San-yu hurriedly unwound the bandages from his palm.
A black, festering wound was revealed.
“The fake purification power. It seems I really was hit by an evil art…”
Thump—!
In an instant, San-yu’s heart gave a violent thud, and his pupils contracted sharply.