Chapter 52
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52
At the sound of that voice, So-ya lifted her head and was startled to find Yi-rim looking down at her drawing.
“Your Majesty…?”
Yi-rim asked, a gentle smile playing on his lips.
“I failed to keep my promise to return quickly, So-ya. Will you forgive me?”
“Forgive you? Whatever do you mean?”
So-ya waved her hands in a frantic gesture of denial.
“Well, I thought perhaps you were angry with me.”
Yi-rim slowly straightened his back, adding in a tone that sounded intentionally hurt, “You no longer call me by the name you used to.”
“But I have to call you Your Majesty now.”
“This is not the Imperial Palace. While I am staying here, won’t you call me Brother again?”
“But…”
Under his steady, expectant gaze, So-ya hesitated before finally parting her lips.
“Then… only while you are staying here, Brother.”
“That is good to hear.”
“…?”
“I missed the sound of you calling me ‘Brother’ very much.”
The last time she had seen him was only a season ago, yet he spoke as if they were reuniting after decades.
Feeling inexplicably shy, So-ya flushed red and quickly changed the subject.
“B-Brother, have you been well in the meantime?”
The moment the question left her mouth, So-ya wanted to bite her tongue. How could she ask that when she had heard everything that had been happening around him?
I’m such a fool. He must have gone through so much trouble; there’s no way he’s been ‘well.’
Just as So-ya began to reproach herself with a crestfallen face, he spoke.
“Yes, I’ve been well, So-ya.”
He chuckled softly, his voice brimming with affection.
“I ate well, and I dressed well. Ah, I didn’t sleep very well, though. I was a bit busy. Still, seeing as I’ve become the Emperor of the Taehwa Empire, I suppose I haven’t been doing too poorly.”
His light, almost playful tone caused So-ya’s self-reproach to crumble away.
Only then did she realize—he was being intentionally playful for her sake.
Though he carried an aura that was more mature than before, he was still just as kind and warm.
Why would such a gentle person be rumored to be a fearsome tyrant, like a ravaging demon?
So-ya felt a pang of sadness for him.
Meanwhile, from behind the thicket, a pair of eyes watched their conversation.
Who is that man? Why is So-ya smiling like that at him?
It was Seol-yo.
Seol-yo clutched a handful of ginkgo leaves tightly in his hands as he peeked at the two.
It’s strange. I don’t want So-ya to smile at that boy.
Seol-yo remembered the sensations of the day he first met So-ya as vividly as if it were yesterday.
Originally, he had lived in the cold, dry Northern Land.
From the moment his memories began, he had always been alone.
This was because the very first thing he remembered was witnessing his mother’s death.
Though he could no longer recall her face or her scent, Seol-yo once had a mother who gave him life.
To save him, his mother had hidden him in a wardrobe. ‘That man’ had killed her and then set the mansion ablaze.
He didn’t clearly remember how he had escaped the scorching flames.
He had been too young, and thus his memories were fragmented and hazy.
When Seol-yo finally regained consciousness, he had become a young beast with pitch-black fur.
People called him a ‘demonic beast.’
A grotesque, horrific demonic beast that harmed innocent people.
I’m not a demonic beast. I haven’t hurt anyone. So why does everyone call me that?
Seol-yo tried his best to tell them that he wouldn’t hurt anyone, so please, don’t hate him.
[Whimper, whine…!]
However, the only thing that came out of his mouth was a whimpering cry, exactly like that of a demonic beast.
People did not listen to him. Instead, they branded him a disgusting demonic beast and chased him with clubs.
Seol-yo had to hide in remote places to avoid them.
As a result, there were far more days when he went hungry than days when he ate properly.
After wandering the cold, lonely streets, he would descend to human villages at night when his hunger became unbearable, rummaging through piles of discarded food.
If he was caught making a rustling sound, he would usually end up fleeing in tears as people pelted him with stones.
Even at night, it was difficult to sleep peacefully. If he happened to encounter demonic beast hunters while sleeping in his hideout, he had to run with all his might.
That day had been particularly unlucky as well.
After narrowly escaping a demonic beast hunter’s arrow with a limp in one leg, Seol-yo encountered Sa-eon on a mountain path.
[What’s this? A young demonic beast? You look like you’re about to starve to death.]
[Whimper…! Whine! Yip!]
[You’re quite young to be baring your teeth at an adult.]
[Grrrr…!]
[Little beast. Do you want to come with me? I’ll give you three warm meals a day.]
[Whimper…?]
Without even waiting for his consent, the man brought him to the White Tiger Palace.
However, the clever Seol-yo took advantage of a moment when Sa-eon let his guard down and escaped back to the mountains.
Hmph. I know your game. You’re trying to make me feel safe just so you can catch me and hand me over to the hunters.
Seeing as the man had taken him to a terrifying-looking woman after promising three warm meals, his intentions seemed obvious.
Seol-yo did not trust Sa-eon.
In fact, he didn't trust anyone.
Fortunately, Sa-eon didn't come to capture him again, but being alone once more made Seol-yo feel terribly lonely.
He lived alone on Mt. Horim for several years, occasionally picking mountain berries or sneaking down to the White Tiger Palace to steal food.
Then one day, he happened to encounter So-ya.
Seol-yo remembered the moment he first saw her as if it were yesterday.
Having been lonely for a very long time, Seol-yo followed a clear, melodic voice echoing through Mt. Horim and found So-ya.
So-ya was playing tag with the tiger beastkin of the White Tiger Palace.
He watched the scene as if entranced.
I could do that well, too. Playing tag…
When he lived in the Northern Land, Seol-yo had once approached children his age who were playing hide-and-seek, wanting to join them.
But the boys who saw him threw stones and branches, and the girls screamed and burst into tears.
The sound of those children’s cries and the impact of their stones felt more painful than the arrow from the demonic beast hunter.
From that day on, Seol-yo would shrink back in fear whenever he saw young humans his age.
But So-ya was different from the others.
Unlike the other children who screamed that he was a horrific demonic beast, she always spoke to him in a gentle, quiet manner.
She even stepped in to stop the mean beastkin from bullying him.
She praised him, calling him a good, gentle child and a smart demonic beast who even knew how to write his name.
Whenever he was near So-ya, Seol-yo’s heart would race.
I want to be friends with her.
And so, wanting to be close to So-ya, Seol-yo lingered around her.
Being by her side felt warm and cozy.
It felt just like being held in the arms of the mother whose face and scent he could no longer remember.
And So-ya had even helped him find his true form.
The moment the warm white light emanating from So-ya’s fingertips enveloped his body, he was able to shed his black hide.
The grim-looking woman he had seen at the White Tiger Palace long ago told him he was a beastkin with a spirit core.
I’m a beastkin?
Seol-yo was overjoyed that he was no longer a demonic beast to be pointed at, but a beastkin just like So-ya.
Even if he didn't know what kind of beastkin he was.
Having become a beastkin, Seol-yo became So-ya’s bodyguard.
Sa-eon had said it was a nominal position just to allow him to stay at the White Tiger Palace and that he didn't really need to do anything, but Seol-yo was immensely proud of the fact that he was the guard protecting So-ya.
He wanted to protect her.
He wanted to stay right by her side and guard her always, so she wouldn't get hurt even a little bit, and so she would never cry from sadness.
But…
That boy took my place.
Seol-yo stared intently at So-ya and the unfamiliar boy beside her.
Clearly, until just a moment ago, it was his role to stand by So-ya’s side, but his place had been snatched away by this boy who appeared out of nowhere.
So-ya kept smiling in front of the strange boy and spoke to him in that gentle voice.
Seol-yo truly loved it when So-ya smiled like that, her eyes crinkling beautifully into crescents.
Yet, he didn't know why his heart was sinking so gloomily at the sight of her smile in this particular moment.