Surviving in a Romance Fantasy Novel

Chapter 63: Have You Upheld Your Convictions? (4)

“Moon Demonic Spirit Yoran uses illusion arts. It lives in people’s hearts and manipulates them as if they were its own limbs. It even lives in people’s heads and acts as if it is that person.”

“Re-Really…? I always thought demonic spirits were just ugly monsters…”

“They’re called special demonic spirits, and among them, Yoran is the most troublesome to deal with.”

Seol Ran listened to Taoist An Cheon but she still harbored doubts.

An Cheon was a knowledgeable man yet often seemed unreliable, which made it hard to trust him.

Though it was amazing how he looked exactly the same as when they met at the Heavenly Dragon Festival years ago. Did he even age?

“How does Taoist An know that the Moon Demonic Spirit is targeting my Tae Pyeong…?”

“Listen carefully, Maid Seol. This Cheongdo Palace is not what we think it is.”

“…Huh?”

“Since the energy of the Heavenly Dragon weakened, the world’s flow has changed significantly.”

While stuffing his mouth with the food Seol Ran brought him, An Cheon spoke without even wiping the crumbs from his mouth.

“If the flow repeats several times, you can catch a sense of having lived this moment before that comes up from time to time. Usually, the closer you are to the power of the Heavenly Dragon and the sharper your sense of divine energy, the sooner you realize it. Of course, even then, it’s difficult for most people.”

“Wh-What do you mean, Taoist An? I don’t understand at all.”

Taoist An Cheon shook his head and his gray hair started fluttering. He then looked out at the sky beyond the lattice.

With his sharp jawline and sturdy build, he was certainly handsome. However, his clumsy behavior often made one question if he truly deserved the title of a Taoist priest.

“Though it’s only a suspicion, I can’t shake the feeling that some immense power is distorting the world’s flow and axis. That’s why I came to Cheongdo Palace, the source where the power of the Heavenly Dragon gathers, to verify the truth.”

“…So, you got caught sneaking in and ended up imprisoned in Great Prison Hall?”

“…A grand purpose and the ability to carry it out are entirely separate matters. I didn’t want to get caught in such an embarrassing way either.”

“No, we can talk about those vague and grandiose tales later… Anyway, you’re saying that this special demonic spirit or whatever it is, is targeting Tae Pyeong, right?”

Seol Ran was banging on the bars and making a fuss.

Her only sibling had a chronic habit of walking into life-threatening situations at every opportunity, which left her unable to sleep peacefully at night.

Since he became somewhat skilled in martial arts, her worries had lessened somewhat. After all, it was hard to imagine the incredibly strong Seol Tae Pyeong being ambushed and killed by anyone.

However, she had been losing sleep again recently after hearing the news that he had been kidnapped by the Black Moon Unit.

Her constant worry for Seol Tae Pyeong had started to affect her daily life, and she even considered asking the head of Great Prison Hall for permission to leave the palace to

“I am Jang Rae, the commander warrior of the Red Palace guards. Today, I will accompany His Highness the Crown Prince on his hunt. Seven officers from the Red Palace will also accompany us but they will keep their distance and minimize their presence so as not to get in Your Highness’s way.”

The daily routine of the crown prince was indeed filled with study and training.

He would wake up at dawn, review the classics he read the previous day in his study, and practice speaking a foreign language before having breakfast.

Afterward, he would study the classics and learn etiquette until early afternoon, then in the late afternoon, he would cultivate his knowledge of poetry and painting. Usually, he would read books late into the night, during which high officials who were seeking to gain his favor would visit to present gifts or dine with him,

Once a week, he received direct lessons in horsemanship and archery from a general-level official. At this time, Crown Prince Hyeon Won took his lessons in the grand garden behind Cheongdo Palace. This place was known as the Imperial Garden.

Though it was called a garden, its size was far beyond what one would typically consider a garden.

It was large enough to be called a plain that belonged to the imperial family rather than a garden, as it contained a small forest, hills, and even a large lake.

The Imperial Garden, which has been preserved without any artificial structures, was preserved as a private area used by the imperial family for outings, and since it was located next to Cheongdo Palace, security around its perimeter was tight.

“To think that even the Crown Prince’s horse-riding lessons require guards… the palace must be in quite a state of turmoil.”

Seeing Jang Rae bow down, Grand General Seong Sa Wook shook his head.

The highest position among the martial officers of Cheongdo Palace was that of the Grand General.

He was the only general-level officer who could keep the increasingly powerful vice general in check, and he was deeply trusted by the Emperor as he was in charge of teaching martial arts directly to the Crown Prince.

Jang Rae who was riding behind Crown Prince Hyeon Won tried to avoid creating any sense of unease, but it was hard not to, seeing the Grand General’s grave expression.

However, when Jang Rae saw the Crown Prince’s face, he quietly straightened his head and changed his mind.

“……”

Crown Prince Hyeon Won who was dressed in armor and holding his horse’s reins showed no sign of emotion.

Despite the rumors of suspicious groups appearing around the palace and the increased guards to ensure his safety, he was just staring blankly at the sky as if chasing birds.

Live or die, it made no difference to him.

Not assigning much value to life, he didn’t care about any potential dangers.

Although it was well known that he was like a puppet, could such a life truly be considered living?

Jang Rae let go of such complicated thoughts and checked the personnel to escort Crown Prince Hyeon Won to the Imperial Garden.

The power that the Bitter Harmony Poison had given Black Moon leader Cheong Jin Myeong was the ability to hide in any shaded place.

With the help of Under Councilor Shim Sang Gon, the Black Moon Unit members concealed their identities and hid in various parts of the palace. They had to work as Cheongdo Palace people for several months just for this one day.

Now that they were all gathered in one place, there were just under twenty of them.

Cheong Jin Myeong steadied himself and swallowed dryly.

There was so much to be anxious about, but having come this far, he had to execute the plan. There was no turning back now.

Inner Swords Commander Seol Tae Pyeong and Under Councilor Shim Sang Gon.

He had been surviving as a double agent between the two of them, but in the end, he would have to take someone’s side.

“Have you achieved your objective?”

Finally, the day of the operation arrived.

Seol Tae Pyeong sat atop Great Star Gate and he was quietly looking at Cheongdo Palace.

Whenever Seol Tae Pyeong risked his life for something, his master White Immortal Lee Cheol Woon, who was like a father to him, always asked this question. Reflecting on this to himself, time had flown by.

On his back hung his keepsake, the Jade Leaf Sword.

The sword the White Immortal had always carried in his youth was one that could cut through energy and flow.

Two hours later, a huge fire broke out in the garden where Crown Prince Hyeon Won was riding his horse.

A sharply honed dagger from Cheong Jin Myeong flew towards Crown Prince Hyeon Won.

Seol Tae Pyeong who was coughing up blood right in front of her. Ha Wol’s fingertips trembled as she looked down at that scene.

When she realized what she had done, she tried to press down on Seol Tae Pyeong’s bleeding chest with her delicate hands, but it was already too late.

She shook her head repeatedly and the tears were streaming down her face but the reality would not change.

While the Moon Demonic Spirit’s laughter spread through the White Tiger Palace, the White Princess was in deep shock and the tears flowed down her cheeks uncontrollably.

She had stabbed Seol Tae Pyeong, the person most precious to her, with her own hands. She couldn’t accept the reality at that moment.

Even as Seol Tae Pyeong lost consciousness from the stabbing, he didn’t harbor a single doubt about the White Princess.

She had answered his heavy trust with a dagger.

The weighty guilt pressed down on her as if it would crush her. An excruciating pain surged from her chest. As if she might cough up blood at any moment.

However, the gravely wounded Seol Tae Pyeong placed his hand over the White Princess Ha Wol’s white hand which was pressing down on his wound and spoke.

Even as he coughed up blood, Seol Tae Pyeong never blamed the White Princess.

That gentle smile was imprinted in the White Princess’s mind like a spell. It was unable to be erased no matter how many times she tried to wash it away.

In the shock that felt like the whole world was collapsing, White Princess Ha Wol—

“White Princess?”

Headmaid Ye Rim called out to the White Princess who had been embroidering.

The White Princess who was sitting in the inner chamber of the White Tiger Palace was so startled that she pricked her finger with the needle.

“Ah!”

“White Princess…! Are you all right?”

“Ugh… I’m fine. It’s just… a headache…”

The White Princess shook her head as if she was waking up from a daydream and sighed.

When she suddenly looked out the window, she saw the sun high in the sky.

It felt like she had had a strange dream.

She couldn’t remember it well, but it seemed like something was stuck in her chest like a thorn. And it tormented her.

Feeling that something was amiss, the White Princess straightened her clothes and went outside to the courtyard.