Chapter 19. The Secret of the Snail (3)
After leaving the banquet hall, Seongha sent Cheongyeon back to Cheonsingak.
Then, as though he had some urgent business to take care of, he quickly headed toward the rear of Beopsindang.
He secretly summoned Huyeong and ordered all the attendants to leave.
He intended to smooth over what had just happened.
The moment Seongha was left alone with Huyeong, his expression changed as though he had become a completely different person.
Even the cold wind blowing across a high plateau could not have been drier or sharper than him.
“Young Master Jin saw it too, didn't you? That woman's true form.”
Now that she believed Seongha had also discovered Cheongyeon's true nature, Huyeong spoke with even greater confidence.
“She pretends to be innocent and disguises herself as an ordinary woman, but in truth, she's an evil being.”
Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to her, she continued.
“Ah... perhaps that's why. Maybe that's why you've kept that woman by your side, Seongha. Because she might bring harm to the world, so you're keeping watch over her. That's it, isn't it?”
After listening to Huyeong, Seongha gave a cold smile and asked in return,
“What exactly are you saying I saw? I didn't see anything.”
Seongha deliberately played dumb and pretended not to understand what Huyeong was talking about.
Only a handful of people had remained inside the banquet hall at the time.
If Seongha claimed he hadn't seen anything, then that was the end of it.
There was no reason for him to acknowledge something that could be used against Cheongyeon.
Huyeong couldn't help but be startled by how completely his attitude had changed in an instant.
Seongha spoke.
“One day, I'll properly tear off that mask you're wearing.”
His voice was icy.
“Then we'll see who the truly evil one is.”
With his neat and beautiful face, Seongha casually moved his lips and spat out those poisonous words.
Huyeong thought the sight was beautiful enough to be cruel.
A mask...
Seongha's words dragged an old memory from the depths of Huyeong's mind.
When she was young, Huyeong had once sat behind a temple deep in the quiet mountains, her face deathly pale.
She dipped her hands into the stream.
The dried brown blood staining them slowly dissolved and disappeared into the flowing water.
Fortunately, Namwan Guksa's Buddhist service was being held at the time, so everyone's attention was focused inside the temple hall.
I am Nam Huyeong.
I'm Nam Huyeong.
That girl had brought death upon herself by carelessly running her mouth.
After everything I did to get this far...
Pull yourself together.
Huyeong repeated those words to herself over and over again like a spell.
As time passed, she became someone capable of committing increasingly daring acts without hesitation.
Switching things.
Destroying things.
Hurting people.
Using their emotions.
Breaking their hearts...
It had begun after she realized that such actions were the only way she could obtain the things she wanted.
But that day had been the first time she felt afraid of the consequences of her own actions.
I killed someone.
“What are you doing here?”
At the unfamiliar voice of a young boy, Huyeong flinched and quickly turned around.
She had never imagined that someone might be watching her.
It was Seongha of the Jin family, whom she had only heard about through rumors.
His long, upturned eyes and high, straight nose looked as though they had been drawn by an artist.
More than anything, however, it was the uniquely noble aura surrounding him that made it difficult to look away.
Seongha, on the other hand, regarded Huyeong suspiciously.
She looked strangely flustered.
And for good reason.
Her hair was soaked in sweat and plastered against her forehead, while her clothes were badly wrinkled.
But Huyeong was not someone who would crumble under pressure.
In an instant, she changed her expression and greeted him.
“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Huyeong of the Nam family.”
When Huyeong first appeared in Hui Kingdom's high society, there had been endless rumors about the daughter Namwan Guksa had supposedly kept hidden all those years.
To keep others from looking down on her, Huyeong deliberately wore an even more arrogant expression.
She raised her chin and looked down upon others, displaying the confidence expected of royalty.
Then Seongha said something completely unexpected.
“For a mask you put on in such a hurry, it looks rather convincing.”
Silence followed.
A chill ran down Huyeong's spine at the words that seemed to see straight through her.
Anxiety slowly began to creep in.
He must have witnessed something.
“Do you actually know something?”
“Surely not. Why would I bother doing something so pointless?”
Seongha soon turned away with a cold, indifferent expression.
His manner suggested that he did not even consider the person before him worth dealing with.
Yet for some reason, that very attitude left Huyeong desperately craving more.
She stood there in a daze for a long while, feeling a strange thrill.
From that day onward, Huyeong could no longer erase Seongha from her mind.
After gaining the life of Nam Huyeong, she had found herself a new purpose in life.
He could treat her coldly.
He could despise her.
She didn't care.
Any reaction from him tasted sweet.
“Lady Nam, do not expect anything from me.”
Seongha's cold voice brought her back to the present.
“While you remain at Beopsindang, I have no intention of treating you kindly, even as an act of courtesy.”
Ever since childhood, Seongha had always directly rejected women who developed feelings for him.
He disliked watching people fall apart simply because they loved someone.
Moreover, he had no desire to exploit another person's affection for his own advantage.
“We'll have to wait and see about that.”
Despite Seongha's rejection, Huyeong smiled brightly, completely unfazed.
Until then, Seongha had overlooked one important fact.
Huyeong was no longer the girl she had been in childhood.
She had become a woman who committed evil deeds with even less hesitation than before.
Even while Seongha dealt with Huyeong, the rain showed no sign of stopping.
Beneath the heavy, ink-colored sky, even the moonlight had grown faint.
At the same time, Manwoo and Cheongyeon were standing near Cheonsingak, talking.
“Heavenly Maiden, why did you willingly choose to put yourself through such hardship?”
Manwoo looked at Cheongyeon with concern.
“……”
Cheongyeon had been standing there with a blank expression.
Only after hearing his voice did she come back to her senses.
Her heart still hadn't settled after what she had witnessed at the banquet earlier.
“When we visit the sacred sites, we'll probably need to present gifts to win over their leaders.”
Cheongyeon continued,
“There will likely also be rituals and prayers that need to be performed.”
Inside her mind, Cheongyeon pictured a map of the Hui Kingdom and estimated the distance Beopsindang's carriages would have to travel.
If they followed the existing method, not only would there be too little time, but they would also have to visit many places that weren't particularly important.
It was inefficient.
They needed another option.
Suddenly, an idea occurred to Cheongyeon.
She leaned closer to Manwoo's ear and whispered quietly.
“Priest Son, I have another idea...”
Cheongyeon continued whispering for a while.
Apparently, what she said was completely unexpected, because Manwoo's eyes widened.
“You want us to travel separately?”
Manwoo unconsciously raised his voice.
Cheongyeon immediately raised a finger to her lips.
Shh.
“Priest Jin won't stay quiet if he finds out about this...”
Manwoo shook his head with a troubled expression.
However, Cheongyeon had no intention of changing her mind.
The two continued their secret conversation for a long time, until the incense had completely burned away.
Meanwhile, the night at Beopsindang grew deeper.
One by one, oil lamps were lit throughout the dark buildings.
Their faint flames trembled along with the sound of falling rain.
Cheongyeon gathered the maids of Cheonsingak and handed out the things she had bought at Buwan Port as gifts.
Normally, they would have crowded around Cheongyeon and caused a great commotion.
But today, everyone seemed unusually subdued.
Not only Cheongyeon, but even Nuchin, the head maid, would be leaving for the sacred sites.
That meant there would be no one left to look after the girls remaining at Cheonsingak.
“Heavenly Maiden, please allow me to go with you and serve you.”
Jeongyo stepped forward and bowed before Cheongyeon.
Cheongyeon helped Jeongyo back to her feet, then placed a small bag of seeds in the girl's hands.
“The road will be too difficult, so I don't think I can take you with me.”
She looked through the lattice window at the rain-soaked front yard.
“Instead, could you plant these in Beopsindang's courtyard for me?”
Then she smiled faintly.
“Maybe they'll bloom next summer.”
Jeongyo tightly clutched the bag Cheongyeon had given her.
“Then, when the flowers bloom next year, I'll be able to look at them together with you, Heavenly Maiden, right?”
Cheongyeon's eyes widened.
