Chapter 006 – Silver Moon Halo (2)
Seongha entered his office and opened the wooden lattice window.
The rear garden immediately came into view.
A small bird flew in through the open window and landed on Cheongyeon’s hand. It was a tiny white long-tailed tit.
Cheongyeon gently stroked the feathers around its neck.
Bamboo blinds hung between bookshelves packed tightly with books, and several small wooden desks were arranged around the room.
Only after sitting across from Seongha at one of the desks was Cheongyeon finally able to relax and properly look at his face.
He sat perfectly straight, his posture neat and composed without the slightest disorder.
“Priest Jin, I’ve brought you white tea.”
A young servant brought in the tea.
Seongha smiled in response.
“The fragrance is clean and pleasant. Thank you for taking such care.”
However, after the child backed out of the room and the steaming tea had cooled slightly, Seongha poured the entire cup into a flowerpot beside him.
Seeing the surprise on Cheongyeon’s face, he spoke as though trying to reassure her.
“Please don’t worry. It’s simply an old habit of mine.”
Seongha explained that there had once been a time when he had carelessly drunk tea someone offered him, only to suffer severe stomach pain afterward.
Even while telling such a story, his expression remained strangely indifferent.
“I planted seeds in this pot, but for some reason, nothing ever sprouted.”
He glanced at the flowerpot.
“There’s no harm in being careful about everything.”
To think that even inside the Beopsindang, he could not comfortably drink a simple cup of tea.
Who could possibly hold such a grudge against him?
Cheongyeon remembered the people who had been lined up in front of the Beopsindang.
None of them had looked like enemies.
She shook her head.
Suspicion was still an unfamiliar emotion to her.
“I had Priest Son choose the servants and attendants from among people who are reasonably trustworthy.”
Seongha warned her carefully.
It sounded as though this was the best advice he could offer her.
“Even so, do not trust anyone completely.”
Then he continued.
“From now on, I would also prefer that you and I avoid private conversations or meetings whenever possible.”
Cheongyeon looked at him.
“The more room we give others to misunderstand our relationship, the easier it will be for them to turn it into a weakness.”
Cheongyeon lowered her gaze toward the empty teacup on the desk.
Suddenly, she remembered Seongha lying wounded inside the pavilion in the sky.
He had been terribly ill.
He had suffered through nightmares and tossed restlessly in his sleep.
And the moment he opened his eyes, he immediately searched around his pillow for his sword.
He was always so wary of everything.
That was why Cheongyeon had thought he must carry wounds inside his heart as well.
Still...
They had experienced so many things together in such a short time that she had believed they had grown at least a little closer.
Yet the moment they returned to the earth, Seongha seemed determined to put distance between them.
Without realizing it, Cheongyeon felt a little hurt.
“You told me not to trust anyone.”
Sitting beside the lamp, she slowly raised her head and looked directly at Seongha.
“Then... am I allowed to trust you, Priest Jin?”
Her eyes seemed to ask—
Are you the only exception?
Seongha fell into thought, as though trying to understand what she truly meant by the question.
“Judging by the way you asked that, it seems you have something you want to say to me.”
Cheongyeon answered honestly.
“Helping me doesn’t seem to bring you any benefit.”
She paused.
“And you also seem like someone who normally has little interest in other people’s affairs.”
“Little interest...”
Seongha pressed a hand against his forehead.
His expression darkened slightly.
He even looked a little offended.
“Heavenly Maiden, I doubt you understand just how unusual this situation is for me.”
From Seongha’s perspective, simply deciding to keep someone beside him had already been a major decision.
It was something he normally would never have done.
Of course, there was no way Cheongyeon could know that.
And because of his pride, Seongha could not bring himself to explain it nicely.
“I won’t ask you to trust me.”
His voice remained calm.
“I dislike making promises I cannot guarantee.”
Then he looked straight at her.
“But if you want your life on the ground to be even a little easier, please cooperate with me.”
For some reason, the way Seongha spoke made Cheongyeon feel annoyed.
“I’ll cooperate.”
Her voice sounded slightly colder than before.
“I don’t want to become a burden to you, Priest Jin.”
A passing wind rattled the paper on the doors.
The flame of the oil lamp flickered.
Cheongyeon rose from her seat.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
As Cheongyeon walked away, it somehow felt as though she had left a long tail of lingering emotion behind her.
Seongha immediately opened a book.
But none of the words entered his eyes.
Night deepened over the Beopsindang.
Cheongyeon returned to her residence, the Cheonsingak.
Cheonsingak was a three-story wooden building decorated with long white curtains, giving it an elegant, old-fashioned atmosphere.
Countless candles burned upon vine-shaped candleholders.
Looking at them, Cheongyeon suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness.
It was as though she had been left completely alone inside the enormous room.
While she remained lost in thought, a small white shadow suddenly flew in front of her.
It was the same long-tailed tit she had seen earlier in Seongha’s office.
It seemed to have entered through the open window.
A tightly rolled piece of paper was tied around the bird’s leg.
It was a letter written in fine brushstrokes on a piece of paper no larger than her palm.
Cheongyeon opened it.
[A traveler carrying a blue lotus
descended from the heavens to the earth.]
The moment Cheongyeon realized who had sent the letter, her face brightened.
“So you were thinking about what happened in the heavens.”
The message was short and simple.
But when she imagined the personality of the man who had actually picked up a brush and written those words, she could not help but smile.
She remembered other words as well.
[I believe destiny depends on the heart.]
[I saw it within you.
That blue light.]
Cheongyeon remembered the large hand that had covered her eyes when she transformed into the Black Heavenly Maiden.
Despite Seongha’s tall and graceful figure, his hands had thick joints and a distinctly masculine shape.
Those hands had pulled her heart back toward the light when darkness had begun to consume it.
Cheongyeon carefully cupped the small bird in both hands.
“The only thing I can truly trust is this small, soft feeling inside my hands.”
The bird rubbed its wings against her palms.
Then it suddenly fluttered upward—
And lightly touched its beak against Cheongyeon’s lips.
Cheongyeon blinked at the unexpected kiss.
Then she playfully grabbed the bird’s tiny cheeks between her fingers and rubbed them.
“It’s already late, so go back to where you came from.”
She released the bird.
After watching it fly away, Cheongyeon leaned against the window.
A cool breeze drifted inside.
For a long while, she stared through the window of Cheonsingak at the distant lights of the administrative offices.
During the night, mist had descended from the mountains, covering everything in a thick white haze.
By dawn, it slowly began to clear.
The ringing of a bronze bell announced the beginning of another day at the Beopsindang.
The Beopsindang was an organization responsible for all kinds of religious administration and national ceremonies.
Although Buddhism was the officially recognized state religion of the Hee Kingdom, the people still worshiped native gods such as heavenly gods, earth gods, and mountain gods.
Many also honored the spirits of their ancestors.
Because of that, the Beopsindang supervised and managed many different religions and religious orders.
Priests could be seen everywhere, carrying bundles of documents as they hurried from one office to another.
Before dawn, while the sky was still dark, the priests performed rituals to the gods of heaven and earth worshiped throughout the Hee Kingdom.
Some also trained in sacred arts that had been passed down since ancient times.
Beyond the pure white wooden pillars came the sounds of sutras and prayers.
Whenever those voices rose together, sparkling light appeared, and concentrated spiritual energy floated into the air.
Watching all of this, Cheongyeon quietly muttered to herself.
“If I keep living here, maybe even the Black Shadow Heavenly Maiden will eventually start wearing white feathered robes.”
She could not help feeling overwhelmed by the solemn atmosphere of the Beopsindang.
Life there was far busier than Cheongyeon had expected.
She rarely even had the chance to briefly encounter Seongha, the High Priest.
Even when he had something to tell her, he passed the message through someone else instead of coming himself.
Because of that, Cheongyeon had to rely on Manwoo for practically everything.
“You aren’t disappointed because you ended up having to walk around with me instead, are you?”
Manwoo suddenly asked.
Apparently, he had noticed Cheongyeon unconsciously looking around for Seongha.
Cheongyeon cleared her throat and waved both hands.
“Disappointed? Of course not.”
She smiled awkwardly.
“I feel much more at ease because you’re here, Priest Son.”
Manwoo gave her a look.
