“You were far prettier.”
Geugak Soma lightly leapt over the trap. At his words, the Mistress of Cheonhwaru beamed.
“Please don’t say that. I was never that beautiful.”
“No. In my eyes, you were far better.”
Geugak Soma, a man who had weathered every hardship imaginable, had shown that even a sudden ambush could not shake him in the slightest.
Even so, Geugak Soma’s gaze remained fixed on Yi An. Yes, it would not be easy for anyone to tear their eyes away from a woman this beautiful.
Even then, Geugak Soma still had not recognized Yi An, who had entered with us.
The one who recognized Yi An was the Mistress of Cheonhwaru.
“Congratulations, Martial Artist Yi.”
As though she had known this would happen all along, she was calm.
“Thank you, Mistress.”
The moment he heard Yi An’s voice, Geugak Soma was startled.
His eyes widened as he asked,
“Surely not that ugly Heart? Surely?”
He must have been truly shocked, for the words “surely not” came out twice.
Yi An smiled and said,
“Yes. I am that Heart, ugly though I was, with the amusing talent.”
Geugak Soma sprang to his feet and approached Yi An. He stared at her face from up close as though trying to bore through it. Under the pressure of the white mask, Yi An trembled in fear.
Geugak Soma tilted his head.
“There are some similarities, but no. It’s definitely not you.”
Geugak Soma looked at me.
“Are you trying to make fun of me?”
“I did come here to make fun of you, but she is also that Heart.”
“She is?”
Geugak Soma looked Yi An over again.
“That’s impossible. No, absolutely not!”
After denying it vehemently, he turned back to the Mistress of Cheonhwaru. With an expression that said it was true, she nodded once.
Geugak Soma asked me,
“What on earth happened?”
“This was her original appearance, but she had gained all that weight as a side effect of her protective art.”
“She looked like this to begin with, and she was working as a bodyguard? Isn’t that the greatest waste of talent in the history of our cult?”
At the same time, it was the greatest compliment Geugak Soma could give.
Yi An smiled and said to him,
“That was because I wanted to protect the young master.”
Of course, I was the one who corrected the facts.
“Do you think she did it because she wanted to? You know very well how our cult works.”
“Our cult works that ruthlessly, and that is why we serve as Demon Venerables and heirs. However…”
Geugak Soma’s gaze turned toward Yi An.
“This case will have to be treated as an exception.”
A new admiration entered Geugak Soma’s eyes as he looked at her. It was not admiration for her beauty, but for her sacrifice.
The Mistress of Cheonhwaru went to Yi An and took both her hands.
“You’re so beautiful. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, come with me. I’ll complete Martial Artist Yi for you.”
“Complete me?”
“You don’t know how to put on makeup, do you?”
“…No.”
Having lived her whole life as a guard warrior, when would she ever have had the chance to put on proper makeup?
“As you live, there will be times when you must fight with something other than a blade. For a woman, makeup is a weapon stronger than a sword.”
The Mistress of Cheonhwaru took her by the hand and led her out of the room. Yi An, too, seemed to want to learn about makeup, and allowed herself to be pulled along as if she had no choice.
“It’s stuffy in here. Let’s go out as well.”
“Very well.”
I left the room with Geugak Soma. The area around the Mistress of Cheonhwaru’s residence was beautifully tended, making it pleasant for a stroll.
“Being with the Second Young Master truly is one astonishing experience after another.”
“You must have been surprised. Even I, who resolved the side effect of her martial art, was surprised.”
But the astonishing experience Geugak Soma had just mentioned was not Yi An, but the battle from before.
“While we were fighting that day, I thought we might die at Baek Manggi’s hands.”
I had not known he would be that strong either.
But what was truly surprising was not Baek Manggi’s strength. It was the fact that Geugak Soma was now honestly revealing his feelings.
“I thought the same.”
“But you killed him, Second Young Master.”
“If Lord Soma had not helped me, I would have been the one to die.”
That was an undeniable fact.
Geugak Soma stared at me.
“I think I know what you’re thinking right now, Lord Soma.”
“What am I thinking?”
“So it really was that bastard who killed the Soul-Capturing Demon Venerable!”
Geugak Soma burst into loud laughter.
“You’re wrong. I told you before, didn’t I? That I already believed it. I fought Baek Manggi because I believed it. If I hadn’t, I would have gotten out of there without looking back.”
“You believed in me? Even with your life on the line?”
After a brief pause, Geugak Soma answered.
“It seems I did.”
For a while, we walked there without speaking. The experience of crossing life and death together had given both of us great emotional turbulence. When Geugak Soma’s mask had almost been cut, I had truly been furious.
Only then did I realize for the first time that my feelings toward Geugak Soma were so strong. It seemed he felt the same.
Then, suddenly, Geugak Soma picked up a fallen branch from the ground and drew a long line.
“How far have we come now?”
I took the branch he held out and drew a line at the point we had once called the line of survival.
“I think we have come this far.”
It was the very point where he had said he would let me live if I made it this far.
At that moment, I saw it.
Through the eyeholes of the white mask, I saw him smiling. I saw him truly smile.
He laughed without making a sound, and this was not a laugh born of anger. Purely and naturally, he simply smiled.
I had never seen that smile even in my life before the regression, yet astonishingly, I saw it here at the end of this journey.
“Of course, depending on what you and I do from now on, the line will move. It may go farther this way, or it may return to the starting point.”
“What happens if it reaches the very end?”
“We’ll become true friends. We’ll eat together, drink together. We’ll enjoy things together, fight together. If one of us falls into danger, the other will go to save him. And if one of us dies first, the other will pour wine by his grave.”
“All of that is unnecessary, hypocritical, and burdensome.”
“Once you actually do it, they turn out to be no great things at all.”
I did not expect that much from Geugak Soma. My original goal had been to reach a point where we were neither enemies nor allies. At the very least, through this journey, I felt I had achieved that goal sufficiently.
Just then, Cheongmyeon appeared where we were.
He handed what he had brought to Geugak Soma. It was a white mask.
“Here, as promised.”
Geugak Soma gave me the mask Cheongmyeon had brought.
On the day we fought Baek Manggi, he had said he would give me a new mask, and he had not forgotten that promise.
“Thank you.”
I tried on the new mask. It was definitely lighter and more comfortable.
“This is nice. I don’t think it’ll get as sweaty, either.”
“Cheongmyeon made it himself. My mask was also made by Cheongmyeon.”
“You’re remarkably skilled with your hands.”
At my praise, Cheongmyeon bowed his head lightly.
Just then, two people walked in.
They were Yi An and the Mistress of Cheonhwaru, who had gone to put on makeup. Not only I, but even Geugak Soma and Cheongmyeon were startled.
Yi An with makeup looked like a completely different woman. She was enchanting and sensual. Intense and splendid.
“Martial Artist Yi already had such dignity, so I tried creating a different atmosphere.”
It truly felt as though we were looking at another peerless beauty. Makeup was a woman’s weapon? If so, we were beholding the Number One Sword Under Heaven.
“From now on, I’ll call you Pretty Heart instead of Ugly Heart.”
It seemed Geugak Soma was secretly pleased with Yi An’s transformation as well.
At that moment, the Mistress of Cheonhwaru casually said,
“She’s prettier than I was when I was young, isn’t she?”
At that, Geugak Soma said coldly to Yi An,
“Make sure you pay back the carriage fare!”
Meanwhile, after realizing from their conversation that the beauty before him was Yi An, Cheongmyeon was truly shocked.
“This person is Martial Artist Yi?”
Yi An smiled at the astonished man and answered,
“Yes, Cheongmyeon. It’s me.”
“You really are Martial Artist Yi?”
He was so surprised that I could imagine the expression beneath his mask. He was usually extremely careful in his behavior and sparing with his words in front of Geugak Soma, but he had even forgotten that he was standing before him.
Belatedly realizing that fact, Cheongmyeon stepped back.
Then Yi An cautiously said to me,
“May I wear that mask?”
Considering the gazes she had endured on the way here, I could understand Yi An. She was not the type to enjoy such looks.
“I don’t mind, but you should ask Lord Soma for permission. He’s the one who gave it to me.”
Yi An said to Geugak Soma,
“May I wear that mask?”
“No!”
Then we wouldn’t be able to see that pretty face, would we? I was certain that was what he was thinking.
“Why not?”
“The makeup she put so much effort into will be ruined. Do you know who did that makeup for you?”
Geugak Soma, who had given only the correct answers until the very end. The Mistress of Cheonhwaru happily pinched Geugak Soma’s arm. She was probably the only person in the world who could pinch him.
“If you want it, wear it.”
“Thank you.”
At Geugak Soma’s permission, Yi An was greatly delighted. She took the mask from me and put it on her face.
She looked at me and asked,
“How is it?”
“How is it? This is deception against beauty, and despair for all men under heaven.”
“You told me I should be happy, didn’t you? I think I’ll be happier with this.”
I went over and lifted Yi An’s mask up onto the top of her head.
“When it’s just us, wear it comfortably like this. At times like that, your mask will be looking up at the sky.”
“I like that.”
Perhaps because she had already begun, Yi An asked Cheongmyeon,
“Would a beauty trap work on you?”
Cheongmyeon did not understand what she meant and could not answer for a moment. I could guess what she was trying to say.
“If it’s you, it would work on anyone. You’d make even a monk who came down after a hundred years of wall-gazing break his vows.”
“You’re exaggerating too much!”
“Just wait and see later whether I am or not.”
Yi An said to Cheongmyeon again,
“What I said just now was a joke. I would like to invite you, Cheongmyeon, to become the first squad leader of the organization I will create.”
At the unexpected words, Cheongmyeon was startled. As he hesitated, not knowing how to answer, Geugak Soma spoke.
“I went to the trouble of giving you a mask as a gift, and the first thing you do while wearing it is try to steal my person away.”
“Please don’t misunderstand. Even before I received the mask, Cheongmyeon was my first candidate.”
“You’re telling him to give up the position of Demon Venerable and come be a squad leader. Do you understand that?”
“Yes!”
“Does Cheongmyeon look like that much of a fool to you?”
“No. I thought he was someone with the courage to throw himself into a new life at least once.”
“When it comes to courage, you impudent Heart, you are the greatest! Saying such things in front of me.”
“I blurted it out because I trusted the young master. I apologize.”
She bowed respectfully to Geugak Soma.
I saw it.
The conflict dwelling in Cheongmyeon’s eyes. Yes, if such a beautiful leader asked, any man would be conflicted.
But I also thought that this beauty might get in the way. The Yi An before the procedure might have convinced him to go, but there would also be those who would not want to look like shallow men going simply because she had become beautiful.
“Please think it over at least once.”
Cheongmyeon gave a slight nod.
Even after seeing that, Geugak Soma added nothing in particular. Even if Cheongmyeon said he would go, he looked like the sort of person who would simply say, “Idiot,” once and send him off. If he truly showed such a side of himself, the line drawn in my heart would move farther to the right.
Geugak Soma said to me,
“Second Young Master. Let us return now.”
“Please go ahead. I’ll play with Pretty Heart for a little while before coming back.”
It was not for my sake, but for Yi An’s. She had shed her old skin and emerged; she should soar freely for a while before returning.
The Mistress of Cheonhwaru saw through my thoughts precisely.
“Second Young Master, you truly are a good person.”
At that, Geugak Soma replied,
“Don’t be fooled. The Second Young Master is the villain among villains. Can’t you see that mask? He is a man who was born wearing one. Right now, there are two people wearing masks standing over there.”
The Mistress of Cheonhwaru smiled and said,
“That is why they suit each other.”
As I was about to turn and leave with Yi An, I turned back to Geugak Soma once more.
“Thank you so much for showing me such a wonderful world. Please show it to me again next time.”
Before we parted, the Mistress of Cheonhwaru said,
“Second Young Master, please take good care of my elder brother from now on.”
Ordinarily, it would have been a situation where Yi An should have said, Please take good care of our young master. But the Mistress of Cheonhwaru was playfully, yet earnestly, entrusting Geugak Soma to me.
Had she seen something in the relationship between Geugak Soma and me?
At least one thing was certain. In this world, only one person, the Mistress of Cheonhwaru, truly cared for him and understood him.
I laughed and said loudly,
“Yes. For your sake, Mistress, I’ll take good care of Lord Soma from now on.”
Leaving behind the dumbfounded Geugak Soma, I took Yi An by the hand and turned away.
“Let’s go, Yi An. To see the Central Plains.”
From now on, the world that would unfold before you would be completely different from the one you had known until now.