“Let us go up together!”
Seo Nak knew how strange those words must have sounded. But having seen the letter in Geom Mugeuk’s robes, he could not simply send him to the Ice Palace Lord alone.
At his words, Geom Mugeuk, who had been about to head up to the palace lord’s hall, stopped in his tracks.
“Did you not say you had just met the Palace Lord and were on your way down?”
“I did. But just now, were you not disappointed? That you could not meet the Palace Lord together with me.”
“I only said that out of courtesy.”
As an awkwardness crept into Seo Nak’s smile, Geom Mugeuk waved a hand lightly, pretending it had been a joke.
“Come, let us go up together.”
As Seo Nak followed Geom Mugeuk up the stairs, the habitual smile vanished from his face.
If that letter was about the Hyangseol Ice Wine, he had to keep it from falling into the palace lord’s hands. Why?
Because he had received Hyangseol Ice Wine from the master of the snowfield.
In front of Geom Mugeuk and Han Seol, he had flatly denied receiving it. If Geom Mugeuk had been the only one present, he could have insisted that the Demonic Cult was framing him, but Han Seol had been there as well.
If a man respected by all spoke with two tongues? It would look suspicious to anyone.
‘Did he prepare that letter in advance? Or did he receive it by messenger hawk? Would there have been enough time for that? Or is it perhaps some other letter, and I’m doing this for nothing?’
All sorts of thoughts tangled in Seo Nak’s mind. When Geom Mugeuk had first come to see him and brought up the matter of the wine, he had thought it was merely a ploy to sound him out.
‘There really was a letter? And if the palace lord sees it?’
How should he respond? If the handwriting were examined, it would be revealed as the snowfield master’s writing. Even so, he would have to insist it was a forgery. There was one good thing about his opponent being from the Demonic Cult. People would believe that even a perfect forgery like this was possible.
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
At the entrance to the palace lord’s hall, Geom Mugeuk was looking back at him.
What else would I be thinking? I’m thinking of smashing the back of your head, taking out that letter, and burning it.
Seo Nak smiled and said,
“Nothing. Let us go in.”
Geom Mugeuk and Seo Nak entered the palace lord’s hall.
When Seo Nak, who had just paid his respects and left, returned again, the Ice Palace Lord looked at him in puzzlement.
“Ah, I met the Young Cult Leader at the entrance, so we came up together.”
“I see.”
If you met at the entrance, wouldn’t it be normal to exchange greetings and each go your own way?
The thought crossed her mind, but she did not say it aloud. Rather, she was curious. It seemed that Geom Mugeuk had done something that left Elder Seo with no choice but to follow him.
‘Young Cult Leader, what sort of move did you make?’
Geom Mugeuk began lightly warming up before delivering the decisive blow. First, a pleasant little anecdote.
“Did you know? I told the Palace Lord that I found Elder Seo suspicious.”
Even so, Seo Nak wore the relaxed smile only an innocent man could display.
“And then the Palace Lord said this. Elder Seo would never be that sort of person. She rebuked me firmly.”
Seo Nak smiled brightly and conveyed his gratitude to the Ice Palace Lord.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“You are the one person I trust.”
That truly was how she had lived until now. Every warrior of the Northern Sea Ice Palace acknowledged it as well. And now Geom Mugeuk was beginning to saw at that ancient, towering tree.
“I will say it again here. Elder Seo is the person I trust most. He is someone who has lived solely for the Ice Palace.”
At that, Geom Mugeuk asked Seo Nak,
“Elder Seo, do you cherish the Palace Lord as well?”
“Of course. I cherish the Palace Lord and the Ice Palace more than myself.”
Geom Mugeuk stared straight at him and asked,
“Then why did you do it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you kill the master of Baekju Snowfield?”
Now Geom Mugeuk had gone one step further and pointed to Seo Nak as the one who had killed her. The atmosphere that had begun with smiles went cold in an instant.
“Why, exactly, are you insulting me like this?”
Both the one pressing the accusation and the one evading it were dignified.
In that moment, the Ice Palace Lord felt a slight sense of incongruity.
She had known Seo Nak for a very long time. Though he was usually laughing genially, he was by no means an easygoing man. Especially when it came to his own reputation, he was even more sensitive.
If being accused of killing the snowfield master was a false charge, the Seo Nak she knew would have been a little angrier than this. Even if the other party was the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. Yet now, somehow, he seemed cowed.
Most decisively, these words were missing.
—Then show me the evidence.
Those were words Seo Nak could never say. If he did, Geom Mugeuk would take the letter from his robes and say, “The evidence is right here, is it not?”
Because she did not know this underlying situation, the Ice Palace Lord felt that strange incongruity. It had been odd from the beginning that he had followed Geom Mugeuk back up here.
‘Elder Seo is being swayed by someone this young?’
It was truly a surprising and new experience.
Then again, she was hardly in a position to speak of others.
After Geom Mugeuk had told her to look behind her as she lived, she too had spent the night sleepless.
Those words themselves were not anything special, but fortunately, the words that Han Seol was still standing behind her had kept circling in her mind, preventing her from sleeping.
If that was so, then before it grew any later, she would have to look back. Not merely look back once, as Geom Mugeuk had said, but look back, and look back again. She would have to keep looking back.
And yet she still had not even managed to call her daughter aside.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been facing Seo Nak, turned toward the Ice Palace Lord.
“Ah, I came to see the Palace Lord today because…”
At the same time, Geom Mugeuk’s hand moved toward the robe where the letter was tucked.
Just then, Seo Nak quickly cut in and changed the subject.
“Young Cult Leader, I hear you spoke to the Palace Lord about Seol?”
In that moment, the Ice Palace Lord took note of two things.
First, Seo Nak was not the sort of person to interrupt someone while they were speaking. Even if he had something to refute, he was someone who waited until the other person had finished before speaking calmly.
And second, the topic he had interrupted with was Seol?
Incongruity was piled upon incongruity.
As if Seo Nak had wanted to say those words. When Geom Mugeuk suddenly seemed about to take out the letter, they had slipped out in the moment. He knew better than anyone that this was unlike him, but for now, he had to get through this moment somehow.
‘Would it be better to let him deliver the letter and insist it is forged?’
During the brief silence that followed, the Ice Palace Lord saw it. A smile forming on Geom Mugeuk’s face as he looked at her. His gaze seemed to be saying, Watch closely. See what kind of person your Elder Seo is.
Geom Mugeuk turned toward Seo Nak. The hand that had been about to draw out the letter naturally lowered again.
“I mainly told her that mother and daughter should get along. The Young Palace Lord is softer-hearted than she looks.”
“The Young Palace Lord is soft-hearted? Among the rising talents, I thought she had a rarely strong character.”
“It seems our Elder Seo knows less about the Young Palace Lord than I do, though I have only seen her for a few days. That is what happens when you do not look at a person properly and only glance at them roughly. Once preconceptions pile up as well, you come to know the other person even less.”
“That is arrogance on your part!”
Every word truly infuriated him, but Seo Nak had to keep saying something, anything, to prevent that letter from coming out.
If Geom Mugeuk forgot to hand over the letter and left this place, he would somehow gain a chance to steal it away.
Of course, even in that moment, the incongruity the Ice Palace Lord felt toward Seo Nak was growing larger and larger.
And another thought occurred to her.
The Ice Palace Lord wondered whether what Geom Mugeuk had just said might also apply to her.
Because she had not looked properly at Seo Nak, only preconceptions had piled up.
Could this sense of incongruity be the dregs produced by those very preconceptions?
How could she deny that she, too, had borne the position of Ice Palace Lord on her shoulders and run forward all her life, looking only ahead?
The stone Geom Mugeuk had thrown struck Seo Nak and continued to send out ripples, and those ripples were reaching even her.
“You said you were going to the North Blood Sect?”
“That is right.”
“Go on, then. If you are too late, it would be discourteous to them.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at him and smiled meaningfully.
“Very well.”
Geom Mugeuk paid his respects to the Ice Palace Lord.
“I will see you next time.”
Seo Nak was relieved. Even if the letter were delivered, he would somehow prepare for it, but the best course was for it not to be delivered in the first place.
‘He says he is going to the North Blood Sect? How should I take that letter from him?’
Just as he was feeling that initial relief, Geom Mugeuk turned toward the Ice Palace Lord and spoke quickly.
“This is a surprise gift! I came today to give this to the Palace Lord.”
Only then did Seo Nak understand. Geom Mugeuk had been toying with him, pretending he might give it or might not. He had acted as though he had forgotten and mocked him until the very end. Damn him! Does he think I will meekly admit it just because he hands that over?
The Ice Palace Lord took the letter Geom Mugeuk handed her and read it.
When she checked its contents, she flinched in surprise. From that expression, Seo Nak was certain it was that letter. There was nothing else that could surprise this woman, who rarely showed emotional change, to such an extent.
“It is a fabricated letter.”
Seo Nak spoke in a subdued voice.
“When the Young Cult Leader came last time, he threatened me with that forged letter. But let me state this clearly: I have never received Hyangseol Ice Wine.”
His tone was calm and composed. Now that he had said it even to the palace lord, there was nowhere to retreat. The wine had become something he had never received, forever.
At that, the Ice Palace Lord asked with an expression of incomprehension,
“What are you talking about? Hyangseol Ice Wine?”
In that instant, Seo Nak’s heart sank.
‘It was not that letter!’
This had been the true mockery.
He could have simply stayed still, but with his own mouth he had brought up the Hyangseol Ice Wine.
“May I see that letter?”
The Ice Palace Lord handed him the letter. Written on it were the names of several dishes, along with nearby taverns and restaurants.
He could understand why the Ice Palace Lord had been surprised when she saw it. At the very bottom of the letter was written, “These are dishes your daughter likes. Please spend some quiet time together.”
“My subordinate Ian has been eating and sleeping together with the Young Palace Lord lately, so he found out. The inns and restaurants written beneath are the places nearby that make those dishes best. I investigated them myself. So that you might have a meal with your daughter in a different atmosphere.”
For the first time, Seo Nak’s expression collapsed. It was neither a smile nor a stiffened face, but a new expression altogether. The emotion in it was rage. Even when he tried to smile, no smile came.
The target of that rage was not only Geom Mugeuk. It was also anger and disappointment toward himself for being played by such a shallow trick. He had clearly thought from the beginning that it might not be that letter, yet swept up by the strange atmosphere, he had become convinced that it was.
But he did not know. Today’s mistake had not been caused merely by one moment of faulty judgment.
It had happened because his order had already begun to collapse under Geom Mugeuk’s hand.
Even so, the wall of the man called Seo Nak, built up over a long time, was thick. He smiled as though it were nothing and gathered himself.
“I overreacted because I thought that Young Cult Leader was so adept at schemes. I hope the Palace Lord will understand. The Young Cult Leader has been slandering me with the matter I just misunderstood.”
As if she understood everything, the Ice Palace Lord nodded.
“No matter what evidence the Young Cult Leader brings, I trust you, Elder.”
“Thank you, Palace Lord.”
This time, Seo Nak glared at Geom Mugeuk. This time I lost. The words, I truly lost, rose of their own accord.
“Young Cult Leader, I do not know what scheme you have in mind, but you will not be able to destroy the trust between the Palace Lord and me.”
After saying those words, Seo Nak respectfully bade farewell to the Ice Palace Lord and left. He should not have come up in the first place. But that detestable fellow had been waiting at the entrance to hook him, and he had been caught helplessly.
When only the two of them remained, the Ice Palace Lord asked Geom Mugeuk,
“Why are you provoking him to this extent? Are you trying to show me what that man’s true nature is?”
If so, she thought he was using a method that was far too dangerous and extreme.
At that, Geom Mugeuk gave an unexpected answer.
“No.”
“No?”
“It is true that I am trying to make his true nature reveal itself, but I am not trying to show it to you, Palace Lord.”
“Then whom are you trying to show?”
Instead of answering, Geom Mugeuk bade her farewell and left.
“Make sure you go to one of the places written there. They really are dishes your daughter likes.”
Geom Mugeuk descended from the palace lord’s hall.
As he stepped out through the entrance, Ian came running urgently from ahead. Just from his expression, Geom Mugeuk could tell the situation was serious.
“Where?”
“Baekju Snowfield!”
He did not ask what had happened. If an incident had occurred, then getting there even a little faster was the best course. He sprinted there with the Swift Step.
In an instant, he arrived at Baekju Snowfield.
There was a reason Ian had needed to come urgently and fetch him.
The place was a sea of blood. Amid several corpses collapsed in every direction, one person stood. The warriors of the Ice Palace had surrounded him in layer upon layer, pointing their swords at him.
The man standing alone, drenched in blood, was the Drunken Demon.