Geom Mugeuk rose from the bed.
“We’ve been seeing each other often lately.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Seo Nak stood there blankly before speaking in a low voice.
“There must have been some kind of mistake.”
Unlike when he had stormed in so forcefully before, he was calm now.
“It seems someone is trying to put Elder Seo in a difficult position with false information.”
‘That someone is you!’
Seo Nak felt his temper flare.
‘This isn’t like me.’
Ever since he had been drawn into the Young Cult Leader’s pace, he had been unable to control his emotions lately.
It had been the same when he burst into this place. He should have checked beneath the blankets more calmly, and more courteously. Even if he had seen him in the bed, he should not have been so startled.
“I apologize for my discourtesy.”
Seo Nak steadied himself by observing proper etiquette.
“This is not something that can end with a simple apology, so I will lodge a formal protest with the Palace Lord’s Hall over today’s incident.”
“Do as you wish.”
Seo Nak left the room with the warriors he had brought.
Once they were gone, Ian shouted at Geom Mugeuk.
“When on earth did you get here?”
“Just now. When you opened the door for Elder Seo.”
“Through the window?”
Geom Mugeuk nodded. Ian looked at Chwima.
‘Good grief, like brother, like brother. You knew he had come, but you pretended not to!’
Ian let out a sigh of relief and swept a hand over her chest.
“Ahh! You scared me! I thought my heart was going to burst earlier.”
Chwima responded to her words.
“He was probably clinging to the window precisely to make your heart burst. Waiting to come in at just the right moment and scare you.”
At Chwima’s joke, Ian nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. He’s the kind of person who’d hang there in a snowstorm if it meant he could scare someone. Fine, since you scared us like this, I assume you had results from going out?”
She had meant to corner Geom Mugeuk with that attack.
“I found the one behind it.”
Ian let out a shriek of disbelief. She was even more shocked than when the blanket had been pulled back earlier.
“Really?”
“I got lucky.”
“When it comes to scaring people, you truly are the best under heaven!”
Geom Mugeuk had secretly infiltrated the Northern Blood Sect and seen Han Seol meet Yang Seok.
While everyone was focused on that meeting, he had intended to investigate the inside of the Northern Blood Sect. But then he saw the guard warrior who had accompanied Yang Seok leave his post.
Since it was not an ordinary matter, he followed him, and witnessed the man using blood to cast a blood art on a maidservant. The man had acted as though he were taking care of her, then in an instant cast the blood art, so even though Geom Mugeuk had wanted to help, he could not.
“Who was he?”
“The chief guard of the Northern Blood Sect’s heir.”
Chwima and Ian nodded with hardened expressions. As expected, the bastards had hidden themselves somewhere entirely unexpected.
“Then did you reveal your identity to him on purpose?”
Earlier, Seo Nak had been certain that Geom Mugeuk was not here.
Sure enough, Geom Mugeuk nodded.
“I wanted to gauge the level of his martial arts, and also confirm whether the Northern Blood Sect and Elder Seo were connected.”
“And you confirmed both?”
Geom Mugeuk nodded.
“One more thing. We’ll also be released from being detained here. Seo Nak committed a grave discourtesy against the Divine Cult’s Young Cult Leader, so the Ice Palace Lord now has a pretext to release us.”
With a dazed expression, Ian asked Geom Mugeuk.
“Do you know what I think at times like this?”
“What do you think?”
“Ah! How fortunate I am to be on your side, young master. How fortunate I am not to be your enemy.”
Do you know what I think?
How fortunate I am that you are beside me with such a bright face.
“I was so startled that my heart has become sturdier thanks to you.”
Now Geom Mugeuk looked at Chwima. He was silently gazing out the window.
What was he thinking about? Wine? Or the dead Field Master? Or Yeobin, whom he had left behind?
But all of that was wrong. Right now, Chwima was thinking about Geom Mugeuk. How could he be so clever? How could he handle matters without even becoming flustered?
If Geom Mugeuk were not here, these would all be matters he himself had to handle. Would he have been able to produce such results? For the first time in a long while, he found himself thinking again that although Geom Mugeuk was truly his younger brother, he felt like an elder brother.
“Brother.”
I’m not your brother. If anything, call me your younger brother.
Thinking such idle thoughts, he turned to look at Geom Mugeuk.
From the mouth of this younger brother who felt like an elder brother came the words he had been waiting so desperately to hear.
“It’s finally time to hold a drinking feast.”
* * *
After returning to the Ice Palace, Han Seol headed for the Palace Lord’s Hall.
“I came to drink tea.”
Though she had said she would drink it after returning, the Ice Palace Lord was flustered, not having expected her to come find her as soon as she came back.
“Come here.”
Han Seol sat at the tea table prepared in the Palace Lord’s Hall, and the Ice Palace Lord brewed the tea herself.
“I’ll do it.”
“It’s fine. Just sit there.”
The Ice Palace Lord began steeping the tea herself.
While she did, Han Seol silently watched her mother’s back.
She wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Should she ask what kind of tea it was? Or should she bring up the Northern Blood Sect first? Should she at least talk about the weather?
It had been far too long since they had exchanged anything but official words, so she had no idea what she was supposed to say.
She thought that speaking was similar to martial arts. No matter how extraordinary a technique might be in one’s head, it was useless if it had not been ingrained in the body; likewise, no matter how earnest one’s heart might be, if the words did not cling to the mouth, they would not come out.
It was a moment when she realized anew that words were spoken not with the head or the heart, but with the mouth.
In the meantime, the Ice Palace Lord brought over the tea.
“How does the tea taste?”
“It’s good.”
The conversation did not continue, and only an awkward silence flowed between them.
The Ice Palace Lord was no less awkward.
What should she say to her daughter? This, too, was a worry the Ice Palace Lord had never once had in her life.
And so the two of them simply drank tea quietly. They said that one could tell how close a relationship truly was by how unawkward silence felt, but the two of them still had a long way to go. It was a suffocating silence that made one wonder what they would have done if not for the tea before them.
Even so, the Ice Palace Lord did not want to break this silence by saying just anything.
In some sense, she rather liked this awkwardness. It felt as though a new relationship was beginning.
The one who broke the long silence was Han Seol.
“Palace Lord, who do you think is more likely to survive longer—a ruthless person or a kind person?”
It was an abrupt question, but for now, she answered it first.
“A ruthless person.”
At that, Han Seol smiled faintly.
“That’s the same answer as mine.”
“Wouldn’t any warrior think the same?”
“Ian, who came with the Young Cult Leader, said this. She thinks a kind person would survive longer.”
Ian. For some reason, she had been a child who had drawn her gaze when they first met.
“I was just curious. What you thought, Palace Lord.”
Was it because of that question? For the first time, the Ice Palace Lord spoke the words that had been in her heart.
“I wanted to raise you strong. As a child who would not waver even in the raging north wind.”
The tea in the cup Han Seol was holding trembled once, ripples spreading across its surface.
So? What about now? In Mother’s eyes, did I grow into such a child?
Only after speaking with her daughter did the Ice Palace Lord finally understand.
The reason she had tried to create such a moment, the reason she had said those words a little while ago, was not because of a sudden change of heart or because of Geom Mugeuk.
Her instincts had known. That if things went on like this, she would lose her daughter. That she had already almost lost her. She had only been turning away under the excuse that she was busy with work. If things continued this way, she would merely be the Palace Lord who handed over the Ice Palace, not a mother.
Perhaps she had been living while thinking it might already be too late. Turning away with all her might because she did not want to confirm it.
And then Geom Mugeuk had appeared. His words that she might still be standing behind her had flown into her heart and lodged there, and in the end, she had come all the way to this moment.
And she truly wanted to say these words. They were a little embarrassing, but she wanted to say them to her daughter.
“You grew well into such a child.”
Silence flowed.
It was only a single sentence. Yet Han Seol felt as though part of the wall of ice frozen solid in her heart had shattered and come pouring down. The wall was still enormous, but the fact that it had broken for the first time surely had meaning.
After finishing the tea she held, Han Seol set the cup down.
“Next time, I’ll brew it for you.”
* * *
If one wished to hold a drinking feast in another person’s house, the owner’s permission was necessary.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
At my words, the Ice Palace Lord smiled faintly.
“My daughter came by.”
The look on the Ice Palace Lord’s face told me what that meeting had been like.
“Congratulations.”
“It is thanks to you.”
“I merely spoke. You were the one who turned back, Palace Lord.”
The Ice Palace Lord felt deep gratitude toward Geom Mugeuk. Now she understood. The unbelievable movements of the heart written in the reports about Geom Mugeuk.
“But what shall we do? I may have to spoil this good mood of yours, Palace Lord.”
“What is it?”
Geom Mugeuk spoke seriously.
“I intend to deal with Elder Seo. Please grant me permission.”
At the shocking statement, the Ice Palace Lord said nothing. Perhaps she had expected matters to turn out this way.
“I saw a master using blood arts in the Northern Blood Sect.”
At the words blood arts, the Ice Palace Lord’s gaze flashed coldly. As far as she knew, there was no master in the North Sea who used blood energy. In other words, it meant some kind of scheme was underway in the Northern Blood Sect.
“He was connected to Elder Seo.”
“Evidence?”
“None.”
“Then you mean to kill an elder of the Ice Palace based only on circumstances?”
“I believe this is enough. We must judge it together with the several mistakes and lies Elder Seo made earlier.”
In particular, the decisive point was that he had concealed even from the Ice Palace Lord, to the very end, the matter of asking the dead Field Master to store the Hyangseolbingju. In the process, the Ice Palace Lord had also seen another side of Seo Nak.
“We won’t be able to find clearer evidence from them. They are all far too seasoned for that. Even if we take the time to find it, by then it will already be too late.”
A brief silence flowed. I gave her enough time to think.
“The one you should be paying attention to now, Palace Lord, is not Elder Seo. Because you have known him for so long, he must weigh most heavily on your mind, but he is nothing more than an arm attached to the body. What you must pay attention to are the head and the body.”
The decisive words that moved her were these.
“I am not the one making this decision.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was your bad premonition, Palace Lord, that called us here. I am telling you that your instinct was correct.”
At last, the Ice Palace Lord made her decision. It did not take very long.
“I will deal with Elder Seo myself.”
“Of course. You should. However, regarding Elder Seo, I would like you to give Chwima the first opportunity.”
Judging by the current circumstances, there was a high possibility that the one who killed the Field Master of Baekju Snowfield was Elder Seo.
There was another round of contemplation, and this time as well, the decision came quickly.
“I will permit the drinking party. However, invite me as well.”
* * *
Seo Nak was arranging ornaments in the main hall.
Whenever his mind was complicated, he would take out all the ornaments and decorate the place anew.
He lined them up precisely once again. When he aligned them without even a hair’s breadth of error, there was a pleasure that came from that perfection.
While he was deeply absorbed in it, he heard the door to the main hall open behind him.
The sound of the door opening was different from usual.
Ordinarily, before the door opened, a subordinate should have reported that someone had come.
But the fact that the door opened by itself like that meant an uninvited guest had arrived.
The subordinates guarding outside must all have been subdued.
Without turning around, Seo Nak said,
“Wait a moment. I’m almost done.”
Only after Seo Nak had lined up even the very last piece perfectly did he turn around.
The person looking at him from the main hall was none other than Chwima.
When his eyes met Chwima’s, he instinctively understood.
‘He has come to kill me.’
Seo Nak sat at the table for receiving guests.
“Thank you for waiting. Now, let us sit.”
Chwima took the seat across from him.
Seo Nak placed one of the cups on the table in front of himself, and the other in the seat across from him.
“Perhaps because I’ve been working, I’m thirsty. Would you pour me a drink?”
Chwima lifted the Hyeollu hanging at his waist and opened the stopper.
The fragrant scent of ice wine spread out. It was the ice wine the Field Master had made before his death.
Chwima inhaled the aroma deeply, then poured the wine into the cup before him.
But he did not pour any for Seonak.
The Drunken Demon drank alone. It had truly been a long time since he had drunk. As the liquor’s warmth spread through his body, he gently closed his eyes and wore an expression of pleasure. Drinking the ice liquor made longing for the original brew well up within him.
Even with the man closing both eyes right before him, Seonak could not attack. The liquor aura rising around his body like a haze was rippling as if alive.
Slowly opening his eyes, the Drunken Demon asked,
“Why did you kill that person?”
The Drunken Demon poured the second cup only into his own cup as well.
Seonak toyed with the empty cup before him and said,
“You could at least give me a drink before asking. How heartless.”
Even in this situation, Seonak showed no fear at all.
“You’re confident you can kill me, aren’t you?”
The Drunken Demon neither confirmed nor denied it, merely looking at him in silence.
“That’s all because you’ve grown complacent. I was the same. Here in the North Sea, there was no one who could make me tense.”
Seonak, who had always lived with an easy, affable laugh, began to reveal his true self. He unveiled his innate presence. The aura that stretched out from him was cold and intense enough to freeze the entire world. He was more of an expert than his known abilities suggested.
“Complacency is a frightening thing. Since you’re a Demon Venerable, you must have lived getting whatever you wanted, haven’t you? You must have defeated enemies you normally couldn’t have beaten. Winning and winning again. But if you look closely, your opponents weren’t devoured by fear of you, but by fear of the Demonic Cult.”
The Drunken Demon was not shaken in the slightest by Seonak’s momentum. He drank another cup of liquor.
Before they knew it, the Drunken Demon’s liquor aura had settled around them like fog.
“I’m the one drinking, yet you’re the one spouting nonsense.”
At the Drunken Demon’s composure, Seonak bared his teeth and laughed. He, who had always worn a good-natured smile, now laughed like a beast baring its fangs.
“That woman was weak. It should have ended once she secretly made it for me, but she kept letting it weigh on her mind. One day, she came to me and said she thought she had to tell the Palace Lord the truth. Does that satisfy your curiosity now?”
Then the Drunken Demon gave an unexpected answer.
“I wasn’t curious at all. The reason people like us kill good people is obvious, isn’t it? It must have been some petty, selfish reason.”
“Then why did you ask?”
Just as Seonak looked as though he could not understand, a voice came from behind him.
“I said I was curious.”
The person who walked through the dense fog and sat down was the Ice Palace Lord.
Gazing at Seonak, she asked calmly,
“Was that also for the sake of the Ice Palace?”