〈 Episode 585 〉 Nice to Meet You.
Locating the woman had not been particularly difficult.
Hanamhyeon was vast, but she was a person whose impression and bearing stood out far too prominently.
Even with a small amount of information spread, I could find out quickly.
Indeed, she was conspicuous to the point of excess.
Light azure irises.
A faint chill permeating the air.
An alluring gaze and the aura emanating from her figure.
She brought to mind the aloof girl of the Moyong family that I knew.
If I had to find a difference, it was that this woman had white hair. No, if I focused, there were surely other differences, but I had to look very closely to tell.
Which was to say, she looked that much alike.
Moyong Hui-a.
That woman bore a striking resemblance to Moyong Hui-a.
Though not to the extent of being identical, like Cheonma and Wi Seol-a.
‘So she’s the Little Princess.’
The Little Princess of the North Sea.
To be precise, the fourth daughter of the Ice Palace Lord.
The pure bloodline of the North Sea Ice Palace that had come to the Central Plains after several decades.
And.
‘A troublemaker who up and ran away from home.’
A figure who had caused trouble the moment she arrived in Hanam.
Such a woman was wrinkling her nose.
As if something displeased her.
I watched her, wondering why she was acting that way, when the woman opened her mouth.
“Nice to meet you.”
It began with a light greeting. Then she continued.
“Ah, so I’ve been found out….”
Her following voice was filled with regret.
“And here I thought I wouldn’t be found out until evening.”
I tilted my head at the words the woman spat out.
“How was I found out? My plan was perfect…. Hmm.”
Something about this.
How should I put it.
“Tsk… Running away from home is harder than I thought. Isn’t it?”
“...”
Listening to the woman’s words, I felt there was much I wanted to say.
How should I describe this?
‘Ah.’
Yes, I realized.
‘Is it a sense of incongruity?’
That was it—it was a sense of incongruity.
A tone brimming with playfulness, filled with a somehow scatterbrained feeling.
One might wonder what the problem was, but this was a sense of incongruity stemming from the woman’s appearance.
An appearance so similar that she wouldn’t look out of place being called Moyong Hui-a’s twin.
With the sort of face that looked like it would deliver frigid, sharp-tongued scoldings, yet acting like such a hoyden—something about it felt subtly off.
I furrowed my brow slightly as I looked at the woman.
‘The Little Princess of the North Sea.’
A bloodline of the Ice Palace Lord who was said to have fought the Sword Venerable to a draw.
‘Hmm.’
Judging by her realm, she was barely first-rate. She had probably passed the age of twenty.
‘For her age, that’s not a bad level, but.’
It was a level that could hardly be called outstanding.
I didn’t know much about the standards of the North Sea, but by the standards of the Central Plains, wouldn’t she be considered a dullard born of a prestigious family?
That seemed about the right level of assessment.
As I looked at the Little Princess while judging her so.
“Excuse me.”
The Little Princess spoke to me.
“I know I’m pretty. But aren’t you staring a little too hard?”
“...?”
What was that? What had I just heard?
“You’ll wear a hole in my face. Honestly… Men….”
At the words she sighed and muttered, the surroundings fell into sudden silence.
As my face furrowed at these unexpected remarks.
“…Young Master.”
Dang Soyeol, who had been beside me, cautiously approached and spoke to me.
“That young lady seems like a strange one.”
I agreed.
Hearing such words from a face that even resembled Moyong Hui-a made the feeling all the more dizzying.
‘This won’t be easy.’
She was certainly pretty.
Beautiful enough to have such confidence.
A face like that was exceedingly rare even in the Central Plains.
‘Though it’s funny how many such people are around me.’
I had seen so many that I was immune to it.
If I were the cripple from my previous life, I might have been staring because she was truly beautiful.
Of course.
Naturally, that wasn’t the reason now.
‘How did she escape at merely that level?’
I had heard she escaped while shaking off not only the guards of the White Flower Merchant Guild but her own escorts as well.
I couldn’t fathom how.
‘No matter how I look at it, she shouldn’t be capable of that.’
Just in case, I had observed the merchant guild’s martial artists, and most of them were at the peak, verging on the perfected peak.
They were absolutely not people of such a low level that the Little Princess could have escaped from them.
So just how had that woman escaped?
‘And here I thought she might even be at the Hwagyeong.’
She was none other than a bloodline of the Ice Palace Lord who had fought the Sword Venerable to a standstill.
I had thought it was perfectly possible, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
It seemed she had used some other method.
‘Not that I’m interested in that.’
It felt like digging too deep, so I gave up.
I didn’t even have the time for that right now.
I looked at the Little Princess and spoke.
“Why don’t you return now? There are quite a few people waiting for you.”
My words came laced with irritation. I tried to suppress it, but doing so was no easy task.
At that, I saw a curious glint enter the Little Princess’s expression as she looked at me.
“Are you angry, by any chance?”
A look of fascination gleamed in her eyes.
What?
“Not quite angry. Just slightly annoyed.”
I answered honestly.
Because it wasn’t to the point of anger yet.
“Wow.”
The moment I spoke, the Little Princess blurted out an exclamation.
What? What is she?
‘Should I hit her?’
The thought crossed my mind unconsciously.
It didn’t seem like she was trying to mock me, but it felt incredibly bizarre.
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone get annoyed at me. The Central Plains truly are fascinating.”
“…What are you even talking about?”
It was a first for me, too.
A woman who gave off such an annoying feeling.
“Forget it… Let’s go now.”
I approached.
Coming closer, she looked even more like Moyong Hui-a.
She even had a mole under her eye. If I remembered correctly, didn’t Moyong Hui-a have a mole like that, too?
Was it simply coincidence?
‘…Never mind. That’s not important right now.’
An odd question arose, but I deliberately ignored it.
As I drew near to seize her, the Little Princess smiled faintly and spoke to me.
“You won’t go easy on me, will you?”
“No.”
When I spat it out firmly, she wrinkled her nose as if disappointed.
Still, it seemed she would let herself be captured quietly…
“Then I can’t let that happen.”
Voom—!
“…Huh?”
The moment I tried to grab her and take her away, light suddenly began emanating from the Little Princess’s body.
Damn it, what is this now?
Flash—!
Cold qi surged to the tip of my nose.
It was sudden.
At the same time, a change occurred in the Little Princess’s physical body.
Her body was turning white.
What was happening?
The Little Princess said something as she looked at the bewildered me.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to do this, but….”
I didn’t really understand, but.
For now, I struck her nape.
Smack—!
“Uk!?”
At that, the Little Princess let out a short scream, her eyes rolled back, and she lost consciousness.
The Little Princess collapsed onto the ground with a thud.
I naturally didn’t catch her.
I looked at the woman collapsed rather ungracefully and spoke.
“Have you lost your mind?”
I didn’t know what she had been trying to do, but irritation surged to its peak.
What the hell is wrong with her?
As I looked at the Little Princess with a deeply furrowed brow.
“Little Princess…!”
Someone appeared from behind with an urgent voice.
It was a familiar voice, so I turned to see Moyong Hui-a leaning against a wall, panting.
“I found… Huh?”
Moyong Hui-a looked this way and widened her eyes.
The Little Princess collapsed on the ground, and me standing over her.
Unable to comprehend the situation, Moyong Hui-a’s forehead creased.
Seeing that, I waved my hand and spoke.
“Long time no see.”
She hadn’t been gone as long as the others, but it had still been quite a while since I’d seen Moyong Hui-a.
Because she had been busy and I hadn’t seen her in some time.
I was about to add more words, glad to see her.
“Young Master.”
“Hmm?”
“…Is that, by any chance, the Little Princess?”
We meet after so long, yet without so much as a “how have you been,” she dives straight to the point.
I felt slightly disappointed, but then again, it was so like Moyong Hui-a.
“This?”
I nudged her with my foot as I spoke, and Moyong Hui-a nodded.
“Probably?”
“...”
Since I hadn’t asked the person herself, I couldn’t be certain.
But judging by the state of things, it was likely her.
Perhaps because of the confirmation.
I could see Moyong Hui-a’s eyes gradually trembling.
“Then… Why is the Little Princess like that?”
“She seemed like she was trying to run, so I knocked her out.”
“You hit her? Knowing who she is?”
“Hit her? Please, I just tapped her a little, that’s all.”
I had controlled my strength enough that she wouldn’t be harmed upon waking.
If I hadn’t controlled it, her head likely would have shattered.
I spoke indifferently, and Moyong Hui-a clutched her forehead as if it throbbed.
It seemed that touching a bloodline of the North Sea was quite the problem.
“…Ugh.”
Even while thinking all that, Moyong Hui-a couldn’t say much to me.
Of course.
‘If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have lost her in the first place.’
Losing the Little Princess in the first place was the real problem.
‘Judging by her state, it seemed Moyong Hui-a had been with her as well.’
I hadn’t heard the details, but I could guess.
That Moyong Hui-a had been among the party bringing the Little Princess here.
‘So that was the task Lady Mi sent her for.’
I had wondered why she sent her so far away, but it seemed to be for this matter.
Understanding that put me in a rather bad mood.
‘Did she try to use the fact that Moyong Hui-a has North Sea blood?’
The reason Lady Mi had gone out of her way to send Moyong Hui-a.
Because she had likely known.
She must have judged that sending Moyong Hui-a would be a little more helpful since the other party was a North Sea bloodline.
It might be a reasonable reason in its own right, but the fact that Lady Mi used Moyong Hui-a remained unchanged.
I didn’t like that.
Of course, I wouldn’t bring it up and say it aloud.
Moyong Hui-a likely knew more about this than I did.
The fact that she went despite knowing meant she had accepted it herself.
It meant it wasn’t my place to meddle.
I reached out and unleashed my internal energy.
Voom—! The Little Princess’s body floated up.
I hurled it straight toward Moyong Hui-a.
“…!”
Moyong Hui-a flinched in surprise and caught the Little Princess’s body.
“Young Master…! What are you doing throwing her so suddenly!”
“It’s awkward touching someone else’s body.”
It wasn’t because I was burdened by touching a woman’s body.
It was because I found it awkward to touch her myself.
Hearing that, Moyong Hui-a looked at me with an absurd expression.
“Are you crazy… You used the Void Grasp for that?”
An internal energy application said to be usable only upon reaching the Hwagyeong.
She seemed dumbfounded that I would use something like that simply because I was reluctant to touch another person’s body.
How one used it was up to the person.
What did it matter how it was used? As long as it was convenient for me, that was enough.
“Enough nagging, take her and go. We can talk later.”
I waved my hand dismissively as I spoke, and Moyong Hui-a made a puzzled expression.
“Later? Aren’t you coming with us?”
Her asking if I wasn’t coming meant she knew I was involved in this matter.
I was curious as to what exactly had gotten me entangled in this, but.
“I still have something to do. I’ll be there soon, so go on ahead.”
I still had unfinished business here.
[Young Master.]
It was Dang Soyeol’s voice transmission calling me.
She had likely realized why I wasn’t going.
[I know.]
[Shall I capture them?]
I turned my head as I heard the words.
Toward the roof of a building.
“No, it’s fine.”
Perhaps looking at the roof was the problem.
Tak—!
A faint trace of a person’s presence was felt from there.
Soon after, it gradually moved farther away.
Trying to escape?
“I’ll go and get them myself.”
With those words, I kicked off the ground and soared up.
********************
Hwa-aak—!
A masked figure moved, flying between buildings.
The constantly changing background made it palpable just how fast he was moving.
While moving swiftly, the masked figure gulped dryly.
‘How did he know?’
How on earth had he noticed?
His stealth technique should have been perfect.
He hadn’t felt any sign of detection until right before.
Recalling the situation from moments ago, the masked figure felt a chill run down his spine.
‘Our eyes met.’
Without any warning whatsoever.
The young man had suddenly turned his head and looked at the masked figure.
He had met that gaze and immediately attempted to flee.
They were eyes that had been looking directly at him.
Had he known he was there from the start?
He didn’t know.
For now, he had to run.
‘I have to return to headquarters immediately.’
He had to go back and report.
His footsteps were for that purpose.
‘Damn it.’
When the woman had merely approached the formation earlier, the masked figure hadn’t been very wary.
When the woman looked directly at the formation’s location, he had considered moving, but.
Even that hadn’t lasted long.
The order given to the masked figure had been simply to watch over the formation until tonight and ensure nothing went wrong.
And yet, trouble had to strike this very affair.
‘Is it fortunate that at least the formation is unharmed?’
It was a problem that they had noticed him, but they would never know about the formation in the end.
That was enough.
If he returned to headquarters like this and reported properly, there shouldn’t be major problems.
“Where are you going?”
“…!?”
A voice was heard right beside him.
He tried to turn his body at this.
Snap—.
Someone grabbed the masked figure’s neck and slammed him straight into the ground.
Kwaang—! Skrrrak—!
His face was buried in the ground.
Due to the speed at which he had been running, he was swept forward, scraping along.
Thanks to that, a long trail was left on the ground.
A sudden impact.
While the masked figure couldn’t properly grasp the situation.
Clunk—!
The same hand grabbed the back of the masked figure’s head and lifted him up.
“Keo-heok…!”
“You wrapped yourself in astral qi even then? Not bad.”
He had coated his face with protective body astral qi the moment he was caught.
Recognizing this, his captor let out a slight exclamation of admiration.
Dangerous.
The masked figure tried to move, having instinctively assessed the situation.
But.
Clench—!
“Kkyeok!?”
A hand abruptly clamped down on the man’s cheeks, preventing him from shutting his mouth.
Then.
Pop—!
“…Kkeueuk!!”
The hand reached inside and yanked out a molar.
It was the spot where the suicide poison pellet was hidden.
A situation that had unfolded in mere seconds.
The masked figure couldn’t even gather his wits properly.
What little he could know.
No, what he could see was only one thing.
Eyes.
Even within his blurred vision, only the opponent’s eyes were clear.
A clear blue color, and yet.
For some reason, a burning sensation.
Those eyes held an incongruity so intense that his entire body seemed to burn just from meeting them.
“Heok… Heok….”
The masked figure’s breathing grew rough at an unknown terror.
The opponent briefly examined the extracted molar.
Crunch!
He crushed it with the strength of his fingers.
Then he looked at the masked figure again.
“Interesting.”
At the corner of the young man’s mouth as he said that.
“Now what kind of bastard is this?”
For some reason, a spine-chilling smile hung there.