EP.70 Sharing a Bed...? (2)
A night with the moon high in the sky.
Bedding laid out.
A small light in the room relying on a single candle.
And a man and woman.
There was no way I couldn't know what this meant.
It wasn't like I had no experience in my past life. I could at least tell what kind of situation this was.
It was just that the other person was the problem.
"...Why are you sitting like this?"
Namgung Bia makes a questioning expression at my words as if she doesn't understand my intent.
No matter how I look at it, she seems to have intentionally prepared for this situation, but the other person is none other than Namgung Bia.
That dense girl couldn't have thought things through and created this situation.
I asked Namgung Bia.
"They should have given us... two rooms, so why are you here like this?"
"...They said... there were no rooms?"
"Who said?"
"The Sect Leader..."
Mae Hwa-seon?
Huashan isn't some small neighborhood sect. How could they only have one annex?
Before my doubts could settle, Old Man Shin cut in.
[The Sect Leaders of Huashan have always been quick to read the room, and quick to act too.]
'...Didn't you just ask what the Huashan Sect was earlier?'
[...Life is just like that, you see.]
Looking at Namgung Bia, she had changed clothes and her hair was slightly damp.
Bathed in moonlight, her already porcelain-white skin seemed to glow.
Perhaps because of the situation, it looked even more so.
"...Haa."
Still, why is she sitting like this?
No matter how dense she is, does she really not know what kind of situation this is?
Namgung Bia in front of me still had an expressionless face. Looking at her, I thought,
'...She really is absurdly pretty.'
Namgung Bia, sitting demurely on the bedding bathed in moonlight, was truly excessively beautiful.
The cruel and cold aura that the Demonic Sword Empress exuded in my past life was also overwhelming.
But the pure elegance and beauty she possessed in this life held its own different charm.
'Her face is a weapon.'
Even if I denied everything else, there was one thing I couldn't deny—Namgung Bia was beautiful.
Let alone when our eyes met...
If I had faced Namgung Bia like this around this age in my past life, I wouldn't have been able to keep my sanity.
I might have completely fallen for her and been grinning foolishly.
'And now?'
Could I maintain it even now?
I wasn't certain.
Because Namgung Bia was that alluring right now.
Because of the thoughts that kept crossing my mind, I frowned and turned my back.
I felt like staying longer would be bad.
"...It seems there was some problem, so you sleep here, miss, and I'll sleep with the guards."
I could ask for another room tomorrow. Still, this is Huashan, surely they won't refuse.
[Crazy...]
It was obvious what Old Man Shin would say, so I had no intention of listening.
I was only thinking of getting out of here quickly.
Tug.
At the sensation of my sleeve being pulled, I stumbled backward.
Turning around, Namgung Bia was gripping my sleeve tightly.
She was holding it so tightly that it wasn't easy to pull away.
"What are you..."
"Don't go."
Namgung Bia's eyes as she said that were resolute.
How should I put it.
What on earth should I say...?
"Then, are we supposed to sleep together..."
"No?"
"Why would that be okay...?"
"Because... we're fiancés."
Namgung Bia's expression was subtle as she spoke, as if she wasn't entirely convinced herself.
After being lost in thought for a while, seemingly trying to come up with a reason, Namgung Bia spoke with trembling lips.
"We'll just... hold hands and sleep..."
"Excuse me?"
What? ...Did I hear that wrong?
What did I just hear?
I became like stone as if I'd received a great shock, but Namgung Bia, who had actually said it, looked calm.
Wasn't this usually something the other side should be saying...?
Perhaps thinking it was strange herself, Namgung Bia asked back.
"...Is this not it?"
"Miss, where did you hear that from...?"
"...Hongwa said to do it like this."
Hongwa should be the name of the servant who follows Wi Seol-ah?
When on earth did they get close...?
Perhaps because nothing made sense, Namgung Bia's appearance as she thought hard was slightly amusing.
Her casually saying words she didn't even understand the meaning of.
And the fact that I was the one who heard it.
Because of that, I let out a snort without realizing, and Namgung Bia's eyes widened.
"You smiled..."
"...Sorry, it was just a bit funny for a moment."
"You smiled at me."
"No..."
She might have been offended, so I tried to make some excuse.
But I just closed my mouth.
I had no choice.
Because Namgung Bia was smiling.
Just a little, but with a smile clearly visible on her face.
Seeing that, as if possessed by something, my hand reached Namgung Bia's cheek.
I had reached out my hand myself.
This crazy bastard, why am I doing this?
I was startled by my own unconscious action and tried to pull my hand away immediately, but I couldn't.
Because Namgung Bia gently held my hand that was on her cheek.
I felt warmth from her hand.
Namgung Bia's cheek was cold.
My hands were always hot due to the cultivation method stored in my body.
However, unlike her cold face, her hand holding mine was even hotter than that.
The subtle emotions visible on her face made even me, who had been trying hard to ignore them, waver.
Namgung Bia, who leaned her cheek against my hand, said,
"...Let's sleep together."
The cheek that said so was flushed differently from usual.
******************
It was well past the hour of Chuk.
My body was quite tired from running around and being swept up in things all day, but it was a night I couldn't easily fall asleep.
Moonlight seeped in through the slightly open window.
That pale light swept across Namgung Bia's hair as she slept quietly.
I was looking at Namgung Bia's face like that.
[You fell asleep quickly.]
Old Man Shin, who had been keeping his mouth shut and quiet for a while, appeared.
At his voice, I laughed silently.
'Where did you go?'
[Go where, I just slept for a bit.]
'You must have slept well.'
[Yes, I slept very well.]
Old Man Shin neither sleeps nor can hide somewhere.
He was just quietly staying put.
Knowing that, I didn't know whether to be grateful or dumbfounded.
Old Man Shin had quietly slipped away as soon as the situation flowed oddly, but the situation he hoped for didn't exist.
He didn't think there was another hidden meaning in Namgung Bia's intentions in the first place.
Namgung Bia really just asked to sleep together, simply.
In fact, Namgung Bia fell asleep quickly as soon as she lay down.
If this was the case, wouldn't it have been fine to sleep separately?
'...She does fall asleep quite fast.'
Could her usual blank expression actually be because she sleeps a lot?
Such a funny thought crossed my mind.
[What do you think?]
'About what?'
[The child sleeping beside you.]
At the words that suddenly came out, I couldn't say anything.
It was something I couldn't easily answer.
Even though Old Man Shin must have sensed that, he continued speaking as if he didn't know.
[I know you feel more guilt than affection for this child.]
'...'
[I don't know what sin you committed at your age to carry such a heavy burden, but I don't think you're unaware of the story contained in the eyes with which this child looks at you.]
I couldn't dare deny it.
From Namgung Bia's actions that were increasingly approaching me, knowingly or unknowingly.
I could tell a little from the gaze that occasionally appeared when she looked at me.
Why.
Why is it.
Why does Namgung Bia insist on being entangled with me even in her next life.
Did she start to harbor strange feelings for you who had nothing.
I slowly reached my hand toward Namgung Bia, who was breathing softly.
It was to brush away the hair tickling her face.
Just as my hand was about to reach her hair.
-...Is the moon up...?
I heard a voice I was sick of hearing.
At the voice that shredded my heart, the hand that was about to reach returned to my chest.
The rain that fell then had not yet fallen.
I wanted to prevent such a situation from coming as well.
The moon shining outside the window remains the same.
When night falls, I think of her who used to gaze at it endlessly.
The sight of her drawing her last breath in my arms was also vivid.
'For now.'
I was slowly realizing that Namgung Bia was a different person from her past life.
And to speak further.
The more I did so, the more I came to realize that the Demonic Sword Empress no longer existed.
Therefore I couldn't easily approach.
If asked whether I had harbored feelings in the first place, that also wasn't the case.
In the past, I wasn't in a situation to let anyone in, as just dealing with other things was overwhelming.
'Then what about now?'
I asked myself.
Am I still the same as back then?
The answer to the question came to mind quickly, but I didn't organize my thoughts.
No matter how I looked at it, the hesitation remained.
Because I had missed everything, I was reluctant to grab hold of anything.
'...Am I still afraid?'
It could be that I was prematurely frightened because of what I'd been through.
Whatever it was, I shouldn't carelessly be certain.
Because if I did, it was obvious I'd miss it again.
Moreover, I'd heard this was a situation where I didn't know when I might die, so it was even more so.
Flinch.
Beside me, Namgung Bia tossed in her sleep.
Her brow was slightly furrowed as if she was having a nightmare, so I pressed my finger between her eyebrows.
"...Mmm."
Then she made a strange sound and tossed once more.
Seeing that, the corners of my mouth rose slightly without me realizing.
It's only been a few months since I regressed.
It was still a difficult matter.
******************
The night passed and morning broke.
By the time the rooster crowing could be heard in the distance.
Namgung Bia groaned as she sat up.
She always had trouble waking up because she was such a heavy sleeper in the morning.
Through her groggy mind and blurry vision, someone was visible.
"You're up?"
Gu Yang-cheon was sitting on the porch outside the door.
'...Ah.'
Seeing that, Namgung Bia realized she had fallen asleep with Gu Yang-cheon yesterday.
Thanks to that, she was able to sleep without nightmares this time too.
She didn't have the nightmares she always had, and waking up in the morning felt easier than usual.
This was a peace she could only have after meeting him.
Perhaps because she slept much closer than usual, that feeling was particularly strong today.
Gu Yang-cheon said, looking at Namgung Bia.
"I didn't know you'd fall asleep that quickly."
"...I was sleepy."
"Wipe your eye crud first."
"...!"
At those words, Namgung Bia hurriedly rubbed her eyes, but strangely felt nothing.
Gu Yang-cheon said, holding back a laugh as he watched.
"It's a lie. There's nothing there."
"...?"
Wondering what strange prank this was from the morning, Namgung Bia, who had been slightly glaring at Gu Yang-cheon, sensed something strange.
Something was different from usual.
Was it a feeling? No...
What was different?
Gu Yang-cheon asked Namgung Bia, who had fallen into thought.
"I'm going to eat, want to eat?"
"Eat... ah!"
Only then could Namgung Bia realize what was strange.
Casual speech.
Since when had Gu Yang-cheon been speaking casually to her.
The sharp feeling she usually felt and the distance that seemed like he was forcibly pushing her away had also disappeared.
In just one night.
After realizing that, Namgung Bia felt something thumping in her chest.
'...Why?'
What kind of feeling was this.
Namgung Bia couldn't know.
"Why."
At Gu Yang-cheon's question, Namgung Bia shook her head vigorously.
She didn't bring it up in case he might change his way of speaking right away if she pointed it out.
Then Gu Yang-cheon slowly stood up.
He had said he'd eat, so that must be why.
Namgung Bia saw that and tried to stand up as well.
"Young Master! I'm here..."
"Ah..."
Wi Seol-ah, who hadn't been seen yesterday, suddenly opened the door and appeared.
Wi Seol-ah bounded in brightly, then saw the two people and froze.
Likewise, Gu Yang-cheon also froze like a rock when his eyes met Wi Seol-ah's.
Cold sweat could be seen slightly flowing on Gu Yang-cheon's forehead.
In that subtly cold atmosphere, only Namgung Bia's face was peaceful.