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Chapter 33
Before I knew it, Father’s voice drifted up from the Samdocheon.
“Hee-Yo, make sure to enjoy the privileges of being human as well.”
“Privileges?”
“Praying to the gods.”
Father smiled gently as he continued.
“Humans say that sincere devotion moves the heavens, don’t they? Your mother and I are always ready to be moved by anything you do, so if you ever need us, pray whenever you like.”
“Wouldn’t that be dangerous? You and Mom interfering in the affairs of the human world so freely…”
“If you pray as a human and we answer those prayers, then it isn’t ‘interfering freely.’ We’d have proper justification.”
“Can things really work that conveniently…?”
“Of course. If it’s something serious, simply prepare a ritual offering table and pray. Humans have always prayed that way and received blessings in return. You’ll just be a human who’s… especially good at receiving answers.”
“‘Especially?'”
“Yes, just a little especially. This way, it won’t violate those troublesome heavenly laws either.”
Father wore a sly smile.
…Now that I thought about it, he wasn’t exactly wrong. But could it really be that simple? Coming from Mom and Dad, “a little” definitely wouldn’t mean just a little.
As I looked unconvinced, Mother added fuel to the fire.
“And if you need to, don’t limit yourself to praying to your father and me. Pray to gods or immortals as well. Who would dare ignore your prayers?”
Suddenly, every over-the-top thing my parents had ever done out of love for me flashed through my mind.
The time I casually said I wanted to visit Father’s workplace in the Underworld once, and he built an entire palace called Sangra Byeolgung there.
The time the Vermilion Bird came to deliver the Vermilion Bird Robe, and I mentioned wanting to meet the other divine beasts, only for a grand summit of all the celestial divine beasts to be held.
The time I called a baby White Tiger cute during that gathering, and before long every baby divine beast in existence was living in the gardens of Sangra Palace.
The time I asked whether typhoons existed in the Heavenly Realm after seeing one in the human world, and Pungbaek, Usa, and Unsa worked themselves into collapse creating them.
‘At first I was amazed that typhoons existed in Heaven too… then I found out later the three of them had literally worked themselves to exhaustion making them, and I nearly fainted.’
There were countless other incidents as well.
The time I said I enjoyed reading books, and they built an eight-hundred-and-eighty-eight-building library just for me.
The time I found it fascinating that oysters made pearls, and they piled every kind of pearl oyster into a mountain as tall as Mount Taebaek.
The time I said rainbows made me happy, and they kept a rainbow floating above Sangra Palace all year long.
The time I asked who the strongest martial artist in Heaven was, and they organized an entire martial arts tournament.
The only flaw my otherwise perfect parents had…
…was that they loved me just a tiny bit too much.
Things like this had happened more times than I could possibly count.
‘…Praying to my parents really needs to be my absolute last resort.’
Breaking into a cold sweat inside, I nodded.
“Okay. If I really need to, I’ll pray.”
“Good.”
Father lifted me into his arms once more and leaped into the Samdocheon. Mother followed close behind.
Since we had already returned the Queen’s wandering soul, the thread of life that had guided our way was gone.
Even so, Father instantly found the Gate to the Underworld I had opened, even within the pitch-black waters, and gently set me down before it.
Standing at the entrance, I turned back toward my parents.
My father, with black hair like mine, thick eyebrows, and dark eyes that resembled the Samdocheon itself. He looked like a fierce beast, yet he was endlessly gentle with me.
My mother, with flowing jade-colored hair, eyes shaped exactly like mine, and the same jade-green irises. Though she appeared strict and cold, she loved me more deeply than anyone.
My beloved mother and father.
Smiling brightly, I waved.
“I’m off!”
When the end finally comes, I’ll definitely return to your side.
So this wasn’t a lie.
As soon as I stepped through the Gate to the Underworld, I saw Seol Deunghwa.
Her complexion was pale.
She’d become noticeably thinner after just one night.
She must have been under tremendous pressure.
“You’re back!”
“Sorry. It took longer than I expected.”
Taking off the Vermilion Bird Robe, I looked around the room.
Although folding screens had been arranged in several layers, the morning sunlight still seeped faintly inside.
“Nothing happened?”
“…His Majesty came once during the night.”
“The King? What happened?”
Startled, I looked at her.
Seol Deunghwa answered with a slight tremble.
“I… followed exactly what Princess Consort taught me. I warned him that if anyone interrupted now, Her Majesty the Queen would never wake again… and he withdrew.”
“Well done. You handled it perfectly.”
The King’s fury couldn’t have been easy to face, but Seol Deunghwa had dealt with him calmly.
As I began cleaning up the traces of the Gate to the Underworld I’d opened, she quietly helped me before asking carefully,
“Did Your Highness succeed? Her Majesty is still asleep…”
“Yes. I succeeded. She’ll wake up soon.”
After remaining unconscious for so long, she couldn’t wake immediately.
Her soul had wandered for too long and was utterly exhausted.
While packing my belongings into the Paljuryeong, I glanced at the Queen.
‘Hmm… It may take several days for her to recover completely. Anyone can tell her condition has improved dramatically, but… will that King patiently wait several more days?’
As I pondered that, I noticed the canister of Honsal Flower Tea Mother had packed for me.
‘Ah, this will work.’
After removing even the sacred rope that had formed the barrier, I asked Seol Deunghwa,
“Can you brew tea?”
“Tea? I’m not especially skilled, but I know the basics…”
“Think you can brew this?”
The moment I showed her the tea container, her eyes widened.
“This… is tea leaves? It looks more like gemstones carved into flower petals and plated with gold… I’ve never seen tea leaves like these.”
The flower teas from the Western Heavenly Flower Garden were all like this.
No wonder humans found them unfamiliar.
“It’s tea from Heaven. In that case, I’ll brew it. You just tell everyone it’s a traditional Seol Tribe tea.”
“…Pardon?”
“The Seol Tribe carries divine blood. Saying the tea the gods drink is one of your traditional teas isn’t exactly a lie, is it?”
“W-Well…”
Seol Deunghwa looked utterly troubled, but I wasn’t particularly worried.
From what I’d seen in Seruhwa’s Mirror of Karma and from watching her until now, she was much stronger than she looked.
‘She has no powers besides being able to tell truth from lies, and she’s physically frail. Yet she still tried several times to escape with Ruhwa all by herself while coming to Unguk.’
Picking up the tea canister, I said,
“Go ask them to bring a tea set.”
The tea set arrived immediately.
Along with it came the King, the Royal Physician, the Chief Court Lady, the Chief Eunuch, and a crowd of palace attendants.
With all the folding screens removed, the royal bedchamber was spacious enough to fit everyone comfortably.
The King’s bloodshot eyes fixed upon the Queen.
Then he growled like a beast.
“You claimed you could wake the Queen. As expected, it was nothing but empty boasting!”
“It wasn’t boasting. Please wait.”
Though trembling all over, Seol Deunghwa immediately answered him.
She truly was stronger inside than she appeared.
“I already waited until the new moon, and then another entire night. And now you ask me to wait even longer? For what?”
“As the final step, Her Highness the Crown Princess Consort will personally brew the medicinal tea passed down through our clan.”
“Medicinal tea?”
The King frowned and looked toward me.
Standing beside him, the Royal Physician asked curiously,
“If it is your clan’s tea, why is the young Crown Princess Consort brewing it instead of Lady Seol?”
“Only a handful of people within our clan are born with the talent to prepare this tea. I lacked the necessary gift and was never taught, though I do know the method, so I instructed Her Highness instead.”
“So no one else can brew it?”
“Correct. Even if someone else uses the exact same tea leaves and tools, the result would merely be plain hot water with no medicinal effect.”
While Seol Deunghwa smoothly improvised her explanation, I quietly prepared the tea.
Ordinary tea was steeped in a teapot before being poured into teacups.
The flower tea from the Western Heavenly Flower Garden was different.
‘Ah, but the medicinal herbs are brewed normally.’
Since this blend had been specially made for healing, there was also a tiny pouch containing medicinal herbs in addition to the flower petals.
I placed the entire pouch into the teapot and waited a moment.
Meanwhile, I carefully peeled away the golden coating covering the crystal-like flower petals and placed the peeled coating into an empty teacup.
‘It’s not actually gold leaf. It’s more like a shell.’
The King’s face twisted the moment he saw what I was doing.
“You call that tea? What exactly are you scraping off that jewel? Chief Eunuch! Stop her at once—!”
Before the order could even be carried out, Seol Deunghwa hurriedly interrupted.
“It’s not a jewel! Those are flower petals!”
“Flower petals? In what world do those look like flower petals?”
“T-Their unusual appearance is precisely the secret of the Seol Tribe. They’ll become tea shortly! Please show mercy and allow us just a little more time.”
Even while shaking so badly, she refused to back down.
She really could speak well under pressure.
Leaving the King to Seol Deunghwa, I continued working diligently.
‘I’ve watched the celestial maidens brew this plenty of times, but this is my first time actually doing it myself.’
The celestial maidens peeled off the shells effortlessly.
For me, doing it for the first time wasn’t easy at all.
After struggling for quite a while, I finally peeled them all and placed them into the cup.
The jewel-like cores—the actual flower petals after removing their shells—I placed into another empty cup nearby.
Clink.
As the stone-like petals struck the cup, I could practically feel everyone’s bewildered stares asking what bizarre ritual this was.
Ignoring them, I carefully lifted the teapot and poured only a tiny amount of the herb-infused water over the flower petals.
‘Just a drop or two… ah!’
The teapot was heavier than I expected.
A stream of water poured out.
I hurriedly lifted it away, but it was already too late.
The moment the hot water touched the flower petals, they melted into liquid, instantly filling the teacup to the brim before overflowing.
“…!”
“What is that…?”
“There wasn’t nearly enough water for it to overflow…”
