THWCS 32

Chapter 32

Eternal’s long hair, which she had let down so it wouldn’t get tangled, swayed with every movement, and her breathing grew rough and ragged.

She hadn’t realized it yesterday or even earlier today on the way to Sorae and Yeongyeong Hall, but the distance between Jigaek Hall and Yeongyeong Hall was actually quite far.

More than anything, what made her even more anxious was how Unjeong’s back, which seemed close enough to reach, would immediately grow distant again.

“Is the head of the house in danger?”

“You’ll know when you get there.”

Unjeong replied stiffly, and the firmer his tone became, the heavier Eternal’s heart sank.

“Hah… hah… Scholar, couldn’t you pull the head of house out of the dream? Just like I heard your voice in my dream…”

“When I found I-shin, he was already deeply trapped inside the dream.”

Eternal had no time to even look at the path. She simply ran after Unjeong without thinking.

She wasn’t particularly strong to begin with, so her legs weakened and she nearly fell several times, but she forced her body forward.

And as though responding to her desperate effort, Yeongyeong Hall finally appeared in front of her.

“This way.”

Unjeong, who had vanished like fog a moment ago, reappeared in front of the room at the far right side of Yeongyeong Hall.

Last night, Eternal had also seen a lamp lit in that room.

“Hurry.”

Urged by Unjeong, Eternal staggered as she pushed open the door to the annex.

Inside was so dark she couldn’t even distinguish an inch ahead of her.

It was actually brighter outside under the moonlight.

While Eternal hesitated in the darkness, unsure of where to go, a light suddenly flared, and a candle burst into flame.

Beside it stood Unjeong, pointing in one direction.

Eternal took a deep breath to steady herself and followed his guidance forward.

Where he pointed stood a standing bed draped in black fabric.

Thanks to the candlelight, she could see someone lying inside—surely I-shin.

Eternal quickened her steps, lifted the curtain with one hand, and looked inside.

“Ah…!”

At the sight of I-shin’s form flickering under the candlelight, Eternal nearly collapsed in shock.

Under a thin blanket, his entire body was stiff, rigid like a wooden plank.

But what stunned Eternal wasn’t just how corpse-like he looked.

Every visible vein on his face, neck, and hands was swollen to the point of bursting.

His entire body strained so hard that the veins looked almost black instead of red, and his body trembled violently.

From between his tightly clenched teeth, a beastlike groan escaped—raw, agonizing, and desperate enough to violently tear at Eternal’s heart.

“Ughhh…! Ughhh…! No…! Why…!”

Through his clenched teeth spilled resentment and grief, directed at someone unknown.

At a loss, Eternal looked back at Unjeong.

And once again, she was shocked.

In Unjeong’s face as he looked down at I-shin was a deep, layered sorrow—so thick it could not be described in words.

“Ughhh…! Kill…! I’ll kill…!”

I-shin’s body tensed again, turning rigid.

Eternal’s heart plummeted.

As if his capillaries were bursting, red dots began appearing one by one across the back of his hand.

Just how much strength is he using…?

Without realizing it, Eternal grabbed his hands tightly and turned urgently toward Unjeong.

“What do I do? At this rate, he’s going to die! His veins will burst and he’ll die—what am I supposed to do?!”

But Unjeong gave no answer.

“I said, what am I supposed to do?!”

When Eternal shouted desperately, Unjeong finally pulled himself out of his suffocating sorrow.

“I don’t know either.”

“What?”

“I said, I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know! You brought me here. Doesn’t that mean there’s a way?!”

For a moment, Eternal felt anger flare up.

If he dragged her here in such a panic, shouldn’t there at least be something she could do?

Yet Unjeong could only look at her helplessly.

“Scholar Unjeong, then why did you bring me here? What do you expect me to do?!”

I-shin’s body trembled violently again, and this time the veins in his neck seemed to burst as red blotches spread like a rash.

Growing frantic, Eternal grabbed his body and shook him hard.

“Open your eyes! Head of house! Master of the Sword! Wake up from the dream! Please! Open your eyes!”

She slapped his firm body, scratched him as if to provoke a reaction, shook his arm wildly, and in the end even slapped his cheeks.

But there was no sign he would wake.

“What do I do? Think of something—anything!”

On his pale forehead, a red mark bloomed like a crimson flower.

Eternal panicked.

What if every vein in his body really bursts and he dies?

Just what kind of dream could twist a person like this…?!

“Scholar Unjeong!”

“The one who exchanged the engagement jade token with I-shin… is you, Lady Ha.”

“…What?”

“You’re also the one bound to him under the Curse of Confusion. Do anything—whatever you can. Wake him. I-shin… must not die like this.”

Unjeong looked upon I-shin with heartbreaking pity, powerless to stop a body exploding from rage born within a dream.

He knew all too well what I-shin must be dreaming right now.

The day his world was ruthlessly shattered—

The day when the young boy, who proudly declared he would become a general to protect his nation, to bring honor and comfort to his mother and sister—

lost everything.

He must be dreaming of that day.

“What on earth can I even…!”

Unjeong shifted his gaze to Eternal, dressed in her white robe, long hair falling over one shoulder.

Bringing Eternal here was the only thing he could do.

Had he not seen I-shin smile that afternoon, he might never have thought to bring her.

It had been at dusk, when the sun slipped behind the western mountain, when blue, violet, and pink light melted together as the day quietly faded.

— Then it’s simple. You just need to like me. Like me.

Eternal’s soft yet firm voice had brushed against Unjeong’s ears, right before she hurried away.

— Like what about you? The way you mistook a perfectly living man for a grim reaper? Or the way you nearly died after foolishly being lured by a night demon? Or how you insist on doing everything you’re told not to, until you ended up cursed…

I-shin had replied half amused, half exasperated, and the Eternal who had so gallantly declared “just like me” had fled Yeongyeong Hall in a fluster, her back looking pitifully small.

Unjeong didn’t know Eternal well—he had rarely interacted with her—but he had thought then that she was quite an interesting young lady.

Previously, when he’d seen her because of the night demon, he had simply assumed she was like any other noble lady—fragile, timid, with a hint of arrogance.

Far too lacking to endure I-shin’s unfathomable temperament.

Yet, seeing Eternal flusteredly leaving at dusk, a faint laugh had escaped I-shin’s usually cold face.

Leaning back with his arms propped behind him, I-shin actually laughed out loud for once.

When Unjeong appeared, I-shin had pointed toward the door Eternal had just fled through.

— She really is something else. Not much different from when she was little.

— When she was little? You knew her back then too?

— Once. We crossed paths once.

— When?

— When I went to the Ha household… to break the engagement.

Recalling that moment, a faint smile had lingered on I-shin’s lips.