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Chapter 15
“This is…”
Led by the children, Geum Heemun came to see the Spirit Flower blooming in Ihwan’s quarters.
“It’s a Spirit Flower.”
At Soha’s words, Heemun stroked his chin and nodded.
“This shouldn’t be here.”
The land of the Vermilion Bird was more saturated with yang energy than anywhere else. Even in the yin-heavy northern lands, the Spirit Flower was rare.
“Could it be from our expedition to the Land of Eternal Night?”
That seemed the most plausible explanation—that something related to the flower had clung to them on their recent investigation.
“We must warn everyone in Hwacheon Palace.”
“I’ll have a sketch made and distributed,” answered his aide, Myeongheun.
Heemun knelt before the flower. A flame sparked at his fingertips.
The crimson fire engulfed the Spirit Flower, then shifted to a bluish hue.
Whoosh—
When the fire subsided, the flower was gone without a trace. Heemun rose and looked at the children.
“You’ve done a great deed.”
He placed a large hand on Soha’s head, slowly ruffling her hair.
“But Father, I was the one who found it,” Ihwan protested.
Heemun chuckled warmly. “Yes, you did well too.”
Soha felt a ticklish warmth in her heart at his praise.
After sending the children off, Heemun and Myeongheun walked together, discussing the flower.
Watching the children vanish down the hall, Myeongheun remarked:
“That girl is remarkably composed.”
“Yes,” Heemun agreed. She was certainly no ordinary child.
“She doesn’t seem childlike at all.”
“Is there truly a single definition of what a child should be? A child is simply a child.”
“I suppose I’m used to rowdy young masters. But still, after enduring such hardship in the Land of Eternal Night, how can she remain so steady? It’s impressive. Honestly, raising her would be much easier than raising the young masters.”
At his lighthearted tone, Heemun’s gaze deepened.
“On the contrary. I think her heart is more fragile than Ihwan’s. What is hard and unbending… eventually breaks.”
“You speak as though you’ve met a formidable rival, my lord. To be this cautious…”
“Haha. Do you really think our relationship could be called rivals?”
“I wonder what kind of influence Young Master Ihwan and Lady Soha will have on one another as they grow.”
“Yes. That’s something I’m curious about too.”
“The curse must be broken quickly.”
“Yes. It’s our duty to hasten the matter.”
The two men continued their conversation as they returned to the study.
Snow fell outside the house of the Black Tortoise clan.
In a chamber filled with the biting chill, a man was being treated. The acrid smell of herbs and incense clung to the air.
“What in the world… an ice-fire burn?”
The steward trembled as he tended the exposed shoulder.
“For cold poison to scorch flesh like fire… this is beyond belief.”
The injury oozed pus. This was not the kind of wound a young master of the Black Tortoise—born and raised in frigid lands—should ever suffer.
“It’s even more terrible than a fire burn. How could such a thing—”
“What of the inquiry I ordered?” The man interrupted curtly.
He was Seok Jawoon. Though the herbs stung, he uttered not a single groan.
“As you commanded, I searched. The fox-tribe child went missing in the Land of Eternal Night. The merchants know nothing. She must have perished.”
Jawoon’s gaze turned glacial.
“There are other fox children of that age. We can bring another—”
“No. It must be that child. No one else matters.”
The steward faltered.
“But you’ve never even seen her face. How can you be so certain…?”
It was the first time Jawoon, usually so calm, had shown such raw emotion.
Why did he seek so obsessively a child he didn’t even know by name or face?
The steward had always thought Jawoon the gentlest of the Black Tortoise heirs. But now, in his frozen eyes, he saw for the first time the razor edge of their clan’s bloodline.
“Find her. Scour every land if you must. Bring her to me.”
“But if she was taken by evil spirits, she’s surely—”
“She is not dead.”
Jawoon’s eyes gleamed with certainty.
“She absolutely lives.”
The steward sighed. “Very well. I’ll try.”
Yet he shuddered. For all his thirteen years, Jawoon carried a murderous heat in his gaze—as though it held decades of grudges.
He finished binding the wound. Still, Jawoon remained upright, like a blade thrust into the earth, staring into the darkness with empty eyes.
He glanced at the frostbitten scar on his shoulder, then lifted the sword at his side.
Despite his youth, his frame was solid. He swung the blade.
The sword carved streaks of green light into the air. Again and again he struck, until finally the weapon lowered. His gray hair tumbled messily, and he closed his eyes.
He sank into deep silence.
In the past few days, Soha had observed life at Hwacheon Palace.
Everyone had a role. The clan head cared for the Vermilion Bird’s land, Jeoksongyeon. The strategist advised him, Lady Cheon oversaw household and retainers, Rangi managed small duties, and the heirs bore the responsibility of future succession.
Soha, by contrast, felt only like an onlooker—a guest living under their kindness without reason.
Yet today was different.
“A little errand?”
“You must be curious about the world beyond the palace by now. Take it as both a favor and a chance to look around.”
Soha had been asked by Lady Unseon. Delicate and perceptive, Unseon had likely sensed Soha’s unease.
“Stop by the apothecary and the paper shop. Pick up the herbs and paper I ordered. If you say you’re from Hwacheon Palace, they’ll hand it over right away.”
She pressed a small pouch of coins into Soha’s hand.
“Whatever remains is your reward. Buy yourself something.”
Her voice had been playful.
“There’s plenty of delicious food at that market—you should try some.”
Unseon had patted her shoulder gently.
To step outside was exhilarating—and terrifying. For Soha, who had never once enjoyed free passage, her palms sweated, lips dried.
It was laughable, she thought, for someone with twenty years of memories to tremble like this. Perhaps she truly was more naïve than a nine-year-old.
But her courage came, unexpectedly, from Ihwan’s presence.
Thus, with Ihwan and Docheol flanking her like guards, Soha strode into the marketplace as though a general entering a battlefield.
