When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 32
Chapter 32
“Well done.”
The elderly man nodded slowly, a satisfied expression on his face.
“However, many unresolved matters remain, such as the compensation of spiritual power. We will forcefully extract spiritual power from the elders a few more times, but this might cause discontent, so refrain from using your spiritual power in front of them to avoid unnecessary friction.”
“What? Did the elders really complain about me?”
“Not yet. You haven't undergone exuviation. But be careful, as there might be suggestions to force your exuviation using an Spirit Orb to make you share responsibilities as the Young Lord.”
“I will keep that in mind, Mystic Ruler.”
“And you've heard that Baek Giha has arrived, haven't you?”
“Yes.”
“If he weren't a Divine Beast, I would have killed him right here…”
The elderly man rubbed his brow several times as if he had a headache.
“I've sent him to the territory in the Mystic Realm for now, but we can't just leave him to Myoungyoon. Since the preparations to send Ju Sehwa to the Baek Clan seem to be complete, you should also head to the Mystic Realm immediately and join them.”
“Why did that bastard come all the way here? Has he revealed his purpose for visiting?”
“He probably intends to take you away personally, to prevent any escape.”
“What?!”
“We were planning to send his daughter in about a month since there's still more to extract from Ju Myoungyoon, but given the circumstances, it would be better to send her sooner.”
The elderly man nodded and instructed Ju Kyunghyun.
“Anyway, prepare a farewell banquet as things progress. And after the banquet, immediately present Myoungyoon's daughter along with her bloodline certificate.”
The elderly man's dry voice paused briefly before adding.
“There's nothing good about Baek Giha knowing that child beforehand, so take her with you, but don't let her make contact with Baek Giha first.”
“I understand. I'll proceed without any issues, so please don't worry.”
“Good. I'll return to the Mystic Realm as soon as I finish the matters I need to settle.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Haha. He probably knows you're going, but I wonder what face he'll make when he learns that Ju Myoungyoon's daughter is the one going instead.”
The elderly man, who had been laughing briefly, stroked his chin thoughtfully before speaking.
“And you should also be betrothed now. How about Sanghyeon's daughter? Yunkyung's daughter isn't bad either.”
“Pardon?” Ju Kyunghyun responded with considerable surprise.
“Mystic Ruler, you clearly said you would proceed with my betrothal to Ju Sehwa as a condition for sending her to the Baek Clan…”
“She refused marriage with you.”
Unable to believe what he heard, Ju Kyunghyun asked again, “...What?”
‘Ju Sehwa dared to refuse marriage with me?’ That couldn't be possible.
“She said she couldn't possibly agree to marriage with you because she doesn't know what will happen to her once she goes to the Baek Clan.”
“…”
“Anyway, that's how it turned out, so look for a suitable girl yourself. And depart for the Mystic Realm within a few days.”
“...I understand.”
Ju Kyunghyun bowed his head and quietly left the audience chamber.
Yet he still couldn't understand. ‘Ju Sehwa refused marriage with me? That Ju Sehwa?’
“Because she doesn't know what will happen when she goes to the Baek Clan…” It was a reasonable conclusion.
No matter how much she desired marriage with him, it was right to prioritize such concerns.
But thinking about it another way, it was still strange. That child had always been blind when it came to him.
Perhaps it was because she hadn't seen much of her two older brothers and father for ten years while they were at war.
To Ju Sehwa, Ju Kyunghyun was a substitute for her two brothers and sometimes even her father.
Knowing how deep her feelings were for him, how could she reject him so easily?
‘Ah. Come to think of it, she was crying. So that's when she refused the betrothal.’
He finally remembered Ju Sehwa's face as she cried without saying a word while looking at him. And that he had said he would visit her.
‘How heartbroken and sad must she have been to cry like that, unable to be betrothed to me.’
Ju Kyunghyun nodded as he finally remembered the promise from a few days ago.
‘Well, since the preparations to send her to the Baek Clan are complete, should I go visit her?’
Having made his decision lightly, he turned his steps and left the mansion.
However, when Ju Kyunghyun arrived at Ju Myoungyoon's residence with confident strides, he encountered a bewildering situation.
He had expected the person he came to meet would come running out barefoot.
“She's not here?”
They say she's not home.
Standing at the front gate, Ju Kyunghyun asked again, momentarily unable to comprehend the meaning.
The mystic servant attending to Ju Myoungyoon answered with an extremely apologetic expression.
“Yes, Young Lord. The young lady has gone out.”
“Where to?”
“That, I'm not quite sure… She didn't tell me her destination.”
“…”
‘Hah, this is something.’
It was quite a strange day. Ju Sehwa not being home when he came to visit.
‘I said I would come visit, how could she go out without waiting for me?’
“When will she return? I'll wait inside.”
“I apologize, Young Lord. If you wish to wait, I'll escort you inside, but she didn't mention when she would return either.”
“She didn't even say when she'd be back?” It was increasingly bewildering.
Of course, she could go out, but…
‘I clearly said I would come visit, didn't I? How could she go out without even saying where she's going or when she'll return?’
Ju Kyunghyun's expression became quite serious at these incomprehensible words.
‘Could something urgent have happened that they haven't told the Mystic Ruler about?’
Otherwise, there would be no reason for Ju Sehwa to go out despite him saying he would visit.
The fact that several days had already passed since he said he would visit didn't even register in Ju Kyunghyun's mind.
‘They said Ju Myoungyoon is in charge of Baek Giha. Could it be because of that? Or is there something else?’
But there was no way to know just by pondering here.
After thinking for a moment, Ju Kyunghyun decided to go inside.
‘I'll know if I wait. Maybe she just forgot to mention when she'd return.’
If she returns early after waiting, it would be nothing, and if she comes late, something must have happened.
‘But why hasn't Sehwa's cousin sister come to greet me either?’
Even the woman who always pleased him like a tongue in the mouth was nowhere to be seen.
Her cousin sister wasn't as pretty as Sehwa, but compared to the strong-willed women of the Ju Clan, she had quite a talent for making him feel comfortable. ‘Did they go out together?’
She would always appear wherever he was, saying pleasant things and making him feel at ease.
As he settled in the guest room where the servant guided him, he slightly furrowed his brow.
He was not at all used to waiting alone for someone like this.
‘But well, Sehwa will be happy when she finds out I waited.’
She will surely blush and not know what to do with herself again, asking if he came all this way because he was worried about her. She will show her appreciation openly with sparkling eyes.
Thinking about that made the wait somewhat worthwhile.
He opened the window and slightly raised the corners of his mouth as he looked at the snowball viburnum flowers blooming all over the back garden.
Sehwa was standing in front of the gate that led to the Mystic Realm.
“You're going to cross without permission? You already gave your entry passes to Youngchae and Youngmu,” Youngsun whispered with a quite worried expression.
In the past, any descendant of the Ju family could freely use that gate to travel between the human realm and the mystic realm.
But after their devastating defeat in the war against the Six Clans, that policy changed as well.
When the six families gained the upper hand in the war using the human realm passages and their method couldn't be figured out, they suspected there was an informant.
Therefore, now one needed to receive the Mystic Ruler's permission each time to use the gate, or have an entry pass with the Mystic Ruler's seal.
She had given her entry pass to Youngchae and Youngmu when sending them to the Mystic Realm recently.
“I was planning to go alone anyway. It's fine, just wait here for a moment.”
“No way! How can I let you go alone not knowing what might happen?”
“I told you it's fine. What could happen at the Ju Clan's outpost?”
“Absolutely not! Not only the Elder, but if Youngmu and Youngchae find out I let you go alone, I'm dead. Do you think they'd let me live?”
“You're exaggerating.”
“How is this exaggerating? Don't say that. Don't be surprised later when you see my corpse that has been brutally murdered by Youngmu and Youngchae.”
Even knowing it was a joke, Sehwa's expression hardened.
“Don't say things like that. Being murdered, corpse... Never. Understand?”
“Huh? ...Yes.”
“Never die.”
“Yes.”
Youngsun was momentarily surprised by the serious response, but soon felt happy.
She smiled brightly and stuck close to Ju Sehwa's side.
“So, what are you going to do after crossing over here?”
“Give me the alcohol.”
They had prepared several bottles of alcohol before coming to the gate.
She gestured toward the bottles of alcohol with strings tied around their necks and held out her hand, but Youngsun didn't give them to her.
“I'm going with you.”
The determination in her expression was so firm that Sehwa let out an audible sigh.
In the end, they crossed the gate together.
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