When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 45
Chapter 45
The mansion in the Ju Clan’s territory, where Sehwa had been born and raised, was even more tranquil than Baek Giha had imagined.
Amid the white buildings surrounding the beautifully cultivated garden, the cries of birds echoed like a chorus.
Beyond the window, the sunlit garden stretched out in a fantastical vista.
Yet, Baek Giha didn't register any of it.
His gaze was solely fixed on Sehwa, who lay unconscious.
‘It’s been five years, hasn't it, for us.’
He thought, gently brushing the sweat-damp hair from Sehwa’s forehead.
‘Will you continue to keep your eyes closed to me like this?’
Although her exuviation was complete, why couldn’t she open her eyes?
‘Could my spiritual power have interfered with her exuviation?’
Baek Giha's gaze grew heavy with concern.
‘...I’m sorry.’
For not realizing sooner that she was imprisoned in that sealed room.
For not realizing sooner that she had been ravaged by torture.
If only he hadn't given up on his feelings until the very end.
If only he had at least occasionally inquired about her well-being.
Thinking that she would never look back at him, he had deliberately avoided learning any news about her.
Afraid of discovering things he never wanted to know: how grand and joyous her wedding ceremony had been, how many children she had borne, how well she was living as the Ju Clan Head’s wife.
Yet, the result of that avoidance was learning that she had been trapped in a sealed room and tortured for the past five years.
Baek Giha hesitated before taking Sehwa's hand.
He lifted her slender, pale hand and kissed her fingertips.
He then pressed the limp hand to his forehead.
“...Please open your eyes now. Don’t worry me so much.”
It was then that his sharp senses detected something.
Quickly tucking her hand under the blanket, Baek Giha moved to sit as far from Sehwa’s bedside as possible.
Even at that distance, his face began to stiffen with tension.
It was because of the footsteps approaching from the distance.
Or rather, more precisely, because of what those footsteps portended.
After a sound of movement, someone entered the room with a few servants.
The sharp sound of white porcelain touching the table echoed.
Clack!
“Did you dismiss the servants and remain alone with her in this room?”
Ju Myoungyoon asked in a low, threatening voice.
Baek Giha, who had deliberately turned toward the window, kept his eyes closed in a tense posture and refused to turn around.
No matter what Ju Myoungyoon asked, he planned to say that he had been meditating to enhance his spiritual energy.
That he had only briefly sent the servants out in case they might disrupt his meditation.
That he had not gone anywhere near the young lady.
That was his plan to feign ignorance.
But—
“So, where is the man who claims to want to be my prospective son-in-law?”
…that resolve couldn't possibly hold for long.
Baek Giha turned his head, a gentle smile spreading across his face.
“Oh, you’ve arrived. I was so absorbed in my meditation that I…”
Before he could finish speaking, the Baek Clan Head’s gaze faltered.
“Again... you’ve brought it again?”
Seeing the contents of the porcelain bowl, Baek Giha's heart sank.
“Why do you keep giving me such precious things? Such good things should go to the Mystic Ruler, or to your two sons who must guard the front lines—“
“Please, don’t say that.”
Ju Myoungyoon interrupted him, also with a gentle smile.
“The Ju Clan is not a place where guests are treated so poorly.”
“...Haha.”
An indescribably disgusting stench rose from the porcelain bowl that Ju Myoungyoon had brought.
Moreover, this one smelled even worse than the one he had drunk this morning…
“Did you change the medicine? What… what is it this time?”
Baek Giha asked, desperately trying to maintain his smile.
The Ju Clan servant standing at a distance was wide-eyed with surprise, even though this sight should not have been so unfamiliar.
‘Right. It must be fascinating to see the legendary Baek Clan Divine Beast repeatedly showing such weakness.’
Considering his clan’s honor, it wasn’t easy for Baek Giha to show such a vulnerable side.
But he had witnessed it yesterday.
That smiles beget smiles – that the Father who had been glaring at him coldly couldn’t help but soften his expression the moment he smiled.
Since then, Baek Giha had made a constant effort to keep a smile while speaking.
“Upon close observation, I noticed that the Baek Clan Head often meditates. It seems that the fatigue from your long journey isn’t easily relieved by regular medicine. I thought it would be good if you recovered your health a bit more, so I made a slight change to the ingredients.”
“Haha.”
If it were poison, he would drink it and roll around just to escape this situation.
‘How many precious medicinal ingredients did he throw into that bowl this time?’
Because all sorts of good ingredients were boiled together, he actually felt his body improving after drinking it, so there was no way to refuse.
‘But what on earth did he put in it to create such a foul stench...’
At least he wanted to know what was in it.
“Now, bring the silver needle.”
Ju Myoungyoon extended his hand to the servant.
Baek Giha was a divine beast, and divine beasts were immortal, so they didn't need silver needles.
However, as divine beasts stopped being born, and the Ju Clan’s ability to see the future was no longer used, the Ju Clan’s customs changed.
The suspicious Mystic Ruler ordered that all food served to the Clan Head or honored guests must be checked with a silver needle in case someone might try to poison him.
And this was Baek Giha’s only way out.
According to the Ju Clan’s customs, one couldn’t eat food that hadn’t been tested with a silver needle.
Yes! If there was no silver needle, he didn’t have to eat it!
‘Etiquette is the best!’
So, he had begged the servant that the Ju Clan had assigned to him countless times.
That if he ever took out a silver needle in this room again, he would show him the line between life and death.
But, wasn’t that servant about to pull something out of his pocket as if he had forgotten that threat!
‘Th, th...’
His heart grew desperate, and Baek Giha glared at the servant, twisting his face in anger.
Fortunately, it seemed the servant regained his lost memories upon receiving Baek Giha’s killing intent.
He stopped rummaging through his pocket and straightened stiffly, then shouted.
“I-I’m sorry! There is no silver needle!”
It seemed that wasn’t enough, and Baek Giha hurriedly added.
“I apologize. I definitely put away the silver needle I used this morning, but it disappeared afterward.”
“……”
“Even if you go to bring another silver needle, it would take at least an hour, and wouldn’t the herbal medicine get cold by then? Since cold herbal medicine can't be consumed, how about we take it later tonight, or perhaps tomorrow?”
After a long silence, Ju Myoungyoon replied, the corners of his mouth lifting.
“Is that so? Then, perhaps I could test it myself to see if it’s safe?”
“What?!”
Without waiting for an answer, he poured a little of the herbal medicine onto a saucer and drank it.
“You can now confirm that it’s not poisonous, right?”
Then, he held the bowl out to Baek Giha again.
“Now, please drink.”
“……”
‘Oh my, is he a ruthless one. He even drank it himself just to make me drink it.’
The stench of rot emanated from the porcelain bowl before him.
Baek Giha felt a sense of crisis he had never experienced, not even on the battlefield.
This kind of thing... this kind of thing...
Even if he were to regain his lost immortality, he couldn't drink this.
The stench emanating from the viscous, mud-like liquid was truly bizarre.
How could he ask him to put this in his mouth? What had he done so wrong to the Father?
‘Loving is not wrong, is it?’
He’d rather be hit by a sword in a duel.
Direct pain would be better than this.
“Baek Clan Head, what's wrong? It's good for your body. Surely, you don't suspect I'm trying to poison you?”
“O-Of course not!”
“It’s truly beneficial for your health. Didn’t you also ask me to trust you? So, the Baek Clan should also trust me and drink it all down.”
Ju Myoungyoon added in a mumble that this is what one needs to drink to look younger than their age, and that way it would be fitting even if one were to marry someone much younger.
“Haha. Though you must not mean my daughter, since you came all this way saying you would take her as a sacrifice for the Six Clans without mercy.”
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