When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 219
Chapter 219
Cheonryeong’s fading consciousness suddenly surfaced. The voice that answered him was far too familiar.
“Lady Sehwa? Cough! …Lady Sehwa, is that you?”
“Yes.”
Ah…
His eyes felt warm, as if they were tearing up.
He could trust anything this person said.
“What… what happened to him? Is he alive? Did he… escape?”
“…”
“Lady Sehwa.”
“He was already dead. You must have killed him with your sword.”
“!”
Cheonryeong couldn’t believe it and blurted out a question.
“R-Really? Is that… bastard… really dead?”
“Yes.”
Ah…
Cheonryeong’s horribly disfigured face contorted violently.
“L-Lady Sehwa.”
“Speak.”
“C-Can I entrust my master’s body to you? If you haven’t forgotten our past bond, please… his body…”
“Yes. I will take care of it.”
“…Th-Thank you.”
Warmth welled up in his eyes, eyes that hadn’t shed a tear even in pain. Finally, a few tears trickled down.
Cheonryeong took a deep breath.
Now he could finally face his master.
Finally.
How lonely he must be. I should have joined him sooner.
“Young Lord.”
My master. I’ve kept you waiting for too long.
Now that he had avenged his master’s wretched death, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.
His body, which had no attachment to life, was already dying, but even that brief remaining time felt precious.
Mustering his last bit of strength, Cheonryeong bit his tongue.
He laughed through his tears and released the tension from his body. Before his rapidly fading vision, he seemed to see the countless torches illuminating the Ju Clan’s mansion.
The moment he felt like he saw a familiar face beyond the long corridor of the mansion, the sound of hooves pounding the ground filled his ears. Before he knew it, a familiar back was in front of him. The familiar back that had saved his young, dying self, given him a surname when he had none, and made him his guard.
Cheonryeong ran after that back, never looking back, as if nothing could hold him back anymore.
He passed away with a smile on his face, his eyes open, as if welcoming someone.
Sehwa gazed down at him quietly. She reached out a snow-white, slender hand and closed Cheonryeong’s eyes.
“It seems he has gone to meet his master.”
Strong arms and large hands enveloped Sehwa’s shoulders. She relaxed against them, leaning into his embrace.
“He wasn’t as wicked as his father. I don’t want to pity him, but Ju Kyunghyun’s end was truly tragic.”
“You already helped him. There's nothing more to worry about.”
Her gaze deepened at his words.
How could she call it helping? She had merely used him for her own plans.
“Sehwa, no matter when, you will always be my bride. I will marry you.”
Back when he kept repeating those words, many good things happened to her. He had filled the void left by her always-busy parents and older brothers. So much so that it almost felt like love.
So much so that he became incredibly precious to her.
“Sehwa.”
The voice that called out to her on the first day she returned from the past seemed to echo again.
“Sehwa.”
Another voice overlaid the remnants of that voice. The voice most precious to her now.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head near his strong neck, inhaling his cool, snow-like scent.
It was this man, once again, who had saved her when she should have become a part of the new Sacred Water.
Sehwa recalled the day she became a completely new Divine Beast, soaring through the heavens. She had been with him then.
Two souls within a single Divine Beast, created by defying death and accepting even annihilation.
While one used their power, the other blocked the backlash. That was the key to preventing the loss of her self.
But they had come dangerously close to failing.
For some reason, her second wish for immortality, placed on his shoulder along with his reverse scale, hadn’t activated at first.
As she pondered the reason, she remembered the dreamlike words he had spoken within that light.
—I made a wish.
—A wish?
She had asked.
—Yes.
—What did you wish for?
—That you would be happy with the people you love.
Even in his final moments, he had wished solely for her happiness, excluding himself. With those words, he had transferred his second wish to her.
Thus, the wish hadn’t activated until she, who had given up on life, voiced her second wish. If she hadn’t regained consciousness, if she hadn’t cried out for life again, driven by the sole desire to save him, they might have both perished together.
“What’s wrong? Are you bothered by that bastard’s end?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then what?”
She lifted her head and gazed at his face. Clear, blue eyes, like deep water, looked back at her with concern.
It was thanks to this man, who worried about her until the very end, that they were together now.
Here.
Alive.
The profound emotions evoked by those words seemed to reverberate and expand within her chest. Perhaps it was because she had just witnessed a life fade away.
Unable to contain the words seeking release, she asked,
“Did I tell you today?”
“Tell me what?”
“That I love you.”
“…”
“I love you.”
The incredibly handsome man, his ears flushed red, shook his head.
“No, you didn’t.”
Looking closely, the skin around his eyes was also tinged with the same red hue.
“Did we agree to say it every day? Well, I haven’t heard it today yet, so say it again.”
Though she had already said it twice just moments ago, she didn't point it out. Instead, she obediently opened her mouth, snuggling against his firm body and whispering in his ear.
“I love you.”
“I love you more.”
He embraced her slender back and replied with an urgency that suggested he couldn’t even breathe properly without expressing those words.
“I love you more. I love you so much.”
The voice that was cold and indifferent to others was always gentle with her.
She had thought only hatred could erase the past. This man had taught her otherwise. And now, she would walk the long road ahead, together with him, toward the direction he had shown her. Because she wanted to hear the beat of his heart against her ear. Because she wanted to savor the scent of him, even as his breath quickened and his composure wavered. Because she simply wanted to hold him.
She embraced him tighter, hoping the warmth enveloping her would linger forever.
The pre-dawn sky, splitting the long night, arrived as always, soft as feathers. However, the air surrounding the pristine white Baek Clan mansion was filled with unease. The early morning at White Stone Pavilion was quiet. There was no bell tolling the time, no signal heralding the start of the day, but many servants quietly rose and began their tasks. There was no unnecessary chatter, and those who moved about did so with utmost care, trying not to appear busy.
This was only natural, as remnants of the Mystic Ruler’s faction were being captured and brought to the judgment stand every day.
The Mystic Ruler’s atrocities, revealed after a period filled with screams and curses, were enough to shock and horrify everyone.
“…How is it? Did the Chancellor eat anything today?”
A maid attending to Baek Manyong glanced at the tray brought out from the room. The maids’ expressions darkened as they saw the untouched, cold food.
How many days had it been like this?
“He hasn’t touched it again.”
“This is bad. He barely sleeps, so he needs to eat properly.”
“…I wish the Clan Head would return soon.”
Aagh! Aaagh!
No sooner had those words been spoken than a scream echoed from somewhere outside, even though the sky hadn’t fully brightened yet. The two maids flinched.
Sure enough, the smell of blood drifted in through the window that had been opened briefly for ventilation.
“…”
The maids’ faces paled. The situation hadn't been this grim when the judgment stand was first erected.
But as the criminals’ curses towards the Baek Clan continued, as the Clan Head’s absence stretched past a month and a half, the traces of red blood staining the judgment stand only grew larger.
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