The investigation had nearly reached its conclusion.
To be honest, it wasn’t much of an investigation to begin with.
Though we moved around the area, calling it a search was a stretch. There was nothing substantial to uncover.
Everything had already been cleaned up. What more could we possibly find?
The only thing we could do was endure the stench of blood as we organized the bodies.
Even as we searched diligently for any clues, nothing turned up.
"Whoever did this was incredibly thorough."
I already knew they were enraged. And yet, despite that, they had handled the situation so perfectly.
It was another stark reminder of what kind of presence the Shadow King truly was.
“That’s enough.”
At my command, the mbers of the Azure Dragon Division and the martial artists of the Alliance halted their movents.
“There’s no point in continuing.”
“...”
Everyone seed to agree. No matter how thoroughly we searched, nothing erged.
“Did you find anything at all?”
“There are traces of sothing being erased, but nothing beyond that.”
“To be this ticulous….”
We had searched the archives of the Celestial Stream Sect and specific locations, but even after ransacking their branch offices, nothing of value was uncovered.
The only thing we managed to learn was:
“To think the forr branch leader was actually collaborating with the unorthodox sect.”
We discovered through the ledgers that the man using the surna Mokri had been working with the Celestial Stream Sect.
It took so ti to uncover since it was deeply hidden, but we found it in the end.
“This was likely information the Demonic Cult left behind on purpose, don’t you think?”
“They probably saw no need to take information that had already been exposed.”
“Then why is there nothing about the Ilcheon Sword?”
The Ilcheon Sword had not only colluded with the Celestial Stream Sect and the unorthodox faction but also had ties to the Demonic Cult.
This shocking revelation had even co directly from the Ilcheon Sword himself.
“That’s likely because the Demonic Cult deed it information that needed to be erased.”
“Your reasoning makes sense.”
“Regardless, since the Ilcheon Sword himself confessed, there’s no need to dig further into that matter.”
Not to ntion, Cheonma had co and personally killed the Ilcheon Sword.
Even if so information was lost, the confession from the Ilcheon Sword solidified the truth.
“To think the Grand Lord of the Martial Alliance was engaging in such underhanded deeds behind the scenes.”
“In this chaotic ti, there’s no one left to trust….”
The murmurs of despair were palpable. Hearing them, I spoke up.
“Enough chatter. Gather what you need.”
“Yes, sir…!”
At my words, the martial artists moved quickly. Watching them, I couldn’t help but reflect.
“No one to trust….”
It was painfully true. There was no one in this world worth trusting—not even myself.
******************
We returned to the branch. By now, a full day had passed, and evening had arrived once more.
“Prepare a brief report to send. Since the Tang Clan has sent reinforcents, let the n get so rest.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Reduce the number of night watch shifts by half, and notify the Tang Clan so they can adjust the schedule.”
“As you command.”
Though it had only been two days, it had been an exhausting forced march.
For martial artists of our level, physical fatigue wasn’t an issue, but ntal exhaustion was another matter entirely.
Everyone looked visibly drained.
If I pushed them any further, they’d break before long.
That’s why I had to enforce rest, even if it ant doing so by force.
If we were to continue using them, this was necessary to keep them from falling apart.
“Once the report reaches the main Alliance, they’ll send reinforcents, right?”
“Yes, though it’s expected to take three months.”
“Then by the ti they arrive, we’ll already be gone.”
Three months was more than enough ti for us to have returned.
“Well, that’s their problem to deal with.”
Any follow-up investigations would rely be for appearances. I didn’t have much faith in how the main Alliance handled things.
“We’ve confird enough. Everyone rest. Let the branch leader know I’ll visit in about an hour.”
“Understood.”
I passed on my instructions and moved. My destination was my quarters.
“I need to deal with the matter of the Poison King by the day after tomorrow. I should also notify the rchants regarding the Dokcheon Pill.”
Though Cheol Ji-seon had likely delivered the ssage, I still needed to keep an eye on things.
“The Green Forest… Before the higher-ups catch wind of it, I should take care of the informants who’ve been accepting bribes.”
So beggars had leaked information to the higher-ups without authorization.
The mont the rumors spread, the Green Forest leaders would act. It was better to clean this up before that happened.
“The Shadow King seems busy. Nahi has her schedule. I can’t trust Tang Deok with this either.”
That fool couldn’t be trusted not to ss things up.
I needed soone else….
Ah.
A certain person ca to mind.
Soone currently handling matters in the Xian region. That person would do.
“I’ll send a letter later….”
As I contemplated the next steps, I opened the door to my quarters.
“You’re here.”
“...”
A chilling voice greeted .
I looked up to see green eyes gleaming in the night, staring at .
“You’re late.”
It was Tang So-yeol.
Tang So-yeol stood there with her expressionless face, looking at . I asked,
“Why are you here…? No, how long have you been waiting?”
“Not long.”
Not long, she says. But it felt like she’d been here for quite a while.
“Damn it.”
I swallowed dryly.
I hadn’t noticed Tang So-yeol’s presence at all, despite my preoccupied thoughts.
Which ant—
“She was seriously suppressing her presence.”
Tang So-yeol had been deliberately hiding her presence with full effort.
Not just in this room but likely from the very entrance of the quarters.
Whooong!
As soon as our eyes t, a barrier enveloped the surroundings.
It was a soundproof barrier, clearly prepared in advance.
“You’ve worked hard today.”
“…Ah, yeah. You too.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“R-really? Why is that?”
“I was too distracted by sothing to focus on work. Ah, I know it was wrong not to do my duties, so please punish later.”
“...”
Who could possibly reprimand soone asking with such a chilling expression?
I swallowed my words and kept them to myself.
“…Do you know that the head of the Tang Clan is here?”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
“Did you see him?”
“No. Should I go see him now?”
“…Ah, no, I was just asking.”
“Yes.”
“...”
“...”
The conversation fell into silence.
Even though it seed like casual chatter, the thorns in her words pricked at my throat.
It had been a long ti since I felt this kind of fear.
After a long silence, she spoke.
“Young Master.”
“…Yes?”
Tang So-yeol looked at and asked,
“Don’t you have sothing to say to ?”
“...”
I swallowed hard.
The mont I’d been dreading had arrived. My throat moved on its own.
It was a truth I had montarily forgotten while dealing with everything else.
No, rather than forgetting, I had been consciously trying to ignore it.
"I won’t let it slide."
The words Tang So-yeol had spoken to while asking if I was Cheonma.
And her statent that, this ti, she wouldn’t let it go so easily.
Recalling that mont, my body stiffened.
In the silent, unlit room, I stood frozen for what felt like an eternity.
A faint sigh broke the stillness.
“Young Master.”
“…Yes?”
Since I wasn’t responding, Tang So-yeol continued.
“Are you Cheonma, Young Master?”
“...”
It was a confirmation, delivered with unyielding intent. She wouldn’t let this go.
My heart sank with a heavy thud.
In the dark room, only her eyes shone clearly.
She stared at without blinking, her gaze unrelenting.
Her determination was clear: if I didn’t answer, she would never let this go.
“…Ah…”
What should I say?
What excuse could I possibly make? No—would making excuses even change anything?
Tang So-yeol already seed certain.
She might have been curious about the answer I’d give, but her heart appeared to have already made its decision.
All I could do now was choose.
Should I lie, knowing that she already knew?
Or should I confess a truth I didn’t want to face?
The decision was mine.
But how?
How could I possibly make that choice? My breath trembled as fear seized .
Unable to speak, I stood there in silence for a long ti.
Then—
Swish.
Tang So-yeol suddenly reached out and took my hand.
“Young Master.”
Her voice was as calm as ever.
“I don’t know what it is that you’re so afraid of.”
For so reason, a faint smile played on her usually expressionless face.
“But I like you more than you think, Young Master.”
“...”
“You already know, don’t you? About how I, about how we feel about you.”
The subtle shift between I, , and we carried layers of aning.
“If this were any other situation… I would have pretended not to notice or spared you the difficulty of speaking. But…”
Her hand gently brushed against the back of mine.
“This ti, Young Master, you’ve gone too far.”
“…What did I do?”
I couldn’t imagine what I might have done to deserve this. My thoughts were racing when she said:
“You hesitated when you pushed away, didn’t you?”
“...”
Her words made my eyes widen.
She was right.
During the chaos, when I wore the mask and wreaked havoc, I hesitated for a mont when Tang So-yeol ca at .
I had tried to cover it up, to make it seem like nothing had happened, but had that brief hesitation given away?
“It’s not just that, though. Normally, I wouldn’t have noticed. But I’ve spent far too much ti watching you, Young Master.”
“...”
“So I wondered. Why were you standing there like that? What are you moving for this ti?
It’s unlikely to be for yourself. After all, that’s not the kind of person you are.”
I wanted to deny it.
I wanted to say that I was doing this for myself, that I was far more selfish than she thought.
But…
“That’s why I wanted to ask.”
“What…?”
“I wondered if I was even soone who deserved to hear the answer from you, Young Master.”
“...”
“I thought, maybe, I could co to understand a little of what you’re carrying that we don’t know. So I asked.”
Her face softened completely. For once, she didn’t look like the usual Tang So-yeol.
The calm and cold expression she always wore was gone.
But there was sothing different about her now—a faint hint of hurt and disappointnt in her eyes.
“It’s fine, though. I guess it’s not the right ti yet. But soday, I believe it will be. So let’s pretend I didn’t ask anything today. Don’t worry about it.”
She stepped past as she finished speaking. But then, just as she reached the door, she stopped and turned.
“Oh, one more thing, just so you know…”
I looked back at her.
“I don’t care what form you take, Young Master.”
Her words pierced through , making my body move reflexively.
“I an, sure, at first, I liked you because of your face. But now… oh!”
I pulled her into my arms before she could finish her sentence. Her small fra fit perfectly in my embrace.
“W-wait…!!”
Tang So-yeol trembled as I held her. I could feel the warmth rising in her cheeks, heating my chest.
“This, this is… wait, this is….”
“It’s true.”
“…What?”
“I’m exactly what you think I am.”
“…!”
I couldn’t bring myself to say the word Cheonma. It felt too ridiculous. But I confird it in a roundabout way.
I hadn’t even planned to say it. Watching her leave, my body had moved on its own.
“And another thing.”
I hesitated for a mont before speaking again.
“It’s not because you’re insignificant that I couldn’t tell you.”
“Then…?”
“It’s the opposite.”
I t her confused gaze and continued.
“I couldn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d hate .”
“…Hate you? Why?”
“Because… it would an that you’re important to .”
I lowered my head, too ashad to et her eyes. I was afraid that she’d hate what I was doing, that she’d hate for it.
Even now, that fear kept from saying more.
Tang So-yeol stared at with her face flushed red.
What kind of expression was I making right now? I didn’t know. I couldn’t even begin to imagine.
“So… for now, that’s….”
“Young Master.”
She cut off mid-sentence, her face about to burst as she smiled.
“I love you.”
It was so sudden, so unrelated to the current situation.
“…What?”
But I couldn’t question it. I didn’t have the capacity to.
“I’m sure you already know, but I’m serious.”
Her words made my mind go blank.
Yes, I’d known for a while. It would’ve been absurd not to realize it.
Still, hearing it directly was different. As cold sweat began to form on my brow, she asked,
“What about you, Young Master?”
“What do you think of ?”
"..."
?
‘What about …?’
The answer surfaced in my mind imdiately, as if it had been waiting all along.
I already knew it, so finding it wasn’t difficult.
The problem was that I couldn’t bring myself to say it aloud.
"I…."
Just as I was about to answer Tang So-yeol, a voice suddenly echoed in my head.
"Do you know that?"
‘…What?’
It was a mory.
But I couldn’t recognize it.
I frowned, trying to focus, and then another voice spoke.
"What do you an?"
It was my voice.
Though slightly lower and tinged with a faint, unrecognizable amusent.
"I’m in love with you."
This ti, it was a woman’s voice.
"But you probably don’t know that."
"I do."
"You know, but not in detail."
Was this a delusion? Conversations I had never experienced began to unfold in my mind.
"I know perfectly well. Why do you think I don’t?"
"Because you don’t."
"I don’t understand."
"You don’t need to understand. Just rember."
The woman spoke as if that was all there was to say, her tone carrying a subtle sadness.
Why was I rembering this? What were these mories, and why were they surfacing now?
Unable to comprehend, I furrowed my brows.
"I love you so much that I would do anything for you."
"..."
"So, you should always be grateful for being loved by soone as amazing as ."
"That’s dramatic."
"Of course. I’m dramatic and amazing."
"You’ve got an unnecessarily high sense of self-worth. Fine, then. What should I do to repay the love of soone so great?"
"Hmm? You don’t have to do anything."
"Does that an I should just accept it and live with it?"
"That’s fine too. Just accepting it is enough for . But if you insist on giving sothing in return…."
I couldn’t see anything—no situation, no person, nothing.
All I could feel was the voice.
"Whenever I want, call my na."
"…That’s a strange request. Is that really enough for you?"
"It’s enough. And it’s harder than you think. ‘Whenever I want’ is… far more difficult than you realize."
"It doesn’t matter. That much, I can easily do."
"Really?"
The woman chuckled.
"Good. I’ll trust you, then…. That’s all I need."
"I still don’t understand…."
I laughed, too, bewildered by the situation.
Then.
"Hey."
The woman spoke again.
"Can you call it now?"
"Now?"
"Yes. I want to hear it."
In response to her words, the in the mory spoke.
And without realizing it, I repeated the na aloud.
"…Yehwa ."
It was a na as delicate and fleeting as a mirage.
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