Excuse ?
Hongyeon doubted her ears.
Placing her hands on the ground, she only lifted her face to question Cheonma.
Did I hear wrong?
The old man pulled out a smoking pipe from his bosom with a frozen expression.
Smoke began to rise from it.
The pungent scent of unfiltered tobacco wafted through the air.
Its a good thing for you, isnt it? The guy you disliked is dying.
Hongyeon held her breath and cald her trembling heart.
Her hands on the floor were shaking.
The succession issue is no longer a worry, right?
Just as the old man said.
With the Young Demon dying, there was no longer a need to worry about his successor.
But with his death, bigger problems would arise.
Did he know how much that man had done here so far?
Dozens of children owe their lives to his grace, and hundreds of won have avoided cri because of him.
How much Dowon would be shaken just by his death.
It was too significant an issue to simply move on from.
Is that, your own words?
Hongyeon herself was not at ease.
Yes.
Please, tell the reason! Why exactly?
Hongyeon raised her voice in questioning.
A perplexed expression as if she still hadnt grasped reality. The news was too horrific to accept all at once.
Yet, she instinctively knew.
She had made a huge mistake.
Theres no need to know the reason. He was ant to die from the start.
He was too brilliant a talent to die.
The loss of a man with at least nine layers of wings yet to spread, it wasnt sothing to end in re regret.
Just a mont please!
Beyond urgency, it was desperation.
The old man furrowed his brows and coldly murmured.
Dont whine. Its already been decided.
The old man stood up, scattering cigarette smoke as he passed by Hongyeon.
She hastily turned her head and grabbed at the old mans robe.
With just one step, the old man easily shook her off.
-Click.
The sound of a door opening ahead.
It seed close yet as if it ca from a far place.
Stunned, Hongyeon stood dazed before lifting her head again at the sound.
Just before the door closed, she managed to shout.
Father
Click. The closing door halted.
Please.
Why does that person need to die? Where exactly?
Her brain was spinning rapidly.
Even her brilliant mind couldnt fully grasp the situation now.
Is it because of the succession issue? If thats the case, I misunderstood if that person becos Cheonma.
Hongyeon.
The old man, his emotions carved out, coldly cut her off.
Hongyeon gasped for breath.
You are the leader of Dowon.
Yes.
Since when could you question my decisions?
Impossible.
Leader Hongyeon, her role was not to advise.
All of Dowons authority has been transferred to you. Are you trying to ss things up with personal feelings?
What you need to do is not to change the decided matters but to nurture the future of Dowon. You must deal with the problems that will arise in the process in advance.
I know that.
Cruelly, every word was spot on.
Hongyeon felt as if her heart was being carved out.
Curious about the reason? Whats there to change by knowing?
Satisfying curiosity might be sothing, but thinking you can change events was arrogant and overly self-confident.
The old man stood for a long while.
Hongyeons face seed half-lost.
Was it because he caught sight of her expression?
To prevent the outcry, the Young Demon dies for Dowon. Thats all there is to it.
-Thud.
With those final words, the old man left.
Outcry. There were plans from the outside to subjugate Cheonma.
The fact that Dowon had been safe until now was due to the invaders not attacking, knowing Cheonmas life was nearing its end.
But was the outside beginning to make secret moves again?
Hongyeon, realizing the external situation in an instant, let out a breath.
Ha.
It was half a sneer.
Ha, haha. Huh.
A mans face crossed Hongyeons mind.
Now, she began to understand what he had said.
Leaving in three months. Was it about this?
How far ahead had he been planning and acting?
It seed he knew from the start that things would turn out this way.
Suddenly, he said he would act, and Dowon grew rapidly under his guidance.
Now, hes ready to die for Dowon.
What a foolish man.
Hongyeon chuckled, covering her eyes with one hand.
The erased makeup left a white sar on her hand.
I havent even had a drink with him yet.
The alcohol she brewed herself for that man, placed beside the bed at ho.
Prepared for when he would soday leave, now it seed pointless.
Perhaps they would never et again.
And she couldnt imagine facing that man with a brazen face.
-Slap!
Hongyeon struck her own cheek hard.
To snap herself back to reality, with all her strength.
Sigh.
With a cold face, she steadied her trembling breath.
Hongyeon was the leader.
Even if he died, Dowon would continue to exist.
She must continue to impartially carry out her duties and make the right decisions.
She had learned from childhood not to be swayed by emotions.
Hongyeon got up and took a step forward.
-Click.
However, despite her determination, she couldnt even lift her foot before her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees.
Uh.
I should calm down.
But the pain in her heart was too great.
Like being squeezed by a hand, her throbbing heart tortured Hongyeon.
She dearly missed the man who would rap her on the head when she made a mistake.
The als they shared at the inn.
Always dealing with work alone and making do with cold food, those als were incredibly warm to her.
She hadnt known her managent was wrong because there was no one smarter than herself.
She had learned a lot from the man.
How much consolation she had secretly received from him, she couldnt count.
Always staying up alone at dawn, dealing with docunts inside a window frosted over with winter frost.
The days she spent working alongside him flashed vividly in her mind.
She never expressed it, but being near him filled her heart with warmth.
Eh, sob.
But now, he would disappear.
They couldnt see each other.
Perhaps, for the rest of her life.
So, maybe thats why today felt even more poignant.
Lets stay like this for 5 minutes. No, make it 10 minutes.
Hongyeon sat, staring blankly at the floor.
-Knock, knock.
Round droplets ford on the floor.
It looked like it might rain today.
People sotis did crazy things when theyre bored.
-Crackle, crackle.
This is kind of fun in its own way.
As I stirred the campfire with a stick, I found simple pleasure in the task.
Sparks danced along the branches, and black ash fluttered in the wind.
World Tree of Ti.
[What is it?]
I had been here for about sixteen hours now.
Always busy, now alone, I found myself entertaining various thoughts.
Like sudden fantasies, for instance.
If I received the power of the Tree Spirit King, could I also steal your abilities?
[.]
Tree knots mating in a storm.
Just sothing I ntioned out of sheer boredom.
My mind had been a bit scattered lately, especially regarding sexual desire, which has been particularly
distracting.
If I dont keep myself physically busy, unsavory thoughts sneak in uninvited.
[To steal my power Are you planning to do that?]
Thats right no, never mind. Im just influenced by a lustful demon after a long ti.
[If it were you no, never mind.]
What?
[I understand what youre saying, but my true form is currently under the managent of the Japanese governnt.]
So, access was completely off-limits?
The idea of forcing my way in crossed my mind, but that seed too challenging.
Even if I were willing to betray human ethics, I longed for the World Trees power, but I lacked the courage to go that far.
[Even if you managed to steal it, its uncertain how the traits would manifest.]
Is that so?
[And I dont plan to let it be stolen, hehe.]
The World Tree of Ti laughed.
I frowned at the annoying sound of its laughter.
[Even the previous Tree Spirit King couldnt steal my power. In fact it was only because I sealed my body at the last mont that I narrowly avoided being violated.]
Ill take that as you being a virgin with no experience.
[Thats too much.]
The ability to transcend ti or space was indeed desirable, but its also true that achieving it was impossible.
I wondered how strong this World Tree bastard was?
They said a fla burned brightest just before it went out, but its bound to be less than at its peak.
Its hard to even imagine what kind of state it was in during those days.
[Back then, there were few trees () that could follow .]
Impressive.
Thump. Thump.
With ash clinging to the blackened branches I placed beside the rock, I looked up at the moonlit sky.
Was it going to rain?
Dark clouds were gathering in the distance.
Do World Trees possess their powers from birth?
[Whether human or tree, upon reaching a certain level, one possesses a single power. Its easier to say it governs a certain concept.]
Thus, the World Tree of Ti had power related to ti.
The World Tree of Healing possessed powers related to healing.
It seed there was a naming convention based on the concept they governed.
However, looking at the World Tree of Purity and the World Tree of Resentnt, their nas didnt seem directly related to their abilities.
[It varies. Many World Trees change their nas after undergoing transformations. Of course, their roots do not change.]
Roots?
[Im referring to the species of the tree.]
What species of tree are you?
[.]
The World Tree of Ti fell silent.
[Are you curious?]
Of course, I was curious.
There were different species even among World Trees. How could I not be interested in the kings of the World Tree world?
After hesitating, the World Tree finally ntioned a na.
[Baekyang a white poplar.]
Its flower language signified ti, the past.
This perfectly matched the current situation of turning back to the past.
So, your na is Baekyang?
[There is no na.]
Dont be so stiff.
I didnt think theres a need to stick to formalities when we didnt have much ti left together.
I had benefited a lot from her, and shes going to benefit a lot from .
Baekyang.
[Huh. Yes.]
Baekyang seed to acknowledge it with a sigh, a slight embarrassnt detectable in her response.
Before I go back, I wanted to say thank you.
Not all World Trees were useless.
These beings had their own thoughts and acted according to a cost-benefit analysis.
Shes the one who made realize this fact.
And she was the one who gave the opportunity to change the future, showing a kindness.
[I thank you, too. I will rember it for a lifeti, even as I wither.]
Thats more than enough.
I never thought Id make friends with a tree in my life.
[If only the previous Tree Spirit King had been soone like you, how wonderful that would have been.]
She kept repeating aningful phrases.
It seed like she was turning back to the past, but asking more about it seed out of place.
I looked into the distance and slowly rose to my feet.
-Thump.
Raindrops began to fall.
I could faintly sense traces of magical power.
A familiar old voice ca from right behind .
Its ti to get moving.
Have you told everything?
Only to Hongyeon.
It seems its not yet ti for Cheondo.
I wanted to see her crying face and comfort her, but ti did not permit.
Understood.
With a determined face, I dusted off my fists.
I had been ready to fight for a long ti.
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