Delicate C10

Chapter 10 

Only now did everything about General Tae’s long-held hatred finally make sense.

Unable to hate the prince who had made the absurd decision to take only Dam Yun as his secondary consort, or himself for faithfully carrying out that order, General Tae had instead turned every ounce of his resentment toward the easiest target Dam Yun.

“So the soldiers had to die as well? Just to silence everyone who knew my face?”

At last, the conversation reached its heart.

“You resemble Lady Dam enough that I tried to devise my own solution. But the Dam Clan refused to yield. In any case, a sacrifice was necessary. Besides, the soldiers stationed at Sangok Fortress² were condemned criminals to begin with. I merely abandoned the lesser for the sake of the greater.”

“So you’re saying the soldiers were destined to die anyway… and since I’m not the real Lady Dam, my life doesn’t matter either.”

Though Dam Yun spoke calmly, the ash-grey eyes fixed upon Mokjin held no trace of submission.

Watching him continue to resist until the very end, Mokjin let out a deep sigh.

For some reason, he was reminded of a deer he treasured dearly.

A beautiful creature that would quietly accept his touch and blink with gentle eyes yet, whenever it found the slightest opening, it would dream only of escaping over the fence and disappearing into the forest.

Even if he gave it the richest meadows and the finest pastures in all the world, the deer’s gaze would forever yearn for the untouched green depths beyond his reach.

Just like Dam Yun, standing before him with his graceful, slender neck.

“When you cast aside the shell called Lady Dam, what will remain of you? Didn’t you once say you only wished to live peacefully beneath a roof?”

“The Imperial Palace is far too grand a roof, and the life of an imperial consort is hardly one of contentment. All I ever wished for was the freedom to choose where I belong. The military camp wasn’t my choice, and neither was staying by your side.”

He did not long for the gold and treasures of Junggyeong⁵.

Nor did he ache to return to the homeland where he had lost his mother.

All he had ever wanted was freedom.

The freedom to choose anything for himself.

Yet what Mokjin offered him was nothing more than another prison.

“You are far too greedy.”

A familiar sharpness settled into Mokjin’s eyes.

It was the same gaze every member of the Dam Clan possessed the eyes of those who never regarded others as equals because they believed they alone could never be wrong.

“Didn’t you say you hated the nights in the wilderness? Everything I did was for your sake. So that I would never abandon you. Isn’t that enough? What more could you possibly want? Why are you doing this?”

“I wonder.”

With a hollow laugh, Dam Yun slowly stepped backwards.

He sharpened every one of his senses.

In terms of raw physical strength, Mokjin could never truly overpower him.

But this place existed within Mongro.

“Everything you’ve said… sounds exactly the same as telling me you’ll abandon me. I’ve never been very clever, so perhaps I don’t understand why.”

“So you truly intend to force my hand?”

Darkness gathered in Mokjin’s eyes.

The jade beads of the Myeongjugwan rattled softly as they swayed together with his white hair.

At the same moment, he raised a golden whip twice as thick as General Tae’s.

He intended to subdue Dam Yun with powerful Binding Arts.

The brilliant golden lash tore through the air.

Dam Yun evaded the strike in a single movement as it split into hundreds of twisting trajectories that crawled toward him like tangled tree roots.

But empowered by the spiritual force of the Myeongjugwan, the whip abruptly changed direction in an impossible arc.

His white robes tore apart in several places.

Fresh cuts bloomed across his body.

One slash struck the very wound General Tae had left behind a deep injury that had never fully healed.

As was always the case within dreams, the pain felt no different from reality.

Biting down hard on his lip, Dam Yun avoided every subsequent attack.

But he could not stop crimson blood from spreading across the shredded white fabric.

“…!”

Mokjin’s eyes widened.

As though burned, he immediately withdrew the whip.

With a sharp clatter, he tore the Myeongjugwan from his head and threw it aside.

Its spiritual power vanished instantly.

The golden whip likewise lost its miraculous strength.

The countless strands that had moments before lunged like dozens of serpents now hung limply.

“How could you be injured so badly?!”

Both anger and concern coloured Mokjin’s voice.

Perhaps his distress stemmed only from seeing something precious damaged.

Even so…

Dam Yun’s heart still ached.

To him, the prince he had served for years remained someone unimaginably precious.

Someone to whom he would gladly have devoted a lifetime of unwavering loyalty.

“I’ll be honest with you. I hold no resentment toward you, Hyung. Compared to the Dam Clan, abandoning me is simply the rational choice. If I were in your position… perhaps I would have done the same.”

“I asked who injured you…!”

“You have shown me great kindness all this time.”

Though the torn flesh along his arm burned as if engulfed in flames, Dam Yun threw himself forward.

The golden whip pursued him, strand after strand, but it had already lost most of its strength.

Even if Mokjin had attacked without mercy, Dam Yun would likely still have escaped.

“Soyun!”

Leaving Mokjin’s desperate cry behind him, Dam Yun pulled his robe closed, hiding the grotesque bloodstains.

He vaulted onto the window frame and let out a short whistle.

Responding to his call, Bihyu appeared.

Without the slightest hesitation, Dam Yun leapt onto its back.

“Please… Soyun!”

Having finally gathered up the golden whip, Mokjin chased after him.

His desperate voice split the night air.

“Where do you think you’re going with injuries like that?! I won’t do anything. Come back… please…!”

 

The desperation in Mokjin’s pleading voice was so profound it sounded as though it had been carved from his very bones.

Dam Yun’s heart ached just as deeply.

But he could no longer walk the same path as the prince.

He merely urged Bihyu onward, disappearing into the clouds.

Mokjin’s voice gradually faded into the distance.

Beneath Bihyu’s feet, clouds of five colours churned like black storm clouds heavy with an approaching tempest.

The endless sea of clouds, through which not even an inch ahead could be seen, seemed intent on swallowing Dam Yun whole just like the uncertain road that awaited him.

Whenever one left Mongro, sometimes they awoke immediately.

Other times, they simply entered another dream.

A real dream.

The ordinary kind that came to people in their sleep.

Perhaps because he dreaded the powerless reality waiting for him upon waking…

Dam Yun dreamed of a place where he wished he could remain forever.

His mother was there.

As always, she was working in the dye workshop.

Beside her, while she carefully sorted bolts of colourful fabric, Dam Yun crushed safflower petals beneath his hands.

The crimson dye flowed brilliantly, as red as fresh blood.

“…Go… that way.”

His mother spoke softly.

“Go east.”

The next moment, Dam Yun opened his eyes.

“…”

Why had Mother appeared in his dream?

What had she said at the very end…?

Like someone dragging himself free from a thick swamp, Dam Yun painfully shook off the remnants of the dream.

Cold sweat drenched his body.

His arms and legs felt as heavy as blocks of lead.

And then…

Mokjin.

As the image of his mother faded, everything that had happened earlier in Yumongru resurfaced with perfect clarity, weighing heavily upon his chest.

I have to run.

Truthfully, he had already made up his mind when he defied General Dam.

He intended to spend every coin he had saved to help his master and Miseol escape, while he himself wandered wherever fate carried him.

His heart had already grown so cold that nothing remained within it.

At this very moment, Mokjin’s true body was surely inside the Imperial Palace in Junggyeong⁵.

Yet even knowing the prince was over a thousand li away, Dam Yun only wanted to put an even greater distance between them.

His chest felt unbearably tight.

He blinked slowly.

The dim room refused to come fully into focus through eyes still clouded with sleep.

Yet something felt strange.

Although he was awake, his senses remained dull as though he were still buried beneath heavy blankets.

Breathing itself felt constrained.

As if something were pressing against his chest.

…

Ah.

Someone was sitting on top of him.

An assassin…?

Could he truly have allowed someone to approach this closely without noticing?

Every instinct in his body sprang taut only for all that tension to vanish in an instant.

It was not an assassin.

It was Miseol.

Fragile as a flower that had already been plucked.

“…”

For reasons unknown, Miseol was straddling him, his lips buried deeply against the side of Dam Yun’s neck.

Warm, damp breaths brushed gently across his skin.

The beautiful young master of Junggyeong renowned for effortlessly captivating countless men and stirring scandals wherever he went had never once invaded Dam Yun’s personal space like this before.

Frowning slightly, Dam Yun endured the faint sting and ticklish sensation for a moment.

Then he raised a hand.

Smiling lightly, he gave Miseol a playful shove.

“No matter how handsome I am, that’s enough. Stop touching me.”

Despite the smile he forced onto his face, there was no ease left within him.

Anxiety still weighed heavily upon his shoulders.

And the fact that he had completely lowered his guard until someone could get this close only made him even more uneasy.

Dam Yun hurriedly climbed to his feet and opened a small wooden chest.

He searched through the few personal belongings he had left.

His fingers finally found a simple jade earring.

It was the only piece of jade he possessed.

There was no telling when the resourceful Mokjin might intrude into his dreams again.

He needed at least some form of protection.

Without the slightest hesitation, Dam Yun pressed the dull earring post straight through his untouched earlobe.

“Ugh…”

The blunt point crushed through flesh instead of piercing cleanly.

A violent bolt of pain flashed through his mind.

Since ancient times, jade had been believed to repel evil influences and invite good fortune.

Worn upon the body, it could also seal the cracks through which dreams were entered.

Ironically, this very method had once been taught to him by Mokjin as a simple way to defend against those who abused Mongro.

Now he found himself using it against the man who had taught it to him.

Miseol silently watched Dam Yun’s strange behaviour as he reached for jade the very moment he awoke.

Then, without saying a word, he quietly stepped closer and gently cupped Dam Yun’s ear.

“…Ah. Thank you.”

A cool, soothing energy seeped into his throbbing earlobe.

Miseol had used Life Arts.

It could not possibly be true…

Yet he behaved as though he already understood exactly why Dam Yun had done such a thing.

He was unusually quiet.

Far too calm.

Silent enough to feel unnatural.

The subtle sense of wrongness made Dam Yun hesitate.

But there was no time.

Pushing that uncomfortable feeling aside, Dam Yun gripped Miseol firmly by the shoulders.

“Miseol. You have to run.”

His plan was to send Miseol and Elder Bok⁷ away first.

Pursuers might come from both Mokjin and the Dam Clan.

If that happened…

Dam Yun himself would become the decoy.

“Escape together with Master. Send every remaining soldier out of the camp as well.”

If they stayed here…

Not a single one of them would survive.

His grip unconsciously tightened.

Then “The remaining soldiers?”

Miseol repeated quietly.

“Yes.”

Dam Yun nodded.

When Miseol still failed to move, Dam Yun hurriedly reached out and grabbed his hand, intending to pull him to his feet.

Instead 

Smack.

Miseol slapped Dam Yun’s hand away.

Then, with a face utterly devoid of emotion, he delivered words that struck like a bolt of lightning.

“They’re already dead.”

Dam Yun’s outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

Silence descended upon the room.

So complete it was as though even breathing had ceased.

“…What?”

Footnotes 

1. Hyung (대형) – Literally “elder brother”; the respectful title Dam Yun uses for Mokjin.