The Ruler of Darkness

In a secluded garden at a remote corner of the Wongak Pavilion, a pale-faced Yeom Baek-ha was shouting at Yi-ryeong for a long time.

“Right now! If anything happens to my father, let me go to him at once!”

While Yi-ryeong was communicating something through a mental message, the maids stood like an iron wall, blocking Yeom Baek-ha’s way.

“If I can’t go, then at least let the Head of the Guards…!”

The maids thoroughly followed the emergency response guidelines for each situation.

“You must stay here until the situation is resolved.”

The guidelines written by the Eldest Young Master himself were more than just a law to them, so no matter how much Yeom Baek-ha pleaded, it was of no use.

“Head of the Guards…!”

With trembling hands, she cried out to the Head of the Guards, who was silently standing guard over her.

However, the Head of the Guards could only shake his head helplessly.

In this situation, not following the orders was equivalent to engaging in battle, and without understanding the situation, it would only add to the confusion.

“I have received orders from my lord to protect the Young Lady.”

Yeom Baek-ha tried to say something, but seeing the visible agony on the Head of the Guards’ face, she couldn’t utter a word.

She could only suppress the trembling of her body and calm her gasping breath.

Wasn’t this Head of the Guards the one who had served her father the longest among the subordinates?

The self-reproach and pain he must be feeling right now would be greater than hers.

“Situation terminated.”

Receiving the mental message, Yi-ryeong let out a sigh of relief and turned to Yeom Baek-ha.

“Young Lady, you can rest assured now. It seems there was just a brief misunderstanding while the two of them were talking.”

Yi-ryeong must have been equally frustrated at not being able to be by her master’s side in this situation, as her eyelashes were trembling.

“Ah…”

Yeom Baek-ha, her tension released, sank to the ground.

The Head of the Guards respectfully supported her.

Her body was drenched in cold sweat, feeling cold to the touch.

“So there was no physical confrontation?”

Yi-ryeong immediately nodded.

“Yes, I heard that Elder Yeom, who had raised his energy, soon burst into loud laughter, so it seems it was nothing serious.”

“…”

Yeom Baek-ha was relieved by those words, but at the same time, she was dejected.

‘In front of the Eldest Young Master, who doesn’t know martial arts, my father raised his energy and eventually laughed?’

Only one situation came to mind.

‘The moment when one must accept defeat.’

At that moment, Yi-ryeong apologetically asked for Yeom Baek-ha’s understanding.

“I’m sorry, but I need to leave for a moment in this situation.”

She pointed to two maids with her hand.

“But I’ll leave these girls here, so if you need anything…”

Yeom Baek-ha, seated on the ground, shook her head.

“It’s alright. Please take these maids with you too. Give me some time to be alone…”

The white tiger in cat form licked its owner’s cheek, worried about her.

“Yes, then we will leave for a moment.”

After the people of the Wongak Pavilion politely bowed, they flew away using light footwork.

The Head of the Guards, watching their retreating figures, smiled and turned to Yeom Baek-ha.

“Young Lady, I’m sure our lord has a plan. So please don’t worry…”

“I’ve reached my limit…”

However, Yeom Baek-ha did not see the Head of the Guards’ smile.

“Young Lady?!”

She collapsed forward, her body trembling too much to even sit up properly.

“Young Lady! Young Lady!”

She could no longer hide the seizure she had been suppressing until then.

Fortunately, the Head of the Guards practically flew to catch her, but her condition looked extremely bad.

Until then, he had thought she was just overly tense, but at that moment, he realized his thinking was completely wrong.

Pale complexion, lips turning blue, and a frail body trembling uncontrollably.

“A seizure?!”

It was undoubtedly a seizure symptom of a chronic illness.

It was the first time he had directly witnessed her seizure, but he, who had been sufficiently trained to deal with such situations, searched his pockets.

“Young Lady, please hold on a little longer! I’ll give you the pills right now…!”

The pills that the former Medicine King had formulated for her had been passed down by those who had been serving her closely.

“Young Lady?!”

But a frail hand grasped his wrist.

“N-No… don’t…”

It was none other than Yeom Baek-ha.

“What are you saying? Right now, we must…!”

She seemed to be in a state of confusion due to the seizure.

That’s why he tried to shake off her hand, but he froze at Yeom Baek-ha’s next words.

“…This is… the only way… for Father… to win.”

“What do you mean-?!”

The Head of the Guards felt his breath catch in his throat at the spirit in Yeom Baek-ha’s gaze.

“If I… die…, there’s no need… to negotiate….”

Even as she was approaching death in real-time, her eyes were more alive than ever.

“Young Lady! That’s absurd…!”

If Yeom Baek-ha died, Elder Yeom would have no weaknesses to be exploited by the Eldest Young Master.

There would be no need to negotiate with the Eldest Young Master in the first place.

Even for a simple warrior who had spent his entire life on the battlefield, it was not difficult to understand her words.

“No, I cannot comply with such a request….”

“Listen to me-!”

Yeom Baek-ha’s shrill voice echoed through the forest.

“I am… Father’s… successor. Let me… fulfill the role of a successor… just once….”

She spat out blood from her mouth.

The white tiger cried sorrowfully.

“Young Lady!”

“It’s just… my turn… to sacrifice myself… for everyone….”

In fact, since the end of the meal, Yeom Baek-ha had noticed something was wrong with her body.

And at that moment, she made up her mind.

If the worst situation came, she would fulfill her responsibility as the family’s successor.

Just once.

She hoped this useless body of hers could be of help, even if only once.

However, she couldn’t know if her plan would actually succeed.

The conditions were tricky.

She had to be able to tell that her father’s negotiation was essentially ending in defeat, and only someone she could persuade had to be around.

It was a slim chance, but in the end, she was fortunate enough to seize this opportunity.

‘I wanted to be not just a sickly person who needed protection, but a comrade-in-arms to everyone.’

She wanted to go into battle with everyone.

She wanted to stand side by side with them.

Even if only once.

Even in this way.

“Young Lady!”

The Head of the Guards, realizing her determination, could only wail and shed tears, unable to do anything with the pouch containing the pills.

“I’m… a comrade-in-arms… now too….”

The white tiger also shed tears from its large eyes, licking its owner’s cooling cheeks as if entranced.

“I hope… Father… will be proud… of me….”

Her vision gradually blurred.

And only then did the beautiful scenery of the Wongak Pavilion, called a fairyland, enter her eyes.

The gentle sunshine, the peacefully swaying leaves, the flowers in full bloom all around, and the petals fluttering in the wind.

“Eldest Young Master…”

At that moment, she heard an old man’s voice in her ear.

“What father would be proud to hear that his daughter committed suicide?”

The dazed Head of the Guards was startled and lifted his head.

“Y-You are…?!”

The old man approached with a grumpy expression.

“Yes, I am the Medicine King.”

The Medicine King strode over and snatched the pouch of pills from the Head of the Guards’ hand.

“Medicine King, how did you get here…?!”

The Medicine King took out a pill from the pouch, checked its condition, and answered.

“There is someone who watches and listens to everything inside the Wongak Pavilion.”

As the Medicine King approached with the pill, Yeom Baek-ha twisted her body and resisted violently.

“N-No…!”

The moment she took that medicine, her plan would fail.

But how could the world’s Medicine King just watch a patient die before his eyes?

“Tsk! Stay still!”

“Mmph! Mmph…!”

The Medicine King skillfully and gently subdued her and tried to feed her the pill.

“But, come to think of it…”

Yeom Baek-ha looked up at the Medicine King with a puzzled expression as his hand stopped.

Ignoring Yeom Baek-ha’s gaze, the Medicine King put the pill back in the pouch and stood up.

“Elder…?”

The Medicine King took out his pipe from his pocket.

“Now that I think about it, this is not the time to give her this medicine. I almost made a mistake.”

“What do you mean…?”

Just then, a commotion was heard from afar.

“Baek-ha! Baek-ha!”

It was her father’s desperate cry as he smashed through the trees blocking his path, running in a straight line.

“Elder!”

As soon as he saw the Medicine King, Elder Yeom knelt down.

“Please! I beg you, please save my daughter!”

Perhaps he misunderstood something, seeing the Medicine King just smoking his pipe.

“I sincerely apologize for what happened before! Elder!”

“Aish! You fool!”

The Medicine King suddenly got angry.

“Are you making me out to be a narrow-minded person who would abandon a patient over such a trivial matter?!”

“Huh?”

Elder Yeom lifted his head, tears flowing, and looked at the Medicine King.

“Have you forgotten? When a seizure occurs, it’s an opportunity to completely cure this persistent illness through treatment.”

“Ah…!”

The Medicine King smiled benevolently and said.

“My disciple is a tiiiny bit better at acupuncture than me, so let’s wait for him to arrive. From what I see, this child can still hold on sufficiently.”

At that moment, a voice came from the bushes.

“I always tell you, I am not your disciple.”

The one who appeared was none other than Yeon So-hyeon, always looking at ease.

“But I heard you admit that my acupuncture skills are superior to yours.”

“I never said that!”

Yeon So-hyeon ignored the Medicine King, who was jumping up and down.

‘Ah…’

And Yeom Baek-ha closed her eyes tightly.

It was the face of Yeon So-hyeon that she had always wanted to see the most, but at this very moment, it was the one face she never wanted to see.

Because…

“Eldest Young Master!”

Elder Yeom knelt before the Eldest Young Master.

“I, Yeom Gwak-chu, will jump into hell if you command it from now on, so please, please just spare my daughter’s life!”

Just as her father’s words were predetermined.

‘Father…’

Tears flowed from Yeom Baek-ha’s eyes.

It was the moment she wanted to avoid the most.

The moment her plan was ruined in the worst possible way.

In the end, she had to watch her father kneel because of her useless body.

“Eldest Young Master! Please! I beg you!”

Yeon So-hyeon ignored Elder Yeom.

“There’s still plenty of time…”

Calmly examining her condition, Yeon So-hyeon commanded the maids who were beginning to appear with nimble movements.

“Move this patient immediately.”

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