Camellia 154

A few days later, beneath the moonlit glow of Haeseong Pavilion.

“Ha ha, Gyo-mo-nim. Your attire is stunning tonight. Such a breathtaking beauty, it nearly blinds this lowly man.”

“Why are you here?”

“Ha ha ha… I’ve been wondering that myself, truly. If the circumstances allow, could you perhaps ask the Sect Leader why I, a humble believer, must handle his duties in his place?”

Seolyeong had rushed over after noticing candlelight flickering from the second floor of the Haeseong Pavilion. Lately, his husband had been thoroughly ignoring him. But rather than the man he hoped to see, it was Sa Yeoho alone who sat in the office, moving his brush across a sheet of paper. He didn’t seem thrilled about the situation either, adding in a flat tone,

“I really don’t understand. Why must I be the one writing this letter to the Murong clan?”

“Did you just say Murong clan?”

Seolyeong snatched the paper from him the moment he spoke. The brush scraped harshly across the page, leaving a long trail of black ink. Sa Yeoho looked on, deeply regretful. He’d only just started writing after wasting most of the day, and it was a letter that absolutely had to be finished by tonight.

“Ahem, Gyo-mo-nim?”

He had meant to politely ask for the letter back, but his mouth fell open when Seolyeong ripped it to shreds. Then, as if that weren’t enough, he set the torn pieces on fire, glaring with visible irritation.

“And you were calmly writing this nonsense like it was nothing?”

“Would you rather I refused and got my neck snapped…?”

Sa Yeoho answered gloomily. He fully understood why the letter had upset the Gyo-mo. If he were in his shoes, he wouldn’t be pleased either. After all, the letter essentially said: “The bride will soon be returned to your clan, so please care for him well.” And yet the blood fiend Gyo-mo had no intention of leaving Yurigung.

“You said it well, Lord Sa Yeoho. From now on, even if it costs you your neck, don’t ever write nonsense like this again.”

Even a lowly believer like him could recognize what was happening. Surely the Supreme One knew too. Either he was pretending not to, or choosing to turn a blind eye out of necessity. Sa Yeoho recalled the Sect Leader’s expression when he had been handed this task.

“I’ve heard you’re quite skilled at writing letters that win hearts. Let’s see that talent in action again.”

He had wanted a letter elegant enough to satisfy the proud Murong clan. Likely, he hoped to appear as gracious as possible now that he was entrusting them with his bride.

“Gyo-mo-nim.”

Sa Yeoho suddenly spoke with a serious voice. Seolyeong gave him a sideways glare.

“What now.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to just leave?”

By nature, Sa Yeoho was a loyal follower who never disobeyed the Supreme One. Honestly, he found the blood fiend Gyo-mo rather to his liking, given his unpredictable nature. But if the Supreme One wished to cast him out, then he too had to comply.

“Opposing a god will only leave you torn to pieces, mind and body.”

“Hmph.”

Even without being told, Seolyeong was already in tatters. He had spent days and nights sitting outside the Gwanju Hall bedchamber, waiting to be called. His strong body had no trouble enduring sleepless nights, but his heart was another matter. Unable to bear being rejected again, Seolyeong would often curl up and sob loudly.

It seemed his husband truly meant to drive him away, as he hadn’t shown his face in days.

“…He’s not a god.”

That was all Seolyeong could manage to say. Shoulders slumped, he slowly left Haeseong Pavilion. The Sect Leader was not a god. But everyone kept calling him one, expecting something inhuman, and that was how things had come to this.

After catching his breath, Seolyeong returned to the bedchamber at Gwanju Hall and curled up again. The person he loved was just beyond that door. The one he had spent the night with. The one he wanted to wake up beside in the morning sun. He was so close, and yet unreachable.

With his face buried in his knees, Seolyeong murmured,

“I miss you.”

There was no reply, but surely his husband could hear him.

“I miss you… husband…”

A sob burst out. Every time he closed his eyes, scenes from that time –when he had crossed the net of time– rose before him again. He could never forget the sight of that child enduring unbearable years alone, abandoned by the world.

Maybe it was because that grief had grown too strong. The tears would not stop. His forehead began to burn. So crying really could make your head hurt. He hadn’t known, because he had never cried like this before.

Blinking slowly, Seolyeong soon succumbed to drowsiness. He had trained himself to eat and sleep to live as a human, even though his body had no real need for it. It was only because he desperately wanted to blend in with people that he lived that way.

As he drifted to sleep with his back against the door, a falcon flew in and perched on the corridor window. A faint blue gleam flickered in the creature’s eyes, but lost to sleep, Seolyeong didn’t notice.

*

Sa Yeoho’s letter eventually crossed the Sipman Daesan and reached the Murong clan. When a reply arrived demanding the bride be returned immediately, Seolyeong was the only one truly fed up. It felt like everyone except him was on the same side as Sahyeol Amje. It was as if he was the only one who wanted to stay on Yeonhu.

Holding the second letter Sa Yeoho had fluttered over to him, Seolyeong went to Yeonhwa Hall and collapsed face-down on the desk.

“It’s from Hyeon-ah…”

The jade-green paper and bright yellow seal were her favorite.

I thought you were dead, you bastard. How could you vanish like that without a word? If it hadn’t been for rumors about you circulating in North Sea’s Ice Palace, I would’ve stormed the Sipman Daesan myself. I heard you fought the traitor of the martial world and won? I’ll give you credit for that, at least.

It was a rough opening, but entirely like Seolhyeon.

But “traitor of the martial world”… could she be talking about Peng Rang?

Everyone here is fine. And let me say this now, don’t you dare try to take credit for this peace. I’m not saying it wasn’t your doing. I just don’t want to admit it. If it weren’t for your sacrifice, the martial world would’ve already collapsed beyond repair.

“Our dear Seolhyeon actually praised her brother for once…”

As he read further, Seolyeong suddenly sat up straight, stunned.

I’m getting married soon. End of next month. Will you be there?

That one sentence hit like a punch to the head.

“Married? What marriage?”

What on earth had happened while he was away? As he frantically read the rest of the letter, he felt like he’d been hit with a stick. That composed and elegant First Young Master had really gone and done it.

Murong Wi. Seolhyeon’s fiancé was none other than Murong Wi!

“Shit! Just how bad is he going to make her in-laws treat her?”

That was his first worry. Would Murong Wi’s parents, the Murong clan heads, really accept Seolhyeon as one of their own? He knew his sister had a much better reputation than he did, but, there was no way she would be fully embraced into the clan.

Was it Murong Wi who recklessly proposed, or did Seolhyeon somehow talk him into it? Seolyeong clutched his head in agony. As if he weren’t already going mad because of his husband, now he had this on top of it. And worse, it wasn’t something he could fly over and fix immediately, which only made the headache worse.

“Hyeon-ah, you too? Are you really going to let yourself get dragged down by love…?”

Just as Seolyeong had resolved to become the Gyo-mo of the Cheonma Divine Sect, perhaps Seolhyeon had decided to become the matron of the Murong clan. Neither had much right to criticize the other. Still, it ached. From a distance, her choice looked like walking into a thorn-covered path of her own accord.

And perhaps, to others, his own choice looked exactly the same.