Camellia Side story 1

Those who were going to leave had left. Those who were going to stay remained.

A few days after saying goodbye to Choseon, Seolyeong began writing a letter to his sister. Their marriage had been so loud and extravagant that rumors must have already spread across the entire Jungwon. Originally, as he had told Choseon, Seolyeong had wanted to live as if he no longer existed to Hyeon, but perhaps because they were bound by blood, it wasn’t so easy.

As Seolhyeon’s wedding day drew near, Seolyeong’s mind was filled only with thoughts of her.

“Knowing Hyeon’s personality, she might not even read this letter…”

And for good reason. Seolhyeon was someone who made clean and precise decisions. No matter how close they were by blood, she would never forgive him for abandoning the martial world to side with the Cheonma Divine Sect.

Even so, Seolyeong continued writing, putting his affection for his sister into the letter. He asked if she was doing well, was the Murong clan treating her well, would there come a time when she needed her brother again…

“I actually miss you.”

Just imagining that strong and beautiful girl becoming Murong Wi’s wife, stepping into a role to lead the Murong clan with him, left him deeply unsettled. Could a blood fiend really step into the history of the righteous sects?

Unaware, Seolyeong had fallen into worry again, but soon made up his mind to think differently. Because Seolhyeon, with the same red eyes as him, was only a blood fiend in appearance. She had a heart more upright than anyone from the righteous sects.

No one in the Murong clan looked at Seolhyeon with fear or disdain the way they had looked at him. She had faced them all down with nothing but her own strength.

So Seolyeong knew. If his sister had ended up marrying Sahyeol Amje as planned, she would never have lost her heart like he had.

Yes. That was why he didn’t need to interfere in her life. He didn’t need to lay stepping stones on her path. She would live as herself, proudly and on her own terms.

“Don’t worry about your useless brother, Hyeon-ah.”

Murmuring to himself, Seolyeong finished the latter half of the letter. The contents written on that white paper were roughly this: his husband, once infamous for looking like a slab of pig fat, was in truth more handsome than anyone, had tempered his cruel nature, and no longer vented his rage through slaughter.

But when he got to the final line, Seolyeong let out a long sigh and crumpled the paper.

“Forget it. It’ll just make me look like a fool…”

The martial world’s greatest criminal, Samasa. What kind of person was he?

Collapsing back, he idly looked outside. The glass camellia bouquet gifted by the North Sea Ice Palace Mistress sparkled grandly in the back garden.

Who could have predicted that the snow-covered Yeonhu Mountain would turn lush and green like this?

Hiding his restless heart, Seolyeong smiled faintly and thought of a man with frost-edged eyes. That man had many names, from insults to honorifics, but there was one name only Seolyeong could call him.

“…My Jae-ah.”

Tang Yujae. A survivor of the blood-soaked Tang clan. Now a supreme being, worshipped by tens of thousands of sect members.

Only Seolyeong knew how gentle that man truly was. Only he had heard how softly he could call someone’s name. Savoring the feeling of being Sahyeol Amje’s only one, Seolyeong began to hum.

He stifled the urge to sneak a look at how Seolhyeon was doing and come back unnoticed.

Long ago, he had buried the plan of using reverse ai to slip into the Murong clan. Even if he could deceive others, he felt certain Seolhyeon would recognize him instantly. So he had to abandon that idea.

***

Suido Peak, the highest of the Sipman Daesan range.

Where once the lake had been blackened with poison, now clear blue water flowed. Sahyeol Amje lay on a vibrant, living field of grass, chewing a stalk of foxtail. The sect elders did not seem pleased that he had left the snowy mountains, but he paid them no mind.

He knew his beloved blood fiend bride liked the wildflowers blooming across Yeonhu.

And so, pouring his love into it, Sahyeol Amje had turned all of Yeonhu into a garden. Regardless of season or weather, Yeonhu Mountain now bloomed with eternal spring.

“Husband! Your world’s most beautiful is here!”

Seolyeong’s familiar greeting echoed through Suido Peak. The sect leader, gazing idly at the sky, curled his lips slightly. The foxtail rolled across the grass as he spit it out.

“I heard the pavilion lords are waiting for you at Akbindang. It’s already been more than two hours. Why are you out strolling?”

Following Nabisalsoo’s report from Yeonhwa Hall, Seolyeong asked him. Now that the sect leader’s seat was officially filled, it was time to strengthen ties with the outer world and solidify the Cheonma Divine Sect’s standing. Seolyeong had heard enough rumors of powerful warriors from outside lining up to meet him.

But for some reason, the sect leader seemed completely unconcerned.

“Stop whining and come sit down.”

He slowly patted the spot beside him. Seolyeong, standing with his dark hair flowing, tilted his head.

“Are you sure you can afford to be this relaxed?”

“Or should I pretend to be a feeble husband who is chased by worms and burdened by duties that I don’t have time to see you?”

Seolyeong laughed sheepishly at his retort.

“…You really shouldn’t call your own followers worms when they’re the ones choosing to serve you.”

“It doesn’t matter. Nothing does. You’re the only thing that matters to me.”

The sect leader’s black, beast-like eyes fixed on Seolyeong. The way he used to thrust verbal daggers at others had changed since he learned what love was. Now his words had grown sweet.

Startled, Seolyeong dropped down and quickly covered the man’s mouth.

“That’s enough.”

Brazen and fiery as he was, the bride was surprisingly weak to such blunt displays of affection. His ears reddened like he was embarrassed. Tang Yujae watched him with pleasure.

Then, just as Seolyeong’s hand rested on his lips, the sly man licked his palm. Seolyeong recoiled in shock.

“Husband!”

“That sounds lovely, Ahyeong. Keep calling me that.”

A soft smile spread across the sect leader’s face, matching the weather. That cold, cruel expression melted into something entirely different. Seolyeong locked that moment into his small mind and burning heart. A memory too precious to ever fade, no matter how much time passed.

It felt like another deep memory had been etched inside him.

But… was it really alright for someone like him, a traitor to the righteous martial world, to be living such peaceful days? He had once wanted to wander the world as a roaming hero. The guilt was hard to shake.

After all, Seolyeong was once a boy who had wanted to repay the crimes of his bloodline by embodying the spirit of righteousness. He lowered his gaze, trying to calm his uneasy heart.

It must be Seolhyeon’s wedding news that was making him feel this way. Would his presence bring her hardship now that she had to live as the Murong clan’s face? His very existence would be a stain, a vulnerable spot, in her life.

“You’re upset.”

Yujae, now half-sitting up, lightly tapped Seolyeong’s cheek with his finger. The red eyes flinched at the playful touch.

Tang Yujae had always been a sensitive man. Just like when they were young and he used to give forget-me-nots to his sister, he asked softly,

“What’s hurting you?”

But unlike back then, his voice was cold.

“If it’s a person, I’ll kill them. If it’s a situation, I’ll erase it.”

“…”

“You just need to say the word.”

“Do you think I’d want that…”

Seolyeong replied dryly, and then pushed away the hand that had come to rest on his cheek.

“You really don’t understand me, do you, husband?”

“Who knows.”

Instead of answering, the sect leader lay his head on Seolyeong’s thigh. Soon, there would be another marriage between a blood fiend and someone from a righteous sect, held in the Murong clan.

Staring at the sky where clouds drifted peacefully, he took Seolyeong’s hand and placed it over his chest. Then he whispered in a relaxed voice,

“I live and breathe for you.”

“Can we not say embarrassing things like that in broad daylight!”

Even as he scolded him, Seolyeong didn’t seem entirely displeased. The heartbeat he felt beneath his palm reminded him once more that this man had truly chosen to live as a human.