Isolation (5)

Beneath the Frost Cliff Palace.

In the secretive and clandestine space accessible only to the direct descendants of Adolveit, the sound of footsteps echoed widely.

Clang!

Flames erupted from both ends of the corridor.

Amidst the burning flames, the figure of Queen Hong Se-ryu appeared.

As she walked down the corridor, flames ignited on the torches on either side with each step she took.

She walked with as much composure as possible, but there was an underlying restlessness in her steps.

… She finally reached the end of the corridor, and stopped in front of a massive altar.

Women dressed in white nun robes bowed their heads towards the queen but said nothing.

Silently, someone approached the queen and spoke.

"Your Majesty, the flames of the Hwarang Flower are growing stronger."

"... So it seems."

At the top of the stairs of the altar, there lay a large jade cup, inside which a single flower bloomed. -

'Hwarang Flower.'

A treasure from legend which was believed to house the slumbering 'Fire Goddess.'

It was an heirloom passed down through generations of the Adolveit Family.

Only royalty were deemed worthy to wield it... Yet no one had been able to properly control its power.

This was because as soon as someone accepted the Hwarang Flower, he would immediately lose all magic and consciousness, succumbing to the flames' dominion and run rampant.

The only being to have ever properly wielded the Hwarang Flower was... one of the twelve disciples of the Progenitor Mage, 'Adolveit.'

'It must be impossible with mixed bloodlines.'

Hong Se-ryu flicked her finger.

Suddenly, a silver staff manifested in the air and landed in her hand.

As she approached, the Hwarang Flower resisted, unleashing fierce flames.

Despite sweating profusely, she struggled to restrain its fire.

Since the day Adolveit inherited the Hwarang Flower, its flames had grown increasingly wild.

Throughout history, kings were tasked with suppressing the Hwarang Flower upon ascending the throne...

'Is this also my limit? I've reached a point where I can no longer control the flames of the Hwarang Flower. While a Class 9 mage proficient in flames might be able to, I haven't reached that level yet.'

'But perhaps there's still one thing. Maybe there's a solution.'

'The Coast of Levian. Where the Ice Deity slumbers, a place trapped in winter. Previous kings always forbade meddling with the Levian Coast, and no one has dared to defy that, but now we've reached a limit. If we can't suppress the power of the Hwarang Flower any longer... Perhaps, an unprecedented calamity might occur.'

Hong Se-ryu wiped the sweat from her brow and withdrew her hand from the Hwarang Flower.

'… It's impossible with my own power.'

Finding the answer from the Ice Deity was imperative.

'I didn't make the wrong choice. This is the only way.'

Since this was the only choice, she resolved to trust her own judgment firmly.

———-

It had been about ten days since Baek Yu-Seol began working part-time at the Royal Library.

Expect for one thing, nothing had changed much

"Hey. Hey. Isn't that the real princess over there?"

"Yeah. She is..."

"Oh, I can't believe it."

"She's so pretty..."

"Shh. Your voice is too loud!"

With a Class 3 access restriction, anyone with Adolveit citizenship could enter the Royal Library where Baek Yu-Seol worked.

But if Princess Hong Bi-Yeon started visiting every day?

Rumors would spread among the citizens, leading to a sudden increase in visitors.

They often say that seeing cute animals or attractive people is healing.

In that sense, perhaps Hong Bi-Yeon was a kind of healing totem.

Everyday, she sat quietly in a corner of the Royal Library and read like a fairy, so citizens could come and go while refreshing their minds.

"But why is the princess suddenly coming to the library all the time?"

"Well... According to rumors, she was supposed to have a very eccentric personality, but it doesn't seem like that. She just quietly reads books and leaves. Last time, someone accidentally bumped into her, and she didn't say anything but instead handed them a handkerchief."

"Really?"

Whispers could be heard among the people.

They might not know, but Baek Yu-Seol seemed to have some understanding of why Hong Bi-Yeon kept coming here.

'Maybe because she's lonely.'

Although he didn't know much about her, there probably wasn't anyone in Frost Cliff Palace who would stand up for Hong Bi-Yeon.

Queen Hong Se-ryu likely deliberately isolated her socially.

Amidst such circumstances, meeting a familiar face must have been both heartbreaking and joyful.

There probably wasn't any deeper meaning to it.

Baek Yu-Seol still remembered that night.

In the dimly lit library on a dark night, she sat there, tears streaming down her face.

However, as if nothing had happened, from the next day onwards, Hong Bi-Yeon showed the same usual appearance.

She always maintained a cold and distant expression, and spoke curtly as usual, but... something.

There was a strange feeling that something had truly changed.

But no matter how much he used his abilities to gaze through Hong Bi-Yeon with the Blessing of Yeonhong Chunsamweol, he couldn't figure out what it was.

It seemed to be the limit of his abilities.

'By the way, why does she dress up so much to come to the library…'

Her attire always stood out.

She often wore expensive, sparkling jewelry and what was known as the 'princess's dress'.

Compared to the ordinary clothes of ordinary citizens, it was quite glamorous, but perhaps because she was so beautiful herself, it didn't seem bad to others.

'Sigh... I'm so tired again today.'

After finishing his day's work, as the shade of twilight hung over the sky, Hong Bi-Yeon, who had been sitting there reading until then, finally stood up from her seat.

It was almost time for Baek Yu-Seol to finish work and go home.

After all the library visitors had left, Hong Bi-Yeon suddenly spoke to Baek Yu-Seol, who was tidying up the quiet library.

"Commoner."

"Yeah. What is it?"

"... Are you really just here to work?"

"Well. Seems like it, doesn't it?"

"Then it's meaningless."

Hong Bi-Yeon, who had thoughtlessly come to that conclusion, spoke abruptly again.

"Do you have somewhere to go after work?"

"Not really..."

"I'll show you around the castle. Let's go."

"No, I'm not really..."

"A commoner like you can never set foot in such places for a lifetime."

"Well. That's true..."

Since our Princess Hong Bi-Yeon says so, what could a poor commoner do?

After finishing cleaning up the library completely, Baek Yu-Seol approached Hong Bi-Yeon, who was waiting outside.

She glanced at him and then walked away without saying a word. She headed towards the front of the palace.

Baek Yu-Seol followed her, keeping a slight distance.

The cool breeze blew.

While Stella might be suffering from the midsummer heat by now, perhaps it was because the 'Ice Deity' was nearby, but this place remained chilly.

It was refreshing in the summer but not enviable due to the endearing severe cold in winter.

Before he knew it, they had entered an area where only royals and their attendants could enter.

As he passed over the bridge connecting the castle and the city and looked down beneath the bridge, he felt the grandeur of the palace rising majestically.

In the midst of the chilly wind, Hong Bi-Yeon's silver hair fluttered.

Dozens of white birds flew up.

As she passed through them... She appeared like a painting, and he somehow felt the distance between them growing longer.

At that moment, she turned around and asked Baek Yu-Seol, "How is it?"

She... wasn't a painting.

"Huh? What? What?"

"Why are you spacing out? Isn't it beautiful?"

Only then could he properly look at the scenery.

Standing tall on the bridge, which was almost like a sky bridge, he could fully appreciate the majesty of the towering palace.

Despite being precarious on the cliff, it also exuded a thrilling charm.

In that beautiful palace...

Hong Bi-Yeon stood there.

Uncharacteristically, she smiled gently and spoke.

"This place... used to be a frequent visit with my sister. So, I wanted to show it to you too. Once you see it, you'll never forget this place for the rest of your life."

"Yeah... seems like it."

The realistic beauty that couldn't even be compared to CG in games. Baek Yu-Seol stood there, completely captivated by the scenery of the palace on the edge of the cliff.

She gazed at Baek Yu-Seol like that.

Honestly, ever since returning to palace life... It was the face she had missed the most.

She thought she would never see him again, so how surprised she was when he suddenly appeared before her.

Baek Yu-Seol came to find her…. It was something that made her so happy that she could cry...

No, it was more than tears of joy; it was pure happiness.

But that was as far as it goes.

She was destined to leave the palace.

But she decided to accept it.

They hadn't done much together in a short time, but just being able to see his face...

And the fact that he came to find her was already enough.

So, it was enough.

She didn't know how much time she had left, but if she could live her life clinging to today's happiness, she could find the strength to endure.

"Baek Yu-Seol."

Hong Bi-Yeon called him.

His name...

Perhaps it wasn't the first time.

"Now. Go back."

"Huh?"

A foolish expression.

"I... I'm planning to leave tomorrow. And... I won't return to Stella again."

"So if your purpose for coming here was to see my face... There's no point in staying here any longer."

Hong Bi-Yeon seemed to be implying that she had chosen it herself.

Maybe she didn't want to show any weakness until the end.

But Baek Yu-Seol had no intention of sympathizing with her in that regard.

"I had no intention of doing that."

"... What?"

"Where are you going? To the coast of Levian, I suppose. And, what will happen after you go there... I know it well."

"... Yeah, I guess so. You seem to know everything anyway."

She didn't ask how he knew.

Hong Bi-Yeon just smiled faintly and acquiesced.

Then again, perhaps it was foolish to think she could hide anything from Baek Yu-Seol.

After all the time he had lived through, would there really be anything he didn't know?

"And it seems like you're mistaken about something."

He took another step towards Hong Bi-Yeon, closing the distance.

"Do you think I would have spare time and come all the way here just to see your face again?"

"Uh, um...?"

Wasn't that it?

'I thought so.'

In an instant, her heart sank.

She barely held herself together.

"I came here to get you out of here."

Then, 'Ah...'

Because of what he said next, all the emotions that had been building up in her chest finally subsided.

"Now. Wait a moment…"

She tried to say something, but her voice got stuck in her throat.

'Do you know what does that mean?'

'Even you can't make that happen.'*

Many sentences brushed past her lips, but in the end, the only word she managed to utter was...

"Why?"

Just one word.

Why?

Why was it?

"Well..."

Baek Yu-Seol smiled mischievously and didn't answer. In fact, he didn't know the answer himself.

"So… Do you trust me?"

It was a phrase Baek Yu-Seol often said as a joke. It sounded so playful and unserious that she couldn't believe it even if she wanted to.

But his words carried a mysterious power.

Truly, it felt like anything he said would come true. No matter what.

She thought it was impossible.

She was discouraged and accepted her fate, thinking that she would live like that forever.

It will be tough, but she vowed to endure somehow.

No matter how sad or painful it gets, she resolved not to cry and hardened her heart.

Because there was no hope.

The future seemed too bleak.

If she didn't do it that way, she wouldn't be able to endure.

'But why does he make it seem so simple to give me hope?'

"... Believe."

Hong Bi-Yeon replied as if in a trance. She didn't even understand what she was doing.

But he soon shook his head.

"No. Actually... I'm not the one you should believe in."

"What?"

"I can't rescue you with my own strength as you think."

"So..."

"So you have to save yourself. You might even have to risk your life."

She couldn't understand Baek Yu-Seol's words at all.

What kind of plan was he making that she had to risk her life for?

"Do you still want to go back to Stella?"

But to that question, she could easily answer.

If she didn't risk her life, she might be able to live comfortably in the palace for the rest of her life.

But to go back to Stella, she had to risk her life.

This was too... It wasn't just an obvious choice.

"I want to go back."

"Really?"

"... Really."

"Then you'll have to be prepared."

Nodding, she bit her lip and lowered her head, clutching her clothes tightly.

When Baek Yu-Seol saw at her like that, he burst into laughter again.

"Are you crying again?"

"... No."

"It seems like you are."

"... I'm not."

"Uh, okay. If it's not, why are you staring at me so fiercely?"

As Hong Bi-Yeon retorted coldly and threateningly, Baek Yu-Seol flinched back.

She appeared so much like a vengeful ghost that honestly, he was a little scared.

"... I'm going back now."

She walked towards the castle across the bridge without looking back.

Baek Yu-Seol didn't chase after her, and Hong Bi-Yeon didn't turn back either.

There was no need for farewells.

After all, today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow...

They would see each other again.