Chapter 592: The Young Princess of the North Sea Ice Palace.

If you ask me where I knew it from.

At first, the smile I was wearing was the problem.

Clearly, there was nothing wrong with the bright, innocent smile.

Yet, somehow, that smile felt unsettling.

Why could that be? I couldn’t figure out the reason.

This was purely a gut feeling.

If you were to ask if I really believed something like that, I could firmly answer yes.

Because.

‘I have the worst luck.’

My life, where bad premonitions never once went wrong.

That could be said to be the reason I trust my instincts.

Therefore, I had to find out.

I had to find a reason to solidify my instincts about why this Northern Sea girl named Yuri felt unsettling.

[Is it true that you lifted the curse?]

The first words she uttered were about the curse.

From this, I could tell that woman’s objective was to lift the ‘Severed Vein Condition.’ Or the ‘curse’.

‘It might not be.’

For now, I had to approach it thinking that way.

If Yuri’s objective truly was this, then several questions arise.

First.

‘Why would a blood relative of the Ice Palace come in person?’

Even if they could perform the treatment.

For a blood relative from the Outer Martial World to come see me directly posed many problems.

‘Perhaps if they sent someone to confirm first.’

To believe unconfirmed information and have a blood relative come directly?

To make such a difficult choice in the relationship between the Central Plains and the Northern Sea, even when safety was guaranteed?

It’s something hard to believe.

Ah, of course, there is one thing that could make this possible.

Desperation.

The urgency of needing treatment right away.

If there were such things, I could understand it to some extent…

The second reason I had doubts was related to this.

‘She’s different.’

I didn’t feel that from Yuri.

If that’s the case, let’s consider other reasons.

Did she say she wanted to sightsee in the Central Plains?

That she really wanted to come?

Thinking of Yuri saying that, I chuckled.

‘Yeah, right.’

To shoulder such a risk for mere reasons like that?

A woman with her head in the clouds might do that.

‘She’s not like that.’

At first, I thought it might be possible.

But seeing her now, I’m sure.

The Young Lady of the Northern Sea isn’t foolish.

She wasn’t stupid, nor was she naive.

Now, let me organize my thoughts.

‘Despite being a blood relative, she came directly to the Central Plains to confirm someone who could provide treatment.’

The problem here is that the curse she speaks of can be directly controlled.

‘In other words, it means the situation isn’t that urgent.’

It’s not so urgent that she’s about to die.

Yet, it’s significant enough for a blood relative to come in person.

This implies that treatment is urgently needed, but…

‘The one who needs it isn’t herself.’

It meant it was someone important enough to mobilize such a blood relative.

“So…”

Amidst the escalating atmosphere.

Yuri looks at me and speaks.

“Are you saying you mentioned the Palace Lord for such trivial reasons?”

Her glare is quite intense.

Her tone had also changed drastically.

No, that’s not right.

Rather than changed…

“Is that your original way of speaking?”

It must be that she’s revealed her true self.

“…”

Hearing my question, Yuri frowns.

Seeing that, I chuckled.

“Now that the mask is broken, it’s nice to see.”

“…You.”

“I’d been feeling unwell for a while. But now I feel a bit better.”

It’s a bit like species-specific hatred, perhaps.

I couldn’t deny feeling that way.

As I continued speaking, Yuri’s gaze grew sharper.

“I still… haven’t heard your answer.”

“Are you going to start talking down to me now? Fine, I’ll talk down to you too.”

“Why did you mention the Palace Lord?”

To mention him, the reason is flimsy.

That’s how it looked to Yuri, and…

…in my opinion as well.

Because there was far too little information to judge the Ice Palace Lord’s condition based on just those two reasons.

Right.

‘If it were only those two things, then yes.’

If those were the only reasons, I wouldn’t have been this certain either.

I shifted my gaze.

Towards Woo Beom, who was glaring this way from behind Yuri. Towards the person next to him.

I pointed at him with my finger.

The suddenly pointed-at individual flinched.

“That person is the third reason.”

“What?”

Yuri expresses her confusion at the abrupt pointing.

Yuri had two bodyguards.

Woo Beom was causing such a ruckus that I hadn’t paid much attention, but there was one more person.

Compared to the large-bodied Woo Beom, his build was much smaller and thinner.

That guy was the third reason.

“This is absurd. What reason could there be with a bodyguard-“

“Infiltration, escape. I don’t know about assassination, but anyway, he’s a martial artist of that type, right?”

At my words, the man reacted particularly strongly.

His build was indicative.

A martial artist’s physique changes depending on the martial arts they’ve cultivated since childhood.

Swordmasters tend to have relatively balanced, light physiques.

That’s why assassins have small, thin builds.

It’s also why martial artists who must train external skills generally have larger builds.

Although there are cases like mine, where one couldn’t grow due to innate issues.

‘This is a unique aspect of mine, so let’s move past it.’

Even I possessed characteristics of the martial artist type.

Ah, maybe not right after shedding my skin.

Anyway.

The characteristics of his build and the faint presence I felt are the proof.

That guy was a martial artist specialized in stealth and infiltration.

As I identified this and mentioned it.

“Ha.”

Yuri lets out a short, hollow laugh.

It almost sounded like mockery.

“What’s the problem with that?”

That’s right.

There wasn’t a major problem.

What difference does it make if the bodyguard is of the martial artist type or not?

As long as they do their job as a bodyguard well.

Besides.

‘Since we’re coming to the Outer Martial World, anything could happen.’

It’s a situation where you don’t know what might occur.

It would be convenient to think they were assigned to protect the blood relative in such circumstances.

As a means to escape safely if needed.

However.

“But why did he sustain internal injuries?”

“…!”

Yuri’s eyes widened at my casual remark.

She stared at me, her eyes as wide as lanterns.

Yes, that guy was injured internally.

And judging by how significantly he seemed injured, his breathing was subtly disturbed.

People who seem to specialize in stealth are usually trained to endure torture, so…

They’d have a higher tolerance for pain than ordinary people.

For such a person to be struggling this much…

‘It must mean he’s quite badly hurt.’

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his insides are practically a mess.

Yuri’s flustered expression. Seeing her, I continued speaking.

“Internal injuries, well, they can happen.”

It’s a common occurrence for bodyguards to get injured protecting their charge.

That, too, isn’t a particularly strange situation.

In fact, it could even be considered that he fulfilled his role as a bodyguard.

“But if that were the case, he shouldn’t have come here, right?”

If it’s now, that’s the problem.

I shifted my gaze to look at Moyong Hi-ah.

“Was there a separate fight on the way here?”

“…Not that I recall.”

“Then that means there wasn’t.”

I don’t know how far Moyong Hi-ah went to meet Yuri.

However, if there were no fights after meeting her, then it happened much earlier than that.

If, perhaps, there was a fight in the Central Plains.

“They would have turned back.”

It would have been right to head straight back to the Northern Sea.

There are people targeting them in the lands of the Central Plains, unknown to anyone.

If they were just ordinary thugs, maybe.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the man.

‘That bodyguard is Hua Jing level.’

The man who sustained those internal injuries is far stronger than that Woo Beom fellow.

He was quite strong, perhaps too strong to be just a bodyguard.

Well, since she’s a ruler’s blood relative, they might have assigned strong martial artists.

Let’s put that aside for now.

‘An incident severe enough to injure someone like that. And in the Central Plains?’

If they realized this, unless they were idiots, they would have tried to return to the Northern Sea.

But they didn’t go.

That means…

‘Those internal injuries weren’t sustained here.’

That’s highly probable.

Then where?

If not here, the answer was obvious.

“You’re saying he got injured in the Northern Sea, not the Central Plains…”

After all, they wouldn’t have assigned a sick person as a bodyguard.

This means something major happened in the Northern Sea.

“To have come to the Central Plains while enduring that…”

“…”

“Means the treatment is that urgent. Or.”

I tilted my head and looked at Yuri.

“They needed to escape.”

“…”

Perhaps, wasn’t it a situation where they had to flee to the Central Plains?

Click.

At my words, Yuri clenches her fist.

I didn’t miss that.

“On the way from the Northern Sea here, despite a major incident, you didn’t abandon your schedule. Correct?”

“That…”

“And a major incident significant enough to happen to the Palace Lord’s daughter. At first, I thought maybe you fell out of favor with your father?”

This was also one of my speculations.

I just erased it because another possibility seemed higher.

“Or, since you seem to have many siblings, perhaps they are killing each other for the sake of competing for interests.”

Just like how there are many instances of fighting over the family head position in the Great Clans.

I didn’t think the Northern Sea would be any different.

“If it’s not that either, perhaps something else is targeting you.”

Not another blood relative, but an external force could have done it.

But what’s important now is…

“That despite such circumstances, you came to the Central Plains.”

Ultimately, it was this.

“And also, that you came seeking a cure for the curse.”

The fact that you came here wanting to ask for the curse’s treatment even in such a situation.

It’s correct to assume it’s for someone else, not yourself.

So, let’s summarize now.

A blood relative couldn’t be protected.

Despite being attacked in their own land, they came to a foreign land.

Upon arrival, the person they seek is someone who treats the illness the blood relative received.

Yet, the situation doesn’t seem to require her personally.

So, what kind of situation would have to occur for that woman’s position to become precarious?

There were two answers to this.

One is.

“The Ice Palace Lord is trying to kill you.”

The second is.

“Conversely, the Ice Palace Lord is unable to protect you.”

“…”

Even though I was pondering this…

Yuri came to me seeking a cure.

I had only one method to choose.

“…So, that’s why you mentioned the Palace Lord.”

I directly brought up the Ice Palace Lord to gauge her reaction.

After uttering this and seeing Yuri’s reaction, I could be certain.

“In the first place, I was half-certain, so it was just for confirmation.”

Something happened to the Ice Palace Lord’s body.

That’s probably related to the curse Yuri mentioned, and…

Taking advantage of that, some force intervened.

Thus, Yuri, in order to escape and…

“Heard about me curing the Severed Vein Condition and came to the Central Plains. Isn’t that it?”

That was the story I had anticipated.

After I roughly summarized and explained, Yuri looked at me and remained silent for a moment.

And shortly after, she opened her mouth again.

“…It’s somewhat plausible, but couldn’t my reaction have been faked?”

The reaction shown upon hearing about the Palace Lord could be false.

Hearing Yuri’s words, I pointed at her finger.

“What?”

She checked my fingertip. I was pointing at the ring she was wearing.

“That ring.”

Looking at it, I said.

“No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like an ordinary, common treasure.”

It seemed like that treasure was the one making the room cold right now.

Moreover.

‘That treasure was concealing the man’s internal injuries.’

It obscured the surroundings with an unknown coldness.

This is why I was late in figuring out the man’s internal injuries.

It must have been that ring she used right before for her escape.

“It’s an item you received separately to come here. The one who gave it to you was likely the Palace Lord.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“It’s a hunch.”

“What?”

Honestly, this was a hunch.

I just had a feeling about it.

‘Maybe treasures like that are common in the Northern Sea.’

But I don’t think so.

If it’s a treasure she always had, then I have nothing to say, but…

‘It’s just a feeling.’

I thought only the Palace Lord would give away a treasure of that caliber.

Although I don’t know exactly what power the treasure possesses.

“…”

Yuri, having heard my final words, looks at me with an expression of disbelief.

It seems she’s dumbfounded that after explaining so diligently, I ended it by saying it was a hunch.

But what could I do?

It really was a hunch.

For a while, silence lingered between us.

A situation where neither of us spoke.

I just quietly stared at Yuri.

As a moment passed like that.

“Haa…”

A sigh, heavily mixed with fatigue, came from Yuri’s lips.

“…Baek Yeo-u’s words were quite wrong, weren’t they?”

She says, brushing her forehead as if exhausted.

“They said you were like a cute puppy. But you’re nothing short of a venomous viper.”

“…?”

At those words, I had to frown deeply.

What puppy…?