episode_0034

If someone were to ask me what my favorite season is, I would choose winter without any hesitation. That’s because winter is the only season in which the anaerobic bastards that crawl out of nowhere, not just in spring or summer, but even in fall, are not noticeable.

Of course, there are other reasons why I like winter.

For example, it was like the unique dry yet refreshing smell that can only be smelled in winter. Isn’t there a reason why when you go outside on a winter morning and inhale as hard as you can, there is that smell that flows into your nostrils?

However, what was occupying my nose at this moment was not the smell I liked, but the sweet yet dense scent of flowers.

Is this due to the fact that the weather is not that cold for winter? Unknown flowers were blooming in abundance, forming a wave.

So… was it like that?

It felt like I was standing on the beach.

Pure white things, like the foam that rises every time a wave hits the ground and breaks, momentarily created such an illusion.

There were flowers everywhere. It was a flower with a white background and a little bit of pink mixed in here and there.

What was surprising was that even though it was clearly my first time seeing it today, I felt a vague sense of nostalgia when I smelled the scent emanating from the flowers.

It’s like I’ve smelled it somewhere before.

‘Where have I ever smelled this…?’

It must have been a moment when I was caught up in a feeling that I could barely remember, a sensation that drives people crazy.

Jabakㅡ

The sound of someone lightly stepping on grains of sand lying everywhere flowed into my ears.

I turned towards the direction the sound came from.

It was something I did without even knowing.

You… were standing in the same spot you were looking back at.

“Aren’t the plum trees I brought from my place in Luoyang beautiful?”

“You…?”

He has changed so much that he is unrecognizable.

As if to prove the length of time that had passed while they were apart, their jet black hair that fell down to their waists was gently swaying in the cold wind, even though they had tied it all together.

Between the shaking hair, a familiar headdress shyly showed its face.

“Aman…?!”

“As promised, I came to get you my sword.”

you laughed

Between the plum blossoms in full bloom, two violets of familiar colors bloomed.

*****

‘Your disciple is late…’

It had already been about an hour before dinner when he left, saying he would take care of it quickly.

Thanks to this, the dishes on the table had lost their initial delicious appearance and had become cold.

Could it be that something went wrong?

Or maybe I got caught up in an incident on my way back from work.

I don’t know which of the two is closer to the truth, but one thing is certain: it doesn’t seem like the time to be like this.

‘I can’t do this anymore, I have to go.’

It must have been the moment when I stood up from the seat I was given by the soldier and muttered to myself.

Drurrruk!

As the air flowing in from outside moistened my skin, a familiar figure caught my eye.

It was Suhyeon.

“Disciple…!”

I shouted, waving my hands in joy.

Of course, I know that it is behavior that is unbecoming of the position.

Nevertheless, he acted like that to express his happiness… but for some reason, Su-hyeon’s reaction, or rather his expression, was strange. The thing that looked vaguely vague seemed like a person possessed by a monster like a nine-tailed fox.

“Disciple…?”

Why on earth do you look like that? Did something really happen outside?

Those kinds of questions rose up in my throat, but I couldn’t bring myself to say them out loud. It was because of the gazes of those who were still busy glancing in this direction.

Because of that, I couldn’t say anything and was waiting for Suhyeon, who had just entered the banquet hall, to reach my side.

“···It was Jojo.”

The words flowed out of Suhyeon’s mouth when he finally reached the side.

To be honest, I was a little embarrassed.

“Yes?”

I didn’t expect Aman’s name to suddenly appear here.

“A new decree is coming this time.”

After saying that, did my mind, which had gone somewhere, come back? Although it was slightly faint, it was a voice mixed with a sigh.

Soo-hyeon, who made a voice that he would have made when he was so nervous, flopped down on the chair that had been vacated for him.

He looked like a person who was so shocked that his legs lost strength.

“Aman came to Chohyeon here as a local spirit…?”

“···I think so, if I don’t mishear.”

“Ha, but my sister is definitely from Luoyang to the northern area…”

You must have been working…?

The Northern Bureau may seem like a mere gatekeeper guarding the north gate of Luoyang, but the Luoyang Northern Bureau was one of the most important government positions. After all, it is an official position that protects and manages the Gate of Luoyang, where the emperor resides and the center of the world.

Therefore, even if you don’t have much to get your hands on right now, the northern position is a position where you can one day use it as a stepping stone and aim for a high position.

But the person who was sitting in that position came to the prefecture of a place like this.

Looking at the rank alone, some might think it was a noble rank since Hyeonryeong was a bit higher, but in fact, this could be said to be a measure close to a demotion. Instead of rising in rank, he has become completely isolated from the political world of Luoyang, which is called the center.

That’s why I couldn’t help but be surprised.

“What on earth happened in Luoyang…?”

“···That’s right.”

“What on earth were you doing until your sister was kicked out of her position in the Northern Command? Or maybe something happened to the elderly person…”

To what extent did he respond to the words he had recited out of curiosity?

“Well, ”

Soo-hyeon mumbled and added briefly.

Shouldn’t we find out about that from now on?

*****

Jo Jo’s inauguration celebration was quite raucous.

Outside, there were many people suffering from double hardship due to the exploitation and famine of the government officials who were desperate to get their money back, but the only people attending this banquet were those who were relatively free from such problems.

So at this moment, there was only one thing they were interested in.

What kind of person will the newly appointed mayor be?

Perhaps he will demand more ‘gifts’ than his predecessor?

A curiosity that could never be called pure bloomed into the unoccupied banquet hall.

Drurrruk!

The moment the curiosity of those people reached its peak, the doors of the banquet hall opened to the left and right, revealing the person who could be said to be the protagonist of the event.

Light and steady steps, as if stepping on clouds,

With that step taken, silence fell into the bustling banquet hall.

Those who were slightly displeased at the delayed appearance of the main character, those who were busy making speculations about the newly appointed prefect, and even those whose faces were already stained with alcohol kept their mouths shut for that moment. With his eyes closed, his eyes were fixed on a woman with black hair who entered the banquet hall.

The Jojo I remember was a kid who felt burdened by strangers.

The eight-year-old child who was afraid of the gaze of strangers was not here.

Instead, there is only a mysterious woman standing there who can completely capture people’s minds with just a glance.

I felt confidence and pride in myself at the same time in every movement.

Thanks to you, I was able to feel it again.

The 15 years we have been apart are enough years to change one person.

JoJo, who was leisurely crossing the red carpet in the center of the banquet hall, suddenly stopped. Then, he furrowed his eyebrows very slightly. Was there something you didn’t like?

However, that appearance was literally just a moment.

Jojo, who suddenly recovered to his original appearance as if at some point, began to walk again.

So, Jojo finally reached the head table at the end of the banquet hall and declared the resumption of the banquet, saying, ‘I’m sorry for being late’ and raising the drink that had been prepared in advance.

It was immediately after Jojo’s actions that the banquet hall, which had been shrouded in heavy silence as if a murder had occurred, became noisy again.

It was after the endless greeting relay had finally ended that Jo Jo, who was guarding the head table, called me and Jo In separately.

“You can go in.”

I nodded once at those words, opened the door to the room where Jojo was waiting, and entered… the air, which was a mixture of the scent of plum blossoms and the smell of alcohol, made me sigh.

At the same time-

“Ugh~?!”

A stinging pain bloomed from my side. It was because Jojo’s hand came in during a near miss and grabbed the flesh of my side and twisted it to the side.

“Fool.”

No, I mean, why are you so angry?

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“So what happened? Isn’t it time to explain now?”

“What?”

“The position of the prefectural governor. Weren’t you working at the northern part?”

Is it hot because of the alcohol?

Jojo’s actions, which were flapping the front of the formal attire he was wearing, stopped.

“Oh, that?”

“Yes, that.”

“I killed someone.”

…what?