Ch.15351. Awakening of the Glass Sage (3)

Setsunomura was quiet at night.

Yuri and I were climbing up to the Moon Shrine together.

“Are you… not tired?” Yuri asked me in a low voice. I shook my head.

“My physical condition is excellent.”

As I said this, I gently squeezed Yuri’s hand. When I looked at her, she immediately blushed and turned her gaze away.

The full moon’s light illuminated Yuri’s pale face. I could see her long eyelashes, the same color as her hair.

Before coming to Setsunomura, Yuri’s expression had always been unpleasant.

Though we’d momentarily forgotten here, the outside world was at war. And Yuri was the leader of Flame, an SS-rank guild.

Overworked, Yuri’s face was always beyond pale—it was perpetually pallid. But now, unlike usual, her complexion was remarkably healthy.

The corners of her lips remained upturned, showing no signs of coming down.

Seemingly conscious of my gaze, Yuri unconsciously tucked her side hair behind her ear.

Today, for the wedding ceremony, Yuri was wearing Setsunomura’s traditional attire. Not the relatively light yukata, but Japan’s traditional kimono.

And not just any kimono—it was the traditional bridal dress that only those destined to become Yuki-onna could wear.

The pure white color of the kimono looked as natural and beautiful on Yuri as if she had worn it for years.

Similarly, her snow-white nape reflecting the moonlight, her clean shoulders, and her collarbone unconsciously made my heart flutter.

‘What am I thinking about Yuri…’

At that moment, I almost laughed at myself. Right now, Yuri was standing beside me as my bride.

Being captivated by the beauty of such a bride was only natural for a groom about to be married.

‘I guess… I can’t deny it anymore.’

Indeed. My heart was pounding intensely as I looked at Yuri now.

Even when I woke up in the morning and the villagers were preparing for the wedding, it hadn’t felt real.

But now, walking to the shrine alone with her at night, I finally began to realize that the ceremony we were about to perform was truly a marriage between us.

Just for today, just for tonight, I decided to think only of Yuri. No, even without deciding, my heart was already doing so.

‘Am I really getting married? To Yuri?’

Back at Eins, even when I liked her so much, I had never thought about marrying her.

I never even became her boyfriend then. And after the tragedy at Eins, the connection between us was all but severed.

The rift that had formed between us was that deep. The same relationship continued at Flame.

But after taking a long detour, we met again like this. Here in Setsunomura, we sincerely confirmed our feelings for each other.

‘More precisely… we’ll be confirming them shortly.’

I thought about the wedding ceremony again.

I’m neither Japanese nor a resident of Setsunomura. So having a wedding according to their traditions wasn’t exactly ordinary for me.

Above all, the ceremony that was about to take place held an even more special meaning.

Yuri’s awakening as a Yuki-onna.

And once Yuri awakens as a Yuki-onna, she will be able to discern my true feelings for her right there.

‘My… true feelings.’

If I don’t truly love Yuri, once she awakens as a Yuki-onna, she will cast the curse of the snow woman on everyone around.

Actually, beyond the curse, Yuri is destined to become both a Yuki-onna and the Sage of the East.

If she fully awakens as a Yuki-onna and discovers that my heart isn’t directed toward her…

The mission to defeat the evil god and prevent the world’s destruction would probably be the last thing on her mind.

‘She’d probably imprison me right there and never let me go anywhere.’

In that cold, freezing eternal barrier, she would keep me captive until I came to love her.

Of course, I didn’t doubt my feelings for Yuri now.

I sincerely intended to take Yuri as my bride. I had no intention of rejecting our marital bond.

I planned to become one with Yuri at that Moon Shrine. It meant I would take Yuri’s first time.

‘That’s the problem.’

In truth, tonight won’t be my first experience. I’ve already spent a night with Soso. And with Seohwa too, albeit in a different dimension.

It wasn’t just a night spent with young blood boiling over.

I’ve been acting a lot to get revenge on Red Lake, but as death approaches, I’ve become more honest with myself.

With both Soso and Seohwa, I was sincere when I spent the night with them. The same goes for my feelings for Arine, even though I didn’t spend the night with her.

‘Those feelings weren’t an act.’

I have no intention of giving up any of those three. And the same goes for Yuri standing before me.

If I could deceive Yuri with an act tonight, I might have continued to deceive myself about my feelings until the end.

But no matter what, I can’t hide my feelings from Yuri tonight. So I chose to be straightforward today.

At that moment, Yuri, tightly holding my hand, said to me:

“Today, I’ll really… know your true feelings, right?”

I nodded with a smile at her words.

“See for yourself.”

***

The two of us entered the shrine grounds.

In appearance, it wasn’t much different from other shrines. The only difference was that both the stone floor of the shrine and the buildings within were a pure white color.

Those white buildings were shimmering in the light of the full moon.

“It’s beautiful…” Yuri whispered, gazing at the light.

It must be like the feeling of a bride entering her wedding venue. No, it actually was.

As Chief Yukiyo had instructed me, I took Yuri’s hand and led her into the largest building in the shrine. It seemed to be the main hall.

Compared to the Shinhwa religion’s temple—the separate quarters of the shrine maiden with whom I had spent the night with Seohwa—it was a bit smaller. But in exchange, this place with its aged wooden scent felt a bit cozier.

For a moment, I felt as if the air around us had stopped. It seemed Yuri had unconsciously created a barrier around the entire building.

A barrier that would prevent any intruders from entering and, unless Yuri permitted it, would prevent anyone from leaving—that eternal barrier.

But Yuri had been silent since entering. I could feel her tension.

Right now, Yuri was a bride facing marriage and her wedding night. So it was natural. I naturally led her to the center of the room.

There, as Chief Yukiyo had explained, a small stone table was prepared.

“Shall we sit there?”

“Uh, um? Ah, okay!!”

Yuri was startled by my words. But she followed, blushing.

Shortly after, we knelt facing each other across the table. The atmosphere in Yuri’s blue eyes changed as we faced each other.

The table had a round hollow in it. Uniquely, the full moon’s light from the ceiling was concentrated on its center.

As we bowed to each other, that moonlight shattered like glass, filling the surroundings with light.

Yuri followed the light with her eyes as if entranced, then brought her hands to her chest and began to sing.

Though I couldn’t understand the lyrics, I could tell it was a special song that only those destined to become Yuki-onna could sing.

That song, with its increasingly high pitch.

Yukiyo had told me that if the Yuki-onna’s groom was deceiving her, the song would sound terrifying, like a ghost’s song.

But to me, the song felt very comforting.

‘Come to think of it, is this the first time I’ve seen Yuri sing?’

To be honest, she wasn’t very skilled. Even the perfect Yuri had such a weakness, I almost laughed.

And in this moment, I knew my feelings for Yuri were genuine. Otherwise, her song wouldn’t have sounded so lovely to me.

The song ended. The ceremony moved to the next step.

Somehow, a swirl of snow was circling around us.

Woooong—

And Yuri’s eyes glowed even more blue. I had already thought her beautiful countless times on our way here.

But now, no adjective could describe Yuri.

I couldn’t think of anything but her. I was filled with the desire to possess her.

For a moment, I remembered the day I first met Yuri.

Yuri Tarkovskaya, who had been a character in a novel to me. When I first saw her in person, I froze and couldn’t do anything.

Perhaps I had already sensed that I would come to love her at that moment.

I opened my mouth and said:

“I, Min-soo Lee, take you, Yuri Tarkovskaya, as my wife.”

At those words, Yuri’s eyes trembled. She took my outstretched hand. Then she nodded.

“I, Yuri Tarkovskaya, as the bride of snow, will confirm your sincerity.”

Simultaneously, our joined hands, the moonlight gathered on the table, and the swirl of snow resonated.

Finally, Yuri’s will began to flow into my heart.

***

Min-soo’s will began to flow into Yuri’s heart.

This moment was the most tense in Yuri Tarkovskaya’s life.

Any bride would be nervous before her wedding, but her case was different.

The power to directly confirm the groom’s sincerity—with that power of the Yuki-onna, she would be able to know Min-soo’s true feelings.

If Min-soo’s feelings were sincere, it would be the greatest blessing for a bride.

But if his feelings weren’t sincere, Yuri would instantly become the most miserable woman in the world.

‘No. I must trust Min-soo.’

Unconsciously, the tragedy of Eins—that nightmare—came to mind.

If she had fully trusted Min-soo then, if she had sincerely believed in Min-soo who had expressed his feelings for her countless times…

‘The tragedy of Eins wouldn’t have happened.’

And Min-soo wouldn’t have been so severely injured. They wouldn’t have needed to take such a long detour to confirm their feelings for each other again.

Freezing mana was rapidly surging into Yuri’s mana heart. The influx was so massive that even Yuri, immune to cold, felt the chill.

Nivis resonated intensely. At that moment, Yuri realized this power was the inherent power given to a Yuki-onna.

With the Moon Shrine and her power as a Yuki-onna, Yuri was now going to confirm Min-soo’s true feelings.

It was both highly anticipated and terribly frightening.

But Yuri steeled her resolve again. She had decided never to doubt Min-soo again.

‘Min-soo has already said he loves me.’

Finally, like a door flung wide open, Min-soo’s inner self began to appear in her vision.

At that moment, Yuri felt as if her heart had stopped.

‘No, could it be… is this really Min-soo’s inner self?’

It was a terrible darkness.