Chapter 591: The Young Princess of the North Sea Ice Palace.

It didn’t take long for Yuri to faint and then regain consciousness.

At most, half an hour?

This was thanks to me controlling my strength.

I gave her just enough weak strength to make her lose consciousness for a moment.

That way, she could wake up quickly and we could talk again.

“I showed you such an unsightly appearance….”

These were the words of Yuri, who had gotten up again.

Her messy hair and the slight trace of drool by her mouth were visible.

She seemed to have slept very well.

“Kkng….”

Yuri patted the top of her head.

It seemed the pain still lingered.

After patting it a few times like that, Yuri’s gaze turned towards me.

Her eyes held an unreadable resentment.

“I never imagined you’d actually hit me.”

Right? I didn’t know I’d actually hit her either.

“I apologize.”

I offered my apology without hesitation.

I had struck her down without restraint, but that was a bit of crossing the line.

“…”

Hearing my apology, Yuri moved her lips back and forth, making a strange expression.

She was from the Outer Martial World, and moreover, a blood relative of its ruler, so she could have held this against me.

“…If it comes to this, you’ll overlook my guard’s mistake, won’t you?”

Hearing Yuri’s words, I couldn’t help but inwardly chuckle.

‘She’s more pragmatic than I thought.’

If she had held my hitting her against me here, I had planned to use the fact that her guard tried to draw his sword.

I didn’t expect her to be so nonchalant about it.

“Young Miss…! How can you say such a thing!”

Was it Yuri’s words that caused the issue?

Woobeom, his face smeared with blood, began to get angry.

Even without this, his eyes, which had been glaring at me the moment the Young Miss fainted, were quite sharp.

Is it because I didn’t beat him enough?

Even so, that bravado was somewhat commendable.

“The great bloodline of the North Sea has suffered a terrible ordeal…!”

The guy shouted, veins bulging in his neck.

He only glared when Yuri was unconscious.

But he acts like this the moment she wakes up.

Should I just take his head right now?

I have to hold back, but he keeps provoking me.

‘I had planned to deal with him quietly later.’

Why does he keep making me notice him?

He’s really making me angry.

For now, I decided to watch and see how far he would go.

But then.

“How can you just let this slide….”

“Woobeom.”

The one who stopped Woobeom was none other than Yuri.

Her hair, messy from just waking up.

Without even wiping the drool marks, Yuri smiled.

“Stop right there.”

At that moment.

I could feel the air in the room subtly grow heavy.

“You know you can’t go any further than that, right?”

It was definitely a bright smile and a soft voice, yet.

There was an indescribable weight contained within it.

“…”

Woobeom’s eyes wavered.

More intensely than when he almost died by my hand earlier.

“Woobeom. What’s your answer?”

As Yuri asked again.

“…I… apologize.”

Woobeom hesitated before opening his mouth and spitting out an apology.

Hearing the apology, Yuri smiled brightly and continued speaking.

“No. That’s not it, Woobeom.”

“Yes?”

“The apology isn’t meant for me, is it?”

“…!”

Her words had a clear intention. Woobeom’s face contorted slightly.

Even while clearly seeing this, Yuri was resolute.

“Hurry.”

“…”

At this, Woobeom’s gaze turned towards me.

Traces of blood were evident flowing from his nose and mouth.

His eyes were still fierce, but.

“…I apologize.”

Despite that, he offered his apology.

This is an unexpected situation.

I really didn’t expect that guy to act like this.

And furthermore.

‘Following the Young Miss’s command.’

In my opinion, that was the most unexpected thing of all.

‘She just looked like a scatterbrain.’

It seems she wasn’t as empty-headed as I thought.

‘So annoying.’

Seeing Yuri like that, I recalled.

From the moment I first saw her.

Up until the few conversations we’ve had. It’s a story that keeps lingering in my mind.

Something is bothersome.

But because I don’t know what it is, it bothered me even more.

Clap-!

After Woobeom forced out his apology, Yuri suddenly clapped her hands.

“Since everyone has calmed down now, shall we get down to business?!”

I wondered who decided everyone had calmed down.

I didn’t bother to question it.

For now, I’ll just watch.

I judged that this was the time to do so.

‘The main topic.’

The situation had become a mess, so I had forgotten for a moment, but this matter is important to me too.

Like the fact that the North Sea’s affairs are related to me.

Especially.

‘…What feathers?’

There were also unknown rumors about me spreading in the North Sea.

And why would I be called by such a humiliating name?

‘Just who the hell.’

Spread such rumors? Just let me catch them.

I’ll fold them into a star shape.

While I was grinding my teeth furiously.

Yuri’s gaze turned towards me.

“So… that.”

Her eyes still held disbelief.

“…You are the Red Feather….”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Yes.”

As I said that sharply, Yuri nodded.

“…You are that person, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know who ‘that person’ is. But I am Gu Yangcheon.”

I desperately wanted to deny it, but I held back.

It was obvious the conversation wouldn’t progress if I denied it here.

Even though I confirmed it, Yuri’s face was full of doubt.

She really doesn’t seem to believe it.

What on earth did she hear to make such an expression?

“…Alright.”

“You don’t look convinced at all.”

“Because it’s not something that can be changed just by wishing it wasn’t me.”

“So, in the end, you wish it wasn’t you, right?”

“Miss Danju-nim.”

“Yes. Young Miss-nim.”

She ignores my picking on her so casually.

I’ve been thinking this since earlier, but no matter how I look at it, this girl seems to have quite a personality.

‘Although her crying after getting hit on the head was surprising.’

Just seeing her handle the situation like this after fainting.

She doesn’t seem like just an ordinary scatterbrain.

‘Is that why?’

Is that why I feel such a sense of incongruity?

‘No, it’s a bit different from that.’

I stare intently at Yuri.

I wanted to get rid of this bothersome feeling quickly.

“Could you have people step aside for a moment?”

Yuri said with a smile.

Then Madam Mi glanced at me.

Seeing that, I immediately told Tang Soyeol and Seong Yul.

“Wait outside for a moment.”

“Yes.”

As the two left the room, Yuri looked towards the back, where Woobeom was.

Then.

Woong-!

Energy flowed from Woobeom’s body, enveloping the room.

It was Ki-Mak.

This also meant she intended to have a proper conversation.

The atmosphere changed, and a brief silence passed.

“Let me introduce myself again.”

Yuri bowed respectfully towards us with a graceful movement.

“I am the fourth star of the North Sea Ice Palace. My name is Yuri.”

Although she said ‘us,’ she was speaking directly to me.

Yuri’s gaze was solely fixed on me.

Does she mean for me to introduce myself now?

“…I am Gu Yangcheon of the Gu family.”

“Tsk.”

“…?”

Did I hear that wrong? I just heard a tongue-click sound?

“…It was true, then?”

Perhaps because she heard the proper introduction, the last shred of hope she had seemed to vanish.

Seeing that, I asked.

“Just why are there stories about me spreading in the North Sea?”

In such a faraway land.

How could the ruler’s blood relative even know about me?

And with that ridiculous name, Red Feather, or whatever it was.

When I asked about it, Yuri hesitated and answered.

“That… it was the White Fox….”

“White Fox?”

A fox? What fox are you talking about all of a sudden?

As I frowned at the random word.

“…No. This isn’t a very important topic, is it?”

“To me, it seems like an important topic….”

“If you are indeed that person… there’s something I want to ask you first.”

Yuri seemed to change the subject, diverting the conversation.

I didn’t particularly pick fault with it.

Putting the rumors aside, the original point was that someone from the North Sea wanted to see me.

Yuri looked at me and asked.

“Did you truly, really lift Hi-ah’s curse?”

“…?”

I already knew the word ‘curse’ from hearing it.

I presumed it likely referred to the illness she had.

What was important here was the way Yuri addressed Moyong Hi-ah.

‘Hi-ah?’

At the somewhat familiar address, I looked at Moyong Hi-ah.

Then Moyong Hi-ah replied, seemingly flustered.

“…I haven’t dropped formalities.”

“Hmm?”

As Moyong Hi-ah said that with a sigh, Yuri continued, as if to explain.

“Aww, we’re cousins anyway. And we’re the same age, right? So I suggested we be casual… but she wouldn’t let me.”

“You’re the same age?”

“Yes.”

Identical looks and the same age.

Moreover.

‘Cousins.’

Moyong Hi-ah’s mother was a Young Miss of the Ice Palace.

Yuri is also currently a Young Miss of the Ice Palace.

This meant the previous Ice Palace Lord had stepped down, and a new figure had taken the seat.

‘If the Ice Emperor stepped down, who could it be.’

It’s probably Moyong Hi-ah’s mother, or one of her siblings.

Of course, I can’t know just by thinking about it.

Since I don’t know a single person from the Ice Palace.

‘Let’s put this aside for now.’

I needed to ask something much more important than this.

“When you say curse. Do you mean Artery Constriction?”

Moyong Hi-ah’s curse. I asked about the word Yuri used.

“Ah, is that what you call it here?”

“Aren’t you referring to the cold energy within the body?”

“That’s right. We call that the curse.”

“I don’t quite understand.”

A curse.

What did she call it? The Curse of the Ice Spirit, wasn’t it?

I’m pretty sure that’s what it was.

It sounds quite grim.

And it was also quite dangerous in reality.

In my past life, Moyong Hi-ah even lost her life to that illness.

However.

“Aren’t you people from the North Sea?”

It was a problem that arose as Moyong Hi-ah inherited her mother’s constitution.

Half of her heritage was from the Central Plains.

It was said that because the blood of the White Heaven Sword Master flowed within her, her body, unable to withstand the North Sea’s cold energy, generated the illness.

Why would they call it a curse from their side too?

As I asked with that intention, Yuri tilted her head.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Hm?”

“No, it’s precisely because you’re from the North Sea that it’s dangerous.”

“…What is that.”

“The curse… it’s a curse that anyone from the Ice Palace’s bloodline contracts. It’s the karma naturally possessed by those who protect the Ice Spirit.”

At Yuri’s words, Moyong Hi-ah’s eyes widened, as did mine.

“…Everyone has Artery Constriction?”

An illness that everyone from the Ice Palace’s bloodline possesses?

Does it mean all blood relatives are born with an illness that makes the cold energy dominate the body, slowly freezing them to death?

“But then, why.”

Why are these people alive? As I was about to voice that question.

“Conversely, it’s also a crucial source. It’s a constitution one must have to use Ice Arts.”

Hearing Yuri’s words, I finally understood.

‘So they’re not curing the constitution, but using it for their internal energy cultivation?’

They can use the cold energy within their body through specific internal energy cultivation.

Does that mean their lives are maintained by it?

The moment I tried to understand it that way.

“That’s impossible…!”

Moyong Hi-ah suddenly exclaimed loudly.

“I never heard such a thing… from my mother.”

Seeing Moyong Hi-ah’s reaction, I nodded.

That too is a question.

‘If such a thing exists, why did Moyong Hi-ah’s mother….’

Why didn’t she pass on the method of sustaining life to her daughter?

She was also of the bloodline, so she must have known how to appease the constitution.

“This is a power passed down only to direct blood relatives. It cannot be carelessly left behind or passed on.”

Yuri explained this part, but Moyong Hi-ah still looked unconvinced.

“Moreover….”

Seeing this, Yuri said.

“…There’s a reason why the curse is called a curse, after all.”

“That’s-!”

“So.”

I cut off Moyong Hi-ah before she could speak.

This wasn’t the time.

As I intervened, Moyong Hi-ah looked at me, her eyes widening.

Then she bit her lip and lowered her head.

She seemed to be barely holding back her emotions.

I shifted my gaze from Moyong Hi-ah to Yuri.

“What does that matter have to do with this?”

Artery Constriction, what does appeasing the curse Yuri mentioned have to do with this matter?

When I asked that.

“…As I told you, this is a curse. Everyone of the bloodline possesses it. No one can escape it.”

“And so?”

“However… I heard you managed to resolve it. Is that true?”

Did I resolve the curse? I pondered for a moment at the question.

It was true that I could remove Moyong Hi-ah’s cold energy.

But I couldn’t be certain it was a complete cure.

However.

“Roughly?”

At the very least, it was true that I couldn’t feel the cold energy within my body anymore.

“…”

Hearing my answer, Yuri made a strange expression.

She then looked at Moyong Hi-ah.

“…Indeed, just like when I first saw her, I don’t feel any trace of the curse. How did you possibly do it?”

“Does that matter? You people already had a way to control it, didn’t you?”

Moyong Hi-ah didn’t know that.

That’s why she almost died.

In my past life, where I didn’t treat her, she lost her life like that.

But would that be important to Yuri?

If they have a way to control the cold energy anyway, it shouldn’t matter.

Hearing my words, Yuri bit her lip.

It was the exact same expression Moyong Hi-ah had made earlier.

“That…”

“And first.”

As Yuri was about to speak.

I cut her off and asked something else.

“That I could cure it. How did you know about that?”

“…”

At the question, Yuri firmly closed her mouth.

The fact that I treated Moyong Hi-ah was information known only to a very few.

What was the reason I tried to treat Moyong Hi-ah secretly by her side?

I did it because I wanted to hide it if possible, so how did the Ice Palace know about this?

As I voiced that question, Yuri avoided my gaze and said to me.

“…I received information.”

Does that mean there’s a spy?

‘Well.’

It’s not strange.

Although we aren’t enemies, they are strictly a foreign power.

And at the same time, they are blood relatives, even if only half.

It’s not strange for them to know some information about Moyong Hi-ah, but.

‘The fact that they’re lurking nearby feels dirty.’

It’s quite irritating that someone who appears to be a close confidant is doing that.

‘I’ll have to find them later and deal with them.’

If I hadn’t known, fine.

But now that I do, I have no intention of letting it slide.

However, I’ll let this slide for now.

“So, the reason you wanted to see me was for treatment?”

Right now, I needed to understand the Ice Palace’s affairs clearly.

“Yes.”

Yuri answered the question.

“If you… are capable of lifting ‘our’ curse, I sincerely wished to ask for your treatment.”

“Hmm.”

Hearing her words, I stroked my chin.

I didn’t reply to Yuri’s statement.

The Curse of the Ice Spirit.

The word is quite peculiar, but it refers to Moyong Hi-ah’s constitution.

And since they heard I could cure it, a blood relative from the distant Ice Palace came to ask for treatment.

The story seems roughly plausible.

‘Something’s strange.’

Both what Yuri says.

And the situation she presented. Something felt off.

Along with the strangeness, a certain story comes to mind.

It’s still just a suspicion.

Not a certainty.

I needed to confirm it further.

“To fix a controllable constitution, you went out of your way to come see me here… that’s it?”

“Yes. Even if it can be controlled, as it is the bloodline’s curse… I really wanted to receive treatment.”

Drip.

As I listened to Yuri’s words, a water droplet fell into my mind.

With a small impact, it rippled, creating waves.

“Hmm.”

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

Where moments ago she was swayed by emotion, Moyong Hi-ah’s face was now coldly set.

At first glance, it looked like she was listening to the story.

But looking at her face, I could finally be sure.

You’re thinking the same thing as me.

That’s my certainty.

The certainty that my thoughts are correct.

“So…”

“Ice Palace Lord.”

Hesitate.

At my sudden words, Yuri hesitated for a moment.

It was a fleeting moment, but I didn’t miss it.

Yuri smiled and asked me. It was a belated attempt to manage her expression.

It was already too late.

“What are you suddenly talking about-.”

“The Ice Palace Lord seems to be in danger.”

“…”

The smile vanished from her face.

Seeing her attitude, I finally understood the source of the incongruity that had bothered me from the start.

“And quite a lot. Right?”

“…”

Swaaaah.

Cold energy mixed into the air.

Yuri stared at me with a blank expression.

The scatterbrained atmosphere and the cheerful, playful feeling were gone.

She looked like a completely different person.

It was as if ice had taken human form.

Yuri, like that, looked at me and spoke.

“You.”

Her completely changed tone and demeanor.

Sensing that, I laughed.

Ah, I see.

The reason it kept bothering me, I think I finally understand now.

‘My stomach felt upset. That was the problem.’

The reason I felt annoyed and bothered, as if I had seen something I shouldn’t have.

It was none other than this.

This woman hiding her true self and pretending to be someone else.

“What is your true identity?”

I couldn’t stand seeing that.