episode_0098

The day had dawned before they knew it.

Wondering how to wash here, when asked Sibi, she handed over a fluffy cloud in a basket, saying it was called a washing cloud.

It felt a bit sticky rather than washed with water, but contrary to the feeling, it was cleaned well.

Anyway, I couldn’t sleep properly because I was so nervous, and I’m worried.

Knock knock knock.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Sibi. His Highness will soon issue instructions regarding the trial, so prepare quickly and come to Daejeon.”

“Oh! Yes! Please wait a moment.”

Thump thump thump

It felt like my heart was pounding with tension.

Why did things escalate like this? I thought it would just be some pressure or bullying… I never dreamed of facing trials.

“Yip!”

“Oh! Sarie, come in this way first.”

Sarie hops into my clothes.

“Are you comfortable? Is there anywhere uncomfortable?”

“Yaaawn!”

It’s a relief that she’s not uncomfortable.

Well, it’s the clothes Heeseon gave me where Sarie can comfortably stay inside.

How surprising it was to realize Sarie was still here.

Due to Songhak urging Heeseon in a hurry yesterday, both Heeseon and I were in a rush, forgetting about Sarie completely.

I should have made sure Sarie was alert, but when I asked her after briefly returning to human form, she said she fell asleep comfortably in my arms and didn’t even notice Heeseon had left?

There’s no choice, leaving Sarie alone here…

“By the way, sorry Sarie. You’ll have to stay in your puppy form for a while, right? I was trying to let you stay in human form this time…”

“Yip!”

Sarie expresses that it’s okay by scratching my chest with her front paw.

Oh, our sweet Sarie…

Knock knock knock

“It seems you really need to come out now.”

“Oh! Yes! I’m coming out now!”

Still, it’s better this way… I would have been more nervous alone, but having Sarie with me in my arms makes me feel a little less tense.

I quickly gather my equipment and head to the door.

“Innocent unknown, accept the decree!”

“I will impose the first trial.”

“The content of the trial is hide and seek. Find His Majesty hiding in the village.”

“You only have one chance! If His Majesty is not at the indicated location, the trial will fail.”

“The deadline is until Hashi (around 23:00)! If you pass Hashi, the trial will be considered a failure.”

“Also, without the help of others… with your own strength…”

Listening to the voice of the servant reading out the decree loudly, Emperor Okhwang intently watches the hunter.

The hunter, dressed in loose clothing and kneeling, calmly accepts the impending test.

Although he is just a mere subject, where does this dignity come from?

Could it be because his daughter provided him with an answer? If he believes only in that, it could lead to a great mistake…

“Hmm… Is Jin truly worried about him right now?”

The Emperor felt dizzy with judgment.

Yes, he deeply appreciates the young man.

He feels incredibly sorry for imposing such a trial due to his dangerous abilities.

How dearly he thought of his youngest daughter.

Especially since he felt more affectionate towards her when he saw Heeseon’s unfortunate fate. He didn’t know it would turn into poison…

Recorded destiny was just that.

Even the being who governs destiny, Emperor Okhwang himself, once entangled, becomes uncontrollable.

His heart ached as he realized the consequences of his actions, which may inadvertently invite jealousy from his other daughters, leading them to treat the youngest harshly.

Only after the fate was confirmed and the story unfolded could he understand his mistake.

From then on… Even though my heart ached, I deliberately turned away from my struggling daughter.

To prevent my sisters’ jealousy from hating my daughter any longer,

My sisters pitied the youngest even a little bit so that they could avoid their predetermined fate.

In the end… Even though I had given up on avoiding fate while despairing over the youngest who never came no matter how long I waited….

The gaze of Okhwang Sangje turns towards my daughter, who is looking at my husband with worried eyes as he rolls his feet in the corner.

I already confirmed that my daughter deeply loves that young man from her loud expressions.

From the beginning, this story would not have awakened if the fairy did not truly love her husband deeply.

There is no doubt about the hearts of these two.

“Sigh….”

Okhwang Sangje exhales a sigh that sticks to his lips like a habit since he visited Heeseon’s place last night and received only cold treatment.

Raising children is useless….

The gratitude that had once been there vanished without a trace, replaced by resentment towards that wretched fellow once again.

She was always “Father Mother! Father Mother!” smiling brightly and asking me to pat her head, my pretty daughter…!

And to think she’s pregnant with that scoundrel’s child!

Dongbangsak, the loyal subject, seemed to know something, so I called him over to listen. It seems they got married not too long ago… How could he have impregnated my delicate and fragile daughter so quickly…!

I start to feel uncomfortable again, wondering if that thief has caused my precious daughter to suffer needlessly.

Suddenly, it occurred to me,

“A grandson… a grandson…. Does he resemble our Heeseon?”

At the thought of the unborn grandson, Okhwang Sangje’s face, which had furrowed at first, begins to relax like the spring sunshine.

Even if he resembles that slick fellow, just one aspect of the grandson must be amazing, making me satisfied….

Come to think of it, that fellow is quite a decent guy.

Not only outstanding in appearance but also rare in character, a young man of upright nature…

How much Dongbangsak praised him, his mouth must have dried up.

He was a man who spoke confidently to the Emperor, even in front of all the subjects….

Especially the deep thoughts and knowledge subtly emanating from his speech made me think that apart from his dangerous abilities, he was not just an ordinary person, which pleased me….

Thus, Okhwang Sangje found himself unable to control his expression, alternating between anger, nobility, resentment, and contentment.

Shinseon, who was reading the scriptures to descend, was dying.

Every time I read a word, the Emperor’s expression changed drastically, making me wonder what I was saying wrong, and suddenly his face would brighten, then he would frown again….

What a crazy job this is!

“Um, after a moment, the trial will begin here, so let the sinners wait here.”

The bewildered Shinseon stumbled through the scriptures, and before he knew it, it was time for the Emperor to hide for hide-and-seek.

The hunter was given some time to prepare for the trial.

During this time, the Emperor moved to the village to hide.

As soon as he arrived in the village, with a bang! Sangje transformed into an animal to disguise himself.

[(You guys go outside the village and wait here.)]

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The hiding place was the first house decided upon during last night’s meeting with the subjects.

Naturally, Sangje opened the door of the first house and stepped inside.

Squelch.

[(Huh?)]

A sticky substance felt on the animal-transformed foot.

Lifting his foot quickly, he saw a bright red substance sticking to it.

[(Look! What on earth is this!)]

Suddenly, the voices of the king’s subjects ringing in their heads, the courtiers who were about to leave the village hurriedly ran towards the king.

“Your Majesty, what is happening!”

“Your, Your Majesty! This is blood..? Ah, it seems like pig’s blood! Why is this here..!”

“How..! Your Majesty! We had no idea about this at all! What on earth is going on..!”

[(Are they just going to keep babbling like that! It’s a pride for those who prepared the ordeal not to have known such a fact until now!)]

“Please give us your command, Your Majesty!”

[(What command! What are you doing! Quickly, without wiping the blood on the floor! Let’s change hiding places. It seems like the location of our belongings has been exposed…. First, find out if there is a curse or magical device in this blood.)]

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The courtiers quickly gathered, confirmed the blood scattered on the floor, used their sleeves to turn over the ground and remove the blood.

While scolding the courtiers, the king inwardly realized that his daughter was involved in this matter.

How could he not have known?

The day before, while discussing with the courtiers about the ordeal, secretly hidden in a corner were a woman and a small gray puppy listening to their conversation.

Heesun tried her best to conceal everything, even using her sleeves, but she couldn’t deceive his sharp eyes.

However, since this was also part of the story, he naturally turned a blind eye to it.

He had no intention of letting things flow as they originally did.

If this truly was a hunter’s tale, knowing that his daughter was helping her husband, he would have let it happen,

But now, it was an important task to confirm his abilities.

This time, he would twist the story by becoming the antagonist.

Perhaps, if he successfully passed through this ordeal, no one would ever think his abilities were similar to the antagonist’s.

He turned the story from being an antagonist to being a protagonist.

While it’s easy for a protagonist to become an antagonist, it’s difficult for an antagonist to become a protagonist.

However, if he blindly believed and acted only on Heesun’s advice, he would not avoid disaster.

And… he wouldn’t easily escape the ordeal with his dangerous abilities until he died trapped in the celestial prison.

Despite feeling grateful to him, he possessed dangerous abilities that shouldn’t easily pass the ordeal.

He needed to prove his uniqueness.

“Your Majesty, I have prepared water for washing here. Please quickly wipe off the blood on your body.”

[(Right, there was nothing special about the blood?)]

“Yes, it was just pig’s blood.”

[(I see. Let’s move from here then.)]

But what was he thinking?

Even if it was considered sorcery, how could the king not have noticed it?

Of course, it wasn’t a sorcerous ritual at all… but the king still couldn’t understand it.

Why bother needlessly with pig’s blood when it could be neatly cleaned up like this…?

Well, it’s better this way.

Twisting the story was quite a challenging task for the king.

Therefore, only minor changes to the appearance of disguising creatures were possible, and moving locations was impossible, but now he had more options.

Without accumulating too much, he could freely change locations.

However, both appearance and location… now all the information Heesun provided must have become useless….

Was there a need to plan something useless even though the fact that the information leaked was revealed…

If he fails… my daughter…

The heart of the King of Heaven was filled with deep emotions.