Chapter 125: Embrace Your Karma Part 2

“Indeed, the spread of these demonic spirits is becoming more serious as time goes on… No wonder His Majesty feels the urgent need to take decisive action…”

The White Princess and Seol Tae Pyeong sat together in the White Tiger Palace’s tearoom and exchanged their thoughts seriously.

Seol Tae Pyeong had been turned away not only from the Heavenly Dragon Hall but from the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise Palaces as well. He was glad to find at least one place left where he could lean on for support.

“Well… I’m not sure how it sounds to you, General Seol, but if I were to form a new military unit, I think I would appoint you as its commander.”

The White Princess slurped her favorite tea as she spoke.

“R-Really…? However, if we consider the training of the next generation, I think putting the new Bright Moon General Hwa Il Yong in command would be best.”

“…To be frank, the reality is that anyone could be appointed to the commander’s position as long as it’s not you?”

“Actually, if I were to speak the truth, that is what I want.”

“There’s no need to dress things up with formalities when we’re already well aware of each other’s inner workings. Neither you nor I are exactly paragons of purity, are we?”

White Princess Ha Wol wore countless layers of masks.

Though she was famous for her radiant image, so much so that rumors circulated that she was a fairy who had descended to Cheongdo Palace, this was simply the image she projected to the world.

The truth that she was a person whose core had long since rotted was no secret between them.

“However, I do want to respect your wishes as much as I can. Now that our Inbong clan has aligned itself with the Vice General, I would prefer if you focused more on raising your political power inside the main palace. After all, other military officers can handle slaying demonic spirits, can they not?”

“I understand that, of course, but… I don’t have much interest or talent in that area.”

“Yes, of course. I wasn’t unaware of that when I took on this matter. While I could certainly handle such matters myself, I have to admit that I find it rather disappointing that someone at the very top has no interest in raising their political standing, but instead runs off to chase demonic spirits”.

The White Princess thought about this and ran her fingers along her chin a few times before continuing.

“To put it simply, I would prefer for you to remain in a less active role.”

“Ah… if that’s your conclusion, then I feel the same way. You’re the only one who understands my feelings on this, White Princess.”

“You do have a silver tongue. Did you even consider the implications of what I said…?”

With a sigh, the White Princess leaned back into her chair and glanced up at the ceiling.

Thinking about how things had come to this point made her sigh again, and she felt the tension ease from her shoulders.

“Haah.”

But then, realizing she was sitting in front of the Vice General of the country, she quickly adjusted her posture.

She hurriedly gathered herself, straightened her clothes, and swallowed the unseemly sigh that had escaped. She straightened the sleeves that she had left draped carelessly around her.

As a crown princess consort and the mistress of the White Tiger Palace, it would be highly improper to present herself so casually before the third-ranking military officer in the palace.

She suddenly recalled that she had just come from her morning training, which might mean she still smelled of sweat. Perhaps she should have applied a bit more perfume before coming. Her hair too was less glossy than usual which made her feel self-conscious.

Of course, this ignorant man likely wouldn’t be sensitive enough to notice these details or judge her by them, but that was beside the point; it was a matter of mindset.

Authority and dignity can be surprisingly undermined by the smallest and seemingly insignificant details. Anyone who has to embody authority should never show their human side.

To think that she forgot such a fundamental rule.

Anyway, Seol Tae Pyeong was the kind of man who somehow had the knack for making you let your guard down more than you intended if you spent enough time with him.

“Regardless, even if you keep insisting that you dislike all this, you’re far too competent to be dismissed so easily. You’ve already achieved so much. While the Inbong Ha clan might be able to help find you a quieter position, we still need someone who can make their voice heard.”

In any case, the White Princess was the sort who knew when to step in fully for Seol Tae Pyeong’s sake.

The reason for this, however, was a strange one. Seeing him sigh and complain, “This is too hard, I don’t want to work, haah.” filled her with an inexplicable sense of futility. But even though the White Princess was above him in official rank… the moment the Inbong clan joined forces with the Vice General’s faction, he had become the power and she the subordinate.

Seol Tae Pyeong wasn’t one to throw his weight around openly, but politics made it impossible to ignore these power dynamics.

And the White Princess was a politician by nature.

“Then, what would be the best course of action?”

“Naturally, you’ll have to try persuading the other crown princess consorts.”

“But… none of them will meet with me….”

“That’s… your karma….”

“Karma? What exactly did I do wrong…?”

“Karma… sometimes it comes without any wrongdoing at all….”

“…You’re not making any sense.”

“Well, life itself is unreasonable; just accept your karma without overthinking it. Even if it feels unfair, there’s nothing you can do. Honestly, I can even understand things from their perspective….”

Seol Tae Pyeong looked at her in disbelief, but the White Princess simply lowered her gaze in silence.

“In any case… since you’re in need of support, if they refuse to meet you, you’ll have no choice but to force a meeting.”

“..….”

“Let’s force our way through.”

The White Princess began to rack her brain.

Anyone looking at White Princess Ha Wol would see a woman completely clad in white from head to toe.

She appeared as radiant and pure as untouched snow, but her mind was filled with all manner of filthy, underhanded schemes.

“You said you have some talent for basic Taoist magic. Do you know how to blur your presence…?”

There was rarely any middle ground in the schemes that came from someone like her.

***

Black Princess Po Hwa Ryeong wanted to die.

She had been sitting on her bed scratching her head relentlessly for over an hour.

In that time, she had kicked her quilt off the bed with her feet 21 times, twisted and strangled her pillow 14 times, fussed with her hair on a whim only to mess it all up and lie back down again 6 times, rubbed her face with her hands 41 times, knocked her head against the bedpost 21 times, and let out an empty hollow laugh 7 times.

After more than 100 acts of self-destruction, she finally took a deep breath and muttered to herself.

Do… I really see Tae Pyeong as just a friend?

It was a question so absurdly belated that, had anyone else heard it, they might have let out a hollow laugh themselves.

Since she had asked the question, she felt obligated to answer it, but no answer came easily.

Her thoughts were piled up like mountains, all needing to be sorted.

In any case, the real problem was the White Demonic Spirit’s spell.

There were far too many troubling aspects for her to brush it off so lightly.

The White Demonic Spirit’s spell erased a person’s self-control and sense of shame, leaving them to act purely on instinct.

In her state, with all her psychological defenses broken down, she couldn’t believe the best she managed to do was fumble awkwardly around Seol Tae Pyeong’s body. Was there any woman in the world quite this ridiculous?

Then, to make it worse, she blurted out things like, “We’re friends, so this much is okay,” and that nothing was inappropriate. Even if the White Demonic Spirit had scrambled her mind with a spell, how could she say such things with a straight face?

As her thoughts reached this point, the Black Princess could only rub her face with her hands for the 42nd time.

Ugh… there’s no doubt that I think of Seol Tae Pyeong as a precious friend… I certainly do…

However, humans were such mysterious creatures; it was common for thoughts and instincts to run in opposite directions.

More than anything, the Black Princess was a person who disliked conflict and valued harmony.

With Seol Tae Pyeong constantly at the center of squabbles among the crown princess consorts, she had taken it upon herself to mediate, and over time, her perspective became trapped in that role.

Harboring excessive feelings for Seol Tae Pyeong would only add to the chaos in an already chaotic palace.

The Black Princess who was fully aware of this instinctively relegated him to the position of a close friend and buried her true feelings deep inside.

But as all these unspoken feelings twisted and turned within her, a single spell from the White Demonic Spirit peeled back her rationality to reveal her embarrassing display.

Honestly, how many people in this world could live in a constant state of perfect, flawless control?

The real problem was that she had exposed this side of herself directly in front of Seol Tae Pyeong…

And the shame from it… was something beyond what any person could endure.

Humiliation. Oh, the ancient foe of humanity…

Even as the mistress of Black Palace, with all the dignity that position entailed, she found it difficult to withstand the rippling shame.

There was only one cure. It was time.

Although she had heard that Seol Tae Pyeong had come to Black Palace early that afternoon, the Black Princess, who was in desperate need of time, had turned him away at the gates.

It pained her to do so, and she felt terribly sorry for him, but she trusted that he would understand if she explained it later.

With her mind still in a state of turmoil, meeting him now was simply impossible.

It seemed best not to face Seol Tae Pyeong until she had managed to calm herself a bit. He was a busy man, after all, so it shouldn’t be a big issue.

Or so she thought…

In truth, Seol Tae Pyeong’s situation was also dire, with flames practically licking at his heels. He couldn’t afford to be selective in his methods.

“Black Princess, someone from the Hwalseong District has arrived.”

Her hand, which had been mercilessly battering her pillow, froze mid-motion.

She hiccupped in surprise at the sudden report that came from beyond the paper doors and asked again in disbelief.

“Th-The Hwalseong District?!”

“Y-Yes…”

“Hwalseong District… then Tae Pye… no, the Vice General?! I told him earlier that meeting today would be difficult…”

“N-No, it’s not him… he sent a subordinate just to deliver a message… it seems quite urgent.”

“R-Really…?”

The Black Princess let out a sigh of relief. As long as she didn’t have to face Seol Tae Pyeong himself.

She quickly caught her breath and regained her composure as she spoke.

“If it’s one of his subordinates, I trust it will be fine. Very well, S-Send him in.”

“Yes, Black Princess.”

“And… who did you say it was?”

“It’s the Black Moon Leader, someone named Cheong Jin Myeong.”

Black Moon Leader Cheong Jin Myeong. He was the demonic spirit hunter who wore a cotton cloth wrapped around his face.

She had heard that he rarely left the Hwalseong District’s perimeter, as he was constantly busy hunting demonic spirits there.

She looked a little confused. She remembered that she had heard that he was never allowed to leave the Hwalseong district because of the critical nature of his duties.

In any case, if they had dispatched someone of that caliber, it must have been quite an urgent matter.

***

“Has the Vice General not returned to his chamber yet?”

“Oh, no… Did you have something to report to him?”

“Lower demonic spirits have been spotted in the northwestern mining area, so I’m planning to go out and subdue them today. I was going to take some guards from Hwalseong as guides if I could get permission.”

Black Moon Leader Cheong Jin Myeong, the closest aide to Seol Tae Pyeong, was exchanging thoughts with Ha Si Hwa.

“I’ll report that much myself. There’s someone among the wooden craftsmen who’s currently on rest due to an injury; take him along. He should be capable enough for guiding.”

“Understood, I’ll do that. I’ll set off for the mining area right away. If there’s any unnecessary damage, it’ll just become a headache….”

“Please be as cautious as possible to avoid any injuries. That includes you, Leader Cheong.”

“Understood.”

In the Hwalseong District office.

Ha Si Hwa had brought a pile of documents for the Vice General to review and was organizing them one by one. After listening to the Black Moon Leader’s report, she quickly made the order.

When the Vice General was away, she carried out her duties as his deputy. She ran Hwalseong efficiently in her own way.

Swish, swish.

Meanwhile, Yeon Ri was observing the busy aides, who tirelessly moved in and out of the Vice General’s residence, from a distance.

“It almost brings tears to my eyes…”

She stopped scrubbing the wooden floor and looked up at the sky. It was such a clear, bright blue.

Thinking about how that ragged warrior now commanded such a grand residence and directed all these aides, she couldn’t help but feel deeply moved.

So this is what a mother’s heart feels Tae Pyeong-ah, you need to grow strong and healthy… maybe show some filial piety now and then… and lay off the rice soup for a while…

She muttered something to herself as she wrung out the cloth over her water jug, then sat back down on the porch.

She let out a deep sigh, hoping to rest for a moment.

She leaned her head against the pillar beside the porch and exhaled heavily. As she closed her eyes, a vivid image of the White Demonic Spirit’s last moments filled her mind. Its shoulder was pierced by a blade as the creature met its end.

Looking down at herself, watching life drain out and blood spill from her body in those last moments, was not a memory she relished.

Even so… she had wanted to finish it by her own hand. And at least once, she had wanted to see the scene.

“But still…”

Though she had gone through countless cycles of reincarnation, this was the first time everything had aligned so perfectly.

Finally… only the Plague Demonic Spirit remained. It was the source of all these calamities, the king of every demon spirit.

Throughout the endless cycles, she had slain the White Demonic Spirit countless times, but never before had it been so flawless. She could never witness the end of the White Demonic Spirit with her own eyes.

Because of that… the scene from two nights ago of the White Demonic Spirit murmuring softly in its last moments still flickered vividly in her mind.

– The Plague Demonic Spirit… is watching….

The sight of the demonic spirit reaching a hand toward the buildings of the main palace rising before it…

Though she couldn’t quite explain it… the gesture seemed to hold some kind of meaning…