Chapter 31: Heavenly Dragon Festival Part 2

“Yo-Your disloyalty certainly warrants severe punishment, b-but do human hearts move solely based on loyalty and duty?”

The White Princess quickly scanned the interior of the tea room with a visibly flustered expression on her face.

Headmaid Ye Rim was trembling in a corner of the tea room and her eyes were wide with disbelief.

The other junior and senior maids who were standing outside the paper doors were unable to grasp the exact conversation since the tea room was just too large.

From the White Princess’s perspective, as long as she could keep the headmaid’s mouth firmly shut, this farce was unlikely to leak. After all, Yeon Ri was originally from the White Immortal Palace so she highly unlikely wouldn’t want me to be punished.

“Are you saying you will forgive me for harboring such disloyal thoughts!!!”

“Lo-Lower your voice…! Shh! Shhh!”

“Lady White Princess’s heart is as vast as the ocean… tears are coming to my eyes… that you would forgive such a disloyal person as me… how can this be…”

“I told you to lower your voice…!”

Pushing forward half-heartedly will get us nowhere.

Once a course is set, one must push forward, whether it leads to life or death. Never!!! The initiative must never be handed back.

I bowed my head and spoke in a desperate voice.

“However, how could I possibly be forgiven? Even if I rely on Lady White Princess’s mercy to tide over this situation, the Heavenly Emperor would never overlook such sin. I, Seol Tae-pyeong, cannot live under the heavens bearing this shame.”

“What, what did you say…?”

“I, Seol Tae-pyeong, will go to the penal officer right now to confess all my sins and implore him to punish me severely. Even when my body is tied to the scaffold and writhing in pain!! I will always remember your merciful heart, Lady White Princess! Though today may be the last day I see your noble face, that will be enough… Please take care, Lady White Princess!!”

“Wait, I told you to wait! I’m still gathering my thoughts!”

“No! How could a princess of the realm overlook such disloyalty to protect a lowly warrior like me! I cannot impose such a burden on you, Lady White Princess!”

“Stop!!! I’m telling you it’s okay!!! Please, just stay still!!!”

Yeon Ri who was watching the scene from the side was sweating profusely and looked dumbfounded. She was seemingly unable to believe this madness was actually working.

“Then, I shall carry out that punishment myself.”

After she finally regained her composure, the White Princess began to sort out the situation.

“Are you saying you will do it personally, Lady White Princess?”

“Ye-Yes… Did you say you wanted to live without shame before the Heavenly Emperor? If so… you should cooperate with me even more as I work to make this Heavenly Dragon Festival a grand event. Isn’t that right?”

“I-Is that so?”

“If you are ashamed of your sins, then work even harder to support me. Put extra effort into the sword dance performance with the Vermilion Princess to elevate the atmosphere of the event. Do you understand?”

“Ho-How could there be any objection!”

I responded vigorously to the White Princess’s words yet made sure to address the essential points clearly.

“However, Lady White Princess! The disloyalty and feelings I harbor will not easily vanish… Are you really sure it’s alright to keep someone like me by your side…!”

“Didn’t I just say that preparing for the Heavenly Dragon Festival comes first…! And… the difference in status between you and me is as vast as the heaven is from the earth, so whatever feelings you harbor are of little concern to me. They are, frankly, laughable.”

The White Princess sent a meaningful glance to Headmaid Ye Rim.

It seemed that Headmaid Ye Rim was also aware that the White Princess was plotting some sinister scheme and would thus likely turn a blind eye to my eccentric behaviors without reporting them anywhere.

“As long as you stay conscious of how wrong such things are, nothing strange will happen. Am I wrong?”

“Th-That is…”

“Anyway, that’s settled then! I, I will forgive you mercifully, so you should live your life bearing this gratitude in your heart. Understand?”

“Yes, thank you! Lady White Princess!”

The White Princess was, by now, breathlessly gasping for air.

She had gotten so caught up in the flow that she hadn’t even noticed her voice had risen in the middle of our conversation.

It was unlikely she had ever lost her composure this much since entering the palace. The White Princess I knew was always a figure who sinisterly observed the situation from a distance.

“Th-Then, see you at the Heavenly Dragon Festival. I’ll speak to the Vermilion Princess about this.”

“Tae Pyeong-ah … your expression…”

“This is the first time in my life I’ve wanted to die so badly…”

“Tae Pyeong-ah … oh no… damn… Tae Pyeong-ah… damn…”

When I returned to the White Immortal Palace, I found Wang Han and Seol Ran waiting for me with tense expressions.

I sat on the porch of the White Immortal Palace in a daze and engulfed in humiliation as if my human dignity itself had been violated.

The members of the White Immortal Palace family seated around me were simply holding back tears.

They understood the kind of fight I had been through at the White Tiger Palace.

“Damn… Tae Pyeong… you must survive… you must…”

Wang Han clenched his fist and spoke in a miserable voice.

It was a tribute to those who had survived the thorny path by gritting their teeth.

“Anyway, I was able to confirm a lot. Just like Wang Han predicted, it seems that the White Princess cannot easily distance herself from Tae Pyeong.”

Since Yeon Ri had entered and exited the White Tiger Palace with me, she could explain the situation accurately.

After we explained the events at the White Tiger Palace one by one to Seol Ran and Wang Han, we began to seriously discuss how to formulate our next strategy.

The White Tiger Hunt was just beginning.

For now, the first step had gone as planned.

“But… during this upcoming Heavenly Dragon Festival, she wants to bring Tae Pyeong and the Vermilion Princess onto the stage…”

Yeon Ri spoke with a nervous expression on her face.

Hearing this, Wang Han stroked his chin and fell deep into thought.

“Tae Pyeong and the Vermilion Princess…?”

“Yes.”

“…It looks suspicious right off the bat.”

The fact that she wanted to bring the Vermilion Princess and me face to face in front of so many people indicated that there must be an ulterior motive.

However, at this point, it was not easy to fully discern the White Princess’s scheming.

If the story gets back on track and I become able to make full use of the content of the “Heavenly Dragon Love Story” perhaps then I might foresee the changes within the palace… but the time was still in the past.

This meant that there was some time left before the story of the Heavenly Dragon Love Story started.

At this point, the flow of the story was completely beyond my knowledge.

However, I had heard a bit about the Heavenly Dragon Festival.

It was the event where Seol Ran, the female protagonist of the “Heavenly Dragon Love Story” met “An Cheon”, a secondary male lead.

While there were many minor male characters charmed by Seol Ran, the three main male protagonists of the “Heavenly Dragon Love Story” were these:

Crown Prince Hyeon Won,

Taoist An Cheon,

And Warrior Commander Jang Rae.

Seol Ran’s first encounter with Prince Hyeon Won happened during his birthday ceremony, and her first meeting with Jang Rae was behind the White Immortal Palace.

If she were to meet the last male lead, Taoist An Cheon, at the Heavenly Dragon Festival then all the past stories before the beginning of the “Heavenly Dragon Love Story” would be concluded.

Seol Ran who would later become the Heavenly Maiden would save a bloodied An Cheon who was fleeing from a group of assassins called the Black Moon Order, and hide him during this festival.

During this time, An Cheon who was skilled in Taoist magic would gift Seol Ran a treasure known as the “Black Pearl of Jangrim” which could resist most illusion techniques.

This object later becomes crucial for Seol Ran as she gets entangled in a power struggle with Azure Prince Jin Cheong Lang.

The Black Pearl of Jangrim will be an important item for Seol Ran to secure if she is to become the Heavenly Maiden…

Under the brilliant colors of fireworks in the sky and lanterns floating below on a beautiful night,

I wouldn’t want to interrupt Seol Ran’s grand adventure at the Heavenly Dragon Festival where she dashes through the streets leading An Cheon and escaping his pursuers.

“…Is Ran-noonim going to the festival grounds at the Heavenly Dragon Festival?”

Passing through the Great Star Gate which was the grand entrance to Cheongdo Palace, one would find themselves in a vast clearing known as Truth Insight Terrace.

Typically, this area was used by the Imperial Army for their formal training, but on the day of the Heavenly Dragon Festival, it was opened up so that the common people could also pass through.

Despite its impressive size, the Truth Insight Terrace accounted for less than ten percent of the entire palace’s area. Nevertheless, the people were very happy to have even this limited access to view the interior of the palace.

If they were lucky, they might also witness the Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun blessing the remaining year from the platform in Truth Insight Terrace.

Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun.

This Heavenly Dragon Festival was the sole occasion when she appeared publicly before the people.

“Mhmm, since Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun herself will be coming in person… it’s only natural that all the court ladies from Heavenly Dragon Hall would come out to serve her.”

“You might want to focus on your duties as a court lady for now.”

“How can I possibly do that! My duties are indeed important, but Tae Pyeong, you’re literally walking on thin ice with your life hanging by a thread…!”

“However, since you are a court lady of the Heavenly Dragon Hall, how can you possibly skip out on the day of the Heavenly Dragon Festival?”

For the maids of Heavenly Dragon Hall, the Heavenly Dragon Festival was one of the biggest events of the year.

Asking to be excused from such a day to help out was a bit too much.

“We’ll try to handle the matter concerning the White Princess among ourselves here at the White Immortal Palace.”

“Tae Pyeong-ah…”

“It might actually be better for Ran-noonim to focus on her own tasks.”

I earnestly advised Seol Ran in this manner.

This Heavenly Dragon Festival was an extremely important night for us, the Seol siblings.

I must do what I need to do, and Seol Ran must do what she needs to do.

Right… Let’s steel our hearts…

Ran-noonim, you must pursue your destiny with White Taoist An Cheon and secure the Black Pearl of Jangrim.

As for me…

…

…this might sound crazy, but.

I will capture White Princess Ha Wol.

After sending Seol Ran back to the inner palace, Wang Han, Yeon Ri, and I discussed strategies until late into the night and thought over what to say and how to seize the opportunity to captivate the crown princess … The content of our conversations was so mind-boggling that it was overwhelming to even listen to.

As the moon reached its zenith and it was time to sleep, Wang Han and Yeon Ri each retired to their rooms.

I sat quietly on the porch of the White Immortal Palace and started organizing my thoughts.

According to Yeon Ri, we should win over White Princess Ha Wol’s heart to place her on equal footing with the other princess consorts to avoid future complications.

Indeed, this seemed to be a viable lifeline. Given the power disparity between a princess consort and a low-ranked warrior of the White Immortal Palace, appealing to her emotions was practically the only way to get on equal footing with her and influence her actions.

However… there isn’t entirely no other way…

I hadn’t mentioned this method to Wang Han and Yeon Ri. I didn’t want to involve them more than necessary after all …

Even without capturing White Princess Ha Wol’s heart, there is still another way to gain control over her.

In any case, if I can grasp her weakness, that will suffice.

She had gone so far as to attempt to poison Vermilion Princess In Ha Yeon at the Heavenly Dragon Festival, which went to show that she was a woman who had lost her senses completely.

It was a clear indication that she was a woman capable of anything where power was involved.

So there was no way she would just ignore an opportunity to eliminate the Vermilion Princess so openly.

She was a woman of scheming and manipulation. There must be a reason why she arranged for me to meet Vermilion Princess In Ha Yeon on the stage of the Heavenly Dragon Festival.

In that case… conversely, all I had to do was find and secure evidence of the White Princess’s schemes.

If successful, it would indeed provide a justification to pressure the White Princess from our side.

The fact that she tried to get rid of the Vermilion Princess who was a member of the Jeongseon clan and the owner of the Golden Hairpin by using vile tricks. If exposed, the White Princess could no longer sit comfortably as the rightful mistress of the White Tiger Palace.

And so, it was necessary that each one of us hold a weakness of the other.

The opponent was a crown princess consort. To pressure someone of such stature, it was important to maintain a situation where each could fatally harm the other. A state of mutual assured destruction.

If I get the chance…I should inform the Vermilion Princess of this situation. She would surely cooperate with me.

This approach was more realistic than trying to charm the White Princess into falling in love with me out of nowhere.

It was unlikely that Yeon Ri or Wang Han understood the White Princess’s deeper motives. I knew about them only from reading the Heavenly Dragon Love Story. For now, I kept this knowledge to myself.

The sense of inferiority that the White Princess harbored towards the Vermilion Princess would certainly present opportunities to exploit.

“…the mosquitoes are already flying.”

I would soon need to go inside and sleep so I could wake up at dawn and start the day.

It was when I stood up from the porch and dusted off my clothes,

“Tae Pyeong-ah, were you awake?”

I was startled by the sound of someone trudging in through the main gate and grasped the handle of my sword.

Even though I was tired, it was completely ridiculous for me not to notice any signs before someone entered the gate.

But when I saw the figure trudging out from the darkness under the moonlight, I sighed deeply and relaxed my grip on the sword handle.

The person who came in… it would be stranger if I actually noticed him.

“Elder, you came to your palace at such a late hour.”

“Ah, I’m starving. Just got back from White Immortal Mountain and I’m famished. Cook up a bowl of hot rice soup for me.”

“Yes, elder. Shall I wake Yeon Ri if you need a new quilt?”

“No need, I’ll just grab some food and get some sleep myself. An old body like mine endures all kinds of hardships.”

With his hands clasped behind his back, the White Immortal Elder tapped his lower back as he entered.

When my eyes adjusted to the darkness and his figure became clear, the tips of my eyebrows twitched.

“Elder.”

“What is it?”

“…I’ll wake Yeon Ri to fetch a new robe.”

“Eh? Ha, seems I’ve gotten it dirty.”

The robe of the White Immortal Elder was splattered with the blood of demonic spirits.

White Immortal Lee Cheol Woon must have slain numerous demonic spirits somewhere.

He seldom leaves the imperial capital, which meant he must have encountered and killed these demonic spirits somewhere in the imperial capital.

“Elder.”

“Don’t ask unnecessary questions. Haven’t I told you that?”

The White Immortal Elder flicked his robe casually as he spoke.

“The aura of the Heavenly Dragon has grown weak.”

“……”

The Heavenly Dragon Hall of the imperial palace was so majestic that the edge of its tile roof could be seen even from the White Immortal Palace.

After looking towards the distant roof of the Heavenly Dragon Hall under the moonlight, the White Immortal let out a deep sigh.

“Tae Pyeong-ah, it’s almost time for the Heavenly Dragon Festival, isn’t it?”

“Yes, elder.”

“Make sure to have your Cold Iron Heavy Sword ready by the date specified.”

My fingertips momentarily trembled at those words.

Whenever the White Immortal Elder specifically instructed me to prepare the Cold Iron Heavy Sword, there was often a significant reason behind it.

But it was strange.

I had somewhat expected the appearance of demonic spirits during the birthday ceremony last fall. Although more appeared than I had expected.

However, this time at the Heavenly Dragon Festival… as far as I know, not even a hint of a demonic spirit should emerge.

All that happened was that Seol Ran spent the night of the Heavenly Dragon Festival running around the Truth Insight Terrace and the streets of the imperial capital market.

“…….”

“Oh, I’m so hungry. How long do you plan to make this old man wait?”

“I’ll have it ready shortly.”

I greeted the White Immortal and headed into the kitchen, but the furrow on my brow showed no signs of relaxing.

On the night the Heavenly Dragon Festival was almost upon us.

For some reason, I felt an ominous sensation and found myself deep in thought.

“Vermilion Princess, according to the letter sent by the White Princess…”

“I have read it.”

A Vermilion Bird with folded wings sat on the desk and was flipping through the scriptures.

Headmaid Hyeon Dang of the Vermilion Bird Palace cautiously entered the inner chamber to gauge the intentions of the Vermilion Princess.

The White Princess’s proposal was for her to face that man in a sword duel once more during the upcoming Heavenly Dragon Festival.

The silk scroll with various rhetoric written on it seemed to carry a certain conviction that the Vermilion Princess would accept this proposal.

“…….”

Indeed, it had been a long time since she had crossed swords with that warrior from the White Immortal Palace.

The Vermilion Princess’s swordsmanship had considerably improved since last year, and this time, she might not be so easily overpowered.

Seol Tae Pyeong who was endowed with the essence of a true swordsman possessed sword skills that even the Vermilion Princess, as skilled as she was, could hardly hope to match. However, she considered that perhaps she could manage to hold her ground a bit longer this time.

It would be right to refuse.

The Vermilion Princess briefly closed the scripture and fell into deep thought.

They say that when the body becomes distant, the heart also becomes distant.

She thought if she did not see the man’s face for a long time, the troubling feelings that stirred within her might calm and soon she would regain her composure.

And so after much deliberation, the Vermilion Princess chose not to even face Seol Tae Pyeong when he visited to inspect the protective charms at the Vermilion Bird Palace. It was truly a superhuman display of restraint.

However, when she saw the man at the tea party … it was true that seeing him after such a long time brought a feeling of warm joy.

The man, as always, appeared sturdy and spirited. He almost hadn’t changed from when she had seen him in the cave.

But strangely enough, he seemed even more reliable now. This was perhaps a new aspect that came with him growing a bit older. Even though the Vermilion Princess was older.

But …

The Heavenly Dragon Festival was not far off.

Displaying one’s skills in a duel in front of the people was hardly unusual, and it would not look odd to anyone.

Feeling like she was searching for an excuse to go struck the Vermilion Princess as something that was really unusual though.

Even so, I wouldn’t fail to maintain my dignity there. I am also a human being who knows how to discern between right and wrong.

And… yes, he is definitely a skilled swordsman. Refusing such a fine opportunity to sharpen my martial arts would not be wise…

The Vermilion Princess was deep in thought with her reddish hair cascading down her face as she sat in the inner chambers of the Vermilion Bird Palace.

Hyeon Dang who saw this had no choice but to tightly close her eyes.

“……”

On the day of the birthday ceremony at the White Immortal Mountain, Headmaid Hyeon Dang owed her life to that man named Seol Tae Pyeong, as had the Vermilion Princess. To them, this man was a life savior.

With her eyes tightly closed, Hyeon Dang grew sure. Perhaps the headmaid of the Azure Dragon Palace had once recited a similar monologue in her head.

If things continue like this, they might really end up repaying kindness with evil—It was such monologue.

“Ah, and… a sachet of incense has been sent as a gift from the White Tiger Palace.”

“A sachet…?”

“It was embroidered by the mistress of the White Tiger Palace herself.”

“The White Princess?”

Headmaid Hyeon Dang brought out a wooden box engraved with a white tiger design.

Inside the splendidly decorated box was a silk pouch filled with incense.

“…. Truly beautiful. The White Princess’s craftsmanship is indeed exceptional.”

Though the Vermilion Princess was skilled in embroidery as well, the tiger design stitched by the White Princess herself was worthy of admiration.

“…. Right, since she crafted such a thing by hand, it would be rude to refuse her offer.”

“………”

“Since the Heavenly Dragon Festival is organized under the supervision of the White Princess, it seems she is quite enthusiastic about it. In that case… as a fellow princess consort, it is only right that I roll up my sleeves and offer my help.”

The Vermilion Princess spoke with a pleased smile as if she had found a good reason.

“Attach the sachet to the handle of my sword. It seems just the right size to hang as an ornament at the end. The White Princess knows of my interest in martial arts training, which must be why she crafted it for me. She truly has a fine sense of style.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The Vermilion Princess appeared to be in quite a good mood.

To her closest aide Hyeon Dang, her demeanor seemed to suggest that she was looking forward to the Heavenly Dragon Festival.

…And the reason for this was, in fact, quite obvious.