Chapter 5: The Azure Princess Part 3

– Tae Pyeong, you must survive at all costs.

– Even if the odds are one in a hundred, one in a thousand, you must never stop striving to survive, Tae Pyeong.

– It may seem foolish, meaningless, but giving up on life is something that must never happen.

– You can live. You must believe without a doubt that you can survive, Tae Pyeong.

***

As soon as Yeon Ri stepped out of the central building of the Azure Dragon Palace, she began to vomit. It seemed that since she wasn’t used to illusion techniques, the aftereffects lingered for a while.

“Uuug, Blargh… Haah…”

After a prolonged bout of vomiting, she finally regained her composure.

And as soon as she felt the gazes of the maids crowding around her, she blushed as if she was embarrassed that she had retched in front of so many people.

“I… I almost killed… the Azure Princess…”

As soon as she regained her senses, she broke out in a cold sweat.

“How are you feeling?”

“Thank you, Tae Pyeong… I’m feeling a bit better now… It was like seeing my life flash before my eyes… And such horrible nightmares too…”

“Nightmares? What kind of nightmares…?”

“A dream about eating a soup filled with a lot of boiled aralia… It was terrifying…”

“…. A nightmare that bad?”

The hand that was patting Yeon Ri’s back also stopped.

I was somewhat relieved to see her eyes fully return to awareness, especially considering the concern it would cause the White Immortal Elder if anything were to happen to her.

“Well, as long as you’re feeling back to normal, that’s good.”

Then, I stood up and scanned the maids gathered around.

In the midst of them stood the headmaid of the Azure Dragon Palace.

I walked slowly and approached the headmaid. The latter flinched and trembled.

I then grabbed her by the collar without hesitation.

The surrounding maids gasped in unison and their eyes widened with shock.

“Ga, gah. Guk.”

“Ta-Tae Pyeong! What are you doing!”

I dragged the headmaid out and threw her onto the courtyard from the porch.

“Cough!”

The headmaid who was thrown helplessly onto the ground coughed violently.

Yeon Ri was startled and rushed out to the front yard.

“Ta, Tae Pyeong! I told you I was okay! No matter what, treating the headmaid like this… it won’t just end with a punishment…!”

In the palace hierarchy, military officials usually rank much higher than the consorts’ maids. It was only natural.

However, it was unthinkable for a young apprentice warrior to be swinging fists at a headmaid.

As mentioned, a headmaid of the Azure Dragon Palace would normally be of high enough status to be a noblewoman.

And since she was a servant of the Crown Princess Consort, it was expected.

If word got out that an apprentice warrior had struck the Crown Princess’s headmaid, the main palace would be in an uproar.

And they would immediately expel that apprentice from the palace. Depending on the circumstances, severe punishment might even be considered.

Yeon Ri who knew this well was alarmed and tried to intervene, but it didn’t take long for her to sense something was amiss.

“……”

Yeon Ri swallowed hard and surveyed her surroundings.

The silence was unnerving.

An apprentice warrior had struck down a headmaid, yet none of the junior maids intervened.

As if the warrior’s anger was justified.

And as if they themselves were guilty.

“Why didn’t you disarm me before I entered the inner chamber?”

That question was poised to pierce the headmaid’s heart like a dagger.

Yeon Ri too seemed to grasp something as she held her breath.

To be thrown into the swamp of bewitchment without any prior explanation or even disarming…was nothing short of madness.

Even though I resisted the Azure Princess’s bewitchment, Yeon Ri nearly ended her life.

“Did you intend to use us to kill the Azure Princess?”

It was the only conclusion I could draw.

Before entering the inner chamber, the only one who had tried to take my sword was an apprentice court lady, and that was it.

I looked back.

Numerous middle and high-ranking maids stood silently, like sacks of barley left out in the open.

“I have committed a crime worthy of death.”

At that moment, the headmaid knelt down and bowed her head to the floor.

Despite her noble status, her silence and submission to being struck down were due to the fact that if I reported this to the high officials of the main palace, it wouldn’t be surprising for all involved to be executed.

“Good heavens…”

Yeori’s eyes trembled, and her voice shook along with them.

“How could… the maids of Azure Dragon Palace…!”

“It was because we believed it to be the right thing to do.”

The headmaid said with tears streaming down her face.

“Ever since the Azure Princess took her position as consort, there hasn’t been a day when we haven’t worked for her benefit. We took pride in being maids of Azure Dragon Palace and diligently cared for the Azure Princess’s illness every single day.”

Tears from the headmaid fell to the floor.

“You have no idea how devastated we were after finding out that the Azure Princess had the divine fever. Nevertheless, we tried everything in our power to save her.”

“…….”

“All we could do was to fetch clean water, clean the room, try to feed her even one more spoonful of porridge, and pray every night… We worked tirelessly, day and night, to try to cure the Azure Princess’s illness… But…”

The head maid’s hand that was resting on the dirt floor clenched tightly.

“Since then, one hundred and forty days have passed, and the seasons have changed twice. The illness continued to get worse, and the Azure Princess kept expressing more and more pain… Eventually, she started begging to be killed, and five days ago, she even began to use some sort of mysterious illusions to bewitch us…”

The surrounding middle-ranking maids didn’t utter a single word.

“I have heard that the moment divine fever manifests, it is nearly akin to being dead. There might be a one in a hundred, one in a thousand chance of survival, but… should we continue the Azure Princess’s agony for such a faint glimmer of hope…? That would be an even crueler fate…”

“…..”

“We have done everything within our power. We stood by her side, gritting our teeth, trying to extend the Azure Princess’s life by even a single day despite her enduring such excruciating pain in her frail body. But when she herself can no longer bear this torment… What more can we do? Anything further would be nothing but meaningless torture.”

“Then why don’t you end it yourself? Why involve us in this mess!”

Yeon Ri raised her voice.

She was clearly angered. And understandably so.

The headmaid seemed to admit that they had used us to end the Azure Princess’s life.

“Since you belong to the White Immortal Palace, if you two take care of it… I thought the White Immortal Elder would protect you.”

With those words, the headmaid prostrated herself on the dirt floor.

“We are maids of the Azure Dragon Palace. If we were to do it, it would be a grave sin, but if the White Immortal Elder intervenes, it would be a different story”

“…..”

“I have heard that you two are favored by the White Immortal Elder. Surely, the Elder would testify that even he could not resist the Azure Princess’s bewitchment. Given the Elder’s mastery over Taoist magic, his words would be understood by the high officials of the main palace. The severity of the offense would significantly decrease. Sp… I thought it better… to make you two take care of this matter.”

“Ah… This is really shocking!”

“We have committed a sin… deserving of death…”

The sight of a headmaid of such high standing bowing her head before a mere maid and an apprentice warrior was a pitiful spectacle.

Her face smeared with tears as she rubbed it against the dirt floor made her look more like a butcher than a headmaid.

Her luxurious senior maid’s attire was soiled with mud and now resembled nothing more than a rag.

“Even with your pleading… we cannot forgive you, Headmaid. You only wished to ease your own conscience!”

Yeon Ri clenched her fists with anger.

“Tae Pyeong, we don’t need to stay here any longer! Let’s go to the high officials of the main palace right now and inform them of the situation! If we leave this madness unchecked, it will only lead to greater disaster!”

“That’s right!! Now I understand the situation!!”

“…Huh?”

I raised my fist, gripped it tightly, and addressed the headmaid.

“I forgive you!!!!!”

“What are you talking about, Tae Pyeong!!!!”

Yeon Ri who had been expressing her anger on my behalf was dumbfounded by my words.

***

I scanned the crowd of maids and others gathered around us. Their eyes were wide with surprise at my words.

The headmaid was no different. It seemed she had not anticipated such a response at all.

“Listen closely, Yeon Ri. There was actually no need for the maids to involve us in any scheme to kill or harm the Azure Princess.”

“What?”

“All they had to do was inform the high officials of the main palace that the Azure Princess was suffering from a fever, and that would have been the end of it.”

Upon hearing this, Yeon Ri’s eyes widened in shock.

I approached the headmaid, who was prostrating herself on the dirt floor and crouched down to look at her face.

The headmaid, with trembling eyes and a haggard expression, looked back at me.

“However, you chose not to do so. You hid the fact that she was suffering from the divine fever until the very end while saying it was nothing more than a simple illness.”

I closed my eyes and pondered the reason for this.

The high officials of the main palace care only for the Crown Prince.

The Azure Princess entered the harem as the princess consort for the Crown Prince but soon fell ill with a divine fever.

She had not even started her proper education as the crown princess consort and had barely settled into her position.

To have a divine fever at such a time was an unthinkable flaw for the consort of the Crown Prince, who was expected to be perfect in every way.

She had not yet secured her position as a proper consort, nor had the young Crown Prince grown attached to her in any meaningful way.

Given that the two had not even met face-to-face, it seemed wiser to depose her before the Crown Prince could develop any affection for her.

Being deposed would mean expulsion from the Azure Dragon Palace. And being cast out while suffering from a divine fever was tantamount to a death sentence.

It was deemed better to spare the innocent and naive Crown Prince Hyeon Won the anguish of losing a consort to whom he might have become attached…

…Though, in truth, such a scenario was unlikely.

After all, Crown Prince Hyeon Won would be completely in love with Seol Ran and he would show no interest in other women. Well, this fact was known only to me.

In any case, very few people survive the divine fever.

Before the Crown Prince could grow attached to her, finding a new consort seemed the preferable course of action. This conclusion was all but inevitable.

Someone of the headmaid’s stature in the Azure Dragon Palace would surely see the writing on the wall.

That was why the illness of the consort was kept under wraps.

In reality, a simple report of her condition would have sufficed… but the maids of the Azure Dragon Palace who were already fond of the young consort sought desperately to save her.

Yet, the passage of time wears down resolve.

Over the course of two changing seasons, the divine fever showed no signs of calming down.

And more than anything, the Azure Princess herself whom they had a strong affection for, has been begging for months to be killed.

Disease does not solely claim the life of the patient.

It devastates the families and relatives who care for the sick, often leading to their own deaths.

When a family member begins fighting a terminal illness, it’s not uncommon for the entire family to fall apart.

The Azure Dragon Palace was no exception.

The prolonged illness of the consort had been slowly draining the life out of the palace, leaving it in a state of decay.

The situation was worsened by the consort’s illusion techniques, pushing those around her to their limits as they struggled to maintain their sanity…

Eventually, it led to a point where a warrior with a sword in hand was allowed to enter the inner chamber.

“There was no one to acknowledge that.”

It must have been a burden too heavy to share anywhere.

A momentary silence enveloped the courtyard of the Azure Dragon Palace.

“You all must have endured a great deal.”

How significant that statement might have been, I couldn’t possibly understand from my position.

However, the intense air of sorrow spreading among the maids was something I could deeply feel.

“You have all suffered greatly, so I will take that into consideration. Let’s not inform the main palace of the truth.”

“But… I… was about to make you a murderer.”

“That’s true. You’ll have to atone for your sins accordingly. There are many things I want to say, but let’s address the most urgent matters first.”

I said while stroking my chin.

“Let’s start by cooperating to save the Azure Princess.”

“…Yes?”

***

Thud.

Every bone in her body felt as if it were shattering. Consort Jin Cheong Lang vomited blood again as nausea overwhelmed her.

She fell from her bed.

The pain that ensued was so intense that it felt as though her brain was on fire.

Cough, huff…

Barely able to muster her strength, she moved her body to reach the ground. She was drawn by the sight of a warrior’s sword lying there.

The sword, left behind by a warrior of the White Immortal Palace, caught her eye.

Though she lacked the strength to even bite her tongue to end her misery, the sharp blade seemed to offer a way out.

That’s why she made her way to the floor to grasp the fallen sword.

She pushed against the floor with her frail hands and somehow managed to lift her upper body. Even that small effort made her hands tremble violently.

When she raised her head, a full-length mirror beside her caught her attention.

And there, she could see her own haggard reflection.

Sunken eyes, hair disheveled to the point of looking ghostly, a garment stained with vomit, and skin emanating a nauseating smell.

Memories of the day she left her family home to become the crown princess consort under the proud gaze of her parents flooded back.

She was supposed to be the most beautiful flower in Cheongdo Palace, leading a life filled with glamour and brilliance.

Recalling her parents shedding tears of joy as they wished for her bright future… tears of sorrow now welled up in her eyes.

Far from being the palace’s flower, she wouldn’t be out of place described as a sewer rat.

It was better to face death than to live in pain and struggle like this.

The Azure Princess managed to crawl close to the sword and grab its hilt.

However, she couldn’t lift it. A warrior’s sword was not light enough for a girl on the brink of death to wield.

Still, she gritted her teeth to somehow pick up the sword, but it didn’t work as expected.

She couldn’t even choose her own death. This fact made her feel so miserable that it brought her to tears.

Creak

That’s when it happened.

The door opened, and the owner of the sword entered. It was a fortunate turn of events.

She needed someone else to wield that sword on her behalf.

“Good heavens, that was close!”

The warrior from the White Immortal Palace swiftly entered the chamber and took the sword she had tried to lift.

He then returned it to its sheath.

The Azure Princess was devastated and raised her head with difficulty.

White Immortal Palace was where the White Immortal Elder who was a Taoist Priest resided.

Was it because he was a warrior from such a place that he looked like that?

Through her blurred vision, the man seemed to shimmer like an immortal.

At that moment, nothing else mattered.

She felt a burning heat rising within her. The flow of the spiritual energy through her body intensified her pain, but if it meant she could die she would be happy.

The princess consort’s powers of bewitchment had grown stronger and intensified in just a few moments.

The flow of her energy was directed at the man who had entered the room.

It seized his mind and started whispering in his ear through the energy itself.

The presence of her influence was stronger than ever before.

Kill me. It doesn’t matter how; just put an end to this existence filled with nothing but pain.

The focus in the man’s eyes faded away. The consuming bewitchment was set to control him and compel him to draw his sword.

Under the sway of the Azure Princess’s bewitchment, the man drew a small dagger from within his clothing.

It wasn’t the sword at his waist but a separate dagger he carried.

The choice of weapon didn’t matter to her.

Believing her life of suffering was finally about to end, the Azure Princess closed her eyes.

Thud

However, the man’s dagger was aimed at his own thigh.

“Arghhhhhhh!”

His scream pierced the air as blood streamed down his thigh.

The embedded dagger was turned upon himself.

The Azure Princess’s eyes flew open in shock.

This madman had resorted to self-harm to resist the effects of her bewitchment.

“Guuuh…!!!!! Grit!!!!!”

With a spirited shout, he limped forward and lifted the Azure Princess, who lay on the floor.

“Energy!!! Grit!!!! Passion!!!!! You can do it!!!!!! Ah~ True man!!!!!”

To the man, the weakened body of the Azure Princess felt almost as light as a feather.

“High mountains, deep valleys!! Quiet land!! The snow-covered frontlines!!! We are marching there!!!”

The sight of the young warrior chasing away the illusion while singing a song of unknown origin was already close to madness in itself.

Could it be that he was unaffected by the illusion because he was already insane?

Such a thought crossed her mind.

The man then carefully placed the Azure Princess back onto the bed.

His hands were soiled with foul-smelling vomit and covered in bloodstains, but he seemed utterly unconcerned.

“Fear not, Azure Princess! What in this world cannot be conquered with energy, grit, and passion!”

“Please…ugh…”

She wished she could beg him to stop spouting his bizarre philosophies and just end her life.

But no voice could come from the Azure Princess, who was writhing in agony.

In a torment indistinguishable from a dream or reality, she weakly grasped the man’s forearm.

“Kill…”

But she couldn’t complete her plea.

“Lady Azure Princess, I too suffered from the divine fever when I was seven years old.”

After saying that, the young man rolled up his sleeves to reveal his forearm.

There, embedded in his skin, were the same black spots that appeared on the Azure Princess’s body. This was a sign that appeared in those suffering from the divine fever.

Upon seeing this, the Azure Princess’s eyes widened in shock.

“I know the pain all too well. But, Lady Azure Princess…”

Blood continued to trickle down his thigh as he spoke.

“Even if the odds are one in a hundred, one in a thousand, you must never stop striving to survive.”

The voice of the man who had been flippant and behaving frivolously just moments ago became very serious.

There was a depth to his tone that suggested he was speaking not just to her, but reminding himself as well.

“It may seem foolish, it may seem pointless, but to give up on life is the one thing we must never do.”

The feverish heat seemed to surge within the Azure Princess once more.

“You will survive, Lady Azure Princess. I can feel it.”

It was a phrase many had uttered to the Azure Princess.

You will surely survive.

Yet, even a young Azure Princess could tell that those words often lacked genuine belief.

Although they themselves thought that it would be difficult for her to survive, they were just saying these words to comfort her.

The repetition of empty words, though well-intentioned, often robbed one of hope instead.

Yet, in the man’s voice, there was an unusual conviction that she had never been seen before.

As if he actually knew the future itself.

“You, Lady Azure Princess, will definitely survive to reign over the Azure Dragon Palace as its mistress and command the imperial palace as a grandmaster of Taoist magic.”

“Ah…”

It was a voice that had not emerged even when she pleaded for death.

But this time, she felt compelled to muster all her strength to ask until the end.

“How can you be so sure…”

Was she longing to ask how he could be so certain?

However, the man could not logically explain his knowledge.

Because it would take too long and she couldn’t possibly believe him.

Thus, the man tactfully responded.

“Because I believe so.”

Through her half-opened eyes, she could see the man’s face, full of unwavering confidence.

Even though he was struggling with the pain in his thighs, there was not a hint of tremor in the man’s voice.

“In noble faith lies the power to save lives.”

“You…”

“Lady Azure Princess, you will surely survive.”

The heat surged again and she was submerged in pain once more…

Yet, at that moment, the Azure Princess felt an unexpected flicker of hope that perhaps she might indeed survive.

It was the first time she had felt such a thing since falling under the curse of the divine fever.

********

TN: The song that the mc sings is called “To The Frontline”