Chapter 55
The shabby thatched hut was filled with silence.
The first to break that silence was a trembling child’s voice.
“Princess… is it really, truly you, Princess?”
When Yuso’s exhausted body stirred, the chains around both his ankles scraped against the dusty yard with a grating sound.
Yoro had once again learned that when one’s heart shatters and hands tremble, the mouth can no longer form words. All she could do was gasp for breath.
Her head was filled with anger, her chest burdened with guilt. When such things tangled together in confusion, they always ended up becoming poison that gnawed away at her own self.
“Yuso!”
Yoro rushed forward, desperately trying to break the chains on Yuso’s ankles. She clawed at them until her nails nearly cracked, but all that remained were faint scratches on the iron.
“Release this, now. This instant!”
She had never raised her voice before, so her words came out ragged and broken.
Meanwhile, Yuso’s trembling breath, quivering lips, and tear-filled eyes were unbearable to look at.
‘Everyone around you ends up like this. Unlucky, cursed…’
Whose voice was that seeping into her mind?
“And who are you? Who dares order me to release my slave?”
An old man barked roughly, yanking the chain tighter so that Yuso was dragged forward helplessly.
“P–Princess!”
Yoro collapsed to her knees before Yuso. She hugged his frail, thin body with all her strength, unwilling to let him be taken. His bony shoulders felt as if they might shatter.
“I said he’s a slave! I bought him from that faraway Hoan Kingdom. When a man gives his life, there must be a price, no? Don’t you agree?”
The old man gave a vile laugh. Yoro searched her clothing for anything of value, but she had nothing—her body was bare of even a single coin. Grinding her teeth in despair, she suddenly sensed another presence.
The sound of a crutch striking the ground echoed—there was no mistaking it, it was Ryeohee.
“Release him.”
Hearing that voice from behind her, Yoro’s strength left her.
Ryeohee rummaged in his sleeve and tossed a small gold coin at the old man, with the haughty air of feeding scraps to a sick beast.
The old man grinned, showing rotten teeth, and snatched up the coin. Only after biting it and confirming the mark did he bother to loosen the chain.
“Princess!”
Yuso’s feet, swollen red from the shackles, were finally freed. With his body restored to freedom, the only thing he did was reach toward Yoro.
Like a baby bird returning to its mother, Yuso threw himself into her arms, his pale body trembling.
“I waited for you! Here… I clenched my teeth and waited!”
His broken voice, wet with tears, buried itself into her chest.
All his pent-up grief burst forth in one moment, a cry like that of a wounded beast.
Yoro could say nothing. She only held him and sank back, slowly, onto the ground.
“It’s all right now, Yuso. Stop crying, hm?”
With a sorrowful touch, she stroked his cheek, like a single raindrop falling on parched earth.
“Why… why are you here? Why would you suffer something this cruel…?”
She could not tell if it was her hand trembling or Yuso’s tear-soaked cheek shaking.
Panting and sobbing, Yuso finally forced himself to speak.
“I was waiting for you, Princess. I thought one day you would return to Hoan. And when that day came, you’d need the best guide you could find. That bastard may be a vile dog-catcher, but he’s the best guide in the capital… so I endured the beatings, endured the hunger!”
He clung to her, sobbing miserably. Yoro could only stroke his back, powerless.
“And… there’s something you must hear. Princess, please don’t be too shocked.”
After some time, Yuso wiped his filthy tear-streaked face with his sleeve. Then, grabbing Yoro’s pale hand with his dirty fingers, he hesitated for a long while before finally blurting out:
“Lady Heo Sang-jae has passed away.”
“What…?”
In that instant, Yoro seemed to forget how to breathe. The pain splitting her chest made her realize she had stopped breathing altogether.
“What did you say…?”
“This is what it means when they say your soul turns pale.” Yoro’s trembling voice barely formed the question again.
“That emperor—no, that wretch isn’t even fit to be called emperor. He forced Lady Heo Sang-jae to drink incense every day. He threatened that if she refused, she would never see you, Princess, again.”
Her blood turned to ice. So this is what it means when they say the heart freezes and breaks.
With a short gasp, Yoro’s raised hand dropped helplessly. Even her tears had frozen, burning behind her eyes.
“A… ahhh…”
She realized she couldn’t even cry for her own mother’s death. She clawed her chest with her fingernails, trying to tear out the silent scream within her.
“Princess…” Yuso tried to seize her hands, but she was as wild and unyielding as a beast.
“You must hear the rest. Lady Heo Sang-jae told me to tell you this, no matter what: ‘Survive. Do not stop at roots or soil. In the end, swallow even the calyx.’ She said I must deliver these words to you, to the very last moment.”
“My mother… my mother said that…?”
“She left me the last-bloomed Jade Dew Flower as well…”
At that moment, Yoro hated everyone. She hated even the world itself.
Her mother was gone—her soul was gone—so why did the sun rise and the moon set? Why did people live, eat, and carry on as though nothing had changed? Why?
Her voice was hollow, drained of everything.
No sound, no tears—only pain, as she longed for Lady Heo Sang-jae.
“That’s why… you mustn’t return to Hoan. The emperor’s eyes are bloodshot with greed. He’s hunting for you, Princess.”
As Yuso supported her, Ryeohee narrowed his eyes at them both.
“This will throw my plans into disarray…”
A cold gaze—that of a child with an icy heart.
“What should I do?”
Just then, Ryeohee’s crutch slipped, and he stumbled forward—but someone caught his hand.
Ryeohee frowned at the warmth, then relaxed his face.
“Husband.”
“Why must you go this far?”
In Suo’s eyes there flickered pity—or was it contempt?
“That is…” Ryeohee began to reply, but before he could finish, the ground rumbled with the sound of many feet.
“Soon, soldiers sent by His Highness will arrive. I wish for you not to be entangled in this, Princess. Now His Highness…”
“My brother treasures that woman more than me—is that what you mean?”
“Your Highness, I…”
Ryeohee accepted Suo’s support and returned toward the palanquin.
At that very moment, the old owner of the hut tried to flee, but a mist of blood sprayed the air, and his shabby body collapsed to the ground. Suo’s blade was stained red.
“P–Princess!”
Yuso clung tightly to Yoro, trembling violently.
Meanwhile, Yoro clenched her teeth, forced strength into her body, and rose.
“Yuso, run. I will find you again. But now… you must run.”
“How could I? After all it took for us to meet again! No, I won’t!”
As Yuso cried and clung to her, Yoro met Suo’s eyes with a cold, unyielding gaze.
Suo endured it for a while, then reluctantly nodded.
“No! I’ll stay with the Princess! Let me go, you madman!”
Yuso struggled, but he couldn’t break free of Suo’s strong grip.
“…Go. Don’t look back.”
Standing on the blood-stained earth, Yoro whispered with frozen eyes.
The yard filled with the pounding of boots and the clash of steel.
From afar came the sound of drums and the cries of restless horses.
And once again, even on this accursed land, the sun had risen.
Its cold light fell across Yoro’s hair.
