GMLS Ch 21

I slowly wrote on his palm. Heukwol’s twitching fingers curled slightly inwards. I still don’t know why I did that when my tongue and mouth were perfectly fine. Heukwol could have gotten angry, dismissing it as cheap pity.

And yet, my hand moved first. In that moment, it just felt like something I had to do.

—Why didn’t you tell me.

—I could not speak of it, lest it should trouble you, young master.

—Trouble me with what.

—The fact that I have no tongue.

I was at a loss for words. My hand couldn’t move anymore, so I just held onto Heukwol’s hand. Misinterpreting this somehow, Heukwol’s expression darkened. He moved to pull his hand away.

I didn’t know what to say, but I couldn’t just stay still like this. The longer I took, the deeper the misunderstanding would grow. I had to say something, anything.

—It would be a pity when we kiss, I suppose.

……It really was just anything. Heukwol froze stiff as a dried pollack.

—No. That’s not what I meant.

As I started to write again, Heukwol, finally snapping out of it, shook off my hand and abruptly stepped back. It was a more extreme reaction than I had expected.

‘Heukwol?’

I thought I had seen wrong. The skin visible through the opening of his mask was reddish. As I stared at him, Heukwol pulled the mask hanging on the tip of his nose all the way up to his forehead and vanished with a slither.

‘You won’t be able to see if you do that.’

‘…….’

‘Heukwol? Is he really gone?’

After running away like that, Heukwol didn’t even come near me for a week.

Restless, I eventually went to Yeo Yullyeong. After hearing the detailed story from him, I couldn’t find Heukwol for a different reason this time. It was a past memory that was both sorry and pitiful. Because of that incident, I felt indebted to Heukwol.

Some might say, ‘Why feel indebted over such a trivial thing…,’ but I was not one of them. That he might worry I would be troubled by the fact he had no tongue. Because I couldn’t fully fathom the feelings of his hesitation, unable to even bring it up, he was more than enough to become my debt.

Swoosh. Heukwol appeared at my side, tugging on the hem of my clothes, at almost the same time Muryun called out to me.

“Yihwa.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Letting my mind wander during a mission. I rebuked myself for still not having come to my senses even after getting an earful from Wi Junghyuk. Heukwol’s hand moved from my sleeve to my wrist. Even his comfort, which had always been a source of strength, wasn’t much help right now.

Muryun thought for a moment and then spoke.

“This is already the fifth day of a forced march. It’s natural for your body and mind to become frayed. Rather, you should be proud that you’ve kept up this well on your first time and first mission. At your age, I know of no one capable of such divine skill.”

His tone was calm. That’s why it touched my heart even more. My spirit, which had been crumbling with self-reproach, was instantly eased. The beat of my heart changed too. It was more irregular than usual, somehow rough, and I felt a strange, tingling ache.

“I do not know what to do with myself at such undeserved praise. Thank you.”

“My, my. Was it because there was a fellow who stepped up to strike you down while I, the Imperial Prince, stood by? You seem quite intimidated.”

Muryun looked at Wi Junghyuk with cool eyes. Wi Junghyuk flinched.

Was it my imagination? Muryun seemed like a beast whose mood had soured terribly, and Wi Junghyuk seemed like an ignorant mouse who had stepped on the beast’s tail. I felt it instinctively. I didn’t know what it was, but I had to stop it.

“Not at all. I am not intimidated in the slightest.”

“For someone who says that, your voice lacks strength. It can’t be helped. I shall tell you an amusing story. At your age, Monghyul killed a man and suffered from nightmares for two nights, eventually wetting himself.”

The second stone that was thrown was not a stone, but a boulder. Monghyul, crushed into a flat frog beneath it, crumpled into a corner.

No, why me……. I was just standing here……. Besides, it was just a tiny bit. You couldn’t even call it wetting myself……. Sorrow dripped from his mumbling voice.

“Wi Junghyuk was raised being praised as a genius since he was young, so he thought he was the best in the world. And it was true that there were few who could match him. In that state, he went on his first mission and barely returned with his life. You probably cried secretly by a well, didn’t you?”

“How did Your Highness…! Ah, no, more importantly, why are you bringing up a story from so long ago now.”

The man who I thought would just say ‘I see’ and offer his condolences even if his parents died, was now even stuttering.

I smiled faintly. One was a trusted confidant who served Muryun at a close distance. The other was the greatest warrior in The Geum Empire in both skill and rank. Squeezed between them, my heart, which had tensed up without my realizing it, also loosened. Even in the cold air of the rain-soaked northern region, I felt the spring.

What was best of all was the reason Muryun had brought up such stories. The sentiment that he was thinking of me was gratifying.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

“I am truly all right now. I am sorry for causing you concern.”

“There is nothing to be sorry for. If you are all right, then that is all that matters.”

Pat. A large hand rested on my bowed head. It casually stroked my messy, wet hair and then pulled away. I felt as if I had received a candy that wasn’t even there.

“Let’s rest here for a moment. The shaking of the ground is unusual.”

It was right after we had entered the mountain with the stone monument in the Cheontae-baek mountain range. We couldn’t afford to be leisurely, but it was a point where we could take a break just in case. There was no flaw in Muryun’s judgment.

‘But… I do feel a little uneasy.’

The north was famous for its low precipitation. For a bizarre downpour to have been pouring in such a place for two days already. Even though it had subsided, the rain continued, and a valley was right nearby. The ground seemed particularly weak, as the soil was soft wherever I stepped. Although dense with deep-rooted trees, there were already signs of them having been swept away in places.

‘Well, His Highness must have already thought of it.’

My trust in Muryun had already reached its peak. He would not have overlooked something that even I had thought of.

Blind faith, on the contrary, became poison. I would come to regret this moment’s judgment before long. I should have remembered that even the great Yeo Yullyeong had made mistakes from time to time.

A natural disaster isn’t called a natural disaster for nothing. A colossal catastrophe brought about by the magnificent phenomena of nature. Because it cannot be controlled by human strength, it is called a disaster from the heavens, a change of the earth. Like this landslide we faced while dealing with the five warriors the 2nd Prince had sent again.

Ruuuumble. Rumbbble.

It was as if the mountain was wailing. The sound of huge rocks and stones rolling mixed with the sound of the rain. Screams were instantly buried in the dirt. Who among us was it that shouted, ‘Move!’?

When I came to my senses, Heukwol was mouthing words, shaking me roughly. There was a scratch on his cheek. The mask must have torn when he got that wound. I saw his bare face for the first time in a long time. It was also a long time since I had seen his pained expression from not being able to speak.

“……Heukwol.”

His eyes contorted.

—Are you all right.

“Yes, I’m fin- Your Highness, what about His Highness?!”

I shot up. Staggering from dizziness, I saw Muryun lying right next to me. I hastily checked his condition. His body was thoroughly soaked in mud, but there were no visible injuries.

Then perhaps he suffered an internal injury. The hand I extended to check was caught by Heukwol’s.

—He hit his head and fainted. There are no major injuries, and no blood has pooled inside his head. He will regain consciousness if he rests for a bit.

“I see.”

Relieved, I finally looked around. It was a larger and deeper cave than the place we had stayed before. Unlike the previous one which was just covered by a rock, this entire place was made of solid rock, so there was no need to worry about the soil and sand.

“You did well to find a place like this. Well done.”

Heukwol nodded. But the relief did not last long.

“What about Monghyul and the Dang?”

—I do not know. Taking care of you two was my limit.

We were separated from our party. And their survival was uncertain. I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my flesh.

‘Don’t be shaken. Get a grip. Are you going to let Heukwol shoulder everything alone?’

Heukwol was, strictly speaking, not Muryun’s man. He was someone Yeo Yullyeong had assigned to me, his son. Given his usual personality, it wouldn’t have been strange at all if he had only saved me in a situation like the one just now.

“Those two would have safely escaped. For now, let’s recover our strength.”

Heukwol nodded again.

I checked Muryun’s condition again. But his complexion, who I thought was just lying still, was pale. It was dark inside the cave, and I had been too busy checking for external injuries to notice sooner.

“Your Highness. Your Highness!”

There was no response even when I shook him lightly. The skin I touched was beyond cold, it was like ice. It was because he couldn’t circulate his internal energy while unconscious.

“This won’t do.”

I hurriedly took off his clothes and took off my own as well. A hesitant Heukwol stepped forward, saying he would do it, but I shook my head.

“I will do it.”

I have more internal energy to spare. He said with only his eyes.

“No. I will do it. In this situation, it is better for you, who is experienced and capable of stealthy movement, to conserve your strength.”

Heukwol said no more and quietly took off his own cloak and held it out.

“Thank you.”

I held Muryun in my arms and unsparingly released my internal energy to raise his body temperature. I could feel my body heat transferring to his body. While it was a relief, my insides were churning beyond words. Most of it was self-reproach.

When I saw the continuous downpour and the landslide that swept the road. And when I noticed the soft ground under my feet, I should have advised him. Whether to go up, or retreat one step down, that we must escape this area as soon as possible. The result of not having done so was this.

—I will take the first watch. You should get some sleep first.

Heukwol firmly pressed the letters onto my bare shoulder blade. I nodded and lay down. The sixth day drew to a close.