By Zephyria 
HF 36
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“That sounds lovely. I brought some fine liquor, knowing this might happen.”
With her hands behind her back, she smoothly produced a bottle of alcohol. Ho-yeon could not hide his flustered expression, blinking several times.
“By any chance, can you not drink?”
“Yes. I am afraid I cannot.”
“Why is that something to be sorry for? You may have tea, and I shall have wine.”
She called for Abok, and the servant appeared instantly, as if emerging from nowhere. Despite being sensitive to presence, Ho-yeon had not known Abok was nearby. It seemed that even the servants of the Demonic Shadow Martial House practiced demonic arts.
Upon entering the annex of the hall, the two left the large table behind and sat side by side at a small table for a private conversation. A bit further inside was a single bed; since it was the only one in this spacious annex, it weighed on Ho-yeon’s mind for some reason. He knew all too well how strange it was for two grown men to share a single bed.
“Are you going to stay like that all night?”
Ho-yeon suddenly recalled an event from a few days ago. Still feeling awkward and unable to shake off his lingering disappointment, Ho-yeon had hoped Mu-gyeong would fall asleep first. However, lying on the bed, Mu-gyeong had pointed to the space beside him and spoken those words.
If he had burrowed into Mu-gyeong’s embrace in his sleep, that would be one thing, but it was the first time Mu-gyeong had called to him first. Of course, he hadn’t explicitly told him to come closer, but to Ho-yeon, it sounded exactly like that.
How could a body chilled by frost energy refuse fire? Ho-yeon lay down at a certain distance, keeping his back to him.
Fortunately, the bed was much wider than the straw mat. Then, Mu-gyeong suddenly pulled him close, forcing Ho-yeon to turn around in surprise.
“Wha—what are you doing?”
“What difference is there between clinging to me in your sleep and clinging to me now?”
Ho-yeon tried to be stubborn and threatened that he would absolutely not stick to him, but his body felt as if it were melting under the warmth emanating from behind. Mu-gyeong’s body temperature was much higher than that of the children in Eumbyeol Hall.
Embracing Ho-yeon from behind, Mu-gyeong rested his face against his shoulder and took a long, deep breath. Even though he had bathed before lying down, the way Mu-gyeong seemed to inhale his scent made Ho-yeon shrink back slightly. At some point, Mu-gyeong had begun exhaling like this by his side.
Embarrassing as it was, the reason he didn’t want to refuse was that Mu-gyeong’s grip was incredibly tight. Mu-gyeong himself didn’t seem to realize it, but he acted like a desperate man.
“…Young Master?”
Ho-yeon snapped back to his senses at Han Hee-ryeong’s call. Since he had unconsciously been staring toward the bed, he felt even more embarrassed. Ho-yeon quickly grabbed the bottle of liquor on the table Abok had prepared.
“May I pour you a glass?”
“That would be wonderful.”
Ho-yeon tilted the concave-necked bottle and filled her glass. She, in turn, lifted the purple clay teapot containing steeped white tea and filled Ho-yeon’s teacup.
There were various types of pancakes for snacks, and among them, Ho-yeon liked the white snow pancakes made from ground yam the most. For a greasy food, it wasn’t burdensome and was easy on the stomach.
There were many good things about coming to the Demonic Shadow Martial House after leaving the straw cottage, but the best was not having to prepare his own meals. Being dexterous and being skilled at cooking were two different things. Of course, when living in the cottage, he and Mu-gyeong usually made do with snacks or noodles brought from the Jade Pavilion.
“You only like white foods.”
Mu-gyeong’s voice flashed through his mind again. Ho-yeon preferred white-fleshed fish, tofu, or steamed treats made from rice flour and milk over meat. After that comment, his meals were prepared only with the foods he liked. Conversely, Mu-gyeong didn’t seem to be particularly picky about what he ate. Well, he was a man who would even eat snakes…
“I heard from Abok that you like white snow pancakes.”
“…Yes.”
Of course, Ho-yeon grumbled inwardly. It seemed Abok, not Mu-gyeong, was the one catering to his tastes. Despite taking good care of him, Abok never spoke unnecessary words, so any attempt at conversation usually ended in failure.
“Thank you for always taking care of me.”
Ho-yeon offered his thanks to Han Hee-ryeong as she drank her liquor.
“You are a precious guest, so it is only natural that I take good care of you.”
Despite being the son of a Palace Master who had been cast aside by the Cult Leader, Han Hee-ryeong acted kindly every time they met.
“Is Mu-gyeong absent again today?”
She asked without any sign of actively searching for Mu-gyeong.
“I heard he is tracking the Blood Cult.”
Ho-yeon wanted his mother to know that Mu-gyeong had stepped into something dangerous. Mu-gyeong had said he was searching for the Blood Cult to protect Ho-yeon’s safety, but lately, he had a slight suspicion. It didn’t feel as though Mu-gyeong cared for him that much.
Would a person who truly thought of him say, ‘It’s just Wi Ho-yeon from the Ice Palace’? Of course, he hadn’t used the words ‘just.’ Ho-yeon shook his head slightly, telling himself to throw away such wicked thoughts.
“Hmm, then he must be busy.”
Ho-yeon stopped his movement to drink the tea. Her nonchalant response perhaps stemmed from how much she trusted her son’s martial prowess.
“But isn’t it dangerous?”
“The Blood Cult is a target that must be eradicated.”
A fierce antipathy toward the Blood Cult could be felt in Han Hee-ryeong’s strong tone.
“If my son takes the lead, I only feel reassured.”
“I… see.”
Perhaps even this was the way of the Demon Sect? He thought her parents were extremely cold, but if that was their educational policy, he had no right to complain further.
“Young Master Wi, how does the Divine Cult look to you?”
It felt like a question laced with a trap. It feels more like a place where people live than I expected. If he answered like that, he felt she might get angry and ask what on earth he had thought of the Demon Sect.
“Fufu, I can roughly tell what you’re thinking. It is true that life has become better than before.”
She smiled deeply.
“It’s very different from what you imagined, isn’t it?”
Ho-yeon had vaguely imagined that the Demon Sect would be full of demonic practitioners exuding demonic energy and oppressing the followers. He had expected the followers to be gloomy as well. But after experiencing it firsthand, he only came to reflect on the narrowness of his own thoughts.
“Actually… I realized that I should not have imagined things based on prejudice.”
At Ho-yeon’s soft voice, Han Hee-ryeong slowly lowered and then raised her eyes. Where had such a lovely and gentle person come from?
Until now, Han Hee-ryeong had waited for someone who could provide even a small amount of human-like joy to appear by the Cult Leader’s side. It was the same logic that drove the two guardians to push various people, regardless of gender, into the Cult Leader’s bedchamber.
“Since the Heavenly Demon ascended to the position of Cult Leader, the heads of the demonic practitioners who disturbed the Divine Cult have all fallen.”
…I see, Ho-yeon replied, without a hint of admiration in his voice.
“The advent of the heavenly demon, ten thousand demons submit!”
Ho-yeon’s eyes widened in surprise at Han Hee-ryeong’s exclamation.
“I heard that few followers truly shouted that. But it is not so anymore.”
Regrettably, there were still those who went hungry or were killed unjustly, but compared to the previous Cult Leader, the number was significantly smaller.
Ho-yeon had nothing to say to Han Hee-ryeong, who showed such strong loyalty to the Cult Leader.
“From Young Master Wi’s perspective, there is no reason to think well of the Cult Leader. I understand.”
Han Hee-ryeong smiled bitterly.
“No, that’s not it.”
“What do you mean? He is the one who dragged someone living happily in the Ice Palace to this place. However, one thing is certain: the Cult Leader was not the one who suggested it first.”
“Pardon?”
“I mean that the person who suggested bringing Young Master Wi from the Ice Palace was not the Cult Leader.”
Ho-yeon’s widened eyes showed no sign of returning to normal. So, the Cult Leader wasn’t actually that petty? Ho-yeon cautiously mentioned someone else.
“By any chance… was it the Divine Physician Lee Chang-son who told him to bring me?”
“Ahaha, Lee Chang-son? Are you referring to the Divine Physician I know?”
“He… said that to treat the Cult Leader’s nine yang severed meridian, he should find someone with an extreme yin constitution.”
Ho-yeon barely managed to correct his words, which almost came out as that bastard, the Cult Leader.
“It seems such rumors have spread outside the Divine Cult. But that is not the case.”
“Then…”
He couldn’t bring himself to ask who it was. Even if he knew, it wasn’t as if he would go find them and vent his anger.
“Since he did not refuse the pleas of the two guardians, it does become the Cult Leader’s will.”
Han Hee-ryeong drank the liquor straight from the bottle, claiming that a single glass was not enough. To summarize her words, the Divine Physician Lee Chang-son did not seem to be heavily involved in this matter. It appeared that the Left Guardian and Right Guardian, who assisted the Cult Leader most closely, had pleaded for the son of the Palace Master to be brought.
But Han Hee-ryeong was right. In the end, he was here because the Cult Leader had permitted it.