Absolute Regression - Chapter 410



Only Noblemtl

Episode 410: Need to come back more often.

After returning to their residence, Geommugeuk and Hanseol met Seo-nak and told Chwi-ma and Ian what had happened.

After the sword dance ended, Hanseol spoke to Ian.

“It was a good decision to leave it to the cult leader instead of handling it ourselves.”

I thought she was being tricked by the Sword Dancers, but this incident has changed my mind a little. She may not be a transcendent being, but she definitely has an extraordinary side.

The playful gaze of the sword dance turned towards Ian.

“Are you a subordinate who passes the work to the leader?”

“In times like that, a good leader is someone who pretends not to know and lets it go.”

“It’s difficult, living as a leader.”

“The young leader is having a hard time. The other leaders are all having an easy time.”

Hanseol was still unfamiliar with this kind of conversation. She was certain that this kind of comfortable relationship with her subordinate would definitely have major side effects.

“Do you know who is closest to Elder Seo?”

Hanseol answered Geommugeuk’s question honestly.

“The closest person is the princess.”

“Would you please arrange a meeting with your Majesty tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Instead, I will go alone tomorrow.”

“Why?”

The sword dance gave an unexpected reason.

“Because when you have children, you become a parent, not a princess.”

Hanseol thought that Geommugeuk still didn’t know about her mother.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that?”

“There are things that parents feel that their children will never know.”

“How does the young leader know his parents’ hearts? He’s not even married yet?”

It was not a drama where the answer to such a question would be difficult.

“Having a parent like my father makes me study hard about parents. What is a parent!”

Geommu-geuk saw Chwi-ma laughing at his words. Everyone is afraid of and concerned about his father, but not as much as Chwi-ma. At least he was able to dispel the misunderstanding that his father would hate him.

The swordsman approached the tea-drinking horse and sniffed at the scent.

“Little Leader, what are you doing?”

“I’m checking because tea and tea don’t go together very well. I’m wondering if there’s alcohol in the kettle instead of tea.”

With those words, Geommugeuk poured tea into the empty teacup and drank it.

“I feel like I’m getting drunk. Isn’t this liquor that tastes like tea?”

“Tea is good to drink.”

“But you’re holding up well, aren’t you?”

“You know? There’s nothing more mysterious than the human body. As if I’d never drank that much, my body is already adjusting to the car.”

“Not that. I’m having a hard time holding back from wanting to just go and throw everything away.”

The drunkard drank his tea and said.

“I can’t hold out for long.”

Through the flowing hair, the eyes of the horse were extremely cold.

Ian and Hanseol could tell that Chwima wasn’t holding back alcohol, but rather holding back anger.

Geommugeuk looked out the window and spoke softly. Now, he was not treating him as a demon, but as his older brother.

“I’ll drag you out soon. This place is too beautiful for evildoers to be hiding here.”

Everyone followed the gaze of the swordsman and looked out the window for a moment at the pure white world outside.

Knowing what kind of person the Blood King was, Geommugeuk briefly imagined the white world being covered in blood.

That’s okay though.

Because it will soon be covered in pure white snow again.

* * *

The ice palace owner treated me to refreshments.

“This is my first time sitting in the same place as the successor of the Cheonmasingyo.”

“It is an honor.”

“Okay, listen up.”

Let’s drink the tea without hesitation. Binggungju looked at us with a look of surprise. It was just a small tea, so how could we drink it without checking for poison?

“Before coming, I researched and studied about your majesty.”

“What kind of person am I?”

“You are a smart and intelligent person. Even if half a century passes and you develop dementia, at least you won’t poison the leader of the Cheonmasingyo sect.”

Ice Palace Princess smiled faintly. She knew it was a compliment that she looked like she was in her twenties or thirties.

“I studied a bit about you too.”

“What kind of person am I?”

The Ice Princess answered, staring at me intently.

“A person who cannot easily answer that question.”

“You see. I am not an easy person.”

Although he said it as a joke, Binggungju didn’t laugh as if he really thought that.

“Are you making any progress in the investigation?”

“Yes, so I went to see Elder Seo yesterday.”

“Are you suspicious of Elder Seo?”

I took a moment to sip my tea slowly.

“What do you think, Your Majesty?”

“That’s absurd.”

“There are suspicious circumstances.”

“Is that so?”

“But you’re still calm?”

“Because it can’t happen.”

Binggungju did not hide the fact that he trusted Seo Nak more than anyone else.

“You still haven’t answered my question properly.”

It was also a question asking you to speak your mind directly.

“I have my doubts.”

“Why?”

“It just feels that way.”

If a power behind the scenes were to threaten the princess, it would have to be someone like Elder Seo.

“So you’re saying there’s no direct evidence?”

The sword dance was acknowledged with a smile.

“Why would Elder Seo kill Wonju?”

“I don’t know either.”

“He’s not that kind of person.”

She nailed it again, but I sense that there is some distrust hidden in that belief. If she really believed in Seonak, she would have stopped the investigation right now.

There is a separate reason why I was allowed to stay in the Ice Palace and investigate the case.

‘What do you really want?’

Beyond finding the villain who killed Wonju, I feel there is a secret hidden deep in the eyes.

This time, I tried to feel the heart of the Ice Palace Master through the Bukhyeolmun Gate.

“I think the Bukhyeolmun Gate is also involved in this incident.”

Even though the Bukhyeolmun was mentioned, she didn’t seem particularly shaken.

“Did you expect that?”

“Because your second son got involved with you guys.”

“You know he’s dead, right?”

Of course, the Ice Palace Master knew.

“They say he committed suicide because he was so shocked by the kidnapping.”

“Do you believe that?”

Instead of answering, she drank her tea.

“What do you think? Those who kill their children for their own desires.”

“I’m one of those people. I value my palace more than my children.”

Her answer was both self-deprecating and provocative.

“It seems I studied the princess wrongly. The princess I studied with loves her daughter more than anyone else.”

The Ice Palace Master stared at me intently. With a look in his eyes that said, “How do you know that?”

I don’t know anything else, but I do know one thing for sure: how much you love your daughter.

It seems like you haven’t been able to express yourself properly until now, and you don’t even know your own mind.

“Well, that’s okay.”

I brought along someone who is good at eating and communicating in any situation.

“Because my father would be like that too.”

Indeed, the Ice Palace Princess smiled faintly. She must know very well what kind of person the Heavenly Horse of the time was.

And what I wanted to say was this.

“Both father and the princess are mistaken.”

The Ice Palace Princess looked slightly surprised at the unexpected words. She probably didn’t know that even the Heavenly Demon would say that she was mistaken.

“In what way?”

One day, I told her first what I really wanted to say to my father.

“When you sacrifice everything for the organization and look back, I want to tell you not to live a life where no one is there for you.”

“!”

“I ran my life for those behind me. That’s why I ran forward without looking back. How can you do this? That’s the kind of life that laments. You have to look back. You have to look back much more often than you think, “This is enough.” It’s annoying because seven or eight times out of ten, you don’t even know that you’ve looked back. They have to look back at themselves, too.”

I stood up from my seat and greeted her politely.

“I would like to tell you that it is time to look back at your daughter. Fortunately, she seems to be standing behind her for now.”

* * *

The next day, I went to see the Ice Palace Lord again.

“What’s going on today?”

“I came to see you again today because I thought I was too rude yesterday.”

“I told you to talk to my daughter, and now you’re here again.”

Fortunately, she didn’t seem upset about what happened yesterday. Her daughter’s problem must be important to her, too.

“You haven’t called your daughter yet?”

The Ice Palace Princess couldn’t answer. If she was someone who could turn around right away when told to, she would have been living while looking back from the beginning.

“I know that it’s not easy to say something like that just once.”

“So? Does that mean you’ll come until it’s done?”

“I think so.”

“Why is this happening?”

I have feelings for both of you, but there are other reasons too.

It was because of Seonak. He must be watching me meet the Ice Palace Lord.

We met yesterday, we meet today, and what if we meet again tomorrow?

Given his obsessive-compulsive personality, I would guess that he would also seek some perfection or order in his relationships.

The leader of the Demonic Cult, who clearly shows signs of doubting himself, meets with the Ice Palace Master every day? This will definitely shake up his order.

We need to figure out what role he plays in this quickly. Is he just a good elder with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or is he the hand and foot of them, or the body itself?

“What other reason could there be? I just want the princess to do well. If it weren’t for the princess, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be able to see you so often. Since you studied me, you must know very well. I really like hanging out with the late indexes. I’m the one who dances with them too.”

No matter how hard you try to figure me out, it won’t be easy, since what you’re sure is false is my truth.

“Have you ever felt lost?”

What are you trying to say by bringing up such things? Binggungju shook her head with such emotions clearly written on her face.

“I often get that. I had that same feeling yesterday when I was leaving after seeing the princess. How could I have been so presumptuous as to say something like that to the princess? In the first place, I wanted to spend time with you, so I followed you to Bukhae.”

I bowed my head politely to her.

“I’m sorry for being rude yesterday.”

She stared at me silently for a moment and then asked.

“Did you say you were quitting drinking?”

“Yes, it’s abstinence out of loyalty.”

“When will it end?”

I knew it meant let’s have a drink together.

“It’s not far.”

Of course, I added one final word.

“If your Majesty trusts me.”

* * *

The evening that Seo Nak moved was the third day in a row that Geommugeuk visited the palace.

“Welcome, Elder.”

“I stopped by on my way.”

From the time when Princess Binggung was the Princess of the Little Palace until now, Seo-nak has always been respectful to her.

Seonak immediately revealed the reason he had come.

“I heard that you often meet with the leader of the Demonic Cult.”

“They came to see me for three days.”

Seonak asked cautiously.

“If you’re a junior cult leader, you probably won’t just move. What do you think your intentions are?”

He used the expression ‘ulterior motive’ to reveal his feelings about the sword dance.

“He told me to get along well with my daughter.”

Seonak waited for the next words. He was wondering if that wasn’t the end.

“For three days, we mostly talked about that.”

Seo-nak couldn’t believe it.

‘The princess is deceiving me?’

Of course, he couldn’t help but think that way. The swordsman who was dealing with him was experienced for his age. Every single word he poked at him had thorns and bones.

But he came to see me for three days just to tell me to get along well with Hanseol? It was hard to believe.

“As you well know, mines are untrustworthy people.”

“I don’t trust them either.”

If you don’t believe me, why did you call them in?

Seonak said, trying hard to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

“I don’t know what the cult leader’s intentions are, but I think it would be best to send him out as soon as possible.”

And he added with emphasis.

“Even for the sake of the ice palace.”

Then the Ice Palace Master spoke softly.

“You say it’s for the ice palace again?”

Just as Seonak was about to ask what he meant by that, Binggungju spoke first.

“You are right. It won’t do any good for the Mines to stay in the palace for too long. Tell the Young Leader to set a deadline and deal with this matter.”

Although he obediently followed his will, Seonak noticed that Binggungju was different than usual. There was something strangely different about her.

The Ice Palace Master always stood at the distance and place he had set. And at this moment, he felt that he was standing slightly crooked from his original place.

“This is all the way to the Ice Palace.”

Seo-nak left the palace after saying those words. As he came down the stairs, he thought about what the Ice Princess had said earlier.

-You say it’s for the ice palace again.

Again? When did you mean what you said? It was a habitual phrase, so I couldn’t tell when you meant what you said.

When he came down to the palace, Seo-nak met Geommu-geuk at the entrance.

“Elder Seo?”

“Little leader.”

The two people faced each other and greeted each other.

“Are you on your way to see the princess?”

“That’s right. And you?”

Although he showed a side that he didn’t necessarily have to show, Seonak remained calm.

“I also came to see the princess. If I had come a little earlier, we could have met together. What a pity.”

“I heard you’ve been visiting me often lately.”

“It is not often that I get the chance to learn from the Princess’s great insight.”

“Then let’s talk.”

“I plan to see the princess and then go to Bukhyeolmun.”

When the Bukhyeolmun Gate was mentioned, Seo Nak’s steps stopped as he was turning around.

“Why the Bukhyeolmun Gate?”

“You must be very sad because you lost your self-control. I should go and offer my condolences.”

“The young sect leader is really kind.”

Seo-nak did not believe the words that he was going to mourn.

I was in a bad mood. The sword dance was going around here and there, causing chaos around me.

“Then see you next time.”

When Geommugeuk bent down and grabbed the ball, Seo-nak saw a letter sticking out from Geommugeuk’s arms.

‘No way? Is this the letter that says Wonju gave me Hyangseol Bingju?’

I saw the sword dance. For the first time, the face that had always smiled kindly in any situation became frozen.

His order began to break down.