Absolute Regression - Chapter 411



Only Noblemtl

The 411th leader is very good at tricks.

“Let’s go up together!”

Seonak knew how strange this would sound. However, after seeing the letter in Geommugeuk’s arms, he couldn’t just send it to the Ice Palace Lord.

At his words, Geommugeuk, who was about to go up to the palace, stopped walking.

“Didn’t you say you were coming down after seeing the princess?”

“That’s right. But didn’t you feel sorry a little while ago? That you couldn’t meet the princess together.”

“I was just saying it out of courtesy.”

As the awkwardness in Seo-Nak’s smile grew, Geommu-Geuk lightly waved his hand as if it was a joke.

“Okay, let’s go up together.”

The habitual smile on Seo-Nak’s face disappeared as he followed the sword dance up the stairs.

If that letter is about Hyangseol Bingju, it must not fall into the hands of the princess. Why?

Because he received Hyangseol Bingju from Wonju.

He denied it in front of Geommugeuk and Hanseol. If Geommugeuk had been there alone, he would have tried to frame him as a member of the Demonic Cult, but Hanseol was there too.

If someone who is respected by everyone were to say two things with one mouth? Anyone would find it suspicious.

‘Did you prepare that letter in advance? Or did you receive it by mail? Did you have time to do that? Is it a different letter and you’re doing this?’

Seo-Nak’s mind became complicated with various thoughts. When he first came to see him and brought up the topic of alcohol, he thought it was a trick to get rid of him.

‘Was there really a letter? And what if the princess sees that letter?’

How should I deal with it? If I examine the handwriting, it will be revealed that it was written by Wonju. But I should still deny it as a forgery. There is also the advantage of the opponent being a demonic cult. They will think that such a perfect forgery is quite possible.

“What are you thinking about?”

At the entrance to the palace, Geommugeuk was looking back at himself.

What are you thinking? I’m thinking of hitting you on the back of the head and burning the letter.

Seonak said with a smile.

“No, come on in.”

Geommugeuk and Seo Nak entered the palace.

When Seo-nak, who had just said goodbye, returned, Binggungju gave him a puzzled look.

“Oh, I met the leader at the entrance and we came up together.”

“I see.”

If we met at the entrance, wouldn’t it be normal to say hello and go our separate ways?

I had that thought, but I didn’t say it out loud. Rather, I was curious. It seemed like that swordmaster had used some trick to make Elder Seo follow him.

‘Little Leader, what kind of moves did you use?’

The sword dance began to lightly warm up in preparation for the decisive blow. Starting with a good story.

“Do you know that? I told the princess that I was suspicious of Elder Seo.”

Nevertheless, Seonak had a leisurely smile that only an upright person can show.

“Then the princess said, ‘Elder Seo is absolutely not that kind of person.’ She rebuked me firmly.”

Seonak smiled brightly and expressed his gratitude to the Ice Palace Lord.

“Thank you for trusting me.”

“You are the only person I trust.”

That’s how I’ve lived up until now. All the unmanned people in the North Sea Ice Palace acknowledged it. Now, Geommu-geuk was starting to saw off that old tree.

“I will say this again here, Elder Seo is the person I trust the most. He is someone who has lived only for the Ice Palace.”

Then Geommugeuk asked Seo Nak.

“Does Elder Seo also care about the princess?”

“Of course. I care about the princess and the ice palace more than myself.”

The swordsman stared at him intently and asked.

“But why did you do that?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why did you kill the master of Baekjusseolwon?”

Now, the sword dance went a step further and pointed to Seo-nak as the person who killed her. The meeting that started with laughter quickly turned cold.

“Why on earth are you insulting me like this?”

Both the one questioning and the one avoiding the question were confident.

At this moment, Binggungju felt a slight sense of alienation.

It was Seo-nak whom I had seen for a very long time. He was usually smiling, but he was by no means an easygoing person. He was especially sensitive when it came to his reputation.

If he was falsely accused of killing Wonju, the Seo-Nak he knew would have been a little more angry than this. Even if the opponent was a cult leader. But now, he felt intimidated for some reason.

Crucially, this statement is missing.

-Then give me the evidence.

That was something Seo-Nak could never say. If he did, Geommu-Geuk would take out the letter in his bosom and say, ‘Isn’t the evidence here?’

Because he didn’t know this inside story, Binggungju felt a strange sense of alienation. It was also strange that he had followed the Geommu Theater again in the first place.

‘How can an elder be swayed by such a young person?’

It was a truly amazing and new experience.

Well, it wasn’t a situation where I could tell others.

Because he himself lost sleep over the words, “Look back at the sword dance and live.”

Those words were nothing special, but fortunately, I couldn’t sleep because the thought of Hanseol still standing behind me kept lingering in my head.

If that’s the case, then we should look back before it’s too late. As the saying goes, we shouldn’t just look back once and leave it at that, but look back and look back again. We should keep looking back.

But I still can’t call my daughter by her name.

The sword dance that had been confronting Seo Nak turned towards the Ice Palace Master.

“Oh, I’m going to see the princess today… … .”

At the same time, Geommugeuk’s hand reached for the bosom containing the letter.

At that moment, Seo-Nak quickly intervened and changed the subject.

“Young Master, did you tell the princess about Seol?”

At this moment, Binggungju noticed two facts.

First of all, Seo-Nak was not the type of person to interrupt someone while they were talking. Even if he had something to say, he would wait until the other person was finished speaking before speaking quietly.

Also, the topic you brought up was Seol’s story?

The feeling of strangeness was added to the feeling of strangeness.

Where did Seo-nak want to say that? It was something he said in the spur of the moment when Geommu-geuk suddenly took out the letter. He knew better than anyone that this was not like him, but for now, he had to somehow get through this moment.

‘Wouldn’t it be a better option to just have the letter delivered and claim it was a forgery?’

In the moment of silence, the Ice Palace Lord saw a smile on the face of the swordsman who was looking at him. Those eyes were saying this. Look carefully, what kind of person your Elder Seo is.

Geommu-geuk turned to Seo-nak. The hand that was about to take out the letter naturally lowered itself again.

“I mainly told her to get along well with her daughter. The princess is more delicate than she looks.”

“The Princess is weak? I thought she had a rare strong personality among the later indices.”

“It seems that our Elder Seo knows less about the Princess than I do, having only seen her for a few days. It’s just like that when you don’t see people properly and just look at them roughly. When you build up preconceptions, you don’t know the other person even better.”

“You are so proud!”

Every word really pissed people off, but Seonak had to keep saying something to keep that letter from coming out.

So, if you forget to deliver the letter and leave this place, you will have a chance to steal the letter somehow.

Of course, even at this moment, the feeling of alienation that Binggungju felt toward Seo-Nak was growing.

And another thought comes to mind.

Binggungju thought that what Geommugeuk had said a little while ago might have applied to him as well.

Because I haven’t seen Seonak properly, I only have preconceived notions.

Could this sense of alienation be the dregs of that prejudice?

How could he deny that he had been running forward his entire life, shouldering the position of Ice Palace Lord?

The stone thrown by Geommugeuk continued to create waves as it hit Seo-nak, and those waves were transmitted to her.

“You said you were going to Bukhyeolmun?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go quickly. It would be rude to be late.”

The swordsman looked at him and smiled meaningfully.

“Yeah.”

Geommugeuk greeted the Ice Palace Lord.

“See you next time.”

Seo-nak was relieved. Even if the letter was delivered, he would prepare for it somehow, but it would be best if it was not delivered in the first place.

‘You’re going to the Bukhyeolmun Gate? How should I get the letter out?’

At that moment, when he was feeling relieved, Geommugeuk turned towards Binggungju and spoke quickly.

“This is a surprise gift! I came here today to give this to your majesty.”

Only then did Seonak realize. He was teasing himself by giving it to him. He pretended to forget and teased himself until the very end. Damn it! Do you think I would just accept it if you gave it to me?

Binggungju took out the letter that Geommugeuk had handed him and read it.

She looked startled after checking the contents. Seo-nak was sure that it was the letter from that expression. That was the only thing that could surprise her, who had no change in emotions.

“This is a fabricated letter.”

Seonak said in a subdued voice.

“The last time I came here, the young leader threatened me with that forged letter. But let me tell you clearly, I have never received the Xiang Xue Bing Zhou.”

The tone was calm and composed. Now that he had spoken to the princess, there was no place to retreat. The alcohol was something he had never received before.

Then, the Ice Palace Princess asked with a look of incomprehension.

“What do you mean? Hyangseol Bingju?”

At that moment, Seo-Nak’s heart sank.

‘That wasn’t the letter!’

This was the real joke.

It was something that could have just happened, but he brought up the topic of Hyangseol Bingju with his own mouth.

“Can I take a look at that letter?”

The Ice Palace Master handed over a letter. It contained several recipes and the names of nearby taverns and restaurants.

Looking at this, I could see why the Princess was surprised. At the bottom of the letter was written, ‘This is your daughter’s favorite dish. Enjoy your time.’

“My subordinate, Ian, has been eating and sleeping with the princess these days, so I found out. The inns and restaurants listed below are the best restaurants in this area that serve that cuisine. I found out about them myself. I wanted you to dine with your daughter in a different atmosphere.”

For the first time, Seo-nak’s expression collapsed. It was a new expression that was neither smiling nor stiff. The emotion was anger. He tried to smile, but he couldn’t.

The target of his anger was not only the sword dance. It was anger and disappointment at himself for being fooled by such a shallow trick. Although he had clearly thought that it might not be the case from the beginning, he was caught up in a strange atmosphere and became convinced that it was the letter.

But he didn’t know that today’s mistake wasn’t just a momentary misjudgment.

This happened because his order had already begun to collapse due to the previous sword dance.

However, the wall that Seo-Nak had built up over a long period of time was thick. He smiled as if nothing had happened and collected himself.

“I overreacted because I thought the cult leader was so good at trickery. I hope your Majesty understands. The cult leader tried to slander me because of what I misunderstood earlier.”

Binggungju nodded as if he understood everything.

“No matter what evidence the leader brings, I will believe the elder.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Seo-nak looked at Geommu-geuk this time. This time, I lost. I could not help but exclaim that I really lost.

“Little Leader, I don’t know what your intentions are, but you will not be able to destroy the trust between you and me.”

After saying that, Seo-nak politely bid farewell to the Ice Palace Lord and left. He shouldn’t have come up in the first place. But that nasty guy was waiting at the entrance to fish him out, so he was caught without a fight.

The two men, Binggungju and Geommugeuk, asked each other.

“Why are you provoking him like this? Is he trying to show me what kind of person he really is?”

Then I thought that I was using a method that was too risky and extreme.

Then Geommugeuk gave an unexpected answer.

“no.”

“No?”

“It is true that I want to reveal his true nature, but I do not want to show it to you, Your Majesty.”

“Then who are you going to show it to?”

Instead of answering, Geommugeuk said goodbye and left the place.

“Be sure to go to the place listed there. It’s exactly my daughter’s favorite dish.”

The sword dance came down to the palace.

As I was leaving the entrance, Ian came running towards me in a hurry. I could tell from his expression that the situation was serious.

“Where are you?”

“It’s a snowy field in broad daylight!”

I didn’t ask what was going on. Since it was an incident that had already happened, it would be best to get there as quickly as possible. I ran towards there in a speedboat.

We arrived at the white snow field in an instant.

There was a reason why Ian had to come and get her urgently.

It was a sea of ​​blood. Among the many corpses lying all around, one man was standing. The Ice Palace warriors surrounded him and aimed their swords at him.

The man standing alone, covered in blood, was Chwima.