The Ruler Of Darkness - Chapter 608



Only Noblemtl

Episode 608

Chapter 8: Common Purpose

Knock, knock.

The charred log that had been lying around burned and fell over, sending sparks flying.

Yeon So-hyeon used a branch as a poker to light the bonfire.

As soon as enough air entered, the fire seemed to regain its strength and became brighter.

“… … .”

Yeon So-hyeon’s face was reflecting the bonfire with a reddish glow, and the white mask that was casually placed next to him was radiating a strange luster even on the side that the bonfire’s light did not reach.

And Yeon So-hyeon opened her mouth again.

“And you, the foreigner?”

Just sit there blankly.

The reaction of Hak-un-hyeong, the head of the household, who was watching the scene, was slower than usual.

“…yes?”

Yeon So-hyeon asked again in a calm manner.

“Why did you, Oewonju, do such things?”

“I am….”

Maybe it’s because too many things have happened.

After a while, Wonju Hakunhyung opened his mouth again and continued speaking.

“Gaebong, that is. To be exact, when I was dealing with the tangled affairs at Gaebongyeonga, I received a letter from the Director of the Royal Household here.”

“The Chief of Staff of Naewon…”

Yeon So-hyeon glanced at the Chief of Staff.

He still hadn’t taken his eyes off Yeon So-hyeon.

He shrugged his shoulders and asked the question to the head of the household, Hakunhyung.

“Did the Chief of Staff advise you to confront me?”

Only after that question was asked did the chief of the inner court turn his dreary gaze to the head of the outer court, Hakunhyung.

but.

“yes.”

Oewonju Hakunhyung answered Yeonseonhyeon without paying any attention to her gaze.

“Your Majesty, he knew that the Northern General had recovered well. And when the Grand Duke returns home….”

“Of course you knew I would heal my father.”

“yes.”

The head of the household, Hakunhyung, nodded and continued speaking.

“And he said that if the Demonic Cult were given the chance, they would not sit idly by and watch the Supreme Lord rise from his seat. I agreed.”

“I agree too.”

Yeon So-hyeon snickered.

“It is actually happening.”

“Yes.”

Oewonju Hakunhyeong stretched out both hands and spoke while warming himself by the fire.

“And so, in order to give the Demonic Cult a chance, someone needed to stand against the Archduke.”

“I had to cause chaos in the family.”

“Yes, if not. They would have chosen to hide deeper and wait patiently for the next opportunity, leaving those who needed to be cut off to be cut off.”

However, by the external governor, Hakunhyung, and the internal governor.

On this stage they staged, the Demonic Cult was gradually revealing its appearance.

“In the meantime, if there’s anything surprising, it’s that…”

The gaze of the outsider, Hak-un-hyeong, turned towards Yeon-seon-hyeon.

“Your Highness. It was so skillful in carrying out the necessary role on this board. Without overreacting or rushing too much. It was as if… .”

Yeon So-hyeon laughed.

“As if you had predicted everything?”

“… … !”

The eyes of the foreigner Hak-un-hyeong widened for a moment, then he smiled bitterly.

“… That’s right.”

Oewonju Hakunhyung smiled briefly and shook his head.

The ability of this person named Yeon So-hyeon is just as great as the supernatural power of the Dark Heavenly Being in the ghost story.

perhaps.

There were times when it felt even more supernatural than that.

“…if anyone sees it.”

Oewonju Hakunhyung said with a bitter smile still on his face.

“It might seem like these three people planned it all from the beginning.”

“Maybe so.”

Yeon So-hyeon nodded calmly with a short smile.

“It might seem like that enough.”

“That’s right.”

“And so that’s what I mean.”

“yes…?”

Oewonju Hakunhyeong suddenly raised his head and looked at Yeonseohyun.

He was looking straight at the outside world and asking himself.

“Then why didn’t you ask for my cooperation from the beginning?”

“that….”

The gaze of the head of the external affairs department, Hak-un-hyeong, instinctively turned to the head of the internal affairs department.

“No, no.”

But Yeon So-hyeon shook her head.

“Of course, from the perspective of the Chief of Staff. Rather than trusting me, who had once betrayed my trust, waiting for my father to wake up would have been the right choice. But.”

Yeon So-hyeon’s gaze pierced through Hak Woon-hyung, the head of the household.

“It is the reason for the Inspector General, not for the Lord of the Outer Court.”

“No. That’s not it. From the beginning until now, the Chief of Staff has been very strongly opposed to it-.”

“-Oewonju.”

Yeon So-hyeon cut him off.

“The world’s best foreigner, Hak Woon Hyung. Just because other people were against it, he obediently accepted it and followed?”

His eyes sharpened.

“Are you asking me to believe that?”

“… … .”

At that, the Chief of Staff also said.

Only then did he suddenly feel something strange and looked at Hak Woon Hyung, the head of the household.

Yeon So-hyeon asked again.

“Tell me, Lord Oewon. Why did you distrust this Yeonseonhyeon?”

“… … .”

The answer did not come easily.

Knock, knock.

The sound of the wood burning in the bonfire was the only thing that could be heard, along with the chirping of insects on an autumn night.

After a long time had passed.

Oewonju Hakunhyung opened his mouth and said a word.

“…Cheonsalseong (Heavenly Killer Star).”

“… … !”

“… … !”

Yeon So-hyeon and Nae-won General.

Both people’s eyes widened slightly at the same time.

* * *

“… Still, no further orders?”

The captain of the guards directly under the chief of staff asked, unable to hide his impatience.

“Yes, there isn’t.”

As the adjutant shook his head, his fist slammed on the desk.

“Fuck…!”

ever so.

Although he belongs to the royal family and follows the orders of the royal family’s director.

What was bothering him was that in this innermost part of the house, where the unconscious head of the household lay, something inexplicable was happening.

“It won’t work. I’ll go and see for myself.”

“Captain…?”

As he abruptly rose from his seat, his adjutant stopped him.

“Don’t you know the personality of the Director General of the Royal Household…?!”

“Yeah. Right now, I might have to take my clothes off.”

But, while saying that.

He was equipping his weapons with expert skill.

“colon-!”

“-Let me ask you just one thing.”

The captain of the guard turned to his adjutant and asked.

“Is the purpose of our existence to follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, or to protect our lord?”

“… … .”

for a moment.

The adjutant, who had been speechless, took out his sword in its sheath with a long sigh.

“I will join you too.”

“good.”

The captain of the guard laughed at that sight.

“Even if I get cut off, I won’t be bored.”

“…Stop talking nonsense and go.”

however.

The two never left the office.

“The guards cannot move.”

Crunch.

The unique, heavy sound of footsteps from those wearing super-heavy armor.

The captain of the guard, given his position, could not have been unaware of the person hidden behind the mask.

“Vice-Chief, your order?”

An organization that defends this innermost area, together with the direct royal guards of the palace.

The name of the deputy director of that organization has been revealed.

But the captain of the guards laughed.

“Even if you are the deputy chief of staff, we are directly under the command of the chief of staff. There is no reason for us to follow your orders.”

And then, just as he was about to pass the deputy chief’s order,

Deputy Director Myung took out a document from his bosom and showed it to me.

“But, I also have to follow the orders of the top management council.”

“… … .”

The documents he unfolded undoubtedly contained orders to prevent the Supreme Executive Council from acting on the Royal Guard’s own discretion.

“Hmm. But you know… .”

The captain of the guard shrugged, taking off his helmet for a moment to scratch his head.

“I hear these days that even the top management is not made up of upright people?”

As he said that, he tried to leave the office again as if nothing had happened.

but.

“Captain of the Guard.”

The serious voice of the deputy chief of staff reached his ears.

“Right now, there, perhaps. The most important meeting that will determine the future and fate of our swordsmanship is taking place.”

The captain of the guard stopped walking.

* * *

“hmm….”

The two people, including Hakunhyung, who is from Oewonju, have surprised expressions on their faces.

He continued speaking, giving a bitter smile to Yeon So-hyeon and Nae-won General.

“In the past, around the time the Grand Duke was born. At that time, I heard a story about him in the palace. Of course… .”

He waved his hand.

“At that time, I dismissed it as an absurd superstition and erased it from my mind. But… ”

When he was unable to continue speaking,

Yeon So-hyeon opened her mouth.

“… Past. Did you witness the bloody history I committed and think about it again?”

“A little bit. That bloodshed is still a terrifying memory for many people. But at least for me, it wasn’t a decisive factor.”

“then…?”

Oewonju Hakunhyung opened his mouth with a sigh.

“Since the end of the incubation period, until now. All the unstoppable actions that the Grand Duke has shown. On the one hand, they are infinitely reassuring. On the other hand… .”

His voice became softer.

“It felt like something beyond human, and it was so scary that it gave me goosebumps.”

His voice was deeply muffled.

“And every time, I remembered the story I heard about the Thousand-Year-Old Castle. I…”

He said, crouching down with his large body.

“Yes, so I will. If possible, I will tell the Supreme Lord about all of this, and once again.”

He repeated the word one more time.

“Yes, once again. I wanted to entrust my sole lord with the judgment of the Archduke.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

A self-deprecating laugh escaped from his bowed head.

“… Yes. The Supreme Master has given me some words of advice in the past, but deep down in my heart right now… .”

The doubts about Yeon So-hyeon have been somewhat resolved.

That was what was left.

“… … .”

Yeon So-hyeon kept her mouth shut, and the chief of staff snorted.

“under…!”

He said grumblingly.

“That’s what I really thought. Just now, you asked this old man if he didn’t trust the Grand Duke. You really talked too much.”

“… Still, I sincerely hoped that the Grand Prince would rise quickly, even with the help of the Grand Duke.”

“… … .”

“Well, that’s true, but….”

Oewonju Hakunhyung smiled weakly at them.

“You can laugh at me. You can call me a coward who listens to superstitions and leaves the judgment to your lord.”

“… … .”

Yeon So-hyeon shook her head silently.

He answered honestly, indeed.

Facing your own fears, knowing them, and even confessing them to others.

Because it was the most difficult thing for everyone.

“… the Lord of the Outer Circle. And the Lord of the Inner Circle.”

Yeon Soo-hyun herself as well.

I had to be honest.

“The Thousand-Year-Old Star is not a superstition. It exists. No, it exists more than that. It is directly and indirectly influencing me at this very moment.”

“… … !”

“… … !”

The eyes of both the head of the external affairs department, Hakunhyung, and the head of the internal affairs department, grew wide as if they were going to tear apart.

“and….”

But the Archduke’s confession was only the beginning.

He said, picking up the white mask that was lying next to him.

“Je-am-jin-cheon-gyeong (The Sutra of Creating Darkness and Calmness in Heaven).”

As Yeon So-hyeon said that name, the white mask began to glow even more ominously.

“The power that made me the Dark Heavenly Lord came from the scriptures that are called the demons of the millennia. And that power… .”

He spoke while looking straight into their eyes without avoiding eye contact.

“It’s like the magic energy of a cult, or maybe even more so. It’s driving me to extreme madness.”

“… … ?!”

“… What do you mean?”

Yeon So-hyeon smiled slightly and shrugged her shoulders at the trembling voice of Hak-un-hyeong, the head of the household.

“Basically, even now, I am fiercely resisting the two forces that transcend the realm of the human world, the Cheon Sal Seong and the Je Am Jin Cheon Gyeong, while inevitably being influenced by them.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Shock coursed through the son-in-law.

Yeon So-hyeon’s eyes, which resembled her mother, the medicine fairy Yaksoyu, curved gently.

“So, both of you have valid concerns, and I agree with you to some extent.”

“Your Highness… .”

For a moment, did the concern for Yeon So-hyeon overtake the old resentment?

Yeon So-hyeon stopped the chief of staff, who was trying to approach Yeon So-hyeon with a cane, with his empty hand.

“But, nevertheless.”

Yeon So-hyeon said to the two people.

“We have a common goal of curing my father and eliminating the hidden demonic cult. And if that’s the case, I believe the three of us can work together well.”

He asked.

“Do you agree?”

There could be no dissent.