Secret of the Two Kings (89 CHAPTERS - ON HOLD)

제 87 부

The masked cross-dresser swung the dagger and skipped back. His hands trembled while maintaining a tight grip on the hilt. Snow crumbs clung on the hem of his pink skirt as the thick layer of icing sucked his pink satin slippers. "Stay away from me, you snake!" he roared.

On the intruder's yellow headband, the tiger head insignia glimmered as he advanced to the frightened Prince. He flung his arms wide and waved them slowly. "Your Highness, calm down. I will explain."

Attaching a scalding glare at the snake, Sae Joo sheathed his dagger and tucked it back on his pocket. "Fine. I shall see if you can raise your arguments without wavering from the first principle of being a Hwarang. You should have prepared your weapons, Jun Pyeong."

"First of all, I wish to ask for your pardon as I have acted like a stealthy animal. I assure you that I will answer all your questions with honesty."

The wind howled, drifting the snow remnants from the eastern mountains. Sae Joo licked the roof of his cracked lips and swiped the flakes off his shoulder. "How could you deceive everyone? How long have you been helping those bandits?"

Jun Pyeong protested, hissing like a juvenile viper. "Bandits? Those people are your future allies, Your Highness. Have you forgotten already that you chose to betray everyone and join our group to search for the truth?"

"Tricking them doesn't necessarily mean that I betray them. You have no idea."

The hwarangdo pouted his lips and shrugged. "No idea? Haven't you ever wondered how that little piece of blue baby cloth made its way towards you? Or who shot that arrow with a message telling you to meet an unknown person in Myeongsong Valley while you stroll in the forest with Shun?"

Sae Joo clenched his jaw and shook his fingers at the impudent traitor. "I knew it! Someone from the palace is purposely luring me to know the truth."

"Personally, I have no idea who Sae Yoo is. All I know is that you have a twin, and you two, were cursed. You wish to find your brother and make him the Crown Prince. Now that you've come this far, acting like a hero, trying to save everyone from your misfortunes, have you thought of the possibility that it could give everyone a wrong interpretation? The King might think you were abducted. Unless you go back and reveal everything that had happened, your father might lash his anger at all people responsible for your safety. That includes Shun."

Sae Joo's saliva dried out. The chilly current from his soles surged up to his throat, freezing his voice box. Clearer than the obscured crescent moon above, he had plotted the dire consequences of his actions. He had studied the perfect mixture of dark and light colors to create a portrait of himself and his visual rendition of what would happen in Silla when he was gone. Number one: a vacant throne of an heir. Two: Jung Ho exhausting all his power and skills to take the highest throne. Three: a gush of chaos from the subjects once they knew he was missing. At the back of his mind and the core of his soul, none of those uproarious possibilities would ever match the bloodshed that could happen if he was to be King.

Among all these scenarios, an intangible, yet swift enemy lurking in the shadows of every person was racing endlessly. Hands ticking as fast as the thunderclap without a single intention of going back. Once it passed, its impact would forever be encrypted in the memories of the kingdom's history. All his efforts would avalanche right to his face and bury him down the coldest grave of the earth.

Confident that he has successfully painted a balanced, grim image, he shoved the shivers out of his body and taunted the scaled reptile in front of him. "You people make me laugh and disgusted. Why is everyone thinking that my world revolves around this mere nangdo? And you, what makes you think that I still care for him? I have a mission to do, I have a kingdom to save. Now that you've come up, my mind has never been cleared."