The Girl of an Old Mansion

36. Last Words

Just when Lord Yong and the King felt relieved by releasing Prince's soul, Mi-sook took hold of her dagger and stabbed Lord Yong, and said, while standing beside him, "I am not afraid of death. I am only afraid to see you slayers living happily. I'll destroy your whole lineage. I'll come back again." With this she again stabbed the old man, making him fall in the darkness, hurtling to the floor.

Mi-sook flees from the palace by killing the guards.

The King felt devastated looking at Lord Yong. He summoned a Royal physician and said in a concerned voice, "You must save his life, do whatever you want but save him."

"Your Majesty! He is already suffering from an excessive blood loss plus he is too old to handle the injury. It is difficult to save him," said the Royal physician

Lord Yong asked in a stuttering voice to call Nyang. He has something really important to tell him regarding her daughter.

The King sent his guards to inform Nyang. He held Lord Yong's hand and said, "Don't worry, you'll be alright".

Lord Yong looked at him and smiled. "Your Majesty! I'll always be grateful to you for giving me your daughter. Si-ri is everything that I could ever wish for. Because of you, I got to know how it feels to be a father, it is the most wonderful feeling in the world....but my little girl won't be able to bear the pain of my death after her mother. She'll be shattered. Take care of her."

Tears filled in the eyes of the King. Just then Nyang entered the room, he was on the verge of bursting into tears looking at his master's condition.

"What happened to my master?"... Nyang was crying like a little child.

"Be a good boy and stop crying, dear Nyang. From now you need to take care of your sister. The page that I tore out from the Devil's book, you too know what was written on that page. I was saving my life so that I could sacrifice it for my child's wellbeing and to lift her curse but now I think that I was fated to die early. Maybe almighty has some other plans for Si-ri."

"I have something to say to my daughter. Convey my message to her, after my demise." Lord Yong slowly and with utter difficulty told everything to Nyang that he wanted to tell Si-ri.

Lord Yong started reminiscing those precious memories of her daughter. His eyes brimmed with tears but miraculously the pain was no longer bothering him. Everything became calm and silent, he could no longer feel his body due to the numbness spreading over his body. Before getting lost in the eternal darkness, the old man prayed for his daughter's long and happy life for the last time. He closed his eyes and saw Si-ri's smiling face. The old man never opened his eyes after that. He left the world. He died.

The beads of water started falling down. The King didn't want to cry for his loss in front of others. He wiped his wet eyes and announced, "Lord Yong was not only an integral part of our family but also a great and loyal friend of mine. Royal family of Noam will never forget his contribution and sacrifice. I hereby declare that he will be cremated with full affection and royal honour tomorrow morning along with Prince Jian." The devastated King then walked away from the room in grief.

Next morning, the news of Prince Jian and Lord Yong's sad demise spread in the whole Noam like a wildfire.

The whole Noam became deserted in no time. Folks reached the palace to mourn the death of their beloved yet kind Prince and one of the great scholars, Lord Yong. The magnitude of despair in their eyes was enormous.

The King's and his family stood at the front of the funeral all wrapped up in white clothes. They were looking like soulless zombies disguised in waxy faces with puffed red eyes. The coffin was pulled from the hearse by six royal guards, all wearing suits.