Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 25

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 25
“Your Highness!”
Samcheon’s desperate cry could not stop Gyesan.
Like an arrow released, Gyesan rushed at the man holding the bow. His blade carried neither hesitation nor fear.
The man hurriedly threw down the bow and drew his sword, but the moment he blocked Gyesan’s attack, his body was shoved backward. Sharp, relentless strikes poured down in succession.
The man’s carelessness led to his death.
Gyesan was startled to see the man breathless. He had killed someone. No—this one was merely an enemy.
‘He was trying to kill Samcheon.’
There was no time for sentiment. Gyesan threw himself at the other man, now caught off-balance by the sudden loss of his companion.
Steel met steel.
The man’s returned blade was sharp enough.
“All of this is for the sake of Baekje.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“If you come with us, we can explain everything.”
He spoke words that made little sense, yet not all of it seemed to be a lie. From the clash of blades, Gyesan could tell the man had no intention of harming him.
But he had tried to kill Samcheon—there could be no compromise.
“You’d have to kill me to take me anywhere.”
When the blades met again, interest flickered in the man’s eyes.
“Your Spiritual Achievement is quite high. But there’s too much tension in your shoulders. You’re afraid.”
Samcheon bit his lower lip.
‘That bastard is toying with His Highness.’
From the man’s bearing, he didn’t seem like a bandit. Had Hae sent him? What did “for the sake of Baekje” mean?
Samcheon pushed away the confusion creeping into his thoughts and surveyed their surroundings. Gyesan was being pushed back inch by inch. The limitations of an eleven-year-old body were unmistakable.
His opponent was an adult.
And a trained one at that.
Gyesan’s shoulders were heaving visibly. That he had held out this long was because his opponent meant him no harm—he seemed to be waiting for Gyesan to tire, intending to subdue rather than kill him.
‘I need to find something I can use as a weapon.’
As Samcheon’s eyes darted about, he spotted a sword lying some distance away—the blade of the man who had died by carelessness. While the man’s attention was fixed on Gyesan, Samcheon crept toward it.
‘If I do nothing, I’m just a burden.’
He had to do something.
Samcheon forced himself not to look at the dead man as he seized the sword. It was heavy and long, dragging against the earth. He couldn’t swing it, but he could thrust.
Samcheon gripped the sword firmly in both hands and ran.
He drove the blade toward the man, who had his back turned while facing off against Gyesan. The startled man twisted desperately aside, and in that instant, Gyesan’s blade slashed across his chest.
The man stumbled backward, his neck bent at an unnatural angle.
When Samcheon realized he was dead, he dropped the sword. The sensation of the blade piercing flesh lingered in his fingertips. In the moment his mind began to blur, Gyesan drew near.
“Well done. Let’s go.”
“Yes? Yes.”
Well done? But he had stabbed someone.
Gyesan smiled as if it were nothing. Yet it was a twisted smile, unlike his usual expression.
Only then did Samcheon understand. While Samcheon had stabbed, Gyesan had killed. Two of them, in fact.
Gyesan’s fingertips were trembling.
“I did well, didn’t I? Thank you for saving me. Your Highness is truly the best.”
“That’s right. I’m the best.”
Samcheon answered with an equally twisted smile and bent to pick up the dropped sword. But its tip dragged against the dirt—carrying it would be difficult this way.
Samcheon drew a deep breath, then untied the scabbard from the dead man’s waist.
He slid the blade into the scabbard, cradled it against his chest, and wiped the blood-stained hand on the hem of his robe. Then he turned back to Gyesan with a face as composed as ever.
“Let’s go, Your Highness.”
For now, survival was all that mattered.
Through the thick pre-dawn mist, firelight flickered. The torches closing in from all sides had drawn near—dangerously near.
There was nowhere left to flee.
As Samcheon turned to find an escape route, wet leaves brushed his arm. He flinched violently, only relaxing after confirming it was just a tree.
“What’s wrong?”
Samcheon shook his head at Gyesan’s question.
“Nothing. I’m just being a coward, I suppose.”
Scanning the encirclement again, he spotted a gap—a section where the red firelight was scattered sparsely.
“Your Highness, what if we slip through the gap between those torches? The darkness will limit their vision, and if we move quietly, we won’t be noticed.”
Gyesan, who had been observing the situation alongside Samcheon, nodded slowly.
“Yes. There’s nowhere else to go.”
The moment Gyesan agreed, one of the nearby torches vanished.
“What?”
Clang.
Metal rang out, echoing with screams, and the torches began going dark in rapid succession.
“What’s happening?”
Someone was attacking the pursuers.
“Let’s go the other way.”
Samcheon turned and began to run. He didn’t know what was occurring, but he could sense that death was gathering in that direction.
As the two ran desperately, they came upon a corpse with its head cleanly severed. Samcheon and Gyesan clutched each other and screamed silently.
“I-it’s all right. It’s dead.”
“Yes. It can’t attack us.”
“Right. That’s true.”
It was the moment they realized that the dead were less frightening than the living.
They shut their eyes tightly and hurried past the corpse. They had to escape this place while the darkness still concealed them.
The two ran, screamed silently, and ran again.
Then again.
And again.
And again.
Because they chose the deepest shadows, they encountered no living people.
“Ugh.”
Samcheon’s ankle twisted as he ran, gasping—it happened when he discovered the fifth corpse. More precisely, when he almost stepped on its hand.
He barely avoided treading on the body, but he couldn’t escape falling to the ground.
Samcheon clutched his ankle and groaned. Using the sword as a cane, he managed to rise, but after only a few steps he collapsed again. Something was badly wrong—his leg wouldn’t bear his weight.
Samcheon barely swallowed a cry and spoke with effort.
“Your Highness, leave me behind.”
“Don’t say that!”
Gyesan snapped in anger.
Samcheon knew as well as anyone that if he were left alone and discovered, he would forfeit his life.
Darkness and death were frightening. But far more frightening was the thought that Gyesan might be endangered because of him.
Samcheon looked up at Gyesan, who seemed ready to burst into tears. Speaking as calmly as possible, he hid how terrified he was.
“I don’t think a short rest will fix this. I’m sorry.”
“…Let’s rest until you can move.”
Gyesan plunked down beside Samcheon. Knowing they could encounter those men again at any moment, Samcheon felt his heart growing impatient.
“Once you reach Jeonghyeonseong, please send soldiers. Just continue straight ahead.”
He pointed the direction with his finger, but Gyesan simply lay down flat.
“I’m not particularly clever, but I know one thing. If I leave you behind, we’ll never meet again.”
“Your Highness.”
“Then I’ll be haunted by this moment forever, regretting it. Why would I do that?”
Still lying down, Gyesan scanned the area and found a large gap between rocks. It looked like enough space to hide before daybreak.
He sprang up, helped Samcheon toward the gap, pushed him into it, and threw leaves over him. Dirt and leaves tumbled into Samcheon’s gaping mouth in his shock.
“…What are you doing, Your Highness?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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