Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 35

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

Chapter 35
‘Not there?’
Hui’s brow furrowed as he observed the procession.
Gyesan’s disappearance had been a near miss, and when things went awry, someone might have cut their losses and fled. Without knowing how the situation was unfolding, frustration rose to the very edge of his throat.
“This won’t do.”
As Hui turned, Ju Hong stuck close behind him.
“Your Highness, where are you going?”
“Stop that at once!”
Hui spoke sharply.
“You said he likes that sort of thing…….”
“You’ve got it all wrong. Even Samcheon puts heart into it—more than half of it is sincere—but you have no soul, no context whatsoever!”
“I’ll endeavor to infuse it with more spirit. Where shall I escort you?”
“I’m not telling you.”
Ju Hong’s face fell, and Geumji’s eyes wavered with unease.
“Well, I think I should go check on Deoksim at Mokseo Palace—see if he’s awoken and help nurse him back to health.”
For the first time, a complete sentence of considerable length had formed, but Hui cut him off sharply.
“Enough. Come along.”
“……Yes.”
Geumji, answering reluctantly, trailed behind him like a prisoner.
The forest was dense. Samcheon used his dream as a guide, advancing through the undergrowth. He climbed higher, pushing through the vegetation, yet he harbored no fear of becoming lost.
Traces of human passage marked the path at intervals.
‘A tiger’s pawprints would be less frightening at this point.’
No, those would terrify him as well.
Samcheon glanced about cautiously. He was approaching with care, but if discovered here—a desolate place where no one could come to his aid—he would have no hope of rescue.
‘Perhaps I should turn back now.’
Samcheon’s resolve shrank by degrees. The darkness from his dream seemed ready to swallow him whole at any moment.
Crack.
Samcheon started violently at the dull snap of a twig beneath his foot. Fortunately, a lighter footfall overlaid the sound.
Tap-tap-tap.
The steady footsteps calmed his racing heart. Fear remained, but knowing Gyesan walked beside him gave him the courage to press forward.
He had just clenched his fists without thinking when—
“Look at that!”
Butterflies resting on a small flower took flight in a flutter. He’d seen butterflies in the palace before, but never with wings so delicately patterned as these.
The butterflies had been perched on a weathered length of cord.
“A Rope Barrier.”
The hunter Geumji’s words surfaced in his mind once more. Human footprints continued beyond the barrier.
“Did they spread the rumor of the barrier to keep people away?”
“Since the barrier keeps people from approaching, they might have chosen it as their crime scene.”
With the barrier visible before them, Samcheon’s unease deepened.
To verify anything, he would have to cross it.
Samcheon glanced at Gyesan’s profile before venturing to speak.
“Your Highness, what if you waited here? I’ll slip across and look around alone. If I’m discovered, you’ll come rescue me, won’t you?”
“Do I look like the type to wait peacefully?”
“……No.”
“You know me well.”
Gyesan smiled and crossed the barrier first.
Samcheon crossed as well, but contrary to his fears, no chill descended and the atmosphere did not turn ominous.
Following the human tracks carefully upward, he found a path of packed earth worn smooth enough for carts to pass.
“We might encounter people. Let’s stay off to the side and hide.”
Samcheon pointed to the wild growth beyond the maintained path.
“Yes, that’s wiser.”
The two climbed, avoiding the path humans had created. Thick brush made the going difficult, but the tall weeds obscured their forms from view.
As they drew nearer the summit, Samcheon’s heart pounded harder with each step. He pushed forward heedlessly, his hands torn by branches, but he had no time to notice the pain.
Samcheon pressed on almost as though running, chasing the traces of his dream.
Moss clinging to broken branches, a broad flat stone, and the mine entrance standing in the distance—Samcheon caught sight of it all and drew a sharp breath.
He wished the dream had been false.
“I wanted to trudge back down the mountain, grumbling that I’d wasted my effort.”
But why must reality be so cruel?
Samcheon turned to Gyesan.
“This is it, Your Highness.”
Gyesan stared at the distant mine entrance. According to Samcheon’s dream, the children should be trapped in a cave on the far side of the mountain.
But confirming that location carried too much risk.
“We should call the authorities.”
Both turned to leave immediately.
As they crouched and descended carefully, the low rumble of human voices reached them. Realizing someone was approaching, Gyesan seized Samcheon’s hand and pulled him away.
The two concealed themselves in the thick brush. Peering between the leaves, Samcheon glimpsed two men emerging from within the mine.
He recognized one of their faces.
Dan-hwangsaek.
‘That’s him.’
Dan-hwangsaek grumbled to his bearded companion.
“Where do you keep finding more children?”
“You grab them wherever you can. I’ve been working so hard lately the food won’t go down my throat.”
“You scarfed down three bowls just this morning. What nonsense is this?”
“Should we venture farther? It looks like rain might come.”
Dan-hwangsaek tilted his face upward, gauging the sky.
Samcheon watched his every movement, eyes wide.
‘I’m going to catch that bastard.’
Under the Law Code, death was the minimum sentence. Beheading and public display of the corpse would scarcely suffice.
Samcheon waited for them to pass, but suddenly Dan-hwangsaek changed direction and approached the brush where they were hiding.
‘Have we been discovered?’
Perhaps they should flee at once. Yet Dan-hwangsaek’s expression showed no sign of alarm.
Dan-hwangsaek stopped at a reasonable distance and began loosening his trouser ties. Gyesan, sitting beside him, gasped audibly.
Dan-hwangsaek, about to relieve himself, reacted instantly.
“Who’s there!”
Suyeom stepped forward, drawing his blade.
“Come out.”
Samcheon bit his lower lip.
These two he might manage somehow. But if those inside came to aid them, they’d be outnumbered—easily a dozen or more. He could not act rashly.
Knowing what fate awaited if they were captured, his heart hammered even faster.
Samcheon spoke as though to himself.
“Your Highness, please fetch the authorities.”
Samcheon sprang to his feet and pushed through the brush, stepping forward.
“Excuse me, sir, I’ve gotten lost. Which way is Jeonghyeon City?”
In that instant, Dan-hwangsaek’s teeth flashed in a grin. His expression was nakedly predatory—as if he’d stumbled upon a windfall. Samcheon’s heart began to race.
“You’re alone? How did you end up out here?”
“I came with my brother, but I got separated while looking at flowers.”
“That so? You’re quite small, aren’t you?”
Dan-hwangsaek’s hand seized Samcheon’s shoulder, gripping hard to prevent escape. Seeing this, Gyesan unthinkingly drew his sword.
Yongyong had spoken truly.
Though the children trapped inside stirred his pity, they were not dearer than Samcheon. Yet seized by a Sense of Justice, he had dragged Samcheon into danger. He had brought an unwilling Samcheon by force—the fault lay entirely with him.
He knew it was foolish. He understood that calling for the authorities was the rational course.
But if, while pursuing that rationality, something went wrong with Samcheon, Gyesan felt he could never love himself again.
And so this too was an act for himself.
“Let go of Samcheon!”
Gyesan cried out and drove his foot hard against the earth.
His sharp blade rushed toward Dan-hwangsaek, who, startled by the sudden assault, thrust Samcheon in front of himself as a shield.
Gyesan’s stroke veered. The blade aimed at the heart instead cut across Dan-hwangsaek’s arm. Blood sprayed, but it was not a deep wound.
“Damn brat!”
Killing intent flared in Dan-hwangsaek’s eyes. In the same moment, Suyeom drew his sword and stepped forward.
“Stand back.”
As steel clashed, Gyesan’s body was driven backward. With each parry, his form wavered and his hands trembled, yet he did not release his grip on his sword.
‘Your Highness.’
Watching, Samcheon burned with helpless anguish.
The soldiers they’d encountered when escaping Byeol Palace had harbored no intent to kill Gyesan. They had even hesitated to wound him. But there was no restraint in Suyeom’s blade.
“Watch out!”
The moment Samcheon sensed the danger, Gyesan’s sword was knocked from his hand. In the same instant, his body was hurled to the earth.

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