Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 43

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

Chapter Forty-Three
“I just managed to open it.”
Without knowing why, this was all Samcheon could say in response.
“Let me see too.”
Gyesan drew near and peered into the box. Aside from the strange patterns carved into its surface, it was an ordinary wooden chest.
[You! You can actually open it?]
The indifferent voice suddenly sharpened with interest.
“I’m not sure.”
Despite the tension, the lid opened without resistance. Once Samcheon set it aside, a finely crafted Dagger came into view.
“……Is that a Dagger?”
[Good heavens. Yes, it is.]
A place where Daggers could speak—no wonder it had been designated as Geumji.
[How did you open it?]
Samcheon had simply wanted to see if it could be opened. But the lid had come loose so easily that she was caught off guard instead.
“I just opened it.”
[Then take me away from here now.]
“Where to?”
[Anywhere. Just get me out of this place.]
The previously casual tone now carried an edge of urgency. Samcheon wanted to help, but she couldn’t decide whether it was right to carry what appeared to be a sealed blade out of Geumji.
She turned to Gyesan to ask for his opinion.
Gyesan, who had been examining the patterns carved into the Dagger’s hilt, spoke up.
“That’s you?”
[Technically, I’m trapped inside the Dagger. But yes, for now.]
“Are you a Divine Artifact?”
Curiosity flickered across Gyesan’s face.
“If it’s a Divine Artifact, that would be incredibly precious.”
A Divine Artifact was, by definition, an object infused with divine power. The most famous Divine Artifact was the Jamyeonggo of Nangnang, which sounded an alarm whenever invaders approached, or so the stories went.
In that moment, Samcheon recalled the Jamyeonggo and the Jamyeongryeong.
The Jamyeonggo and the Jamyeongryeong.
Somehow their names felt like a matched pair.
“What sort of power does a Divine Artifact like yourself possess?”
[Well. I’m not quite a Divine Artifact—something similar.]
The voice’s owner grew deliberately vague.
If it wasn’t a Divine Artifact, that left only a Haunted Object. Samcheon asked with suspicion.
“Tell me honestly.”
[……I’m a Curse.]
A Curse was a form of sorcery meant to bring calamity or misfortune upon another. Naturally, it possessed no self-awareness and could not speak.
What was stranger still was a Curse that worried about others and carried such weariness—that didn’t sit right.
Had she misheard?
“You were cursed?”
[I am the Curse I left behind. A powerful desire harbored before death can transform into a Curse.]
Samcheon swallowed hard. So this was neither Divine Artifact nor Haunted Object, but a Dagger that contained a Curse.
[I cursed the one who ordered my death, and it bound me here. I don’t even know how long I’ve been trapped. It feels both eternal and fleeting.]
Samcheon, who had been listening intently, made a careful request.
“I’m sorry, but could you pause between thoughts? I’m having trouble following.”
The strangeness of it all was beginning to feel eerie.
[I don’t breathe.]
“I apologize. Go on.”
As Samcheon stepped back, Gyesan came forward.
“Did you die unjustly?”
[I was sixteen. I was supposed to be married.]
The Curse’s voice grew heated.
[I went to see the groom’s face on the pretense of chance, and he was handsome and well-built. I thought the rest of my life would be paved with flowers.]
“Then what?”
[I was subjected to Sati. A senile old man specifically chose me to be buried with him. Do you know what it feels like to be buried alive? Don’t speak if you haven’t experienced it.]
At the mention of Sati, Samcheon’s face contorted.
In the past, there had been a vile custom of burying attendants or servants alongside kings or high nobles when they died. Gyesan sighed and addressed the Curse.
“Sati has been forbidden for a long time. Were you created as a Curse from long ago?”
[People do it in secret now. Not openly. It was already forbidden in my time, they said.]
Samcheon thought it was possible. Sati might still be happening somewhere even now.
“How did you end up trapped then?”
[A Curse is meant to be harbored in the heart, not spoken aloud. But I spoke it into the world. The Curse took effect—they exhumed the tomb and sealed me here.]
“So a fragment of your soul and the Curse itself are locked away?”
[Yes. Tedious story.]
After hearing the Curse’s full account, Gyesan’s eyes widened.
“Name the one who subjected you to Sati. If he still lives, he deserves punishment.”
[I don’t know.]
“What?”
[When I was sealed, I forgot who the Curse was directed toward. I’m a Curse without a target.]
Gyesan understood why the Curse had seemed so powerless. It had lost the meaning of its own existence.
“Then you could curse anyone else instead?”
[Why would I?]
“I’m just curious whether your Curse is fixed on one person or if it can spread.”
[It’s not like that. I’m conserving it in case my memory returns. Curses have a finite quantity.]
“Can you swear an oath?”
[Swear to what?]
“Not to curse the innocent.”
[What are you talking about? I’m a Curse capable of discernment.]
The voice carried the tone of one wrongly accused, filled with indignation.
Gyesan turned back to Samcheon.
“Let’s take it. Leaving it here will weigh on my mind.”
“But it’s a talking Dagger. Deoksim might faint. If word gets out, they’ll call it a ghost-possessed blade.”
[I won’t open my mouth when others are around.]
Samcheon looked down at the Dagger with doubt written across her face, but Gyesan sided with the Curse.
“It doesn’t seem like a malicious Curse.”
“The problem is that it’s a Curse in the first place.”
Gyesan ignored this and gave the Curse instructions.
“Once we leave here, don’t speak a word until it’s just me, Samcheon, and you.”
[Understood. I’m ready.]
The voice that echoed through the empty air now carried a hint of anticipation.
“Samcheon, don’t you feel the turning of Fate?”
It felt less like Fate and more like the beginning of a disaster.
The moment the blade spoke in front of others, trouble would erupt. But if Gyesan had decided, there was nothing to be done.
“I’ll keep it with me. Since the Curse is a young Haunted Object, Your Highness shouldn’t touch it.”
Samcheon wrapped the Dagger in a handkerchief and tucked it into her bosom. If it caused problems, she would sell it and add the money to Mokseo Palace’s household funds.
[Thank you. You’ll both be blessed.]
Thus Samcheon and Gyesan received a blessing from the Curse.
‘He’ll be pleased, won’t he?’
Gyesan broke into a full smile for the first time in ages. With two pieces of good news to share, his steps felt light and eager.
Upon arriving at Mokseo Palace in haste, Gyesan pushed the gate open forcefully. But as he crossed the threshold, he glanced back at Juhong, who was following behind.
“Don’t you dare step in here. Traitors stand outside the gate.”
“A traitor? I need to survive too, Your Highness.”
“Enough. The traitor’s place is forever beyond this gate.”
Inside, Deoksim and Gold were sitting by the courtyard.
“So the palace physician isn’t a quack after all.”
Deoksim rose and bowed deeply.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
As Deoksim expressed her gratitude earnestly, Gyesan felt a moment of awkwardness.
He had called for the physician not because of Deoksim, but to ease the minds of Gyesan and Samcheon. It felt oddly embarrassing.
“Well then, roast me some venison next time. It was delicious.”
“Yes. Please let me know when you’ll visit next, and I’ll prepare it.”
Her smile was as warm as always.
“Prepare generously. Gyesan and Samcheon should arrive within a few days. I don’t know all the details, but I’m certain both are safe.”
At his words, tears streamed down Deoksim’s face. She bowed far more deeply than she had when thanking him for saving her life.
“Thank you. Thank you so much, Your Highness.”
Gold, standing beside her, smiled with relief and joy.
“What wonderful news.”
Their relief reached his heart. Only then did Gyesan begin to understand what his mother had meant.
‘So this is what it means to build one’s own people.’
Gyesan gestured toward Gold, who stood behind Deoksim with reddened eyes.
“Come, half-wit. Let’s go.”
“Yes?”
“There’s somewhere we need to go together.”
Gold followed along bewilderedly, offering Deoksim a light farewell. The moment Gold appeared, Gyesan lengthened his stride.
“I was going to see it alone, but I’m doing you a favor.”
Without knowing why, he found himself turning down a familiar path.
“Are we going to Yeonhwa Palace?”
“Yes. Do you have Swordsmanship lessons today? Skip them for now.”
“There are no lessons, so it’s fine.”
“Why? Doesn’t your Swordsmanship instructor come every day?”
“Since you departed for Byeolgung, he hasn’t visited.”
“So he disobeyed my orders? Half-wit, you should have told me.”
Gold hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I’m… sorry, but could you please not call me half-wit anymore?”

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