Chapter 154
“Ah, yes!”
Yerin tensed up slightly.
Even though she had been called, Doyul hesitated for a long time before speaking.
“I know it might sound strange to ask such a question in these urgent times, but…”
Doyul spoke cautiously.
“I want to ask about the telepathic conversation you had with Manyeon Bingjeong.”
“…”
“Why did you use telepathy to communicate, and why did Manyeon Bingjeong get so angry? What did you talk about?”
Yerin flinched without realizing it, as though her innermost thoughts had been exposed.
Doyul continued as if he had made up his mind.
“Also, there’s something strange. Why do you feel so responsible for the Blood Demon?”
“…”
“I could see it earlier when you took the initiative to stop the Blood Demon revival ritual.”
There was now a sense of certainty in Doyul’s voice.
“It seems like you’ve been intending to face the Blood Demon directly from the very beginning.”
“…I—”
“Why have you been so proactive? I really want to understand why.”
Yerin fell silent for a moment.
At least with Doyul, she wanted to keep her past hidden for her entire life.
She didn’t want him to know how ‘Dang Yerin’ came to be, what kind of past she had, or what this world meant to her.
‘Maybe… I could just brush it off lightly.’
Yerin felt a strong urge to say nothing, to tell him that it was nothing and that he didn’t need to worry about it.
If she could just say that…
‘But I can’t do that.’
That would ultimately be deceiving Doyul.
Taking a deep breath, Yerin finally spoke.
“After hearing this question, you may start doubting my sanity.”
“You don’t need to worry about that, Yerin. I would never think that.”
Looking at Doyul, who denied her words, Yerin gave a faint smile.
It was a bitter smile.
“What if this world was a world in a book?”
The question, completely unexpected, hit Doyul like a blow to the head.
“…A world in a book?”
“Yes.”
He thought she might be joking, but her firm reply made him realize she wasn’t.
“In the world I ‘read about’ in the past, you were the main character of this world.”
“…No, what do you mean…?”
“It may sound like nonsense, but it’s the truth.”
Yerin answered firmly.
“The life of ‘you’ that I ‘read about’ was much happier than this one.”
“…Yerin.”
“The former Ice Palace Lord didn’t pass away as early as now.”
At this, Doyul froze.
“You, along with Manyeon Bingjeong and countless others, monopolized many connections and destined encounters, becoming the absolute ruler of this world…”
Her voice, dry and cracked, echoed in the cave.
“You married Youngju and finally found happiness.”
“Wait, wait a minute.”
Doyul, unable to follow her words, hurriedly shook his head.
“But there’s the Blood Sect. How could…”
“Yes, the Blood Sect existed in that story, too.”
Yerin lowered her gaze quietly.
“And the ‘you’ from that world completely destroyed the Blood Sect. You became the hero who saved the world.”
Doyul’s eyes trembled violently.
“But in that world, the Blood Demon doesn’t exist.”
“The Blood Demon… doesn’t exist?”
“Yes. That’s where it all went wrong. The ‘original story’ has been twisted.”
Yerin confirmed firmly.
Doyul, unable to fight the confusion, clenched his mouth shut.
‘This is nonsense.’
That was the first thought that crossed his mind.
But…
‘…If what Yerin says is true…’
Doyul suddenly found himself accepting Yerin’s words.
All the time he had spent with Yerin and the actions she had taken slowly came back to him.
‘Now that I think about it, Yerin became extraordinary starting from a specific point in time.’
When she was in the Dang Clan, she had been nothing more than the despised youngest daughter who was looked down upon by even the disciples.
But after their wedding and her arrival at the North Sea Ice Palace, what had happened?
She had rescued the North Sea Ice Palace from poverty by obtaining the secret arts of Seollucho and the Thousand-Year Snow Flower.
She had taken land from the Dang Clan in an auction and rapidly advanced in martial arts, attracting the attention of the Leader of the Murim Alliance.
She had uprooted the hidden Ji-ga Clan deep within the North Sea.
Was that all?
It was Yerin who had discovered the corpse swap of the Four Heroes, and later, even in the Hall of the Palace…
“And the reason the ‘original story’ was twisted… is probably because of me.”
“Because of you?”
For a moment, Doyul flared up.
“What do you mean, what did you do wrong?!”
“By now, Doyul must be sensing something is wrong.”
Yerin continued calmly.
“Before marrying you, ‘Dang Yerin’ was… just an ordinary girl.”
“…Yerin?”
Doyul felt a deep sense of unease.
It was no wonder, as Yerin was distancing herself from the persona of ‘Dang Yerin’ at that moment.
It was as if she were someone other than the Dang Yerin she had once been.
“Don’t you find this strange?” Yerin’s voice cut through the tension.
“That’s…” Doyul hesitated.
“A daughter who was despised and neglected by her family suddenly achieves tremendous growth after marrying you.”
Yerin bit her lip tightly.
“She even immediately recognized that the body of the Four Heroes had been swapped.”
Doyul froze.
Yerin was pinpointing exactly what he had been suspicious of.
“….”
“….”
Silence fell between them.
Yerin thought the silence felt like a blade.
It was as if her whole body were being cut apart.
The silence, so agonizing and sharp, made it impossible for Yerin to endure any longer.
“I told you that I read old records about the Four Heroes, and that’s why I noticed those things…”
“….”
“But that was a lie.”
Yerin uttered the painful confession, biting at herself again.
“I live now under the name of Dang Yerin. But the truth is…”
For the first time, Yerin’s voice wavered.
“I once lived as Baek Seol-yeon.”
“…Baek Seol-yeon?”
Doyul clenched his fists tightly.
“Are you… talking about the Four Heroes?”
His voice sounded strangely unfamiliar, as though he were opening a forbidden door, and the unsettling feeling that came with it was overwhelming.
Yerin nodded quietly.
“Yes.”
“….”
“In the story, the one where you were the main character, I was someone from 300 years before that story began.”
Doyul’s shoulders visibly tensed.
“So I spent my whole life building the North Sea Ice Palace to make sure your story wouldn’t go astray.”
Yerin spoke with a laugh that sounded like a sigh.
“Of course, everything fell apart when I woke up as Dang Yerin again…”
“….”
“And that’s why I’m trying to stop the Blood Demon’s resurrection. Because I, someone who was never meant to be a part of this world, interfered too much with the flow of things, and everything changed because of it.”
What would have happened if Yerin hadn’t existed in this world?
If the Blood Sect hadn’t killed the previous Ice Palace Lord if Youngju and Doyul had fallen deeply in love, and if the Blood Demon had never been resurrected?
‘At least, Doyul would have been much happier.’
That’s why Yerin felt guilty about it all.
She… had selfishly desired to be happy with Doyul.
Her very existence has stolen away the happy future that Doyul should have had.
“If I hadn’t been here, maybe the Blood Demon wouldn’t have resurrected.”
Therefore, she thought.
She had to take responsibility for the changes she had caused in the ‘original story’s’ plot.
And then, for the first time, Doyul spoke.
“That’s… an assumption of yours.”
His voice was hoarse, strained with emotion.
“It’s not possible.”
“Doyul.”
“How could just one person cause the Blood Demon’s resurrection? If you’re carrying that guilt, then…”
Doyul gritted his teeth so hard it seemed his lips would bleed.
“Isn’t that too harsh on you?”
What?
Yerin’s eyes widened slightly.
‘He… doesn’t blame me?’
For a moment, Doyul seemed as if he wanted to say more, but then he shook his head.
“I can’t speak properly yet since my thoughts aren’t clear.”
“Ah, I see…”
“So please, just wait a little longer.”
Doyul took a deep breath.
“We’ll stop the resurrection of the Blood Demon, and after I’ve had time to sort my thoughts… then I’ll tell you everything.”
Doyul smiled weakly.
Seeing that smile, Yerin was overwhelmed with countless emotions.
Until now, she had been so happy with Doyul.
‘But was he happy too?’
He probably was.
The way Doyul had always looked at her, with eyes that seemed to see only her, and the soft touch of his hands when he caressed her.
Even his tender voice that whispered sweet words of love.
None of those things had been lies.
‘The one who turned that happiness into a lie… was me.’
Yerin felt a pain in her heart as though it were being squeezed.
She had never once considered telling him who she truly was or what the truth of this world was.
She knew, yet she had kept silent.
She kept praying that the time when he would learn the truth would never come.
And even now, she still wished for that.
I’ve deceived you all this time, and it’s only natural that you feel betrayed, but…
Still, I want you to love me.
‘How can I be so selfish?’
Yerin ruthlessly crushed the desire that had been hidden in the deepest part of her heart.
‘I can’t keep burdening Doyul anymore.’
This was all she could do.
“Yes, I’ll wait,” Yerin said, forcing a bright smile.
