Episode 18
A hundred years as a snow lotus, and then opening my eyes again as a Ye-Rin.
Both sides lived fiercely.
During the time as the Northern Ice Palace Lord, I dedicated my whole life to building the ice palace, and after becoming Ye-Rin, I was busy worrying about my neck being cut off by Dang-Yeol.
“Well, at least Dang-Yeol is kinder to me than I thought….”
Ye-Rin suddenly remembered what happened this morning.
I woke up from my morning sleep, but my eyelids felt heavy for some reason, so I just kept my eyes closed.
“I must ensure that there is no lack in serving Lady Gamo.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I heard Dang-Yeol’s voice reprimanding the servants.
Of course, she was speaking as quietly as possible so that Ye-Rin couldn’t hear.
“Who am I, am I not Baek Seol-Lyeon?”
Ye-Rin pretended to be asleep, and pushed her internal energy as much as possible towards her ears.
Then, Dang-Yeol’s voice sounded clear as if she was speaking right next to her.
“You are already a weak person. Everyone should take care to make sure there is no discomfort.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
Dang-Yeol finally slipped out after getting a firm answer several times.
It seemed like the strategy to gain sympathy from the male lead was effective, and she briefly enjoyed it.
“No matter what, isn’t it a bit extreme to not allow me to even lift a finger?”
Every day consisted of sleeping, bathing, eating, and exchanging a few words with Dang-Yeol when he came in.
The only productive thing she did was practicing internal energy cultivation, away from everyone’s eyes.
Internal energy cultivation.
It was the process of accumulating internal energy in the body using the Inner Power Method.
No matter how much knowledge she had about martial arts, it was useless without internal energy.
So, whenever she had time, she would secretly practice internal energy cultivation to build up her internal energy…
“…But it’s accumulating too slowly.”
Ye-Rin couldn’t hide her discontent.
Honestly, from her perspective, there was no other way.
When she was a snow lotus, her internal energy was as vast as the ocean, but now, Ye-Rin’s internal energy was at most equivalent to a cup of water.
“Ugh, it would be perfect if I could just take a pill or something.”
Ye-Rin yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Ah, I’m getting sleepy just sitting here like this…”
Ye-Rin started to doze off.
After some time had passed…
“…In.”
“Umm…”
“Lady!”
Yikes!
Startled, Ye-Rin quickly raised her head.
Dang-Yeol, who had been gazing at her, softly smiled as their eyes met.
“Oh, Your Highness!”
Ye-Rin quickly covered her mouth.
I didn’t drool in my sleep, did I?
“I think I woke you up uncomfortably. Please go back to sleep.”
“Oh, no, it’s okay.”
Feeling a bit lazy, Ye-Rin quickly turned her head.
“What brings you here, Your Highness?”
“Just came to take a break.”
Saying so, Dang-Yeol sat next to Ye-Rin.
Ye-Rin gazed at Dang-Yeol’s tired face.
The weariness was evident on his young face.
“Perhaps it’s because of the heavy workload.”
Ye-Rin felt a bit sorry for Dang-Yeol.
Lady of the Northern Ice Palace.
The title she had taken on was no light matter.
She had to bear the responsibility of the people of the Northern Ice Palace and the martial artists of the Northern Ice Palace.
It must be very tough…
Ye-Rin suddenly spoke up.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“Hmm?”
“You work so hard, Your Highness. I feel like I’m just lazing around alone…”
“It’s okay.”
Dang-Yeol smiled warmly.
“You just relax, Lady.”
“But still…”
“You’re still young. You can feel that sense of responsibility when you’re a bit older.”
Hey, aren’t you a kid saying that too?
Ye-Rin barely suppressed the desire to ask that.
At that moment, Dang-Yeol asked Ye-Rin a question.
“How’s life in the Ice Palace?”
“It’s really comfortable.”
She meant it.
After eating and playing at ease, she was gradually putting on some weight.
Dang-Yeol’s meticulous care and management of her meals played a part in it.
But…
Ye-Rin rolled her eyes.
“I should start looking for the Selrucho soon.”
Selrucho.
The reason the Northern Ice Palace was subservient to the Four Gates and the only means for the Northern Ice Palace to gain an advantage over the Four Gates.
In fact, for Ye-Rin, finding the Selrucho itself wasn’t very difficult.
After all, she was the one who discovered the method of cultivating Selrucho and created the cultivation site.
All that information was firmly stored in her mind, so all she had to do was go to the cultivation site.
The problem is…
Ye-Rin clenched her fist.
“The original Ye-Rin didn’t learn any martial arts!”
The Four Gates were a very conservative family.
They were so reluctant to have their martial arts taught to other families that they only taught very basic martial arts to girls who married into other families.
Moreover, Ye-Rin was a servant who was treated like trash in her family.
Teaching martial arts to someone like her was out of the question.
“But if I want to go look for Selrucho, I have to learn martial arts!”
After all, the cultivation site for Selrucho was a place where ordinary people who hadn’t learned martial arts couldn’t enter.
Sensitive intuition and inner strength.
If you don’t meet these two conditions, even if the cultivation site is right in front of you, you won’t even recognize it.
“It’s impossible for an ordinary person to discover the cultivation site under such unfavorable conditions. That’s nonsense.”
In other words, Ye-Rin also has to learn martial arts…
“Phew.”
Ye-Rin let out a sigh without realizing it.
Then Dang-Yeol looked at her with a worried expression.
“Is something bothering you?”
“Yes, what?”
“You just sighed…”
Oh, did I sigh so obviously in front of Dang-Yeol?
Ye-Rin inwardly cursed.
It’s just that the situation is so frustrating…
Dang-Yeol opened his mouth seriously.
“If something is bothering you, please tell me.”
Suddenly, Ye-Rin’s eyes sparkled.
“Oh, wait a minute.”
Come to think of it, what’s the big deal if I haven’t learned martial arts?
I can just learn it at the Northern Ice Palace.
It’s like taking off a horn, Ye-Rin confidently spoke up.
“I want to learn martial arts.”
At the unexpected words, Dang-Yeol’s eyes widened.
“…Martial arts?”
Yes. It’s embarrassing, but I couldn’t learn martial arts because I was a servant.
Actually, it doesn’t matter. I can train in martial arts on my own.
Ye-Rin already had knowledge and experience from her past life.
But what worried Ye-Rin was a different issue.
“If I were to be caught using martial arts… it would cause all sorts of trouble.”
It was a well-known fact that Ye-Rin hadn’t learned martial arts. If she were to use it, people would start questioning where she learned it from.
Moreover, the martial arts Ye-Rin was learning belonged to the Northern Ice Palace. A Kamu from Sacheondangmun using the martial arts of the Northern Ice Palace? And without receiving any formal training?
“It’s just asking for suspicion.”
It would be much better to show everyone that she’s learning martial arts. That way, no one would suspect her intentions.
After a moment of contemplation, Dang-Yeol suggested to Ye-Rin, “In that case, how about inviting a master to the martial arts center for the lady?”
“No, I don’t want any special treatment just because I’m a Kamu.”
“But, the lady…”
“I want to receive the same education as the disciples of the Ice Palace.”
Ye-Rin shrugged. “I don’t want to cause any more discomfort to others.”
Of course, Ye-Rin had ulterior motives.
If she played her cards right this time…
“I might even be able to check out the skills of the disciples of the Northern Ice Palace.”
The disciples of the Northern Ice Palace.
When she was Seolhyun, weren’t they the ones who inherited the martial arts she dedicated her whole life to perfecting?
So, she just wanted to see their skills for herself.
But then…
“Lady, you’re really considerate.”
“…Huh?”
It seemed like Doyul misunderstood Ye-Rin’s intentions in his own favor.
Even the way he looked at Ye-Rin with a knowing glint in his eye.
“I understand. If the lady insists, how can I refuse?”
Huh?
As Ye-Rin blinked, she subtly gauged Doyul’s reaction.
Come to think of it, lately Doyul had been treating me like his own child.
…Maybe it’s just my imagination?
* * *
And the next day.
Ye-Rin visited the martial arts center.
As the wide training grounds inside the center came into view, Ye-Rin couldn’t help but feel a bit solemn.
“It used to be packed with disciples on this training ground…”
But now, there were only about a hundred or so disciples.
Of course, she knew that the elite warriors like the Seolgeomdae were trained separately.
Still, for some reason…
“It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.”
Ye-Rin stepped into the training grounds, and at that moment, the surroundings fell silent as if doused with cold water.
