Episode 67
So, ‘how can you refuse to make a contract with me?’ he argued with his whole body.
‘Oh, even the wolf can make a surprised expression.’
That was when Yerin was having such a leisurely thought.
– I am a perennial ice, a dignified being born with the energy of nature…!
Perennial ice desperately began to assert how amazing of a presence he was.
Of course, Yerin had no idea about that kind of thing.
But to calm the confused perennial ice, Yerin decided to give a clue about the contract partner for a moment.
“Shouldn’t I make that proposal to someone else, not me?”
– …What are you talking about?
“There are other people here besides me.”
The person you should be arguing with for the contract is not me, it’s Doyul.
With that in mind, Yerin gestured towards Doyul.
Then, perennial ice shook his head.
– That’s not possible.
“Why?!”
Yerin snapped.
Excuse me, why do you keep going in a different direction from the original flow!
But perennial ice was firm.
– What I chose is you.
“I don’t need it! So it should be Doyul, not me…!”
– You are the only one who can be my first and only contractor.
And then.
“Madam.”
Doyul called Yerin in a firm voice.
“Is that wolf threatening you, madam?”
There was no tension when facing Perennial Ice for the first time.
Doyul now glared at Perennial Ice with a fierce look, clenching her fists.
“If that’s the case, I’ll do something about it somehow…”
“No, no!”
Yerin hurriedly objected to Doyul.
Why is our male lead suddenly trying to fight with Perennial Ice?!
Frustrated and on the verge of going crazy, Yerin, Perennial Ice declared once again.
– I won’t make a contract unless it’s you.
“Just a moment…!”
– Earlier, the lady said she didn’t need me. But…
Perennial Ice’s blue eyes took on a victorious look and elegantly narrowed.
– This place is mine.
“What?”
– Do you think you can leave this place without my help?
Perennial Ice said menacingly.
– If the lady doesn’t proceed with the contract with me, I won’t let the two of you leave the mountain.
Now he’s even threatening the way out!
Yerin was just flabbergasted.
He’s like a damn dog, I should just tear out all his fur!
– What will you do?
Perennial Ice urged Yerin for an answer.
Yerin pressed hard on her temple with her hand.
‘Okay, let’s look at the situation objectively.’
Perennial Ice was, after all, an extremely important figure in the original story.
Yerin gritted her teeth.
‘Not making a contract with Perennial Ice is out of the question.’
Even though I tried my best to make the contract with Doyul, fearing the distortion of the original story, if Perennial Ice is so uncooperative…
‘Do I really have to make the contract?’
After a long contemplation, Yerin suddenly threw the question.
“Why me?”
So then, an unexpected response came back.
– Because you’re originally from a different world.
Yerin felt her heart sink.
‘How is that even possible?’
Perennial Ice calmly spoke to the wary Yerin.
– When you, who once belonged to another world, entered this world, the flow of this world changed.
“What does that mean?”
– It means that because of your birth, you have a responsibility to this changed world.
Yerin tried to ask for further explanation, but Perennial Ice stubbornly shook his head.
– You will naturally come to understand as time passes.
Perennial Ice’s blue eyes gazed at Yerin with a chilling light.
– So, will you accept the trial?
Yerin nodded after pondering for a while.
“Okay.”
Perennial Ice smiled satisfactorily.
– Good luck.
At the same time as those words, she felt as if the ground was suddenly giving way beneath her.
‘Huh?’
Yerin widened her eyes.
How should I express this feeling?
The feeling of being forcibly separated from this world…
“Madam? Madam!!”
Ending with Doyul’s urgent shout,
Yerin’s consciousness fell into a dark abyss.
* * *
A cold wind blew.
The wind that tousled her long hair and slapped her cheeks.
It was the familiar wind she had lived with her whole life.
‘Where am I?’
She looked around with a bewildered expression.
It was a familiar place.
“The Northern Ice Palace.”
But it looked somewhat different from what she was used to.
300 years.
The corridors that had the flow of time remaining now felt just refreshing.
Like a newly built building.
‘This can’t be happening.’
She was somewhat confused.
A lady who was forced into a political marriage with the lord of the Northern Ice Palace and became a court lady.
Dang Yerin.
If that girl is her.
This place now…
“Sir.”
“…”
“Master!”
Gasp!
She took a deep breath for a moment.
As if a large rock was lodged in her chest and suddenly disappeared.
The suffocating feeling in her chest was pierced at once.
“What are you doing there?”
A flustered voice caught her attention.
She quickly turned around.
Far away, a tall and handsome man stood.
A familiar face.
Since she woke up as a lady of the court, there hasn’t been a single day she didn’t miss him.
She had buried the guilt and regret for him deep in her heart all her life.
Because he was that precious and dear to her…
“This disciple has just returned after carrying out the master’s orders.”
The man bowed to her.
Then he smiled kindly.
“Why are you making that face? Did you see a ghost?”
But even with that cheerful question, she couldn’t move a muscle.
Her large, round eyes scanned the man’s face.
‘Lies.’
She murmured quietly in her heart.
‘There’s no way that child could be in front of me.’
She tightly closed her eyes and opened them again.
Hoping that if it’s an illusion, it would disappear quickly.
Hoping that false expectations and hope wouldn’t clutch at her heart.
However, the man was still standing in front of her.
He tilted his head with a puzzled look.
“Is there something wrong? You don’t look so good…”
“Sejin.”
She called out to the man in a strained voice.
Hyun Sejin.
The 2nd lord of the Northern Ice Palace.
The distant ancestor of the male protagonist.
The man who inherited everything from the White Lotus, the former lord and teacher.
But beyond all of that.
“My precious disciple.”
She hesitantly approached Sejin.
She reached out her hand and gently brushed Sejin’s cheek.
“How… how could you…”
“What are you talking about?”
Sejin asked her with a bewildered look.
“Did you eat something wrong? Was there a problem with breakfast today?”
Even his natural appearance was so similar to the Sejin in her memory.
So, without realizing it, she acted just like she used to.
“No, this rascal?”
She patted Sejin’s shoulder.
“Master, your disciple is here!”
Sejin exaggeratedly shook as if he heard her.
She furrowed her brow.
“I didn’t raise my disciple to be this weak.”
“Really, Master.”
Sejin shook his head.
“I’ll stay by your side until the end.”
“What did you say?”
“Come on, isn’t it obvious? You didn’t see how other direct disciples were treated differently?”
Sejin continued to argue.
Watching him like that, it seemed like tears were about to fall.
She bit her lip until it bled.
“Master, you should cherish this disciple a little more, because…”
“…”
“Master?”
After ranting for a while, Sejin suddenly stared at her with a puzzled look.
“Is it really so?”
“No, it’s not.”
“But why are you crying like this?”
Sejin worriedly asked her.
She waved him off, indicating that she didn’t need to worry.
But like a dam bursting, she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.
“Did I do something wrong? If so, I’ll reflect on it…”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She smiled brightly through her tears.
“Just being by my side makes me happy.”
“Master?”
“Seeing you like this truly warms my heart.”
She said it with sincerity.
Sejin’s face turned red in an instant.
“I, I…”
Sejin stammered, then cleared his throat and turned away.
“Let’s go in, it’s getting cold.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Upon hearing that response, Sejin quickly walked ahead of her.
Walking side by side with the master was still awkward.
She took a step back and watched Sejin’s retreating figure for a long time.
And then.
“Oh.”
An epiphany struck her suddenly.
“My name is…”
Baek Seol-yeon.
The name naturally came to her mind.
She had returned to the past.
