Chapter 60: Gentle Moon (3)
“I want to go to the Ghost Estate. It’s a deserted place on the border of the Pendragon and Dachini territory..”
“The Ghost Territory… a place abandoned in ruins after the Demon raid.”
“Yes, I don’t think we’ll be easily tracked there.”
“Alright. I’ll make sure to protect you so you don’t lose your pacio to Demons.”
Augusts touched the talisman attached to his chest and vowed.
It was a gift from God that protected against the demon’s curse.
Muriel finally remembered the Dachini sword she’d left behind with Jaron.
If she had that sword, it would have been helpful to establish herself in the ghost estate…
“I’m glad I have August.”
“…I, I shamelessly owe you, Muriel. I’m just glad there’s a way to repay you. Shall we go now?”
“Oh, wait… I have company.”
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Sharan’s eyes seemed to have been watching Muriel and August talking. When Muriel approached the forest, he quickly lowered his head and put the black cloth back on his eyes. Muriel paused for a moment to give him enough time to cover his eyes, and only approached him after he called out to her.
“My friend agreed to help. We will travel by carriage.”
“…Okay.”
As if it was natural, Sharan grabbed Muriel’s waist accessory. It seemed like a sign to hurry, and Muriel couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh… But how should I introduce Your Highness?”
“….”
“I think it’d be best to tell the truth and say that you’re Sharan. What do you think? August is one of the guardians. Eklum.”
Nodding. Since the man usually agreed with whatever Muriel said, it was unclear whether he thought it was okay to reveal his true identity or if he simply said it was good regardless of what she did. However, since August was a guardian who served Sharan as his master, Muriel thought that it would be best for him to know the truth and finally made up her mind.
“Alright. When Your Highness wants to talk, you can talk more details in person… I’d better tell him you have Sharan’s eyes now.”
“But… It’s just that I, I don’t have a name.”
“…Ah…!”
“I don’t have a name to introduce… I’m sorry.”
“…You are Sharan, Your Highness. It’s not that you don’t have a name.”
This was too much. She didn’t know what to say to comfort him, but she was reluctant to say empty words too.
“…Calling me Sharan or Your Highness… I don’t like it.. M-Muriel, it’s not that I dislike being called by you! It’s just… just…”
“Then shall we come up with a name together? Even if no one else gives it to you, you can give it to yourself.”
“…If you give it… if M-Muriel gives it to me…”
“…Me?”
Nodding.
Muriel, caught off guard with the sudden unexpected task of finding a name, blinked her eyes, and the moon came into her view. When she’d first met the man, she thought the moon went brilliantly well with him.
Even now, his hair gleamed like jewels in the moonlight. His skin was so pale that it seemed to emit its own light.
Come to think of it, Sharan Kasal liked to be called the sun and be known as the kingdom’s light. The man in front of her, who should have been in that position, also had a part that reminded her of light. However, he was not the dazzling and flamboyant light of the sun, but the gentle and serene light of the moon. The moon that quietly existed high up in the darkness.
“I hope it’s a name related to the moon. The moon… The moon….”
The man seemed to be patiently waiting for Muriel to come up with a good name without much expression. However, when Muriel saw him tapping the ground in front of him, she realized that he was quite expectant.
“Um, Myeongwol…? It’s a name that means bright moon in another world.”
Feeling burdened, Muriel hastily blurted out the words that came to her mind, then quickly retracted her statement, waving her hands before the man could react.
“No, no!! No, that’s not it. Myeongwol sounds like a courtesan’s name… Um… Moon… Moon… Dal-a? That sounds a bit strange. Moon… Dalinde… But I don’t like that it means chilly. On… Dal…”
“That, I like it!”
The man responded abruptly. He seemed worried that Muriel would take his name away again.
“You like it…? Do you think it’s really okay? It means gentle moon.”
“Yes… I like that one.”
Unable to contain his excitement, the man now fully expressed his joy with his whole body. His face remained expressionless, but seeing his reaction, it was truly relieving.
“The moon.. I could always watch it whenever I wanted. Even without Sharan’s eyes, I could see it every day… I liked it. Let’s go with Ondal… I like Ondal.”
The underground prison, which had become full when Muriel entered, was so narrow that it would be cramped if one stretched out both their hands. In that empty place devoid of any sense of life, she imagined Ondal alone, looking up at the moon.
Damn it…
Yes, as long as Sharan Kasal was called Sharam, it would be cruel to address Ondal as Sharan or Your Highness. After punishing that damn thief, she could find Ondal his real name.
“An. It suits you well.”
It wasn’t until a long time later did it come to her mind that ‘Dal’ was also synonymous with ‘fool’ in the other world, but she didn’t think it was a big deal. Ondal had ultimately overcome his limitations and become the Greatest General. It wouldn’t be a bad name at all if An Dal in this place could also become like that.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“August, this is my friend Ondal. He’s also the real Sharan with Sharan’s eyes.”
“M-Mu… I… I’m M-Muriel’s f-friend?”
“The real Sharan? What does that mean?”
Both of them answered simultaneously at Muriel’s words.
Muriel wasn’t surprised by August’s reaction, as she had expected it to some extent. However, Ondal’s response was unexpected, so she turned to look at him. Ondal, like a child hiding behind his mother in embarrassment, was still holding onto Muriel’s waist ornament.
“Oh, my friend…? Is it a little too early? Of course, it’s our first time meeting today, but Ondal has helped me a lot, so I felt some familiarity. Since we’re going to be friends anyway, can’t I say it in advance? Oh, right, I forgot to mention, thank you for believing in me and helping me all this time. Thanks to you, that friend of mine…”
Unable to bring up Kaiton’s name in front of August, Muriel quickly whispered to Ondal.
“I mean Kaiton Ur.. You saved his life. Thank you.”
Amidst the incessant chatter, Ondal, who hadn’t found a chance to intervene, shouted desperately as soon as Muriel’s words ended.
“I-I like it…!”
“…What?”
“I also, really… I wanted to be close to Muriel when I saw you too.. I didn’t know M-Muriel would say she’s my friend first… I was surprised…”
“Wait. Wait. Muriel. What is all this talk? This person has Sharan’s eyes? Please don’t just throw a bomb and then change the subject.”
August couldn’t bear it any longer and intervened between Muriel and Ondal, but Muriel lightly pushed August aside and stood in front of Ondal.
“…August… You might not realize it yet, but this moment is incredibly important, you know…? Just hold on a moment.”
Muriel wanted to hold Ondal’s hand and give him a handshake, or something similar, but she managed to barely hold onto her fluttering heart, considering Ondal as fragile as glass.
“A-Ondal… You’re my friend. No, we are friends. Since we’re friends, let’s get along well from now on…?”
“…Yes.”
When Ondal responded shyly, Muriel shook her whole body and nodded vigorously.
“Yes, that’s right. We’re friends now. Right?”
“…”
“Yes? Ondal.”
“…Yes.”
How adorable. Was cuteness the way Sharan was supposed to save the world?
His cuteness would definitely save the world.
As Muriel melted away, August, who had endured enough, intervened between the two with a grumble.
“Muriel. This other friend of yours is really confused right now. Can you explain what you said?”
“Oh, Ondal, this is August Eklum. I mentioned him earlier. He’ll be your friend number two.”
“Hey…!”
“Right, August? You’ll be Ondal’s friend, right? It’s the guardians’ job to protect Sharan. It is not Sharan Kasal, but Ondal here, who you must protect under Eklum’s name in the future.”
“H-Hello…I’m A-Ondal…”
“…I’m August Eklum.”
As a nobleman who valued manners above all else, August, who was looking at Muriel with a dissatisfied expression like he had a mountain of questions to ask, nodded politely in response to Ondal’s greeting.
“Now, I would appreciate it if you could explain properly, Muriel. This person is Sharan, you say. What does that mean?”
“August is my friend too, so I’ll speak comfortably. It doesn’t matter, right? If Ondal wants to speak comfortably with August, he can do so.”
Shakes head.
Muriel wanted to make Ondal speak informally with August so he could be close with him, but she gave up because of August’s growing nervousness.
“It’s exactly as it sounds. The current Sharan is a fake. He kept Ondal imprisoned in an underground prison no one knew about, and he decorated the stories he heard through Ondal as if he’d seen them himself. So Sharan Kasal is a fraud and a thief.”
Perhaps she expressed her thoughts on Sharan too aggressively.
August remained silent for a while as if he couldn’t say anything.
He made occasional sounds of his breath escaping, but he couldn’t speak properly.
“If you need confirmation, you can Ondal with the intent to kill. Sharan and the Guardians have sworn a pledge of oath that is supposed to last for generations, right? The moment you stab Ondal, it will be you who dies or gets hurt.”
“Is that even possible… How can this be..I’m sure the former Sharan handed over the current Sharan his position directly…”
“Sharan Kasal is also the son of the fifth Sharan. Though he does not have Sharan’s eyes.”
Sharan usually had only one successor. Therefore, August, who unquestionably believed that Sharan Kasal was the guardian of the kingdom, was even more confused by Muriel’s words.
“So first of all, protecting Ondal is the most important thing right now. Sharan… No, Sharan Kasal is looking for Ondal with a fire in his eyes. In fact, the wanted order was probably issued to find Ondal, not me.”
August looked at Ondal with a gaze that seemed to say, “Should I really stab you?” But seeing the child-like joy in his body at the mention of becoming friends with him, he couldn’t bring himself to hold a knife to him and instead swept his face, opening the door of the carriage.
“I’d like to hear more details while we’re on the way, but there might be a check, so get in the carriage for now.”
“Shouldn’t we at least disguise ourselves or something? What if they search the carriage?”
“Muriel, do you know what this is?”
August tapped the carriage.
“…Is it a magic carriage?”
Muriel, being inexperienced in magic, scanned the seemingly ordinary carriage again, wondering if there was any mysterious magic attached to it, following August’s lead.
“Similar. As long as you’re riding in a carriage with Eklum’s emblem, there’s no one who can stop you anywhere.”
“That’s awesome! Right, Ondal?”
Ondal nodded somewhat clumsily, as if he agreed with Muriel.
“August, you have loyalty, but are also handsome, rich, and even capable? As expected. I’m glad I became friends with you!”
There’s my favorite boy I missed you Augustt
Okay so here’s the whole thing about Ondal’s name
The name On Dal can be translated into “Gentle Moon” (Dal has a lot of different meanings, but here this one fits) it is also the name of a very famous and legendary korean military general who fought against in the japanese in the 1500s
In Korean, the word “Dal” can be used to refer to someone with integrity, courage, and virtue.
On Dal is remembered as a symbol of unity and strength in the face of adversity and is often seen as a national hero. This is also why Muriel likely wants him to overcome his adversities and become like that hero
But that thing about being a fool is that Dal has a lot of meanings and one of them is a fool.
The name is of course, On Dal, but I’ll go with Ondal for ease. On Dal is also known as On Dal the fool.
Thanks! FREAKING CUTE!! Hello?? Oh, his name is ondal! Muriel pushing august aside for a moment with ondal is freaking cute rofl!
Aaahhh ship choices ship choices! Well, time for me to write romance fanfiction for ondal OH HOH HOH