Chapter 3: Into the Torrent

The carriage wheels, racing along the uneven mountain path, struck a stone and lurched violently.

“Ow, sht…… that hurts like hll.”

Choyong, who had been dozing off, woke up as her head slammed against the carriage wall.

It throbbed so much she wondered if a lump had formed, and she muttered irritably, her eyes narrowing into a sharp scowl.

“Oh dear, it seems you hit your head. Are you alright?”

Rubbing her stinging forehead, Choyong’s eyes snapped wide open in surprise at the worried voice coming from across her.

“P-Princess…….”

Her heavy lids flew up, and she was instantly wide awake.

Only then did Choyong remember she was riding in the same carriage as the Princess.

She braced herself, expecting a thunderous scolding.

“If you are tired, please lie down and sleep comfortably.”

What returned, however, was a kind word.

“Oh, no. How could I possibly do that?”

Choyong waved her hands frantically and straightened her slumped posture.

Huiyeon let out a light laugh at Choyong’s behavior, which was like that of a stiff, rookie soldier.

With a lingering smile on her face, she added, “Do as you please,” and turned her gaze back out the window.

Once the eyes fixed on her were gone, Choyong slightly relaxed the tension in her waist and glanced at Huiyeon’s elegant profile as she stared outside.

Even though there was nothing to see through the open window but trees and rocks, Huiyeon had been looking out in that same position for several hours.

It wasn’t just today.

She had been like this ever since the journey began.

She seemed to have no intention of closing the window, even as she constantly brushed back the stray hairs fluttering in the blowing wind.

‘I suppose she’s been trapped since birth. The outside must be fascinating to her.’

Nodding to herself, Choyong swallowed a yawn and the drowsiness that was creeping back.

The Princess had told her to lie down and sleep, and while the thought crossed her mind, how could she do such a thing in front of her superior?

Dozing off like a sick chicken was already unthinkable.

If Lady Go, who stayed behind at the Cold Palace because she was too old for a long journey, had seen this, she would have chased her with a straw broom to teach her a lesson.

‘To think I’m actually going to the Hoye Kingdom…….’

Until the moment she had been forced by threats to relay palace gossip and stories of other countries she’d overheard, Choyong never imagined things would turn out like this.

‘The Princess must have specifically asked to take me with her, right?’

When Choyong heard she would be going to the Hoye Kingdom instead of Lady Go, she thought, ‘I’m saved.’

The Princess had promised to keep it a secret, but there was no way the King wouldn’t find out who had been wagging their tongue; if she had stayed at the Cold Palace, she would have died without anyone knowing.

But even if her life was spared, her worries hadn’t vanished.

She was now the personal maid to a Princess who had once been known as the ‘Cold Palace Princess’ but had now earned the new nickname of the ‘Violent Woman of the Cold Palace’…….

She expected the journey to the Hoye Kingdom—and even her life once they arrived—to be miserable.

But to her surprise.

The supposedly violent Princess was kind and considerate, unlike someone who would pick on maids for every little thing.

She had even called Choyong, who was supposed to ride in the luggage wagon, and gave her a seat across from her, even laughing off her dozing.

‘She seems like a much better person than I thought…… but what’s the use. If she doesn’t become the Queen, she’ll just be sent back to the Taeseong Kingdom to be imprisoned again.’

It would be a relief if she were merely locked away in the Cold Palace. This time, she might have to give up her head, just as the ministers supporting Prince Oh Gyeong desired.

Thinking of the Princess’s future, Choyong felt a sense of hopelessness.

Whether she was aware of Choyong’s pitying gaze or not, the Princess now had her hand stretched out the window.

As they drew closer to the Hoye Kingdom, the dry wind became moist, as if holding humidity.

A beautiful smile hung on her lips, as if she enjoyed the feeling of that wind wrapping around her hand.

‘She’s pretty…… really pretty…….’

Choyong had thought so when she first saw her, but the Princess looked like she didn’t belong to this world.

Her small, fine-lined face was a harmonious blend of delicate features.

Added to that, her luscious hair shone like polished hazelnuts, and her light-colored eyes, which looked almost golden in the sunlight, were truly mysterious.

With looks like that, wouldn’t the young King of Hoye feel moved?

Choyong tried her best to chase away her drowsiness with such thoughts.

“Hwaaa……”

Huiyeon once again feigned ignorance as Choyong glanced at her while letting out a long yawn.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the scenery that changed with every movement of the carriage.

Choyong looked bored, but she wasn’t bored in the least.

With every change in the landscape, she vividly felt that she had finally escaped the Cold Palace.

[You won.]

In the end, Jeongcheon couldn’t break her stubbornness.

Still, if an assassin hadn’t entered the Cold Palace, Jeongcheon would never have given in.

Because Jeongcheon believed there was no place safer for Huiyeon than the Cold Palace.

It was only after the decision to go to the Hoye Kingdom was made that Huiyeon learned the Cold Palace was under a spell.

It was said that no living thing could enter or leave without the King’s permission.

[But you came and went, Brother?]

[There is always a loophole in everything.]

At Huiyeon’s question, Jeongcheon looked caught off guard and let out a sigh.

The assassin must have entered through that loophole.

Because Jeongcheon had sent guards as well as maids to the Cold Palace, Huiyeon wasn’t hurt, but it was clear this would happen again.

Normally, they would have sent a marriage proposal to the Hoye Kingdom first and waited for a response, but they didn’t have that luxury now.

Petitions demanding Huiyeon’s death were pouring in.

She was lucky to survive this time, but the next assassin’s blade might actually kill her.

[I heard other countries have already sent their princesses, right? So it will be fine if I take the proposal myself.]

Huiyeon had smiled brightly, telling Jeongcheon not to worry.

‘Brother, I want to live. I want to live and leave that Cold Palace. And I will find a way to bring power back to you.’

But there was no way Jeongcheon, who had been quick-witted since childhood, could fail to read the sincerity in her eyes.

[You won. Go to the Hoye Kingdom.]

Hiding his damp eyes beneath his lids as if he were about to cry, Jeongcheon thus granted Huiyeon permission to go to Hoye.

The journey, which had been flatter and smoother than expected, ran into trouble when they were not far from the capital of the Hoye Kingdom.

“Ambush!”

It began with the shout of a soldier guarding the carriage.

“P-Princess! Get down!”

An arrow flew in through the open window.

If Choyong hadn’t grabbed and pulled her, the arrow would have pierced her neck.

With a pale face, Huiyeon stared at the vibrating arrow lodged in the carriage wall.

Yellow and black, a pattern reminiscent of a tiger.

The fletching of the arrow bore the mark of the Hoye Kingdom.

However, Huiyeon did not believe it was truly from Hoye.

They had no reason to harm her.

So, the attack must be the work of those who argued that the twin must die.

‘Not a chance.’

Huiyeon grit her teeth.

She would never let things go according to their wishes.

She had left the Cold Palace to live; she couldn’t die like this.

The carriage seemed to slow down before coming to a complete halt.

The commotion outside died down a bit, but the sound of clashing weapons didn’t vanish entirely.

Huiyeon, inside the carriage, had no way of knowing which side had the advantage.

“M-My Lady…… what should we do?”

Choyong’s face, gripped by fear, was a mess of tears.

Her own face likely looked no different.

But Huiyeon forced a smile.

“Brother chose and sent those with high martial arts skills, so nothing will happen.”

So the words that it would be okay were also meant for herself.

“It is safer to wait here than to go out unnecessarily……”

Huiyeon’s words to reassure Choyong—recalling the guard’s warning to stay inside if an attack occurred—could not continue.

Acrid smoke seeped through the door gaps, and there was a smell of burning. The carriage was on fire.

“Those b*stards have set the carriage on fire. Outside! We must go outside.”

Choyong scrambled up and pulled Huiyeon to her feet.

She took the lead, opening the door to check for any assassins who might be waiting and to survey the situation.

Everything was red.

Most of those she had greeted during their brief rest a few hours ago were collapsed on the cold ground.

Her head spun at the thick scent of blood and the deep puddles of gore that made the smell of burning faint in comparison.

A corner of her mind, which was like a blank white sheet, seemed to be stained red and crumbling away.

And through that crumbling gap, she felt as if she could see something.

But she had no leisure to look into it now.

“My Lady, this way……”

Choyong grabbed and pulled the wrist of the dazed Huiyeon.

The two ran deep into the forest, avoiding the eyes of the assassins.

Once the assassins were dealt with, the capable guards would easily find them.

After running quite a distance inside, the two stopped to catch their breath, thinking they might be safe.

However.

“There! The Princess is there!”

Before they knew it, an assassin was right on their heels.

A flying arrow grazed her forearm.

Huiyeon staggered, letting out a groan at the pain that felt like a brand of fire.

“Ah!”

“Princess……”

“I-I am fine. Hurry and run.”

Her vision was stained white with the surging pain, but she couldn’t stop. Huiyeon grit her teeth and hurried her steps again.

If she stopped, it wouldn’t end with an arrow graze; a blade would tear through her body.

Choyong, checking behind them, followed Huiyeon with a face on the verge of tears.

But there was no more road.

Behind them were the assassins, and before them was a cliff.

They might survive if they jumped into the river flowing right below, but it was a gamble.

Huiyeon bit her lip with a pale face.

“Do you know how to swim?”

“I do. But you, My Lady……”

“Then it is enough.”

“What?”

The assassins were now within reach.

They could no longer escape.

Unlike Choyong, Huiyeon had never swum before, but there was no other choice.

Rather than losing her life to an assassin’s blade, she had to entrust herself to even a small hope.

“Choyong, jump!”

“What? Hieee!”

Huiyeon, biting her lip hard, grabbed the screaming Choyong and jumped straight into the river.

The cold river water swallowed the two.

After a moment, Huiyeon opened the eyes she had kept tightly shut and moved her limbs frantically.

However, Huiyeon’s body was drifting further and further from the surface.

Choyong, who had jumped with her, was nowhere to be seen, perhaps having safely reached the surface.

In the clear river water, a red color spread like a haze.

She realized a bit late that it was the blood flowing from the wound where the arrow had grazed her.

She was running out of breath.

Not only her vision but her mind was growing hazy.

Her body sank toward the bottom, and the sunlight was no longer visible.

But before she completely lost consciousness, she felt as if she saw a light that somehow resembled the sun.

Looking at that light, Huiyeon prayed desperately.

‘I want to live…… Please save me.’