Chapter 19: Shadows and Truths

Perhaps feeling his gaze, Sahyeon turned his head. Yun-jo, who had been caught staring for only the second time since coming to the mountain fortress, quickly apologized.

“Ah, sorry.”

Ever since revealing his face, Yun-jo found his eyes constantly drawn to Sahyeon. It might sound trivial now, but it was true that Sahyeon’s appearance was captivating.

As far as Yun-jo knew, there was no specific setting for Sahyeon’s looks in the game. Maybe that was why the character had turned out far beyond what anyone could imagine. You could call him an ideal crown prince, so to speak.

What he meant was that Sahyeon had a strikingly beautiful face.

His features, still lacking any roughness, leaned more toward pretty than handsome if one had to categorize. Thick, delicate eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes that seemed painted, a straight nose bridge, and slightly upturned lips all fit perfectly on his small face.

Words like ‘jade-like elegance’ or ‘beauty that outshines the moon and shames flowers’ were surely meant for a face like his. If he had appeared as a main character in game ads or posters, he would have been incredibly popular. It was a shame he hadn’t.

The first time Yun-jo saw him, his condition was terrible. The second time, it was pitch black all around, and even afterward, he was always wearing that black silk veil… Anyway, this was the first time seeing him properly in the light, so Yun-jo found it fascinating and kept staring.

While lost in admiration, Yun-jo was startled back to reality by Sahyeon’s voice.

“How did you know my name?”

“Your name?”

Yun-jo blinked. Sahyeon’s beautiful face looked down at him.

“I never told you, and no one in Hyeongyeong would have informed you. Yet you knew my name. How?”

“Ah… how did I know?”

Yun-jo replied awkwardly.

Since Sahyeon had never revealed anything about himself, Yun-jo had been pretending not to know anything either.

It wasn’t hard to guess how he got caught. When he grabbed Sahyeon at the altar and moved him, he called out his name in haste. Even if that had been just once, later when Sahyeon collapsed, he yelled his name again in surprise, so there was no denying it now.

“I just knew.”

“Just?”

“Yeah. Somehow.”

“…”

Sahyeon frowned. Yun-jo gave him an awkward smile.

He had already seemed suspicious enough, and now it was too late to play dumb. Trying to deny it would only make him look more suspicious. It wasn’t as if knowing a name would make him seem any more suspicious when he was already treated as half-not-human.

And in truth, he knew more about Sahyeon than Sahyeon thought.

Yun-jo’s gaze fell on Sahyeon’s shoulder area, where Beom-il’s claws had torn the fabric earlier.

Originally, Yun-jo had been standing with his back to Beom-il, so Sahyeon could have easily hidden behind him. But he didn’t. Both when Beom-il pounced and when the arrow flew at them, Sahyeon’s actions were consistent. Whether consciously or unconsciously, he didn’t value his own life in the slightest.

Yun-jo had been unsure before, but now he was certain. The feeling that Sahyeon seemed to want to die was definitely not his imagination.

Sahyeon—how to put it—seemed to be waiting for the end.

He wasn’t some eighty-year-old man; at just eighteen, waiting for the end was clearly abnormal. No matter how much Yun-jo thought about it, he couldn’t understand the reason.

The next five or six hours passed peacefully.

Of course, that was only from Yun-jo’s perspective. In reality, it was a fragile peace. Beom-il kept a close watch on Sahyeon’s every move.

It was impossible to tell when he might try to tear Sahyeon apart alive. It was only because Sahyeon sat still as a statue that he wasn’t already missing a chunk from Beom-il’s opportunism. But even the tiger’s patience was wearing thin.

Just one scratch from Beom-il’s claws would be fatal to most people, let alone Sahyeon, who was already frail and needed twice the caution…

“Huff!”

Yun-jo suddenly gasped.

“Right! You need to take your medicine, don’t you?”

Once he realized Sahyeon was sickly unlike others, he also remembered that he always had to take medicine.

Just this morning, he had seen Sahyeon take his medicine. Why else would he bother bringing it in the carriage if not because he needed to take it at a specific time?

Sahyeon nodded at Yun-jo’s question.

“When?”

“Right after sunset.”

The sun was already setting behind the mountains.

Of course, the sun sets earlier in the mountains. The plains might still be bright, but there were only one or two hours left until night. Yun-jo jumped up.

“Let’s go now.”

Unlike Yun-jo, who fidgeted, Sahyeon was very calm.

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. You shouldn’t skip your medicine.”

Yun-jo had heard that line so many times he was sick of it. He never thought he’d be saying it to someone else.

“If we go now, we won’t be too late. Let’s go.”

He grabbed Sahyeon’s sleeve to pull him, but the other didn’t move. Yun-jo looked back in surprise. When he turned his head, Sahyeon was looking at him with the setting sun at his back.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s something you need to know.”

“What? Tell me.”

“You saw the red arrow shot at you today, right?”

“Yeah.”

Yun-jo hadn’t actually been thinking about that incident. More precisely, he had even forgotten it happened until just now.

“I ordered it.”

Finally, a surprised look appeared on Yun-jo’s face.

“That arrow is used to deal with spectral entities. If you were a demon or ghost, you wouldn’t be here right now.”

Sahyeon was saying that he had put Yun-jo in danger to test him. Yun-jo understood that, but he was puzzled as to why Sahyeon would bring it up now, so long after the event.

Finally, Yun-jo spoke.

“I know. But I didn’t get hurt, so it’s fine.”

His tone was unconcerned.

Yun-jo truly didn’t mind. That arrow wasn’t threatening enough to harm him anyway. If Sahyeon had really wanted to hurt him, all the demon hunters there would have aimed at him. Then maybe one might have hit. But only one arrow came, and it was easy to dodge.

Above all, Sahyeon had told him to run if he felt danger when they reached the altar. So he wasn’t going to let Yun-jo die.

Since he wasn’t a ghost or anything, getting hit by one dull arrow wouldn’t matter. He didn’t know much, but it was clear that spectral entities were terrifying to the people here, and it was true that he appeared as something non-human to them. If taking one hit eased their suspicion, he’d be grateful.

“Maybe I should have just let it hit me? Haha.”

“…”

“Anyway, I’m really not a ghost.”

Sahyeon’s eyes looked at Yun-jo.

“Then what are you?”

“Huh?”

“Are you truly not Manra?”

His voice was slightly different from usual. There was no trace of a smile on Sahyeon’s face as he stared at Yun-jo.

Yun-jo was a bit flustered by the emotion reflected in those eyes.

For some reason, it seemed Sahyeon wanted him to say yes. Even as if it didn’t matter whether it was true or not.

For a moment, silence fell between them. Originally there were three, but Beom-il, who had been looking away as if uninterested during their conversation, suddenly started growling at them.

But whatever Beom-il said, Yun-jo didn’t hear it. His mind grew more complicated. Manra, Manra, that damn Manra. He had heard that name too much in the past few days. People calling him Manra, and now…

“I’m really sorry, but what is Manra?”

“…You don’t know?”

“People call me Manra. But I thought they were just mistaken. I have no idea why they call me that.”

A short sigh escaped Sahyeon’s lips. He shook his head lightly, as if regretting having revealed his sincerity even for a moment.

“Then that’s enough. From now on, don’t concern yourself with me.”

“What?”

“And don’t come looking for me again.”

What the hell is this about? Yun-jo, bewildered, took a step closer to Sahyeon.

“Why?”

“You said you are not Manra.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“…”

He was silent for a long time before answering.

“If you are not Manra, then whatever you are, I have no need for you.”

Just moments ago, he had looked at Yun-jo as if he wished he would say yes even if it were a lie, but now there was no emotion on Sahyeon’s face. His attitude was so calm, devoid of any lingering attachment or regret, that Yun-jo stared at him in surprise.

A red glow suddenly settled on Sahyeon’s pale face. The sun had begun to set over the ridge, and the sky was slowly coloring with sunset. Sahyeon, who seemed about to melt into the flickering twilight, said:

“I think it’s time for me to go back.”

After sunset, the air in Hyeongyeong was cool despite early summer. For Yun-jo, who always came and went during the day, Hyeongyeong after dark felt very dark and unfamiliar.

Even though Sahyeon had been gone for half a day, the camp was not in chaos at all. Thanks to the substitute used at the altar ceremony, Sahyeon’s disappearance was not known publicly. Only Seo Sang-yak, who had been waiting for Sahyeon in the camp, knew roughly what happened. As soon as Yun-jo and Sahyeon appeared in the main tent, Seo Sang-yak rushed over in a fluster.

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