novelraw Chapter 19 : Chapter 19
Chapter 19 : Chapter 19
Chapter 19 - The Path the Heart Walks (2)
“I don't even need to hear your answer; your expression says it all.”
Ice Rakshasa, who had thrown off even her remaining lower martial attire and underwear, slowly entered the tub and sat down.
“You come in too.”
Turning her body inside the bath, Ice Rakshasa beckoned to Eun-wol with her finger.
Eun-wol, hesitating and pondering for a moment, let out a small sigh.
Turning her back, Eun-wol slowly took off her clothes, folded them to one side, and soaked her body in the tub next to where Ice Rakshasa had entered.
As she soaked her body in the warmly heated bathwater, the fatigue that had accumulated during that time gradually melted away.
While Eun-wol was briefly enjoying the warmth wrapping around her body, Ice Rakshasa’s languid voice reached her ears.
“I am sorry, but I also have feelings for Young Hero Jaun.”
It was a fact she already knew, but a corner of Eun-wol’s heart ached again.
A body that would draw gasps of admiration with its white skin.
And outstanding martial arts skills to boot.
Ice Rakshasa did not lack a single thing compared to her.
Ice Rakshasa, who turned her head toward Eun-wol who was letting out a small sigh, continued speaking.
“Since you are the youngest daughter of the Moyong Family…… you probably grew up getting everything you wanted without lacking anything, right? I grew up with my sick brother in a countryside village you wouldn't know even if I told you the name.”
Taking her hand out of the water, Ice Rakshasa continued her story while watching the warm water flow down her hand.
“My parents passed away early, you see. The only ones left in the world were my brother and I, just the two of us. We lived fighting a desperate battle for survival day by day.”
Ice Rakshasa, who dipped her body deep into the tub, looked up at the ceiling.
“Because there was nothing to eat, we begged, we picked up food that had fallen on the ground and ate it, and when it was tough, we even stole from shops to eat. In a life of struggling not to die day by day, my brother was my only sanctuary and shade. But my brother, who had been sickly since birth, eventually left for the heavens in the year I turned ten.”
Eun-wol, who was listening to the story, momentarily stopped moving.
“I had done nothing for him, yet even as he was dying, he only worried about me until the end. Come to think of it, my brother was just a young boy who should have been whining to his parents at that age.”
Pausing for a moment, Ice Rakshasa splashed water on her face a few times.
“Anyway, I realized it after losing my brother like that. How precious an existence my brother was to me, and also how grateful I should have been. But there was no way to express my gratitude to my brother who had already left. ‘I lived this hard with the life you preserved for me. Thank you.’ Just pledging to live without shame so I could say this if we met in the afterlife later was all I could do. Since then, I think I just ran looking only forward.”
Faint emotions rippled within Ice Rakshasa’s eyes.
“The world was too cold for a ten-year-old kid left alone, but I lived clenching my teeth. Living like that, I accidentally realized I had a talent for martial arts, and luckily, I came to join the Sado Alliance. I trained in martial arts under the Cold Ice Immortal who took me in, and it has been about two or three years since I started acting as a Law Enforcer of the Sado Alliance.”
Ice Rakshasa’s profile as she calmly unraveled her story looked a bit lonely.
“While continuing a life without any special purpose or meaning like that, I met Young Hero Jaun here. You don’t know how surprised I was when I first saw him.”
Ice Rakshasa turned her head to look at Eun-wol.
“Young Hero Jaun resembled my brother who went to the heavens too much. His age, tone, face, and even that expression that seemed to carry the burden of life alone. The moment I first saw Young Hero Jaun, the huge wall that was blocking my heart collapsed. Memories with my brother that I hadn't been able to recall until then, and my childhood, began to float around filling my head.”
Ice Rakshasa gave a faint smile.
“I was really confused, but on the other hand, I felt like I was alive only then. I think that was probably when I first felt special emotions for Young Hero Jaun.”
— Splash
Rising and coming out of her tub, Ice Rakshasa slowly approached Eun-wol and smiled brightly while looking at her.
“And now that some time has passed, I am finding meaning in life while looking at Young Hero Jaun. It brings up those happy moments I had with my brother, and makes me think this life of mine is worth living. Thanks to that, I was also able to properly look back on my life which I had run through frantically.”
The water rippled gently in the tub where Eun-wol was soaking.
“At first, it was an interest that started like this, but the more I looked, the more I found there wasn't just one or two cool things about him, you know? He has a good body, and a handsome face. On top of that, although I hadn't expected it, his martial arts skills are quite outstanding too. It does bother me a bit that he is somewhat young but…… thinking differently, maybe it’s even better because he is young?”
Giggling and sweeping her hair up once, Ice Rakshasa lowered her head to bring her face to Eun-wol’s eye level.
“Well…… it’s just like that. I wanted to tell you my feelings. It doesn't suit my temper to work secretly from behind. Since I plan to approach Young Hero Jaun with these feelings from now on. I wanted you to know too.”
Eun-wol, who was quietly watching Ice Rakshasa, slowly stood up from her tub. Standing up straight, Eun-wol faced Ice Rakshasa.
“I heard your story well, Unni. It is so different from the environment I lived in that I have nothing to say. It must have been really hard, and I don't think I, who haven't experienced it personally, can empathize, and honestly, I don't think I have the right to offer words of comfort either. However.”
Taking a brief breath, Eun-wol continued speaking without avoiding Ice Rakshasa’s gaze.
“I could clearly feel one thing: that the emotion you feel looking at Young Hero Jaun is not right. Unni. Young Hero Jaun is not your brother, and he is certainly not a substitute to replace your brother. If you are thinking of Young Hero Jaun in that way, that means you are not respecting Young Hero Jaun as a person either. That is not affection, but merely a distorted obsession.”
Ice Rakshasa, who scanned Eun-wol speaking with a determined expression from top to bottom once, nodded and opened her mouth.
“Correct. As you say, I agree it could be a distorted obsession or a wrong possessiveness. But the world doesn't always turn in the right direction, does it?”
Ice Rakshasa slowly straightened her body.
“Either way, I absolutely need Young Hero Jaun and I never want to lose him. I, who grew up always giving up what I wanted, know too well that to possess something, one must pay a corresponding price. Especially between a man and a woman, I also know well what a man wants. If I can give him what he wants, isn't it okay for me to want him too?”
At Ice Rakshasa’s words, Eun-wol bit her lip tightly.
“That is why I asked you earlier if you knew men. I don't care even if the intention and method are not right. If I can possess that person by doing so, I intend to utilize everything I have.”
Ice Rakshasa, who instantly blew away the moisture on her body by raising her internal energy, caressed her well-groomed body as if to show it off.
Picking up her clothes that had fallen on the ground slowly, Ice Rakshasa draped the clothes over her body.
“Who is more desperate? Who wants it more earnestly? This power of the heart is more important than you think, you know? The world is different from the Moyong Family. If you do not move, no one will put what you want into your mouth. It will be the same for Young Hero Jaun.”
Ice Rakshasa waved her hand once to Eun-wol and exited the bathhouse.
Eun-wol, who was staring blankly at the entrance of the bathhouse, sat down with a thud inside the tub.
Confused by Ice Rakshasa’s story that had passed like a storm, Eun-wol hugged her two knees tightly underwater.
Eun-wol, who pondered something while biting her lips for a while, clenched her fist tightly and muttered softly.
“……I understand your pain and your heart, Unni, but if you think of Young Hero Jaun in that way, I can absolutely never concede Young Hero Jaun to you.”
Eun-wol’s small monologue gently resonated through the large bathhouse.
***
“We finally arriiived!”
Checking the lake visible in the distance, Mad Beggar raised both hands high and cheered.
“You guys, have you heard of the Manchu Inn in Wuhan? It is a large inn right next to Cheonhyang Tower, and the chef’s hand taste there is the best under the heavens. Since we arrived in Wuhan, we can now go to Manchu Inn and get as much leftover food as we want. I'm a bit close with the waiter there.”
Seeing him think about begging for food as soon as they arrived in Wuhan, Mad Beggar was indeed a true beggar.
“I really hope there is Dongpo Pork thrown away today.”
Watching Mad Beggar smacking his lips while stroking his belly, Eun-wol laughed softly.
“Great Hero. Then let’s go straight to Manchu Inn. I will treat you to Dongpo Pork. I was planning to stop by there for a transaction anyway.”
“Huh? Buy food…… at Manchu Inn?”
“Yes. I will buy it for you. Although I know Dongpo Pork is food that remains delicious even after some time passes…… how about trying it fresh out of the kitchen for once today?”
At Eun-wol’s words, Mad Beggar, imagining himself ordering food at Manchu Inn, had a face full of smiles.
‘Buying food at an inn?’
At the experience he would have for the first time in his life, Mad Beggar nodded his head rapidly.
***
Next to Cheonhyang Tower located on one side of the lake, a large and splendid pavilion caught the eye.
At the entrance of the pavilion, the words ‘Manchu Inn’ were carved in graceful calligraphy; Mad Beggar stopped his steps in front of it and cleared his throat with a kheum-kheum.
“Come here!”
Mad Beggar clasped his hands behind his back and shouted in a dignified manner.
“Welco…….”
The waiter, who rushed out from the door like lightning, frowned deeply upon seeing Mad Beggar.
“……Eh, it’s Il-geon.”
“Uhehehe. You rascal! Seeing you spit out this Future Beggar's name in such a way, your liver is still swollen.”
“Well, I haven't seen you for a while so I thought you croaked……. How did you not croak and return alive?”
“Keo-heum! This waiter fellow fails to recognize a customer and spouts nonsense.”
At the waiter’s rough reaction, Mad Beggar, who glanced back at the party and scratched his head, shouted loudly once again.
“I came as a customer today too, so quickly escort us to the second floor!”
“……Customer my foot.”
The waiter’s eyes, who was about to ignore Mad Beggar’s words and enter the door, caught the elegant figures of Eun-wol and Ice Rakshasa.
Judging by his intuition honed from working as a waiter for a long time, those two clearly harbored the energy of the God of Wealth.
The problem was that no matter how he looked at it, they seemed to be Mad Beggar Gong Il-geon’s party.
‘The God of Wealth and the God of Hunger traveling together. This is something I haven't seen once in my twenty years of life as a waiter…….’
He couldn't form a judgment at all on how to act in a situation where the smell of money and the smell of rot came together.
The eyes of the waiter, who was hesitating at a loss, filled with confusion.
“We will be dining, so please prepare a seat on the fifth floor. Please prepare Dongpo Pork first. We will order other things at the table.”
Eun-wol smiled and spoke to the hesitating waiter.
‘Fifth floor?’
Manchu Inn, which overlooked the lake, had a structure where the food prices skyrocketed as one went to higher floors.
‘Even on the second floor, the food prices jump twofold, so even children of fairly well-off families don't rashly go up to the third floor or higher…….’
The waiter’s eyes, which quickly scanned Eun-wol up and down, grew large as if they would pop out.
Because it was full of dust, he hadn't noticed properly, but everything Eun-wol wore on her body was of top-quality goods that the waiter had rarely seen in his life.
‘I, I cannot miss this person.’
The waiter, who glanced once at Mad Beggar sticking his belly out arrogantly, put on a business smile filling his face as if he had made a decision.
“Welcome! I will escort you to your seat!”
“Kukuku! Right. Since we are at it, escort us to a window seat where the lake is visible.”
On the fifth floor, all seats were arranged by the window facing the lake.
Acting as if he heard or didn't hear the words of Mad Beggar who knew nothing, the waiter guided the party to the fifth floor of the inn.