NOVEL NEXT Chapter 56
“I have a question, Lord Tae-hwan.”
“What is it?”
“While the world can be deceived, surely one cannot deceive family?”
I held onto Mo Yongseol’s hand tightly as I asked.
“Perhaps Your Majesty has already consumed the Extreme Yang Reversal, and has become the most ideal beautiful girl that you desire…”
“Um.”
Lord Tae-hwan gestured for me to continue speaking.
“The many countermeasures that you proposed to me have likely all been planned and executed already.”
“Um.”
“Though all the concerns and anxieties a mere physician could think of have been prepared, I have heard the Imperial Palace is an even more fierce place than the Martial World.”
“You make a valid point.”
Lord Tae-hwan nodded with a bitter smile.
“No matter how many heirs Your Majesty may have as Emperor already, you cannot escape the Empress’s eyes.”
“…….”
“The intuition of a woman is a frightening thing. Right, Mo Yong-so?”
“Ah, yes!”
“To put it in terms of the Martial World… if someone casts an illusion and disrupts Mo Yong-so’s senses, could she find the real among the hundreds, thousands of identical Physician Seoks?”
“Of course.”
Mo Yongseol declared confidently.
“No matter how exquisitely crafted the imitation, it could never perfectly replicate the real thing.”
Mo Yongseol’s hand began to caress mine.
“With warmth, texture, and so many other things, I recognize you, Physician. Of course, I would never think of making physical contact with such fakes. Just by looking, I can tell if it’s you or not.”
“Just like your father.”
“Yes?”
“Allow me to share a secret of the Martial World. It may seem a bit absurd to hear this from a eunuch, but…”
Lord Tae-hwan chuckled as he lifted his cup.
“There once was a being called the Phantom Demon. One of the ten demons of the Demon Cult… Ah, but different from the current Phantom Demon. This one was more vicious and cunning—a true master of illusions.”
“…….”
“Due to the illusions he created, the Post-Meridian sect members nearly faced annihilation. He made countless women disguise themselves as ‘some woman,’ and hundreds appeared with her identical face.”
“Did you find that woman, Sword Saint?”
That woman must have been Mo Yongseol’s mother.
“Indeed. I found her—only one, precisely. Excluding all others who were brainwashed by the Phantom Demon’s spirit manipulation and mercilessly wielded her sword against our allies.”
“How did you find her?”
“……Given how bright your voice is when you ask, it seems you really haven’t heard the story?”
“Well, uh…”
Mo Yongseol began to fidget, sensing Lord Tae-hwan’s strange reaction.
“It seems my father never spoke about my mother’s past at all, and my mother too…”
“I see. Well, there are certain parts that shouldn’t be spoken of lightly… But, you know.”
Lord Tae-hwan glanced at me with a dubious look.
“Didn’t you know about this?”
“Excuse me?”
“The lady of the Mo Yong family, who if alive would have become your ‘mother-in-law.'”
“… I’ve heard some details about how she passed away, but I don’t know the specifics.”
I truly didn’t know.
“I only know for sure that my wife’s beauty comes from her mother.”
“I see. In that case, I must share my story. You mean to say that the Sword Saint sent you here without discussing such important details?”
Lord Tae-hwan sighed deeply.
“The Emperor had one sister, a sister whose existence was officially unacknowledged.”
“Officially…?”
“Yes. She was a ‘Martial Material’ born in the Imperial Palace.”
“…Ah.”
Somewhere, a picture began to form.
“The Imperial Palace at that time was overshadowed by the Demon Cult, and the current Emperor was not someone who received absolute support as he does now. I was just a mere eunuch then, not Lord Tae-hwan.”
“…….”
“The Emperor back then… the ‘Divine Ancestor’ saw that Martial Material and devised a plan. A boy to become Emperor and the sister to serve as his shadow protection.”
“Did she have no life as a woman?”
“No… Do you truly not know?”
Lord Tae-hwan looked surprised, then shut his mouth.
“This is troubling.”
“No need to be troubled, Lord Tae-hwan.”
At that moment, the Sword Saint entered.
“I had intended to tell you all someday, but I wanted to wait until things were resolved calmly in contact with the royal family.”
“Father…?”
“Come in.”
The Sword Saint bowed politely and stepped aside.
Then—
Clunk!
Lord Tae-hwan shot up from his seat, while Mo Yongseol held onto me with a shocked expression, pointing back and forth between me and the girl who appeared behind the Sword Saint.
“Th-that’s the physician! I, that, that is…!”
“I greet Your Majesty the Emperor.”
I signaled Mo Yongseol, doing my best to bow calmly toward the girl.
“Um.”
A girl rivaling the beauty of the world gave a brief nod.
She looked strikingly similar to Mo Yongseol, but instead of the white hair from the side effects of Absolute Meridian Sickness, she had ‘complete black hair’ resembling Mo Yongseol’s childhood.
“What do you think, Mo Yong-so?”
The black-haired beauty, now the ‘Emperor,’ smiled, placing her hand over her heart.
“Is that your—”
“Mother’s childhood appearance?”
Mo Yongseol’s eyes got misty as she bit her lower lip.
“That is….”
“What do you mean?”
“Yes?”
“That isn’t your mother; it is your ‘aunt’s’ childhood appearance.”
“……Huh?”
“Ha, clearly, you don’t know anything.”
The Emperor shot a incredulous look at the Sword Saint before turning a serious gaze toward Mo Yongseol.
“Your mother is not a martial artist, she was a princess.”
“……Ah.”
“And there was another short-lived princess between me and Yui-seol. So, we were three siblings.”
“……That means.”
“Now it’s become three sisters, ha ha ha!”
“Your Majesty.”
Amused by the Emperor’s hearty laugh, Lord Tae-hwan stepped forward and knelt.
“The girl should not be laughing so gleefully.”
“Oh, is that so? Hmm, my apologies.”
“It’s no problem, Your Majesty. If perhaps you wish to live such a life, then that’s a good thing as well.”
Was there a hint of frivolity in Lord Tae-hwan’s demeanor?
No.
Let’s think positively.
Lord Tae-hwan is merely serving the Emperor, who has taken on the appearance of her niece to alleviate her guilt over the death of the princess, who connected to Mo Yongseol.
For now.
“So, does that make the Emperor your ‘uncle’?”
“Indeed, it does, Physician Seok.”
…One secret about Mo Yongseol’s bloodline was revealed.
“Oh. We must keep this strictly under wraps. Based on what I have learned now… that makes what, perhaps only one hand’s worth of people who know? Sword Saint?”
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
“All right then. It’s a secret known only to the five of us: me, Lord Tae-hwan, the Sword Saint, and the couple of Physician Seok.”
Mo Yongseol’s mother was a princess.
“The Martial World can sometimes be favorable in this regard. If a sect concealed its past behind a veil of mystery, it would hardly matter if what it was true or not at times.”
Deceiving as a princess, she plunged into the Martial World.
And fell in love with the Sword Saint.
“I thought you approached knowing this, but perhaps that wasn’t the case at all. Physician Seok.”
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
“How disappointing. I thought I was welcoming family, only to find I was treating you like an Emperor.”
“…That.”
For now.
“You mentioned family, and I must ask, how about the Empress or your children?”
“Ah, that’s all right.”
The Emperor waved his hand with a broad smile.
“My son will go completely insane if I die. He’ll fight tooth and nail to get the throne. It’s fine. There’s only one Crown Prince, and the boys below him are still under ten.”
So, there’s no need to worry about succession, I guess.
The Emperor was not about to take her lightly.
“The problem is with the Empress. I would like to seek Physician Seok’s understanding regarding this matter.”
“Understanding…?”
“Yes. I could say I became like this due to the Extreme Yang Reversal, or perhaps say that I took other medicine to become a woman. I would mention ‘martial arts’ has been helping me. That… something like Balm Mosaics or Reversal of Aging.”
“I could also falsely claim some tour de force technique of Yin and Yang, five elements, and reversal methods. The Empress isn’t very knowledgeable about the Martial World.”
Lord Tae-hwan bowed his head respectfully toward the Emperor.
“Shall we proceed this way, Your Majesty?”
“Um. But first, I want to hear my nephew’s opinion.”
Perhaps because she was now a beautiful girl, the way the Emperor looked at us showed a kind disposition willing to hear whatever we said.
“Should the need arise, I can even have the Empress move on your behalf.”
“That.”
I recalled the information I had gathered as a Demon Cult informant.
“Isn’t the Empress your political adversary?”
“She is indeed an adversary. But it doesn’t matter. Now that this has happened, there’s no reason for the Empress to be my enemy.”
“That means….”
Because she had turned into a girl, and the Emperor was empty—
“She likes women.”
“No.”
“Why is that, Physician Seok?”
“…….”
Is this all right?
The Martial World.