NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18
Quickly stealing a kiss, I tried my best to calm the reaction of my lower half.
Bzzzt!
My lower half protested, “Why let go of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?” but my head was facing a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, so I swiftly suppressed it.
“Listen carefully from now on. Accept this.”
I took out a document from my pocket and showed it to Murong Sang-a.
“What’s this?”
“This is a document that proves you are my wife, along with a list of the Kang family assets in the Central Plains. Even if I die, you are named as the heir. Even if someone claims the marriage is invalid, since my seal is on it, all Kang family assets outside Joseon belong to you. Use this to take possession of all Kang family assets outside Joseon.”
If everything went as per the original story, I’d absorb all the Kang family assets, but I prepared this just in case my actions changed history.
“I can’t accept this.”
“If you don’t take it, the Joseon court will just swallow it whole. Please take it.”
I folded the paper and placed it directly into Murong Sang-a’s hands. She didn’t resist much. I felt the touch of her chest that no one had touched roughly before. It was a feeling worth savoring, but right now, my life was more important.
“Must you really send Spear Peak after me to take my life? Can’t you just run away?”
“I told you. If I run away, the marriage remains. Murong Bi will never annul it. In fact, she might send you as a servant back to Joseon. Only if I die today can the marriage be annulled.”
“Is there no other way?”
Murong Sang-a asked me again. I nodded and opened my mouth.
“I’m sorry for making you become the widow of the man who was killed. But if I can save you with my life, then I’m satisfied with that.”
“How can someone giving their life say they’re sorry?!”
Tears welled up in Murong Sang-a’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, truly sorry. I’m sorry for not meeting you sooner, and for not rushing to you sooner. I’m sorry for not being able to be with you, the woman who will be pointed at in shame.”
“I—I am the one who will be killed! Master!”
Good thing she understands. I feel like I might really die here.
“Don’t blame yourself. All these decisions are mine, not yours. I’m only satisfied knowing that I don’t have to dirty your hands. Even if I go to Joseon, I’ll be a dead man. I want to use it for you.”
“Master…”
I released her hand and stood up.
“I’ve wasted too much time. If this continues, people will misunderstand and think you’ve been tarnished, so I must set out now. When I leave the Murong Family, send Spear Peak after me. In Joseon, they say if you behead someone, their soul wanders the nine realms, so it would be best if the body is sent directly back to Joseon.”
I forced a smile.
“…”
Does she know that only separation remains? Murong Sang-a couldn’t say a word. I slowly walked to the door and looked back. Only the farewell remained.
“I can’t say I wish you happiness while leaving you behind. Stay alive.”
“What good is the woman who killed her husband alive?!”
She couldn’t hold back during the last farewell. She protested with a rising voice. “If you die, it’ll be difficult to progress the protagonist’s story. Don’t die!”
“In fact, I lied to you. The reason I came to save you was to rescue a woman in trouble, but there’s one more reason.”
“What is it?”
“I fell for you at first sight. I hoped you would live. So please, live. Rebuild the Murong family. And once it’s all settled, leave me a flower on my grave. I’m off now.”
“Master! Master! Don’t go! Master!”
Leaving behind the desperately calling Murong Sang-a, I exited the room.
Phew Operation successful!
*
“Miss! You’ve been rejected! Kang Yoon-ho is so angry he has left the Murong Family!”
After Kang Yoon-ho left, the Great Lord of Spear Peak stood hastily in front of the closed room door and said.
“Spear Peak Lord.”
Murong Sang-a choked back her tears and spoke to the Great Lord of Spear Peak beyond the door.
“Yes, Miss.”
“As soon as daylight breaks, chase after Kang Yoon-ho and kill him.”
“Miss, is this your decision? I heard he rejected you, but maybe it’s for the best. If you kill Kang Yoon-ho, your marriage will be annulled! Should I just go and bring back his head?”
“In Joseon, they say that if you get beheaded, your soul wanders the nine realms. Make sure to send the body back to Joseon as cleanly as possible. If there’s any evidence besides his head, bring that too.”
Honestly, it would have been right to bring back Kang Yoon-ho’s body for confirmation. But Murong Sang-a lacked the courage to face the corpse of the husband she had watched leave with a smile.
Thus, she thought it would be right not to behead him and send the body back to Joseon, just as he wished.
“Understood. I’ll prepare and depart immediately.”
As the Great Lord of Spear Peak disappeared, Murong Sang-a broke down and wept.
*
The Great Lord of Spear Peak caught up with Kang Yoon-ho’s party a little after lunch.
Kang Yoon-ho had no resistance since he had informed his group in advance.
“He couldn’t accept his death, so he took medicine and slept through it. The body was placed in a coffin ready for shipment to Joseon, and this was what he was wearing.”
The Great Lord of Spear Peak reported as he handed a ring to Murong Sang-a.
Clink!
A ring made of Zhangbai Silver,
It was a keepsake from his deceased mother-in-law,
And his final gift intended for her.
“Thank you, Spear Peak members. Now, return to your posts.”
Murong Sang-a fought back the rising sadness as she spoke to the members.
“Yes!”
Once the Spear Peak members left, Murong Sang-a entered her room, clutching the ring.
Murong Sang-a sat down in front of a mirror, staring at her reflection.
In the mirror was a woman barely holding back a flood of sorrow, adorned with a hairpin.
The hairpin she wore during the wedding should have been taken down by her husband on their first night.
However, now no one could take down her hairpin.
Murong Sang-a gazed at the ring her husband left her.
A ring made of Zhangbai Silver.
After staring at the ring for a while, she eventually slipped it onto her fourth finger on her left hand.
If there are heroes, there are villains to oppose them.
Someone who constantly hinders the hero’s future and aims for his life.
Today, she had become that villain.
A villain who couldn’t even confess her wrongs before him, scared that his overwhelming love would turn to rage.
She used his sacrifice.
In that moment he decided to give his life, she weighed his death against her gain.
By killing him, she could prove her purity. As his wife, she could seize all his assets.
Such a vile scale tipped the balance within her. Now that scale was falling into an endless pit of darkness within her heart.
A woman who killed her husband who loved her more than anything.
The hero who came for her, influenced by passion, gave everything to this villain and met his end.
Yes. Today, I became a villain.
What can a woman who killed her husband not do?
I will become more malicious than the Demonic Cult.
If I can erase the Demonic Cult from this world, I will do anything.
When that day comes,
Master. I will come to see you.
I will die in front of your grave.
Please just wait until then.
*
A month had passed since Murong Sang-a’s wedding and the tragic event.
The Kang family in Joseon was branded as traitors and exterminated. It was said that Murong Sang-a killed Kang Yoon-ho on their wedding night.
Some claimed she killed him in anger from being rejected, while others said she did so knowing he was a traitor.
The Murong Family, taken by surprise by the unforeseen events, concluded that the marriage of Murong Sang-a, who hadn’t consummated the marriage, was invalid.
However, in Joseon, Murong Sang-a was recognized as Kang Yoon-ho’s wife. Furthermore, due to her merit in revealing the traitor, she was not made a slave, receiving a significant portion of the Kang family’s assets. This was also influenced by the fact that she was the daughter of a foreign noble, making it difficult to turn her into a slave.
Murong Sang-a became entangled in a strange situation where she was unmarried yet also Kang Yoon-ho’s wife.
She used this to seize the majority of the Kang family’s wealth, forming a powerful faction within the Murong Family.
A viper-like woman who killed her husband.
A villainess akin to a demoness who devoured her husband.
The Martial Arts World began pointing fingers at Murong Sang-a.
“Finally alive.”
A black-haired man, hearing the news, looked up at the blue sky of the Central Plains and smiled.