There’s a Monster Inside Me Chapter 29

There’s a Monster Inside Me

Chapter 29

“KUGH! H-how…?”

The sorcerer’s pupils reflected my image.

A young boy with pitch-black hair braided into one.

The blue robe and red hat were too big and loose, while my fair, delicate face was accentuated by large eyes.

On the outside, I looked like nothing more than a small, young boy.

But my eyes were indifferent to death. I felt no hesitation or guilt about killing people.

Emotionless eyes.

Calm gaze without the slightest disturbance.

“Did you feel safe because I told the spirit not to kill humans?”

At the moment of murder.

I wore a composed, comfortable expression befitting someone who had killed hundreds or thousands.

The sorcerer was shocked by this.

“Humans… I kill them myself!”

There was no luxury of emotion to spare for enemies.

To protect what was mine, I didn’t mind becoming a grim reaper.

The appearance of an innocent young boy was something I permitted only for those precious to me.

I have no mask to show the likes of you.

FWISH!

The needle that passed through his forehead and exited the back of his head circled around. The smooth needle, having shed all the filthy blood, returned to my hand.

“URRRGH…”

The sorcerer, his head pierced through, fell backward without even closing his open eyes.

The hellish being he was summoning also crumbled away into nothing…

My eyes looking at the corpse were cold. They were clearly the eyes of a killer who had taken countless lives.

Though it was my first murder in this life, in my previous life it had been so commonplace that I’d grown numb to it.

I shook my head to clear away the dried-up emotions. Then I slowly turned around.

Baek Eun-ok was watching me while covering Princess Eun-deok’s eyes.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking behind those pitch-black obsidian eyes.

Had he seen through my cruel nature that I’d been hiding beneath the guise of an innocent boy long ago? Or was he deeply shocked by this side of me?

It can’t be helped. This is also part of who I am. No, perhaps this is closer to my true nature. My previous demeanor might have just been a mask I’d put on over a young boy’s face.

I shook my head vigorously.

Now it’s time… to return to being a boy again.

***

The entrance to the Thousand-Year School was in an uproar.

“HEEENG!”

Princess Eun-deok, who had returned riding on Bima, was half in a daze.

The school officials and professors were lined up before her. Passing by them, all filled with worry and concern, Princess Eun-deok approached the Grandmaster Cheonhajijong.

The princess, holding back her tears, clutched the old man’s collar.

“WAAAAAH!”

As she burst into tears, the old man’s thin hand patted her back.

The gentle touch seemed to understand the princess’s feelings without any words.

“Grandmaster, I’ll go. I’ll return to the mansion. I must. WAAAH…”

In the old man’s arms, the princess poured out sorrowful tears.

The old man said nothing, merely patting the young princess’s back with his thin hand.

“Princess…”

Eun-deok, her face covered in tears, barely lifted her head.

Her cousin, with the same silver hair and green eyes, was looking at Eun-deok with sorrowful eyes.

“Sister, sister…”

Eun-deok burrowed into Pureum Usol’s embrace.

“I’ve become a burden. I… cannot stay. I must leave. WAAAH…”

It was a cry tinged with sorrow.

The princess’s trembling shoulders spoke volumes. That she didn’t actually want to go. That she wanted to stay here even more than before.

That she didn’t want to be far from the boy with whom her heart had connected.

But she couldn’t. Because she couldn’t trouble her benefactor any further.

Because of the boy’s earnest request. She had no choice but to leave.

Usol firmly embraced the small, trembling shoulders.

Now Eun-deok too understood how burdensome the title of royalty could be.

That because of that name, she could hurt someone innocent or put them in danger.

Her childish young cousin had realized she could no longer remain a child.

Finding it both commendable yet sad and pitiful, Usol could only hold her tightly in her arms.

***

Shortly after the monster hunting party returned, Princess Eun-deok decided to leave the Thousand-Year School.

After disappearing for one night and reappearing, Princess Eun-deok seemed like a different person.

For a few days, she appeared completely broken, as if something had been severely damaged.

Jin-dallae witnessed this dramatic change up close.

When the monster hunting party returned, she had expected Eun-deok to run out barefoot to greet Bada Maru, but instead, the princess hid behind Jin-dallae.

The princess who had openly pestered Bada Maru was gone, replaced by a strange girl who observed from afar and wiped away tears in the corner of her room.

What on earth happened?

Jin-dallae asked carefully, but it was useless. Eun-deok’s lips remained shut like a seashell, keeping her secret to herself.

Even on the day she left the Thousand-Year School, she tried to secretly bid farewell only to Grandmaster Cheonhajijong and cross the gateway without anyone knowing.

If not for the alert handmaidens, even Jin-dallae, who shared a room with her, might have been completely unaware.

“Princess Eun-deok…”

Princess Eun-deok heard Jin-dallae’s voice behind her as she was crossing the threshold of the Baraji gate.

When she hesitantly turned around, Jin-dallae, Gurumi, and Bada Maru were standing there.

Princess Eun-deok, who was trying to escape like a thief, shrank back in confusion.

“How can you be so cold? How can you leave without saying goodbye?”

Jin-dallae grabbed Princess Eun-deok’s arm with a tearful face.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be a bother to everyone…”

“How could you think that?”

“We’ve formed a bond, how could you do this?”

When Jin-dallae and Gurumi expressed their hurt feelings, clear tears welled up in the princess’s eyes.

“I… I’m just a nuisance to you all… and I’ve only caused trouble for my benefactor…”

“That’s nonsense!”

Jin-dallae’s brow furrowed.

“I thought we had become close, that we had formed a bond… How could you think of us that way, Princess?”

“I’m really hurt.”

Jin-dallae and Gurumi’s reproaches actually comforted Princess Eun-deok’s heart.

A large tear fell.

So I haven’t just been a burden after all. These children have opened their hearts to me as well…

Her heart felt soft.

“Maru, don’t just stand there, say something!”

“…”

Princess Eun-deok’s head sank even lower.

My benefactor alone says nothing. I really have been nothing but a burden to him.

Her heart grew heavy.

“…Princess, I’ll escort you.”

Without any other words, Bada Maru simply boarded a small boat.

There were several small boats on the Clear Sky Lake that led to the outside world, but each could only accommodate two people.

With Bada Maru on one side, there was only one seat left.

Princess Eun-deok dismissed her ladies-in-waiting and carefully boarded on the opposite side from Bada Maru.

“Goodbye, Jin-dallae… Goodbye, Gurumi…”

“Take care, Princess.”

“Someday… let’s meet again.”

Jin-dallae and Gurumi waved their hands for a long time toward the small receding boat.

The bond they had formed while living together, laughing and chatting, was truly formidable.

At first, the talk of royalty was difficult, and then it became bothersome.

As they mingled together, they realized: princess or not, people are all the same. They had unknowingly grown deeply attached.

Looking at Princess Eun-deok’s back, hunched as if she had committed a great sin, their hearts grew bitter.

I should have treated her better. I shouldn’t have found her so annoying. I should have shared more of my inner thoughts.

When they first met, they never imagined it would come to this. They felt empty, as if their hearts were vacant.

***

CREAK! CREAK!…

I silently rowed the oars.

As always, The clear sky Lake was in full bloom with peach blossoms all year round.

The white peach blossoms falling like rain somehow looked desolate today.

It felt like there were words left to say, but I didn’t know how to bring them up.

Princess Eun-deok, who would have chattered endlessly before, was silent today.

The handkerchief tightly gripped in her small hands twisted this way and that, substituting for the words she couldn’t express.

I regretted how coldly I had treated Princess Eun-deok when she nearly faced great danger from the sorcerer.

The words I spoke while coldly removing her hands as she ran to me in tears had wounded the princess’s heart.

‘Princess, please stop bothering me. I want to live quietly. I didn’t come here to become your knight. I came because I wanted to become an excellent sorcerer at the Thousand-Year School. So please leave. Return to where you belong, Princess.’

I couldn’t bear to see those tears falling like summer rain. But I had no choice but to speak so harshly.

It was necessary both for my sake and for the princess’s.

While the Thousand-Year School was advantageous for sorcerers to train and develop themselves, it was not a suitable place to protect and guard someone.

If she couldn’t protect her own safety, it would be right for Princess Eun-deok to be protected beside Grand Duke Sudeok.

Even so, my words were too heartless. I spoke icy words without a hint of warmth, let alone comfort, to a young girl who had just escaped the terror of death.

Imagining her feelings, I felt belated regret.

CREAK! CREAK!…

Though I rowed slowly, we had already reached the opposite shore of the Clear Sky Lake.

A carriage and a group of warriors who had come to meet Princess Eun-deok were lined up there.

Neither Princess Eun-deok nor I could take a step. Her small bowed head looked pitiful.

“…Princess, thank you.”

Instead of saying goodbye, I conveyed the gratitude I hadn’t been able to express.

Princess Eun-deok looked at me with blank eyes, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“After how much I bothered you, after how much danger I got you involved in, after the terrible mistakes I made… to say thank you… what does that mean…?”

“No, really. I truly, really thank you.”

Facing the tearful Princess Eun-deok, I spoke sincerely.

“I was born an orphan, so I was always hungry for love. Even after consuming all the attention people showed me, I was always hungry. I always compared myself to others and longed for the love I lacked. It’s foolish, but I’ve always lived that way.”

“But the princess shared so many things with me, more than I deserved.”

Even to the point where I was full and complained. To the point where I waved my hands saying the excessive attention and affection was bothersome…

“Where else could I have received such attention, such love? The princess gave me those precious things beyond what I deserved.”

While verbally saying it was annoying and difficult, in truth one part of my heart was happy. Though I ran away and waved my hands in protest, even that was a pleasant complaint.

I was truly delighted, as if I had become a young boy.

I was tremblingly happy with the sufficient attention and affection that didn’t need to be shared with anyone else.

For the first time in my life…

“Benefactor, Maru master, master… HEOHEONG!”

Tears finally burst from Princess Eun-deok’s eyes. The young princess clutched her twisted handkerchief and sobbed.

The sound of crying didn’t stop for a very long time. Those tears were both pitiful and welcome.

“Princess. Take care. Don’t get sick, don’t get hurt. No dangerous activities. Cherish yourself. Understood?”

“Uh, UH-HEUNG. HEUEUNG…”

The wind blew.

Peach blossoms scattered.

Tears clearer than flower petals fell.

The shoulders touching my chest trembled like a small bird’s feathers.

The sweet sadness of farewell gently brushed my heart.

Goodbye… goodbye…

Thank you, Princess.

Sincerely…

For a long time, I sent words of farewell toward the departing carriage.

***

Geum Tae-min looked out the window.

While spring was in full bloom, there had been bright yellow canola flowers everywhere. Now the spacious grounds of the Thousand-Year School were filled with blooming golden marigolds of the purest golden hue.

The annoying princess had left.

That was good, but a greater discomfort remained.

Princess Eun-deok, who had set out riding a precious Bima to find the monster hunting squad, had returned broken on her own.

That she escaped from the sorcerer’s grasp and survived was unexpected. He was one of the most skilled practitioners, even assassinating priests from the Thousand-Year School.

Such a person had disappeared without a trace.

Since Princess Eun-deok’s return, there had been no stories anywhere about the sorcerer who commanded Yaksha.

His existence had been completely buried.

They searched everywhere, from Grand Duke Sudeok’s side to the Thousand-Year School, but couldn’t discover who had taken action or how.

Princess Eun-deok kept her mouth shut, and everything flowing along so quietly to an unpleasant degree was strange.

“…Interesting.”

Geum Tae-min’s golden hair scattered in the gentle breeze. Its color seemed to have deepened recently, making its appearance dazzling.

The reward obtained for killing the Vermilion Bird. At this time, Tae-min’s divine power was also at its peak.

Geum Tae-min reviewed the process so far.

He placed a suggestion on Princess Eun-deok with his highest-grade divine power. So no matter how much someone rummaged through the princess’s mind, there would be no connection to him.

Eliminating Princess Eun-deok’s shadow warriors wasn’t difficult.

The skills of the warriors dispatched by Grand Duke Sudeok were certainly top-tier. However, their death was due to becoming complacent from being steeped in peacefulness.

They never thought there would be an enemy inside the Thousand-Year School.

He thought he had taken care of all the warriors pursuing Princess Eun-deok, but was there another shadow capable of facing the sorcerer?

He still hadn’t identified the existence of this mysterious shadow. How much had that person seen and how much did they know?

A slight wrinkle appeared between Geum Tae-min’s brows.

He felt something twisting between the interlocked gears.

The wind blew, scattering his golden hair.

In his beautiful eyes, an inescapable malevolence sparkled.