The Northern Great General’s Headquarters, Inner Chamber.
Grand Young Master Yeon Sohyeon lifted his eyes from the documents. The oil lamp illuminating the desk was flickering, its flame sputtering low.
“……”
He tilted the oil pitcher to refill it, then cast his gaze out the window. Beyond the torches lighting the headquarters, the rough terrain of the North sprawled out into the darkness.
It was majestic, yet utterly desolate.
Unlike the metropolis of Luoyang, there was no ‘Nightless City’ shining brightly, oblivious to the hour. There were no sounds of seductive instruments drifting from afar, nor the laughter of revelers seeking to forget their worries for a fleeting moment.
“……”
Instead, there were only sentinels, their eyes wide and bloodshot, watching for the shadow of the dark enemy army that might surge from the horizon at any moment. There were the gleaming blue blades of spears, held as tightly as the anxiety in their hearts.
And there were the tents of the refugees who had lost their homes, hastily woven and shivering in the rough northern wind, housing fitful sleepers.
“……”
This bleak landscape was everything to his wife, Moyong Woonjeong.
Born into the Moyong Clan as the daughter of the Great General, this was everything she sought to protect.
“…Mmm.”
At the sound of her tossing, Yeon Sohyeon turned back.
She had fallen asleep sitting right in front of his desk.
‘Please lie down and sleep,’ he had told her.
‘No. The Grand Young Master is awake. How could I sleep comfortably alone?’ she had insisted stubbornly.
“……”
She hadn’t even taken off her armor properly. She slept sitting in a chair, leaning against the sword held between her knees.
“……”
He watched her silently.
It was a moment when time seemed to stop, when even the shadows swaying beyond the wavering lamplight held their breath with him.
“Mmm…”
Moyong Woonjeong shifted in her sleep.
Slide.
The mountain of documents that had been precariously balanced on the edge of her desk began to slip.
“……”
If he needlessly roused his internal energy to stop it, she—sensitive to any presence—would wake instantly. But if he left it, the sound of the papers crashing down would surely wake her as well.
Swish.
Yeon Sohyeon’s foot moved. As it touched the wooden floor, light as a feather, it made not a sound. His extended toe did not allow a single sheet of the cascading paper to touch the ground.
Just as they had been on the desk, they were now stacked neatly, lightly, upon the tip of his foot.
“……”
Yeon Sohyeon gently withdrew his foot and settled the stack of documents silently onto the floor.
It was a feat of skill so incredible that no one would believe it had been performed impromptu without a shred of internal energy.
“……”
Yet, there was no emotion on Yeon Sohyeon’s face. He merely checked to ensure his former wife had not awakened.
“……”
Fortunately, Moyong Woonjeong tossed once more, as if uncomfortable, but remained asleep.
‘Woonjeong…’
Yeon Sohyeon carefully reached out. He brushed back a few strands of hair that had fallen onto her face.
He moved as if afraid his fingertips might accidentally graze her skin.
“You must feel it by now. You must know.”
A story he had heard in the past suddenly surfaced in his mind.
“The Star of Heavenly Slaughter under which you were born carries a destiny of ruin and death.”
It was as if, should his fingertips touch her, his ill-fated destiny might swallow her whole, just as it had in days gone by.
“You will pile mountains of corpses and create oceans of blood.”
It was as if his deep guilt, his profound regret, and his bottomless anguish might be transmitted to her.
“Whether you wish it or not.”
He stood still, keeping his distance just as he had in those old days.
“……”
However, unlike those days, he was not doing nothing.
***
Moyong Woonjeong was dreaming.
“Great General Regent, you say?”
The people of her family were mocking her.
“It’s preposterous.”
“She followed Father around like a puppy, and now she’s under some grand delusion, isn’t she?”
“Surely she doesn’t seriously intend to become the Patriarch of our family?”
The men of the family blatantly distrusted her.
“Did you see her running around with disheveled hair, covered in mud?”
“To think she hangs around with lowly soldiers, going on hunts.”
“She is a child unfit for our Great Moyong Clan, which inherited the blood of the Yan royal family.”
The women of the family refused to even associate with her.
The Northern War had birthed many heroes. As the Great General’s family tasked with protecting the North, the Moyong clan had also accumulated many merits.
But the war had ended without victory or defeat. Only deep scars remained.
“It is practically a defeat!”
“Isn’t this all because the Moyong Clan failed to properly fulfill its role as the Great General’s lineage?!”
“Don’t speak to us of merits!”
“Was this not what you were supposed to do in the first place?!”
From the powerful who sought someone to blame, the Moyong Clan could not be free.
“We might need a new Great General.”
“To protect the rights and interests of our northern tribes, we need someone with enough power and authority to be respected by all!”
After her father, the Northern Great General, was bedridden, the noise from the outside only grew louder.
“These days, I can’t even show my face outside!”
“We must stop the name of our Moyong Clan from falling any further!”
“If our family cannot maintain the position of Great General…”
Inside the family, the dissatisfaction of those who did not want to lose the power they had enjoyed for so long rose to a fever pitch.
“Rather…”
“How about we raise up a new Northern Great General with our own hands?”
The family turned its back on her. Her own family abandoned her.
“Dread King. How is that name?”
“Excellent.”
“The South might laugh at it for being too blatant.”
“But in this North, power is order and truth. That direct name will be more effective.”
The name of Dread King was thus first coined within the Moyong Clan.
“Are you out of your minds?! The Patriarch is still alive! Are you suggesting we enthrone a new Great General with our own hands?!”
“Wake up! Do you see a man who cannot speak, who cannot even move, as alive in your eyes?!”
Now, with the family split and fighting daily, she was alone.
Terribly alone.
Standing on the desolate plains of midwinter, where even the grass had withered, only a single sword, clotted with blood and snow, remained precarious in her frozen hand.
But she had to endure.
Because there were soldiers of the Great General’s Headquarters who trusted and followed her.
So she endured.
Even as the north wind raged, feeling as if it were carving her skin with blades. Even as her ears, slowly becoming necrotic from frostbite, struggled to hear…
Beyond the wind…
She strained her ears.
It was the sound of a flute.
Piercing through the shrieking scream of the north wind racing madly over the unobstructed plains, it was unmistakably the sound of a flute.
‘This melody…’
The sound she had heard in her childhood. The flute melody that caressed the depths of her heart and warmed her entire body.
“……”
Before she knew it, the snow had cleared.
Watching green sprouts blooming all the way to the other side of the field, she opened her eyes.
“Good morning.”
And there, standing by the window where the sun was rising, was a man smiling more brilliantly than the dazzling sunrise.
“Woonjeong.”
On the desk, the mountain of documents that had plagued her for months was neatly processed, stacked in orderly piles. Beside them sat a teacup, steam rising softly, the deep fragrance of tea leaves tickling her nose pleasantly.
“Good morning.”
And so, she could smile brightly even with her sleep-laden face.
“Grand Young Master.”
Because she was no longer alone.
***
“Waaaaah!”
At the sudden roar of shouting from outside, Moyong Woonjeong, who had been holding the warm teacup with both hands, tried to jump up.
“It is alright.”
Yeon Sohyeon, standing by the window, smiled and gestured for her to relax.
“What is happening?”
Relieved, she slowly set down the teacup and approached him. Yeon Sohyeon pointed out the window.
“Good news has arrived.”
“…Good news?”
When she looked out the window, she saw a long procession that looked like a merchant caravan lined up on the street at a glance.
And surrounding them…
“Waaaaah—!”
Crowds of people were gathering, cheering wildly.
“Don’t tell me…?!”
Her sharp mind caught on instantly, and she wore a look of shock.
“The food has arrived already?!”
Yeon Sohyeon smiled.
***
“Here, here! Line up!”
“Keep order!”
Unlike usual, the expressions of the soldiers maintaining order were bright.
“You don’t need to rush!”
On top of a wagon, the Merchant Head was shouting with a beaming face. He was a man of the Hwallo Merchant Guild, who had moved with the warriors formerly of the Spring of Luoyang.
“We will distribute all the food loaded on the wagons, so do not worry!”
The workers of the merchant group, who had crossed the steppes all night, were unpacking the food with cheerful faces. They scooped out grain to the refugees as fast as their hands could move.
“(Thank you! Thank you!)”
“(Bless you!)”
There was no delay in distribution like usual.
“W-Wait…!”
The duty general, who had managed to squeeze through the refugees with difficulty, shouted at the Merchant Head.
“If you distribute it wildly like that, what are we supposed to do…?!”
The crowd had gathered like a swarm of ants, and control already seemed impossible.
“What about military provisions?! We need to leave enough to stock the granary…!”
Just as the Merchant Head was about to say something to the flustered general—
“Gosh, what took you so long?!”
Ahn Song-gyeong, the Dasunrang, popped out and yelled.
“My eyes nearly fell out waiting all night!”
“Haha, well, there were circumstances…”
While the two bickered, the duty general beside them was restless.
“No, first. The granary… The stockpile…”
Someone tapped his shoulder.
“It is fine.”
The duty general turned around and looked shocked.
“Grand Young Master?!”
Grand Young Master Yeon Sohyeon spoke to him reassuringly.
“This is merely the first procession. The next convoys will arrive soon. That is why I ordered them to distribute everything to the refugees, so rest easy.”
“You mean the next procession is arriving soon?!”
Passing the startled general, Yeon Sohyeon stepped forward. The Merchant Head greeted him with a bright face.
“Grand Young Master!”
He gathered his hands politely and reported.
“Mission accomplished!”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Thank you!”
Yeon Sohyeon leaped lightly up beside him and shouted.
“People of the Central Plains…!”
The gathered crowd sent him a roar of cheers.
“(Long live the Grand Young Master!)”
“(Hurrah!)”
Yeon Sohyeon waved his hand as if to say they were wrong.
“(What is it…?)”
As the crowd chanting his name murmured in confusion, the Grand Young Master grinned and raised his internal energy to project his voice.
“(It is true that I, Grand Young Master Yeon Sohyeon, procured the food!)”
He pointed to one side and shouted.
“(But what is the greatest reason you were able to receive such plentiful food today?)”
He looked at Moyong Woonjeong, who had followed him out and now looked flustered as everyone’s gaze focused on her.
“(It is because Great General Regent Moyong Woonjeong, who has protected you until now, exists!)”
At that, a thunderous roar erupted from the crowd.
“(Long live the Great General!)”
“(Hurrah!)”
Though flustered at first, her face as she smiled awkwardly and waved her hand…
“(Hurrah!)”
…looked brighter than at any other moment.