Chapter 11.2 - Lady of YeonSung 11 (Each Other’s Truths) part 2 (2/2)

“All the feelings I had towards you and Yuha were true.”

“True? Even the dogs outside will bark out in laughter if they heard what you said just now. Is this what you call truth, Jewol?”

“Yujo……”

“If Brother dies, you will die as well.”

It was difficult to move her bloody, cracked lips. She felt as if her whole body and heart were broken. Yujo glanced at Jewol, who looked as if he were suffocating, and twisted her lips before speaking again.

“I’m going to capture all these arrogant members of the imperial family and feed them to the wild beasts of Yeha.”

She couldn’t see anything. She couldn’t hear anything. Her heart was burning with an intense hatred.

“Yujo!”

She wanted to get up and rush over to Jewol and strangle his neck. But she held back the urge and grit her teeth.

Even if she killed him right now, what would change? Would Yuha survive? Would they be able to return to Yeha? Silent tears ran down her cheeks. Jewol’s face also looked pained as he watched Yujo.

“I didn’t do it because I wanted to.”

“I don’t need your excuses.”

“I’m telling you the truth. Please trust me. It couldn’t be helped. The Crown Princes is……”

Jewol closed his eyes and turned his head away as if he were in pain.

“He’s a scary person. You don’t know what he’s capable of. The situation doesn’t look good right now, but I’ll make sure to get Yuha back.”

Yujo turned her head as she let out a hollow laugh. Whenever she thought of her brother, she felt as if her heart would burn a hole through her chest. Jewol hurriedly got down from his seat and knelt in front of Yujo as he looked up at her.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Yujo. But please endure this for now. Please trust me just this once. If we find the guibin, Yuha will be returned to us.”

“I don’t trust those words. The Crown Prince isn’t someone to be trusted. Even if we find the guibin, my brother will die.”

“There’s no way that will happen. I won’t let that happen.”

Jewol looked into her eyes as he whispered.

“We just need to find the guibin. The Crown Prince only wants the seal of the three-legged crow in her possession. He’s been searching for it for a long time. Until then, he won’t let Yuha die. Once we find the guibin and the three-legged crow’s seal, let’s try and strike a deal with the Crown Prince.”

A deal? Was it possible to strike a deal with the Crown Prince?

“If you think it’s impossible, are you going to give up?”

Jewol spoke as if he’d read her mind.

“Trust me. I also……”

Jewol’s face turned gloomy. He frantically hung onto Yujo. He didn’t even want to hink about losing her. But things had already become like this.

He needed to turn her heart back to him no matter what. No matter what, he needed to save Yujo and Yuha.

“Please trust me. I also do not want Yuha to die. I’m telling you the truth.”

Truth? Pfft, a bitter laugh burst out of Yujo’s lips.

In this kind of situation, a person’s truth was worthless.

She recalled the Red King.

What she did to Garan and what Jewol had done to her… What was the difference?!

Just this morning, she was in his arms as she gave him some ridiculous advice. She never expected to be in a situation where she would have to corner his mother and capture her.

Thankfully, she never told him her name. She didn’t want him to remember her name in such an ill-fated situation. She needed to erase it completely. She needed to forget all of it. She must never see him again.

“Your Highness, please relax and rest.”

The female doctor lowered her head in a deep bow and exited Princess Muyeo’s room. The door was firmly closed. The palace maids stood outside the door.

Inside the room, only Duke HyoEun remained as he tightly held the sick princess’s hand.

The princess’s face was pale. However, once the doors closed, her deathly sickly face suddenly transformed.

“What happened?”

“Shh.”

Duke HyoEun brought his finger up to his lips when he heard her question.

“My lord husband.”

“Please be quiet, Your Highness.”

After helping his wife sit up, he began to prepare. First, he slightly moved a decorative piece leaning against the wall and pulled out a doll that was the size of a person. Then he placed the doll on top of the princess’s bedding. Finally, he adjusted Muyeo’s rumpled appearance.

“I’ll stay behind. If something goes wrong, please pull on the cord. Once you do, it will ring a bell.”

“I’m scared.”

“Don’t be scared. You’ll do well.”

He smiled before placing a kiss on the princess’s lips. Muyeo gently received her husband’s kiss. Seol Joon was someone who had done everything for her sake. Even now. He had gone so far as to……

“Someone must stay behind. The Crown Prince’s soldiers are outside the residence. If they suspect something, they won’t hesitate to kill us all.”

“I know. Please don’t worry.”

Ever so prepared, he even handed her a lantern.

“Please hurry and return safely.”

Muyeo nodded and entered the secret tunnel. As she made her way through the narrow tunnel, she heard people speaking through he walls.

She walked for a long while before she came across a flight of stairs. She lifted her skirts and made her way down the stairs. Once she stepped into the basement, she felt a warm heat. She saw that Duke HyoEun had already brought some water, food, and even some medicine. However, that wasn’t important right now.

A woman was lying in a bed draped with curtains.

The woman was a lot skinner than she remembered. She was a lot paler, too. No, were her memories even accurate? Muyeo hadn’t seen her mother since the age of ten.

She didn’t even have a single portrait of her, so she couldn’t remember her face. Her mother’s face had always been vague like an unfinished drawing.

Was this woman truly her?

Was this woman truly her mother?

Was she truly the guibin who had vanished?

She wasn’t sure. She couldn’t remember her face. But her warmth felt familiar.

When the Heukra had first appeared, she merely laughed at the rumors. However, when the rumors said that the Heukra wore the guibin’s waistband, she couldn’t laugh anymore.

To the people of YeonSung, it was merely a strange rumor. But to Muyeo and her brother, it struck a nerve, bringing about a stinging pain.

However, when her husband Seol Joon confessed to the secret, she had felt so overjoyed that the pain didn’t matter anymore.

Her mother was alive.

Her mother was alive. With the Nine Families’ help, her mother was alive.

However, seven years ago, due to the cruel effects of the poison, her mother had become reduced to an invalid. She was merely a shell that was alive. She didn’t remember anything.

However, that wasn’t important. Mueyo was so happy and thankful that her mother was even alive.

“Now I’ll protect you, Mother.”

Muyeo quietly whispered as she gazed at the sleeping guibin.

No matter how many times she looked at her mother, she missed her.

Muyeo didn’t understand why her cheeks were wet. She lifted her hands and touched them. They were the cold remnants of her unstoppable sobs.