My parents’ death, the car accident, my manager Young-seok Hyung’s death, the Demon-possessed chef’s attack.
Is their goal really to eliminate the descendants of the Royal Family?
The Korean Empire disappeared a long time ago, so why?
“Has this happened before?”
The history of this land has seen many crises, such as foreign invasions, loss of sovereignty, and wars.
Could this sword have appeared during those crises as well?
{This covenant disappears once fulfilled.}
This was the first time, it said.
“Then later, this ring… no, the sword will also disappear?”
{No. I am the one leaving the sword. I was trapped inside the Sacred object.}
Trapped?
Usually, when something is sealed, it’s because it causes trouble or harms humans, right?
Son Wukong was trapped under some mountain, and evil spirits are sealed with talismans.
“You don’t have to worry. It is bound to obey the master of its blood.”
Surprised by the voice coming from in front of me, not just in my head, I opened my eyes.
Before I knew it, the white-haired Mystical Creature was in front of me.
He grinned, revealing sharp fangs between his parted lips.
“You said other people can see you.”
“Yes. But it’s too stuffy inside there. If you allow it, shall I change my form into a dog or a cat?”
Pets aren’t allowed in the hospital. Does he have to be out here with me?
“So, because a ghost or Demon has appeared, I have to get rid of it?”
“You’re good at dodging the question.”
The white-haired Mystical Creature’s smile gave me goosebumps.
He definitely wasn’t likeable.
“As I said before, the power of the Sacred object is weakening. You must first increase its power.”
“How do I increase its power?”
The white-haired Mystical Creature stared intently at my face without a word.
“Looking at you like this, you resemble the king, no, the emperor who had a Taoist shackle me during the dynasty. Your face looks similar too. What was his posthumous title again….”
If he’s talking about a dynasty, he must mean Joseon.
Which king of Joseon is he talking about?
I recalled the genealogy of the Joseon Dynasty that I remembered.
‘Taejo, Taejong, Taejong, Sejong, Munjong, Danjong, Sejo, Yejong….’
I couldn’t remember any more.
“Oh dear, it’s been so long that I’ve forgotten too.”
Judging by the white-haired monster’s expression, he seemed to be teasing me.
I should just tell him to go back into the ring.
“I apologize.”
He really was teasing me.
“You misunderstand. It’s just that I’m overly excited and acting foolish because I’ve seen the world after so long. Please forgive me.”
Whether he’s a beast-man, a monster, or a Mystical Creature, his identity is uncertain, but judging by his smooth-talking personality, it was clear that I needed to take the lead.
“It will be as you wish.”
First, I need to stop him from reading my mind.
“First, you must gather the scattered spiritual energy. You must also recover the power lost when the Spell was transferred, and you must be able to handle the Sacred object skillfully.”
“Spiritual energy… I don’t even know what it is, so it’ll be difficult to do it alone.”
“That’s why I’ve been assigned to you. Most petty ghosts will disappear with just my command. However, the awakening of the Sacred object means that a great ghost has stirred…”
“A great ghost?”
“Unlike petty ghosts, this is a Demon that has accumulated spiritual energy for a long time. Even if it wears a human mask, it won’t be obvious. If such a Demon has stirred, various misfortunes will occur to humans.”
Not just me, but other people are in danger too?
“Like that chef, there will be many who are possessed by petty ghosts…”
“Chef?”
“Yes, the one who attacked you with a knife. There will be many people who are attacked by those possessed by ghosts.”
Ah, the cook.
Come to think of it, if it was just a matter of attacking me, there would have been no need to use Sorcery on the Sacred object.
The fact that the Sacred object, which didn’t appear even when the empire fell or during wars, has appeared now suggests that strange incidents and accidents caused by Demons will continue to occur.
“Yes, I think so too.”
According to this Mystical Creature, my parents’ accident, my abandonment, and even the hit-and-run accident a while ago were likely the work of Demons.
He said that he couldn’t know the exact situation because he was asleep in the sword, but those possessed by Demons were targeting the Royal Family or the Sacred object.
“You must chase away the Demons with me and the sword, which is the Sacred object. That is the duty of the descendant who summoned the Sacred object.”
I didn’t knowingly summon it, but suddenly I have a duty.
The scar-like Spell was just uncomfortable to hide.
Moreover, I couldn’t finish this activity well because of the accident, and the accident happened at the drama production presentation, so I don’t know what will happen in the future.
My livelihood is becoming precarious, and I have to chase away Demons.
It feels a bit unfair, and like a nightmare.
Including that Mystical Creature or monster in front of me.
* * *
Yangpyeong, where the memorial hall was located, was deep in autumn.
Just a while ago, my manager Young-seok Hyung said it was hot even though it was September, but now the wind was cool.
I adjusted my collar and headed towards the entrance of the memorial hall, where red leaves were scattered on the ground.
My grandmother and the CEO were next to me, and Kim Woo-jin followed behind.
– Shutter sounds
The quiet entrance of the memorial hall was filled with the loud sound of camera shutters.
The reporters called by the Imperial Family Association were stationed at the entrance.
“Lee Young-ssi! How old were you when your parents passed away?”
“Did you grow up in an orphanage? Why did you hide that you were an orphan?”
I never hid that I was an orphan.
My fans knew, but my recognition wasn’t high enough for it to become a topic.
“Do you agree with the restoration of the Imperial Family?”
Until I got out of the car, I had anticipated the questions the reporters would ask and thought about how to answer them.
But I never imagined these questions.
“No, what is this…”
The moment the CEO’s voice burst out, a middle-aged man blocked the reporters.
“Reporters, today is the first day Song Yiyoung is visiting his parents since the accident. Please ask your questions after the memorial.”
The middle-aged man cleared the way for my grandmother and me. He seemed to be from the Imperial Family Association.
No more questions came out, but the shutter sounds didn’t stop.
Inside the glass display case were my parents’ urns.
Next to the urns, which were side by side in one space, were small flowers and photos.
“It took almost twenty years. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t find you every time I came…”
My grandmother’s words were drowned out by the surrounding shutter sounds.
“Reporters! Here…”
“Oh my, reporters, take pictures up to here and then go have a cup of coffee with me.”
Cutting off the CEO’s words, the Imperial Family Association person reappeared and dragged the reporters away.
The CEO, looking like his anger hadn’t subsided, gestured to me that he would be back and ran towards the reporters.
“It’s getting noisy because we received help. I’m sorry.”
“…It’s okay.”
It seemed that the Imperial Family Association was trying to increase the power of the organization through this incident.
My grandmother wasn’t the only descendant of the Royal Family left, and other descendants claiming legitimacy were in the Imperial Family Association.
So, it seemed that my grandmother couldn’t tell them what to do, and I was thinking of matching their tune to a reasonable extent.
I looked closely at the photo placed next to the urns.
In one photo, a man and a woman in suits and a dress, as if taken while preparing for a wedding, were smiling brightly.
And in another photo, the man and woman were wearing hanboks and holding a young child.
“I only put photos of the two of them at first, but I was worried they’d be lonely without you, so I put in a photo with you too. Can you recognize your mom and dad’s faces?”
No.
They’re both strangers to me.
I brought up the words I had been putting off the whole way here.
The fact that I had no memories before the accident.
“Grandma, actually, I don’t remember: my childhood.”
“What?”
My memories, which started from the orphanage ceiling, hadn’t returned since then.
As I grew up, I was curious about my parents, but I couldn’t remember them, so I asked the children around me how old they remembered things.
The children said they didn’t remember things from last year very well, so I thought I was the same.
“You don’t remember anything?”
“I only remember someone calling me Yiyoung-ah.”
Thinking about it now, there’s a high possibility that the voice was my mother’s.
If it’s the voice of an adult woman, calling me urgently, that’s probably it.
I had guessed it when I was young too.
But the voice was so desperate, and my heart raced just thinking about it, so I hoped it wasn’t my mother’s voice.
I had tried to ignore it, thinking it could be the voice of the director when she was younger, or the voice of another adult who wasn’t my mother.
Grandmother sat on the chair next to her. I sat next to her as well.
“Can I have the photos of my parents?”
“Of course, of course. They’re still at home. If you go and see where you used to live and look at the photos, you might remember something else.”
Home.
Having lived in an orphanage and a trainee dormitory, and still living in a team dormitory, the word home was unfamiliar to me.
I called the orphanage an orphanage and the dormitory a dormitory, but I didn’t call it home.
“Is your injury okay?”
“Yes. It seems I wasn’t as badly hurt as I thought.”
It’s thanks to the monster-like Mystical Creature who healed me, but I can’t say that.
“I think the person stabbed your shoulder to break the Sorcery.”
That was a valid guess.
But as the Sorcery broke, the hidden Sacred object came out.
“The Spell on my shoulder has disappeared.”
“…Really?”
My grandmother seemed surprised, but she quickly changed her expression.
“It can’t be helped that the Sacred object disappeared. But at least you won’t be in danger because of it anymore…”
“It turned into a ring instead.”
I showed my grandmother the hand with the ring on it.
My grandmother was so surprised that she couldn’t speak.
“There was a sword in my hand after I was attacked, right? The Spell broke and the Sacred object came out.”
“Who said that?”
“Ah… no, I think so. Yes.”
{You don’t have to hide it.}
The monster-like Mystical Creature, who had been quiet all day, chimed in.
My grandmother would be so surprised if she saw the monster-like Mystical Creature.
“So, this ring is that sword?”
“Yes.”
My grandmother seemed to be thinking about something quietly, and then her complexion darkened. Then she reached out her hand to me.
“I’ll keep this ring. From the beginning, the Spell was engraved on my back. Because of that, Yeonju and Husband Song were harmed, and now you’re constantly being threatened. It’s my fault. I should have refused when the military officers told me to do it back then…”
I held my grandmother’s hand.
“Grandma, you said this is a Sacred object, right? Then there must be a reason why it came to me and turned into a cool sword. Maybe it’s to protect me? It appeared as a sword and helped me this time too.”
“But because of that…”
“I’ll throw it away if I think it’s dangerous because of this. And do you see the manager behind me? He’s from the National Intelligence Service.”
Pointing to Kim Woo-jin, who was guarding the rear, and whispering in her ear, a faint smile spread across her face.
“Grandma and Mom worked hard to protect it.
It’s come to me, so I’ll keep a good eye on it this time.”
Grandmother’s hand reached my face.
“I lost you as a baby, but you came back all grown up. I haven’t been able to see my precious grandchild all this time, so what should I do?”
My fans have dug up all my childhood photos, so I should show them to her later.
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