Chapter 16: Descendant of the Disappeared Throne

A mournful weeping sound came from behind. 

The ghost, Jang Ha-woon, was crying sorrowfully.

So this was what they called the sound of ghosts wailing.

I felt like a strange tale was about to be born in Suwon, so I wriggled my legs and got down from Baek-mung’s arms.

Soon, it would be a main road with many people passing by.

“I can’t go out looking like this.”

After turning the sword into a ring, I told Baek-mung to go into the ring, and Jang Ha-woon to hide the sword.

Jang Ha-woon’s attire was conspicuous, but I thought it wouldn’t be too noticeable at night.

“Which way did Kim Woo-jin go?”

I asked about Kim Woo-jin’s whereabouts, but Baek-mung didn’t seem to have seen him and didn’t answer. 

Just then, Jang Ha-woon took a step closer and spoke.

“Hic… Your Highness, your disloyal subject, hic…”

“Don’t cry and talk.”

“Hic… Yes. I can sense the location of the sword that man possesses.”

“How? No, never mind that for now, let’s go find Kim Woo-jin.”

Jang Ha-woon was fast on his feet, as befitting a ghost.

 If my cardiopulmonary endurance wasn’t good, I would have stopped midway and asked to rest.

Kim Woo-jin was standing in the middle of a dark alley, holding a gun and a sword, looking around.

“Kim Woo-jin.”

“Ah, are you alright?”

The faint light that had been around Kim Woo-jin’s sword was gone. 

It meant he was away from the Demon.

Kim Woo-jin, noticing my gaze, finally checked his sword’s condition and put it back in its scabbard.

“I’m sorry.”

“I think you even fired a gun earlier.”

“I didn’t have time to attach the silencer… I aimed for the leg, but I think it just grazed him. I’ll check if there’s any bloodstains left.” 

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No.”

“That’s a relief. Even if you’re a National Intelligence Service agent, it’s dangerous to chase after him alone. Anyway, it’s been confirmed that Kim Woo-jin’s sword reacts to Demons.”

In the end, we couldn’t catch that person. 

The police also searched the alley until dawn, but it was all in vain.

The only gain was the bloodstains left on the ground. But there was no matching DNA. 

The only information from the blood was that it was type AB.

*    *    *

[I think I saw Lee Young in Suwon yesterday?]

The next day, another sighting was posted on the community forum.

[Yesterday, I was taking the bus home from work and there was someone wearing Hanbok.

I know there are a lot of tourists wearing Hanbok near Haenggung Palace, but it was a rather unique men’s Hanbok, so it caught my eye.

You know the attire of a military officer and the hat of a military officer, right? 

The gat, but the thick one, he was wearing that. That’s not common.

And two people were carrying swords. I thought they were preparing for King Jeongjo’s procession.

I took a picture because it looked cool, but when I zoomed in on the picture, one of the people holding a sword looked like Lee Young? Besides, I think King Jeongjo’s procession was in the fall.]

Attached to the bottom of the post was a picture of me, Jang Ha-woon holding a sword in the dark, and the Baek-mung doll in my hand.

– Seeing the red hilt, it seems like it’s Song Yiyoung.

– Can you distinguish the red color? I just see black.

The sword held by the person wearing the military officer’s uniform looks like a regular model sword.

I saw a picture of that doll on Lee Young’s Instagram.

– What is Lee Young filming?

– Yeah, I think they’re filming something.

I live near there, but I didn’t hear any gunshots yesterday?

– But why is he carrying a doll?

– I’m a Cream, that doll is like a fan symbol.

Following that, a picture taken by a Japanese tourist was also uploaded. 

It showed the three of us, including Kim Woo-jin, holding swords.

With the second sighting after Ichon-dong, the agency and the Cultural Heritage Administration moved quickly.

[Lee Young, appointed as the Cultural Heritage Administration’s public relations ambassador]

[Cultural Heritage Administration, ‘Promoting Our Cultural Heritage to the World’ video release imminent]

Separately from this, Kim Woo-jin had to write a report on the circumstances of firing a gun without attaching a silencer.

*    *    *

Today, I was also wearing a perfect Hanbok, complete with a gat.

If I had known I would be wearing Hanbok so often, I would have grown out my ponytail and tied it into a topknot.

I was also wearing a lot of accessories, which were even more extravagant than last time because of the accessory sponsorship.

“They said they’ll give you all the Hanbok and accessories as a gift.”

Listening to the stylist team’s story, I wondered if I would ever have the chance to wear this again.

“They said they would even make an Ikseongwan, but I refused.”

I silently gave a thumbs up.

“I knew you would hate it.’

“If I wore that around, I’d get a lot of hate.”

“If you think like that, you won’t be able to film any historical dramas anymore.”

“Anyway, my pronunciation doesn’t suit traditional historical dramas.”

“Still, Hanbok suits you so well…”

I smiled a little bitterly.

Even if I wanted to, the production company or investors would definitely feel burdened because I was a descendant of the Royal Family.

Even Professor canceled the casting because of it, so they would definitely be wary of historical dramas with historical accuracy.

Maybe a fusion historical drama would be possible.

{Despite Jaga’s handsome appearance and noble character, those who canceled the casting will eventually regret it.}

Pretending not to hear Baek-mung’s words, who was unusually flattering as if his tongue was oiled, I left the waiting room.

{It’s not flattery, Jaga.}

I had a lot of shots to film today, so I told Baek-mung to stay with Kim Woo-jin, and he went into the ring.

He said he didn’t like being in the ring, so he seemed to be shy.

Jang Ha-woon seemed to be feeling nostalgic about being back in Changdeokgung Palace and disappeared to look around the palace. 

“Younger brother, Your Highness, I will look around the palace in advance.”

“Without the Your Highness.”

“Yes, younger brother.”

After the Paldalmun incident, Jang Ha-woon decided to call me younger brother. 

It turned out that Jang Ha-woon was two years older than me.

*    *    *

“Jang Ha-woon is older than me. Then call me by my name.”

“Your Highness, how can this humble subject do that to Your Highness? Please withdraw your command.”

Looking at Jang Ha-woon, who was kneeling and trembling, I racked my brain for words to persuade him. 

“Even when Jang Ha-woon was alive, you weren’t supposed to call just anyone Your Highness, right?”

“That’s right. You could be punished for treason.”

“It’s the same here. If I, a descendant of a fallen nation, act like a member of the Royal Family, what will people think of me? Besides, I have a job where I’m exposed to the public, so I shouldn’t do that even more.”

“Hic… Your Highness!”

Jang Ha-woon cried for a long time at the news that Joseon and the Empire had disappeared, but eventually decided to do as I said.

However, we agreed to call me ‘younger brother’ instead of my name.

I was also curious as to why he mistook me for the Crown Prince of the Joseon Dynasty, whom he had guarded, but it was a priority to get him to adapt to modern times.

But after sorting out the titles with Jang Ha-woon, Baek-mung seemed a little sulky.

“How old is Baek-mung? I guess he’s older than me?”

Baek-mung didn’t answer.

“No one knows how old that monster is. Judging from his ability to use illusions, he must have lived for hundreds of years.”

Hundreds of years. Come to think of it, he did mention a king, a Taoist, and so on. 

What is his true identity?

If Jang Ha-woon’s words were true, Baek-mung was like a great-great-grandfather.

Baek-mung didn’t say anything about his age, even though he would have read my mind. 

So I didn’t ask any further.

And Jang Ha-woon brought up another matter.

“I felt something strange about the sword that Kim Woo-jin possesses. That’s why I was able to sense his location. I don’t know the reason yet, but I will definitely find out and report it to Your Highness, no, younger brother.”

I thought that the reason was that there were invisible Spells written on it, as Baek-mung had said. 

I wondered if Sorcery had been cast on it so that they could find Kim Woo-jin or his family elders even if they ran away.

If Kim Woo-jin’s family knew this fact, wouldn’t that Four Evil Beheading Sword be terrifying?

*    *    *

Kim Woo-jin reported to the National Intelligence Service that the Demon that appeared in Paldalmun was different from the patterns that had appeared so far.

“The problem is that there has been a change in the pattern of being possessed by a ghost. The chef who appeared at the production presentation, and the perpetrator of the random stabbing incident, both lost their will to attack after being subdued.”

Up until this point, these serial stabbing incidents were just strange incidents.

However, the cultural commentator Kim Joo-chan and the student in Ichon-dong could not be subdued with light physical attacks, and we had to find and cut down the Demon hiding in the shadows.

“At the same time, they had no memory of the incident. We have seen this as evidence that their own will was not involved.”

But this time, the AB-type man who appeared in Paldalmun attacked me and ran away even after the Demon in the shadows disappeared.

“If there were only cases where physical suppression was possible and cases where the Demon in the shadows had to be cut down, now we have to keep in mind cases where they are attached not only to the shadows but also to the person’s body.”

We decided to divide them arbitrarily. It was awkward to say Demon in front of other people.

The chef and the perpetrator of the random stabbing were Stage 1, Kim Joo-chan and the Ichon-dong student were Stage 2, and the person we saw in Paldalmun became Stage 3.

“I’m thinking of filming next time, what do you think?”

“Filming? That… getting rid of the Demon?”

“Yes. Since it’s a difficult incident to believe just by reporting it verbally. If the National Intelligence Service doesn’t know at all, it’s one thing, but since we’re sharing the contents, I think it’s better to get solid support.”

Would they believe it if they saw the video? 

The appearance of a person possessed by a Demon is no different from that of an ordinary person.

“It can also help the person possessed by the ghost because it can prove that it wasn’t their own will.”

“If we leave it as a video record, can’t we create a facial composite even if Stage 3 runs away?”

I was startled by Jang Ha-woon’s words.

“You’re really adapting to modern things quickly.”

“Younger brother, I used to be called a prodigy in my younger days. But as my curiosity about the world grew…”

“Jaga, if it’s a Demon that destroyed the Figurine and took its spiritual power, it will have more power than the one who escaped from Paldalmun.”

In addition to that, Baek-mung warned of the appearance of a Stage 4 Demon that was stronger than the Demon he saw in Paldalmun. 

Hearing those words, I was worried about how many stages would appear in the future.

Could I handle it if a more powerful Demon appeared? 

If I missed it, I might need the help of the National Intelligence Service.

So, as Kim Woo-jin said, we decided to film next time.

*    *    *

The first step in restoring the Figurine was Changdeokgung Palace, which was registered as a World Heritage Site.

The promotional video would be broadcast all over the world, saying that all the stolen Figurines would be restored, starting with Changdeokgung Palace.

The scene of the restoration had already been filmed, and today was the day to film the interior of Changdeokgung Palace after the restoration.

Yoon Dae-han of the Cultural Heritage Administration said that he had quickly scheduled the video release date because of the sighting of the Four Evil Beheading Sword.

They planned to quell the public’s questions by saying that it was a filming for the promotion of the Cultural Heritage Administration.

“The Hanbok suits you even better today.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ve had a lot of worries about casting problems every time I re-shoot the promotional video, but it’s really reassuring to have Lee Young.”

I was grateful for Yoon Dae-han’s heart to make me feel comfortable.

{Are my words flattery and that official’s words grateful? Don’t trust the officials too much. They are the ones who can hide a knife behind their backs.}

I waved my hand and ignored Baek-mung’s words that were ringing in my head.