Chapter 294
Pearl Island, Lion’s Castle gate.
“Welcome.”
In the past eight years, how many times had Seol Su-Ah suppressed her anger and nervousness?
Every time she saw the child of the person who’d been like a parent to her, Seol Su-Ah felt an overwhelming urge to rush over and shield him from all hardships. “Your father has blessed me with great kindness,” she imagined herself saying. “So I will protect you from now on.”
Of course, those words never did leave her heart
They couldn’t.
Back then, any careless move on her part would’ve invited far worse consequences. If she’d openly sided with the Kang family, many forces in Korea—including Ji Cheon-Myeong and the military—would’ve redoubled their pressure on her; most likely, she would’ve lost jurisdiction over Lion’s Castle, the one resource, the one safe haven she’d managed to keep.
And domestic conflict would’ve been the least of her problems. Qilin and the Sword Master, the chief culprits behind the Yaksha’s fall, would surely have moved to silence her.
In fact, Seoul Su-Ah hadn’t known the identities of the culprits behind the Yaksha’s fall and had only found out recently thanks to Jae-Hyeok. Before then, not knowing had only made her all the more cautious; After all, that the culprits could besiege the Yaksha spoke volumes of their strength. Seol Su-Ah knew she wasn’t their match, so what she feared most was drawing these hidden enemies to Korea before Jae-Hyeok was ready. Before then—she could only hide in the dark, leaving Jae-Hyeok to bear the pain of a shattered family and the weight of a reviled surname for all these years.
Logically, she knew this was best for Jae-Hyeok. But emotionally, Seol Su-Ah’s heart bled at the injustices Jae-Hyeok was forced to suffer alone.
Only today was her heart finally free.
“Congratulations on passing the second tribulation. Your father would be so proud.”