Until just now, I couldn’t understand everything Hwa Ui said. Terms like ‘Conception vesseli’ and ‘Governor vessel’ were probably related to martial arts.

However, I could somewhat understand with just one word he mentioned at the end: sword dance. 

It probably meant nonsense.

Hwa Ui repeatedly stroked his beard. A sigh mixed with his breath came out of his mouth.

If he were a monk, he would bang on a wooden table and sweep his beard quickly enough to recite the “Amitabha” mantra.

After organizing his thoughts for a while, he slowly spoke up.

“Have you ever learned martial arts?”

“I did briefly when I was young…”

“Judging by your reaction, it seems it wasn’t a great time. Well, it’s impossible to learn martial arts with such a body and blood vessels. But… it’s regrettable, truly regrettable. Don’t you think so, Young Cult Leader?”

His words seeking agreement were directed at Hyuk Dojin. He looked down at me intently, then calmly grasped my wrist after sitting on the bed.

Meanwhile, Hwa Ui, who had been sighing behind me, clicked his tongue low and shook his head.

“If only you were a little healthier, you would undoubtedly have become an incredible master. It’s a pity.”

“…That’s not really important right now, Hwa Ui. What matters is not whether Sowol has any talent or if she can harness it, but why she collapsed yesterday.”

“Tsk…”

Hyuk Dojin, who had been staring at my wrist, raised his gaze to look into my eyes and spoke softly.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Hungry?”

I didn’t feel particularly hungry, but Hyuk Dojin’s words followed my wandering thoughts.

“I haven’t eaten anything since collapsing yesterday afternoon. So, even if I’m not hungry, it might be good to eat a little.”

As he clapped his hands, Joo Hwarin bowed and left the room. Hyuk Dojin released my wrist and turned his waist to look at Hwa Ui, speaking.

“Do you have any medicine that Sowol could take?”

“If I prepare some herbs to restore vitality, it might be effective. Even if this young lady is so weak that she collapses easily, that should be enough.”

“Please.”

“Asking so modestly… I should make a coffin this year. Seeing so many unexpected things, there will surely be bad luck next year.”

Shaking his head with a sense of disgust, Hwa Ui turned around and left the room. With two people leaving the bustling room, the commotion settled down.

Was it quite a big deal that I fainted yesterday?

Actually, I thought Hyuk Dojin wouldn’t be concerned about my collapse. I thought he would just take minimal care of me and nothing more.

But Hyuk Dojin seemed to be more deeply concerned about my collapsed state than I initially thought. It wasn’t a bad thing. It was better than being mistreated and tormented.

But I felt sorry for him. From yesterday until now, despite it only being a day, I had been telling many lies.

His kindness in calling Hwa Ui to check my body and asking for medicine was appreciated, but also regrettable. Despite his efforts, negative words lingered in my mouth.

‘Futile effort.’

No matter how much I’m urged and persuaded to take medicine, I won’t make it through this winter. The reason the medicines and elixirs that the Moyong clan used to feed me were discontinued is that my condition worsened.

They poured money into giving me herbs and elixirs. Moyong Do even gave me some of his own.

But even with more medicine, my condition didn’t improve, and instead, it continued to worsen. So the clan probably judged that it wouldn’t be meaningful to continue medication.

That’s why no matter how hard Hyuk Dojin tries, I only have half a year left. That’s all.

I looked at him as he remained silent, his lips drawn into a straight line as if he was thinking about something.

In the novel he was a very cold character.

He seemed unable to understand Moyong Do’s anger toward his sister’s death.

[Isn’t it you who abandoned your sister? Why does your proud Righteous Sect blame me after your clan used her as a political pawn and abandoned her? Is that the true nature of your Righteous Sect, which always preached justice?]

He always maintained the same attitude. He acted as if he had no connection to Moyong Sowol’s death.

Moyong Do also knew that. His sister had been sick since she was young, and her death was not the fault of the Demon Cult.

But his anger had nowhere to go, so it could only pour into a harsh place.

However, unlike the original story, Hyuk Dojin showed a calm and gentle demeanor from our first meeting. It was unimaginable that such a Hyuk Dojin coldly drawing a line and pushing Moyong Do.

No matter how much you hold on to it, time flows like water. And the time given to me will also run out.

Is this form only half a year? Thinking so, everything felt futile.

“Sowol.”

When his voice calling my name pulled me out of my thoughts, I raised my head to see Hyuk Dojin was staring at me intently.

“When I asked if you were okay yesterday after you collapsed and started bleeding from your nose, Sowol said it was nothing serious. Just that you were tired.”

“…That’s right.”

“And when Hwa Ui checked Sowol’s pulse and confirmed your health, he said there were no particular problems. In fact, he even said that the young lady’s blood vessels were clean, healthier than others’. Do you know that?”

Instead of answering, I nodded once. Hyuk Dojin looked at me with unwavering eyes.

“So, if I believe that yesterday was simply a result of fatigue and you just rested to relieve that fatigue, can I trust that?”

“You can trust me. Because it’s not a lie.”

I replied casually, without avoiding the sincere gaze directed at me. But he remained silent, his lips pursed as if demanding a different answer from me.

Does this man know it’s a lie? Does he know that I’m lying to him?

I felt a sense of guilt from his unchanged expression as he listened to me. Why am I lying?

Maybe it would be better to just stop caring since I only have half a year left.

After all, it wasn’t a marriage out of love. Even in the Demon Cult, they just needed an excuse. So maybe it would be better for him to know that I’m terminally ill.

But when he asked me, looking at me with a serious gaze, if he could trust me again, I found myself once again unable to hold back the lie.

And yet, I had to smile. A false smile that said it’s okay to trust.

Hyuk Dojin exhaled deeply as he looked at me intently. Then he got up from his seat and reached out to me.

I stared at his hand for a moment before placing my hand on top of his palm. He gently exerted pressure and pulled me out of bed.

“I hope you won’t faint with nosebleeds again while we’re out for a meal, right?”

The atmosphere loosened, and the sense of seriousness that Hyuk Dojin had seemed to dissipate, allowing me to smile lightly.

Hyuk Dojin brought over a small piece of cloth hanging on the wall and covered my shoulders with it before pulling me up by my shoulders. When I looked down at our hands  and then back at him, he was smiling softly.

“I guess it’s better to rely on me if you’re feeling unsteady.”

“It’s okay. I can walk.”

“I know. You can walk.”

He lightly tapped his fingers, resting on my shoulder, with a nonchalant expression.

“That’s why I didn’t carry you.”

“…”

“If I thought you couldn’t walk, I would have picked you up immediately.”

Suddenly, I remembered yesterday when he lifted me up and tilted my head awkwardly. Had there ever been a time when I hugged another man like this, other than Moyong Do? Especially with a nosebleed…

Nosebleed?

I urgently glanced at Hyuk Dojin’s sleeve. Then, I turned my gaze to the mirror hanging on the wall and examined my face reflected in it.

I definitely collapsed right after the nosebleed. So there should have been blood stains on my face.

Come to think of it, the clothes I was wearing were different too. They weren’t the clothes I brought. Most of the clothes in the nearby Liaoning region were thick and made of fur and leather.

But the clothes I was wearing were made of thin silk. Probably the attire of this region.

As I stared blankly at the mirror, a low voice came from behind.

“I didn’t do it.”

“…?”

When I turned my head, Hyuk Dojin was making an innocent expression. He looked at me intently and spoke up again.

“I asked the maid. But it wasn’t me.”

And as if emphasizing it, he insisted once again that he hadn’t done anything.

What hadn’t he done?

I tilted my head as I thought silently.

“What?”

“I… didn’t…”

He hesitated, pursing his lips. Then he sighed as if giving up.

“I didn’t change your clothes. They were stained with blood, so I was asked to change them. Moreover, since the blood had seeped into your body, it was necessary to take them off.”

Oh, that’s what he meant.

I hadn’t even been thinking about who changed my clothes, but Hyuk Dojin’s voluntary insistence on innocence made me burst into laughter.

Was it really that difficult to say it wasn’t him?

“I just asked someone else to do it. I didn’t lift a finger.”

“I get it. I believe you.”

“And I didn’t even watch while someone else changed your clothes.”

“You’re telling me to believe it?”

Surely the future leader of the Demon Cult wouldn’t watch the woman, who would become his wife, change clothes from the side. It wouldn’t make sense considering the impression I got of him yesterday.

As I tried to step back with a light laugh, he opened his mouth again.

“I absolutely didn’t see it.”

I turned my head at his insistence of innocence. Staring into his eyes, which seemed to urge me to believe him, I narrowed my eyes.

He raised an eyebrow as if asking why.

“…Do you know that saying?”

“What saying?”

“Strong denial is strong affirmation.”

The strength in his eyes dissipated at my words, and he stared at me blankly with his mouth slightly open.

“By denying it so strongly, you actually create suspicion…”

“It’s a misunderstanding. I just…”

He opened his mouth again to insist on his innocence, but hastily closed it.

“…Just?”

What would come after ‘just’? I didn’t know exactly, but probably something like that.

“You just tried to watch, but failed… something like that?”

His face turned red with embarrassment. But I was equally embarrassed.

Was he really reacting so sensitively to my little joke… Or was that true?

Looking at him stiffly, I quietly let go of his hand and stepped away from his shoulder. Looking into his eyes, I said softly.

“…Don’t hold my hand.”

Surely the Young Cult LEader wasn’t a pervert. It seemed strange when he said that we’re going to share a room.

I can’t believe it was all planned. He was a scary man.