Joo Hwarin paced restlessly in front of the darkened room. Worried that Moyong Sowol, who was outside in the cold weather, might be exposed to the wind, she could only move her legs back and forth.

In the middle, Hyuk Dojin came and instructed her to warm up the room, saying he would take care of it, but she couldn’t help but worry.

Joo Hwarin constantly bit her lips, concerned that Moyong Sowol’s weak body might be damaged by the cold wind. She had prepared warm water in the bathtub, tea to warm the body, medicine for colds, and softer blankets, but it still seemed insufficient.

Constantly pacing, she thought about what to do, what should she do?

Worrying about Moyong Sowol to the point of feeling like she would collapse, Joo Hwarin finally couldn’t endure it anymore and moved her feet.

Let’s go and bring her directly. Just as she made that decision, a person appeared through the darkness.

Joo Hwarin flinched at the sight of the man who appeared without any presence, but soon her eyes widened when she discovered Moyong Sowol sleeping in his arms.

“Miss!”

Joo Hwarin approached hurriedly. It was an attitude of being more concerned about Moyong Sowol than her own master, the Young Cult Leader, Hyuk Dojin. If it had been anyone else, it wouldn’t have been strange to scold and get angry, but Hyuk Dojin remained calm.

Joo Hwarin hastily unfolded the blanket she had wrapped around her hand and covered Moyong Sowol, who was held in Hyuk Dojin’s arms, and urgently spoke.

“What happened?! Did she collapse from being exposed to too much wind…?!”

Hyuk Dojin shook his head, lifted his finger to his lips, and made a small sound.

Joo Hwarin closed her mouth and looked at Hyuk Dojin again as if asking what had happened. He smiled slowly and passed by Joo Hwarin like sliding into the room. Joo Hwarin followed and pulled back the blanket covering the bed.

Hyuk Dojin, as if he had been waiting, placed Moyong Sowol inside and smiled brightly. Receiving the blanket from Joo Hwarin’s hand, he covered Moyong Sowol up to her shoulders and sat on a chair. He gently held Moyong Sowol’s hand under the blanket.

Hyuk Dojin silently held her cold hand until it thawed. After gazing at Moyong Sowol for a while, his gaze rose and looked at Joo Hwarin just after Moyong Sowol’s hand had become warm.

“Wipe Sowol’s body lightly with a warm, damp towel to remove the chill.”

“I understand.”

While Joo Hwarin disappeared to wet the towel, Hyuk Dojin slowly let go of her hand and rubbed his face with his palm. Leaning on the chair, he blankly looked up at the ceiling, his eyes sinking deep.

Blankly staring at one spot as if scanning the grid on the ceiling, his eyes closed, and his hand that had been hanging down rose. The dampness that hadn’t dried yet touched his fingertips as he rubbed his chest.

It was Moyong Sowol’s tears and at the same time, fragments of the deep emotions she had shown him for the first time. The sound of her shouting that she wanted to live, that she didn’t want to die, was so desperate.

It was a genuine side of her that he could see, who had never had any emotional ups and downs. Therefore, Hyuk Dojin could now be sincere.

He too had many worries. The words Hwa Ui had spoken made him think a lot as well.

Whether the things he was doing to keep Moyong Sowol from getting sick and to keep her by his side a little longer were causing her pain. And if Moyong Sowol herself didn’t want it, should he really leave her be even if he knew that, or should he continue to cling to her despite that?

Hyuk Dojin had looked back on his own life. He had worried a lot about whether he was forcibly holding onto Moyong Sowol because of his longing and regret for his mother, whom he couldn’t protect in the past.

That’s why he couldn’t take any action even when he saw the possibility of healing her. He could only watch helplessly.

But now she had shown her true heart, that she wanted to live. That meant the powerless years he had spent were not meaningless.

“Mother…”

His most precious person, who was like his life.

Hyuk Dojin’s upper body slowly collapsed onto the bed where Moyong Sowol was sleeping. Lightly covering her hand that was exposed above the blanket, Hyuk Dojin’s eyes slowly closed.

“I have found a reason to risk my life.”

Someone I can bet my everything on.

* * *

Shin Hohyeol, the head of the Cliff Rivers Shin clan, was sitting with a very unpleasant face.

Shin Yubin, the mysterious woman who was the second daughter of the Cliff Rivers Shin clan, was flipping through the pages of a book in front of him, as if she didn’t care about her grandfather’s mood.

Shin Hohyeol stared intently at Shin Yubin, then turned his head and glared at the man kneeling beside her with his head bowed.

As Shin Hohyeol’s gaze fell upon him, the man flinched even though his head was pressed against the ground, and he swallowed his saliva, waiting for the impending harsh order.

Soon, as Shin Hohyeol’s mouth opened, the man hurriedly raised his head.

“S-Spare… Aaaaargh!!”

As soon as the man prostrating with his head on the ground in front of Shin Hohyeol opened his mouth, Shin Hohyeol’s leg moved. He kicked the man’s chin. Although it was a sudden event, Shin Yubin remained calm as if nothing had happened. The man who was subjected to the kick quickly corrected his posture without even having time to be dazed.

“Ow… ukh…”

Whether his jaw was dislocated or his teeth were shattered, the man struggled to utter a voice with slurred pronunciation.

It might have looked pitiful, but Shin Hohyeol didn’t stop there. Shin Hohyeol, who was standing on the floor, firmly stepped on the back of the man’s hand with his foot and blinked his eyes.

“Aaaargh…!!”

“You beast-like bastard. I warned you to be careful and handle it properly, yet you wagged that mouth of yours and dared to insult me?”

“I-I’m sor…”

“Your single word you blurted out yesterday caused everything to go awry. Not only what was originally planned, but your tongue that you bragged about like it was your pride eventually ruined everything.”

The man couldn’t control his trembling body. Shin Hohyeol silently looked at him and frowned.

Last night, after Moyong Sowol suddenly left the banquet hall, Hyuk Dojin’s mood changed. The enormous banquet hall was overwhelmed by his murderous energy to the point where it seemed difficult to even roll one’s eyes.

Shin Hohyeol had heard many times that he had surpassed the level of the Transcendent Demonic Realm, but he didn’t expect him to have become this strong.

Even Shin Hohyeol had to use his internal energy to dispel Hyuk Dojin’s energy, so others couldn’t even speak.

They could clearly see it there. What kind of existence the future leader of the Demon Cult was.

“Damn it!!”

Shin Hohyeol recalled yesterday’s events and cursed as if his anger was surging again, kicking the man’s abdomen.

“Ugh!!”

Shin Hohyeol, who looked at the rolling man with cold eyes, gnashed his teeth.

Hyuk Dojin didn’t stop at pressuring people with his murderous energy but approached the place Moyong Sowol had headed.

He grabbed the people of the Byeok clan one by one and started punishing them, regardless of what he had heard.

Eventually, that arrow turned to Shin Hohyeol as well.

-The Cliff Rivers Shin clan of the world has truly become petty. The place that used to show everything with their bodies has now become a place that hides behind and only brags with their mouths.

It was his words that clearly insulted Shin Hohyeol in front of everyone, but no one could refute it.

-I will separately punish you for this matter later. Until then, reflect on your actions and stay put, Shin Hohyeol.

Reflection was a light punishment for a minor crime or simply to give a penalty. However, it was also the simplest punishment and at the same time, a punishment that could effectively humiliate Shin Hohyeol.

Shin Hohyeol, who was glaring at Hyuk Dojin with wide-open eyes, was silently facing him. Hyuk Dojin turned his body as if there was no need for further conversation and left.

Shin Hohyeol felt his blood boiling and gnashed his teeth, eventually kicking the man in front of him once again.

The man vomited blood and writhed on the floor, trembling, and eventually his breath ceased.

Shin Hohyeol indifferently looked down at the man, called someone to dispose of him, and sat on a chair. Shin Yubin, who was still glancing at the furious Shin Hohyeol, closed the book she was reading.

“Grandfather.”

At the soft and gentle voice, Shin Hohyeol turned his head. Shin Yubin smiled at Shin Hohyeol.

“Let go of your anger.”

“Would you be able to if you were me?”

Shin Hohyeol’s eyes flashed, but Shin Yubin shook her head with a serene smile. While others would be frightened and run away when facing his sharp gaze, Shin Yubin seemed to have no reaction to his gaze.

Instead of answering his words, Shin Yubin took out a small letter from her bosom. Shin Hohyeol silently looked at the letter being handed to him and raised his eyes.

“What is this?”

“It will be helpful to you, Grandfather.”

Shin Hohyeol stared intently at his granddaughter and immediately unfolded the letter to examine its contents. His expression, which had been distorted with anger, slowly subsided, and soon fine lines were drawn on Shin Hohyeol’s brow.

“This is…?”

“How is it? Is it helpful to you?”

Shin Yubin smiled softly, rose from her seat, and received the letter from Shin Hohyeol.

Shin Yubin’s eyes curved into a crescent shape. The content of the letter was quite shocking and at the same time meaningful when Shin Hohyeol thought about it.

Eventually, that sigh turned into laughter, and his crumpled expression smoothed out gently.

“Yes, that’s right.”

He covered his mouth with his palm and twisted the corners of his lips. Things were going more interestingly than he thought.

“To think that my opinion would match with those Righteous Sect bastards, it’s something to see in a long life.”

Shin Hohyeol had always asserted that the Righteous Sect bastards, who always talked about justice and righteousness, were the most vicious ones. Shin Hohyeol could confirm it after reading the letter.

The most despicable ones were none other than the Righteous Sect.

“I didn’t expect… They sold their clan’s daughter to this place, and now they’re trying to kill her. It’s truly amusing, isn’t it?”

“What will you do?”

“What do you mean?”

Shin Hohyeol rubbed his chin and closed his eyes.

“They’re lessening our burden, so we shouldn’t interfere even if we can’t help them.”

There was no reason to refuse when they were going to kill the annoying wench from the Righteous Sect on their own.

“The heavens are helping me.”

“Everything will go according to your will, Grandfather.”

At his granddaughter’s words, a deep smile was drawn on Shin Hohyeol’s lips.

“Yes… It will be like that.”

Shin Hohyeol’s eyes shone.

Indeed, could he protect her this time? Ten years ago, he was the young Young Cult Leader who couldn’t protect his own mother. But now that young boy had become a monster.

‘But nothing will change.’

In the current Demon Cult that had abandoned the ambition of unifying the Central Plains and ruling the demonic realm, there was no justice.

They couldn’t give up on their ambition to overturn all of this, which they had been preparing for decades.

Shin Hohyeol’s madness was still directed towards the precarious Hyuk Dojin and Moyong Sowol.