Camellia Permeates the Snow

4. Your life is mine.

After counting the rooms one by one with his staff, Bosan stood in front of the deepest chamber in Manhattan.

Opened the door with his own hands, Boshan beckoned for them to enter.

“You can stay here from now on.”

“Here.?”

No matter how numb you were, you couldn’t remain numb in the face of unexpected good fortune.

Yeon Hwa’s eyes trembled slightly as she took in the room.

The room was absurdly small compared to the inner palace.

However, there was a futon and a quilt to cozy up on, a window to watch the sun and moon, and a cabinet to store clothes.

For some, it was an ordinary room. But for others, it was a room they had never been allowed to have.

Yeon hwa, who had spent ten years in the palace without a single bed, stood and stared at the room.

She didn’t know why, but she could tell by the shallow trembling of her breath that she liked it. Boshan quietly walked away. Alone, Yeon Hwa took the room step by step in disbelief.

The room was warm, as if it had been prepared in advance for her arrival.

The paradox of the situation was both amusing and heartbreaking, as she was now a prisoner of an enemy nation, enjoying things she had not been able to enjoy when she was the queen of her own country.

In a vague memory, the room in the old house where she lived with her family looked exactly like this. She didn’t know how to react to this unexpected good fortune.

“Are you sure? I can use it.”

That was the only thing on her mind at that moment.

She walked into the room and stood there, feeling awkward.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I turned around and saw Boshan standing with a young girl carrying a large box.

“From now on, this child will assist you in your service. If you need anything, let her do it.”

It seems that being a sacrifice to the throne is, at least, not something to be taken lightly here.

They’re even giving him a servant child.

Boshan pushed his back, and the child, head bowed low, stumbled into the room.

He was no more than fifteen years old, short and slender, with a very pale face and a nervous look on his face, as if he’d only been in the palace for a short time.

His shoulders visibly tensed as the sliding door closed behind him. He glanced over at Yeon-hwa, and when their eyes met, he gasped and ducked.

“Ah, I’m Ari, the one who will be serving you from now on; please take good care of me.”

I could see the tightly clasped hands trembling slightly.

Now I realize it wasn’t just nervousness, but fear of something.

I wonder if she thinks it will be hard work tending to the queen of an enemy country, or if the old woman has warned her not to mess with the crown prince’s chosen sacrifice.

‘Or maybe he’s heard rumors about’s queen.’

The old woman’s eyes were a little red.

Seeing Ari reminded her of when she first entered the palace, and she felt a pang of sadness.

She also remembered her late sister, Song hua.

‘If Song Hua were alive, she would be my age now.’

Ten years had passed, but her bright smile was still as clear as ever.

She didn’t know what to do at that moment, but she knew what she wanted to do.

She raised her hand, and Ari shuddered again.

After a pause, Yeon-hwa reached out and stroked his hair.

“Thank you for coming.”

“…….”

“I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but while I’m here, please be good to me.”

Ari stared at her with round eyes, not expecting to be patted on the head at all, and then his eyes widened even more when he saw her face properly.

She was so beautiful that he thought a fairy had descended from the heavens.

He had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. Ari stood open-mouthed, mesmerized.

The second queen of the kingdom had been terrified by rumors that she was a vessel for evil spirits, that she looked like a yacht, and that her eyes were red like a red amulet that attracted all manner of evil spirits.

It was all a lie.

It was bullshit.

I didn’t even have red eyes, let alone a yacht.

Rather, she had snow-white skin and densely packed features that were so beautifully proportioned that I thought I was looking at a beautiful woman painted by the best painter in the world.

The crimson amulet garment was still eerie, but it didn’t hide her beauty.

I could almost see admiration leaking through her small, parted lips.

Ari realized she’d been staring too hard, and she quickly lowered her head.

“Yes, Mama. Anything you want.”

Her voice sounded more relaxed than before. Maybe it was a good choice, Yeonhwa thought.

“You don’t have to call me Mama. I’m just a prisoner from the asylum.”

Ari lifted her lopsided eyes and looked at Yeonhwa. She blinked, hesitated, and then mustered up the courage to ask.

“Shall we call you Moors, then?”

“You don’t have to call me anything if you’re uncomfortable, and if you want to call me Jung, just Jung.”

For a moment, I almost responded with Queen Jung.

It was a name she had grown more accustomed to than her real name over the past decade.

Yeon-hwa felt a twinge of bitterness, but then she spoke her name.

“You can call me Yeonhwa.”

Ari smiled, finding it easier to say her name than its owner.

“Then I’ll call you Yeonhwa, and you can call me Ae-ri at your convenience.”

“Okay. Ari.”

Ari’s face brightened as she spoke, gradually relaxing, until she realized she had brought a hamper with her and quickly opened it.

“Oh, by the way, I’d like to help you bathe and change first!

The High Priestess gave me these clothes, but if you don’t like them, I’ll get you something else.”

What Ari pulled out of the box was a pale, almost white robe. It wasn’t the blood-red amulet, but a plain, pale azure robe. The moment she saw it, a rush of emotion filled her heart.

I felt like I was finally freeing myself from a tiresome demon after ten years.

“was there something you don’t like?”

Ari asked worriedly when Yeonhwa didn’t respond. Yeon-hwa shook her head slightly, skillfully erasing the emotions that were rising.

“I do like it. Your clothes are very nice.”

“Good, then I’ll help you get dressed after your bath.”

Ari picked her up and led her to the bathroom in the hall, which she had also prepared for, and when she opened the door, warm steam gently enveloped her body.

Ari tugged at the fabric of the amulet she was wearing.

One by one, the red amulets that bound her began to fall to the floor.

The mere fact that the red color was gone seemed to breathe new life into her.

It was as if her only wish in life had been to take off those clothes.

It wasn’t until the hot water touched her skin that she realized she had been freezing in the midwinter chill. After dissolving several fragrant powders into the water, Ari carefully helped her bathe.

“It must be something precious.”

After an awkward silence, Ari brought up Yeonhwa’s necklace.

The polka-dotted ornament glistened in the water, its multicolored beads shining.

Yeon-hwa nodded slightly, holding the necklace in her hand out of habit.

“It’s all I have left,” she said. “…”

The mark Nahan had given her had never been removed from her body in the past ten years.

On the days of her annual physical examination, she hid it in her mouth, as she did when she entered the inner palace, for fear of being seen by the Vice-Palace.

Nahan’s mark was her only hope.

After bathing, the indigo-blue silk finally wrapped around her slender body.

Back in her room, Ari deftly arranged her hair into a neat bun.

When she looked in the mirror, she was practically in tears.

She had neglected to look in the mirror in the past because she didn’t want to see her amulet-covered face.

“This is what I look like.”

She didn’t know how long she stared into the mirror, but it wasn’t long enough to appreciate her reflection, one step removed from hell.

“His Highness the Crown Prince, please!”

The one who would give this life its last was approaching.

***

The prostrate Yeon hwa slowly rose from the floor, and Kang Yoon’s eyes did not flicker until she was on her feet again.

Even with the candles flickering around him, he was as steady as a statue, as if he were a painting.

If she didn’t know it was her reflection that filled those black pupils, she would have thought he was lost in other thoughts, unaware of her.

As it was, Kang Yoon didn’t make a single false move.

Even the smallest movements of his fingers and brow seemed calculated.

Like someone who must never show even the slightest hint of weakness.

Perhaps the position of crown prince had made him like this, just as it had made me like this.

“Raise your head.”

About to bow her head again, Yeon hwa slowly raised her gaze at Kangyoon’s command.

The first place her eyes landed was on Kang-yoon’s left arm.

The wide silk sleeve made it hard to see, but a glimpse of the white fabric showed that it had been newly treated.

She wondered if he wanted to live.

Even at a moment like this, when the wounds he’d inflicted while trying to save himself were more concerning than resentment, Kang Yoon’s question came back to me and made me think about the answer.

But I still don’t know the answer.

For now, I just hope the pain of the wound isn’t too great.

My gaze, which had begun to climb back up to the end of my brief thought, was soon locked on Kang Yoon’s eyes. Black, all-consuming eyes.

As I realized the first time I saw him, he had a great deal of power over his opponent.

Even though she had spent ten years in the ruins of the inner palace, she dared not compare it to the one in the capital.

“I’m sure the High Priestess knows what brings you here.”

A low, bassy voice echoed through the silence.

Just listening to it felt like a weight was pressing down on my body. Yeon Hwa opened her mouth, clearly feeling the vibrations shaking the air.

“Yes. I know.”

“The succession to the imperial throne of the subordinate kingdoms begins with the construction of an imperial altar.

It’s where the new emperor’s imperial right is announced to the heavens and earth, and where offerings are made to the heavens at the time of his coronation.”

“You’re saying that the sacrifice to be offered then is me.”

Kang Yoon didn’t answer but looked at Yeon Hwa with eyes as black as the night sky, his dark gaze leaving no room for denial.

Usually, sacrifices to the heavens were made by taking one’s life and using one’s blood.

Either way, it was clear that there would be a long period of suffering.

To be honest, I had no intention of avoiding death.

But it was a different matter to know that my death would be witnessed by countless people and that it would be recorded in their memories and history.

The road I had traveled so far had been hellish, and I hoped that the end of this road would be short and fleeting.

I’d had enough of being the center of attention for the past 10 years, and I’d had enough of tasting freedom.

I don’t know if it was the freedom of being out of my country or if it was the fact that it was really coming to an end and I should just let it happen.

The courage to do whatever I want, even in death.

For the first time, something sparked in her empty eyes.

“Do I need to see my death in front of so many people?”

At that moment, a small crack appeared in Kang Yoon’s brow. Seeing the crack, Yan Hua gathered a little more courage and spoke.

“I dare to ask; I may be sacrificed, but I want no one to see the moment my breath is cut off.”

“Death.”

The low growl of the beast cut off Yan Hua’s words.

“Ha.”

Kang-yoon, who had been mulling over the word death, suddenly burst out laughing.

His mouth was drawn into a cold line that could have been misinterpreted, but he was laughing at Yeon hwa’s words, though it was more of a sneer.

“Someone said I’d kill you.”

He tilted his head languidly, but his gaze remained tight as he stared down at her.

The gaze of a predator upon its prey.

At that moment, even though they were only ten paces apart, she felt as if his hand was twisting around her throat.

“From the moment you became a sacrifice to the throne, you belonged to me. You belonged to me.”

Then she realized she hadn’t escaped hell; another maw was opening its mouth at her.

With shackles around her ankles, she could never escape.

Kang Yoon slowly rose to her feet.

The air inside seemed to compress even more with his movement.

Like a black panther rising to its feet when it spots its prey, his massive body moved with delicate muscle movements as he approached Yeon Hwa. It was difficult to breathe, as if he were trapped in a small space.

There was only one man in front of him, which meant that Kang Yoon’s power from the beginning of time was considerable.

A man who was born to be dominant.

A man who had absolute power and dominance in his hands.

A man who stood in complete opposition to me.

“Are you still thinking about death?”

When Yeon-hwa reflexively ducked her head due to their closeness, Kang-yoon lifted her chin and forced her to look him in the eye.

As if to make sure she understood the relationship between them.

“I’m sorry to hear that, then. I have yet to decide what kind of sacrifice I will use you for.”

His breathing became unsteady, as if he had twisted her throat, even though he had merely cupped her chin. Fear.

“I may offer you to the heavens as a burnt offering.”

Resentment.

“I will ask the heavens to make you a sign of my power.”

She felt her body slowly stiffen as she watched Kang Yoon’s eyes lock on hers, completely captivated.