Chapter 179 – 17. The Way of the Far North (9)
The road to the top of the altitude was arduous. The final destination, which could only be reached after passing through a number of high and rugged peaks, was truly extreme. The cold that penetrated deep into the bones and the breath that froze with every breath was truly a demonic realm.
“So our Mukhali used to call the top of this snow-covered spiritual mountain like this.”
“… Baekhwa, are you talking?”
Turgenene nodded, carrying the red mace on her shoulder. On the precipice, where even a goat can’t climb properly, let alone talk, he listened to the message I left and stared clearly at the younger students who came to visit him. The great warrior Hoelun, who was only wearing a thick set of family armor.
“I know you well.”
“This is a story you told me when I was young.”
“Are you surprised by my return?”
“I thought it was a dream. I wondered if the ancestors sent Daemo-nim as an apostle because of your presence, who disappeared soon after the battle. In fact, many of the tribesmen still hold fast to that belief.”
People often live with the saying that time is impermanent. However, in the eyes of the woman chasing the moon, the elders of the tribe who commanded the great snowfield in the past seemed to be an exception. Poised so that she could wield the mace in her hand at any moment, she was like the iron walls of a strong fortress.
“I won’t ask you why you didn’t come looking for us even though you were so correct. I know there must have been a reason. However, at the moment when I and my compatriots were in danger, you suddenly appeared and extended a hand of salvation. That’s why I want to know as the chief who leads the Mukkali.”
“What did you mean?”
“Could the titan of our time, Mother Turgenene, really return?”
Touregene smiled and shook her head. In Baekhwa, where ordinary people would find it difficult to breathe, the two women stood tall like beams. Despite the wind that cut her skin and brushed against her, her stone-hard skin cheered her up.
“You were a strong and intelligent child. So, when I heard the news that there was a rebellion, I felt a sense of surprise. The reason I invited you to this baekhwa today is to punish you for your wrongdoing as the ancestor chief of Mukkali.”
“Yes, my clumsy uprising has put too many people in pain. If it wasn’t for Temur’s bravery, there might not be anyone alive down there by now. So, I am willing to accept any punishment.”
After I finished speaking, Hoelun tried to kneel him. And Turgenene, who was watching the scene, immediately narrowed her brows and snarled.
“What a fool!”
A loud roar echoed all the way to the base of the snowy mountain. Even the fierce snow wind stopped for a moment, and Hoelun’s whole body ached. The ability to make the strong, who do not mind even the extreme environment, tremble was truly amazing.
“Was the end of your ambition just such a renunciation? Did I try to move toward a bright future without thinking about overcoming my sins? Everyone faces hardships and trials that will frustrate them. Also, there are many cases where we are discouraged because we cannot overcome it.”
Chop, thump!
“The important thing is the attitude to continue living! Survival is worth more than a resolute death, even if it’s ugly enough to survive! What is the presumptuous pursuit of a young fellow who is still in his prime, seeking a time when he must leave already?”
With her mace hanging down on the floor, Turgenene added with narrow eyes.
“As the former chieftain of Mukkali, Hoelun, who chases the moon, I ask! Was the reason for your rebellion that you were blinded by your ambition? Was it because he coveted the honor of being a warrior who would unite the twelve tribes and challenge the status of the ancient empire?”
“Absolutely not!”
This time, Hoelun groaned. I didn’t know anything else, but I couldn’t bear the stigma for my uprising. Because the girl who had to grow up faster than anyone else was hiding painful wounds behind her trained body her.
“I wanted revenge! So did Nergui! See how the cruel nobles of Gaul used us behind the scenes! The only way to escape the stigma of this terrible hatred was retaliation!”
I reacted emotionally even though I knew that it was not polite to the elders of the tribe, and that it was not suitable for me.
“They laughed at me because I was of savage blood! Hundreds of times I would have died for one name I couldn’t refuse! No matter how kind he was, how could he serve as his father and head of a man who could not even fulfill the role of father?”
The strong female warrior felt sadness drumming deep in her heart. Her father, Dear King, was obviously not a good parent. However, it was also the happiest time in Hoelun’s life, which was dotted with many hardships.
Ironically, the days when Eugène, who had visited my mistress, came with her arms full of gifts for her daughter, whom he had never seen before.
“Persecution stemming from contempt! An insult accompanied by contempt! I was only seven years old when I knew I was different from those Gallic pigs! Different skin and different appearance! The tone is different, the pronunciation is different! Look at that military house! The voices of those who used to imitate mothers in society continue to ring in my ears night after night! A mere monkey rolling in the snow is said to have become a human just because he wore His Majesty’s grace!”
“You can scream louder. It is only you and me here.”
“My mother was different from me! She was a weak woman! I couldn’t help it because of her subtle bullying, and her body and mind were increasingly devastated! As a result, my two older brothers and I had to be abused on a daily basis!”
Hoelun clenched her fists and made her tremble. Then she couldn’t bear it anymore and she wept bitter tears. She was like a living hell, and since she escaped Gallia’s childhood, she dropped the red rue she had never shed.
“I remember the day masked men broke into my house to kill me! The mother who fought to the death to save me like that! Hiding in her secret attic, I watched with tears as those hideous swordsmen stabbed His thighs and tortured her for my whereabouts! If the two brothers who hid together hadn’t covered their mouths instead, they would have been found out!”
Unlike Eugène, who did not deserve a father because of her kindness, her mother still deserved to be called her parent. No matter how severely she abused her, in the end, she sacrificed herself to save her brother and sister and died instead.
“Under! The archbishop, who was said to preach the gospel of the benevolent angels, has won the three siblings! I thought that there was no law saying that I should die because they let me live without lacking anything in the workhouse! Until those who killed my mother come back and slaughter everyone there! Until I lose the only two of my family left!”
The two boys, who inherited the blood of the Mukkali chief, died just like that. I had enough stamina to escape, but my brother died while buying time to escape. One was decapitated by an assassin’s knife, and the other was burned to death by a pillar in a burning workshop.
“Albert Monet! Does it make sense that the children under the direct care of the Archbishop of Gaul should die so vainly? Later, when I thought about it, I got it! Either he was incompetent, or naive, or he sold us out!”
Hoelun, her little girl her, ran away that way. She entrusted her body to the slums of Lumiere, the capital, and lived by begging. Then one day, she met Nergui, who had the same pain as me, and promised her revenge, and went on a long journey to the Great Snowfield.
“I didn’t want to hate! But I couldn’t help but hate it!”
“Yes, I know.”
“Reason knows! I’ve been so damn unlucky that I’ve been played by the wicked! But the emotions are still intensely appealing! Are you really going to bury this grudge!”
Turgenene listened silently and rejoiced. And her utterly broken Ho Elune finally returned to the girl of old and threw her mace in front of her as she sobbed. Realizing the meaning of her actions, she opened her mouth to her shocked astonishment.
“I am Turgenene. She is Mukkali’s godmother and the proud warrior of the nine tribes.”
Her godmother her, like her name her, is full of spirit, but on the other hand, to give warm comfort.
“Although many years have passed, the guilt of the mace is still the same as the achievements I have accumulated. Now that you have heard all the calls of your younger students, I am punishing you for your sins. Take up your arms. As my retirement dedicated to Mukkali, I sentence the woman who chases the moon.”
“… Great, godmother.”
“Hoelun, say goodbye to the hatred. Unlike me, who will lead my daily life, serve my people until the moment I die. Finally, overcome your past and move on to the future. That is the verdict and punishment of the godmother you know, I, Turgenene.”
It is no exaggeration to say that it was the coldest place in the world. Nevertheless, Hoelun, chasing the moon, felt something warm from his ancestors as he wiped away frozen tears. She then took her godmother’s mace and asked cautiously.
“Are you forgiving me for my mistakes?”
“Did you forgive the enemies of Gaul?”
“No, it is not.”
“Me too. I can’t forgive the immorality you showed. But carrying it is acceptable. So go forth without covering. Treat them with a punishment that is more valuable than clumsy generosity, like the one I gave you.”
Only then did she realize.
“Then I won’t allow it. According to her godmother name her and her morality of the far north, Hoelun, who chases the moon, is to be called the heir to Nature Genene Mukali.”
This is the consideration of my ancestors to supplement my legitimacy without a succession ceremony.
“From this moment on today, I am your mother and you are my daughter.”
“… Heck, hehe.”
“My dear child, go.”
It is also comforting for a girl whose memories of unfortunate times have made the word family synonymous with pain.
“Go and chase the moon like your name and live a life without regrets.”
It was at last.
* * *
Lumiere night.
As usual, the dark mansion was dreary. Due to the efforts of the employees who carefully took every step to avoid going against the owner’s heart, the workplace where hundreds of people worked did not feel any kind of popularity.
So, the dark ball, the man who was avoiding even the moonlight window, left his body in pitch darkness and listened to the sound coming from the garden of that clear lake. He bit his lip as if bitter, with an expressionless face at the sound of a grasshopper crying.
‘Run away, don’t look back…’
‘Do not be ridiculous! Do you think I’ll forgive you guys for doing this?’
Memory never sleeps The life of Arsene Dior, a living corpse, was like a nightmare. As a result, liberation was a long way off for him, who always lived a life where the line between life and death was blurred. It was an illusion that could never be caught with a more precise expression.
‘I can’t forgive you. It’s too big a sin for that. I must pay the price.’
‘You hypocrite! How about making a good living with the money I sold my own people!’
‘You are absolutely right. But please. Please leave here and never come back…’
The past is just the past. Even if only a miserable time awaits that it would be better to take one’s own life, regretting the old choice won’t help. That’s why Arsene Dior felt nostalgic for all those moments, but he did not look back on the time that had passed.
‘Why did you do that?’
‘Leaflet…’
‘Everyone has periods of immaturity. I have no intention of blaming you for your petty sympathy. However, the successor of this Alexandre must not be clumsy either for good or for evil. You broke the premise and let me down. Realize clearly from their deaths today that you have to be thorough in order to do anything.’
After brutal torture, he secretly rescued a boy from execution. However, his clumsiness he quickly caught on, and the young heir quickly paid the price. Instead of scolding her son, the father, who was always feared, put on a spectacle of killing other slaves in various ways.
‘No, save me! Please save my child!’
Without lifting a finger, with the executioner.
‘Ugh! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! Help me! I don’t want to die!’
It seems that this is the result of your choice.
‘Why, Father! Why are you doing this?’
‘As time goes on, you’ll find out soon.’
‘Are these the virtues that the owner of a famous family should possess? It’s not enough to catch those innocent people and buy and sell them like something, kill them for fun? I don’t want a position like that!’
The father hinted at her without blinking an eye.
‘I’ll say it again, everyone has periods of immaturity.’
If the first time, which is supposed to be light, is like this, what will happen next?
‘That’s why I have no intention of blaming you for spitting out in anger. However, what value would there be to a child who would not succeed me? Is it necessary to use expressions of mercy and patience for you who refused to even become a reserve? As a father, I want you to ponder that fact.’
He was right. Millennium Ball, who even looks into the palm of his hand his, gave the boy Arsene an insight. As the saying goes, you will find out soon as time goes on.
“Lord Duke, new news about Master Emilien…”
“Maurice.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Not now.”
The Dark Ball lowered his head in the darkness and fell silent at the end of those words. Maurice, the owner of the house, looked at the owner quietly mourning and bowed her head.
“Sorry.”
It was because of his wish to spend at least this day for mourning. Arsene Dior, who hid his emotions in darkness, deliberately asked coldly.
“Was his end steadfast?”
“The person who planted it said that he took his own life his. She expunged all evidence, including links to him. Even the best detective will not be able to reach you.”
“Will you hold a grand funeral according to the morality of the Far North?”
“I will do as you command.”
“There is nothing that is not boring. I feel like I’m getting deeper and deeper into the quagmire.”
“That is life. It is a world where only dense grudges become a beacon that illuminates the way ahead.”
Both resurrection and destruction are disgusting. Arsene Dior just wants oblivion. I want to run away from everything like the darkness that covers my wounds in a dark but warm way. But I can’t. So today, tomorrow too, he lives.
“What’s the use of all that proud lantern?”
“Lowering.”
“I won’t come back like that.”
Live.
“No salvation, no liberation, no woman who was the spark of my life.”
Live to die
