Clang.
The princess threw away the sword stained with the traitor’s blood.
It meant she would never use it again.
After all, it was sullied with the blood of a filthy betrayer.
Not that it mattered much—the sword had originally belonged to one of the Five Venoms anyway.
The princess looked my way and said,
"Thank you, So-ryong. Thanks to you, I was able to tie up all the loose ends of my resentment and gratitude."
"It’s nothing. Of course I had to help."
As I nodded, she continued,
"First, I’ll check how much His Majesty knows. If possible, I’ll do everything I can to fulfill all the things you asked for."
"Thank you."
She was referring to the three requests I’d made on my way here.
First was to officially brand the Five Venoms Sect and the Blood Cult as traitors again, and have the authorities and the martial world cooperate in purging them from the Central Plains.
That also meant reversing the imperial decree that had pulled the troops from the border.
Even if it had started as a fabricated marriage, the Five Venoms and Blood Cult bastards were genuine villains.
With the court’s help, eliminating them would be far easier. And if the border remained unguarded, they might find another way to sneak back in.
Second, since I’d saved the princess, I wanted either an imperial guarantee—like a royal sword—or some insurance for when Gun Hye-rin’s origins became a problem. Either that, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) or recognize her as the princess’s friend to offer her protection.
The princess had been shocked when I introduced her to Gun Hye-rin.
"This is Gun Hye-rin, leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and currently the Little Heavenly Demon."
"What? Heavenly Demon Cult? Little Heavenly Demon!? Then she’s from the Demon Sect!?"
"Let’s not say 'Demon Sect.' That’s not polite. She serves the same master now, so I ask for your respect."
"So-So-ryong, what is this?"
"Ahem. The imperial court doesn’t discriminate against people just because they’re from the Heavenly Demon Cult, right? We’re all citizens of the empire."
"B-But still..."
"Can’t you try to get along? Gun Hye-rin’s not a bad person. She’s actually really sweet."
"Thank you for the compliment, Master."
"Haah... That was the most shocking thing I’ve heard so far. If my master finds out, I’m dead."
"Come on, who would kill a princess? What are you, a traitor?"
"You never said anything about this!"
"I’m saying it now."
"So-ryong, you’re supposed to be the one who solves my problems! Why are you giving me new ones..."
Lastly, the third—and most important—was securing recognition of ownership over World-Destroying Golden Toad.
And she’d just said she’d try to grant all three.
Of course, it came with a condition.
Even though we’d taken care of the Five Venoms bastards hiding on the Jusan Archipelago and here, along with the traitor, there was still a major unresolved issue.
The biggest problem was—unsurprisingly—the emperor.
It was about how much he knew.
The princess had lied to the emperor and arranged a fake marriage just to train in martial arts at Bo-ta Temple.
That was something she absolutely couldn’t let him find out.
But after being kidnapped by the Five Venoms and used as leverage to threaten the emperor, she assumed that the truth must have reached the palace in some form.
If Seo Bin-ak had stayed behind pretending to be the victim, it might’ve been okay—but if not, then the emperor had likely learned that Seo Bin-ak had sold her out.
And if that betrayal had indeed been reported to the palace, the general of the Imperial Iron Guard who had personally brought Seo Bin-ak in as the princess’s husband—at her request—might go to the emperor and confess.
Even if he had retired, the man was loyal. The princess thought he’d likely admit his own guilt and explain that it all happened because of her.
So if the emperor knew everything, the princess couldn’t exactly start fulfilling my requests right away.
She’d be the one needing to face the imperial wrath first.
She’d tricked her father, the emperor, into a fake marriage just to learn martial arts. How could that not get her a scolding?
It was a foolish and reckless thing to do.
Fortunately, she’d already told me she’d take all the blame herself and say I helped her without knowing anything, so I wouldn’t be dragged into the fallout.
And since I rescued her, the emperor might even reward me separately.
"Understood."
I had just finished responding to the princess’s words—
When suddenly, people began flying in from all directions.
Dozens of masked men surrounded us.
『"Most of them are peak-level experts! Three of them are at the Fire Realm, Master!"』
"...What?"
I was still stunned by how many high-level martial artists there were—including three at the Fire Realm—when suddenly Yeondu and Cho came crashing down.
Boom!
Zzzzzrrr. 『How dare you! Against Lord So-ryong!?』
Sshaa! 『Are these bastards also from the Five Venoms Sect!?』
The rest of the kids were hidden downstream, so it was Yeondu and Cho—who’d carried us here to the lord’s residence—who reacted first.
But the princess quickly stepped in front of them and spoke in a firm voice.
"S-Stop, you two! They’re not enemies. These people are..."
"These people?"
"From the Imperial Shadow Bureau..."
"Imperial Shadow Bureau!? Gasp!"
"The head of the Imperial Shadow Bureau, hear this. These people are my rescuers. They saved me from captivity. Do not treat them as enemies."
The Imperial Shadow Bureau was the emperor’s personal cleanup squad—in modern terms, the national intelligence agency.
And these weren’t just field agents. They were black ops assassins.
I already had a bad feeling about it, and then one of them stepped forward and bowed deeply toward the princess.
"Your Highness, thank goodness you’re safe! You were rescued by these people, I see. Understood."
He responded instantly to her mumbled thoughts.
"The fact that the Shadow Bureau is here means..."
"His Majesty already knows everything. Please return to the palace."
"His Majesty... knows everything?"
The princess stiffened at those words.
To her question, the masked man turned to all of us and said,
"Yes, from the false marriage to Seo Bin-ak, His Majesty knows it all. You will all come with us."
It seemed everything the princess had done had been exposed.
I didn’t do anything that bad... right?
I felt a cold sweat dripping down my back.
This is why ordinary people always get nervous around government agents.
***
Most people would be startled or tense upon seeing spirit beasts, but the Imperial Secret Force was unexpectedly calm.
“We’ll be traveling by boat, so have the little ones board the ship and let the big one follow behind it. That should be fine, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
Had they seen spirit beasts before?
Or were they just like black ops agents from the National Intelligence Service?
With such thoughts, I boarded the ship and headed toward the capital where the Imperial Palace was located.
『“But... we won’t get caught up in any of the fallout, right?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll stake my life on preventing that. Besides, we saved the princess—there’s no way His Majesty would treat So-ryong badly for it.”』
Even as we traveled toward the palace by boat, I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy, but the princess reassured us.
After about ten days on the boat, we arrived in the capital city of Yeongcheon.
I’d been here once before, and it brought to mind Eunbi Ruju and Elder Punggae.
‘Once this is over, I’ll stop by Eunbi Ruju to ask how to raise birds properly... and I should visit Elder Punggae and pay my respects.’
Since they lived in this capital, I figured I’d meet them after the matter was settled. As I was looking out the window from the cabin, a high-ranking member of the Imperial Secret Force came to speak.
“In a moment, when the Royal Guards arrive, we’ll head to the palace.”
“What about the children?”
“Of course they’ll come too. Didn’t those little ones also help rescue the princess?”
“W-Well, that’s true... but won’t people be shocked when they see them?”
“It’ll be fine. They’ll be following behind the princess anyway. Most people will have their heads bowed, so they probably won’t even notice.”
The head of the Secret Force planned to bring not only me but the children to the palace as well.
Soon after, a familiar face arrived.
The son of General Maeng Gyu-seong of the Imperial Iron Cavalry.
It was Maeng Cheong-un of the Royal Guard’s Suppression Division.
Clad in golden armor and accompanied by many soldiers, he came to meet us, and his face lit up when he saw me.
“Well, I heard someone had rescued the princess and wondered who it could be, and it turns out it was you?”
“That news has already spread?”
“Yes. His Majesty received a report through the Secret Force. He didn’t say much, but I’d been wondering who it was—and it turns out it was you.”
“Y-Yes, it ended up that way.”
As we followed him toward the palace, I cautiously asked through sound transmission.
[By the way... is His Majesty very angry? About what happened to the princess?]
I felt I needed to gauge the Emperor’s mood.
It was almost certain that the princess was going to get punished, but I needed to know just how far the backlash might reach.
Maeng Cheong-un replied with a sound transmission, his voice tinged with exasperation.
[Don’t even get me started. He said if anything happened to the princess, he’d wipe out every last martial artist in the world.]
[Huuuhhh.]
Honestly, when everyone was saying it would be terrible if the princess died, I thought, Come on, he’s not going to blame all martial artists... right?
But clearly, I was wrong.
Not just the ones directly involved—the Emperor was ready to eradicate every martial artist.
Stunned, I heard Maeng Cheong-un chuckle.
[Haha. Don’t be so shocked. Thanks to you bringing the princess back safely, his anger has calmed down a lot.
Now his fury is directed at the Five Venoms Sect and the Blood Cult. He swore he wouldn’t let them off.]
[T-Thank goodness.]
‘So-ryong, you really did something big this time.’
It seemed I had ended up saving all of Murim.
As I quietly patted myself on the back, I heard voices from both sides of our procession as people cried out in surprise.
Even if they were told to bow their heads, not everyone followed orders, after all.
“Huuuhh! A giant snake!?”
“That thing looks like a human—no, a Ji-ju!?”
Passing by those gasping at the children, we arrived at the palace gates.
Last time we entered through a side gate, so I’d never seen the main entrance.
As the grand palace gates swung open, Hwanji and Hwana were able to pass through easily.
The first place we were led to was the bathhouse.
Before an audience with the Emperor, we had to wash and change into ceremonial dress.
After being assisted by court ladies to bathe, I was soon dressed in formal attire.
‘Finally, I get to wear it!’
Last time, it had only been a palace maid’s outfit, so this was a whole new feeling.
It made sense—wearing this era’s symbol of success and prestige was an emotional moment.
When I stepped out after changing, the one now wearing a court lady’s dress was Gun Hye-rin.
“D-Do I look strange, Master?”
Always used to seeing her in martial robes, seeing Gun Hye-rin dressed as a palace maid made her look like a different person.
Usually, she felt like a stern farmhand, but today she radiated femininity.
“No. It suits you well.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“T-Thank you.”
Together with Gun Hye-rin and the long-awaited children, we arrived at Taihwa Hall.
Just as the princess had told us in the group chat.
『“From now on... unless it’s to meet the Emperor, you might not be able to see me anymore.”
“Not be able to see you?”
“Yes. Taihwa Hall is the place for royal audiences, and aside from those, I may not be allowed to meet anyone. I caused too big a scandal...”
“Ah...”』
Since being apprehended by the Secret Force, the princess had been entirely separated from us.
We still chatted in the group message, but hadn’t seen her face.
Because of the magnitude of the incident, she might not be allowed to meet us except during official ceremonies before the Emperor.
As we approached Taihwa Hall, a procession was coming toward us from the opposite side.
The princess, freshly bathed and dressed, arrived from the other direction.
[Lower your heads.]
A eunuch beside me instructed me in proper palace etiquette, and just as I lowered my head, the princess came close and told us to raise them.
“Raise your heads.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Though her voice was regal, her tone in the group chat was cheerful.
『“So-ryong, you look dashing.”
“Fufu. Does it suit me?”
“Yes, you look like someone who just passed the imperial exam.”
“Princess, does So-ryong look good?”
“Yes. I wish Hwa-eun could’ve seen this too.”
“Fufu, it’s fine. I’ve already seen So-ryong in a palace maid’s outfit.”
“P-Palace maid!?”
“Ah, wait—don’t say that, Hwa-eun!”』
As we chatted in the group chat while seeing each other again for the first time in a while, the eunuch sent word inward.
“Your Majesty, the Princess and So-ryong of the Beast Palace, who rescued her, have arrived.”
“Let them in!”
A voice full of authority.
As the doors to Taihwa Hall opened on both sides, I saw the same Emperor I once glimpsed in the grass, seated on the throne.
As I approached and bowed, I heard his voice.
“Raise your head.”
At the Emperor’s command, I lifted my head and heard him speak in a dignified tone.
“So-ryong of the Beast Palace.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You have eased my worries by saving the princess. Your merit is great. Ordinarily, I would bestow you an official position. However, since this matter must remain secret, and since you are a martial artist, you would likely refuse the appointment. Therefore, I shall instead grant you gold, silver, land, and a large estate in the capital.”
Though it would be fitting to award an official title, because the princess’s false marriage and captivity had to remain secret, he couldn’t openly give such a post.
Just as he said, I would’ve declined the title anyway, so he instead offered gold, silver, land, and a house.
Following the eunuch’s prompting, I bowed again and said:
“I am unworthy of such Imperial grace.”
Then the Emperor continued:
“Also, I shall bestow silk upon your spirit beasts, and issue an edict forbidding anyone in the Central Plains from harming them.”
Wow—he even issued an animal protection decree.
It felt like he really understood what I cared about, and then his familiar voice added:
“Oh, and I hear you like spirit beasts?”
“...Yes?”
At the sudden sharp question, I answered without thinking—then came an unbelievable proclamation.
“Recently, a spirit beast entered the Imperial Palace. I shall grant it to you.”
‘The palace had something like that?’
Ah, this man was a wise ruler.
