Wandering Through Vol. 3 Chapter 77 - The Journey

“Madam!”

 

At Yiseo’s scream, Ban turned around. 

 

Yiseo quickly stopped Ban, who had reached out a hand as if to rush at the Grand Prince.

 

“It’s alright.”

 

Though Ban’s expression clearly said it was not alright at all, Yiseo deliberately asked her to return to Nanny and inform her that she had arrived here. 

 

Ban hesitated but ultimately turned back at Yiseo’s word.

 

Leegwang, who had been watching the exchange as if it were someone else’s business, finally moved once Ban had turned away. 

 

He slowly picked Yiseo up and headed toward the shrine.

 

Inside the brightly lit shrine was a small house. 

 

It seemed people had already ransacked the place once, as the belongings were in disarray, but perhaps because the night was deep, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

 

Leegwang set Yiseo down on the wooden floor of the inner house.

 

Then, he knelt before her and took off her shoe. Holding her slender ankle in one hand, he massaged it and asked,

 

“How did you get all the way here when you can’t even walk properly?”

 

“…Aren’t you angry that I came out on my own?”

 

“You went through the trouble of coming to me. How could I get angry and risk making you run away?”

 

He naturally pushed her shoe under the porch. 

 

Yiseo stared intently at his face as her shoe disappeared from sight in an instant, but he continued speaking nonchalantly.

 

“So why did you chase me all the way here? Your body can’t be feeling well after suffering through the night with me.”

 

“Nanny told me that you had gone to find Eunbi…”

 

“You’re calling her by her name.”

 

At Leegwang’s pointed remark, Yiseo fell silent. Because of her previous conversation with the shaman, the name felt more familiar, and it had been a mistake.

 

“That woman claims she doesn’t know you, yet you familiarly call her by her name…”

 

His low muttering held no inflection. 

 

Yiseo couldn’t grasp the feelings behind his words and felt nothing but unease.

 

“But that woman didn’t seem to be lying, she genuinely looked as if she didn’t know you at all.”

 

He lifted his gaze, which had been fixed on Yiseo’s ankle. Even in the darkness, his eyes looking up at her were clear.

 

“You have far too many secrets.”

 

The corner of his mouth twisted slightly. 

 

It was an ambiguous expression—impossible to tell whether it was a smile or displeasure.

 

As she stared blankly at that twisted corner, unsure of his true intentions, his face drew closer before their lips met lightly. Her soft lips were pressed. 

 

In the blink of her eyes, he straightened up.

 

“But what can I do? I suppose I’ll have to indulge you.”

 

Leegwang lifted Yiseo effortlessly, as if picking up a bundle of cotton, and carried her into the room.

 

He spread a blanket over the predictably messy floor, sat her down on it, brushed her cheek, and whispered,

 

“Rest for a while. You must be tired—you can sleep if you want.”

 

Yiseo grabbed the hem of Leegwang’s robe as he tried to straighten up and leave. She was somewhat flustered.

 

There was something off about Leegwang’s attitude right now.

 

He wasn’t angry that she had run away from the house he’d confined her in, nor was he surprised to have suddenly encountered her.

 

And more than anything, he was about to leave Yiseo alone in an unfamiliar place.

 

Of course, even if he left her alone in the room in the middle of the night, it wasn’t as if she could sprout wings and escape. 

 

But if he were capable of such rational judgment where she was concerned, he wouldn’t be the man she knew in the first place.

 

“Just like that—are you leaving? Where to…?”

 

“Are you scared to be alone?”

 

Leegwang laughed softly and bent down to meet her eyes.

 

“Then wait just a little. I’ll be back soon.”

 

She couldn’t tell what he intended to do by separating her from the others. 

 

Yiseo opened her mouth,

“Would it be… all right if I went too?”

 

“You probably won’t like what you see. Most people hate to witness the death of someone they know.”

He added, as usual.

 

“Of course, you would still be considered strangers to each other.”

 

At his words that he would go and kill Eunbi, Yiseo reflexively tightened her grip on the hem of his robe. His eyes seemed to narrow, but then he readily bent down toward her. 

 

Yiseo wrapped her arms around his neck.

 

“C-can’t you not kill her?”

 

His hand wrapped around Yiseo’s back. 

 

As his hand slowly stroked her back, Yiseo swallowed and continued.

 

“Can’t you let her go? Just… so she can leave…”

 

“Wouldn’t that be troublesome? If that woman lives, I’ll have to go through a lot of hassles to keep you fully as my wife.”

“…”

 

“If she dies, it becomes simpler. No troubles at all.”

 

At the words whispered right by her ear, Yiseo shuddered for a moment. He sometimes acted in ways that were not human. 

 

Perhaps not sometimes, but most of the time.

At times like this, she remembered her past life, and the man who had been cruel to her came to mind.

Yiseo held him tighter with her goosebump-covered arms and spoke. 

 

The end of her words trembled faintly…

“But she was your wife once… isn’t it pitiful to kill her just because she’s troublesome…”

 

“I never gave her enough affection to feel pity. It must be the same for her. That’s why she ran away.”

 

Leegwang loosened Yiseo’s arms that were wrapped around his neck. 

 

Then he faced her. He clicked his tongue upon seeing Yiseo biting her lip. He pressed down lightly on Yiseo’s lower lip with his finger to stop her from biting it.

“It seems you’ve grown attached. Enough to worry this much.”

 

Yiseo shook her head. She had never even met Eunbi enough times to share a bond of friendship. 

 

Only twice. 

 

And even one of those times was when Eunbi was confused by her memories of a past life, so in reality, she and Eunbi had only truly met once.

 

In that single encounter, Eunbi helped Yiseo.

 

Helped her escape from Leegwang. Helped her erase the memories of her past life.

 

“I only received great help from her once, my lord. Please allow me to repay that debt.”

 

He stared into Yiseo’s eyes for a long moment before muttering, as if to himself.

 

“One would have to know if it’s the truth or not.”

 

He shook his head and sat down heavily on the floor. 

 

Interpreting this as a sign he wouldn’t go out and take Eunbi’s life for now, Yiseo compliantly accepted his pull, drawing her into his embrace. She even shifted her posture to make it easier for him to hold her.

 

Her proactive attitude made him laugh silently.

 

“Then again, what does it matter if it’s the truth or not? So, Yiseo, if I let that woman go for whatever reason, what will you give me in return?”

 

After all, the only thing Yiseo had was her own body. 

 

Yiseo hesitated, then grasped the ribbon of her garment. But before she could untie it herself, he grabbed her hand.

 

“Offer me something other than your body. No matter how obsessed I am with your body, isn’t that something I can take whether you give it or not?”

 

Leegwang moved her hand aside and untied the ribbon himself. 

 

As he pushed her jacket open, the marks he had left on her body the previous night were clearly visible, like brands, even in the dim light.

 

“Even if you struggle and refuse to offer me your body, if I want it, you will have to open up for me whether you like it or not.”

 

Her clothing was stripped away layer by layer in his hands. As if he had imagined her struggling, he pinned her wrists firmly to the floor, holding her down. 

 

Yiseo reflexively winced at the painful grip on her wrists.

 

But unlike before, when he would have loosened his hold, he continued to restrain her tightly.

 

“So your body cannot be your bargaining chip, Yiseo. Or do you want to prove me wrong right now?”

 

He brushed his lips against the nape of her neck and added,

 

“I wouldn’t mind holding you as you struggle and say no. I can even imagine what our first night together was like, the one you don’t remember.”

 

Goosebumps rose faintly on her skin where his lips touched. 

 

He felt different from before, when his eyes would wander over her body and his breath would grow rough. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact difference, but it felt more sinister…

 

It was like the man from before, the one who remembered his past life.

 

“Truly, do you still not remember our first night?”

 

“No. It’s a shame, really. I often imagine what you must have been like that night. I can picture your crying face, but I can’t imagine how you could have struggled and refused with this body of yours.”

 

His hand, which had been gripping her wrist, began to trace along her arm and hand.

 

“Even if you thrashed your limbs, you would only have hurt yourself more. If you had screamed, your voice would have given out quickly.”

 

As if imagining the scene, he let out a faint laugh.

 

“That would have been pretty too. Crying helplessly with a hoarse voice, exhausted from your own struggles.”

 

It was something she didn’t want to remember, but on her first night, Yiseo’s voice was hoarse, and she had no strength left to cry. She silently shed tears until even that became too difficult, and she simply collapsed. 

 

However, his imagination had painted it—the reality was a bit more brutal.

 

Staring up at him as he rubbed her lower abdomen, Yiseo asked. 

 

Unlike her, who was naked, he had not removed a single layer of clothing. That difference revealed that Leegwang held the clear upper hand in their current transaction.

 

“Then, in exchange for you releasing her, what must I give you besides my body?”

 

“You must give me your entire life.”

 

With those final words, he buried his lips in Yiseo’s chest. 

 

In his eyes, hidden against her breast, a look of disbelief flashed before they closed, and it vanished.