Chapter 621: The Heart of the Dragon Emperor.
I had to swallow my saliva at the words the princess uttered.
I forced my stiff neck to turn and looked at the iceberg.
A sensation of cold air being compressed and compressed again.
It’s a perfectly round object, as if sculpted by a master artisan.
Also, it’s immense. A chunk of ice the size of an average residence.
It’s strange to think that this is an egg…
‘Is that really a heart?’
It was unbelievable that the organ at the center of a body looked like that.
‘And that it belongs to the Dragon Emperor?’
Dragon Emperor (용제).
As I expected, it appeared to be a being presumed to be a Blood Demon.
For such a Blood Demon’s heart to be an iceberg, and located in the North Sea far from the Central Plains, what kind of situation was this?
‘Moreover…’
A space that could only be entered if certain conditions were met.
It was said that the Ice Palace’s bloodline had lived there for generations, guarding it.
It was a situation that made no sense at all.
I directed my gaze back to the iceberg and asked,
“…That’s a heart, you say?”
“Hmm.”
The princess responded to my question.
“Since you didn’t mention the Dragon Emperor, it seems you were aware of it.”
Oh no.
I frowned, realizing my slip of the tongue.
I’d done something more clumsy than usual.
“Don’t be so shocked. It’s really not that important.”
“…”
“If you’re asking if that’s a heart, I mean to say that’s how I perceive it.”
“…Are you implying only the princess sees it that way?”
“Correct. Ultimately, the history of the palace described it as an egg.”
An egg.
Leaving aside what it contains and why it’s called an egg…
‘Sure, it would make more sense to regard it as an egg rather than a heart.’
It was difficult to see something like that as a heart.
If we want to be precise, it would be more beneficial to view it as an egg.
“Why do you think it’s a heart, despite knowing that?”
I needed to hear why the princess held that belief first.
In response to my question, the princess took another step closer to the iceberg and continued speaking.
“Confucius, do you know when the severe cold of the North Sea began?”
“…Well?”
As for when it started, I’ve only heard the North Sea was a cold land from the get-go.
If you were to ask me when it got cold, I had no idea.
Because I hadn’t been closely studying history.
I tried to muster a somewhat dull expression. The princess, seeing this, chuckled slightly.
“It’s true that the North Sea has always had freezing winters. But it wasn’t always a land shrouded in cold through all four seasons like it is now.”
I had to sport a confused expression while absorbing her words.
A land covered in snow and gripped by severe cold year-round.
That’s what the North Sea had become.
“Spring was warm, summer was hot, fall was bountiful, all preceding a frigid winter. That was the North Sea of the past.”
A place not much different from the Central Plains.
That’s how the North Sea used to be. The princess was telling me all this.
But.
‘Not anymore.’
All her statements were in the past tense.
It only served to accentuate the current conflicting circumstances.
“Everything changed five hundred years ago. The moment this iceberg appeared in the North Sea.”
‘Five hundred years ago, huh…’
It was probably a time when bloody wars erupted in the Central Plains due to the Blood Demons.
It must have coincided with when Shin Noya and his comrades were battling it out.
“At that time, a man who called himself the Dragon Emperor emerged, leaving two things in the land of the North Sea.”
The princess’s words raised questions.
‘Clearly, the Dragon Emperor must be a Blood Demon.’
With just that expectation and the info I gathered, I could deduce that the Dragon Emperor they were discussing was indeed a Blood Demon.
Yet.
‘Did this Dragon Emperor actually leave something here back then…?’
In the height of the war, would the Blood Demon have traveled all the way to the North Sea just to leave something behind?
Even if he did leave,
‘For what purpose?’
All this fragmented information just swirled around in my mind.
To piece it all together, I needed more data.
“Half in the east. And half in the west. The Dragon Emperor stored what is called the ‘Ice Crystal.’”
Thud.
Frost dropped from the princess’s cheek.
“I commanded the bloodlines of the North Sea to maintain this.”
“What?”
I frowned upon hearing that.
“So, does that mean you, Your Majesty, were guarding the iceberg under his orders?”
“Precisely.”
“…Why?”
Why did it have to be like that?
The reasons were lacking.
The Dragon Emperor left behind the iceberg.
Whether it’s an egg or a heart is beside the point. There had to be justification for the blood relatives to protect it.
I wanted to understand.
“It’s because….”
Then the princess spoke.
“Because it was necessary.”
“What do you mean…?”
“If we don’t do that, the North Sea will perish.”
“…!?”
“That’s the nature of our bloodline’s karma.”
If we fail to protect it, the North Sea will be destroyed.
I listened intently to the princess.
“When the Dragon Emperor appeared and left the iceberg in the North Sea, the one who was tasked to protect it, that is….”
I took a deep breath.
“The Dragon Emperor spoke to our ancestors.”
[Keep and maintain.]
[Until the ‘pure-blood’ comes forth.]
The term ‘pure-blood’ caused my fingers to tremble slightly.
“His words became chains. Chains that are meant to bind us for centuries.”
“I don’t quite understand. That was merely speech… What power does that bear?”
“If it were just words, I could have readily refused.”
So that means.
‘It implies those words weren’t merely trivial.’
Swish.
The princess brushed her hand against her cheek.
“The Dragon Emperor uttered those words and laid a curse.”
It was where scales steamed up and frost formed.
“I’m talking about the curse that gradually transforms your body into a dragon.”
“…!”
Those words felt familiar.
It was akin to a curse I’d heard from the Dark King once.
‘They say that isn’t the Dark King’s curse turning one into a dragon.’
With children born, the curse transfers.
Didn’t they say whoever dies gets taken out?
The so-called ‘Curse of Love,’ as it was named.
‘A curse bestowed by the Blood Demon upon the bloodline of Yeon Il-cheon.’
If that were true, then is this the same curse given to the princess standing right before me?
Or not.
“If you don’t guard the iceberg, you’ll become a dragon. Is that the case?”
“Ha ha.”
I voiced it, anticipating the outcome, which made the princess laugh out loud. I was all wrong.
“If that were the case, then it would be more merciful. If it were just that… it wouldn’t feel so cold.”
Her laughter laced with a chill emotion.
“As I mentioned earlier, this iceberg is the root cause of the North Sea’s bitter cold.”
The snow falling from the skies.
The ruthless cold that doesn’t differentiate seasons.
Everything pointed back to the iceberg being the cause.
“But,”
the princess continued.
“Conversely, it is also this same iceberg that protects the North Sea.”
“…What?”
“To be precise, it is more correct to refer to it as the Ice Crystal within the Ice Palace.”
What does that even mean?
‘The iceberg brought forth frigid winds to the North Sea, but it’s also the iceberg that shelters it?’
Knock knock.
My fingers tapped on my waist.
Two ice crystals.
One resides here.
The other is said to be deep within the Ice Palace.
If both ice structures exist, and one of them has been safeguarding the region…
Hmm.
“…Opposition…?”
“Oh.”
The princess responded to my ponderings.
Does that mean I got it right?
If one triggers the cold while the other wards it off…
“Are you saying one creates the cold while the other maintains it?”
Now, that’s a classic confrontational dynamic.
Are they implying the current stance of the iceberg is of that nature?
With that question in mind, she answered,
“That’s correct.”
The princess affirmed my vortex of thoughts.
‘Wow…’
Immediately after receiving her response, the thought that came to mind was,
‘This is ludicrous.’
The situation feels utterly absurd.
Reflecting on that, I restrained myself from blurting anything carelessly.
Since the princess’s explanation still wasn’t over.
“One of the ice crystals brought forth the bitter cold.”
The princess gestured toward the iceberg with her hand.
“That’s the original one standing before you.”
“Original?”
“This is my personal opinion. Would you care for an explanation?”
“Please, do continue with your prior statements.”
“Understood.”
Better to grasp the intricate details later.
“I understand that the iceberg is affecting the weather in the North Sea.”
How on earth is that even possible?
I refrained from asking that question. The process lent itself to a thread so complex that questioning the principles would be of little use.
What’s essential now is, what’s my connection to all of this?
“Then, what is the curse that Your Majesty spoke of?”
“As I said, the Dragon Emperor placed a curse on our ancestors alongside the Ice Crystal.”
“A curse, you say.”
“Indeed. We refer to it as the ‘Curse of the Ice Crystal.’”
I recalled the conversation with Yuri.
‘The affliction that Mo Yong-hee possessed.’
A disease that courses through the body, gradually freezing it.
That’s why Yuri brought me here today.
Furthermore.
‘A catalyst for the current state of the princess’s body.’
Dragon Transformation.
A form barely fitting to be called human.
Similar to the situation faced by the Dark King, yet visibly weakened.
It was said that the Dark King became a dragon and gained unnatural long life and strength.
I heard it’s managed through the martial arts practiced within the Ice Palace.
Looking at the goddess in front of me, it seemed like that wasn’t entirely the case.
“What exactly is the nature of this curse?”
What effects did it possess to warrant the blood relatives’ need to guard the iceberg? Why did the princess end up like this?
“The moment you are born into the Ice Palace lineage, a seed forms within your body.”
“A seed?”
“Correct. A seed that may bloom at any moment.”
I wondered if he was speaking allegorically about the affliction.
“So, are you implying flowering means a condition that could erupt at any moment?”
“It’s similar. To be precise….”
The finger that pointed at the iceberg now turned toward the princess herself.
“I’d say that when you ascend to the position of the princess, the seed would bloom.”
“…!”
I widened my eyes upon hearing that.
“What do you mean by that?”
“The Curse of the Ice Crystal is such; the seed within you flowering upon taking the princess’s seat. Your body will slowly morph into that of a dragon.”
“…”
Now, I understood why the princess had ended up in her current state.
The issue is.
‘Is that all?’
There’s a fog clouding my thoughts.
Taking the seat of the princess causes the seed to bloom.
That’s a condition…but.
‘So, what’s the reason for the recent weakening?’
The curse breaking out merely from her becoming a princess? That didn’t add up.
It was only logical.
‘The Ice Palace’s mistress is a powerhouse.’
Is she weakened now?
Or is she perhaps the previous princess?
There’s a record indicating that when the Fury of The Ice Palace went to the Central Plains, she fought tooth and nail against the then-best swordsman Geom Jon and held her ground.
Even though I beheld her bedridden state right before my eyes,
‘She is stronger than me.’
She was indeed stronger than I am now.
Overwhelmingly so.
What caused her to deteriorate to a state like this? Was it merely a sickness?
To think that would pull me away from what we’d just discussed.
Thus, I ruminated.
Everything I encountered, from the Central Plains up until arriving at the North Sea.
I systematically placed each fragment together.
Knock knock knock.
My fingers worked tirelessly.
‘First.’
When rebellion was anticipated.
How could the essential pillars of strength be limited to a mere intersection?
The question loomed: Was I so blind to the potential of betrayal?
Yuri spoke about this.
‘…because blood relatives are required.’
The bloodline of the Ice Palace was deemed indispensable.
They indicated an apparent reasoning behind their inability to betray.
Second.
‘The curse properly blossoms when one becomes a princess.’
That was something the princess just expressed.
What that implies, it designates something pertinent to the throne.
This they branded the Curse of the Ice Crystal.
None other than the curse of the iceberg itself.
Moreover,
‘Ironically, the source of the chill is the iceberg, and the means of stopping it is also the iceberg.’
One that stands as a barrier exists somewhere in the Ice Palace.
With nothing but a handful of information to lean on.
I was compelled to hunt for the truth buried within the cluster.
Compile it.
Whether it meant to turn my mind upside down wouldn’t stop me.
As I found myself in thought,
Knock.
The fingers ceased their dance.
“Ice crystal guarding against the intensifying cold.”
I turned to the princess.
“Isn’t it your vital strength maintaining this?”
“…!!”
The moment I spoke those words, the princess’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
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