A Kind Goblin's Bird

Chapter 31
His heart raced to the point of thinking that he would be able to see it in front of my eyes. Fuhaha, the prince burst out laughing.

“It would be really fun if he volunteered, isn’t it, Grand Eunuch?”

“This subject is foolish so I don’t know.”

The Grand Eunuch bowed his head. The prince looked at the feeling of not answering anything with his narrowed eyes.

“You don’t know this, you don’t know that. Anyway, it’s because you’re old, so you’re saving yourself quite a bit. Not fun.”

“…….”

“You seem to believe in the favor of the emperor, but it would be better not to. One day, when I feel bad.”

“…….”

“You have to die in a pretty way, huh?”

Said the prince, as he got up from his seat. As the Grand Eunuch looked up at the prince who stood up from the mountain-like scrolls, the prince nodded his head.

“Do it yourself.”

“Your Highness. How dare this lowly subject,”

“It is said that the Empress was weak in heart and could not cut off the tongue of Heon-yeong’s wife. But I think it’s different, you know.”

“…….”

“Be good. And when you’re done, I’ll put a straw mat in your bed.”

A sense of urgency trembled. Seeing the old man trembling, the prince laughed childishly. He tapped the Grand Eunuch’s cheek and went out.

***

And that night.

Sa Heon-yeong took off his mask at the Imperial Palace for the first time since becoming the Inspector General. Moonlight poured through his window. In the moonlight, for the first time, he looked down at the mask silently.

It’s hideous.

it was. It’s a mask like this, so it makes rumors like eating blood or eating human flesh.

This mask is a birthday present from the prince. The prince always gave a goblin mask to Sa Heon-yeong’s birthday. It is an important item that touches your body, so can I handle it carelessly? I made it with the utmost care. With that said, the things only got more hideous every year.

‘Would you become the goblin’s bride?’

When he asked Young-Young, Young-Young was drunk on the herbs. At that time, Young-young’s face was still vivid. Young-young looked up at him blankly and dyed her cheeks red. She hesitated, then shrugged her shoulders a little and replied shyly.

‘Our house is shabby.’

“Where…… did you go? Can you see Mang Mountain*?”

Sa Heon-yeong whispered to the mask. As if he does that, his voice can reach Young-young.

“Go slow, Young-ah. Slowly.”

It’s dark at night and your legs are weak, so you have to go slowly.

If he closes his eyes, he can clearly remember Young-young. They’ve only been together for a few weeks, but the memories have become countless blades and cut through his heart. All the memories were beautiful. It was unbelievably perfect with no blemishes. Was it like that? Or is it that he lost her and the memory of her now is confusing and desperate? Sa Heon-yeong looked back at his memories several times. He continued to search, but the memories, too close and clear to become memories, were just beautiful.

Crash, Sa Heon-yeong’s hand broke the mask.

“Your Highness, it’s the General.”

General Joo knelt outside the sliding door and said.

“Did you bring them all?”

The bloody smell wafted through the sliding door. Sa Heon-young chuckled. It was very strange. He tried not to lose something all his life, but when he loses what he has, he comes to know. That he had nothing from the beginning. It was all an illusion and a self-deception.

Like an impossible wish.

It is said that if one falls asleep listening to Young-young’s song, their wishes will come true in their dreams. It was widely believed that any wish was possible. To confirm that this is true, Sa Heon-young disguised his subordinate and made their wish come true. They said that his subordinate’s wish came true in a dream. He met the families lost in the fire and talked about how they are doing.

However, there are some wishes that cannot be fulfilled. The mother wanted to know ‘who put the goblin’s egg in his stomach’. A wish to deceive oneself will not come true. Young-young’s song is to grant wishes, not slander. She does not grant the wishes of those who are not honest. It cannot be a wish. Those who do not know who they are or where they stand and do not know what they are looking at.

In the end, the only thing he had in his 30 years of life was her .

And he was robbed of it in broad daylight.

The sliding door opened. Then General Joo got down on his knees and held out a bundle, looked at Sa Heon-yeong’s face, and swallowed his breath.

“Cro, Cro, Crown, Crown Prince,”

“Eight. Have all their necks been cut off?”

The spies are eight in total. Three were the prince’s spy, two were the mother’s, one was the father’s, one was the Ministry of Justice’s, and the other was the spy of the crown princess’s father, the Minister of Public Officials.

He knew, he was just closing his eyes.

“…… Your, Your, Your Highness?”

The general’s eyes widened.

“It is eight.”

“…… no way.”

“…….”

“Is, is, is it you, Master?”

General Joo asked, unable to breathe properly.

Sa Heon-yeong threw a piece of mask in front of General Joo. Pieces of wood, which were no longer needed, were scattered around. He laughed again at the thought that that kind of garbage had put pressure on his life and made him surrender. Sa Heon-young laughed. He had no need to hold back his laughter. Now he will not tolerate anything.

You don’t need a mask. A human being needs a mask to become a goblin, but he did not need a mask to become a goblin himself. Sa Heon-young continued to laugh. He knew he was laughing like a madman, he was aware that everyone was looking at him with frightened eyes.

Song Young-young isn’t here either.

What does the eyes of the world mean?

Seeing the eight things in General Joo’s bag, Sa Heon-yeong smiled. He could feel himself going crazy.

***

Getting to the Crown Prince’s Palace was very easy.

Everyone fell to their knees and bowed their heads in unison. The Prince is walking. He smiles lazily, but he is a prince who always kills people. No one wanted to make eye contact. Unseen men were walking behind the prince, but no one dared to ask their identities.

Sa Heon-young walked slowly in the moonlight. The Prince did a lot of bizarre things. No one was surprised when Sa Heon-yeong walked around the Crown Prince’s Palace while wearing a fancy robe. Because it didn’t happen once or twice.

Huh huh?

The guards in front of the bedroom hurriedly knelt down and tilted their heads as if puzzled. As they entered the hallway, the eyes of the eunuchs became more suspicious. He was the one who should be in bed. The weak prince struggled to even cross the window, but how is he going around and coming back so proudly?

Sa Heon-yeong, who stood in front of the bedroom, glanced at the officers who were following him. That gaze became a signal. The soldiers moved in unison.

Ugh, hiik. Some only muttered in half. Most of them did not make a sound and passed out. The armed forces who suppressed the blood flow and knocked down all those guarding the bedroom to the floor knelt in front of Sa Heon-yeong.

“Nobody died?”

At Sa Heon-yeong’s word, the generals bowed their heads all at once. They didn’t answer because they were conscious of the existence of the crown prince beyond the sliding door.

But Sa Heon-young, who had already lost everything, smiled.

“Don’t kill recklessly. My wife is blind if it’s too blinding. If it’s too blinding, that’s a big deal, isn’t it?”

None of the officers answered. They were afraid inside. They couldn’t even imagine how far the madness of the master, who had been cold for the rest of his life, would go, how many things he would burn until it subsided.

Sa Heon-yeong muttered like a song.

—

*)북망산 or Mangshan/ Mang Mountain. The mountains have a very beautiful scenery so in ancient times, high ranking people and royalties were buried there.