Chapter 111

In the middle of the night, the King and Lee-Jae opened their eyes and moved to the window.

Lee-Jae was watching something. Roderick was feeling it.

Her eyes glinting as she stared into the darkness, Lee-Jae gave a firm nod.

“Your Majesty, it’s coming.”

Without hesitation, the King turned on his heel and strode across the room.

Opening the door halfway, he looked down the corridor lined with attendants.

“Chamberlain. Light the fires in the castle immediately.”

It was an effort to resist the malice closing in like black water.

Everyone inside the castle had already assigned themselves roles.

The attendants gathered kindling outside and lit fires, while the maids lit candles in every room.

The castle, once veiled in dim moonlight, suddenly blazed bright, as though it had been placed at the center of light itself.

“First Knights’ Division, search the perimeter of the castle and the capital at once.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Even if they’re not with the prince’s group—if they look suspicious, bring them in.”

“Understood.”

The knights split into groups of six or seven and dispersed beyond the castle walls to begin their search.

When the King returned to the room, Lee-Jae was staring out the window with a grim expression.

She was rolling prayer beads with her left hand, her right hand raised halfway—and the King *felt* something swirling faintly at her fingertips.

As Roderick moved the statues closer to the window, he asked,

“What? What is it now—what do you need me to do?”

“…”

“Hm?”

Lee-Jae couldn’t answer right away.

She had done her best to prepare, but found herself in a troublesome situation.

The evil spirits that had once battered at the barrier, trying to tear it apart, were now merely circling.

It was likely because the King’s energy had changed so drastically from before.

The spirits were targeting the King—launching their bloodlust at him from afar—and so they were being drawn toward the castle.

But precisely because of the King, they couldn’t get anywhere near the barrier.

And Lee-Jae couldn’t very well ask him to step back a few paces.

She wasn’t confident she could deal with them if they all rushed her at once.

“Lee-Jae. Answer me.”

Who knows how long had passed. Finally, her lips parted with deliberation.

“I really think… I’ll just have to shoot them.”

“…What?”

The King asked again, unsure whether he’d heard her right, but Lee-Jae replied with the solemnity of a priestess:

“I’ll have to take them down one by one. I can’t think of any other way.”

She fetched her bow and arrows from the corner of the room.

Then, settling on the window ledge, she aimed at the weakest-looking spirit.

She loosed three arrows in rapid succession and leaned out the window, glancing this way and that.

Moving carefully, she began to shift her body—preparing to step outside.

Despite the carefully constructed barrier that made the room the safest place, her field of vision was too narrow.

Understanding her intent, Roderick held her back.

“Wait. Hold on a second. Just wait.”

Roderick grabbed the window frame with one hand and effortlessly leapt over it.

Then he held Lee-Jae by the waist and helped her down safely.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Lee-Jae looked up at the night sky.

Dozens of spirits still hovered in the air, glaring down at the King and her.

All of them had eyes filled with malice.

Lee-Jae remained silent for a while, then glanced up at the King.

She quietly reached out and tugged at his sleeve.

“Your Majesty.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Please don’t go anywhere without me. If something urgent comes up, let’s just deal with it later.”

“…Where would I even go? Why are you saying it like that?”

“I know, I know. It’s just… I feel like my stomach’s about to shrivel up… Never mind, I’m just saying nonsense.”

At this point, Lee-Jae had effectively provoked the spirits and then rushed out of the trench.

Without the King, she was also in danger—bearing their grudge herself.

Somehow, their roles had reversed: the King was now acting as her talisman.

Using the King as both shield and bait, Lee-Jae diligently shot her arrows.

With every arrow she loosed, another spirit disappeared, and the number of remaining arrows in her quiver slowly decreased.

But Lee-Jae was becoming preoccupied with a growing concern.

By now, the enemy must have realized something.

That someone was near the King.

Or perhaps that the Royal power had awakened.

After all, their repeated attempts to strike had failed.

By now, they had to know that these lesser spirits weren’t enough to harm the King.

‘What are they planning? We can’t just keep getting dragged along in this fight.’

Though her expression darkened with worry, her hands never stopped. She loaded arrow after arrow onto the bowstring.

Unbeknownst to her, the attendants and maids had quietly gathered behind her, watching her.

To them, it simply looked like Lee-Jae was shooting arrows enthusiastically into empty air.

To their eyes, each arrow traced an arc through the sky and fell harmlessly to the ground.

Only the King could sense the darkness unraveling with each shot.

But then, something changed.

The onlookers began to doubt their eyes.

One of Lee-Jae’s arrows snapped in midair—with a crisp, audible crack.

Her eyes, lost for a moment in thought, turned sharp again.

Biting her lip, Lee-Jae loaded another arrow onto her bow.

She poured even more energy into this arrow than before, and released the bowstring—but to the watching eyes, an even stranger sight unfolded.

The arrow, which had been flying in an arc, suddenly dropped straight down.

As if it had hit an invisible, solid wall.

Lee-Jae narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the spirit.

And then, its form began to take clearer shape in her spiritual sight.

She almost shuddered.

There was something eerily familiar about the smirking spirit.

Its entire body was covered in thick, black fur—just like the one that had once strangled the King.

Lee-Jae had coughed up nearly a basinful of blood trying to exorcise that one.

She briefly closed her eyes to steady herself.

And when she opened them again, she did not hesitate.

She jabbed the tip of the arrowhead into her own palm.

Roderick, who had been trying to pull her hand down in alarm, couldn’t hold back a shout.

“You—what the hell are you doing again?!”

Beads of blood had already welled up and were running down her palm.

But Lee-Jae’s expression remained calm—almost serene.

“Your Majesty, this works better.”

Something as vile as that spirit couldn’t be dealt with using just animal blood.

“…Then use mine. I’m right here.”

Roderick, having momentarily lost his grip on reason, belatedly thrust out his hand to cut it—

But Lee-Jae quickly pulled her arrow away behind her back.

“It has to be the caster’s blood. I told you before.”

“Curses have to be borne by the one who casts them. That’s how spellcraft works. The responsibility for failure lies with the one who cast it.”

It was half true.

But the other half was a lie.

If it truly had to be her own blood, she shouldn’t have been able to use animal blood either.

Still, this was the one thing she didn’t want to be honest about.

Your Majesty, I can’t bear to see you get hurt. And it’s not just because you’re the king.

“I’m fine. I didn’t stab that deep. It’s like pricking your finger while sewing.”

“…You—We’re going to talk about this later. Just wait.”

Roderick clenched his teeth.

Even in the seriousness of the moment, a faint smile escaped Lee-Jae’s lips.

It was a smile that slipped out without her knowing.

“Sorry, but I’m not scared anymore when you say things like that, Your Majesty.”

She loaded another arrow onto her bow and looked back up at the night sky.

Fixing her gaze on the spirit, she began to chant an incantation:

“Jungseokmulchok [중석몰촉]*.”

[*T/N: Idiom meaning if one focuses all their mental energy and exerts their utmost effort, any seemingly impossible task can be achieved or any difficult obstacle can be overcome.]

“O spirit, know this: an arrow loosed with all of a human’s strength shall pierce even stone.”

Then, a sneering, pitch-black face came into view.

Lee-Jae knew exactly what that face meant.

The kind of malice that breaks humans effortlessly.

Something like you. Someone like you. Always crawling on your knees, that’s all you’ve ever been.

Lee-Jae struggled to steady her wavering heart.

Before releasing the bowstring, she looked over at the King.

Then, she glanced behind her.

The King was always by her side, and the others were there too.

Strangely, it wasn’t as frightening as last time.

She didn’t feel alone.

She nodded to herself.

“Alright. Let’s see. Whether this arrow can pierce you or not.”

She bit her lips hard and released the taut bowstring.

The arrow seemed to pause for a moment in midair—

But then, like pushing through an invisible wall, it pressed forward with unrelenting force.

Infused with her energy, the arrow finally pierced the spirit’s forehead.

Lee-Jae let the bow drop to the ground with a soft thud.

“It’s done. Your Majesty, it’s done.”

The King felt it too.

He was already turning back, urging the others into action.

“Why hasn’t anyone brought bandages yet?!”

“Y-Your Majesty! Someone already went to get them—ah, they’re coming now!”

Roderick snatched the bandages from a servant and began wrapping her hand.

But even then, Lee-Jae kept her eyes on the sky.

Four spirits remained.

It was a number she could manage.

She looked toward the fire burning over a pile of brushwood and asked quietly:

“Could someone light this and bring it to me?”

It was Deborah who stepped forward past the servants and lit a branch.

Lee-Jae nodded in silent thanks and took the burning branch from her.

Before anyone could stop her, she walked several paces forward.

Since the remaining spirits could not come closer—this time, she would go to them.

Lee-Jae took a bundle of talismans from her robes and began to burn them, chanting the final spell of the battle she’d fought that night.

It was a spell that held Hailey’s wish—and Lee-Jae’s heart that honored it.

“인정승천[Injeongseungcheon].* Humans can straighten the path of destiny. And one day… they can defy even the heavens.”

[*T/N: Another idiom meaning if people set their minds to something and strive with effort, they can overcome even what seems to be predetermined by fate or nature]

The night sky overhead was clear.

Of all the battles they’d fought so far, this was the most perfect defense—and a remarkably successful repulsion.