25. On Fire!
‘Ah, that explains why he was taking so long.’
From now on, I have to participate in events as the Young Master's assistant.
To move, I withdrew my hand from Geumseon Yeonhwa's head.
“I’ll be back, Yeonhwa. You can watch the event or rest in the room. Do whatever you want.”
“Seol.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I heard the Young Master's voice urging me.
‘Talk about impatient!’
“Coming! I’m going!”
Unable to resist the Young Master's urging, I ran to where he was.
Then, the Young Master stared down at me.
‘He called me urgently, but why is he staring like that?’
“Aren’t you going?”
At my question, the Young Master’s hand brushed my hair.
‘What is he doing now?’
“What are you doing?”
“It was sticking up.”
Leaving those short words, the Young Master turned away from me as if it was nothing and walked ahead.
‘Since when did he get all caring? What a weirdo.’
I touched the hair where the Young Master's hand had reached and quickly followed behind him.
* * *
“I’ll be back, Yeonhwa. You can watch the event or rest in the room. Do whatever you want.”
Geumseon Yeonhwa, who was watching Jeokun and Cheonseong walking away, recalled what Cheonseong had said.
“Do whatever I want?”
For some reason, Geumseon Yeonhwa felt a sense of disappointment when Cheonseong’s hand, which had been stroking her head, fell away.
‘To the point where I wanted to grab it again.’
Feeling confused by the unfamiliar emotion, Geumseon Yeonhwa returned to Cheonseong’s room and lay down on the bedding.
“Is it because of the flower seed?”
But Geumseon Yeonhwa had never heard of being drawn to the person who gave the flower seed.
“Anyway, if I’m going to do whatever I want… Seol-ah.”
Geumseon Yeonhwa, lying face down on Seol’s bedding, using her arms as a pillow, whispered softly.
“You need to be by my side.”
* * *
Meanwhile, in the Demonic Cult, a memorial service was in full swing for the Cult members who had been killed in the attack by the Sichuan Tang Clan.
‘Honestly, I thought that since they’re the ruthless Demonic Cult, they wouldn’t care about a person or two dying.’
The Cult members were genuinely mourning their colleagues’ deaths, placing flowers on the coffins containing their bodies and shedding tears.
“You thought it was unexpected, didn’t you?”
‘Young Master, can he really read minds?’
I coughed awkwardly, embarrassed that my inner thoughts had been exposed, and the Young Master, who was looking at me, turned his gaze back to those mourning the deceased.
“The Heavenly Demon created this event. I heard it’s a ritual that didn’t exist in the old Cult.”
‘My dad created this event?’
“The Heavenly Demon?”
“Yes, the Heavenly Demon does not consider even one Cult member’s life to be in vain. He said he wanted to give colleagues and family members who lived together enough time to think about and mourn the deceased. Only then can they gain the strength to rise again.”
In that moment, the deaths my dad had experienced flashed before my eyes.
‘Did Dad have enough time to mourn, to really find the strength to go on?’
No, maybe he couldn’t even gather his mind and had to get up anyway.
To save me. To raise me as beautifully as I am now.
I feel sorry for Dad for some reason.
“It’s a good event.”
Even so, I thought my dad was amazing.
‘Dad must have been in pain too… But Dad, who still knows how to understand other people’s sadness, is really cool.’
I’m so proud of whose dad he is.
“The memorial service will end soon. Prepare to go up now.”
For the first time, I felt proud that my dad was the leader here. Just then, the Young Master turned away.
“Where to?”
At my question, the Young Master indifferently looked down at the numerous Cult members below the building and said calmly.
“In front of everyone belonging to this Cult, here.”
…Huh?
* * *
I expected quite a few people to gather since it was an announcement of the assistant position.
‘But I didn’t expect it to be this many!’
Looking at the banquet hall filled with Cult members to the point where there was no room to step, I rubbed my forehead in thought.
‘I didn’t want to become this famous…’
“Are you ready?”
Just as I was letting out a deep sigh, Oh-Haeng, who appeared from somewhere, spoke to me.
“There are too many people, so it will take time to adjust.”
“I bet you've never seen this many of us in one place.”
“Yes, more than that, I'm not sure I'm worthy of the same title as you, Elder.”
“You're way too humble. You're strong enough for a much higher rank.”
Oh-Haeng said, looking at me as if piercing through me, even if it was for a brief moment.
“You're flattering me. I don't have that much power.”
“Let’s just leave it at that for now.”
“Yes?”
Before I could even understand the meaning of Oh-Haeng’s words, he pushed my back towards the platform.
“The Young Master will call your name soon.”
“I'm going to introduce the person who will be my new assistant.”
As Oh-Haeng said, the memorial service was already heading towards its final order.
“A new assistant?”
“Elder Oh-Haeng is already serving as the Young Master's assistant.”
The hall buzzed with chatter instantly at the words “new assistant.”
“Seol, come forward.”
“Let’s go!”
Oh-Haeng, who seemed more excited than me, urged me in a strong voice.
‘Okay, I signed up for this. It's now or never.’
I smoothed down my clothes and headed towards the Young Master, putting on a brave face.
“Huh? That face is?”
“Wasn't he the Young Master's servant just a few days ago?”
“Isn’t he too young to be an assistant?”
“Is he even strong enough? I saw him struggling with just one table.”
‘Calm down. These are all expected reactions.’
More than anything, I came here risking my life to cure Dad’s illness!
I am Seol Cheonseong, who survived even the trials given by the flower seed.
That’s right.
Nothing is scarier to me than my father’s death.
“This is Seol, my new assistant! He will assist me and help improve the Cult!”
“How's that little shrimp going to protect the Cult?”
“Yeah, he'll be lucky if he doesn't end up as a hostage!”
Despite my ambitious words, those who had watched me work as a servant began to raise objections.
“Young Master, please reconsider making a newbie your assistant!”
“Please reconsider!”
As the opposition was boiling over, familiar voices were heard from the crowd.
“The Young Master made this decision himself! Let's all support Assistant Seol!”
“Hooray for Assistant Seol!”
The owners of the voices, loud and clear enough to make my ears ring, were
‘Jangryu, Chaechae!’
The Gochujang twins.
‘Wow, guys, thanks! I can't let my friends down!’
Receiving support from Jangryu and Chaechae, I quickly regained my composure.
Then, the faces of the crowd, which had been blurry, began to appear clearly.
And I could hear their voices, clear as day.
“They made a kid who looks, like, six years old the Young Master's assistant? The Cult's gone crazy!”
“Fine by me. Looks like the big shots are gone, and the rest of them are all over the place. Perfect time for an attack, don't you think?”
It was a whispering voice, but it was clearly heard by me.
‘An attack? Where is that voice coming from?’
Now that I think about it, ever since I got through the flower seed trials, my hearing's been crazy good, even without trying.
I guess the flower seed's power boosted my hearing, too.
“Did you bring the Cheongsacho powder? It’s fatal just by swallowing the powder, so don’t take off your masks.”
“I know, I know. Just picturing all those Cult bodies piled up gives me chills.”
‘Cheongsacho?’
Since they're planning to use Cheongsacho, they're probably from the Sichuan Tang Clan again.
‘To stop them, I need to find those guys, fast.’
“Seol.”
“Shh! Hold on. Be quiet.”
I signaled to the Young Master, who was calling me, to be quiet, and turned my eyes to where the voices were coming from.
I saw five guys in Cult robes and masks.
‘That's them! But how am I supposed to get to them from here?’
If I rush in, they might spread the Cheongsacho, and people could get hurt.
I need a way to take them out in one shot.
I looked around and spotted a big table in front of the servant who always brings my breakfast.
Then I remembered smashing that table in front of the Young Master.
‘This is it!’
I grabbed the table – it was surprisingly light – and chucked it at them with all my strength, yelling, "Spies!"
That's when the table burst into flames!
