🚨 Warning: This chapter has themes of graphic violence, suicide, coercion, emotional abuse and non-consensual acts. Please remain mindful of this as you read! 🚨
“What… on earth is happening?"
She couldn’t understand why things had suddenly turned out this way. In just one day, not merely one or two but over ten members of the Yoon family had transformed into snake monsters, biting people to death.
Moreover, why were the servants behaving so strangely, even devouring the Grand Sharman? Even if Nokhee tried to convince herself that the servants had also turned into snake monsters, the transformed Yoon family members had only bitten people to death — they didn’t eat them…
Was she trapped in a terrible nightmare? She pinched her cheek hard, but it only hurt. This was undeniably real.
No matter how she thought about it, only four heirlooms were left in the Yoon family, not enough to explain so many transformations. Perhaps, to prevent this very disaster, they had used her as a scapegoat for over a decade, forcing her to consume seven reverse scales.
Even so, six of those scales had already been transferred to Kijoon, leaving her with only one. Meanwhile, one of the four heirlooms left in the Yoon family was supposedly hidden by Seonghyeon...
"...Seonghyeon."
Nokhee's wandering thoughts stopped abruptly at the mention of her younger brother's name. Come to think of it, Seonghyeon wasn’t at the banquet.
The only places he could be were his residence or the banquet hall where all the Yoon family members were gathered. But he wasn’t in either of those places.
"No way...”
A cold, unsettling feeling brushed the back of her neck. Nokhee immediately dashed down the back road, heading straight for the detached villa where her mother, Yeojin was staying.
‘Please, please...’
She prayed that nothing had happened as she ran, gasping for breath. Abruptly, she felt a sense of déjà vu. This had happened before. When the Crown Prince was present, the snake-transformed Myunghoon had fled towards Yeojin's residence.
At that time, she thought it would have been better to die right there with her mother, and it was Kijoon who saved her just as she was on the brink of doing so.
That was why she had resolved to give her insignificant life to him entirely.
Kijoon, Kijoon.
Even the slightest fear made her cry out his name.
“Hufff, huuu...”
Having run as though her life depended on it, Nokhee arrived at the detached villa by the lake, suppressing her ragged breaths as she stepped onto the porch. However, as expected, the heavens never granted her wish, not even once.
Through the half-torn paper door, she could see her mother still lying there as if dead. And standing over them with legs apart, gazing down at Yeojin, was a small, motionless figure.
The figure from behind, wearing the cap she had embroidered his name on, was very familiar. So much so that she wanted to hug him tightly in her arms, ignoring the sound of his laboured breathing.
“Sss, hissssss...”
"Seonghyeon."
At Nokhee's call, the eerie hissing sound abruptly stopped. Then, the figure slowly turned around, revealing a face covered with scales and an elongated snout gaping wide open — unmistakably a snake.
Why? Seonghyeon wasn’t even of direct descent.
A scream welled up from deep within her, and Nokhee closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them again, tears, almost overflowing, shimmered in her eyes.
"Seonghyeon. Don't stay there, come here."
Nokhee called her younger sibling once more and slowly took out a silver dagger from her bosom.
In any case, she was going to die after giving the reverse scale she had cut from her wrist to Kijoon. Her life was already forfeit. That had already been established as the inevitable outcome since the moment he had saved her life for the second time.
The only difference was that instead of slitting her own throat with a single stroke to avoid more pain, she would have to kill her younger sibling with her own hands and die a miserable death from his bite. Yet, in the end, the outcome would be the same.
It might be selfish of her, but Nokhee hoped that once her mother regained consciousness, she would live a long and peaceful life. After all, what child would wish for their parent's death? Although her mother had already lost her husband and now, both her children, Nokhee hoped she could let go of the past and live on, as if for all three of them.
As she drew the dagger and threw the sheath far away, the elongated pupils briefly followed its path before snapping back to her. This was because Nokhee had cut away the cloth covering her wound and was now holding it out.
"Here, look — there’s blood. Can’t you smell it?"
“Keeeeek...”
“So come to your sister, not your mother. Okay?"
Seonghyeon, now transformed into a snake, bobbed his head up and down. A forked tongue flickered constantly between his parted jaws, seemingly gauging the distance by the scent of blood.
It was only a matter of time before he lunged to bite her throat. Nokhee adjusted her grip on the silver dagger, ready to strike. If they were to meet again in the afterlife, she hoped Seonghyeon would forgive her for being such a worthless sister.
And… and if by chance Kijoon found this...
She hoped that he would burn both her body and Seonghyeon’s together, locate the reverse scales, and then leave, far, far away. She hoped that he would burn away all the painful memories and traces left here along with their bodies, and finally find peace...
“Hissss, hisssssssss―!"
As Seonghyeon lunged at her, Nokhee simply spread her arms and closed her eyes helplessly. As the fierce gust of wind howled, death approached, inching ever closer, until it was right at her doorstep.
Whoosh!
Instead of the sudden pain of her neck being bitten, a wave of scorching heat slammed into Nokhee’s face. Reflexively, she opened her eyes, and what she saw was...
“Kreeeaaagh―!"
A snake monster, engulfed in flames, falling from the porch and writhing on the ground, burning to death.
“You always called me a fool."
“...”
"Why are you just standing there like a fool, not even trying to avoid it, my lady?"
A man emerged like a ghost and entered the front courtyard of the detached villa, disregarding the burning Seonghyeon.
"Ki...joon?"
Could it be that she was already dead and hallucinating? Nokhee alternated her bloodshot eyes between the usual, expressionless servant and the monster, which let out monstrous wails and crackled as it burned away.
Everything felt distant, like a dream. Kijoon stood before her, while Seonghyeon, emitting a terrible burnt smell, turned into blackened charcoal.
Like meat placed alive on the fire, the black mass, writhing and burning relentlessly, gradually stopped moving. The fire, which had fiercely consumed the wood, also began to subside. Seonghyeon was dead.
Kijoon, perhaps sensing this, approached and thrust his bare hand into the smouldering embers, lifting something out. Although his hand had reached into the fire, his unscathed fingertips held something that gleamed as it caught the light.
It was a reverse scale.
Seonghyeon, still in the form of a snake monster, remained as a charred figure, frozen just as he had looked before dying… It seemed there was no need to reduce the body to ashes to find the reverse scale, as the Grand Shaman had done.
As she stood there in a daze, a dark shadow was cast before her. Although she was on the porch, Nokhee had to tilt her head up to see him, his towering figure looming above.
Kijoon looked down at her with a completely expressionless face, revealing not a hint of emotion.
“Did you intend to die? Or…”
“...”
“Were planning to die together?"
No, she thought he was emotionless. Although he wasn’t even experiencing pleasure from mating, his eyes had transformed into narrow, slit-like golden pupils. Inside them, a wild frenzy was boiling.
Her breath caught in her throat. Nokhee alternated her gaze between Kijoon and Seonghyeon's charred remains, her lips quivering.
“Ki-Kijoon..."
"Why? That idiot ignored his own sister’s pleas not to consume it, deceived by the promise of becoming the head of the family, and swallowed something he didn’t even understand... but still, is it because he’s a blood-related younger sibling?"
“Wh-what…?”
"Ah. Or is it not because you share blood, but because you’ve shared bodies? Even if it’s no bigger than a rat’s cock, a man is still a man..."
Nokhee's mind was in chaos, and she couldn't understand what Kijoon was saying. 'Shared bodies?' Who could he possibly be talking about?
But contrary to her thoughts, her body reflexively turned toward Seonghyeon's corpse, trembling uncontrollably.
“I'm asking you, my lady."
Kijoon then reached out, cupped Nokhee's cheek, and gently but firmly turned her toward him.
“Th-that's not it. That’s not it, Kijoon. Seo-Seonghyeon..."
Her mind was as stiff as stone, and though she stuttered, she had to answer Kijoon’s question first. Nokhee pushed his hand, which was gripping her cheek, away and tried to explain, stumbling over her words.
However, at that moment, the servant clicked his tongue and roughly grabbed Nokhee's flailing left arm. The wound, deep and grotesque, was soaked with blood, looking horrific at first glance.
Although it had been a while since it was cut, the blood still wouldn't stop, continuously oozing out. Kijoon’s eyes darkened with displeasure as he watched.
"Didn’t I tell you that the spiritual energy of the reverse scales is contained within your body, so it’s useless? You keep making things difficult for yourself by acting so foolishly."
Even in her dazed state, Nokhee’s heart grew heavy at those harsh words. The thought that her actions, driven by the desire to give all of herself, had only amounted to a foolish mistake was painfully hard to accept.
If the situation hadn't turned out this way, she would never have been able to give him the seventh reverse scale, and in the end, wouldn’t she have just ended up doing nothing but harm to Kijoon?
Even after coming this far, in the end, it was back to square one.
The pitch-black swamp that had been lapping at her ankles seemed to slowly creep up her thighs. As she sensed the vivid sensation of her body gradually devoured, Nokhee didn’t hear the softly added words, “Of course, that aspect is endearing."
"Did you really want to become the Crown Prince's consort, or whatever it’s called, so badly that you were willing to carve off your own flesh while fully aware of what you were doing?"
Kijoon sneered as he held her wounded left arm in front of Nokhee’s eyes.
"But what can be done, my lady? You won’t even be able to take a single step outside this land of Hwangju, no, this castle."
“Wh-what do you mean by that?"
As Kijoon’s incessant criticism continued, the suffocating swamp that had risen to her waist surged up to her chin in an instant, choking her. She just wanted to feel at peace now. She truly longed for death.
Nokhee’s mind was spinning as the situation continually unfolded in ways she hadn’t expected. Tears welled up in her eyes, and without realising it, she asked in a trembling voice.
“I-I said I’ll leave on my own, so why...? Why..? I’ve already given you all those reverse scales..."
“...”
"Is it because you still don’t have enough reverse scales yet? So I... I cut it out...”
Nokhee spoke like a fool and with her right hand — unrestrained by Kijoon — pulled out the piece of flesh she had carved from her own body and kept hidden in her bosom. She tried to hand it to Kijoon, but her hand trembled so violently that she dropped it.
The cloth-wrapped object tumbled to the dirt and the dark scale that had once been there vanished, leaving behind only a gruesome, bloodied piece of flesh. Nokhee’s eyes widened in shock.
“Wh-where did it go? I... I clearly..."
“Didn’t I tell you it was useless?”
Kijoon interrupted Nokhee's weak muttering and spoke in a low murmur. However, unlike before, when his voice had been flat, it now seemed to simmer with an undercurrent of emotion.
He must be angry. It was a situation where anger was inevitable. However, even so, there was nothing left for Nokhee to give except her life.
She tore her gaze away from it and looked up at Kijoon. Perhaps because of the shock from having done something pointless, her mind felt clearer than it had just a moment ago.
As the trembling in her body subsided, much like someone recovering from a seizure, she found that she could speak with surprising calm.
"You didn’t keep your promise either, did you? I said to spare Seonghyeon.”
“...”
“Let's stop this now, Kijoon. I have to go too..."
Nokhee tried to pull away from Kijoon's grip, offering desperate, nonsensical excuses. However, he only tightened his hold, showing no intention of letting her go. To make matters worse, he spoke words that were nothing short of horrific.
"Where do you think you're going, my lady? I've just returned from killing what's left of your family and the people from the imperial palace."
"Why? Why are you doing this? Isn’t everything already over? We should just go our separate ways, so why are you doing this?!"
"Why am I doing this? For fuck's sake. You still don't get it and have to ask me why?"
Out of frustration, she found herself speaking almost pleadingly, but Kijoon suddenly started yelling and swearing in a loud voice.
Startled, Nokhee widened her eyes and blinked, then asked the question that had been weighing on her mind all this time.
"I... I have swallowed your reverse scales all these years… Is that why you hate me so much, you want to kill me with your own hands?”
If that was the case, she wished he would just kill her quickly instead of dragging it out. Just like how he burned Seonghyeon to death without a second thought when he turned into a snake, she didn’t care what he did — she just wanted to be freed from this hell as soon as possible...
"Ah... That."
However, at her words, Kijoon spoke as though he had just remembered something he had forgotten.
“Yes, there was that too. I hated you so much that I wanted to kill you."
"Then… just kill me. If that will ease your anger, then go ahead and kill me."
At that, Kijoon gritted his teeth and then let out a bitter laugh.
"Do you really want to get out of here that badly? Why? Do you think that the Crown Prince will take your body and bury it in the imperial palace, treating you like a deceased Crown Princess?"
“It’s not that..."
"But I can't just kill an enemy I despise so easily. What good would that do, my lady? I have to keep you alive and by my side to truly savour my revenge."
Without giving her a chance to respond, Kijoon rambled on like a madman. Then, he suddenly reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and shoved it towards Nokhee's mouth.
"Instead of wasting time with nonsense, just swallow these again."
On the palm of his hand, held close in front of her, were several small black fragments, each about the size of a fingernail. Nokhee immediately recognised them. After all, she had swallowed them and carried them within her body for ten years, so there was no way she wouldn't recognise them.
“Th-this is..."
“It’s my ten reverse scales."
At Kijoon's remark, which felt like a confirmation of her worst fear, Nokhee's heart dropped. They were his reverse scales. The very ones she had been so desperate to return, even if it was just one more...
“Ho-how is this..."
"I was a little late because I had to burn them all to death before bringing these back."
She asked how it was that he had all of them, but an unexpected answer came in return.
When she simply stared at it without taking them, Kijoon didn't release her arm. Instead, he wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and began forcibly pushing the reverse scales into her mouth.
“Swallow."
“Wa-wait. Kijoon! Ki―ugggh...!"
Even as she shook her head to refuse, Kijoon forced the pieces into the gap between her lips and pressed his own lips firmly against hers, preventing her from spitting them out. In an instant, the two pieces scraped her throat and were swallowed down.
“Keog! Heuugh..."
The sharp edges seemed to scratch the inside of her throat, leaving it feeling as if a fish bone was lodged there. Nokhee burst into a fit of violent coughing. In an instant, Kijoon scooped her up like a baby, cradling her, and dashed as swiftly as an arrow to the lakeside near the detached villa.
“Water."
He personally scooped up some water and put more scale fragments into his own mouth, then forcefully passed them into Nokhee's mouth by pressing his lips against hers. Consequently, it didn't take long for her to swallow everything that remained.
Only after confirming that all ten reverse scales had been swallowed and passed her throat did Kijoon's tongue leave her mouth. By then, Nokhee was pale as a sheet and trembling uncontrollably.
"Now, all eleven are gathered in my lady's body."
Looking at her, Kijoon grinned with satisfaction, baring his teeth.
"The weasel bitch is dead, and all the members of the Yoon family, except for my lady, are dead. Now, you will bear all the curses upon yourself."
“...”
"If you don’t want to die a disgusting snake death like your family, you’ll have to mate until your insides are torn and blood shows, to pass the reverse scales to me."
“Ki-Kijoon..."
Tears welled up once more in Nokhee's lifeless eyes. Wiping her reddened eyes with his hand, he spoke in a surprisingly gentle manner.
"So once all eleven return to me, I will make my lady swallow them again. And when they return to me again, I will make you swallow them again, and again, and again..."
“...”
"And if you bear my child and lay eggs, who knows? You might one day rise to the position of Crown Princess. No, even the Empress."
While listening closely to his words, the content was far from affectionate but instead violent. Yet, as Kijoon uttered those terrifying words and gazed at Nokhee, his eyes seemed filled with dream-like anticipation.
Was she truly insane? If not, where did things start to go wrong? She just couldn't understand.
The swamp rose up to her eyes and rippled. It was difficult to breathe. Nokhee could no longer endure and finally let go of the fragile thread that held her sanity together.
Translator's Corner:
I'll post most chapters tomorrow! (Need to head to bed now so good night!!)
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