🚨 Warning: This chapter includes mentions of self-harm/injury, suicide, profane language and graphic violent imagery. Please remain mindful of this as you read. 🚨
・・・・・
Nokhee hugged the snake tightly, whispering to it for a long time before drifting into a light sleep. She then had a brief dream, in which Kijoon had become a dragon and was soaring high in the sky.
Seeing the dragon, Yoon Jucheol and the members of the Yoon family, burst into loud laughter and suddenly shot arrows into the starless sky. But, the dragon did not flee, it just remained there, taking the full brunt of the barrage of arrows.
As arrows pierced its body, the dragon roared loudly in pain, blood pouring from its wounds. The sight was so vivid that Nokhee couldn't help but wonder if she was unknowingly dreaming of the past she had witnessed.
The Yoon family continued to shoot arrows even after that, but the dragon still circled the same spot and did not fly away. Feeling frustrated and upset, Nokhee stamped her feet in exasperation. It was then that she suddenly noticed a rope tied to the dragon’s tail, trailing long behind it.
Ah. It was because of that thing that it couldn't fly away and kept circling around.
So, Nokhee traced the rope with her gaze to see where it was tied.
But in the end, she saw her own wrist and noticed the knot of the rope that was tied around it. The dragon was unable to escape because it was bound to her.
Staring blankly at the rope tied around her wrist, Nokhee heard the Yoon family burst into another round of mocking laughter. Yoon Jucheol pointed at her and sneered, "Do you think you can untie that knot? Can you cut it off? What on earth can a little bitch like you even do?"
Then, at some point, something had appeared in her opposite hand, the one not tied by the rope. It was the silver dagger she had bought at the market.
Nokhee looked up at the dragon still circling the same spot. It was all her fault. Since Kijoon was tied to her, he couldn’t leave. So...
She had to cut it off.
With all her strength, she swung the dagger and cut the rope tied to her wrist, at with that, she woke up from the dream. To her surprise, she found herself no longer outside but lying peacefully in her room.
Judging by the bluish light filtering through the window bars, it seemed to still be the early dawn, with the day not yet fully broken.
"...Kijoon."
She called softly, but there was no response. Perhaps he felt ashamed of showing such a disgraceful appearance in front of his lady and must have returned to his quarters.
This time, she wasn’t calling to find him, but merely to check. Satisfied with the lack of response, Nokhee smiled faintly.
She quietly rose from her seat and opened the drawer beneath the desk. She took something out, and it looked exactly like the dagger from her dream. It made sense, as she had gone to the market and bought it herself.
"How very thoughtful..."
Gazing down at it, Nokhee suddenly murmured to herself.
She had thought she lost it during the chaos when Seonghyeon turned into a snake, but somehow Kijoon had recognised it as hers and had thoughtfully kept it safe. The thought of the servant who found and brought it back made Nokhee's heart soften for a moment, but she quickly steadied herself.
Had she not been aimlessly going through the room, she would have likely been caught breaking a vase or some dishware. In a sense, this felt like a final wish granted by the heavens.
Nokhee slowly drew the dagger from its sheath and held it against her left wrist, where the black scale fragment still remained. Having done this before, her hand no longer trembled.
Kijoon.
Kijoon.
Kijoon.
In the next life, please...
Endlessly calling Kijoon’s name, Nokhee gently closed her eyes. Soon, the metallic scent of blood filled the room, and a death-like peace settled over her.
It had been a long time since she had such a deep sleep — a long, uninterrupted sleep, free of both nightmares and pleasant dreams.
She longed to surrender herself to that comfort forever, but there was no way to prevent her consciousness from slowly awakening.
So, Nokhee had no choice but to open her eyes. The familiar ceiling met her gaze. The room was dim, suggesting it was dusk.
In truth, as her consciousness began to surface, she already knew — she had survived once again.
She lay still and wiggled the fingers of her left hand. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, they moved well. Even when she pulled her left hand from under the blanket and raised it to her eyes, it was the same.
Above the spot where the black reverse scale had sprouted on her wrist, a red, thread-like line was drawn across it. She had stabbed it deeply and slashed it repeatedly, believing there was no way she would survive and open her eyes again. Yet somehow, it had been stitched back together.
"Ha..."
Was it relief or regret? A faint sigh escaped her parted lips, its meaning unclear even to herself.
“Is it such a pity that you survived?”
It was then. A gloomy, sunken voice came from a corner of the room.
"If I had returned just a little later, you could have disappeared and died as you wished. Isn't fate truly cruel?"
"...Kijoon."
Nokhee sat up. Slowly turning her head toward the sound, she saw a dark figure sitting motionless in the far corner of the room, his golden eyes fixed on her.
She silently stared back, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then, suddenly, the gleaming golden eyes vanished.
"Don't look."
Kijoon suddenly raised his arm and covered his face with the sleeve of his robe. She tried to ask "Why?" but no sound emerged; her lips merely moved without a sound.
"I used a lot of my spiritual powers to heal you, so I can't fully transform into human form for the time being. It will look ugly.”
However, as if he had understood her unspoken question, Kijoon responded. Then, before she could react, he abruptly stood up and walked towards the door.
“Now that I see you're awake, I'll take my leave."
She wanted to get up and grab the figure that was gradually getting farther away, but she was unable to summon her strength, and she kept sliding down. So, with a sense of resignation, Nokhee opened her mouth.
"Why did you save me again?"
“...”
"Why do you... keep trying to save me?"
She wasn't trying to blame him. She just said it out of curiosity, almost as if talking to herself.
He was a dragon, wasn't he? To him, she was nothing more than a fool of a woman who had swallowed his reverse scales without understanding its meaning. So why did he keep doing this? She simply couldn't understand...
"What about you?"
It seemed he had his own question, as Kijoon abruptly halted in his tracks.
"Why do you keep trying to die?"
Not only that, he turned toward Nokhee's bed and began walking toward her. In the faint moonlight filtering through the window bars, his face was covered entirely in black scales.
"Seven years ago, at the banquet, you saw someone transform into a snake and rush at you, yet you still tried to die."
Kijoon stood tall before Nokhee, looking down at her as he spoke. However, unlike usual, despite the scales covering his face, his expression was strangely clear, revealing his inner thoughts as if they were visible.
Kijoon’s face, which was usually expressionless, was now completely twisted with despair.
"When Yoon Jucheol's eldest son tried to kill your mother, when your half-brother lunged to bite you, and even a few days ago when you woke up after being ill!"
“...”
"Do you hate being by my side that much?"
Nokhee had never seen Kijoon shout so desperately before. Stunned, she couldn't bring herself to deny it, remaining there like a mute, just staring at him in silence.
"Why? How come?"
Abandoning any attempt to cover his face with his robe, Kijoon paced back and forth anxiously, repeatedly demanding an explanation.
"I did everything you asked. Is it because I killed the Crown Prince? Did you have deep feelings for that guy?"
"...It's not that. It’s really not that."
"Then why—?!"
With great effort, she managed to squeeze out a response, and suddenly, Kijoon, who had stopped walking and turned to look at Nokhee, screamed as if vomiting blood.
"I did what you wanted. You wanted to go to the capital, so I changed the capital. You wanted to become the most exalted woman in the world, so I made you the Empress. So why on earth are you trying to die, why?!"
Why, why, why.
Kijoon's persistent demand for an answer reminded her of herself from just a few days ago.
Nokhee sat there like a statue, looking at him with unfamiliar eyes, and finally managed to stammer out her reason. It was merely a fraction of what she had kept hidden all this time.
"Because... because I wanted you to leave this house and be free. I wanted you to become a dragon and ascend to the heavens."
“I have never been interested in anything like that.”
As soon as Nokhee finished speaking, he lunged at her like a madman, grabbed her shoulders, locked eyes with her, and spat out his words.
"From the very beginning, I never once intended to take revenge, escape this place, or ascend. I gave up on that long ago. I never intended to reclaim my reverse scales, either. I just wanted to die, tired of the endless, monotonous life I had to endure. But because of you...!"
“...”
"My lady, wasn’t it you who wanted me to reclaim all of my reverse scales?"
This was all new to her. As Kijoon spoke of it, his expression crumbled in anguish, and at that moment, Nokhee’s heart sank along with him.
"...Kijoon, I... I... “
She didn't know he felt that way. She was just an ignorant and foolish woman…
However, in the moment of hesitation, unable to say those words, Kijoon let out a ragged breath, briefly closing his eyes before opening them again — now filled with a fierce intensity.
"No matter how much my lady’s beg, you will never leave the castle."
“...”
"If you hate being by my side so much that you’d rather die, then go ahead and kill me first before you die. Because of you, even the weasel bitch is dead, and I have lost all my opportunities for a peaceful death, so you should take responsibility and kill me."
As he said this, he tugged at his collar and flung off his top. Seeing his bare skin, Nokhee's eyes widened in shock and horror.
It seemed true that his transformation was incomplete, as his bare skin was covered in snake scales, most of which were reversed. The tips of the scales pointed upward, reflected the light and shimmered in a dazzling array of colours.
Red liquid trickled down between the densely packed scales. Overcome by the nauseating smell of blood, her head spun, and tears suddenly welled up.
“Th-this...”
Unable to tear her eyes away from the horrific sight, Nokhee's hand trembled as Kijoon took her hand and placed it over his chest. The tips of her fingers stung, pricked by the sharp edges of the scales.
"Dragons are creatures that will easily perish if you pluck their reverse scale, so if you keep doing this, I will eventually die."
“...”
"So if you insist on leaving, then kill me first before you go, Nokhee."
Then, Kijoon forcefully curled Nokhee's hand, which he had gripped tightly, and began ripping out handfuls of scales. Each spot where a scale was torn away exposed raw, red flesh, and soon a sharp, pungent stream of blood began spurting from the exposed veins in all directions.
Nokhee, her spirit broken and moving as he directed, soon found herself screaming and thrashing in panic.
“Ah! No, Kijoon! Please, don’t do this, Kijoon! Kijoon, stop!”
“Why? You didn’t hesitate at all when you cut your wrist and slit it, but now you can't bear to have the blood of a yokai on your hands?”
Unfazed by the pain, he grinned wildly, but when Nokhee, who had been struggling desperately, neared the brink of unconsciousness from the agony, he reluctantly let her go. Then, he shoved the blood-soaked scales into her hands and spoke.
“You’re so weak and incapable of being ruthless, that’s why you end up being taken advantage of, my lady.”
“...”
"So, if you can't bring yourself to pull out the reverse scales, then just accept your fate and live quietly. Stay with me here for the rest of your life, and obediently wear the Empress’s crown that I’ll place upon your head. Do you understand?"
After sharply firing those words, Kijoon stood up and turned his back, about to leave. Watching him retreat, Nokhee finally let out the quiet, anguished cry she had been holding in all this time.
“...I love you.”
She spoke so softly, as though her words had escaped with a sigh, that perhaps because of this, her beloved’s footsteps continued without pause.
Why didn’t he acknowledge her? Overcome with sorrow, tears suddenly spilled from her eyes. Then, Nokhee spoke more clearly, in a slightly louder voice.
“Kijoon, I love you.”
Only then did his steps come to a sudden halt. But, toward that cruel back that wouldn't turn around, Nokhee, with her own hands, tore open her chest and laid bare everything inside to show him.
“I’ve felt this way for a long time. My feelings for you run so deep that I could never just stand by and watch you being disrespected. That’s why I always interfered and couldn’t help but get involved.”
“...”
"Since I came into this house as the scapegoat, enduring hell every day, you were my only refuge. And because of that..."
“...”
“When I discovered that what I had swallowed were your reverse scales, I couldn’t bear it. Without knowing that I was threatening your very life, all the arrogant things I did and the presumptuous words I said to you were just too, too much…”
It was too painful.
The memory of that moment, when everything went dark as though she had suddenly gone blind, resurfaced. Nokhee closed her eyes, her face etched with agony.
“I care for you too deeply... but my very existence is too harmful to you. That's why I decided I had to get you out of this hell before even the imperial family began to target you.”
“...”
"And so, I promised to return your reverse scales to you. I intended… I intended to watch you leave and then die."
Wrenching out those words with immense effort, she looked up to find Kijoon standing right in front of her.
Whether in his tall, handsome form, covered in scales like a snake monster, or in the shape of a snake — none of it mattered anymore.
"Why?" Kijoon asked, his lips moving faintly, just like Nokhee had earlier. Having already laid bare her innermost self, there was nothing left to hide. Nokhee, with a look that seemed both like a smile and a tearful expression, confessed the truth.
"Because I don’t have the strength to keep living in a hell where even you aren’t there. It turns out that apart from you, neither my mother nor Seonghyeon has been someone I could rely on for a long time.”
“But why...?”
Suddenly, a cool sensation brushed under her eyes. Kijoon carefully wiped away Nokhee’s tears, making sure not to pierce her skin with the sharp claws that had grown on his hands.
"Why are you still trying to die, even now that everything is over?"
Before long, the scales had disappeared from about half of his face, and Kijoon, returning to his usual indifferent expression, asked dryly.
"I felt like my words, my very existence, kept pushing you toward the abyss. I thought that if I wanted to stop you, I needed to disappear from your side."
This time, Nokhee answered obediently. Then, with her hands trembling like a fool, she took Kijoon's hand that had touched beneath her eyes and returned the handful of reverse scales he had given her.
“I... I was wrong, Kijoon.”
She didn’t know anything anymore. She didn’t know what she should do to save him.
She couldn’t know for sure if this was the answer, but nevertheless, Nokhee conveyed her intentions in a clear voice.
"I don't need the imperial palace or the title of Crown Princess. I only need you. So... so please don't ever do this again."
She tightly held the hand with the returned reverse scales, not letting it open, and apologised to him multiple times. If he could promise that he wouldn’t do this again, she could kneel and beg a hundred times, or even thousands.
"I’ll do whatever you tell me to, I’ll do whatever you want, so please don’t do this. Okay?"
Kijoon, staring at the trembling woman who was desperately holding back her tears with his dim, eerie eyes, eventually asked in a chilling voice.
"What do you think you can do?"
"Anything."
"I want to keep you imprisoned here, not letting you take a single step outside, and spend all day having sex with you."
Nokhee nodded like an idiot and told him to do so. At this, Kijoon spewed a string of vulgar words that were uncomfortable to hear.
"I will ensure that only my two cocks can enter inside your pussy, fill your womb with my seed to impregnate you, and after you give birth and your swollen belly deflates, I will fill you with my seed once more."
“Mhm. Ah, I understand.”
"Sometimes when I'm in heat, I might revert to my true form as a giant snake and mate with you. Is that still okay with you?"
"Yes. If that's what you wish."
Let's do that.
Nokhee's innocently nodding head paradoxically aroused suspicion in the man. Kijoon, still glaring at Nokhee with cold eyes, sharply pressed her with a question.
"Don't you find it disgusting?"
“What?"
"Wouldn't you be disgusted if it were a snake?"
“Ah,” Nokhee let out a small, absentminded sound. Come to think of it, it was definitely like that.
Even with the snake-like, monstrous face right in front of her, she was completely unfazed. Seeing this, she realised just how much she must truly like this damn snake creature, to the point that it made her smile a little.
Then she reached out and gently cupped his cheeks, still covered in snake scales, and whispered as though sharing a secret.
“We've already shared our bodies in that form... What could be more grotesque than that? I've become a woman who lies with a beast, deserving divine punishment. Because of you, my chances of ever marrying are completely gone.”
Only then did Kijoon's eyes, which had been tightly narrowed and frozen, begin to soften as warmth gradually filled them. Nokhee couldn't help but find it strangely fascinating that she was able to recognise this change.
"There is no chance that my lady will marry someone else. You won’t even be able to take a single step outside this room..."
“Kijoon.”
Stopping him from uttering more frightening words, Nokhee lowered the hand that had been holding his cheek and began to speak the words she had truly wanted to say all along.
“I… I don't want to feel pain anymore. And I especially don't want to die…”
“...”
"So, don't suffer anymore either, and don't put yourself in a situation where you might die."
One day, when he regained the reverse scales and was finally freed from his house, this was what she wanted to say first, even before confessing her feelings.
She voiced the true dream she had longed for so deeply but never even dared to voice — not even in her dreams — believing she was unworthy.
“Let's live together.”
Nokhee extended her hand toward him.
"Now, let’s try living together, just the two of us."
Then, the snake, who had longed for death for countless years, let out a long cry, like the roar of a dragon ascending to the heavens, and took her hand.
However, in Hwangju Castle, which once seemed as though it would always be bathed in warm sunlight, dark clouds gathered again in less than ten years.
For reasons unknown, starting with Lord Yoon Duseok, those who had consumed the reverse scales of the Imugi began to transform, one by one, into snake-like monsters that bit and killed people.
It was clear that they had been cursed by the vengeful spirits of the unjustly slain snakes, yet the Yoon family, who revered the shaman’s words as if they were divine, became too preoccupied with exploiting the captured Imugi, amassing sins across generations.
However, in a secluded corner of Hwangju Castle, a single green flower bloomed, having absorbed the thick resentment and venom of the snakes that had settled there. Unable to bear watching any longer, it took pity and began to spread its roots throughout the entire land of Hwangju.
No one realised that the snakes’ venom was seeping through the land along the flower’s spreading roots. Then, as rain fell, the flowing water turned to poison, killing every living thing it touched.
As fate would have it, a grand feast was held within the castle, and the ruler of Hwangju had gathered everyone, including the shaman and all of the Yoon family. At that feast, everyone who ate and drank fell to an untimely death, poisoned by the venomous water.
When the shaman and the Yoon family members died, those who had lived like the dead under their tyranny slowly crawled out, reclaiming and cultivating the poisoned land. In time, a true peace — one not forged by power or wealth — arrived.
Having been exploited for years after its reverse scales were taken, the Imugi diligently tended to the green flower that had repaid its debt, accumulating new virtues in the process. Its devotion was so great that the entire base of the Hwangju Castle walls became completely covered in green flowers.
And so, after living for a long time and finally ascending to heaven as a dragon, it was said that instead of holding a Dragon’s Pearl, the Imugi held a single green flower in its mouth.
[The Reverse Scales of Osa - The End]
Translator's Corner
Hi all, this is the end of the main story: volume 1! Volume 2 has 2 side stories which I've split in 4 chapters; and I will do my best to finish translating, editing and proof-reading it today, so hopefully I can post it tonight or tomorrow morning!!~ Thanks for joining me with this novel so far :)
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If you notice any errors or broken links, please let me know and I will get that fixed~ Additionally, if you would like to support me, I have a Ko-fi ~ Thank you! 💖