Before I End Up as Rabbit Stew - Chapter 23

Black Dragon woke up in the middle of the night, letting out a low groan. His temples and solar plexus throbbed painfully. The temples were probably due to a hangover. And the solar plexus…

“This is driving me crazy.”

Turning his head with a wheezing breath, he saw Yimae sprawled out next to him. White legs were visible through the gaps in her torn clothes. Black Dragon pulled the blanket over her body. He struggled to his feet and blew out the candle, now reduced to a small stub, with no more tears left to shed.

Moonlight seeped into the darkened training hall. Black Dragon leaned his head against the window frame, looking down at Yimae. He chuckled softly.

“At least you didn’t get beat up somewhere else.”

Where did such strength come from those slender arms? Black Dragon gently rubbed his still throbbing solar plexus. She must have really hated him teasing her. Well, it wasn’t just teasing, it was practically harassment. Black Dragon awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, reflecting on his actions.

The events between bouts of drunkenness felt distant, like a past life. But a few vivid scenes kept resurfacing, and Black Dragon was lost in thought.

Why? Last night, he felt countless urges to touch her, to kiss her. And that feeling persisted even now, completely sober. The rational, composed Black Dragon found himself drifting further and further away from the golden bed as these personal emotions surged. The training hall was too small, and therefore, dangerous.

He eventually went outside. The chief of the royal guard was standing watch a short distance from the training hall. He bowed his head upon seeing Black Dragon emerge.

“What brings you here?”

“Just because.”

Black Dragon casually sat down on the path where the chief of the royal guard was standing. Normally, he wouldn’t even dream of sitting on the ground, let alone wandering around the palace in his underwear.

But on this night, much had already been revealed. Black Dragon, half resigned and half blaming himself, stared out at the lotus pond.

“Can’t you sleep?”

The chief of the royal guard asked quietly. He was the same man who had been the chief of the royal guard in Black Dragon’s palace since Hee-tae’s time. He had been serving the Black Dragon deity closely for two generations. As a child, he was like an uncle and teacher to Black Dragon, and now he was a confidant and loyal subject, standing by Black Dragon’s side.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

Black Dragon said, looking at the lotus pond. The chief of the royal guard had a white bandage around his neck. He smiled and replied.

“Nothing happened.”

Black Dragon gave a dry smile.

“The palace staff must be in an uproar. It’s my fault.”

The red golden bed was only used for the first night after marriage. Since the beginning of time, Black Dragon might be the first deity to sleep with a woman on the red golden bed before marriage. No one knew how or through what path Yimae had entered and ended up beside him. Everyone in the palace was trained to act as if they saw nothing and heard nothing, but they couldn’t stop words from leaking out.

“Everyone you ask will say nothing happened.”

The chief of the royal guard reassured him.

“Don’t worry about what happened last night.”

“What happened last night?”

Black Dragon echoed quietly. Then, with a slightly softened expression, he looked at the lotus blossoms bathed in moonlight.

“I’m just asking without any particular meaning.”

Even though he started with those words, Black Dragon seemed unaware that it was a very meaningful statement. He continued in a quiet tone.

“How do you know when someone has entered your heart?”

A cool, clean breeze blew. Black Dragon remained silent, taking a deep breath. The weather, already well into autumn, was quite chilly, but Black Dragon didn’t feel it. Just thinking about the one sleeping in the training hall made his body feel as hot as if he were embracing a fire.

“You know by the weight.”

The chief of the royal guard broke the silence and answered. Black Dragon, puzzled, asked back.

“How do you know by the weight?”

“That person sits in your memories, in your sleep, in your life.”

Black Dragon slowly nodded. And then asked again.

“Can you send them away?”

This time, the answer came after an even longer silence.

“After receding like the tide, they did not return.”

The chief of the royal guard added a little more.

“The heart, pressed down as much as they had settled in, did not return to its original state either.”

It was the first time he had such a conversation with someone he had spent so many years with. Black Dragon smiled faintly.

“Sounds like you’re telling me not to send her away.”

“As you wish.”

“I have no wish.”

Black Dragon stood up. He spread his long fingers like a fan towards the pond and gathered spiritual energy. The clean breeze that brushed past the path was drawn into the pond. The breeze absorbed the water at the bottom of the pond as thinly as a sheet of paper. Black Dragon sent that breeze as it was to the courtyard of the pigeon house. The water evenly permeated the entire field that Yimae had carefully cultivated.

“Don’t follow me, guard the training hall.”

He headed alone towards the opposite side of the lotus pond. He willingly entered the muddy ground that he had barely managed to escape from an hour ago and walked towards his destination without hesitation.

The reason why the back garden with the herb garden was left unattended was due to Hee-tae’s will. She said that she did not want to please the Celestial Emperor with the rare herbs that grew in this herb garden.

‘Are you saying that you are treating the Black Dragon deity like a mere herbalist?’

In a way, it was natural that the Black Dragon Palace of the Red Earth Realm would take charge of herb cultivation. The Celestial Emperor meticulously designed the world of humans. The sun rose and set for just the right amount of time, rain fell at the right time, and the seasons changed. Herb cultivation was also a type of farming, and since the Red Earth Realm was the best place for farming, it was natural for the Black Dragon Palace to grow them.

‘When I die, let it go. I’ll see the Celestial Emperor’s ruined face even in the afterlife.’

His mother’s voice, saying that as a habit while cackling, seemed to be heard from somewhere. Black Dragon walked a little further and stopped under a tree. The trees, blackened as if scorched, all looked the same, but Black Dragon could distinguish a few specific trees.

“Not yet?”

One of those trees was the tree where he first encountered Yimae in this palace. And under that tree, the Other Shore Flower that Yimae so desperately craved was growing.

He used his spiritual energy to remove the lump of mud. The Other Shore Flower was sparsely revealed in purple. But it was a very small and insignificant sprout. If he dug it up and took care of it separately, it would grow quickly, but Black Dragon quietly covered it with mud.

He was a rigid and inflexible scholar, so he was actually very uncomfortable with leaving the back garden, which could be used for many things, in such a state. But now he felt differently. If he could, he wanted to ruin the back garden even more to prevent the growth of the Other Shore Flower.

“…Am I really crazy?”

Black Dragon sternly scolded himself. But nothing changed. He wanted Yimae to stay by his side for as long as possible. That was his unadulterated truth.

He turned back the way he came and went to the training hall. Yimae was still lost in the samadhi of dreams. She had been moving around quickly with her small body, so it would be strange if she wasn’t tired. Black Dragon bent his knees at her bedside, intending to straighten the blanket again.

“Are you okay?”

Yimae whispered to him, trying to open her eyes. What was she asking if he was okay about? But thinking that it didn’t matter, Black Dragon covered her eyes with one hand. He felt Yimae deeply lower her eyelashes under his palm.

“I’m okay.”

Thinking that everything was okay, Black Dragon answered. And then he lowered his head. He kissed her as moistly and lightly as the wet flapping of a newly hatched butterfly’s wings.

Yimae was already asleep. As planned, Black Dragon straightened the blanket and moved away from Yimae. He silently backed away and leaned his head against the cold window frame to cool down.

“Heavy.”

Black Dragon muttered quietly to himself. Looking at Yimae with watery eyes, he repeated.

“Heavy.”

He was done sleeping. Thinking that, he sat on the window sill. It felt like a heavy anchor was constantly scratching his heart. He pressed his chest here and there, but that strange feeling didn’t disappear. It was hurting in a place that wasn’t physically touched.

“You’ve finally settled in me.”

He had lived without knowing that he was lonely, even though he was lonely in all directions. But now, just thinking about her eating the Other Shore Flower and leaving the palace made his heart ache with loneliness.

He couldn’t believe that things could change so much in one day, but Black Dragon finally had to admit it. He was about to utter something that he thought was a cliché and a trite expression used only by frivolous people.

Black Dragon, who had been holding back, couldn’t stop the tidal wave of overwhelming emotions and blurted out.

“I fell in love at first sight.”

Black Dragon’s face flushed red, even though it was clear that the deeply sleeping Yimae wouldn’t hear him. He stood up, placing his hands on his hips. His face, walking left and right, was like a peach blossom in spring.

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