At The End Of The Hidden Greenery - Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Promises That Could Be Broken

Back when a party had been held at the Imperial Palace—

The crown prince led the imperial army to drive out the beasts of the western region, and the Akarna cleansed the wasteland remaining after the beasts disappeared.

So, it was not too much to call it a victory party as the humans overcame the beasts.

This time, the Akarna and the crown prince were really good together, the people were saying so. It’d be a lie to say they didn’t feel proud.

The crown prince and the Akarna entered this splendid victory party where nobles and imperial families gathered.

Curtains made with jewelry. Softly resounding music. The simple food of the temple is different from the luxurious food that showed its luxury using plenty of sugar and spices. Sparkling wines. People in shiny dresses.

Before she was able to fall into the splendid party she was seeing for the first time, Jiwoo had to express her disappointment to the crown prince here.

“Your Highness, you promised me.”

“You know there’s nothing I can do.”

The crown prince frowned as if he was troubled by Jiwoo’s grumpy voice.

“It’s because I’m not a noble.”

When she said that, the crown prince looked rather stern.

“Akarna, you don’t know because you’re someone from the temple, but the relationship between the Imperial Family and nobles is complicated. You don’t have to take everything emotionally.”

“But you promised me…”

Because Jiwoo was the Akarna, she was a very foreign entity to exist in this human victory party.

Akarna could not be invited to or could not attend a party hosted by any noble or the imperial family. Akarna was not an ordinary human being, but a sacred body that was a vessel for God’s spirit.

So Akarna had to participate only in the temple’s events, organized by the temple, even if there was such an auspicious event.

The reason Jiwoo was able to participate today was because the crown prince promised to take her to the party.

And Jiwoo was going to dance with the crown prince here.

She wanted to show everyone that the crown prince was her lover and that she was his.

But the crown prince only kept his promise to bring Jiwoo to the party, and he said he wouldn’t be able to do the first dance with her.

The reason was simple.

It was because the noble lady, who was to be engaged to the crown prince, also attended the party.

And Jiwoo understood why she couldn’t have the first dance with him, even if he didn’t explain it.

The noble lady was the daughter of a venerable household that was no different from the founding hero, so the reason was that she should not lose face.

“Your Highness, if it’s because I’m a commoner, then Your Highness… can create an identity for me.”

The imperial power ruled above the temple.

It would not have been impossible for a commoner to suddenly become a member of a deep-rooted family that could marry the crown prince proudly, but if it was just a lowly noble, there were plenty of ways.

After being adopted by an old noble who has no children, she could receive a title gradually, or if that was not possible, he could create a title that she did not have.

This is what Jiwoo thought simply, but the crown prince must have been able to estimate more possibilities.

Of course, of course. She knew it was difficult.

To do so, the temple had to give up the Akarna, and officially, the Akarna had to be dead.

She knew that summoning a new Akarna would also be a long and difficult task. There will be people who will not recognize the Akarna who has become a commoner and will try to kill her.

However, the imperial family were always the people to bring such nonsense to reality.

Jiwoo knew that she was being pushy. She also knew she was whining.

She hoped he would say he couldn’t do that, and compromise by having his first dance with her. But the crown prince sighed.

“Akarna, since when did you throw tantrums like this?”

“……”

“It’s not even something so grandiose. It’s just a dance.”

Jiwoo clenched her fists.

She had already been scolded anyway. Just once. Even if he couldn’t, she wanted to say it one more time. Jiwoo squeezed her last courage and grabbed the crown prince’s collar.

“Your Highness, don’t go.”

“Akarna.”

“Your Highness. Please.”

“Stop whining!”

Slap!

Showing he was tired of her whining, the crown prince swung his arm with a cold expression on his face.

He mercilessly shrugged off the courage Jiwoo had wrung out. with one gesture.

But Jiwoo was a person who could be miserable in front of her lover. Even if it had to be pitiful. She could throw away all her pride and hang on as much as she could.

Jiwoo grabbed him again with the hand that he had just struck.

“Your Highness, please… don’t leave me alone here.”

“We’ll talk when I come back.”

“Your Highness…!”

“I’ll be back soon. Alright? It’s the first time you’ve been to a party like this, right? For now, enjoy yourself.”

The crown prince did not change his decision. Instead, he seemed sorry for her, kissed Jiwoo on the cheek and headed towards the center of the banquet hall.

He greeted that noble lady that was to be engaged with him with anticipation. The woman naturally linked her arms around the crown prince’s.

Jiwoo was left alone.

“Did you just see that?”

“Oh my gosh, poor thing…”

“The Akarna has such a high pride that she doesn’t attend human-hosted parties, right?”

“How can that be? Did you see her clinging to the Crown Prince just now?”

“Aha… God’s watchman seems to be jealous too.”

“But look at that Lady. As expected, she didn’t even frown. The person she’s going to be married to has kissed another woman.”

“Not speculating is a virtue of the Crown Princess.”

Hahaha. Hohoho. She could hear the nobles around her gossiping, talking and laughing about her, the crown prince, and the lady.

It sounded even louder to Jiwoo, who could not concentrate on anything else.

It would have been better if she didn’t understand the language here.

It would have been better if she was an idiot who didn’t know anything.

Jiwoo’s hands trembled as she clasped her pale face. The tenseness in her fingers also made her bones stand out.

Your Highness, I am here.

Can’t you see me?

I have to listen to all of this here.

Don’t you even care?

Heat rose from the shame, and her eyes reddened. But she didn’t cry. Because if the Akarna would cry in such an unsightly manner here, she would tarnish the crown prince’s name.

But she couldn’t even reach for the food. She couldn’t even drink. She couldn’t even talk to anyone else. There was no way anyone could have been close friends with the Akarna, who was sent to the barren land.

Akarna had to stand like a decoration with a benevolent expression in a top seat that was not like the seat, just like Akarna. For bringing her to this party, she promised not to act immaturely for the crown prince.

She did not know the manners prevailing among the nobles and the imperial family, so he suggested she stood still.

So Jiwoo stood quietly and looked at only one place.

After a while, the party hall began to move in unison with the sound of light music.

Forcefully biting her lips and opening his eyes, Jiwoo watched him perform the first dance of the party.

The crown prince should have held her hand and danced the first dance in the center of the party with her. As promised.

Actually, that was the last line Jiwoo wanted to keep.

The crown prince could marry another noble. She understood that it was a political union and was a way to maintain this relationship.

But if that’s the case, if it’s really just a political union, then at least prove in front of everyone that the person he loved the most was Jiwoo.

She thought that if the Crown Prince kept this promise, she could actually give up everything else and live only by receiving his love.

But the crown prince did not even keep that promise.

“Ah…”

The crown prince smiled. Looking at that lady.

It was the expression he always showed her. It was a polite laugh, but that nice laugh was something she liked. His laughter seemed to reverberate all the way here.

It should be okay. It should be okay. You can’t cry. If you cry here, this gossip will spread not only to you, but also to the Crown Prince.

Jiwoo, who blankly watched people dancing and smiling, soon found a way. She took a deep breath, expelled all the cold breath in her lungs, and held it there.

Her mind clouded as oxygen escaped her head. Only then will the clear despair unfolding in front of her finally fade.

All the music seemed distant. Standing here like this, she felt alone in the world.

She seemed to be looking up at them from the bottom of a deep lake.

That’s right. Because she was the Akarna.

The Akarna, who was a divine entity in a country where God’s influence resided, was not allowed to mingle with people carelessly.

Akarna.

Akarna.

Akarna.

That was her position.

She was nothing but Akarna. God’s watchman who makes divine miracles…

“Seo Jiwoo, wake up.”

Seo Jiwoo. Seo Jiwoo? That’s her name she forgot.

“Gasp…..”

Jiwoo opened her eyes.

Instead of a fancy party hall, a rustic natural wooden house caught her eye.

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