Chapter 2 

Sa-yeol dreamed an old dream.

Ten years, fifty years—
No, it must have been a hundred years ago.

A blizzard so fierce you couldn’t see even an inch ahead.
A disaster severe even for the harsh Northern Sea.

Snow piled higher than four feet in every direction.
Yet the white-blue palace stood calm, untouched by the storm humans feared so much.

The Ice Palace—
a place where the orthodox sect called the resident women “heretics.”
They did not walk the same path as humans; their path was the path of snow.
Ordinary people simply could not understand them.

The snow blew so violently that she couldn’t see the face of the friend standing right in front of her.

The woman with completely white hair spoke to the Black-haired woman before her.

“Leave now.”

Her voice was as cold as ice—dismissing her.
But the black-haired woman didn’t react and replied bluntly:

“The Heavenly Demon is coming.”

Silence.

Then the black-haired woman spoke again.

“You cannot handle him.”

The white-haired Ice Palace woman faintly smiled—
a strange expression that did not match her frosty voice.

“I know. All the same, you must leave.”

“Seol-ah.”

“He wants you.”

The black-haired woman’s half-opened mouth closed.

“I want to protect you.
I owe you my life.
All of the Ice Palace women owe their lives to you.
Now it is our turn to protect you.”

Cold wind whipped the black hair violently, like demonic fingers.
Her face could not be seen.

She stood there for a moment—
then turned around without a farewell.

The Ice Palace woman called So-seol did not speak either.
She only imagined her friend’s face, probably gritting her teeth in pain.

“Go far away. Somewhere he cannot find you.”

Watching the black figure grow smaller in the blizzard, So-seol murmured like a poem.

“We will become your wall.
Survive with that stubborn life of yours—you who have escaped death again and again.”

The snowstorm howled.
She could almost smell blood in the wind.

“Live. And forget.”

Seol knew the departing woman could hear her.

“Forget me, who threw away my life for you.
Forget us.
Live like a bird—
Blindfold yourself, cover your ears, and live peacefully like a fool.”

Her cold voice gradually filled with anger—heat inside frost.

“But do not forget what the man you loved did to you.”

The one who had lived over a thousand years—
ice incarnate—
laughed hopelessly into the storm.

“Beloved of the Heavenly Demon.”

Her sorrowful whisper faded.

“…The one he desired—my… you—”

Her last word was swallowed by the sound of falling snow.

The black-haired woman disappeared into the white world.
Everything faded into darkness, as if her eyes were closing.

***

“KYAAAA—!”

A scream shattered Sa-yeol’s thoughts.
She opened her eyes wide.

The dream—
the memory—
She couldn’t tell if it belonged to someone else or herself.

When she returned to reality, chaos had erupted at the front gate.

So-hwa had her hands clamped over her mouth, staring at the small back of her young mistress.

That shockingly white hair, that small trembling back.
Thin clothing, worn shoes.

And the blood-soaked red hairpin in her hand.

So-hwa saw that much—
and staggered in horror.
She wanted to collapse, but there was no time.

“Miss…!”

Before she could think, So-hwa rushed forward.

“Come with me…!”

Her small hand gripped Sa-yeol’s tightly.
Sa-yeol, weak and limp, let herself be pulled.

I have to protect her.

That was the only thought in So-hwa’s mind.

But So-hwa was only a fifteen-year-old girl herself.
Still a child.

She ran like a frightened animal fleeing to its nest—
straight to Sa-yeol’s small room in the detached quarters.

“Get a doctor!”

“Patriarch!”

“Someone—anyone!”

Voices shouted behind them, but So-hwa had no time to listen.

Slide—!
She flung the door open and pushed Sa-yeol inside.

Thud.
She shoved herself in too and looked around wildly.

There was nothing useful in the simple room, but she moved anyway—grabbing anything she could.

The wardrobe.
The side table.
The writing desk.
A small chest.

She pushed everything toward the door, piling it up desperately.

This won’t be enough…

She had acted on instinct, wanting to protect Sa-yeol.
But once she stopped, she realized the truth.

They were trapped like rats in a jar.

“Miss… Are you… okay? A-Are you hurt…?”

She stammered as she approached Sa-yeol.

Sa-yeol stood by the window, faint light illuminating her pale figure.
Her gaze was distant as she stared at So-hwa.

“Why… why did you…”

Why did you do something like that?
The question formed on So-hwa’s tongue—
but she swallowed it.
It didn’t matter now.

“Miss. Please listen carefully.”

So-hwa grabbed both of Sa-yeol’s arms tightly.

“If I stay in this room and hold them off, they’ll think you’re in here.”

“…”

Tears streamed down So-hwa’s cheeks.

She knelt in front of Sa-yeol, speaking as if she were the adult.

“You must go out the small back door and run into the mountains. Don’t stop.”

Her voice trembled.

“Run away.
Run far, far away.
And live happily.”

Sa-yeol finally spoke.

“…Why?”

“…What?”

“Why would you go this far?”

Her tone was flat, emotionless—nothing like her usual weak, trembling voice.

So-hwa bit her lip and smiled sadly through her tears.

“Do you remember… years ago, when the plague spread? My mother died from it.”

Sa-yeol tilted her head slightly, searching her memory.

“…I think so.”

“And I caught it too.”

“…”

“I was supposed to be cast out because of the infection.
But Miss… you hid me here in the detached quarters… and nursed me yourself.”

Tears poured so fast they soaked her cheeks.

“So now I have to repay that.”

Her small fifteen-year-old hands trembled violently.

How could she not be afraid?
How could she not be terrified?

Yet she was ready to risk her life.

For Sa-yeol.

Sa-yeol looked at her for a long moment—
Then gently stroked So-hwa’s cheek with a pale hand.

“You haven’t changed.”

She sighed softly.

“Even after a hundred years, the world doesn’t change.”

She sounded like someone who had lived an entire lifetime.

“My dear child… So-hwa.”

Her white fingers slid behind So-hwa’s neck.
Smoothly.
Quietly.
Like a snake.

“It’s all right.”

“…Miss?”

“What do you mean—”

So-hwa didn’t finish.

A sharp, precise pressure pressed into a spot behind her neck.

Click.

Her vision instantly went black.
Her thoughts stopped.
Her strength disappeared.

“M-Miss…”

She collapsed into Sa-yeol’s arms.

“Sleep for a while.
When you wake up, everything will be settled.”

Sa-yeol laid So-hwa’s head gently on her knee, stroking her dark hair.

“Hush…”

The sound was both soothing—like comforting a child—
and warning, as if telling her to stay silent and hidden.

“A hundred years…”

She murmured to herself.

“They will pay dearly.”

Whether it was the Namgung family—
or the others who had betrayed her long ago.