Chapter 6
Huyul, wearing a look of quiet resentment, walked along the dark road. His gaze flickered briefly toward Horang.
In the pitch-black night, her face stood out—unnaturally pale, unchanged from ten years ago.
As Horang had said, ten years was a long time. Yet not for a single moment had Huyul forgotten her. No—he had wanted to forget, but he simply could not.
How could he forget the face that, in his dreams every night, brought ruin to his world of Joseon? Facing the very woman he had feared so deeply felt unreal.
“Immortal, there is something I wish to ask.”
“What is it?”
“In the Peach Blossom Realm, doesn’t the peach tree bear thousands of fruits? Then why do you search so desperately for a single peach…?”
Horang’s expression shifted subtly.
So this brat is sharper than he looks.
“Why else would I be looking? Because the tree is gone.”
“Gone? How could such a grand and beautiful tree possibly…?”
“……”
Horang glanced sideways at Huyul. He flinched.
For a fleeting moment, there was pain in her eyes.
“I spoke out of turn. My apologies, Immortal.”
“Forget it. Still, it’s fortunate you planted the peach seed here. If even that were gone, things would be much more troublesome.”
That was her only hope now.
The Peach Blossom Realm—once radiant, the land of the Immortal Horang.
The moment the Immortal’s peach tree vanished, the realm itself had evaporated along with it.
The charred remnants of that once-glorious land stabbed painfully at Horang’s memory.
“Then… if you recover the peach, will you truly leave?”
“I told you I would. Why—do you want me to stay longer?”
“Of course not. That would never be the case. And, Immortal…”
Huyul hesitated, gauging her mood.
She would leave soon anyway. Before that, he wanted to unburden the weight that had haunted him.
“Stealing your peach… was truly wrong of me. I know it is shameless to say this, but… I ask for your forgiveness.”
His remorse was genuine. More than anything, he wanted forgiveness—to free himself from the terror that she might destroy the world.
“Fine. I forgive you. I’ll just consider it adding to my good deeds.”
Horang answered readily.
“……Thank you, Immortal.”
To be forgiven so easily—Huyul felt the ten years he had lived in fear flash through his mind.
“Yes, you should be grateful. It’s only because I’m a benevolent Immortal. If it had been someone else, you’d already be dead and reincarnated as a kudzu root. Anyway, how much farther?”
“We’re close. Ah, right over there…”
Huyul suddenly stopped.
“Over there… it should be there, but…”
“Move.”
Horang shoved him aside and approached the pond.
“This is the peach tree?”
So this… was supposed to be the Immortal’s peach tree?
It was nothing more than a small tree, barely as tall as Horang. When she touched it, the dried branches snapped with a brittle crack.
“It’s dead.”
Her voice turned cold.
“I-it hasn’t rained for over a hundred days. Look—even the pond has dried up. It must have withered from the drought… Ah, what should we do…?”
Huyul rambled anxiously, staring at the dead tree.
“There must be a way. If we water it now… I’ll summon officials immediately and command them to revive it. Whatever it takes—”
He trailed off mid-sentence.
Horang was glaring at him as if she might kill him.
“The peach tree?”
Her voice was no longer just cold—it was ominous.
“You planted the Immortal’s peach seed here?”
“Immortal, that is—”
“So you’re saying this pitiful thing is the Immortal’s peach tree?”
Impossible.
How could Horang fail to recognize her own tree?
Staring at him with burning eyes, she reached a swift conclusion.
“You thief! How dare you try to deceive me again?!”
Her shout rang out.
“You lie to my face without even blinking? What—an Immortal’s peach? Did you really think I’d fall for that? Me, an Immortal who has lived for three thousand nine hundred years—do you think I’d be fooled by a mere human like you?!”
Ten years ago, she had only shown him the end of the world as a warning.
But this time, her anger was real.
A pure rage, rarely expressed over the course of her long life, filled her chest.
“Lee Huyul, you wretched—!”
Fwoosh.
A blue aura began to swirl in her palm.
“Immortal! No—I’m not lying! I planted the peach seed here. Please believe me. I beg you…”
Seeing the strange light gathering in her hand, Huyul’s face turned as pale as the glow itself.
This was bad. The terror of the past surged back.
She would destroy him—this palace—perhaps the entire world.
Huyul dropped to his knees. He had no time to think of dignity or pride as a king.
“Stealing the peach was wrong a hundred—no, a thousand times over. But I truly planted it here!”
“A mere human dares to scheme? Do I have to end everything before you come to your senses?”
The blue light flared larger.
“Immortal, please…!”
Overwhelming fear engulfed him.
No—if her anger exploded, everything would be over.
He desperately clutched the hem of her robe.
“I know this is all my fault. Blinded by greed, I ignored your warning and stole the peach. I was consumed by the thought of saving my father…”
He lowered his head. Horang’s gaze remained cold.
“If you take something, you must pay the price. When you gave the peach to your father, did you ever consider what the cost of saving him might be?”
“No—no.”
Huyul shook his head.
“I gained nothing. I couldn’t save my father…”
“What?”
Horang paused.
“You didn’t give him the peach?”
“I did. I made sure he ate it all. But it had no effect.”
Pain twisted Huyul’s face.
“He… passed away immediately afterward.”
“Immediately?”
That made no sense.
Doubt flickered across Horang’s face.
“Immortal, I stole the peach, but I gained nothing. I couldn’t save my father, nor did I become a good king. His death… perhaps it was because of me…”
Regret, sorrow, fear—Huyul swallowed the storm of emotions rising within him.
“I know. My misfortune began that day ten years ago.”
Those ten years had been endured under that belief. Knowing he had sinned, he could blame no one but himself.
“But I truly did not lie.”
He met Horang’s eyes.
She was terrifying, unknowable—yet he hoped she would see his sincerity.
“…Honestly.”
Horang’s gaze wavered slightly. The blue light in her hand faded away.
“Don’t make that face. Are you about to start whining again?”
“I won’t cry.”
“What? You won’t? Don’t you feel even a little sorry for me? Look at the state I’m in because of you—heartless human.”
“…Should I cry, then?”
“Try it, and I’ll smash everything.”
Though she spoke carelessly, it was actually Horang who felt like crying.
Her future was uncertain.
For thousands of years, she had lived in seclusion in the Peach Blossom Realm. The outside world was harsh—especially for someone who already disliked humans and had never lived among them.
Who could describe the hardships she had endured while searching for Huyul, the thief who stole her peach? To ordinary people, she appeared nothing more than a strange, unhinged woman.
“Hey, human.”
“Yes, Immortal.”
“You really did plant the seed here, right?”
“Yes. I did.”
“Fine. Let’s say you did. Either way, this… whatever-it-is tree is dead.”
“…Yes.”
“And that means I can’t recover my peach.”
“……”
The more she sorted through the situation, the more complicated it became.
She didn’t even know where to go next.
A place to stay. Somewhere quiet, removed from the world. A place where she could think in peace, away from humans.
Such a place…
“Hey. What’s the highest position in the palace?”
“That would be… me.”
“Ah, right. You’re the king. Then what’s next?”
“The Queen.”
“Good. I’ve decided.”
“Decided what?”
Their eyes met.
The moment Huyul saw the gleam in her eyes, he knew something troublesome was about to happen.
“I’m going to become the Queen.”
Horang declared solemnly.
What nonsense was this? Huyul was struck speechless.
“The Queen… already exists.”
“Oh, right. Your wife is the Queen. I suppose I wouldn’t know, living apart from the mortal world.”
She asked again:
“Fine. Then after the king and queen, what’s next?”
“The Chief State Councillor…”
“Oh? I see.”
Once again, Horang declared:
“Then I’ll become the Chief State Councillor.”
“The… Chief State Councillor?”
“Why? Is that your wife too?”
“Of course not. But you are a woman, Immortal…”
He trailed off.
“And what of it?”
“Women cannot hold official positions in governance.”
“What?”
Her brow twitched sharply.
“So you’re saying only men can become the Chief State Councillor?”
“I don’t necessarily agree with it… but such is the law of the land.”
Horang scoffed.
“You fool. Do you even know that long before Joseon, there were times when women ruled as kings?”
She frowned deeply.
“Ridiculous. Just because they’re born with one extra appendage, they throw a whole celebration. Immortals or humans—no difference at all.”
Her tone dripped with irritation as she clicked her tongue.
“Then what about all the women in the palace?”
“They are court ladies.”
“Where do they live?”
“In the palace. They belong to it.”
“Then I suppose I have no choice.”
This time, her declaration was slightly less grand.
“I’ll become a court lady.”
“…A court lady?”
Why?
