TMLNHMB 13

                                                                                              Chapter 13                                                                       

 The fake Luan, created from a clone, spoke in a gloomy tone. Well, maybe he thought he was just speaking normally. But to Seidin, who had snapped at him earlier, his words left her speechless.

‘He’s right, so I have nothing to say.’

Instead of responding sharply, Seidin briskly walked away. She approached the cauldron that the fake Luan, who spoke and acted convincingly like the real one thanks to divine power, was standing in front of.

It felt better to focus on work. She was also afraid of being picked on again.

Without replying, she poured the perfectly boiled herbal water into a mold laid flat on a smooth stone.

Sizzle!

As the bubbling herbal water began to take shape according to the mold, Seidin reached out her hand. Dark miasma began to overflow from her fingertips. The ominous black energy, threatening to pour down ferociously, soon transformed into a magical mass and started to fuse with the herbal water that had grown by feeding on the bodily fluids of beasts.

Seidin took a breath as she released the quietly simmering miasma within her. Her magical power was already weak, and using what little she had to create the “form” known as a magic stone was no easy task. But this much—she could handle.

‘If it means I can help Luan.’

She gently furrowed her brow and exhaled. Her cold hands had warmed just enough, and the magic stone taking shape in the mold looked to be well made. If she stockpiled a few like this, they might be able to get through the winter. After all, in the original story, Luan had led a subjugation force into the “Forest of Shadows” the following spring.

While admiring the black magic stone slowly revealing its form, Seidin noticed the gaze of the fake Luan fixed on her. She turned toward him. His handsome features, still resembling the real Luan, looked slightly different today. In a good way.

‘Hmm… why does he look so seriously good-looking today?’

Seidin fell deep into thought. His eyes seemed hazy, perhaps even serene. They looked incredibly deep. This felt unfair. Even a fake made with divine power could look this handsome?

‘This world really is unfair.’

Seidin let out a deep sigh. At that moment, Luan spoke in a low voice.

“Princess, the world really is unfair.”

Startled, Seidin wondered if she had said her thoughts aloud without realizing. But no, she hadn’t spoken. Then the fake Luan said seriously:

“To look so beautiful even at a time like this… how is that possible?”

“Me…?”

“Ah, forgive me. I was overwhelmed by jealousy at the thought that others must also see you as beautiful.”

“…”

Seidin was caught off guard and at a loss for words. Wait—who was calling who beautiful? Who was really the beautiful one here?

‘Ridiculous.’

Seidin shook her head and pressed her still-burning hand together, saying,

“Please stop saying strange things and come here, Your Majesty the clone.”

She let out a deep sigh, feeling like she was dealing with the male lead from a tragic romance story, throwing out melodramatic lines at the wrong person. Feeling wronged by how she dismissed his words, Luan protested for the first time.

“You don’t believe what I’m saying, do you?”

“So you’re not coming over?”

“That’s not it.”

Luan shamelessly shook his head and closed the distance in just two steps.

As their eyes began to lock, Seidin abruptly turned her gaze away and reached out to him. Her touch, like brushing against a piece of wood, was casual and indifferent—but even as a clone, Luan was still Luan, and he didn’t avoid it. So he took her hand. Firmly.

“…”

It was strange and almost absurd that this fake Luan would grab her hand so seriously when she’d offered it so casually, trying not to feel anything.

Seidin narrowed her eyes and said to him,

“I didn’t offer my hand because I wanted to hold yours, fake Your Majesty. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

“I see.”

“I just created a magic stone, so I thought I’d try practicing. Even if you’re a clone, you carry some of Your Majesty’s divine power. I just want to see how much my power responds to it.”

Seidin gave her stiffly held hand a shake. Then, with her other hand, she picked up the magic stone she had just made. Molded into a triangle, it fit snugly against her chest. Holding the magic stone that filled her palm, Seidin inhaled deeply. The essence of magic was to curse and attack others.

Now, she was attempting to remove that essence and transform it into a soft healing power inside the core of the magic stone. Her heart pounded, as if the original owner of this body, Seidin Heraith, was crying out not to do it.

Tensed without realizing it, Seidin slowly closed her eyes.

‘It’s okay. Focus now.’

Then, her hand, resting atop the clone’s—rough and firm like the real Luan’s—twitched. His hand unexpectedly triggered feelings she didn’t want to have. As someone with pride, he probably wouldn’t want these strange emotional reactions either. It was probably, she thought, sympathy. As the only one who knew his fate in this world, she was emotionally projecting onto this beautiful and pitiful man…

“You’re truly pure, Princess.”

“…What?”

Seidin cracked her eyes open. She was already having a hard time focusing—what nonsense was he spouting now? She subtly moved her hand from his palm and grabbed his wrist, which was too big for her to hold properly. Then she dragged his relaxed wrist onto the magic stone.

At that moment, Luan said:

“You thought I was a clone even though I ran all the way here just to see you…”

“…Wait a minute. You’re not a clone?”

“When I create clones, it’s to monitor enemies or assassinate them. I don’t use them to come see you, Princess.”

“W-What?! Then the real Your Majesty came all the way here alone?! That’s so dangerous!”

“Would having someone nearby actually make it safer? I’d rather create as many clones as possible to prevent assassins from targeting the real me.”

“Even so, knights should be with you! Your Majesty, you know better than anyone how many enemies you have!”

Seidin retorted, completely flabbergasted. She narrowed her eyes as if trying to spot hidden enemies in the bushes. Luan let out a slight chuckle. He could swear, even if he were resting comfortably in the grass, he’d be able to eliminate any threat before she had to act, just like a wary wild beast.

But if he actually said that, the princess would probably get angry. So instead of making a joke, he steadied his heart and said softly,

“My subordinates already know I wander around using clones.”

“Then even your knights can’t tell the difference between a clone and the real you?”

“That’s the whole point. It’ll confuse the real enemies. Right now, my clone is probably lounging in bed with a bunch of knights clinging to him.”

Luan spoke calmly. Then he looked down at the small woman whose eyes had grown wide like a startled rabbit. In her eyes—shimmering like molten silver—worry seeped in, even past concern.

She was likely the only person in the world who would worry about someone who could wipe out a mountain range in a day and destroy hundreds of enemies with a single gesture in the name of divine retribution.

Realizing that Seidin Heraith still worried about him, Luan also confronted his own unsteady emotions.

It felt good to know she still cared. But at the same time, it was uncomfortable—like she still saw him as the beaten and oppressed war captive he used to be. He wasn’t weak. Sure, thanks to that damned divine power, he had to rely on medicine and lived like an addict—but still.

Wiping the faint smile from his lips, Luan spoke seriously:

“Princess, you don’t need to worry about me. Making clones might seem like a game, but it all started as a way to survive assassination attempts from my dear half-brothers, who claimed they were the true heirs.”

“…”

“I suppose there’s no need for such tricks anymore, now that I’ve cut off all their heads… but I guess I’m not the trusting type, so I keep the ruse going.”

“You say you don’t trust people, yet you’re revealing your true identity to me. I honestly can’t trust you, Your Majesty. You act like this and think you can protect yourself? Walking around at night without even taking your knights?”

Then she said coldly,

“Please refrain from doing such dangerous things.”

And she deliberately narrowed her eyes, as if to knock some sense into him.

Since Luan seemed to keep misunderstanding, maybe it was best to act more like a stern instructor rather than a friend or healer.

‘It can’t be helped. Even if Luan gets hurt a little…’

Unknowingly, she swallowed dryly.