Chapter 157. Even If I Have to Paint Myself with Lacquer or Swallow Charcoal (3)
“What do you mean, pretend?”
“I’ve decided that after the Marriage of the Snow Flowers concludes and you leave the North Sea Ice Palace after achieving everything you wanted, I will leave this place, too. Here, no one welcomes me. Oh, of course, I’ll be going to a different place from you, Young Hero Song... So, until then... at least until then, can’t you just pretend to compete in the Marriage of the Snow Flowers with me?”
“What’s making you want to go this far? Even if we were to go through with the marriage, it would be fake.”
Woo-Moon was shaken.
He knew that he would be able to achieve his goal if he did what Yeo-Seol was proposing. He would be able to get help from the North Sea Ice Palace without properly marrying her, too.
However, he couldn’t bring himself to use Yeo-Seol for his own purposes.
“I’m sorry. But, I...”
Yeo-Seol cut him off. “Please, I’m begging you! I’ve never once been loved by anyone since the day I was born. Moreover, I’ve lived my life without ever being able to do what I wanted. I’ve never been acknowledged by anyone. But... Now that I’m going to be leaving the North Sea Ice Palace, I want them to acknowledge me, just once. No, beyond that... even if it’s a fake marriage, I want to make memories with you, Young Hero Song! If, if you refuse even this... I... I won’t even have the strength to live.”
Her begging was so pathetic that Woo-Moon finally heaved a deep sigh.
“Fine. Since that’s what you want, Young Lady Ha, I’ll make sure that you shine brighter than anyone else in this Marriage of the Snow Flowers.”
‘He agreed, he finally agreed!!!’
Yeo-Seol almost fell to the ground in tears.
***
The next morning.
“I would like to register for the Marriage of the Snow Flowers.”
“Who is the Snow Flower?”
“Lady Ha Yeo-Seol.”
“And what is your name?”
“Song Woo-Moon.”
‘Huh? Never heard of you,’ thought an assistant department head of the North Sea Ice Palace, who was in charge of registration of the Marriage of the Snow Flowers.
As the North Sea Ice Palace was located in such a remote area, anyone other than the Palace Lord or the elders found it difficult to learn of what was going on in the Central Plains.
Moreover, the people of the Central Plains currently gathered at the palace were all of the younger generation, young men who had come specifically for the Marriage of the Snow Flowers. Naturally, they would avoid bringing up someone like Woo-Moon, who completely eclipsed them in terms of strength.
“Good. Your registration is complete. There’ll be a brief qualification screening after the luncheon, so please make sure to come on time.”
“Understood.”
After completing his registration, Woo-Moon went outside.
‘There’s still some time until lunch.’
Woo-Moon immediately left the North Sea Ice Palace and ran through the endless fields of snow.
‘Considering the position of the sun and where the palace is...’
He had learned how to figure out his position by looking at the sky from the villagers he had met on the way to find the North Sea Ice Palace.
Huff!!
Eun-Ah, who had been play-hunting somewhere in the snowy field, came running.
“You little rascal. Are you having a good time?”
Grrrr.
Eun-Ah still hadn’t reached a level of strength where she could keep up with Woo-Moon if he were to use his movement technique to its greatest extent. However, that didn’t mean she was slow. Her running speed was only slightly slower than Woo-Moon’s, so even if Woo-Moon had to slow down to match her pace, the speed at which they ran was still incredible.
Even though they crossed such a vast expanse, they were going so fast that normal people couldn’t even see anything other than a fleeting shadow.
Eventually, Woo-Moon stopped in front of a bustling city.
“Good. This should be enough.”
Woo-Moon had left the North Sea Ice Palace and arrived at the nearest town in a ridiculously short time. Forget about the ordinary humans; even those of the murim would be absolutely flabbergasted if they were to see how quickly they had arrived.
Woo-Moon went into the town and gestured to a little attendant who was soliciting customers in front of an inn.
“Little one, I have a question for you.”
“What is it? You can ask me if you’ll give me money. Otherwise, please continue on.”
The child seemed so business-savvy that it was hard to believe how young he was. Considering how smart his answer was, Woo-Moon felt as though they would give him an acceptable answer.
Woo-Moon took a silver tael out from his sleeve and placed it in the attendant’s hand.
“Hehe, please, ask me whatever you want!”
“What, is that all?”
“O-of course not. Hehehe, I have my own pride when it comes to business. I’ll even guide you there, too!”
"Good. Then, take me to a clothing store that sells the prettiest and most expensive women’s clothes.”
“The most expensive and prettiest? I know just the place! Please follow me.”
The little attendant went inside the inn, spoke to the owner, and handed her some coins before coming out.
Considering that Woo-Moon had given him an entire silver tael, the attendant found that it was a reasonable business expense to pay a few coins in exchange for some time off
The clothing store that the attendant guided Woo-Moon to was located at the center of the main street, selling a variety of luxurious silks and clothes so extravagant that the occasional passerby stopped and gaped at the prices.
The shop owner, a rather skinny middle-aged man, came out from the back of the store. “Welcome, welcome! Sir, what might you be looking for?”
“I want to buy some gifts for my sisters, but I wasn’t sure where to find something good.”
“Well, if you’re looking for something good, you’ve come to the right place! Would you like to take a look right now?”
“Yes, please.”
The owner went to the back of the store again and came out with an assortment of clothes to show him.
Then, Woo-Moon drew a gold tael out from his sleeve.
“As long as my sisters are satisfied with what I get here, then I would like to continue buying clothes here in the future. But I wonder if they really would be satisfied with what I buy here, considering they have pretty expensive taste and already have many luxurious tailor-made clothes...”
The owner’s eyes lit up when he saw Woo-Moon's gold tael and he immediately put down the clothes he was holding.
“Hoho, I seem to have forgotten some other clothes. I’ll go bring them all out.”
The owner had recently purchased some clothes from the capital at a high cost, only wanting to bring them out and show clients whom he could sell to at an expensive price.
The clothes he brought out next were a vest and a woman’s outer robes that looked like a set. They were made with the utmost care by an artisan of the highest skill. The robes were precious silk and the vest was made of the finest sable fur.
Although Woo-Moon didn’t know much about clothes, he could immediately tell that they were quality items when he saw them. Moreover, he could see the owner’s eyes full of confidence and pride.
“Then, let’s go with those. I’ll buy those, and this one too. How much is it?”
Although the owner charged an incredibly high price, Woo-Moon didn’t have to worry about money, as he had earned a lot for his service as the leader of the Wind Sword Battalion in the Justice Coalition. Moreover, he had received a lot of money from Si-Hyeon, as he had a share in the Leebi Guild.
“Actually, now that I’m here, I’d also like to buy some clothes for myself. Do you have any men’s clothes?”
“Of course I do! Please wait just a moment.”
In fact, the owner had bought two matching sets of clothes from the capital, one for a man, and one for a woman. He quickly brought out a set of men’s clothes paired with a matching sable fur vest.
‘Not bad.’
Woo-Moon came out after buying a total of four sets of clothes to see the little attendant still waiting outside.
He called out to the boy, handing over another two silver taels.
“This time, let’s go to a place that sells accessories.”
“The most expensive ones again?”
“The prettiest.”
“Understood!”
The accessories were so expensive that Woo-Moon only bought one of each type.
“Now, let’s go to a place that sells powder.”
“Of course!"
Considering Yeo-Seol's skin was incredibly flawless and white, there was no need for elaborate makeup, so he just got her some red blush powder.
After going around those three stores, Woo-Moon’s purse had also become considerably lighter.
“Thank you so much, Mr Rich! Don’t forget to call me if you need anything next time, too!”
Considering that Woo-Moon had given the attendant another three taels to take him to buy powder, the boy happily returned to the inn where he worked, his pockets six taels heavier.
“Then, it's time for me to go back, too.”
Woo-Moon met up with Eun-Ah outside the town and ran back to the North Sea Ice Palace, finally making his way to Yeo-Seol's residence.
“Ah, Young Hero Song! I was wondering where you were.”
Even though it was fake, their Marriage of the Snow Flowers would begin in a little while, leading Yeo-Seol’s face to blush slightly.
Woo-Moon handed her the bundle he was carrying.
"What's this?"
“A gift. Considering we’ll be attending the Marriage of the Snow Flowers together, I want you to look the part.”
Yeo-Seol’s clothes were the training robes provided to disciples at the North Sea Ice Palace. Not only were they far from being pretty to begin with, but hers were also pretty worn.
The moment she took the bundle, she immediately realized that it contained clothes, and she was instantly moved.
“Thank you so much, Young Hero Song...”
“...”
“...”
The two went silent for a moment.
“I... Young Hero Song, I need to change. Could you please leave for a moment?”
Woo-Moon had been rooted in place due to seeing how beautiful she was as she blushed, touched by his gesture.
“Oh, right. You can’t change while I’m here. I’m sorry, I’ll leave quickly.”
Woo-Moon quickly left Yeo-Seol's room.
Swish, swish.
The rustling of the changing clothes tickled his ears.
‘Oh no, I don’t have the time to just stand around like this, either.’
There was only a short time left, and Woo-Moon also had to change his clothes, too. He quickly went to his room, changed his clothes, and came back in front of Yeo-Seol's door.
After a while, the door slowly opened, and Yeo-Seol appeared.
“Wow...”
Both Woo-Moon and Yeo-Seol forgot how to speak when they saw each other.
Yeo-Seol was already pretty when she wore her training robes, but with her beautiful new robes and a white, warm-looking sable fur vest, she looked like a fairy. Her precious earrings, necklace, and bracelet also shone brightly, further emphasizing her beauty.
Woo-Moon also looked handsome, for that matter.
He didn’t look particularly striking in any way, so it was easy for people to gloss over his looks in the beginning. However, as the son of Jin-Jin, who was once prettier than the Three Beauties of the Central Plains, Woo-Moon was an extremely handsome man.
As he stood there, Yeo-Seol thought he was incredibly handsome and dazzling. At the same time, she was both curious and worried about how he saw her.
“Uh, how do I look? Is... is there something wrong? This is my first time wearing clothes like this.”
Woo-Moon quickly shook his head.
“Oh, no, nothing of the sort. I was just surprised for a moment because you were so beautiful. There’s not much time left now. Should we go?”
Yeo-Seol wanted to say that she, too, admired Woo-Moon’s figure. However, she was too embarrassed to open her mouth.
The two headed to the ceremony hall in a somewhat strange atmosphere.
Neither of them said a word; Woo-Moon walked in front, and Yeo-Seol followed.
At the ceremony hall, many younger generation talents and beautiful Snow Flowers from all over were already gathered, chatting with each other and sneaking glances at the other candidates.
‘At least I look the best,’ Yu Cho thought as he smiled to himself.
Jeong Gyeong was also smiling beside him.
‘As expected, it was a good decision to choose Yu Cho. Look at those envious eyes. Ha, girls, don’t you feel bad for your lame fiances?’
Just as Yu Cho looked absolutely dashing, Jeong Gyeong also shone. Scarce few of the Snow Flowers were her equals in beauty, and none surpassed her.
Then, one of her disciple sisters sitting next to her remembered something.
“By the way, I can’t see the junior sister anywhere.”
“Who? Junior Sister? Ahh, you mean that stupid bitch?”
Stupid Bitch. That was the “nickname” they used when referring to Yeo-Seol.
“Kekeke, exactly.”
“Well, she’s probably crying in her room right now. I heard that the attendant they call Song Woo-Moon or whatever didn’t actually come to participate in the Marriage of the Snow Flowers, but because of some business he had with the Palace Lord.”
“Pfft! To think she even got rejected by that attendant! What a loser.”