Chapter 699: Mask (3)

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His pale facial expression and the deep sadness in his eyes made his impression different, but the resemblance was uncanny.

If Ahn Dain were a man, he would’ve had his face.

‘I don’t think I’m the only one who noticed. Hwang Jiho, Baekho-gun, and Jukho can see it too.’

Hwang Jiho often runs into Ahn Dain at school.

Baekho-gun worked with Ahn Dain on the Christmas Eve incident.

Those two surely know Ahn Dain’s face.

Jukho has Ahn Dain’s best friend as his student, so it’s highly likely that he saw her face through photos.

My hypothesis was almost completely verified, but there were other things to confirm.

“Do you remember your face?”

It seems like a ridiculous question at face value, but these tigers have lived thousands of years without seeing their faces.

I thought they’d ask me why I asked, but the man answered right away.

“I cannot dare to bring my face to the light under the sky, so what is the point of remembering my face?”

He didn’t answer directly, but it’s clear that he doesn’t remember.

For the wife, she must remember since she saw his face a thousand years ago when she found the treasure.

Finally, I asked the hardest question.

“Have you two ever attempted to have children again?”

I could feel the tigers turning their heads and looking at me.

I haven’t revealed the details yet, but my hypothesis must be obvious to them by now.

Jukho looked agitated and alternately looked at the husband and at me.

“No…”

A long silence settled at the end of his answer.

The tigers couldn’t speak, and I chose to be silent to organize my thoughts.

The couple didn’t seem to know why, but they assumed that I was hesitating from my lack of words.

The wife talked to Hwang Jiho about the punishment.

“What are you hesitating about? Please punish me. Our folly has concealed the treasure of the Tiger Clan for a thousand years. One day, this heart might swallow us.”

Then, the husband bowed lower.

“Even without a betrayal, a war with the Bear Clan would’ve still happened. It was bound to happen, and even when knowing that… My eyes turn dark whenever I see that child who has grown up so well.”

“The treasure is called the First Marriage’s Jewel

. I couldn’t let go of the thought that it might be able to call our child’s soul.”

“We thought about putting this out because there was a benefactor who allowed us to take our revenge.”

The wife looked at me over her mask, her eyes looking very sad.

The husband pleaded guilty again and added.

They’ve been able to maintain their sanity so far.

But once his wife was corrupted, the husband also started wavering.

If they were left alone, the couple would one day be completely corrupted.

“Now that we know of this jewel’s existence, if we are not punished, we are bound to be greedy again.”

The couple spoke as if they had put everything down.

It was as if they were asking Hwang Jiho to kill them.

Since the bear was captured, which was the trigger for their miscarriage, and their revenge was fulfilled, their regrets may have disappeared already.

What then would they use the treasure for?

The couple seems to intend to die after helping the Tiger Clan last Christmas Eve.

Even if Hwang Jiho doesn’t punish them now, they may quietly make the extreme choice later.

‘I was thinking not to reveal it though.’

But this couple shouldn’t turn their backs on the world like this.

After much consideration, I spoke.

“Can you raise your head please?”

The couple faltered.

They seemed to think that they couldn’t raise their heads in this situation.

Hwang Jiho then helped.

“Listen to Jo Euishin.”

The couple slowly looked up.

Something other than sadness was in their eyes.

Determination.

They want to see the end.

“I want to tell you what I know. What I think.”

I organized the story according to the passage of time.

A long time ago, the couple miscarried their child in the wake of a war with the Bear Clan.

After that, the couple made no attempt to have children.

As time passed, Eunho’s daughter, the Silver Hero, attempted to have a child.

“Eunho-nim’s daughter… You mean the mother of the three children in the mansion?”

“Yes. That person originally should’ve had a different first-born child of the Tiger Clan. Though it didn’t happen.”

After this, stories that even Hwang Jiho and Baekho-gun didn’t know would arise, so I chose my words more carefully.

“According to Eunho’s daughter, that child should someday rely on the star of dawn to get through the darkness.”

Hwang Jiho squinted at the words “star of dawn” and stared at me.

He looked as if he had a lot to say, but Hwang Jiho kept silent.

“And now, among my peers, there is a child who has been prophesied to follow the dawn star when it gets dark. Let me tell you about the child’s conception dream.”

I talked about Ahn Dain’s conception dream that I learned from PMH.

Ahn Dain’s parents found themselves in the flower garden of Samshinhalmeoni.

They violated the goddess’ words and became greedy, picking the most coveted and beautiful flower and running away.

“That child of theirs do not look like them at all. It wasn’t just the appearance too. Her parents both don’t have powers, but she became a player.”

I felt bitter, remembering how Ahn Dain’s parents kept her away and bullied her.

However, the people before me were more distressed, so I did my best to be calm.

The couple gasped as if they wanted to say something.

I thought it was hard to believe, not because I was in doubt, but because it was too good to be true.

I swallowed my words, fearing that I’d raise their expectations for nothing.

“The player has a very similar appearance to the husband, and she’s born with a power that can purify poison. As I said earlier, she received the same prophecy that Eunho’s daughter spoke about.”

“No, don’t tell me…”

“The child that the benefactor speaks about is… is our…”

A child that the couple haven’t even met — Ahn Dain.

The couple couldn’t say it themselves.

I had no choice but to conclude for them.

“I think she is the child that you have been waiting for all this time. Perhaps she was born human because she didn’t have the chance to be born as yours.”

“Ahhhhh…!”

The couple collapsed on the floor and sobbed as if they had lost their strength.

They couldn’t speak, let alone say a single word, and just cried.

‘I wonder what happened to them in PMH.’

Kim Shinrok died and they failed to catch the bear that they wanted to take revenge on.

On top of that, Jukho died too.

The couple’s revenge couldn’t be achieved, and their sadness must have intensified.

The husband, who his wife holds onto for sanity, would’ve weakened.

‘And they were going to do something with that treasure.’

One day, the corrupt couple ran into Ahn Dain.

For some reason, they tried to use the treasure on her.

‘According to the hidden quest in Gye Bastard’s memory, there must be something more going on here, but I’m running out of clues.’

Still, I could make a guess.

It must be the Black Screen.

Perhaps the Black Screen knew the husband’s face?

If they knew about Ahn Dain’s conception dream, they would’ve naturally come for the tiger couple.

‘That’s how the couple tried to kill Ahn Dain. Without ever thinking that she was theirs.’

The man forgot his own face, while the woman couldn’t know for sure.

Drop…

Then, the wife’s mask fell on the floor.

The energy waves that kept it in place could no longer hold it.

Her face was distorted, her eyes red from crying.

It wasn’t as much as his husband, but she looked like Ahn Dain too.

“She wasn’t born to you two, but her face and her nature are yours. Why don’t you meet her since you long for her? I can check with her.”

Ahn Dain would love to meet the two of them.

However, I drew a little bit of a line because my thoughts and reality may be different.

That’s why I didn’t mention Ahn Dain’s name on purpose.

“T-that child would be very disappointed if she saw us… like this, so disheveled…”

“N-no. If the child sees us, she would be very scared…”

“She may have met good parents instead of us who are…”

Despite missing the child so much, the couple were considerate of the child and not just themselves.

I can swear that they are without a doubt much better people than Ahn Dain’s parents.

“If it were me, I would want to meet my parents as soon as possible.”

When I said that, the disturbed couple looked at me and their faces hardened.

The other tigers looked at me similarly.

The atmosphere turned strange, and I thought I shouldn’t have said it.

I couldn’t find anything to say to change the subject, but fortunately, Hwang Jiho spoke.

“I will hold you responsible for the treasure later.”

Hwang Jiho turned his head.

He was looking toward the residential area of Eungwang High, and toward Jiikhoe Hall where students gathered for an all-nighter Christmas party.

Ahn Dain is there.

Hwang Jiho asked.

“That child happens to be awake. What will you do?”

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