Chapter 42.1

Chapter 42.1

The violent flames that had risen so fiercely soon died down, vanishing as if they had never existed. The golden letters that had been hovering in the air, visualizing the incantation, also disappeared as if they were drawn back into Seok-kyung’s hand.

“That is one of the most severe punishments, seongmyeol (燒滅), or annihilation by fire,” Baekmok explained.

Ara turned to her, still looking bewildered as the shock hadn’t fully worn off.

“Annihilation?” Ara asked.

“Yes. It’s the purification fire of the king, used to burn away the sins. It’s a form of execution for goblin,” Baekmok answered.

“So, that goblin… is it dead?” Ara asked, her voice unsure.

“That’s right. The sacred fire burns away everything—be it the human form, physical objects, or the soul inhabiting them. Everything returns to nothingness,” Baekmok explained.

Ara listened to the explanation, her gaze returning to the screen.

Where the goblin had been kneeling just moments ago, there was only a haze of smoke, dust, and ashes now scattered on the ground.

Even though she had clearly seen it with her own eyes, it still felt surreal. She knew that after the fire passed, only a handful of ashes remained, but it was hard to grasp the reality of it.

“Are you very shocked?” Baekmok asked, breaking the silence with concern.

“Huh? No, it’s just…” Ara awkwardly smiled and shook her head.

“I was just thinking… What kind of terrible sin could that goblin have committed to deserve such a brutal punishment?” Ara muttered.

“Unfortunately, I can’t reveal the exact charges to you,” Baekmok said, her voice trailing off with a small sigh.

Ara didn’t realize it, but in the brief moment of hesitation that followed, she made an important decision.

“Our goblin hold breaking the rules as the greatest sin. And among all the rules that must be followed, there is one that is guarded above all others, with the utmost severity.”

Instead of clinging to the old laws or fearing unfamiliar changes, Ara decided to trust the choices of the king she served.

“Never harm a human.”

Even though she knew that goblins couldn’t lie, the human woman, who made an effort not to ask about the identity of the origin, decided to take a dangerous risk.

“It might seem cruel to you, Ara, but for us, it’s a completely natural and inevitable fate.”

Harming our origin is, after all, disrupting the order of the world.

Baekmok added in a calm voice, though her sharp gaze still seemed to be worried about Ara’s unease.

Of course, Ara found the image of the goblin burning in front of her terribly horrific. It was only natural for her to feel that way, since she was a human living in 21st-century South Korea, not in the goblin kingdom.

A death by fire. It wasn’t the medieval witch hunts, and it wasn’t a form of punishment one could easily accept.

However… perhaps somewhat lowly, what troubled Ara’s mind for a long time was not the goblin who paid for his crime with death and vanished.

It was the goblin left standing alone that caught her attention. She was curious about his expression, which was barely visible, and his voice that couldn’t be heard in this place.

“Baekmok, may I ask one more thing?”

Baekmok nodded readily at Ara’s question.

“How long has Kim Seok-kyung been king?”

“Hm, it’s been two hundred years and eighteen more since this year. But why do you ask all of a sudden…?”

“So, ever since he became king, he’s been handling all the trials by himself? No one else can represent the king’s judgment?”

“That’s right. Sometimes he makes judgments and imposes the appropriate punishments several times a day.”

“I see.”

Ara didn’t ask anything else after that.

Baekmok stared at Ara’s tightly closed lips for a long moment before finally letting out a short exclamation, as if she had realized something.

Knock, knock. At the same time, there was a sound from outside the door.

Baekmok checked the door and the watch on her wrist before reluctantly standing up.

“I’m sorry, Ara. I have an appointment that’s hard to postpone. I’ll take care of it and come back soon. It won’t take long.”

“It’s okay. Take your time.”

Ara saw Baekmok off with a nod and turned her eyes back to the image on the glass. The rhythmic sound of heels gradually faded beyond the door.

In the screen, Seok-kyung stood at the podium, silently staring at the ashes. After gazing at the empty space for a while, he slowly turned and walked back to his place, trailing his long black and gold robes.

Once again, to decide someone’s fate, he returned to the highest and loneliest seat of the absolute ruler.

For a brief moment, his broad shoulders and back seemed oddly lonely. Was it too presumptuous for an ordinary human to feel pity?

“Look at this. I feel like a terminally ill caretaker, worrying about things I shouldn’t.”

Ara muttered with a sigh, almost as if complaining. Despite the grumbling tone, her gaze lingered on the colorful glass window for a long time.

She couldn’t help but think of Seok-kyung, even as he finished the day’s trials and left the royal palace, right up until that very moment.