Chapter 966

While things were unfolding with Shin Noya and Yusa in the distance,

events were also taking place at the park.

A woman, having been grabbed by the arm, turned around.

Our eyes met.

For a moment, both the woman and I fell into silence, caught off guard by the sudden encounter.

The cold sensation in my hand and the eyes staring at me—

seeing them made me swallow involuntarily.

I had prepared so many things to say,

but now that I was face-to-face with her, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

‘Mother.’

My guess was right.

The moment I saw her, I knew.

This woman was undoubtedly my mother.

How could I ever forget?

Even after decades had passed, I had never forgotten her.

I thought I had lived my life forgetting, but now that I saw her again,

the memory had only become clearer.

The silence stretched on.

Though my hand remained still, gripping her arm,

I knew I had to say something—anything.

But what should I say?

My mind went blank.

All my thoughts burned away in an instant.

“Um…”

“…!”

A voice.

It was my mother’s.

Beneath the veil, her eyes curved gently.

“Is something the matter?”

“…”

She glanced down at my hand gripping her wrist,

prompting me to release her without realizing it.

Thump—! Thump—!

My heart pounded.

Even more intensely than before a battle.

What should I say?

Should I express longing?

Or should I speak words filled with resentment?

Or perhaps…

No matter how hard I tried to think, nothing came to mind.

Still, I had to say something.

Forcing myself, I finally spoke while looking at my mother.

“…This…”

I pulled something from my robe.

A handkerchief.

“You dropped this.”

“Oh my.”

My mother accepted it with a soft smile.

“When did I drop it?”

I had seen her drop it earlier when she passed by.

I picked it up immediately, intending to use it as an excuse to talk to her.

That was my plan—

to confirm things by speaking to her.

“Thank you. I hadn’t noticed.”

She smiled and expressed her gratitude,

but she showed no other reaction.

Watching her, I bit my lip slightly.

Was Shin Noya right?

‘Does she truly not recognize me?’

Even though our eyes were meeting like this,

my mother seemed unable to recognize me.

That thought scratched at my insides.

Perhaps…

‘Is it because of the spell?’

The spell cast on my body—

it affected not only my appearance but also my very soul.

Could that be why she didn’t recognize me?

Would things change if I removed it?

That thought filled my mind, but—

‘Hold it in.’

I clenched my fist and forced myself to endure.

It was too dangerous of a gamble.

Hadn’t Noya warned me?

Right now, my mother not only didn’t recognize me,

but if she did—if she found out—it would put me in danger.

‘A dragon is a target for extermination.’

The mere existence of a dragon was unacceptable.

That’s what they had said.

If they discovered me, they would kill me on sight.

And yet—

‘I’m standing here like an idiot.’

Even knowing that,

I was still looking at my mother.

Even though I knew everything—

This was an act of foolishness driven by emotion.

But at the same time,

it was also a means of confirmation.

With trembling eyes, I stared at my mother.

The eyes that looked back at me, smiling.

The distinctive hair peeking out from beneath the veil,

the gaze meeting mine—

I swallowed dryly, without realizing it.

‘…What is this?’

How could smiling eyes feel so cold?

At a glance, they seemed endlessly gentle,

yet within them, I sensed something chilling.

An utter lack of emotion.

There was no trace of warmth in the way she looked at me.

Realizing this, I bit my lip hard.

I was certain now.

‘…Noya was right.’

My mother truly didn’t recognize me.

I had hoped otherwise, but—

it seemed that was the reality.

And if that was the case—

‘Then all my fears were true.’

If she ever realized who I was,

it would indeed become a life-threatening situation.

I averted my gaze.

I looked at the person standing behind my mother.

I knew who it was.

‘Yarang.’

One of the generals known as Yarang.

The current daughter of Mangye.

In other words, someone claiming to be my mother’s daughter.

And, at the same time—

‘…Divine Sword, Wi Seol-ah.’

The one I believed to be the Divine Sword.

I narrowed my eyes slightly as I looked at her.

It made sense now why my mother didn’t recognize me.

Thanks to the spell, she didn’t even realize I was a dragon.

That was a relief.

But—

‘Then why…?’

Yarang should know about me.

Not only had we met face-to-face before,

but according to Cheonma, she had been watching me all this time.

Yet she remained silent.

That led to many thoughts,

but one stood out the most.

‘Could it be…?’

Was she staying silent despite knowing?

Someone called the eyes and ears of Mangye—

Was she choosing to keep quiet?

If so—

‘Why?’

Why was she doing this?

If she was truly the Divine Sword,

was she keeping silent for my sake?

Was this just a logical deduction based on the situation,

or was it merely my desperate hope?

I wasn’t thinking straight given the circumstances.

“Um…”

“…!”

My mother’s voice snapped me back to reality.

“Do you still have business with us?”

“…No, it’s nothing. I was just…”

I shifted my gaze from Yarang back to my mother.

“I saw you walking through the park and wondered what brought you out here.”

“Ah.”

My mother smiled again at my words.

That smile hurt more than anything.

“I’m simply out for a stroll with my daughter.”

“…A… stroll?”

“Yes. The weather is nice today, isn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

The sky was indeed clear.

Not a single cloud in sight—beautiful, even.

But—

“So I decided to take my daughter out for a rare outing.”

Hearing those words, I found myself unable to respond.

Out for a stroll with her daughter.

As my mother spoke and took Yarang’s hand,

the image of my younger sister walking beside her overlapped in my mind.

That was why—

“Thank you for picking up my handkerchief. I hope you enjoy your day as well.”

I couldn’t bring myself to stop her as she turned away.

The mother who had looked at me with such cold eyes—

I was too afraid to even ask if she truly didn’t recognize me.

I just watched as she walked away.

And—

I could feel Yarang’s eyes piercing through me as she followed after her.

******************

The woman left the park and stepped back into the crowd.

Ignoring the constant noise in her ears, she walked for a while.

She walked in silence for quite some time,

before finally stepping into the shade of a building.

It wasn’t because of the heat.

She merely sought to avoid the sunlight—

and at the same time,

to take a moment to steady her breath.

“Hmmm.”

She exhaled softly.

After calming her breathing—

“Daughter.”

She called for Yarang.

At her summons, Yarang responded.

“That child from earlier.”

“…”

“Doesn’t he seem familiar to you?”

Yarang quietly observed the woman.

She was trying to read her expression,

but the veil covering her face made it difficult.

Her voice was as languid and gentle as ever,

yet Yarang sensed an odd dissonance beneath it.

She had been born from this woman—

which meant she could recognize even the slightest differences.

Was it simply curiosity?

Or was it something else?

As Yarang pondered,

the woman continued.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere… and yet, at the same time, I don’t.”

Tilting her head slightly, she mused aloud.

“Hmmm. Should I remove my veil?”

If she took it off, she would know immediately.

Yet she didn’t.

She had made a rare decision to come out today,

and for now, she wanted to endure the uncertainty.

Still—

‘Hmm.’

It was bothering her.

She had returned to this body after a long time,

and with most of her form sealed beneath the veil,

she hadn’t even noticed dropping the handkerchief—

nor that someone had picked it up.

It had been so long since she had felt this way.

She was indulging in the comfort that came with vulnerability.

As she savored that feeling,

she recalled the one who had returned her handkerchief.

‘Hmm.’

His face was hazy.

Even though she had seen him up close.

Perhaps it was because she had dulled her senses in this body, but—

‘Strange.’

Even so,

she found it oddly difficult to recall his features.

What did he look like?

The boy who had spoken to her—

what expression had he worn?

And what kind of voice had he used?

She couldn’t remember that either.

Yet, in the gaps of her memory,

she sensed something peculiar.

That was why she asked.

“Was he someone you knew?”

It would be odd to feel such emotions for a complete stranger.

There had been something familiar in his voice—

a trace of longing, for some reason.

And in his reply,

an unplaceable sadness.

That—

That was what unsettled her.

So she asked Yarang,

wanting to know if she recognized him.

But—

“…”

Yarang simply shook her head slightly.

Seeing this,

the woman gazed at her with slow, crimson eyes.

“I see.”

“…”

“Is that so?”

She didn’t press further.

She didn’t think Yarang was lying.

After all,

Yarang could not lie to her.

However—

‘Hmm.’

There was still something off.

Why?

If she was curious, she could simply investigate.

And yet,

not only did she refrain from asking Yarang—

she didn’t try to find out herself either.

That wasn’t like her.

If something piqued her interest, she would uncover the truth.

On this land,

there was nothing she couldn’t know.

“Hmmm.”

The woman did not dwell too deeply on her own doubts.

Or rather,

it felt as if something was preventing her from doing so.

And yet—

‘…What was it?’

The curiosity lingered.

The voice that had spoken to her

echoed in her mind.

She couldn’t help but stop walking for a moment.

***************

After my mother left,

I stood frozen for a while.

It wasn’t just because I hadn’t processed the situation yet—

my mind was simply too tangled to move.

So all I could do was

try to sort through everything, piece by piece.

‘First…’

Why had my mother appeared here?

That was my first question,

but there was no way to answer it right now.

If this world belonged to her,

then it wouldn’t be strange for her to appear anywhere.

Even so—

‘I need to know how often she shows up.’

It was better to have that information than not.

I had to be certain.

And more importantly—

‘She really doesn’t recognize me.’

After looking into her eyes,

I could no longer doubt it.

The cold gaze she had given me

was nothing like how she used to look at me.

I had to accept it now.

I forced myself to let go of the last sliver of hope I had been holding on to.

The mother before me truly had no memory of me.

And—

‘Yarang is pretending not to know me.’

The one I regarded as the Divine Sword,

who had been watching me all this time,

She had looked at my mother,

and still chosen not to say anything about me.

Did she not realize I was a dragon?

I had no way of knowing.

But the important thing was—

‘If Yarang really is the Divine Sword…’

I wasn’t even sure if she was.

But if she was—

Did she remember me?

Like my mother, had she also forgotten?

Or did she know the truth?

I needed to find out.

‘…Right now, it feels like…’

Like she wasn’t completely unaware.

Like she knew,

but was choosing to stay silent.

And I couldn’t help but hope—

that if my mother had forgotten me,

then at least she hadn’t.

‘Damn it.’

I hadn’t expected to run into my mother so suddenly,

and my mind was a mess because of it.

The situation was already complicated—

“…And now, what the hell is this?”

The scene before me made my head ache even more.

Because—

“Oh, you’re here.”

Shin Noya greeted me with a bright smile.

But the problem was what he was holding.

Someone—

bound tightly with rope.

“Mmph! Mmmph…!!”

A general of Mangye.

Yusa was looking at me—

in an utterly pathetic state.