I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 106
106 Necromancer
A cold draft creeps in through the cracks in the window and even through the thick stone walls. The gaps in the stone are clearly sealed tight, yet there is no telling where the wind seeps from.
‘It’s cold.’
Inside the blankets, there was a leather pouch filled with hot water. It was meant to warm her body.
However, the moment she poked even a single finger out from under the covers, it felt cold enough to freeze her solid.
It was different from the buildings on Earth, which grew toasty the moment one turned on the boiler. No matter how tightly the windows were shut, the doors closed, and the curtains drawn, the buildings in this world were freezing.
Jeonghwa rubbed her body with her palms. Even with several layers of clothing on, her skin was covered in goosebumps. As her skin, hardened by the cold, brushed against the fabric, it made a dry, rasping sound. It hurt.
‘I want to go home.’
This world was a cold place. Contrary to her first impression—which had been as soft as down feathers when people were fawning over her as a Hero and a noble—everything here was as cold as a winter gale.
Even things that were warm on Earth changed to fit this place once they arrived. Just like her boyfriend.
Sniffling, Jeonghwa crawled deeper under the blankets.
When she first arrived, it was wonderful. People dressed in grand attire lined up to bow and spoke in a language she couldn’t understand, but she could tell everyone was joyful and welcoming. Everyone surrounding her looked on with admiration and delight.
In that moment, she realized she had been summoned to this world as a Hero.
It was exactly like what she had seen in novels. Lavish rooms, beautiful clothes, beautiful people, medieval castles, and glittering chandeliers. It made her head spin.
If she had been summoned alone, she might have been a little afraid. She might have thought about going back to Earth.
But her boyfriend was with her. She had dated several men, but none had cared for her as much as he did. Even if she met another man while they were dating, he was the kind of man who would cling to her in tears, saying he still loved her—a man who did everything according to Jeonghwa’s wishes.
She thought things had turned out perfectly. Not only had she become a special existence, but she had a man by her side who considered her his world. She couldn’t dream of a better future.
She didn’t miss a single thing about Earth. In fact, thinking that she was completely cut off from her family made her feel refreshed.
At her home on Earth, things were always gloomy; the cheerful atmosphere of the house would freeze over the moment she stepped inside.
Her father, mother, older sister, and older brother were all successful people. Prestigious universities, eloquent speech, outstanding abilities. Whatever they did, they succeeded, and whatever they tried, they mastered in an instant.
Among such family members, Jeonghwa was the only ugly duckling.
If they had said she was adopted, she could at least accept it because the bloodline was different, but her appearance was a carbon copy of the rest of the family. There was no way she could be seen as a child brought from elsewhere.
So why was she the only one who was slow? Everyone in her family, including herself, found it strange.
“I gave birth to you, my genes are in you, you’re my sister, you have the same eyes, nose, and mouth as me… so why are you like that?” her family would say in unison.
Well, she wanted to know too. Her sister and brother got into prestigious universities on their first try, but she failed her first time, and her second. Even when she lowered her target schools, it was the same; she kept slipping up on the entrance exams.
But in truth, she didn’t even want to go to university. The life she wanted wasn’t to study and become a doctor, a lawyer, a civil servant, or an employee at a top-tier company.
Her dream was to gain experience as a clerk in a small clothing store and one day sell clothes she made herself in a tiny shop in Dongdaemun.
It wasn’t that she wanted to be a top designer or make a name for herself in the Paris fashion world. She just wanted to make and sell the kind of clothes anyone could easily buy and wear, then replace with something new after a year or two when the trend passed. She might have been a fool, but she knew her place. She had a modest dream that suited her perfectly.
But her parents couldn’t accept that their youngest daughter was a fool and kept pushing her into entrance exam academies. For one year, two years, three years, she became an aging student, subject to the ridicule of others. Even though she begged and pleaded that she hated it, they wouldn’t allow her any other life.
‘I hate them so much.’
But now she was free. She didn’t have to keep taking university entrance exams she didn’t want. From now on, there would only be happiness, a path of flowers.
Or so she thought.
‘Is a fool always a fool?’
Jeonghwa shed quiet tears in the pitch-black darkness under the blankets.
When was it that she realized the coldness behind the smiles?
When did she see the contempt lurking in the eyes of the people of Tairon?
When did she notice the treatment that men and women were different, that women were inferior beings, weak things that couldn’t even stand on their own?
And when did the hierarchy form between her and her boyfriend, who used to be her equal? When did the attitude of the man who used to chatter about how he loved her and adored her like a goddess change to treating her like a possession?
On Earth, even if one was a fool, had nothing, or had no ability, men and women were nonetheless the same human beings.
But here, it was different. A woman was like a man’s possession, a mannequin with no will, a puppet with no thoughts of her own. Jeonghwa knew that wasn’t true, but other people wouldn’t tolerate that thought.
If everyone had animal ears, the person without them would be the abnormal one. Things that were natural on Earth did not apply in this world.
Even if she claimed women were human and equal, if others didn’t recognize it, they couldn’t be the same kind of human. She had learned that all humans were equal, but only after coming here did she realize that was only possible if society allowed it. It wasn’t something naturally granted at birth.
It might have been different if her boyfriend had taken her side. But at some point, even he started saying the same things as the people here. “For a woman,” “Because you’re a woman,” “You’re a woman, so why do you…”
She was completely isolated. She felt like she was floating alone on a tiny island in the middle of a vast ocean.
‘What should I do?’
Taehyung, her boyfriend, had spent his nights with countless women since the day they arrived.
On Earth, Jeonghwa was considered pretty, but she was no match for the women here. She couldn’t even compete.
If so, wouldn’t it be natural for her to think of other men too? But Taehyung would fly into a rage if she was with other men. He used to beg and cling to her, but now…
Because of that, the men who initially approached her with gifts of flowers and jewels no longer came near. Because the Hero disliked it.
If only she could handle mana properly, but it seemed a fool remained a fool even in another world. She couldn’t use proper magic.
If her lies were discovered in this state…
‘What do I do?’
Jeonghwa covered her mouth with her hand to hide the sound of her weeping. The guards waiting just outside the room and the maids in the small adjoining room were all spies. They reported every single one of her actions to the King and the nobles.
‘Endure it. Don’t cry.’
She mustn’t show such a terrified appearance. Her lies might be found out.
Taehyung, who was now able to use magic, might not have anything to worry about.
But Jeonghwa’s situation was different. Her current status, which was only allowed because she was a Hero despite being a woman, would be completely overturned.
‘What on earth is a Rudolph? They don’t even tell me how to make one…’
When they asked if she had ever met Santa as if it were no big deal, she said yes. Where was the person living in Korea who hadn’t met Santa at least once? When Christmas came, Santas were everywhere.
When they asked if she had ever received a gift from Santa, she naturally said she had. Even if she was treated as a fool, she was a loved youngest daughter. Her parents had placed Santa’s gifts by her bedside every year until she was in the upper grades of elementary school.
Taehyung had also laughed and said the same. That he had received them every year when he was young.
It was only much later that she realized the Santa the people of the Tairon Kingdom spoke of was a different being from the one she knew.
A few days after the conversation about Santa, wizards who said they worked for the royal palace lined up, placed creatures called Magic Beasts in front of her, and told her to make a Rudolph.
When she said she didn’t know how, they told her to pour mana into the Magic Beast.
But when she struggled to pour mana in, the Magic Beast died. Then they would bring a new one. If it died, another Magic Beast would come, and the process repeated over and over.
With every repetition, the people’s gazes grew colder and scarier. She later realized that process was related to her answer about Santa. She really was a fool.
Taehyung might have known. But it certainly wouldn’t have mattered to him. His magic was moving dead things. He was a necromancer.
It didn’t matter to him if the Magic Beasts died. In fact, he just liked that he had more corpses to use.
She heard Tairon was facing a great war. Small skirmishes often broke out at the border. They said the enemy Simoni Kingdom was full of atrocious people, and their own citizens were being plundered and killed every day, so they needed the Hero’s power.
Taehyung’s importance, as he could turn corpses into soldiers, grew by the day, and now there was even talk of marriage to a princess.
‘But I…’
At this rate, there was no telling when she would be locked in a dungeon on charges of lying. She was scared, so very scared.
‘I want to go home.’
She was secretly weeping, stifling her sobs, when someone entered.
Jeonghwa clamped her hand over her mouth under the blankets. A man’s voice came from the direction of the door.
“Lady Jeonghwa, are you crying?”
It was her Escort Knight. From the moment she first came to this world until now, he was the only one who remained unchanged and treated her kindly. Even if she couldn’t perform magic properly, even if Taehyung flew into a rage, he alone did not leave and stayed by her side to protect her. Because this man was her Escort Knight. She could trust at least him.
When she peeked her face out slightly, the Escort Knight came and knelt beside the bed.
“You were crying again.”
“…I-I’m scared. I want to go home.”
“I am sorry. There is no magic circle that can return a summoned Hero to their original place. But you have me. I will always protect you.”
“….”
“Trust me, Lady Jeonghwa. I will never leave you alone. My body and soul are yours.”
There was no one else to trust but this man. Jeonghwa burst into tears while being held in the Escort Knight’s arms.
“…Don’t abandon me. Please.”
“Of course. I adore you. You are more precious than my own life, my goddess.”
“….”
Was it true? This man said she was beautiful and that he loved her, but was it really true? The women in this world looked more beautiful even to her own eyes, so did Jeonghwa look more beautiful to this man? Was that really true?
A flicker of doubt crossed her mind, but Jeonghwa tried her best to ignore it. Even if this man’s words were a lie, she had no choice. The only thing she had left to lean on was this man’s love…
Suddenly, the man she had seen on the subway came to mind. The large man who had been sitting diagonally across from her and Taehyung. He was probably in this world too.
‘Maybe we were just caught up in that person’s summoning…’
She hadn’t even thought of that at first. But thinking about it now… yes, that must be it.
When the train had passed several stations and entered a dark tunnel, a bright light suddenly surrounded that man and stretched out in all directions.
Taehyung hadn’t seen that moment.
But for some reason, Jeonghwa kept thinking about that man. It was because she had seen a red light occasionally flashing on top of his head.
When she stared directly at it, the light would disappear, but when she turned her head, the red light would blink again at the very edge of her vision.
‘It was like a target.’
She had thought it looked like an arrow was attached to him, pointing out that he was there.
Because she had kept looking at him like that, she was able to see the large man’s body being enveloped in light.
But where did that large man go? Why wasn’t he with her or Taehyung? She was only now becoming curious.
‘Did that man change like Taehyung did?’
If so, it would be terrifying. Even Taehyung, who was a gentle and kind man, had turned into an oppressive person; how much more so for a man who clearly looked like a gangster?
How much more menacing must that man have become? Since Taehyung was a necromancer, that man must have become something like a Demon King.
‘Ah, I see. A Demon King.’
Suddenly, Jeonghwa felt like she knew the reason they were summoned here. Perhaps as that man was summoned as a Demon King, those of them nearby had become Heroes.
‘If I kill that man, maybe I can go back to Earth.’
Maybe that was it. In novels, Heroes usually could return to Earth once they killed the Demon King. It might be the same this time.
Since Heroes seemed to be very rarely summoned even in this world, these people might not know exactly how it worked. If it was something from hundreds of years ago, there might be untold stories.
‘I hope so.’
Home. She wanted to go back to her home on Earth.
