April 8, 2016

Blue Glass [Chapters 15 - 16]


Keeping watch by the door, Jamalta thinks that they were followed. “Are they people dispatched from the palace? How can that be!? What to do, I cannot just sit here and wait for death like this!!” Saga is quickly putting a blanket on Mino’s head to hide him.

At the palace’s throne room, the servants inform the king that that the princess is indeed no longer in the palace. “Not only that, but the Third Prince had provoked a Han noble to anger. All of the palace’s officials are anxious.” Choewi holds his head and asks what the Han noble is asking for. The servant says that if he can be bold to say, they [king and others] think of a way..regarding delivering [/sending] the princess..
Choedal curses about those useless people. He tells his father to look at the mistake that extremely arrogant Third had done. “An offense has been committed against a Han, what is the best thing to do? Everyone who has something to do with this incident has to be punished.”

Choewi calls out to him and says that the Hans whom they serve only wanted to get their princess yet he’ll [Choedal] unexpectedly wanted to kill the innocent. This infuriates Choedal but he couldn’t do anything about it. The king orders his servant to find Saga and do not let the outside world know about the princess has gone missing. “Capture her alive and bring her back.”

Later on, Choedal is still furious over what happened. An older man tells him not to be so troubled. Choedal calls him, Jindagong [鎮大公; I’m not sure if the two ending characters is his title or his name. It can mean Archduke but I don’t think they have such a title during those times ^^;]
He tells Choedal that the king is already very weak and the Third Prince has an illness that has not yet been cured. “It is better to just search for the princess. In all likelihood, the Han also cannot dignifiedly release this. [<- /let it go; attack them or news about it to spread around?] Prince, you only have to wait and see and do not be overly anxious.”

Choedal exclaims that even if he doesn’t say that, he also knows [that]! After a pause, Choedal asks what’s up with Jingeumgong for he heard that wound had persisted that he is still bedridden on his bed. [Jingeumgong is the guy whose eye was injured by Choedal when he had a fit of anger before when the Third is getting all the stuff from Han. The scanlators changes his surname from to ]

Jindagong asks forgiveness for his son’s shortcomings. “It is a monstrous crime of insubordination that even if a lowlife [/little man] will lose his job for a million times as an apology, it still cannot be compensated.”
Choedal says that he cannot believe that such a small wound would cause him to fall in just one blow. Jindagong continues to bow and says that it troubled him [Choedal]. Choedal says that is enough, if there is anything up, he’ll call for him again. “That’s right. First deliver the medicine to the Third. Even if it is like this, this is also the eldest’s duty.”

Jindagong says yes, your highness the prince. He looks up and seems to be glaring [have dead eyes] at Choedal who is walking away. At Choegeum’s place, Choegeum angrily tosses the things around while he tightly holds on the bed. He mutters, “..that woman unexpectedly dared to go against me.. That woman.. has the audacity to.. Absolutely going to find you.. Sa[ga].. you woman..

...*trembling all over* After I find you, I’ll definitely tear you to shreds.. Eh..ah ah- *Cheongye watches him from the door.* Quickly call the doctor! Leg.. My legs!! (This damned curse!!!) Ugh ah ah-”
Cheongye smiles as Baldie holds her to him. She laughs as he loosens her blouse. Back at the hut, Jamalta immediately pins down the man earlier [who is interested in kidnapping Saga]. While Saga is hiding Mino under a blanket, Jamalta asks who he is and from where did he come from.

The man shouts that he’ll say it, don’t kill him, he’ll say everything. Saga thinks that Jamalta’s skill [/kung fu] for doing that in a wink is so amazing since he immediately captured that guy and it is true that the Malgal-s are very good with military force [/fighting]!

The man says that this place is originally their territory..and the ones who casually came in are them. “Who are you people? How come you people are idling your time away and strolling around the village!” Thinking that it is just a villager, Jamalta asks how many are they for he unexpectedly said ‘their’..
The man screams when Jamalta grips his hand tighter. Saga tells Jamalta not to be like that for they are just villagers, that’s all. Jamalta shouts, do not move! The man shouts that right now, he isn’t moving. Saga freaks out when a man suddenly punches himself in through the wall near her.

Holding Mino tight, Saga shouts no. Jamalta is forced to let the man go and rush to Saga’s side. Jamalta is poised to stab the other man with a knife when the man hit his forehead with a rock. As Jamalta holds his head, the man says that it seems that he isn’t an ordinary person but then, it isn’t the same when he has something to protect.

“There is anesthetic smeared on this sword. In a while, it will take effect.” With his head bleeding, Jamalta notices that he got slashed on the left arm. He immediately swings his sword at the bonfire causing the dust and debris to blind the two men.
Jamalta tells Saga that they’ll head towards the forest. Saga says okay. As they run off, the man and his companion laugh and shout that it is useless for they know this place inside out. Upon seeing a third figure, the other man says what, there is someone else with them. The man exclaims to get the others. Meanwhile, the boy is watching Saga and others from a cliff above.

He thinks that in the end, that man wants to keep everything for himself. “I must go and tell the leader.” Then, Mino’s blanket got stuck on some branches. Saga shouts for him not to get it anymore for they have to quickly go. So, Mino left the blanket and runs off. The boy looks surprised.

Later on, Jamalta falls on his knees. Saga worriedly asks if he is okay. While holding up his hand to her [to show that he is okay], Jamalta curses for he had unexpectedly fallen into this kind of situation. He wonders Machanyuta’s reaction if he were to know this.
Jamalta imagines Machanyuta will seriously look at him with a scowl and say who said that he can die without his permission, does he want to die? Holding his head, Jamalta curses for his consciousness is getting hazy.

Jamalta tells Saga that he is fine so they first go find a place to hide. Saga tries to protest for he.. Jamalta asks if she still doesn’t understand, their goal isn’t him but the princ.. Then, there is some rustling ahead. The boy comes out and tells them that he knows of a place where they can hide. Saga and Mino look at each other while Jamalta look surprised.

Saga tells Mino to help support Jamalta up. Jamalta tries to protest and tells her to wait, for them to easily trust.. Saga exclaims that this isn’t the time to think over that. Jamalta thinks, what? “Of course, we have to make sure, this woman! Darn, I cannot muster any strength!”
He mutters for them to stop but they still helped him walk to the place where the boy is leading them. Mino is looking around that Saga asks what it is. Mino tells her to look at that side. He says that there was a fire on this mountain. Saga asks if this mountain was burned. They see burned trees all over the place. The boy says that this place had suffered a curse. “The black curse.. so nothing will set foot on this place.”

He looks at Mino. Mino is puzzled by that. Soon, they managed to bring Jamalta inside a cave. Mino holds Jamalta’s forehead. Saga asks Mino if Jamalta is alright. Gesturing quietly, Mino tells Saga that even if he doesn’t know what medicine to use but he knows what can ease the symptom so he’ll go find some herbs.
Saga exclaims what, he’ll go find, no! “You’re still not well! Don’t go! What will I do if you were caught?” Mino slightly pokes her forehead. He says that for now, there is no other choice. Saga holds his hand and says no [it isn’t that], it is already enough that they can be together. “If it is like that, we can go through anything. Everything will be okay.” Mino slightly scowls and looks sad. The boy watches them then looks away.

Soon, everyone is sound asleep. The boy goes to Mino who is sitting while sleeping. The boy recalls their leader saying, “The black curse. Brat, if this is the black curse that people are saying then, it is fine for you to just find the opposite, someone who got the white curse. It is said that a miracle drug is hidden inside them.”

Flashback: The boy asked the leader if that is true. The leader told him to believe him for if he got it, he’ll attain happiness. End flashback. Smiling while holding a dagger, the boy thinks, “What leader said is true. I have found..a white person! The white curse!” He holds up his dagger and holds it down towards Mino.

Recalling what the leader told him, the boy is now going to stab Mino. To his surprise, Mino grabs hold of his wrist causing the boy to drop the dagger. Holding a small knife, Jamalta says, “Very lucky for it appears that you are of use compared to your master. But this plan is also very reckless, right? *Mino didn’t reply* Not bad. Come, let’s ask what is his reason for doing this.”

Saga wakes up when the boy is shouting for them to let him go. While the two are beating the boy down to tie him up, Saga exclaims what they are doing. “Huh? What?” Soon, the boy’s wrists are tied up. Someone asks, “To undo the curse?” Jamalta says that the ones who raided them are certainly villagers. “Are you part of that group?” The boy didn’t answer.
Jamalta thinks but he can be certain that they are not dispatched from the palace. Jamalta asks the boy why he would do such a thing. Trembling, the boy says the black..curse.. “My family lived at this mountain. For a long time now, the spirit has been confining the flame within for us. Everyone always firmly believes that they only have to offer a sacrifice to the spirit and it will protect us. But one day..”

Flashback: The people shouted that there is a forest fire. With their packed things, the people shouted to quickly escape for the fire is huge and the situation isn’t improving at all. “If we’re not able to contain the large fire, its flames will make everything go up into smoke.”

A shaman shook his tambourine while holding up a knife. He shouted, “The spirit is angered! There is someone who dared to get a glimpse into the spirit’s appearance!! Find a person who has black on its body!!” The boy exclaimed, “No, mother.. Mother, she..!”
The boy quickly ran while the mob with torches is behind him. The boy shouted and clung on to his mother who had black [birthmarks?] spots on half her face and wrist. The mother is shocked to see the angry mob. They held the boy while they burned the house down with his mother in it. End flashback.

The boy tearfully cried. Jamalta thinks that he has never heard of that.. He is surprised when Saga goes to the boy to comfort him. The boy says that it wasn’t easy for his mother to continue to live on but like before, she is still trapped by the black curse. “Have..to undo..the curse..”

Saga tells the boy not to cry anymore for there is definitely a way. “Let us think of a way together, okay? You’re really afraid of losing your mother, right? *hugs the crying boy* I know that it has been difficult for you..” Jamalta is displeased that Saga had immediately forgotten what that brat is going to do a while ago and she also don’t think of her own plight.
He notices Saga looking puppy-eyes at him. It is an expression of asking Jamalta to do something. Irked Jamalta has an expression of ‘You’ll even say that *points at Mino* Do you want to sacrifice that white face?’ Saga scowls and thinks that he’s despicable. She looks at Mino.

Upon seeing Mino’s sad face, Saga quickly looks away and seems to be tense. Mino sighs and tells Saga that they have to leave this place first. She says yes. This surprises Jamalta. He angrily thinks, “These people, really!” And, the two are heading out the cave with the boy.

Soon, they are walking around the mountain. Saga is having a hard time climbing up. Jamalta tries to help her but Saga says that she’s fine. Saga notices that her hand is injured but she just tightly clenches it to bear with it. Mino holds out his hand to her. Slightly flustered Saga takes Mino’s hand.
Jamalta sighs and thinks that before he[?] gets thoroughly fed up, they[?] must quickly leave this place. While catching her breath, Saga thinks that Mino is still angry. “While we are in the palace, he will always welcome me with a smiling face but after we got out of the palace, he never once smiled...

...The one who wanted for us to be together isn’t only me so how come he doesn’t understand that just like in the past, we can be very happy together. Here..outside the palace.” In a hut, the boy calls out to his mother. While timidly looking at them, the boy shows them his mother.

The mother still has black marks on her body but she is badly burned. The others are shocked. While Mino checks her, the mother slightly moves and starts muttering, hu hu hu. Saga is horrified. Also bothered by this, Jamalta thinks that it is such a serious burn yet she can still live on, it’s really..
The boy asks Mino to help him for he can save his mother, right? Mino looks slightly surprised. He looks serious and walks away. Holding his mother’s arm, the boy says that he knows that he can so why? “Look! My mother is black and you are white! Aren’t you also cursed! The white curse!”

Saga is puzzled by this ‘curse’ thing. Jamalta interrupts by asking for him to say that, then, how should it be done, stinky brat. “Are you saying that there has to be an offering in order to save your mother? It will be okay if he dies?” The boy says, “No..it isn’t that..I..” Jamalta asks, “What isn’t? It is the same reason the people of your village used..

..sacrificing other people just like what your mother had encountered.” This shocks the boy. He recalls the time when he shouted for his bandaged mother to pull herself together. The mother said, “Hurts..it really hurts.. So painful.. Kill me.. Kill mama..”
The crying boy turned to the others who said, “Kid, don’t look at us with that kind of expression. We are appeasing the spirit or else, all of us will be killed. You’re mother suffered the black curse..” End flashback. Saga shouts at Jamalta over what he wants to do by saying those things!

Jamalta sighs and says, “Those words? You heard them yet you don’t understand? Compared to other things, think of your own plight first.” This puzzles Saga. Pointing to Mino, Jamalta says, “Look here, what will happen to that person.” Slightly scowling, Mino looks serious then looks away.

Saga thinks, “Huh? Wait.. Wait a moment.. Mino, he.. Always after getting out of the palace.. Could it be..” Saga seems to have realized something. They were surprised when the man calls out, “Hey, stinky brat, are you inside?!” Looking at the boy, Jamalta thinks that it is those men, and as expected, he [boy] is part of the group!
Jamalta peeks out of the door and curses for there are more people compared before. “It is truly insane that we unexpectedly came here!” Saga asks what to do for there is no place that they can hide there. Jamalta curses that he didn’t think of it when they came here. “First, hide behind the door.”

Saga says okay. Jamalta worriedly looks at the boy. Soon, Jamalta and the others are standing behind the door on both sides. The boy is standing in front of the door. There is a sound of the men coming towards the house. The three are tense when the boy opens the door.

The man exclaims, “Brat! Where did that couple [in an illicit love affair] went to! You’ve unexpectedly even told the leader! You are always keeping a close watch on those guys so where did they run off to? Huh?” Jamalta and others realize that it is all the boy’s doing. After a pause, the boy answers, “I don’t know. I don’t know where they went.”
Comment: It will dawn to Saga soon that the outside world isn’t exactly nice either. This world has a lot of superstitions especially towards people who are different in their physical features. I’m inclined to think that what Jamalta is hinting is that Mino will be in major trouble outside the palace. When she first found him, he was thought to be a sacrifice to lead the dead. Now, it is to remove some curse. In a way, Jamalta should also know of those since people think of all sorts of things regarding his blue eye.

And, even if Saga isn’t part of those superstitions, her beauty attracts too much attention that men will have undesirable intentions towards her. So, it is indeed understandable that Mino isn’t too happy with the turn of events. But then, are things better within the palace? It seems pretty much the same though Mino didn’t know what happened to Saga that night.

The boy suffered a lot. The mother’s fate is really awful and that doesn’t even start to describe it. In that flashback, she can still sit and move but now, she is just a ‘shell’ that couldn’t move at all yet suffering from pain. I guess the boy is also desperate because he really love his mother, and he was totally helpless to stop the others from doing that to his mother.

Since he is lying about the others in the house, did what Jamalta say to him made him have a change of heart? He practically told the boy that what he is doing is the same what the others did to his mother. So, if he approves of that way of doing things, he has no reason to be angry at the people who had done this. They are all the same.

Somehow, I think either the boy or the leader might be important for this little group. The boy is smart and can be a very useful spy ^^ The leader might be an enemy though. Not quite sure about the reason why he is telling that story to the boy. Is it to find a ‘white person’ whom they can sell for an expensive price? The leader’s vague character design makes me think that he’ll be important later on. ^^;

Things are happening in the palace. What happened to Saga seems to lead to Nakrang’s downfall. The king is sick and old. His decision is more on appeasing the Hans. The Han noble’s pride as a man had taken a beating that he probably wants to get Saga back to pay back for that humiliation. The eldest is too aggressive and rash to punish people.

That Jindagong seems submissive and everything but he seems to be also waiting for a good opportunity to do something. I get a feeling that his son is in very bad condition. Probably the eye got infected? The Third is indeed sick which seems to be connected to his mentality. Cheongye must be very happy and satisfied to see him in that state. Though, I’m not sure why she is with Baldie. Has she also gone crazy? Is it an exchange to let her see the Third in that state? Who is using who? And, the fourth prince is in seclusion.

Anyway, Jamalta got his work cut out for him. He has to babysit two kids who’ll attract other people’s attention. It doesn’t help that one is very naïve about how the real world works. It doesn’t help that if he makes a mistake, his life and the others hang in the balance. ^^; It is amusing though that when the anesthetic is taking effect, he’ll think of Machanyuta =P Just like with these two and Machanyuta, even if Jamalta tries to resist, in the end, he tends to end up doing what they want. ^^;;

Quote of the day:
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. ~ Bertrand Russell

9 comments:

  1. Yeah.jamalta has alot on his plate.saga has to start developing a brain now;)a happy ending/life with mino??thats a complete fairytale thought she is having.jamalta despicable...how can she even think that.he is putting his life on the line for two kids.
    Cheongye was already crazy to begin with:):):) and even the third prince is suffering from a curse.curses curses curses this chap is full of that.
    Thanks kat :)

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    1. Yup, spears.

      Indeed but I cannot really blame her. She doesn't know..but then, that 'fairy tale thought' is quite common in shoujo =P Everything will be okay as long as we are together. Also, it is still day 1 or 2 since she first came out so I'm still lenient with her. ^^

      I don't understand your comment about Jamalta. ^^; He's despicable because? Which two kids? Saga and Mino? The boy and Mino?

      Hehe..is that so. I thought she has somewhat of a grasp with her sanity after everything. True...they practically call ailments and other things that cannot explained things as curses. And, that is typical in that time.

      You're welcome ^-^

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    2. Saga thinks about jamalta "he is despicable" was talking about that.how can saga think he is despicable when he is the person helping them.
      And the kids saga and mino

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    3. And is the genre shoujo???

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    4. True...but I guess Saga thinks he is like that since he is unmoved by the crying boy..in that context.

      Yup.

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  2. thanks, Kat! I've been waiting all week and this totally made my day! :) As the series progresses, I feel more sorry for Cheongye. It's like she gets more and more tragic because of the revenge she wants to exact on the 3rd prince. Saga is a bit annoying because she's so naive but at the same time like you said, she's only been out in the real world a couple days so we'll see how quickly she catches up about the real world. Even though he's too good for her, I hope she ends up with Jamalta in the end :)

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    1. You're welcome, heyayanami ^-^ Glad to hear that ^^

      Indeed.

      Ya. It would be unrealistic if she isn't so. Even if palace life is like that, she is still considered 'spoiled/pampered' compared to life outside.

      Hehe..how quickly depends on the pacing. In all the cover pages, this is the introduction, 'This is the story of a girl who made a resolve to depend on her own effort to become a gem'. So, I'm leaning on that hope that there will be a major character development for Saga ^^

      Hehe, is that so. Your comment made me think that Jamalta will not fall over heels in love like in the prophecy with the current Saga =P So..yes, I'm hoping that she'll be less naive and everything later on. <- emphasis on that since I'm hoping this series will have a stronger female lead than usual. ^^;

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  3. I don't doubt she'll have character development but wonder if the development will be a couple big developments or smaller multiple developments.

    And I'm sure Jamalta will fall in love like the prophecy predicted once Saga matures/develops more.

    Another thing I was thinking about.. I wonder if her brothers, especially 3rd, & her father will be her main antagonists that influence her development. I assumed so but since this chapter mentioned her father getting old & the 3rd being sick. Wondering if they'll live long enough for Saga to confront them.

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    1. I see. ^^

      Right now, it seems not especially the father. The third is still possible if those are just 'attacks' that come from time to time. Meaning, he's functional most of the time. And, since he is in one of the colored covers, I think he'll be one of the main antagonist.

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