I Became the Owner of the Heavenly Flower Palace-Chapter 13: Submission

Jincheon frowned.

The discomfort he felt showed plainly on his face—and in that moment, a furious shout thundered into his ears.

“You still haven’t left—what are you waiting for?!”

The man’s scolding was directed at the women referred to as the Heavenly Flame—Gi Seoran and Po Eunryeong.

But the two of them, still kneeling behind Jincheon, didn’t so much as twitch.

What that meant was clear.

When they first entered the Palace, Jincheon had said that he would go in with them.

“You.”

Jincheon spoke quietly.

Perhaps it was an act of youthful defiance.

Maybe it was the fatigue of a long journey, the aftermath of a night filled with harrowing events—maybe it had worn down his self-control.

Whatever the reason, Jincheon felt the need to say something.

“Are you the one in charge here?”

The man flinched.

But the scowl didn’t leave his face.

“I am carrying out the laws of the Palace. The Red Dragon may not yet know, but—”

Step.

Jincheon moved.

He walked, slowly, toward the man.

The man’s expression remained stiff, but he didn’t speak again.

By the time Jincheon came to a stop in front of him—

Snap.

—the distance had been greater than expected, and the man’s frame was far larger than he had appeared at first.

Jincheon had to look up just to meet his eyes.

But he didn’t flinch. He didn’t back away.

He didn’t even pretend to be surprised.

Swish.

“Take it.”

Jincheon held out the Red Orb as he spoke.

Looking up at the man’s fierce, dark eyes, he continued:

“I’m leaving with them.”

It was the obvious thing to say.

He wasn’t throwing a tantrum or demanding anything unreasonable.

“You seem like the one in charge, so take this. I’ve done what I was asked to do. I’ll be going with them now”—as far as Jincheon was concerned, that was as normal a statement as one could make.

The only issue was the atmosphere.

But the towering man was flustered.

And not just flustered.

His fierce eyes began to tremble visibly, and his face turned a mix of red and pale.

Still, Jincheon didn’t stop.

“Are you taking it or not?”

The Heavenly Flame will trust in the Red Dragon. The Heavenly Valley will lean upon the Red Dragon. For the Red Dragon is the devourer of all things—and no one, no matter who, may dare raise an objection to him.

Gi Seoran’s words from moments ago echoed in his mind.

They’d been phrased in a complicated way, but their meaning was simple.

It was about who stood at the top.

Who held the reins. Who would have to bow their head in the end.

At its core, it was the same thing the old man—the client—had said three months ago:

“So what are you going to do about it? Are you taking it or not?”

From the beginning, Jincheon had only ever needed one approach.

Just go all in.

“Ggh...”

A groan slipped from the man’s lips. His eyes—fixed on the Red Orb—held unmistakable fear.

And heat surged in Jincheon’s chest.

“Are you refusing to accept it?!”

Thud.

The man dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

His voice was filled with bitter sorrow.

“How could I dare to covet the Red Dragon’s Wrath!”

Now standing above him, Jincheon stared down with a hardened expression.

The man didn’t lift his head.

And Jincheon’s rising anger slowly began to cool.

“Wait... what...?”

Something felt off. Instinctively, Jincheon sensed he might’ve just caused a scene.

Sure, he’d seen plenty of people pay reverence to the orb.

And yeah, he’d definitely had a “So what are you gonna do about it?” kind of attitude.

But this... this was a little—no, a lot—different.

In a more composed tone, Jincheon asked carefully:

“...Are you really not going to take it?”

Thud. Thud.

The man slammed his forehead against the floor.

“I have committed a sin deserving of death!”

Jincheon grimaced.

Then, slowly, he stepped back and glanced around.

Sure enough—every single person in the grand hall was staring at him.

He suddenly found himself face-to-face with a dozen sets of eyes.

“...Huh?”

But the looks in their eyes were... strange.

Some were filled with fear, others with pride. And some—some didn’t even try to hide their joy.

Each gaze was different—but they all had one thing in common.

A soft, glowing heat rising in their expressions.

“It was I, Dongpung, who dared commit offense before the Red Dragon’s Wrath.”

Suddenly, a clear woman’s voice rang through the grand hall.

Jincheon turned his head.

Across from the kneeling giant stood a slender woman who now addressed him directly.

Like the others, she was ageless—impossible to pin down. Even among this group of striking people, her beauty stood out.

Her presence radiated elegance.

With red lips gently parting, she continued:

“According to the law, he must be punished. Will you grant permission?”

Her eyes—faintly smiling—were fixed directly on Jincheon.

But Jincheon, the one receiving her gaze, couldn’t make sense of it at all.

He was just the guy who came to deliver an item.

The reason for all this deference, at least to these people, was that the contents he carried were, to them, as important as an imperial edict.

That’s what Jincheon understood—and how he had intended to conduct himself.

He may have gotten swept up in the atmosphere and crossed a line a little—but in the end, he was only a messenger. That’s how Jincheon saw it.

Still, this was strange.

“Why are they asking me...?”

He understood the respectful bows. That made sense.

But why were they ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) seeking his approval? He was just the one delivering the item.

“...What do I even do here?”

Jincheon glanced sideways at Gi Seoran.

But she remained silent, her head bowed. Po Eunryeong was the same.

A pause of silence passed, and then the woman who had asked for Jincheon’s permission offered a faint smile.

“Since there is no reply, we will delay the sentence. But we can’t simply leave him as he is, can we?”

She glanced toward the entrance of the grand hall.

As if waiting for that cue, two court maids stepped inside.

They walked in soundlessly and took their place behind the kneeling man, the one the woman had called Dongpung.

Jincheon flinched at the development—it all seemed so calculated. The elegant woman turned to him and spoke gently:

“We will remove the criminal.”

Rustle.

The two maids placed their hands on the kneeling man’s shoulders.

Without resisting, he rose to his feet.

He didn’t look at anyone else—only Jincheon, his face full of sorrow.

“...Ugh.”

It was deeply awkward to meet the eyes of someone you’d just had an uncomfortable encounter with.

As Jincheon subtly turned his gaze away, the large man’s expression flickered with emotion. Then, as if steeling himself, he closed his eyes.

And followed the maids out of the hall.

Once they were gone, every remaining gaze in the room shifted naturally to Jincheon.

Fear, shock, curiosity, reverence—dozens of complex emotions stared straight at him.

But no one spoke first.

“Please issue your command.”

The clear, elegant voice came again from the same woman who had previously sought his approval.

It sounded like a natural, even expected, request—but Jincheon was completely thrown off.

“Wait, before that, this...”

Rustle.

Jincheon held out the Red Orb.

“Who's going to take this?”

The woman gave him a gentle smile.

“There is no one here.”

“...What?”

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“Therefore, please issue your command.”

Jincheon was at a loss.

“What the hell is going on here?”

He understood their reverence toward the Red Orb.

It clearly carried immense importance.

But why did they keep asking him to give orders?

In a normal situation—or at least according to what Jincheon had expected—someone should formally receive the orb.

Then they should thank him for bringing it, offer respectful hospitality, maybe even a hefty reward.

Instead, they said no one would take it—and were now acting as if he held some grand authority, asking him to issue commands.

“This is... really messed up.”

It was clear now: a serious misunderstanding had taken root.

But Jincheon couldn’t just blurt out, “I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

Not in this atmosphere. He had no idea what kind of storm that might unleash.

Especially after someone had just been dragged out moments ago—and every person remaining in this hall was laser-focused on him alone.

Jincheon was stuck.

Uncertain, his gaze instinctively drifted back to Gi Seoran.

The woman who had helped him all this time, brought him here—and was still kneeling with her head bowed.

There was no way the others would miss where his eyes were looking.

“Girls.”

The woman who had asked for permission spoke softly.

“It seems the Red Dragon wishes to hear your thoughts.”

The directness of her words caught Jincheon off guard—but Gi Seoran lifted her head.

“I beg to speak.”

Her voice echoed through the grand hall.

“In bringing the vessel here, we have—through our own shortcomings—shown no small amount of rudeness. The path into the Palace was likely uncomfortable, and so I believe it is proper to formally greet him again on a clearer day.”

“...Hehe.”

The woman smiled gently.

“Your tongue is smooth as if oiled, and your words hold logic. Though bold, I cannot dismiss them lightly.”

It was hard to tell if that was praise or a veiled threat.

Jincheon clicked his tongue inwardly, and then the woman turned to him and asked:

“Shall we do as she says?”

It wasn’t hard to answer.

He had already been nodding in agreement with Gi Seoran’s words in his mind.

“Yes, let’s do that.”

First, he had to get out of this situation.

Only then could he figure out what was going on and come up with a plan.

He still didn’t know when or how things had gotten so twisted.

Gi Seoran’s suggestion—to reconvene on a brighter day—was something Jincheon was more than happy to accept.

“North Wind shall obey the will of the Red Dragon.”

The woman brought her hands together and bowed her head.

Then she looked up—only to bow again, even lower this time.

“...Huh?”

This was different from the bows they had performed earlier.

Srrk.

She lowered herself to her knees and bowed until her head nearly touched the floor.

Her hands opened wide, palms turned upward in a show of complete surrender.

And she wasn’t alone.

All fifteen people in the grand hall followed suit, offering the same gesture of reverence toward Jincheon.

“W-What is this...?”

It was nothing less than the posture of total submission—complete, unconditional surrender with no room for even the pretense of dignity.

Jincheon blinked, frozen in place.

And then her quiet voice reached his ears.

“To the master of the Heavenly Flame Palace, sovereign of the Heavenly Valley, and the rightful and legitimate heir to the Heaven-Piercing Ten Grounds—we offer our bodies and hearts, our loyalty and our truth.”

The others followed immediately, their voices rising like a haunting chant:

“To the master of the Heavenly Flame Palace, sovereign of the Heavenly Valley, and the rightful and legitimate heir to the Heaven-Piercing Ten Grounds—we offer our bodies and hearts, our loyalty and our truth.”

Each word identical.

The solemn echoes of that chant filled the massive hall like a ghostly resonance.

Jincheon shivered.

He had already sensed something was off—but now, the certainty that something had gone terribly wrong overwhelmed him more powerfully than ever before.