SYM 31

Eun-hyeon barely touched the meal Soseo had brought, and eventually put down his chopsticks.

“Young master, is the food not to your liking? You should still eat a bit more…”

“It’s fine. I have no appetite. Take this away.”

Soseo, who was attending the meal, made a troubled face upon seeing the untouched food.

“Young master, even if you don’t have an appetite, wouldn’t it be better to eat a bit more, considering the sincerity of the inner court kitchen staff? They put their heart into making this.”

Eun-hyeon stared at Soseo intently.

Normally, Soseo wouldn’t have paid him much attention, but today she seemed unusually kind and overly concerned about his meal.

Eun-hyeon looked at Soseo with suspicion before turning away.

“That’s enough. I don’t want to eat anymore, so clear this away.”

Despite Eun-hyeon’s words, Soseo hesitated to move and continued to watch carefully. The food on the table was almost completely untouched.

“Th-then, young master, at least try this porridge. I’ll be severely punished if you don’t eat.”

“…Are you saying I should force myself to eat for your sake even if I don’t want to?”

“…Pardon? No, that’s not what I meant.”

When Eun-hyeon frowned in displeasure, Soseo stepped back hesitantly.

She had thought that the timid Namgung Eun-hyeon would comply with just this much pressure. In fact, he had done so before. But today was different. Not only did he not comply, but he was even getting angry. Soseo stepped back, flustered and stammering.

“I-I was just concerned about you…”

“I’ll worry about myself, Soseo. You should worry about yourself.”

“…Pardon? What do you mean?”

“I’m tired and need to sleep. Clear the table and leave.”

At this clear dismissal, Soseo finally cleared away the barely touched food. Her mind went blank. She looked toward Eun-hyeon several times, hoping he might change his mind, but he didn’t even glance in her direction.

Thus, Soseo lingered while clearing the meal and left with an intentionally audible sigh.

Eun-hyeon remained still for a while longer, only rising after the surroundings had grown quiet.

“…To put poison in right after moving me to the inner court.”

He had noticed something strange after taking just one bite of the meal Soseo had prepared. Since being poisoned once before, Eun-hyeon had remained vigilant about poison. This was definitely the same poison he had tasted in his tea before.

He had heard that with his move from the outer to the inner court, the kitchen preparing his meals had also changed.

Could someone from the inner court kitchen have poisoned it?

While Soseo was also suspicious, there was no concrete evidence at the moment.

“…That’s not the important thing right now anyway.”

Eun-hyeon muttered while glancing out the window.

His location appeared to be a separate building within the inner court. A small wall surrounded his quarters, and several warriors were visible. They seemed to be martial artists guarding this place on the family head’s orders.

He could understand the heightened security after his kidnapping. However, it was impossible to know whether these guards were protecting him or monitoring him.

The poison in his meal right after moving to the inner court was evidence enough.

“It would have been better if they had just left me in the outer court.”

In truth, Eun-hyeon had gone outside his quarters while Soseo was away getting his meal.

And as soon as he went out, the clan’s warriors had rushed over and made him return to his room.

In the outer court, no one had noticed or cared when Eun-hyeon walked around. He desperately missed that indifference now.

“Come to think of it, what happened with the murder case at Chuihwa Pavilion? That Inspector Jang suspiciously tried to frame the Demonic cult as the culprit… Surely Un hasn’t been named as the suspect…?”

Eun-hyeon’s thoughts turned to his young disciple who had now become the heavenly Demon, and his mind grew troubled. Even if transformed into the White-Robed Divine Dragon, he wanted to meet him again.

He was reportedly still in Hefei, so if only Eun-hyeon could get outside, he might be able to find him. It was frustrating in many ways.

He was also curious about what had happened with the Chuihwa Pavilion murder case. Given how the inspector from Beijing had been rushing things, perhaps everything was already over by now.

“It seems I need to have a conversation with the family head…”

Earlier, when the warriors who had stopped his outing were told that he wanted to meet Namgung Juwon, there had still been no response. He couldn’t tell if the message hadn’t been properly delivered or if Namgung Juwon was too busy to respond.

Feeling stifled, Eun-hyeon opened the door and stepped out. A bright full moon was visible in the sky.

Eun-hyeon put on an overcoat and sat in front of the door. Though the weather was cold, sitting by the doorway was manageable.

When Eun-hyeon came out, the warriors who had been watching him turned their attention away once they saw him sitting and looking at the sky.

“The moon is so bright. Was today already the full moon?”

The bright moon reminded him of someone.

On such a moonlit night, the one he met by chance…

“White-Robed Divine Dragon?”

Eun-hyeon brightened at the sight of the long shadow cast before him and looked up.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Young Master.”

“…Great Hero Ha.”

He had almost called him Un without thinking. Overcome with joy, Eun-hyeon reached out and grabbed Ha Yeo-un’s hand.

“Why are you out here in the cold, Young Master? Your body must still be weak.”

“I felt suffocated inside. My body is fine. Actually, strangely, I’ve been feeling better lately. No, more importantly, what brings you here? I heard you had left the manor!”

“We should talk inside, lest you catch a cold.”

Ha Yeo-un walked casually into the room, not even looking at Eun-hyeon, as if certain he would follow.

Right. This was just like Ha Yeo-un.

Eun-hyeon smiled slightly and followed him inside.

Before closing the door, he glanced outside. The warriors who usually watched his every move were oddly not looking this way.

As if they couldn’t see Ha Yeo-un or notice anything unusual.

Could someone of Cheonma’s level control even such things? Eun-hyeon wondered internally as he closed the door.

* * *

“S-so… when I looked, I didn’t see any spots on his fingernails.”

Soseo answered with a pale face, pressing her forehead to the ground.

When she returned to her quarters after finishing her duties today, unwelcome visitors were waiting – Madam Hwang’s people, including Hwa-ran. They had seized her and dragged her somewhere in the night, and when she came to her senses, Madam Hwang was before her.

“Child, you’ve been using all the medicines Hwa-ran gave you properly, haven’t you?”

Soseo looked at Madam Hwang with a bloodless face.

“Madam… I certainly did as you instructed.”

“The medicines Hwa-ran gave you are all very precious ingredients. Not things you can find just anywhere. Yet I’ve been hearing that these ingredients have been circulating in some pharmacy in Hefei.”

Soseo’s face turned white. Her lips trembled.

“Th-that… I know nothing about that. M-madam, I definitely did as you instructed…! It’s not my fault, the Young Master won’t eat! I can’t force him to eat, can I!”

Splash.

Before Soseo could finish speaking, Madam Hwang threw her tea at her.

“Such an impudent way of speaking from such a small wench. Hwa-ran.”

“Yes, Madam.”

“Watch her carefully and report back.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Take her away, she’s unsightly. Ah, and next time, I should hear different words than now.”

Hwa-ran roughly grabbed Soseo, who was kneeling like a criminal, and dragged her away.

Madam Hwang watched how Soseo had been and nervously bit her nails. Something was clearly going wrong, though she couldn’t tell where it had started.

It had been months since Madam Hwang had begun secretly spending money on Eun-hyeon’s food and clothing. Signs of poisoning should have appeared by now, but no symptoms had been detected. Could that girl Soseo have been deceiving her all this time?

To make matters worse, Namgung Juwon had even moved Eun-hyeon’s quarters to the inner court.

“Nanny. Where is the family head?”

“He’s still in his office. There are many unresolved matters, starting with the Chuihwa Pavilion incident.”

A middle-aged woman with a pleasant countenance answered Madam Hwang.

A kind-faced middle-aged woman answered Madam Hwang as she refilled her teacup.

“Madam, don’t let yourself get impatient. Rushing things only leads to failure. Time is on your side. Think about it—who is the mistress of this Namgung family? Who holds the title of matriarch? It’s you, Madam Hwang Joo-mi.”

Madam Hwang sipped the tea the middle-aged woman had poured. Her visibly impatient expression gradually softened.

“Yes, you’re right. They may talk about the world’s greatest beauty or the Jegal clan’s precious child, but in the end, I, Hwang Joo-mi, am the one in this position.”

“Exactly. What does it matter what they call you after death? This world belongs to the living.”

“They’ve been pushing me so hard that I let myself become impatient.”

The nanny frowned at Madam Hwang’s words, thinking of ‘them’ whom Madam Hwang mentioned.

“Though we need their help, those fellows… I really don’t like them at all.”

“I don’t like them either, but what can we do? They’re the only ones who can make untraceable poison. Once this is over, I have no intention of meeting with the Hongbaek Sect people again.”

Madam Hwang said with a smile. It was an evil smile that suggested she was plotting something.