The First Step to Ironing Out the Crown Prince's Life
That paper was a list of victims I had reorganized and compiled myself, based on the investigation results Seok-ran and Seok-juk had gathered.
I continued quietly.
"The names written on the first page are all lies. They are crimes that others have pinned on the Crown Prince."
"……Hah."
"The second page lists the people who were truly caught up in the Crown Prince's darkness. Some of them, like Your Majesty, suffer from madness, and others, like the Queen, lie in a coma."
"……."
"The third page, like the second, lists those genuinely swept up in the darkness — but these are the ones who died."
"……And how exactly did you investigate all of this?"
"I've had people gather rumors from inside and outside the palace all this time, and I cross-referenced and organized them."
"Ohh…… Then what is it you wish me to do with this?"
"Please investigate the people on the first page thoroughly through the Royal Investigation Bureau, and bring the truth to light. Summon the people on the second page to the palace so that I may treat them with medicinal tea. And finally, for the people on the third page……"
Victims they may be, harmed by the Crown Prince — even if he never wanted it, never intended it.
If they were not compensated and comforted, the Crown Prince would carry their grudges for the rest of his life. It could even become karma that followed him into the next world.
So this had to be the very first step in ironing out the Crown Prince's life.
"……Please hold a memorial rite in the name of the royal family to honor their spirits, and allow compensation to be paid to their families."
The King stared back and forth between the papers and me for a long moment, then called my name with a dazed look on his face.
"Crown Princess."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"How old are you this year?"
"Nine."
"Hah……"
It was hard to tell whether the sound the King made was a groan or a gasp of admiration, and he repeated it several times — hah, hah.
Rubbing his forehead, he murmured like a sigh.
"I would believe you if you said you were twenty-nine, not nine."
At those words, I had to fight down the corners of my mouth as they tried to lift on their own.
This means I don't come across as a little kid, but as a grown-up, right? Twenty-nine in human years — isn't that roughly two hundred and ninety by immortal standards?
'Whoa, he says I seem like a two-hundred-ninety-year-old adult!'
I was so proud. It made me want to preen and brag to Mom and Dad.
'I absolutely have to tell them later. That the human king was so impressed by what I did, he called me an adult.'
Inside, I was grinning ear to ear with delight, but I couldn't act like a kid in front of him, so I kept a composed face and waited patiently with all the dignity I could muster.
After shuffling through the pages and checking the names for a long while, the King finally heaved a long breath and set the papers down.
"You shall have what you ask. Investigate what must be investigated, summon those who need treatment, and prepare the memorial rites as well."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"No — no, this is not it. Even had you never asked, these were things I ought to have done myself. Duties I was obliged to perform. And to think you would even see to the treatment yourself — it is I who should be thanking you."
The King waved a dismissive hand, then went on.
"Which means I must give you an even greater reward for this. Ask again. What is it you desire?"
I had expected this.
Even so, I had presented the victim list in the form of a request because I thought this format would be accepted far more smoothly — and that it would make the list itself more credible.
Naturally, I had already decided what I would actually request as my reward.
'But it'd be a bit rude to just come out and say it now.'
First, I would show the grace of an adult. I might look like a little girl on the outside, but I was an adult at heart!
"Something else, you say?"
"Yes. Anything at all."
"Umm…… this is more than enough for me, really……"
"This was not even a reward. Hasn't what I owe you only grown larger?"
"But……"
"Think it over. Is there nothing you want, or nothing you'd like to do?"
I rolled my eyes, pretending to ponder hard, and hummed and hawed — then let my eyes droop at the corners into a pitiful, teary look.
"I'm sorry, I really can't think of anything right now……"
This was the expression that always made the fairies of Sangra Palace and the assorted immortals coo — "Oh my, oh my, is that so? That's all right, dear!" — in those soft, baby-talk voices.
Would it work on a human king too?
"Oh dear, you can think on it and tell me whenever you like. There's no rush at all, hmm?"
Sure enough, it worked splendidly on the human king as well. The King's expression melted at once. It even seemed like his manner of speaking had changed a little.
"Then…… may I tell you later, when I remember?"
When I asked carefully, the King nodded vigorously, wearing a smile just like a father's.
"Of course, of course! Now that I think of it, you must be tired. Rest well first, and think on it after."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
I bowed brightly and rose from my seat.
Granted, I had napped a little, but perhaps because I'd done so much talking, I truly was tired.
Still, I couldn't go straight to rest. There was something I had to do first.
'Now that the King has ordered the Royal Investigation Bureau to look into things, he'll learn about the attempt on my life as well, won't he?'
The case that had gone nowhere — because even though the eunuch who'd been parasitized by the Three Meal Worms did nothing but tell the truth, the Left State Councilor had crushed him with his power, insisting 'I know nothing of this; the boy did it all on his own.'
After leaving Junggungjeon, the Queen's Palace, I headed toward the Royal Investigation Bureau with Ansi.
I had been keeping up with news from the Bureau now and then through Court Lady Kim.
Just as the Crown Prince had said, the chief judge of the Bureau was a fairly fair-minded man, and the eunuch had testified honestly about everything — but no usable evidence had surfaced.
With no evidence to speak of, it seemed it was not easy to implicate someone of the Left State Councilor's stature on testimony alone.
Still, thanks to the Bureau continuing its investigation into the Councilor's faction, Prince Waneon — having made a hideous fool of himself — had not been able to run wild demanding revenge against me or the Crown Prince.
To be precise, he had run wild, but the Left State Councilor seemed to have clamped down on him and ordered him to hold his tongue.
'And since not so much as a whisker of him has been seen since, I'd guess he's being kept cooped up at the Councilor's estate.'
If it ever came to light that he had instigated the assassination of a Crown Princess born an imperial princess of the Pyeong Empire, even the Left State Councilor would lose his head — no wonder he was being careful.
'I'd left it alone because while the King was mad, even a proven crime wouldn't be properly punished……'
But the King had come to his senses, hadn't he?
Which meant it was time to blow the Left State Councilor sky-high.
"Ansi, it's this way, right?"
"Yes, I confirmed it in advance as you commanded. This is the spot closest to the cell where that eunuch is imprisoned."
"Good. Keep watch for me."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
I pressed myself against the wall closest to the cell where that damn eunuch was held and opened the lacquered box I carried.
It was the box that had once held the Three Meal Worms.
Opening the lid, I laid my hand upon the seal of the Jade Emperor engraved on its inner surface and whispered softly.
"Come back now, my darlings."
A faint tremor reached my fingertips where they touched the seal — the signal that the Three Meal Worms had responded.
I kept the lid open and waited a moment, and soon three translucent butterflies came fluttering on the breeze.
The Three Meal Worms that had entered the eunuch were returning.
"Did you have a good time?"
When I asked with a smile, the worms swirled around me, scattering shimmering dust as they flitted to and fro.
"It's been a while since you got to feast, and it felt good? Good for you. You've worked hard."
At my praise, the butterflies gave a happy flutter of their wings and settled down into the box.
They looked alike, but each of them had slightly different roles and abilities. The three of them usually stuck together, but they could also act separately if needed.
"Jungsi stays inside with you — and Sangsi, will you come out for a moment? I have a task for you."
The brightest-shining of the three butterflies rose up on its own in a flurry of wings. When I extended my finger, Sangsi alighted upon my index finger.
"In a little while, I need you to slip into the head of the person I point out."
The butterfly twitched its long antennae.
"No — this time, no biting, no eating. Just sit there quietly."
The antennae drooped down in disappointment. Suppressing a laugh, I stroked Sangsi gently with my fingertip.
"I'll let you eat soon, so just bear with it a little."
Once I'd confirmed the antennae bobbing up and down, I moved my finger and transferred Sangsi onto my shoulder.
Then I closed the box holding the remaining worms and tucked it into my Eight-Jewel Bracelet.
"Ansi, let's head to Pyeonjeon now."
"Pardon? Should you not be resting soon?"
"I'll rest after this one thing. Lead the way."
"It seems to me you are pushing yourself too hard."
Ansi puffed out her lips in a sulk as she guided the way.
As an ill-favored Crown Princess with a precarious standing, I had avoided leaving the Eastern Palace as much as possible, so I hardly knew my way around Unryong Palace.
'So instead, I had Ansi memorize the routes.'
Ansi, who could transform into a bird as small as a chick, had flown all over the palace grounds at my command, learning the layout.
Honestly, our Ansi has tremendous strength, but memorizing things is not her strong suit, so it took quite a while…… Still, now that a month had passed, she had mapped out most of it.
Pyeonjeon, the royal audience hall, was quite a distance from the Bureau. As I followed behind Ansi, I gauged the time in my head.
'The morning assembly — when the ministers pay their daily respects to the King — has already ended, but word of the Queen's awakening will have reached them all by now, so they'll all be waiting for the King.'
With a matter this grave, the Left State Councilor was certain to be at Pyeonjeon too.
I fully intended to plant Sangsi on the Left State Councilor.
'Putting in all three Meal Worms comes later. For now, Sangsi alone is enough.'
The Three Meal Worms did make humans honest — but since their method was pain, the process would look suspicious if anyone else laid eyes on it.
'So I'll observe with Sangsi first and find the right moment to make him honest. Even better if, while observing, he happens to do something that serves as evidence.'
Whatever Sangsi saw and heard, Jungsi and Hasi would know at once.
In other words, by deploying the Three Meal Worms divided like this, I could sit in my own room and monitor in real time what a parasitized human was up to.
A perfect talent for watching what schemes the Left State Councilor would try to pull, now that the Crown Princess he'd tried to kill had gone and cured the King and Queen instead.
'Upkyeong can only see the memories of the dead, so for examining living humans, this method is by far the best.'
The only downside was that the Three Meal Worms obeyed no one but the bloodline of the Jade Emperor, so I would have to carry them to the Left State Councilor myself.
Soon the rear gate of Pyeonjeon came into view.
There were two guards posted, and I had no legitimate business that would let me inside.
'This is the moment to put this child's body to good use.'