The Registry of the Dead

A name from the list of victims flashed through my mind.

Someone who had died at the banquet during the Black Jade Incident.

*She was definitely among them. Lady Sim, wife of a high minister.*

Which meant—the Right State Councilor's wife.

'His wife died in an accident… and he could possibly feel anything but hostility toward the person who caused it?'

Once that thought took root, even the advice the Right State Councilor had left me with began to seem suspect.

'False information? To what end?'

Should I plant a Three-World Insect on him as well?

'It would've been convenient if I were truly Seoljok. If he were lying, the scent would give it away.'

Unfortunately, possessing only Seoljok's body meant none of the Seoljok abilities manifested in me.

'And I promised to avoid using the Heavenly Mandate Eye unless absolutely necessary….'

For the time being, I headed back to Unyeondang, turning over my conversation with the Right State Councilor in my mind. And soon enough, one possibility occurred to me.

'The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠case where he sees the Crown Prince and me as separate parties.'

The Right State Councilor had told me not to take my meals at Jamryongdang—but he had never told me to flee with the Crown Prince.

'Perhaps only the Crown Prince bears the grudge, and I'm just a child caught up in it—one who happened to remind him of his daughter and stir his pity.'

That seemed the likelier reading. And if so, there was one way to confirm it.

'I'm on a legal runaway from home these days, after all.'

I slipped into my room in Unyeondang, took out the Eight-Beaded Bell, and lightly tapped the eighth bead.

The smoke that billowed forth revealed my father's chamber in the Palace of Yama.

Gangrim Doryeong, who had been piling a fresh heap of scrolls atop a mountain of them, spotted the open channel and his eyes went wide.

[Your Highness the Princess?]

"Gangrim? Where's Father?"

[He was called away to pass judgment on a rather complicated matter. Shall I summon him for you?]

"No, that's all right. I just need to check the Registry briefly."

[Whom are you looking for?]

"The daughter of Yi Do-hyeong, Right State Councilor of Un. I hear she died young—confirm the cause of death for me."

[Yes, Your Highness! One moment, please.]

Gangrim Doryeong flipped deftly through the registry on his desk, spread it open at one page, and held it up to the channel.

[Yunseong, Northeastern Branch of Un—Yi Jong-hui, second child of Yi Do-hyeong and Sim Bu-ok, age nine, deceased in a fire. Is this the record of the departed you seek?]

"Yes, that looks right."

[Shall I transcribe the details for you?]

"No, this is plenty. Thank you."

The same age as my own lost daughter had been. Dead in a fire. So that was why he'd stepped in—because we'd reminded him of her. A strange, complicated ache settled in my chest.

[Yes, Your Highness! If you need anything, contact us again at any—what is this?]

Gangrim Doryeong, who had been about to close the registry, stopped and stared hard at the page, then lifted it toward me again.

[Your Highness, I believe you should take a look at this section as well. It concerns the family of the departed you just inquired about.]

"Hm? What is it?"

The moment I checked where his finger pointed, I flinched.

What was this?

Every child and grandchild of Right State Councilor Yi Do-hyeong, wiped out by plague—and the councilor himself with them?

I hurriedly checked the dates of death in the registry.

All identical.

Early summer, three years from now—an entire family, dying together on the very same day.

A cold shiver crawled up my spine.

Cause of death: plague. Yet they all died on the same day? From the youngest child to the elderly, every last one of them?

'This is no ordinary sickness. Without a doubt, this is the work of an epidemic ghost.'

Whether someone had deliberately loosed the thing upon them, or they had simply had the terrible misfortune to cross paths with a wandering one, I couldn't say—but this was unmistakably the doing of an epidemic ghost, or something worse.

I took out a sheet of paper and quickly copied down the names and dates of death.

"That's everything I need. Thank you, Gangrim."

[Yes, Your Highness! Call on me anytime you require assistance!]

I closed the channel and studied the paper.

'If it's three years away… there isn't much I can do right now.'

And yet this wasn't mere plague—it was the work of something wicked, and I couldn't leave that alone. The Right State Councilor was a victim of the Black Jade Incident, after all, and today he'd even gone out of his way to warn me of a conspiracy.

'I'll have to prepare in advance.'

And if I could manage it, in a way that would aid the Crown Prince and me as well.

The more immediate problem was the fire that would come for Jamryongdang tonight.

'Preventing the blaze is easy. Catching the culprits and unmasking whoever stands behind them—that's the hard part.'

First, I instructed the maids to prepare this evening's meal at Unyeondang. I made several other arrangements besides, and then I ordered Ansi to guard Jamryongdang.

That done, I rested and waited for the Crown Prince to return.

Through the Three-World Insect, I quietly kept an eye on the Left State Councilor's circle, and the word was that the King would suspend his duties for the day and remain at Junggungjeon with the Crown Prince.

Sadly, I saw no sign of any scheme related to the fire. He had likely given all his orders before the Insect took root in him….

'Or someone other than the Left State ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Councilor is behind it. Unlikely, but possible.'

In any case, it seemed the Crown Prince would be a long while yet.

'It's his family, reunited after two years. They'll have plenty to say to each other.'

Still, he'd return before sundown no matter what, wouldn't he? He still couldn't control himself at night, which made it dangerous.

'To think, on a day this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠important for the boy, I'm the one setting up fire precautions.'

The shameless wretches.

The last thing I wanted was to tell the poor little Crown Prince that an assassination plot hung over him on a day like this. All I could do was hope matters resolved themselves without his ever knowing.

The Crown Prince returned to the East Palace just as dusk began to settle, and I greeted him at Jamryongdang's main gate.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

His physician's cap all but toppling from his head as he sprinted toward me, the little prince called out, his cheeks flushed bright.

"Everything you told me, Your Highness—it all came true! I truly believed I would never, ever be forgiven, and yet…."

He was beaming, and yet his eyes glistened, wet with tears. Those black pupils shone so brilliantly they seemed a night sky strewn with stars.

"Did you talk with them for a long while?"

"Yes—and about you as well… we spoke of you a great deal. How much you have helped me…."

Why was he blushing like that, as though it were something embarrassing to confess?

*He's adorable, is what he is.*

The adorable little prince pressed on, cheeks glowing.

"Everything happened exactly as you said it would! If you told me you churned soybean paste out of red beans, Your Highness, I would believe you now! And also…."

He was talking far faster than usual. That voice which used to pool like standing water in the shadows now ran bright and clear, like a stream flowing through sunlight.

Somehow, I felt enormously proud.

For the first time, it felt as though I had accomplished something all on my own. My chest swelled.

Suppressing the urge to puff up like a strutting rooster, I led the Crown Prince onward.

"I told you I'd prove it, didn't I? So now you'll do well together with me, yes?"

"Of course! I shall work hard so that Your Highness may trust in me as well. What shall I begin with? Training at once—"

"We'll talk about it over dinner, you and I."

"Yes, Your Highness! …But is this not the way to Unyeondang?"

"Today we eat together at Unyeondang."

Fear descended at once upon that sunny, pretty little face.

"Your Highness, the sun will set soon, and there will be no one at Unyeondang—"

"Didn't you say you would trust me?"

"…I did."

"Soon enough, people will gather at Jamryongdang too. You cannot keep avoiding it forever, can you?"

"…You are right, Your Highness."

The Crown Prince was plainly nervous, but he followed me along quietly all the same.

Still, with the unexpected in mind, I sent nearly all of Unyeondang's maids out of the hall entirely, leaving behind only the barest handful.

Only three or four volunteered to remain, among them Court Lady Kim and Choi Ja-myeong. They set the table in the room and withdrew.

The spread was lavish today.

'They must have gone to extra trouble, knowing what a good day it was.'

Over the meal, I heard what the Crown Prince had discussed with his parents. From the sound of it, the King had even told him about the petition I had submitted.

"And the memorial rite… I am to preside over it."

The Crown Prince, so bright through all the other talk, laid these words down heavily. It was an occasion that warranted the weight.

"Will you be all right?"

"It is something I must do. After the rite, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠intend to visit their graves myself, pay my respects, and ask their forgiveness. It will not make amends for the grief they have carried all this time—but I hope it may ease it, even a little."

The Crown Prince spoke with his eyes lowered, with a composure beyond his years.

I looked at the little prince with a fond, admiring feeling, and then resolved to give him a gift.

'If they've been dead two years, they'll still be awaiting judgment in the underworld. I'll offer prayers for the departed in my own name.'

Even if the Crown Prince never intended it, the calamity came about through him, and so its karma rests upon his shoulders.

If I pray for the souls of the dead, I can lighten some of that burden for him.

I couldn't say exactly what difference it would make by mortal reckoning, but at the very least it would be a genuine boon to the Crown Prince.

"I'll do it with you. The memorial rite, and the grave visit too."

"You, Your Highness?"

"Wouldn't that be better than you shouldering it alone? It would show all the more sincerity."

"That is true, but… Your Highness need not trouble yourself so. These things happened before our marriage, and none of the fault is yours—"

"If we hold the fault strictly to account, then you have no obligation to beg their forgiveness either, do you? And yet you wish to ask for it all the same."

"Because it happened because of me. It is only right that I do so."

"Exactly. That's why I want to ask for it together with you. I am your wife, after all."

"…Your Highness."

The Crown Prince's eyes brimmed with tears. Just as the boy, overcome, opened his mouth to say something—Ansi's voice rang out.

[Your Highness the Princess! Fire-starters have been spotted! We are in pursuit!]

It was Ansi, who had been watching Jamryongdang in secret.