All Six Are Assassins

After class ended, the princess returned to her dorm only to discover the assassination notice waiting for her. She muttered blankly, "You... know?"

Irritation, anxiety, and... fear. No matter how much of a princess of the Unified Korean Empire she was, the terror of death that could come from anywhere at any time reduced her to an ordinary human. That's why she'd followed me despite the side effects, determined to interrogate me somehow. But I knew everything?

"Does that mean... you're one of the assassins?"

She gritted her teeth. When she thought about it, that was the only explanation that made sense. The way I'd brought up her secret from the start, the fact that I'd been the one to deliver the message—everything pointed to a trap designed to lure her here by acting openly suspicious.

Her hostile gaze locked onto me, then shifted toward the shadows enveloping the alley. From our brief clash earlier, she knew I wasn't physically strong, but... she couldn't forget the unidentified skill I'd used on Lily White-Rose. She couldn't afford to let her guard down.

First, she'd distract me with a punch—

"No? I'm not."

"That's a lie—"

"If I were, would I really be standing here talking so casually?"

"......"

She couldn't deny it. If I truly were working with the assassins, it made no logical sense to waste this opportunity.

'...No, this could be a deliberate ploy to lower my guard before killing me for certain.'

But even that suspicion might be part of his plan. The princess's thoughts swirled until—

"Princess."

"Hic!?"

"You're suspecting me, aren't you?"

She let out a small scream as my voice suddenly brushed her ear. The fortune teller who saw straight through her heart as if it were the most natural thing in the world was smiling, just like always.

"I understand. Suspicion is like a swamp—once you step in, you sink endlessly. Just like Miss Liu."

"............"

"Doesn't every word I speak, every action I take, seem suspicious to you? Don't you wonder if everything about me is an act, a facade hiding some other intention?"

"........."

His words struck the exact center of her thoughts. The princess found she had no answer. It frightened her how every single one of her thoughts seemed to be laid bare before Namgung Min. She had always carried herself with absolute confidence, yet in front of this fortune teller she felt herself shrinking.

"It's perfectly normal. In fact, it's only natural."

"............"

"But you must trust me."

"...Why?"

"Because I'm on your side, Princess."

On my side. The princess mulled over the words as she glared at me. Right. On her side?

"Then can you answer my question?"

"Anything at all."

"How did you know everything about the assassins?"

That was what she truly couldn't understand. How could a mere fortune teller know about assassins targeting a princess of the empire? Unless he was one of them, how was it possible?

But I simply kept smiling.

"Don't you know my profession well?"

"...Fortune teller."

"Then how does a fortune teller obtain information?"

".........No way."

By reading fortunes? And that revealed everything?

"Are you deceiving me right now...?"

"What exactly would count as deception?"

"How could you possibly learn all of that through fortune telling!"

The princess shouted in genuine fury, but I remained unchanged. Not a flicker of panic crossed my face. My eyes still sparkled with amusement, my smile perfectly in place.

"Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠does any other explanation make sense?"

"...Pardon?"

"Guessing what was inside Miss Liu's pocket. Prophesying the vibration on the day of the entrance ceremony. Finding the maze's exit. Knowing your secret. Knowing the exact direction from the mountain to our destination."

I spoke as if these were the most ordinary things in the world, like pulling an item from my pocket. My tone even carried a hint of reproach, as if I were scolding her for asking something so obvious.

"Do you truly believe all of that is possible through mere fortune telling?"

"........."

It was.

...It was.

"You've already finished investigating my background, haven't you? You know I was born in the Empire but have no ties to any strange organizations, the upper class, or naturally the imperial family itself."

"........."

"Someone like me couldn't possibly have known any of that information beforehand. So what does that leave us?"

Incomprehensible. That was the emotion Princess Kim Eun-ha felt toward me. Knowing what no one could know. Doing what no one could do. When you examined my background, I was nothing more than an ordinary person who'd suffered some misfortune. There were no suspicious connections, no frequent meetings with particular individuals, no secret exchanges, no suspicious locations I frequented. Just an ordinary... fortune teller.

Therefore.

"The only answer is fortune telling, isn't it?"

Even though it was endlessly irrational, illogical, and unscientific, only one conclusion remained.

"What do you think, Princess?"

"........."

"Will you... believe in me? Or rather, believe in my fortune telling?"

The princess thought. And thought again. Finally, she reached a decision. If Namgung Min was truly an incomprehensible existence who obtained all that information through divination, if there was genuinely nothing behind him and he had truly stepped forward to help her—

"...Yes."

At the very least, she couldn't afford to make him an enemy. She had to bring him to her side no matter what.

"Good."

"Whew... Fine. Since we've come this far, let's hear it clearly."

Not all her doubts about me had been resolved, and I was still suspicious. But at least for now, there was no better choice than trusting me.

The princess, having regained her composure, watched me with serious eyes.

"Who is the assassin?"

"Hmm, I see."

If I truly knew the assassin's identity, learning that would naturally be the priority. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Of course, if it hadn't come through 'fortune telling,' its reliability might be questionable... but this fortune teller had never been wrong before.

That's why the princess had been ready to believe—

"But does Your Highness truly need to know?"

"—What?"

What was that supposed to mean? No need to know?

"...Explain yourself."

"Even if you learn about the assassins, what exactly can you do about it, Princess?"

"Ha! Obviously, catch those bastards...!"

"Catch them? Assassins who haven't actually assassinated anyone yet?"

"........."

The criminal category known as 'assassin' was truly peculiar. If they hadn't carried out an assassination, they weren't technically assassins—so on what grounds could you arrest them? You couldn't very well arrest someone just because they fantasized about killing an annoying superior.

"Ah, but there was an assassination notice. Using that as justification, you could probably arrest them."

"But if we do that..."

"As you know, we wouldn't be able to catch the mastermind. The tail would simply be cut off."

"........."

"Now do you understand? That's why you don't need to know about them."

The princess no longer asked how I knew about the assassination notice. I must have learned it through fortune telling anyway.

...Just as I'd said, she wanted to know not only the assassins themselves but the mastermind who had ordered it. That was why she'd overreacted so strongly to the mention of being the prince's guard. Anyone capable of planting an assassin among the prince's own guards was clearly no ordinary threat.

Having organized her thoughts, the princess looked at me as I continued speaking.

"Additionally, the assassination is set for three days from now. So if you knew the assassin and began guarding against them, it would only raise unnecessary suspicion."

"............"

He knew not only the assassin's identity but the exact date as well? The princess let out a hollow laugh. She couldn't help it.

Just what didn't this fortune teller know? Was there anything at all?

She already understood the accuracy of my predictions from personal experience, but she felt the need to confirm it one more time right in front of her. Only then would she be able to spend the next three days in peace, trusting my words.

A sudden idea came to her. The princess picked up a small stone near her feet.

"Mr. Namgung Min. Give me one more reason to believe in your fortune telling."

"...Yes?"

"Which hand is this stone in?"

With her hands hidden behind her back, she slipped the stone into one fist, then held both clenched hands out toward me. I was still smiling.

"You said it yourself—the assassination is in three days, and if I knew the assassin it might make them suspicious instead. But isn't that just your fortune telling?"

"...Yes, that's correct."

"So I want to confirm that trust in your fortune telling once more. This is the only simple test that comes to mind right now... but please give me a reason to believe."

If his divination could uncover all kinds of information and see through thoughts, this should be child's play. Even as she asked for trust, the princess smiled briefly at herself for testing me with something so trivial.

I pondered for a moment, then raised my hand with a smile.

The princess watched my choice, then—

"No, that was childish of me. Since I've decided to trust you, I should trust you completely."

"...............I see. That's truly fortunate."

Reflecting on her own actions, she tossed away the stone she'd been holding in her right hand. For a second it had seemed like my hand was moving toward the left, but it must have been her imagination.

"Alright. If I don't need to know about the assassin, what will you do?"

"Ahem. I've arranged a meeting with the prince tomorrow. I'll resolve everything then."

"...In just one day?"

"Of course. Compared to choosing the correct stone, it's not particularly difficult."

"...That's not a very funny joke."

Had she really given such a simple problem to someone like this?

With my confident declaration, the princess gradually discovered that she was beginning to trust me. Perhaps because he existed in the realm of the irrational, it made his words all the more believable. The source of that boundless confidence was fortune telling that would never change.

The princess—who had dominated the imperial court more through her own power and perceptiveness than through intellect—nodded.

"It's uneasy, but I'll trust you and leave it in your hands, Mr. Namgung Min."

"I will definitely see it through."

That's why the princess didn't notice.

...That my back was drenched in cold sweat.

"Of course. It's just fortune telling, but I believe it's better than having nothing at all."

The next day, once again in some classroom within the academy. Following the letter the prince had sent, I arrived and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dismissed the guards just like yesterday. We were having another secret written conversation disguised as a love fortune telling session.

"Understood. Then first, please write down any number you like."

"Any number at all?"

"Any number between one and ten is fine."

He looked cheerful on the surface, but he was probably feeling quite conflicted inside. The prince must have spent the day investigating my background and discovered I had no connection to the imperial family or any suspicious organizations. He likely knew about my supposed talent for fortune telling and was debating whether or not to believe it.

Normally he would never have tried identifying assassins through something like divination.

But right now, the princess is backing me.

Since Princess Kim Eun-ha had trusted me and left it in my hands, he was at least willing to consider the possibility. No matter how busy members of the imperial family were, they were still siblings—they would see each other at least once a day. She must have given him some signal to trust me then.

Honestly, if the code had been delivered during that meeting, we wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble.

Unfortunately that was impossible. Any meeting between the prince and princess would have multiple observers. Rather than risk the code being overheard, it was safer to use an intermediary. The prince's response had been correct—after all, the princess had reacted strangely to the code phrase 'the prince's guard.'

"Then... let's go with this."

"Oh, that's a good number. It seems the other party views Your Highness quite favorably as well."

"Really? That puts my mind at ease."

The prince smiled softly and nodded. To anyone watching, he simply looked like a young man relieved by a positive love fortune. But the written messages revealed someone calmly analyzing the situation. He continued the act without ever setting down his pen.

"Since the compatibility is good, it's an excellent start. Just how good is it exactly?"

"All of them."

"...What?"

But I set down my pen. There was no need to write anything more.

"What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do you mean by that?"

"All of them."

".........!"

"I said all of them."

The assassins trying to kill the princess were the six close aides and guards assigned to the prince. Every single one of them.