A Secret Shared
Sect Leader Gwak, upon hearing his name called, was utterly overwhelmed and hurriedly expressed his gratitude. In truth, he had been paralyzed by such sheer terror that he couldn't feel any pain at all.
"Sect Leader Yang, is the tea to your liking? It's brewed with osmanthus honey and fresh pear, though I don't know if it suits your palate. I heard several times that you have quite a sweet tooth, so I had it prepared especially for you."
"T-Thank you!"
"If you like it, I shall instruct the maids to pack some for you to take when you leave."
"No, I couldn't possibly..."
With his ink-black hair swept up and adorned with a small golden crown, the Alliance Leader of Cheonsaryeon exuded an aura that rivaled the grandest young lords of the capital's most prestigious families. And what of his appearance? If the capital had the noble, scholar-like beauty of Seo Jang-gyeong, Na'an had the breathtakingly dazzling beauty of Hwa Banya, a man so gorgeous he could stop one's breath with a single glance.
While others aged three years, it was as if he had been secretly pampering his skin underground; there wasn't a single fine line around Banya's eyes. Looking exceptionally beautiful today, the Alliance Leader of Cheonsaryeon held an unlit pipe between his fingers, slowly twirling it. He opened his mouth to address Sect Leader Yang. To convey his meaning, a mere two words were enough.
"A refusal?"
"N-No, of course not! It is not a refusal... Thank you for your immense generosity. I will certainly take it home and share it with my wife."
"It is heartwarming to see you care so deeply for your wife."
It was an absurd thing for a young man in his late twenties to say to a man nearly sixty, but then again, what about this situation wasn't absurd? Frankly, a straightforward bloodbath would have been preferable. This unpredictable, suffocating tension was the absolute worst. The sect leaders all harbored the same suspicion—Did he lose his mind after dying and coming back to life?—as they prayed desperately for time to pass.
I had agreed to go out with my husband for a short while. Our meeting place was a small garden near the main hall.
I should start heading over so I won't be late. Yeongso looked down at her tangerine-colored court dress as she walked. Is this color too eye-catching? Her maid, Chocho, had insisted that one should wear bright clothes on gloomy days, so she had followed her advice, but now she wished she had chosen a more subdued color.
"At least I chose a simpler hair ornament to balance it out..."
Everyone she encountered scrambled to bow and show their respects to the Renju-buin. Among them was an old maidservant who had once cursed Yeongso behind her back, calling her a thick-skinned woman of the Orthodox path. Back then, because her niece had been the favored concubine of the former Alliance Leader, the old woman had carried herself with immense arrogance in the inner court. Of course, things were entirely different now that the former Alliance Leader had met his pathetic end at Banya's hands, and his dozens of wives and concubines had been kicked out overnight.
"G-G-Greetings, Renju-buin!"
Should she tell her that she didn't mind the past? After a moment of thought, Yeongso decided against it. Striking up a conversation might draw unwanted attention to the old woman. In the past, Banya had never tolerated anyone in Cheonsaryeon whispering about his wife's background. Anyone caught doing so, regardless of age or gender, was subjected to brutal torture. Thus, while they might have cursed her in secret, no one dared to slander Yeongso to her face.
Though that was before I killed my husband.
Now, Banya resented Baekri Yeongso more than anyone else in the world. Perhaps he would even forgive the old woman who had cursed his wife. However, Cheonsaryeon did not consist of Hwa Banya alone. There was a very high chance that those desperate to curry favor with the Alliance Leader and his wife would take it upon themselves to torment the old woman to "punish" her on their behalf.
It's better to act indifferent, as if I don't even remember.
Lost in thought, Yeongso hurried her steps, only to run into a man built like a mountain. Clad in silver-gray martial robes, he was as tall as Banya, with massive, powerful muscles stretching from his shoulders to his arms. On the backs of both his hands were circular brand marks—the brand of a convicted murderer. One brand for each imprisonment. This meant the man had been convicted of murder and locked away in government prisons twice.
Aside from the brands covering the backs of his hands, he was a surprisingly handsome, clean-cut man. He bowed to Yeongso.
"Ma Ryun, the Cheonsalseong, greets the Renju-buin."
His voice was completely hoarse. He added that it was due to the torture he had endured the entire time he was confined in the dungeon.
"It will return to normal in time," he continued, bowing deeply to Yeongso once more. "Thank you for looking after my meals for the past three years."
"It was nothing."
"My wife... looked after... the Cheonsalseong's meals?"
Banya appeared without making a single sound.
"For a whole three years?"
"It was r-really nothing. Just some white rice porridge and a couple of side dishes..."
"And my wife made it herself? With these lovely, delicate hands?"
"Yes... because there were no maids around...!"
This was bad. The more she answered, the deeper the misunderstanding would grow. His questions were clearly loaded. I need to explain this in my own way.
"In the dungeons of Cheonsaryeon, they only feed the prisoners once every two days. And it's nothing but spoiled rice and salt soup. Still, he was a direct subordinate who followed you for a long time... I couldn't just turn a blind eye."
"Was it guilt?"
Banya narrowed his eyes. Ma Ryun, who had been listening silently beside them, asked,
"Guilt, my Lord?"
"Yes. This woman killed me. Three years ago."
Yeongso's eyes widened at the sudden, unprompted revelation. She hurriedly looked around, and after confirming that no one else was nearby, she nervously glanced at Ma Ryun. As the second-in-command of Cheonsaryeon before Banya's death, Ma Ryun wore an unreadable expression. Yeongso spoke to her husband in a trembling voice.
"P-Please don't joke like that. You're confusing your subordinate."
"I'm not joking."
Banya glanced at Ma Ryun's face. "And the Cheonsalseong doesn't look confused at all."
"He might not show it, but he must be shocked. Wondering what on earth you mean..."
"It is the absolute truth, without a speck of falsehood, Ma Ryun. My wife killed me. She pierced my Baihui acupoint with a single needle thrown from over thirty yards away. Then, without batting an eye, she covered up the incident, burned incense before my memorial tablet, and lovingly brewed porridge for you every single day. Isn't she magnificent? Even the notorious demoness of old, Dokgo Mimi, is a mere novice compared to my wife. After all, my dear wife managed to murder her husband and still preserve her noble reputation."
"You..."
Unable to contain her anxiety throughout Banya's relentless exposure, Yeongso reflexively smacked her husband's forearm.
"Stop talking!"
Ma Ryun, who had maintained a deadpan expression until now, flinched.
"How... how can you just blabber about this to others? We are outside, not in the inner quarters! Even if it looks like no one is around, someone could be eavesdropping. If this reaches the ears of anyone in Cheonsaryeon...!"
Regardless of Banya's miraculous return, chaos would erupt. There were people everywhere looking for the slightest leverage to exploit for their own gain. The Great War between Orthodox and Unorthodox! The sheer weight of that terrifying phrase flashed through Yeongso's mind, making it hard to breathe.
"Did you see that just now?" Banya said, leaning slightly toward Ma Ryun. "She lost her temper and smacked me."
"...Yes," Ma Ryun muttered. "She put some real force into it."
"Exactly my point."
"But looking at her like this, I cannot sense even a trace of martial energy from her."
"Which is why I was fooled too. Not just me, but the entire world. Who could have ever guessed the true nature of Baekri Yeongso...!"
As master and servant casually bandied words back and forth, Yeongso was dying of sheer anxiety. She had never imagined her husband would carelessly blabber such a critical secret. Perhaps Banya trusted his direct subordinate completely. Or did he intend to kill him the moment he showed any sign of leaking it? But he wasn't allowed to commit murder recklessly anymore; the Queen Mother of the West's rules bound him. That meant her husband truly trusted his subordinate. Fine. She understood that the bond of trust between master and servant was deep. But now, the arrowhead would point toward Yeongso. Would Ma Ryun leave the wicked woman who had murdered his master in peace?
In the midst of this, Banya offered an utterly absurd piece of advice.
"You should be careful too, Cheonsalseong. She is the peerless master who killed me. She could probably handle someone of your level with her eyes closed."
If anything, he's the one who would try to kill me! Why would I?
"Yes, I understand."
What do you mean, you understand? Don't just agree to whatever nonsense he says!