A Trap Set in Shadows
The fourth topic of their marital training was the "first kill." It was a subject Yeongso wanted to avoid just as much as talking about her master. Conversely, it was a day Banya had been eagerly anticipating. Yeongso made up excuses that anyone could see through, claiming she hadn't slept well the night before and had been feeling achy since morning.
"Then when do you think we should do it?" Banya acted as if, with a bit of persuasion, he might actually postpone the training to another day.
Yeongso carefully gauged her husband's reaction before speaking. "Perhaps... in seven days?"
"You dream big, my lady."
"F-five days, then."
"How can you yield two whole days just like that?" Banya clicked his tongue. He told her she should never try to bargain with anyone. But he was the one who said I was dreaming big, acting as if he wouldn't agree... She felt somewhat toyed with. Yeongso pouted.
"Then, in five days..."
"If we do it in five days, does it mean the first person you killed won't be me anymore? Or will your murder vanish into thin air?" Banya whispered in a low voice meant only for her ears. "Even if you postpone it, what has already happened will not change."
"..."
"It will only prolong your agony for five more days."
"But you... were the one who told me... to suggest..."
Banya suppressed a laugh as he watched Yeongso mumble. "When you're like this, you really seem like the youngest lady of a noble clan. You have a bit of a spoiled streak in you. I wonder if you're even aware of it."
Banya smiled, clearly delighted by that side of her. This time, it was a genuine laugh. He then pointed out that whether she confessed today, tomorrow, or in seven days, the result would be exactly the same.
"Now, shall we?"
"...I really do not feel well."
"Shall I take your pulse?" Banya looked at her as if to say her tricks were far too transparent. "Your brother seemed ready to take your pulse the moment you let out even a single sigh."
"..."
"Well?"
"...Fine. I did not expect much anyway." Yeongso walked forward with a dejected face. She had known what the fourth topic would be, but she was far less prepared than she had thought. Controlling another's desires and power truly comes with a heavy price. Yeongso let out a heavy sigh. Walking behind her with his arms crossed, Banya teased that her sighs would make the ground cave in.
Banya's story about his first kill came to an end. It was a tale of satisfaction, shock, pleasure, and a sense of omnipotence—the thrill of finally escaping the position of the victim and eliminating those who stood in his way. It carried a vastly different atmosphere from Yeongso's own first kill.
"Now, it is your turn."
With a dark expression, Yeongso channeled her qi into his left chest, tying the fourth Concentric Knot. Banya asked if she could please brighten her face a little before speaking.
"Even though I, the one who died by your hand, am giving you permission, is it still so difficult?"
"...I am sorry."
"I get it, so stop apologizing. Ah, don't start tearing up again."
Yeongso's bottom lip trembled. Taking a deep breath to suppress her swirling emotions, she began a story she had never shared with anyone.
"It was an evening three years ago. To be precise, twenty days before you died."
After bathing and returning to her room, Yeongso had found a secret letter tucked between her neatly folded sleepwear.
"The person who wrote the secret letter claimed that you were planning to brutally murder the young unorthodox disciples who were going to train in the outskirts of Nagan-seong. They said you intended to leave orthodox symbols at the slaughter site to frame them. The reason was..."
"That I no longer wished to keep my promise of harmony between the orthodox and unorthodox factions?"
"Yes."
Banya let out a dry chuckle. "The moment I declared that there would be no provocations from the unorthodox path for ten years if I married Baekri Yeongso, everyone doubted me. Both the orthodox and unorthodox factions thought I had lost my mind. I'm sure many were waiting with bated breath to see when I would retract those words."
Banya dismissed it lightly, calling it his own doing. Because he acted so utterly unbothered, Yeongso's heart grew even heavier.
"The sender of the letter... said you regretted making that promise. But to maintain public justification, you chose to frame the orthodox path instead."
It wasn't a matter she could ask Banya about directly. If she handled it carelessly, she might hasten the day Banya launched his 'grand plan.'
"So, on the date written in the letter, I headed to your study. The letter said that if I did not believe the words, I should eavesdrop on a conversation outside the Alliance Leader's study at the beginning of the Hour of the Rat, four days later."
Banya's expression turned peculiar.
"Although the voices were very quiet, it was clear you were discussing a grand plan with someone. When would be the best time to strike during the seven-day joint training retreat, how to handle the instructors..."
After returning to her room, Yeongso could not sleep. When Banya came to the inner chambers at dawn, he held his wife as possessively as always. But Yeongso, now knowing his hidden intentions, could not bring herself to look into her husband's eyes the entire time he held her.
"After that day, I began to agonize over it alone. But it seemed my hesitation did not satisfy whoever was behind this."
One day, after stepping out briefly, she returned to her room to find a small note.
"It was written in the same handwriting as the secret letter."
You must take matters into your own hands.
"Beside the note was a small vial that fit perfectly in the palm of my hand, containing a single bright yellow pill. The moment I realized it was poison, I was so shocked that I destroyed it along with the note. That was back when I still hadn't even conceived the thought of killing you."
"Good heavens," Banya sighed with regret. "How thorough of you... If only we knew what kind of poison it was, it would have been a massive help in tracking down the bastards who tried to drive a wedge between us. Or even if the handwriting on the note had been preserved."
"It was the Soul-Severing Intestine-Rupturing Poison."
At Yeongso's calm reply, Banya's eyes widened. "Are you certain?"
Yeongso nodded firmly. "My master taught me everything about the martial arts of both the orthodox and unorthodox paths. In the spare time after mastering the representative techniques of each sect, I also learned about poisons and elixirs..."
"And you actually had spare time left after all that?" Banya was dumbfounded, wondering if Baekri Yeongso's day consisted of forty-eight hours instead of twenty-four.
"In any case, this is interesting." Banya slowly traced his lips. "If that poison was indeed the Soul-Severing Intestine-Rupturing Poison, then the story changes a bit."
"How so?"
"It means that even if you had fed me that poison, I wouldn't have died. At most, I would have had a severe stomachache."
"I never knew... are you perhaps immune to all poisons?" Yeongso was genuinely astonished. She knew her husband was powerful, but to that extent?
At this, Banya gave a bitter smile. "No, it is just that I happen to have an immunity specifically to the Soul-Severing Intestine-Rupturing Poison."
He tapped his lips lightly, lost in thought. "I wonder if those bastards knew even this...?"
He stated flatly that if Yeongso had attempted to poison Hwa Banya three years ago, and the assassination had failed due to his unknown immunity, he would have likely killed his insolent wife. It was simply his nature: he could kill as many people as he pleased, but he could never tolerate being on the receiving end, not even once.
"Someone must have been highly displeased with our marriage... which is why they gave you false information. But there was one thing that bastard truly did not know." Banya's eyes gleamed sharply. "Namely, that Baekri Yeongso is a master of martial arts."
"Does that mean... the person the sender of the secret letter actually intended to kill was me?"
"That is the only explanation that makes sense." Banya spoke slowly, letting his wife process it with her brilliant mind. "Even if she obtained a deadly poison, would it really be possible for a woman with no martial arts skills to kill the Alliance Leader of Cheonsaryeon? I could have easily blocked my meridians to hold out until a physician prepared an antidote..."
Banya pointed out that there were simply too many variables. If even one of those variables went wrong, she would have been branded the Alliance Leader's murderer and executed. And if the deadly poison was indeed the one Hwa Banya was immune to, Baekri Yeongso's death would have been an absolute certainty.
"Yet, in the end, the one who died wasn't you, but me. The mastermind behind this must have been utterly bewildered by how things turned out."