Chapter 269
Chapter 269
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 73
>Chapter Title: Death Row Division (4)
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"Mmph."
Captain Lim Gyu-wol of the Sixth Division groaned and tried to twist his body.
The poison needle hovering before his eyes could pierce his eyeball at any moment, potentially crippling his mind as well. He desperately wanted to avoid that at all costs.
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un chuckled softly and lightly tugged at one of the needles embedded in his spine.
As the needle was pulled out, Lim Gyu-wol's back, which had been bent like a bow, straightened.
"Hah... hah... Y-you bastard!"
"Bastard? You should watch your attitude."
-Grit!
At Mok Kyung-un's low warning, Captain Lim Gyu-wol ground his teeth.
He wanted to subdue the bastard and force him to remove the needles right then and there, but one wrong move could leave him half-paralyzed, ending his life in the palace guard.
"...Why are you doing this? Aren't you afraid of the consequences?"
"Consequences? Did you just say consequences?"
"N-no, I meant..."
"I'm curious how you'd exact revenge if your mind ends up crippled."
"..."
Captain Lim Gyu-wol had no response to Mok Kyung-un's mocking words.
As the boy said, if he couldn't even think straight, there'd be no revenge or anything else.
Glared at Mok Kyung-un with resentment, Lim Gyu-wol finally spoke.
"What do you want?"
"Good to see you're someone I can reason with."
"..."
How could he say reason when he'd stabbed needles into his spine and held a poison needle to his eye?
His insides boiled, but Lim Gyu-wol suppressed it with effort.
Once he escaped this crisis, opportunities for revenge would come eventually.
"Before we get to what I want, shall we hear what Captain Lim was planning to do?"
At the question, Lim Gyu-wol flinched momentarily.
And for good reason—this was the man who, before coming here, had plotted in the Golden Prison Hall to trap Mok Kyung-un, who wore Disciple Badge-seok's face, and Disciple Ju Un-hyang in a trap.
Naturally, being questioned about it left him inwardly flustered.
He feigned ignorance.
"...What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
"What? I'm an examiner testing you apprentice disciples. Are you saying I planned to do something to you?"
"Hmm."
"If it's about what happened earlier, I've already forgotten. So..."
-Grip!
"Mmph."
Mok Kyung-un seized his cheeks with both hands.
Then, he slowly applied pressure.
Immediately,
"Ughhh!"
The force on his cheeks made his cheekbones and teeth ache as if they would shatter.
To the writhing man, Mok Kyung-un whispered in his ear.
"You say you've forgotten, but your glare's been sharp the whole time. It bothered me. Someone with eyes like that just letting it go?"
"Ugh... n-no... liesssh."
"I don't buy it. Half-paralysis might be too much—maybe just cripple your mind, and I won't have to worry about you anymore."
-Swish!
Mok Kyung-un brought the poison needle to his eye.
Seeing it as a threat to make him talk, Captain Lim Gyu-wol resolved to endure no matter what.
But it didn't last long.
It was because of Mok Kyung-un's smiling face directed at him.
He was grinning as if enjoying himself, but that smile was filled entirely with malice.
'He'll do it. This guy's definitely going to do it.'
Normally, one would dismiss it as a mere threat.
After all, anyone aiming for the Imperial Guard knew better than to make an enemy of an examiner.
But this guy showed no such concern in his expression or eyes.
In a panic, Lim Gyu-wol blurted out.
"P-pleash give me pointsh... I wash gonna make you fail the Imperial Guard ssh选拔..."
"You were going to deduct points to make me fail the Imperial Guard selection?"
"Y-yesh."
Lim Gyu-wol lied as convincingly as he could.
Telling the real plan would make the boy even less likely to let him go, and any future revenge for this would vanish.
He thought his plausible lie might work, but he couldn't help feeling tense.
Then Mok Kyung-un nodded.
"Well, not a bad scheme. Revenge by that method..."
-Swish!
Mok Kyung-un released his grip.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Captain Lim Gyu-wol inwardly sighed in relief.
He'd worried the boy might not buy it and press further, but fortunately, it seemed to have worked.
Or so he thought.
-Creep!
That's when he saw Mok Kyung-un curl his middle finger against his thumb, aiming at his forehead.
Captain Lim Gyu-wol furrowed his brow.
'Flick to the forehead?'
-Smack!
The snapped middle finger struck his forehead with tremendous force.
The impact felt like it pierced his skull and rattled his brain, making Lim Gyu-wol's eyes widen as if tearing, a scream nearly bursting from his mouth.
Of course, Mok Kyung-un clamped it shut, preventing any cry.
"Grraaahhh."
To the agonized man, Mok Kyung-un smiled and said.
"Did you think I'd buy that? If it was such a childish revenge, I'd have given you penalty points back there instead of merits."
"Grraaah."
"Tell me your real plan, step by step. I'll overlook it just this once."
With that, Mok Kyung-un dangled the poison needle.
Stunned by the flick, drool trickling from his mouth, Lim Gyu-wol stared blankly at it.
It was called a flick, but the infused internal energy was so powerful it felt like his forehead bone had cracked—no, shattered.
"You're taking too long to answer."
"I-I was gonna show you a fake Golden Prison map when entering the underground Golden Prison, to make you get lost."
"Fake Golden Prison map?"
"Yes."
Come to think of it, the underground Golden Prison was said to be enormous, like a maze.
Without the proper map, one could wander endlessly and fall victim to its traps, losing their life.
Mok Kyung-un's lips curled up slightly.
"Now that's more like it."
"..."
"Where's this fake Golden Prison map?"
"In... the Death Row Division office."
"If it's not there, I can just stab this needle in your eye—no time wasted. I'm getting tired of talking."
"It's not a lie. Among the maps, two are marked with red thread, different from the others. Those are the ones."
Mok Kyung-un was convinced this time.
Words alone couldn't be trusted, of course.
But if he'd prepared them in advance, it was certain.
Moreover, not one but two maps.
And the targets were clear.
'Me and Ju Un-hyang.'
Mok Kyung-un placed a hand on his shoulder.
"If you'd spoken up sooner, we could've spared ourselves the trouble."
"...I swear I won't pull any tricks. So please, end it here. I won't give you penalty points or anything."
"Of course. But I haven't even gotten to the main point."
"Main point?"
"Yes. Truth is, I have zero interest in the Imperial Guard selection or whatever."
"What?"
What was this nonsense?
The Patrol Division was part of the Imperial Guard selection process.
How could someone participating claim no interest?
To the baffled man, Mok Kyung-un said casually.
"Instead, I'd like to quietly extract someone I want from the underground Golden Prison. It'd be much easier with help from Captain Lim Gyu-wol, head of the Death Row Division that manages it."
'!!!!!!!'
At Mok Kyung-un's utterly unexpected words, Captain Lim Gyu-wol's eyes bulged.
Wasn't this saying he'd break out a serious criminal imprisoned in the underground Golden Prison?
And asking him, the one managing it, for help?
Lim Gyu-wol retorted incredulously.
"Have you lost your mind? Even if you've crossed me and put me through this, I'm the head of the Death Row Division. You think I'd help spring a prisoner from the underground Golden Prison?"
For the first time, Lim Gyu-wol showed the pride and resolve of an Imperial Guard.
It was as if he'd never aid in this, no matter what.
To him, Mok Kyung-un smiled.
"I said no second warnings."
"Th-this is something I can't do. Even if you threaten me."
"Oh? Trying to show some spirit? Then shall I change the nature of the threat?"
"What?"
"You've been steadily embezzling funds every time you've moved Buddha statues to aid Grand Secretary Hang Yun-pa, haven't you?"
'!?'
Lim Gyu-wol's eyes wavered, his newfound resolve crumbling.
He'd manipulated the ledgers as discreetly as possible to amass those funds.
No one had noticed until now—how did this boy know?
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
Lim Gyu-wol denied vehemently.
Mok Kyung-un pulled a ledger from his bosom.
Lim Gyu-wol's face stiffened at the sight.
It was none other than the secret ledger he'd hidden in his office.
'H-how...?'
Why was it in this boy's hands?
Of course, it was because...
[This is part of the secret ledgers hidden in the Death Row Division's secret compartment. Thought it'd be useful, so I took it.]
Mok Kyung-un's subordinate, Mong Mu-yak, had sneaked into the Death Row Division office and retrieved it.
He figured an embezzlement ledger would pressure the division head.
And now, it was proving very useful.
"If your superiors in the Imperial Guard saw this, it wouldn't look good. Worst case, you end up in the palace prison? That'd be fun—the Golden Prison manager locked in the one he oversaw."
Mok Kyung-un's words were the final nail.
Captain Lim Gyu-wol soon bowed his head in submission.
Agreeing to everything Mok Kyung-un demanded, he stamped documents with the Death Row Division's official seal and his own personal seal.
But Mok Kyung-un didn't stop there—he poisoned him, just as he'd done to Commandant Sang Ik-seo.
At this ruthless thoroughness, Captain Lim Gyu-wol was left in awe.
As Mok Kyung-un turned to leave his quarters, curiosity struck, and he asked.
"But why target Disciple Ju Un-hyang?"
This had been nagging at him.
He knew Ju Un-hyang had subtle enemies, but he suddenly wondered why this man targeted her.
Though reluctant, Lim Gyu-wol answered since all his weaknesses were grasped.
"...Because of Captain So Ye-rin."
'!?'
Mok Kyung-un tilted his head.
"Captain So Ye-rin?"
"Yes."
"Some issue with her?"
"...No issue with her. It's just that Captain So Ye-rin, so strict about duty, paid attention to that Ju Un-hyang punk, and it irked me."
"Ha!"
Expecting some other reason, Mok Kyung-un snorted at the unexpected answer.
So the sudden emotional outburst stemmed from pure emotion after all.
'Jealousy.'
Humans sure are inefficient thanks to their feelings.
Mok Kyung-un shook his head and left the quarters.
* * *
Not long after Mok Kyung-un left, convinced he was gone, Captain Lim Gyu-wol couldn't hold back his rage and smashed everything in his quarters.
-Bang bang!
This was the greatest humiliation of his life.
Threatened and blackmailed wasn't enough—he'd even been poisoned.
If he didn't vent this anger somewhere, he couldn't endure it.
-Bang!
He even destroyed his own bed.
Only after wrecking nearly everything did he calm somewhat. Slumping to the floor, Lim Gyu-wol ground his teeth and muttered lowly.
-Grit!
"Don't think this is over. I'll pay you back somehow, no matter what."
He vowed revenge for later.
For now, he'd play along, but a man's revenge isn't too late even after ten years.
He'd repay the one who humiliated him exactly—no, double, triple...
"Pay back what?"
'!?'
At the voice from behind, Lim Gyu-wol's face froze.
He'd sensed no presence at all behind him.
Had he imagined it?
Stiffening, he turned—and there stood Mok Kyung-un at the quarters' door, holding two fake Golden Prison map scrolls.
'Ah...'
[End of Chapter 73: Death Row Division (4)]