Suspicious Goodwill
Royal Noble Consort Suk-bin had come to Chwiseondang.
Suk-bin requested an audience with Hui-bin...
The announcement caught everyone off guard. Hui-bin, Court Lady Han, and me alike.
Of all times, why now...?
It was exceedingly suspicious. The fire had broken out at the exact moment everyone except Hui-bin was away from Chwiseondang. Under the circumstances, one could not help but suspect arson by an outsider. Naturally, she might have stopped by out of concern upon hearing news of the fire. But considering the usual friction between Hui-bin and Suk-bin, that was bordering on absurdity.
"Suk-bin, at a time like this... Unwelcome as she is, I can hardly turn her away."
"Indeed. It would be best to grant her an audience for now," Court Lady Han advised.
"I have no desire to gaze upon her face for long. I will keep it as brief as possible."
Just as Hui-bin moved to rise from her seat, my instincts flared.
No.
Almost on reflex, I seized the hem of her skirt.
"Bong-bong? What is the matter?"
"Well... Hui-bin-jaga. Could you please stay with me?"
"Child, I will return as soon as I meet with Suk-bin. Just wait a little..."
"I don't want to be alone..."
In sheer desperation, I squeezed out tears. I have to uncover what Suk-bin is after. Whatever brought her to Chwiseondang right now—I needed that knowledge at all costs.
"...Bong-bong."
Seeing my tear-stained face, Hui-bin's gaze wavered violently. As Court Lady Han began to speak, Hui-bin raised a hand to silence her.
"Court Lady Han."
"Yes, Jaga."
Hui-bin issued a low command.
"Bring Suk-bin here."
What a terrifying expression.
I watched Suk-bin step into the room, her face rigid and icy.
It was only natural. However bitter their rivalry, Suk-bin was still an official guest visiting Chwiseondang. Moreover, both she and Hui-bin held the same senior first rank of bin. Yet she had been summoned neither to a proper reception hall nor an outer pavilion, but into the palm-sized quarters of a mere court maid. From Suk-bin's perspective, it was a humiliating slight.
And she isn't alone.
Suk-bin was flanked by two young court maids. Their faces were immediately familiar to me—the very maids who had brandished a hoechori to intimidate me outside Bogyeongdang.
"As you can see, the chaos left me unable to receive you elsewhere. What brings Suk-bin to Chwiseondang?"
Hui-bin's demeanor was no less frigid. A cursory glance in Suk-bin's direction was all she offered, without so much as a proper greeting.
Even so, Suk-bin maintained exceptional control over her expression. With her usual graceful, composed air, she spoke.
"Hui-bin-jaga. I heard word of a fire. You must have been terribly frightened. Are you unharmed—"
"Pardon me, but I have no leisure for pleasantries."
"..."
"Speak your purpose. If inquiring after my well-being was your only errand, you may take your leave."
Hui-bin's voice was cold and overbearing.
The woman who gazed endlessly upon the King with eyes brimming with sorrow, longing, love, and hate; the woman who held me tight and wept without restraint—those were the deeply human facets of Hui-bin I had recently discovered. But whenever she faced Suk-bin or the royal concubines, she transformed into an entirely different person. A ruler. A commander. Staring Suk-bin down with an austere ruthlessness that granted her enemy not an inch of mercy, Hui-bin waited.
"Mm..." Suk-bin let out a faint sigh. "Then I shall come straight to the point. Around the time the fire broke out at Chwiseondang, maids from my quarters witnessed a suspicious scene. Thus, I brought them along."
"...A suspicious scene?" Hui-bin asked, eyes narrowing.
Suk-bin commanded her maids.
"Tell her."
"Yes, Jaga." One maid spoke first. "Wishing to watch Sun-rye's jwibulnori, Sam-wol and I happened to be passing near Chwiseondang. Just then, we saw a maid carrying embers heading toward the compound."
"Indeed. At first, we thought little of it... but that timing seemed to match precisely when the blaze started, so we reported it to Suk-bin-jaga."
"..."
Hui-bin looked half in doubt, half convinced. I felt the same way. Reading Suk-bin's hidden motives was never an easy task.
A maid carrying embers?
Even if Bogyeongdang's maids had witnessed something suspicious, why would Suk-bin go out of her way to inform Hui-bin?
Suk-bin never acts without a motive. There has to be a reason...
While Hui-bin held her tongue, Court Lady Han questioned the maids. "What maid did you see? Describe her features and appearance."
The maid answered as if she had rehearsed it. "She was a young maid. An aegi-nain around ten years old, with a slender, delicate build."
A chill silence gripped the room. A slender, ten-year-old child maid. That described none other than Yong-hee.
In that instant, realization struck me like a physical blow.
Suk-bin is cutting her tail off.
Coming to Chwiseondang in person; pushing her own maids forward despite enduring Hui-bin's blatant disrespect; dragging her spy, Yong-hee, into the open... The meaning behind it all was crystal clear.
Either Suk-bin found out that Yong-hee's cover was blown, or Yong-hee has outlived her usefulness.
Perhaps both.
And the person who discovered Yong-hee was a spy...
...was me.
Having pretended to sleep this whole time, I peered through slitted eyes at Suk-bin. Lying low on the bedding, I had a clear angle on her bowed face. She did not wear her customary benevolent expression. Her face was calculating, scheming, biding its time. A searing premonition seized me.
Could Suk-bin be the one who ordered Yong-hee to set the fire?
Every circumstantial sign pointed straight at her. The missing link that could explain Yong-hee's erratic hostility beyond mere malice—Suk-bin held every piece of it.
Presently, Suk-bin lifted her head, her face once more masked in sweet, gentle innocence.
"Have you spoken all that you witnessed without omitting a thing?"
"Yes. We have told everything, without mistake."
"Then wait outside."
"Yes, Suk-bin-jaga."
The maids stepped outside. Only then did the silent Hui-bin speak.
"So, a child maid from my compound set fire to Chwiseondang, you say."
"It may have been an accident rather than deliberate malice. Though that does not mean she can escape punishment entirely..."
"Whether she is punished is mine to decide. But before that," Hui-bin tilted her chin slightly, looking down her nose at Suk-bin. "Why should I believe a single word you say?"
...What a relief. Regardless of where the truth lay, Hui-bin was not someone easily swayed by Suk-bin's words.
"Ha... If you do not believe me, there is nothing more I can do. Hui-bin-jaga, I was reluctant to meddle in Chwiseondang's affairs as well."
"If you were so reluctant, why come here?"
"Because my palace maids happened to witness it. Setting a fire in the royal palace—even by accident—is a grave crime warranting severe punishment, is it not?" Suk-bin sighed softly, sounding exhausted. "From my perspective, this was done purely out of goodwill."
"...Goodwill? You, toward me?"
"Yes. If you truly wish to disbelieve me, pretend you never heard it. I shall command my maids to hold their tongues."
"..."
A subtle shift flickered across Hui-bin's expression.
No.
If Hui-bin took Suk-bin's words at face value, Yong-hee would be cast out of Chwiseondang, exiting the stage forever. And the fact that Suk-bin planted a spy would be buried along with her.
I could not let that happen. I had to find a way, any way...
Just then, a voice called from the doorway.
"Hui-bin-jaga. I have brought Yong-hee."
It was Court Lady Min. Overhearing the maids' accusations from outside, she had apparently fetched Yong-hee herself.
For that single instant, Suk-bin was visibly shaken. She evidently never expected to come face-to-face with Yong-hee right here. Stepping into the room, Yong-hee froze upon seeing Suk-bin. Yet Suk-bin averted her eyes, acting as if she saw nothing.
"Well then, please investigate the matter thoroughly. I have other duties, so I shall take my leave—"
No!
Suk-bin was trying to slip away. Thanks to Court Lady Min, miraculous fortune had arranged a three-way confrontation between Hui-bin, Suk-bin, and Yong-hee. And Suk-bin was just going to slink away? Absolutely not.
But... if I take this path, I'll be crossing a river of no return.
Forgetting entirely to pretend to sleep, I wrestled in agonizing conflict. In the meantime, Suk-bin turned to leave.
I can't let her walk out like this!
My mind was made up.
Springing upright from the bed, I called out boldly, stopping Suk-bin in her tracks.
"Suk-bin-jaga!"
"...?"
Suk-bin turned back to me.
Whew.
I took one deep, grounding breath.
"That thing you told me back then, to pass along to Yong-hee hamanim."
"..."
"My head was so spun around that I forgot to tell her."
A silence as brittle as thin ice filled the quarters. Then, I finally uttered the words that would irreversibly define Suk-bin and me as mortal enemies.
"You told me to deliver this message to Yong-hee hamanim, didn't you, Suk-bin-jaga?"
Staring straight into Suk-bin's eyes, I dropped the words:
"'The night of the full moon.'"