Why Has It Come to This? (3)
After that, two more came to see me, making a total of four who had made requests.
If I honored their commissions, there wouldn't be a single traitor left alive, so I had no intention of dragging my feet on the execution.
They needed to be punished by the Emperor's hand, not mine or my guards'.
Of course, I never planned to fulfill their requests in the first place.
They had handed over something as a token of trust when commissioning me to eliminate others.
The locations where they had hidden the wealth they had amassed.
Once this was all over, they probably planned to retrieve it.
But I had no intention of letting that happen.
That wealth wasn't theirs anyway. Nor was it mine, for that matter.
"Jin Yu Warrior. Yeo Eung-am Warrior."
"Yes."
"I have a task for you. Jin Yu Warrior, you heard about the places where they've stashed their wealth, right?"
"Yes. I heard clearly."
"Strip every last bit of it from those spots."
"Is that... allowed?"
"Yes."
I grinned and said,
"Of course it is. That's wealth squeezed from the blood and sweat of Chunggyeong Castle's residents. Shouldn't it be returned to them?"
"A most righteous point, but how exactly do we go about diverting it...?"
Fair enough—the sums were enormous.
At that, I pulled a gold bell from my sleeve and held it out.
"Go with Goldie. She'll help you haul the loot."
Then I turned to Goldie and asked,
"Do a good job, and I'll give you a gold coin as a bonus."
Of course, it'd come from my own pocket, not the diverted funds.
Goldie's eyes sparkled at my words, and she wagged her tail.
Did she love money that much?
As I thought that, I felt a bit sheepish. I was no different. Ahem.
A few days passed like that.
In the meantime, the Gold Guard daehyeops and my bodyguard warriors began sowing distrust among the traitors toward the others, at my command.
Their trust was already in tatters, so it barely needed any nudge, but that only amplified the effect.
Every day, there were one or two shouting matches. The rift between them was deepening by the hour.
Gongho let out a deep sigh.
"Ah, damn... what the hell is this nonsense?"
Looking utterly drained, he trudged back to his new quarters.
Mediating the fights among the traitors who had started this venture with him was his job.
At some point, his once-flawless plan had started unraveling.
When did it begin?
Back in his room, he began reviewing the entire affair.
And soon, he pinpointed when things had gone wrong.
Eun Seo-ho, the branch leader. Was it from the moment he arrived here?
But nothing suspicious had shown up about him, which only frustrated Gongho more.
If there had been something dubious, he could have interrogated or investigated on that pretext.
Then something odd caught his eye.
Huh? Why is that open?
One of the two boxes containing the funds Eun Seo-ho had provided was ajar.
Perhaps it hadn't been closed properly in haste.
I definitely closed it tight.
Tilting his head, he opened the box—and jumped in shock.
Half of what should have been inside was gone.
He rushed out and shouted for someone.
"Wh-who entered my room?!"
"Pardon?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm asking if anyone came into my room today!"
"Oh, come to think of it... Baekseon stopped by. He waited inside for you but left when you didn't show."
Baekseon was the culprit, no doubt.
That damned eunuch!
He ordered his warriors,
"Find that bastard Baekseon and drag him here right now!"
"Yes, sir!"
But moments later, the warriors returned with absurd news.
"Uh... Baekseon left through the castle gate a little while ago."
Baekseon opened his eyes.
He realized his hands were bound, and he was hanging suspended in midair.
Where am I?
A blindfold kept everything pitch black.
All he could tell was the damp air reeked of blood, and faint groans echoed now and then.
Tension knotted his throat as he swallowed hard.
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps approached, and his blindfold was removed.
"...!"
He couldn't help but be stunned.
The one who had unmasked him was the last person he expected.
Eun Seo-ho.
"Wondering why I'm here, my lord?"
He tried to demand what this was about, but no sound came out.
"I've sealed your mute acupoint, so no need to strain your voice."
"......"
"Around now, someone in Chunggyeong Castle is bound to betray another again, so I had you brought here."
He wanted to ask what that meant. As if reading his mind, a masked figure behind Eun Seo-ho spoke.
"It means by now, Chunggyeong Castle is in chaos, thinking you stole the funds and fled."
With that, the man removed his mask.
"...!"
Baekseon's eyes bulged in horror.
It was Kwonjik, a fairly high-ranking Gold Guard officer.
"And over there, a familiar face too."
Baekseon turned to where he pointed. There hung Jindaechol—the one who had supposedly fled with the prince—suspended just like him.
Only then did Baekseon grasp the full picture, more or less.
Eun Seo-ho hadn't approached to provide funds.
Eun Seo-ho smiled.
"Must be tiring hanging there. Bear with it a bit longer. The Gold Guard will arrive soon, and we'll let you down then."
Baekseon squeezed his eyes shut.
The future awaiting him was all too vivid.
But Eun Seo-ho wasn't done.
"Oh, and thanks for telling me where you stashed the wealth. Quite the haul."
"...!"
"I'll put it to good use somewhere meaningful."
At those words, Baekseon lost all reason.
No, don't!
As he thrashed, Kwonjik's fist slammed into his gut.
"Guhk!"
I clicked my tongue at Baekseon, dangling unconscious from the ceiling.
Wealth that would be meaningless once he was dead, yet his greed knew no bounds.
The simple reason I kidnapped Baekseon and framed him as a traitor? To sever the bond between the traitors and Gongho.
Seeing Gongho mediate their squabbles had confirmed some trust lingered among them.
Even a shred of trust meant they might resist when the Gold Guard came to purge them.
That could lead to casualties.
My goal was to resolve this cleanly, without a single loss of life.
To that end, I'd secretly sent Goldie to move the money from that box to my secret storage.
Then Jin Yeong Daehyeop said to me,
"I've resolved once more never to make an enemy of you."
"Pardon?"
"Your schemes are truly terrifying."
Was that... a compliment?
"There's good reason His Majesty warned me about you."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. Just talking to myself."
What on earth had the Emperor said about me...? Anyway, now came the crucial part.
The Gold Guard would soon assemble nearby, and they needed to breach this place.
Guiding them was the job of the Gold Guard daehyeops who'd come with me.
"Then head out stealthily and link up with the other Gold Guard and Gold Guard forces."
"Understood."
After issuing the orders, I returned to my room.
"...?"
But the sight before me was so ridiculous I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hey! You little punk!"
"Kui! Kui!"
"Hah! Huh! If I catch you, you're done for!"
"Kui?"
Palgap and Goldie, playfully tussling.
"Goldie."
"Kui!"
At my call, Goldie kicked off Palgap's face with her hind legs and shot toward me, landing lightly on my palm.
"Want to go to Lady Seo-hyang?"
It was the day to send Goldie to her.
"Kui!"
She nodded eagerly and zipped out the window like an arrow.
I watched her go fondly, then turned to Palgap.
"So, what did you do to rile her up this time?"
"Rile her up? I'm innocent! I just came for the teapot, and she charged at me."
"You two are always picking fights with each other, huh?"
To me, they were a match made in heaven. Never a dull moment.
.
.
.
The next day, Goldie returned, and I untied the letter from her tail.
The opening was the usual pleasantries and well-wishes.
And at the end, a brief piece of advice.
[Beware the crows.]
Huh? Crows?
Seeing that brought to mind the black bird that had carried poison-laced tea to kill Lady Seo-hyang—or rather, Lady Dongjaryeong—and the letter I'd sent to the Seowoon faction about it. Coincidence?
I folded the letter, murmuring to myself.
No need to worry. Fortunately, I have the perfect counter.
I pulled a silver coin from my pouch and held it out to Goldie.
"Here, Goldie. Eat this and do one more job for me."
"Kui?"
"Want to catch some suspicious crows and give 'em a beating?"
Yukho belonged to the Gold Guard.
Growing bored with the endless routine, some people had approached him.
They gave him the name Yukho along with a well-trained crow.
What they wanted was simple.
Relay Gold Guard intelligence via the crow.
So he did, using the bird to pass on information.
If caught, it'd mean the death penalty—but as long as he wasn't, it was fine.
The pay was handsome, and his dull days had turned thrilling.
Then one day,
His unit received orders to mobilize.
Soon after, instructions came to him specifically.
Fly the crow to Chunggyeong Castle with updates.
To do that, he'd need to get fairly close before releasing it.
When he judged the distance right, he sent the crow toward the castle.
But... oddly, it never returned.
Having grown attached, Yukho started worrying.
"Hey! They're calling you from the barracks."
"Pardon?"
Puzzled, he headed to the barracks.
They'd borrowed a civilian house to avoid notice, but officially, it was a barracks.
He stepped inside.
"You called for me?"
Standing at crisp attention, something thudded at his feet.
Thump.
His eyes widened.
A crow with colored thread tied to its leg.
The one he'd sent to Chunggyeong Castle.
Sopping wet with some foul liquid, passed out cold. Yukho swallowed hard.
"Leaking military secrets is capital punishment. Got any excuses?"
"I-I don't know anything about this!"
"That's your excuse? Then why are your eyes darting around?"
Just then, the crow stirred, fluttered up, and perched on Yukho's shoulder.
His superior smirked.
"Crows are smart birds. They never land on a stranger's shoulder."
"......"
The superior showed him a document on the desk.
"Now, let's have a nice, long chat about who you were sending this to."
"Sp-spare me! I'll tell you everything!"
Yukho, who had craved excitement in his boring life, regretted his choice.
It had gotten too exciting.
I stroked Goldie atop the desk with my finger.
"Good girl."
Following Lady Seo-hyang's advice, I'd sent Goldie, and she'd more than earned her silver.
She'd snatched a crow mid-flight from the village side right in her mouth.
A letter was tied to the crow's leg.
Examining it, I broke into a cold sweat.
If this had gone through normally, it would've spelled disaster.
This was likely headed to Gongho with high probability.
He would've fled.
No reason for him to stick around and fight with them.
Ah, so that's it!
Only then did I grasp the true meaning of her advice to check the shoes.
In other words, stop his escape.
Meaning I'd regret it big-time if he got away.
If I hadn't stolen his flight-enabling shoes, he'd have bolted in them for sure.
Then the Murim Alliance would've learned of my movements...
My back grew slick with cold sweat unbidden.
If the Murim Alliance found out about this, they'd suspect all my past actions too.
I couldn't afford for them to peg me as their enemy yet.
I owe Lady Seo-hyang big time.
.
.
.
Past midnight, into the wee hours as the date changed.
I led my bodyguards to the castle gate.
Gatekeepers and watchtower guards stood vigilant.
More precisely, the martial artists Gongho had brought.
The original soldiers guarding the castle had all been disarmed and thrown into the prison.
Probably visible via the official passage I'd snuck in through secretly.
That meant the prince had been held deep in the prison.
Anyway, it was time.
I checked the night sky for the hour, then sent sound-transmission orders to my guards.
They moved stealthily to their assigned spots, and on my signal, slit the throats of the sentries.
Then I opened the main gate.
Creeeak.
Gold Guard troops poured in swiftly through the open gate.
Leading the vanguard was Jin Yeong Daehyeop.
With martial artists involved, not just Gold Guard but Gold Guard warriors had come too.
"You've had a rough go."
"Not over yet. Save the praise for later."
"Plenty later, then."
Exchanging greetings, we headed with my guards toward the castle lord's residence.
We had to catch Gongho before he caught on and fled.
A few broken legs ought to do it.