Chapter 25: The Hidden Cart

“The space I was trapped in was narrow and suffocating, so I flailed my arms and legs, but nothing moved.

I kept struggling.

At some point, the flesh tore, and I could see the sky.

I pushed the dead woman aside and came out.”

“…”

The wind had seemed especially cold because goosebumps had risen all over my body.

The demon’s words were difficult to understand, but when I tried to see things from the perspective of a child inside the womb, they began to make sense.

He was saying that he had literally torn through the womb by flailing his limbs and crawled out.

But before I could accept the story…

I was horrified.

It was grotesque and cruel.

It was even revolting, but he was standing right in front of me, so I endured it.

Just as the demon had calmly accepted that I had been born with my umbilical cord wrapped around me, I tried not to let him see my unease and asked:

“Can that really tear?”

“It did.”

What strength could a newborn baby possibly have?

No, more than that—did he remember the moment he was born?

Did he have memories from inside the womb?

Was that even possible for a person?

And if his mother had died, then what about his father?

As I stood there stunned, the demon stretched out an arm and blocked my path.

“Someone is coming.”

He indicated the corner ahead with a tilt of his chin.

I raised my bow in response.

The bow that had accompanied me through so many hardships settled naturally into my palm.

The black bow disappeared into the darkness, leaving only its thin string reflecting moonlight with a faint blue gleam.

Sure enough, footsteps approached.

The person did not seem to be trying to hide their presence, but their hurried pace made them suspicious, as though they were being chased.

I drew the bowstring and turned the corner with my bow aimed forward.

A dark figure jumped in surprise and fell backward.

“Good heavens!”

I aimed my bow at the person who had fallen dramatically onto his backside.

From the direction of my drawn arrow came an extravagantly groomed handsome man, openly groaning in pain.

The moment I heard the mournful wailing, complete with rhythm and melody, I knew exactly who it was.

“Good heavens, good heavens, I’m dying. A strategist attacking people? Strategist, I nearly went to the next world. What are you doing with a bow in the middle of the night? Can you even see the target?”

“Regrettably, at this distance, I can see the head of the household quite clearly.”

My two fingers remained hooked around the drawn bowstring.

I had spent enough years on battlefields that I did not hesitate when aiming at a target.

My arrow was fixed directly between Hwangbo Min’s brows without the slightest tremor.

Only then did Hwangbo Min casually raise a hand to cover his forehead.

Though his clothes were black, his fluttering sleeves and carefully decorated hair did not suit someone moving in secret.

As expected, he spoke as casually as if he had merely come out for a stroll.

“That is exactly what I mean. Put it away now. That arrowhead is so frightening that I fear it will appear in my dreams. It would be an honor to die by the hand of a beauty like you, but is it not too soon to leave such a fine world?”

“If that is what you wish, I can turn this fine world into one filled with regrets.”

Hwangbo Min lay there defenseless, holding only a wax-sealed flask protectively in his arms.

He was not armed, so I lowered my bow.

The moment I did, Hwangbo Min stretched out a hand and asked to be helped up.

It was absurd, but if I did not take his hand, he would complain about it endlessly.

The thought was already exhausting, so I took his hand and pulled him up.

After brushing off his clothes, Hwangbo Min asked the question I had meant to ask.

“What are you two doing in the imperial palace at such a late hour?”

“What is the Hwangbo family head doing in the imperial palace at such a late hour?”

Apparently unwilling to answer, Hwangbo Min pretended not to hear.

“Ha ha. The moon is very bright, is it not, General Jeok? Ah, yes. Since meeting like this is fate, why do we not go somewhere pleasant and wet our throats? I heard a new courtesan arrived at Hwagiru.”

“I asked what you are doing here.”

“What is that?”

The three of us were each saying different things.

But Hwangbo Min reacted to the demon’s words and lifted the wax-sealed flask, his eyes shining.

“As expected, General Jeok has discerning eyes. This is the rare and precious Hwaju wine. You have heard of it, have you not? The legendary liquor said to be brewed by monkeys.”

“Why is something so precious in your hands? It should have been presented to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“My friend, it is all thanks to His Majesty’s grace. I am merely trying to ease His Majesty’s concern that his loyal servants might become ill from working day and night for the nation. I am wisely enjoying it in advance to prevent such illness.”

His grand speech made it obvious that he had sneaked into the palace to steal it.

When I silently reproached him, Hwangbo Min gave an embarrassed cough and changed the subject.

“Where are you two going at this late hour?”

“We are on patrol. We will overlook the Hwaju, so please leave the palace first, Family Head.”

“What happened to all the soldiers? And why are you holding a bow for once?”

I ignored Hwangbo Min’s sly probing and continued on my way.

He followed along closely.

“Why don’t we stop somewhere and have a drink? What do you think, General Jeok? You have never tried Hwaju either, have you?”

“Give it to me.”

“My friend, have some conscience. I brought it, so why are you taking the entire bottle? Do you know how much gold I spent to smuggle this out? Still, I will be generous. One sip each. Equal amounts, understood?”

Though he was too afraid of the demon to refuse him, Hwangbo Min showed no sign of backing down.

Instead, his eyes shone like a child who had discovered an entertaining toy.

It seemed he intended to follow us all night.

If he was going to follow, he should at least do so quietly.

I placed my index finger against my lips.

Hwangbo Min clenched his fist firmly and nodded with great enthusiasm.

What a cheerful man with no sense of fear.

At last, he quieted down, and we continued walking.

Then the demon suddenly stopped.

His five senses were far sharper than an ordinary person’s, so I also held my breath and looked around.

The imperial palace was, as usual, submerged in darkness.

There was nothing unusual about the silent landscape.

Then I heard it.

A faint rustling sound, as if someone had stepped on a branch somewhere.

“Did you not hear something?”

“A sound? What sound? General Jeok, did you hear it? You listen—ah!”

Flap!

After a loud disturbance of shaking leaves, a bird flew into the night sky.

It seemed a bird out hunting at night had taken flight and struck the branches heavily with its wings.

But Hwangbo Min, whose courage was the size of a bean, had already been startled.

“General Jeok, if something happens, you must protect me first. Strategist, what are you doing? Hurry and hide behind me.”

I ignored Hwangbo Min, who was clinging tightly behind the demon and making a fuss while calling for me.

I kept walking.

But Hwangbo Min did not know how to give up.

“Strategist! Strategist! How can you be so cold?”

His endless fussing and exaggeration made my nerves tighten.

Could that man be an advance agent for the rebels?

Was he trying to stop us from catching rebels who had infiltrated the imperial palace?

As I recalled the old saying that the enemy was within, the demon stopped the hand I was raising to draw my bow.

“Stay still.”

He had allowed me to aim at Hwangbo Min, but this time he stopped me and stared ahead.

The side of his face was unusual.

The amusement had drained from his expression, leaving something that made people uneasy like the calm before a storm.

Even Hwangbo Min sensed it and fell silent.

Sweat gathered on the hand holding the bowstring.

After waiting for some time, a cart emerged from the darkness.

Perhaps it had caught on a stone, because it soon rattled and stopped.

The suspicious men pulling it from the front and back let go of the cart to inspect the road.

From the cart, which tilted backward under its weight, a long black shape slowly slid down.

The thing half-hanging from the end of the cart, tightly wrapped in a straw mat, was clearly a person.

But it was being transported in a cart through the imperial palace late at night.

There was a high chance that the person was not alive.

Sure enough, the two suspicious men lifted the rolled mat as though it were cargo and placed it back on the cart.

“…”

I exchanged a look with the demon.

He nodded, and we suppressed our presence as we followed the cart.

The cart was not heading toward the court hall as I expected.

It was moving in an entirely different direction.

I traced the palace layout, which I could now picture even with my eyes closed, and guessed where it was headed.

Hwangbo Min, following closely behind me in silence, seemed to reach the same conclusion and muttered:

“It is heading toward Wolseong Palace.”

Wolseong Palace.

It was where the fifth prince, Hyeopbyeol, resided.

Then the thing those suspicious men were carrying in the cart…

It must be a substitute they intended to leave in Hyeopbyeol’s place.

My racing thoughts turned cold.

I had guessed the men’s purpose and confirmed the presence of rebels before my eyes.

Whether they planned to place Hyeopbyeol on the throne as a puppet emperor or whether Hyeopbyeol himself was leading the rebellion, he was connected to it either way.

Should I simply let them take Hyeopbyeol away?

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