Chapter 8: . sae -an, a concubine (3)

Intermediate Consort Candidate, Ryuhong (柳紅).

As her name, resembling a red willow, suggested, the woman with a seductive figure… was considerably flustered by the sudden appearance of a guest at her residence.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Seoryeong, a Shamaness from Cheongsin.”

Smiling brightly. The woman who had come to her residence with a pleasant smile, her unusual white hair, coral-like yellow horns growing from her head, and… the glistening blue scales on her hands.

“I heard an interesting rumor about Lady Ryuhong, and so I came to see you.”

After sipping the tea, offered by one of her personal maids with trembling hands, without any caution, she said that.

“That you are aiming for a chance to become a High-ranking Consort Candidate.”

Ryuhong flinched. The moment Ryuhong’s hand paused and trembled, Seoryeong’s eyes gleamed with a strange light.

“How rude. To dare to visit my residence without permission, merely because you’ve received a little attention from His Majesty.”

Ryuhong did not avoid Seoryeong’s terrifying, vertically slit golden eyes, but met them head-on and snapped.

“Go back. I have nothing to say to a monster like you.”

“That’s harsh. Calling me a monster to my face. I am still a person, you know?”

It was unpleasant. Something not human was speaking human words and looking at her. And what on earth was that on her chest? The front of her robe was bulging as if it would burst; truly, even her chest wasn’t human.

“…Excuse me, you’ve been staring at my chest for a while.”

“Ah.”

Ryuhong, seeing Seoryeong step back and cover her chest with a wide sleeve as if the gaze was stinging, realized belatedly that she had been staring at her chest as if mesmerized, and then cleared her throat several times.

“…So, what exactly is your business here?”

“I told you. I came because it seems Lady Ryuhong wishes to become a High-ranking Consort Candidate.”

“So, how would someone like you know that…?”

“At least, His Majesty remembered my name, didn’t he?”

Seoryeong’s voice, as she smiled idly with cold, sunken eyes as if implying that Ryuhong’s name wouldn’t even be remembered… made Ryuhong want to glare and retort, but.

“Wow, you do have some conscience.”

As Seoryeong continued, Ryuhong was certain that her own name hadn’t left even a single trace in the Emperor’s mind… so she had to twist her face in a grimace and bite her lip.

“You… do you even know who I am…!”

“Hmm. His Majesty’s plaything for a night?”

“Urgh…!”

Ryuhong had to barely suppress the urge to rip apart Seoryeong’s constantly smiling mouth in front of her.

Even though she was the daughter of a famous merchant from Ran… and no matter how high a consort candidate she was, she couldn’t arbitrarily lay a hand on Seoryeong, who was the Emperor’s possession.

“I can help you.”

Ryuhong, who had taken a step back as if fleeing from Seoryeong, who had met her gaze with a smirk.

“…How do you intend to help?”

Only then did she seem willing to listen to Seoryeong, sitting opposite her with a discomforted expression.

“What else could I do? Perhaps subtly mention you when I meet His Majesty.”

The words were simple, but only a very limited number of people could actually act on them. And Ryuhong was not so foolish as to not know that among those limited few… the Shamaness Seoryeong, standing before her, was one of them.

“…Alright. What do you want?”

With Seoryeong having been in the Inner Palace for almost a month now, and recalling that the Emperor was scheduled to visit the Inner Palace soon… Ryuhong looked at Seoryeong with eyes faintly tinged with red and spoke.

“I heard you are the daughter of a famous merchant family.”

“You are well-informed.”

“In that case, I was hoping you could procure a few items for me…”

At Ryuhong’s words, Seoryeong… spoke the words meant to test her one last time.

“What I need are… Dark Shadow Flower, Blue Bloodwood, and Stone Illumination Herb. These three.”

“Those are…!”

At Seoryeong’s voice, as she named the three items… or rather, at the word ‘Dark Shadow Flower’. Ryuhong, for just a moment, showed a startled expression, then rose from her seat in apparent confusion.

“Those are all deadly poisons…!”

Soon, she spoke in a small voice, asking how such sinister items could be brought into the Inner Palace.

“You know more than I expected? Usually, people wouldn’t even know what those are.”

“Hmph…! Isn’t that natural for the daughter of a merchant family?”

“So, can you get them? Or not?”

Seoryeong looked at Ryuhong’s reaction with a strange gaze and pressed her again.

“…Let’s pretend I didn’t hear this conversation. While I do wish to become a High-ranking Consort Candidate, I’m not desperate enough to stake my family’s fortune on it.”

At Ryuhong’s pale, refusing expression, saying that if she were caught bringing poison into the imperial palace, her entire clan would suffer.

“It can’t be helped then. I’ll take my leave.”

Seoryeong also stood up without hesitation, turned her back, and simply left Ryuhong’s residence.

“……”

After Seoryeong left… in her silent room.

“…Heukmu.”

Ryuhong quietly called someone’s name.

“You called, Young Lady.”

Then, from the empty air, a shadow slowly… took shape, transforming into a woman wearing a black mask.

“Can you kill that one?”

“If you only command it.”

At the voice of the woman—Heukmu—who bowed, saying she would obey any command if it was her master’s will.

“However, are you sure, Young Lady? The Emperor’s pet… Moreover, you have already met her. Unnecessary suspicion will fall upon you…”

“I’ve thought of something for that, so it’s fine. Prepare a decoy and leave traces of sorcery. Since His Majesty’s cherished pet died, shouldn’t there be a culprit who killed her? Of course… I will coincidentally discover that culprit.”

“Understood.”

Ryuhong, with eyes full of murderous intent… recalling Seoryeong, who had just mocked her and left, spoke.

“A mere pet… daring to mock me… Fine. As you wish, I’ll use you to catch His Majesty’s eye.”

****

A moment later.

“Whew… I’m exhausted…”

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, thank you, Jina.”

In her own residence—the garden pavilion prepared for her—Seoryeong, who was drinking the cold water Jina had brought.

“So, how was it?”

“It’s definite. It was her. She reacted to the mention of Dark Shadow Flower.”

At Jina’s question, she recalled the woman she had just met—Intermediate Consort Candidate, Ryuhong—and spoke.

“She must have tried to poison one of the High-ranking Consort Candidates.”

Coincidentally, one of the High-ranking Consort Candidates—a candidate named Yerim—had been in grave danger recently, around the time Hwaryeon went missing.

She had heard that the symptoms the consort candidate experienced at the time were extreme pain, making it impossible to even move. Fortunately, a physician arrived in time to take action, so she didn’t die, but the symptoms were the same as Hwaryeon’s cause of death, which Seoryeong had suspected.

“She must have used Hwaryeon to administer the poison. Though I don’t know if that child knew the truth.”

“…So, once she served her purpose, she was killed to destroy evidence, I presume.”

“Probably.”

At Seoryeong’s frustrated expression as she massaged her forehead, Jina… looked at her with surprised eyes and spoke.

“That’s unexpected.”

“Huh? What is?”

“That the Shamaness would be capable of such things.”

Seoryeong rarely revealed her true appearance outside. She didn’t want anyone to see her unusual body. She would even bundle herself up completely, as if to hide her body, when occasionally going to the market, so what more needed to be said?

Yet, Seoryeong, though she hadn’t revealed her tail, had met someone with her eyes, horns, and hand scales completely exposed. Moreover, she had even extracted information.

Honestly, Jina couldn’t help but be surprised. The Seoryeong she had known until now was merely an exorcist shamaness who fluttered about according to the shrine’s commands.

“…There was no need for such things in Cheongsin, was there?”

At Jina’s reaction, Seoryeong scratched her head awkwardly, then.

“Anyway, what’s important now is what comes next.”

She said that since she had found out the cause of Hwaryeon’s death and the culprit, the future was important… and began to look at Jina, who was standing beside her, with a subtle gaze.

“Have you thought of something?”

“Hmm… I have, but it’s not something to talk about right now… For now, I think I’ll just act as usual.”

Perhaps Seoryeong’s demeanor was puzzling. Jina, tilting her head with a slightly curious expression.

“…If you need anything, please tell me.”

“Yes. I will.”

After that, Jina had to sigh deeply, watching Seoryeong naturally pull a long pipe from her sleeve.

“Do you really have to smoke that?”

“It feels like I can’t live without it.”

“It smells.”

“No, I’m not smoking cigarettes. It’s too much, really, to complain about me burning some medicinal herbs. I told you it’s good for the body!”

“…Yes, yes.”

Although Seoryeong claimed that once accustomed, it was far more fragrant than cigarettes and allowed one to absorb the refreshing energy of the herbs… from another person’s perspective, it was not much different from a terribly strong cigarette.

“Call me when you’re done smoking. I’ll go look around for a bit.”

Jina watched Seoryeong, who was skillfully taking out herbs, crushing them, and pressing them into the pipe, with a look of exasperation for a moment… then had to flee out of the garden as if escaping the pungent herbal smell that would soon emanate.

“No, but it really is good for you…”

Even as she said that, Seoryeong, who seemed to have no intention of putting away her pipe, tapped the blue scales on her hand with a small iron rod she had taken from her sleeve.

Sizzle…!

“Tsk… It would be better if we smoked together…”

Just, with a hint of regret… her mouth full of the refreshing yet bitter herbal scent.

Phew…

Quietly… looking at the blue sky, as if mourning someone.

–Ah—there! What are you doing right now! Shamaness!

She simply recalled a child who had once approached her, sitting on the pavilion railing just like now, smoking her pipe.