The next day.
The moment the morning court convened, the Duke’s gaze fixed on one person.
A man standing there perfectly unharmed.
It was none other than Yuk Yunseo.
‘What happened?’
The Duke’s heart sank.
The men he had sent were no ordinary assassins.
Every one of them had been carefully selected elites.
And yet Yuk Yunseo had appeared in court without so much as a scratch.
Yunseo swept his gaze over the faces of the Duke and the Chancellor, then gave a faint smirk.
“How strange.”
His voice was composed.
“The complexions of both the Duke and the Chancellor look particularly poor today. Has something happened?”
“It is nothing.”
Chancellor Jang Munyeon spoke first.
But even his face plainly showed his agitation.
Jang Munyeon had believed what the Duke had told him the night before.
Several assassins had already been sent, so Yuk Yunseo would surely have been dealt with.
Yet Yuk Yunseo, standing before him now, was perfectly fine.
Still, he could not back down.
He quickly steadied his expression and seized on another excuse to attack.
“Yuk Yunseo!”
Jang Munyeon’s voice rang out sharply.
“Were you not ordered by Her Majesty to depart and investigate the relief funds case?”
His eyes flashed fiercely.
“Then why have you suddenly returned to court? Surely you have not come back because you achieved nothing?”
Yunseo slowly shook his head.
“Haa… When did I ever say I had no way to resolve Her Majesty’s matter?”
Yunseo slowly looked around the court.
As he faced the sharp gazes pouring toward him, his eyes turned cold.
“Allow me to make this clear.”
His voice rang out firmly.
“If not for a certain circumstance, I would never have returned.”
Having finished speaking, Yunseo threw the bundle in his hand forward.
Thud—
The bundle fell before Jang Munyeon and the Duke.
“Here it is.”
Yunseo spoke calmly.
“The reason I returned. Open it and see for yourselves.”
The two of them hesitated for a moment.
But soon, if only to preserve face, they had no choice but to step forward.
As they cautiously untied the bundle, their faces stiffened in an instant.
Inside the bundle was an assassin’s head.
A murmur quickly spread among the court ministers.
The Duke and Jang Munyeon hurriedly tried to manage their expressions, but it was already too late.
A complicated tremor shook both their gazes.
There was someone quietly watching that crack form.
It was Wolhwa.
Seated high upon the throne, a faint smile brushed across her lips.
‘Truly…’
Wolhwa swallowed a laugh inwardly.
A man named Yunseo truly knew how to shake the board in the strangest ways.
In the end, she had no choice but to admit it.
This method was certainly effective.
For far too long, the Duke and Jang Munyeon had behaved as they pleased in the court.
They deserved a shock like this at least once.
“Your Majesty!”
Just then, Jang Munyeon turned with an aggrieved expression.
“This Yuk Yunseo has brought such a ghastly object into the very heart of the court.”
His voice rose.
“This is clearly an act that insults the dignity of the imperial family!”
At that, Wolhwa’s gaze slowly cooled.
“Then.”
Her voice was calm, but cold.
“Why do you think Yuk Yunseo brought this here?”
Wolhwa’s gaze fixed directly on Jang Munyeon.
“Has the Chancellor not considered its meaning even once?”
Her eyes flashed like a blade.
“Someone tried to kill an imperial inspector before my very eyes.”
Wolhwa’s voice resounded through the court.
“And yet you say I should simply let it pass?”
The moment they heard those words, the hearts of the Duke and Jang Munyeon seemed to stop at the same time.
‘Surely…’
The same thought crossed both their minds.
‘This matter…’
‘Did the Empress and Yuk Yunseo plan it together from the very beginning?’
At that moment, Yunseo stepped forward.
“Today… I thought I might have a conversation with all of you.”
He looked one by one at the ministers gathered in court.
“The position of imperial inspector is dangerous by nature. And yet there were people who tried to kill me before the investigation had even begun.”
Yunseo paused for a moment, then added in a low voice.
“So before dealing with them, I heard a few things.”
A strange ease flickered in his eyes.
“I thought I might share those things with all of you now. If this truth were buried… would that not be far too wasteful?”
At that instant—
Thud.
One man collapsed to the floor where he stood.
It was Jinseok, the Vice Minister of Revenue.
The gazes of the court ministers all turned toward him at once.
Wolhwa and Yunseo looked at each other for a moment.
No words were exchanged, but Wolhwa immediately understood his meaning.
“How strange.”
Wolhwa spoke quietly.
“Vice Minister of Revenue. Are you unwell?”
Her gaze fell on him coldly.
“Why have you suddenly knelt?”
Jinseok’s lips trembled violently.
He only opened and closed his mouth, as though he could not even think of what to say.
“Your Majesty.”
The Duke hurriedly stepped forward.
He had to cut this off before the situation grew any larger.
He raised a hand and said,
“It seems the Vice Minister of Revenue is not feeling well. He appears to have had a brief lapse.”
The Duke’s gaze turned to Jinseok.
“I will have him withdraw and rest for now.”
“Wait a moment.”
When Yunseo stepped forward and blocked the way, the Duke glared at him with displeasure.
But Yunseo paid him no mind and continued speaking.
“If he is unwell, then all the more reason he should receive treatment here, should he not?”
His eyes gleamed sharply.
“There are imperial physicians in the palace. Is there any need to go outside and seek a common physician?”
Yunseo deliberately continued in a slow tone.
“Surely… you do not think common physicians are superior to the palace’s imperial physicians?”
A peculiar tension settled over the court.
Yunseo’s gaze deepened.
“If that is the case, then it is a problem. The imperial physicians are the ones responsible for Her Majesty’s life. If such people do not even possess proper skill…”
Yunseo lightly shrugged.
“Would that not be a deception of the imperial command itself?”
In truth, Yunseo already knew.
He knew that a considerable number of the palace’s imperial physicians were under the influence of the Duke and Jang Munyeon.
He also knew that if the slightest abnormality appeared in the Empress’s condition, the news would flow straight to those two.
That was why he was deliberately prodding them here and now.
To see just how far they would react.
“Hah.”
Jang Munyeon snorted.
“Does the imperial inspector now intend to manage even the skill of the palace physicians?”
His eyes narrowed mockingly.
“If you go that far, do you intend to personally evaluate every office in the court as well?”
“I have no such intention.”
Yunseo calmly shook his head.
“I am merely a minor imperial inspector. I have no intention of involving myself in matters like that. However…”
His gaze aimed precisely at Jinseok.
“Should we not at least make clear what has happened right before our eyes?”
The court grew so silent that not even breathing could be heard.
“Judging by the Vice Minister of Revenue’s condition, this does not look like a simple fever.”
The corner of Yunseo’s mouth twisted slightly.
“To my eyes… he looks rather like a thief startled by his own guilty conscience.”
In that instant, the Duke’s lips pressed tightly together.
A faint trace of blood spread between his clenched teeth.
The Duke staggered one step backward.
His eyes held killing intent he no longer even seemed to care to hide.
“Yuk Yunseo. Those words just now… do they mean this Duke is deliberately shielding the Vice Minister of Revenue? Or… are you suspecting something else entirely?”
“Did I say that?”
Yunseo asked back as if nothing were wrong.
Then he turned his head and looked at Wolhwa seated upon the throne.
“Her Majesty saw it as well.”
Yunseo’s voice was peaceful.
“I merely spoke of the situation before my eyes. Yet it seems the Duke is quite displeased with my judgment.”
Wolhwa’s eyes narrowed slightly, then soon relaxed again.
“Yuk Yunseo.”
She gave Yunseo a slight look.
“Do not get too far ahead of yourself. The Duke is a senior minister of the court. His achievements are not few.”
Her words were clearly gentle, but there was something subtle about them.
“To speak so conclusively, as you are now, is somewhat excessive.”
Wolhwa paused for a moment, then spoke again.
“Since the Vice Minister of Revenue is unwell, let him receive treatment first.”
Her gaze turned toward Jinseok.
“Take him to the side hall and have an imperial physician examine him. If anything happens, report to me at once. I am by no means a stingy ruler.”
Wolhwa’s voice continued calmly.
“If a court minister is ill, then naturally he should receive proper treatment, should he not?”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
At that moment, Jinseok hurriedly raised himself.
His legs were visibly trembling.
“I am all right… This subject is all right. It is merely… a cold.”
“Is that so?”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Wolhwa’s lips.
“If it is a cold, then there is all the less need to worry.”
Soon, her gaze sank coldly.
“But if it is some other illness… hiding it will not make it any better.”
Wolhwa raised her hand.
“Have an imperial physician examine him.”
She added with a sneer,
“Would that not be better than pointlessly hiding an illness until it becomes something worse?”
The order immediately fell.
“Take the Vice Minister of Revenue to the side hall.”
Jinseok’s face turned deathly pale.
The Duke watched this while calculating inwardly.
‘If this goes wrong…’
His eyes darkened.
‘I must get rid of this fool first.’
Just then, Yunseo’s voice rang out again.
“Ah.”
A smile lingered around his mouth.
“The Duke’s complexion does not look very good either.”
Yunseo’s eyes gleamed playfully.
“Could the Duke be unwell somewhere too?”
He added with feigned innocence,
“I think it would be all right for you to stand in line behind the Vice Minister of Revenue and receive an examination as well.”
“Yuk Yunseo!”
The Duke finally exploded.
His face flushed crimson.
“Watch your mouth!”
The Duke’s voice thundered through the court.
“I have nothing to be ashamed of. Why should I go to have an illness examined?”