“That means…”
The stiffness in Wolhwa’s brow slowly eased.
“You were worried for Our safety.”
The corners of her mouth had risen too clearly to hide.
Yunseo immediately looked away and said, as if tossing the words out,
“If they had meant to harm you.”
He deliberately stopped, then opened his mouth again.
“The court would have done nothing.”
What had happened in court today seemed, on the surface, like a simple expression of opinions.
But the truth was different.
The two old ministers had joined hands and were setting the stage to drive the Empress into the role of a “criminal.”
The court never looked at the process, only the result.
If she strongly punished someone the moment she arrived in Geumneung, every arrow would turn toward the Empress in that instant.
Her justification would vanish, and only the brand of a tyrant would remain.
Wolhwa’s gaze slowly sank.
“…We saw too narrowly.”
Yunseo said nothing.
He merely lowered his eyes.
“Yuk Yunseo.”
Wolhwa spoke again.
“We merely… lacked certainty.”
Yunseo lightly raised a hand, cutting off her words.
“You are already doing more than well enough.”
His voice was calm and courteous.
“However—”
His eyes deepened.
“You have simply not yet seen enough of… how vile people can become.”
The moment those words fell, Wolhwa glared at him.
“Yuk Yunseo. Are you underestimating Us?”
Yunseo smiled faintly.
It was a meaningful smile.
“Then would you like to confirm it for yourself?”
Wolhwa’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
“Let us go out quietly.”
His voice sank low.
“Conceal your identity so no one knows, and see it for yourself. What face this nation wears now.”
After a brief silence, the corners of Wolhwa’s mouth rose softly.
“Very well.”
Her eyes had completely changed.
“We shall confirm it with Our own eyes. Whether your words are right or wrong.”
Yunseo bowed his head.
“I shall obey your command.”
That night.
The two of them quietly slipped out of the palace.
And—
Before even that, the news had already spread.
The Duke’s eyes changed subtly.
Deep within them, something beastlike flashed.
“……So she went out after all.”
The corner of his mouth twisted.
“Good.”
The Duke lifted his head.
“There is no need to stop her now.”
Jang Munyeon silently looked at him.
“Do you truly… intend to go all the way?”
A brief silence passed.
And then—
The Duke suddenly let out a laugh.
It was a warmthless laugh, with only the corners of his mouth twisting.
“You want me to back down after coming this far?”
His gaze had gone completely cold, leaving only killing intent.
“They killed my man. Then they must pay the price.”
Jang Munyeon’s gaze wavered.
Anxiety was spreading in the depths of his eyes.
“That may be something you can never undo.”
The Duke tilted his head.
“If I undo it, what remains?”
As if he had no intention of hearing another word from Jang Munyeon, he cut him off firmly.
“I would rather see it through to the end.”
When the Duke raised his hand, a servant immediately entered.
“Take care of it.”
His tone was far too calm for words discussing human lives.
“Leave no trace.”
The Duke paused for a moment.
Then, as if engraving the decision once more, he spoke again.
“Do not let either of them return alive.”
The servant bowed deeply.
“I shall obey.”
The door closed.
Jang Munyeon could not say a word.
The Duke turned his gaze.
“What do you intend to do about Wangho?”
Jang Munyeon’s mouth stiffened.
He knew he had to speak, but no sound came out.
In the end, he remained silent.
The Duke let out a derisive laugh.
“Of course. In the end, all humans are the same.”
He asked no further.
Because he already knew the answer.
A narrow alley.
Wolhwa slowly swept her gaze over the surroundings.
It was strangely ordinary.
And that made it feel all the more unnatural.
At that moment.
Shadows poured out from the mouth of the alley.
Clank—
Blades appeared from every direction at once.
More than ten men.
Their eyes were not normal.
Yunseo’s hand moved forward naturally.
Without hesitation, he pushed Wolhwa behind him.
His gaze settled coldly.
“Who sent you?”
Yunseo asked dryly.
“You must have come here prepared to risk your lives.”
He took one step forward.
“If you speak now, I will let you die with less pain.”
For an instant, all sound cut off.
Breaking that silence—
“Enough useless talk.”
A blade was raised.
“Today, it’s your life we’re taking.”
The corner of Yunseo’s mouth lifted in a twist.
“I see.”
He muttered briefly.
“As expected.”
Yunseo’s wrist turned.
His sword cut through the air with a sharp sound.
“You have no intention of telling me easily.”
And then—
“Then I will ask after cutting you all down.”
Yunseo’s eyes turned icy.
At the same time, internal energy surged within his body.
The next moment.
Boom—!
An invisible force spread out in every direction.
The bodies of those rushing toward him were flung away as they were.
“Guh—!”
“U-uaaagh…!”
Those rolling across the ground while coughing blood suddenly clutched their chests as if their breath had been cut off.
Pain surged through them all at once, as though their hearts had shattered.
“What… is this…”
“T-this is…!”
Only then did their eyes change.
What filled them was no longer killing intent.
It was terror, arriving too late.
They realized far too late that he was no ordinary opponent.
‘We were deceived.’
That thought flashed through someone’s mind.
They had said it would pay well.
They had also said it would be an easy job.
But this was not that.
This was a job that demanded their lives.
Yunseo looked down at them without a single change in expression.
“If this was all you had—”
He spat out briefly.
“You should never have come in the first place.”
His gaze swept over them one by one.
The result had already been decided.
Then Wolhwa spoke in a low voice.
“…Yuk Yunseo.”
She was looking ahead with thoughtful eyes.
Wolhwa already knew.
She knew who had orchestrated this.
If she gave the order even now, she could have his neck struck off immediately.
But if she let emotion take the lead in this moment, the court itself might collapse.
King Jeongan would surely not miss that opening.
What should I do…
Yunseo recognized her hesitation.
“Now is not the time to touch them.”
Her gaze wavered.
Yunseo continued.
“They are people who have already crossed the line. If they can protect their own interests—”
He paused briefly to steady his breath.
“They will do anything.”
When those words ended, Wolhwa’s eyes regained their steadiness.
Now she had reached an answer.
“If the court is shaken, Your Majesty’s life will be the first to fall into danger.”
Wolhwa said nothing, but her gaze had changed.
“Your Majesty.”
Yunseo spoke again.
“If you split the two apart, the board will change.”
Wolhwa’s eyes flashed.
“……By the two, you mean.”
“Jang Munyeon and the Duke.”
It was a short and clear answer.
“Jang Munyeon only moves on the surface. But the Duke…”
Yunseo’s eyes grew deeper.
“He is the one who truly moves. He is the most dangerous man.”
In that brief moment, Yunseo had already read the entire board.
For the first time, clear surprise passed through Wolhwa’s eyes.
“…We underestimated you.”
Meanwhile.
The Duke’s estate.
“They failed?”
The Duke’s eyes narrowed.
The man who delivered the report trembled.
“Y-yes… It was far beyond what we expected—”
Boom—!
The table shattered where it stood.
“Useless things.”
Rage surged in the Duke’s eyes.
“Do not leave a single one alive. Their families too.”
In an instant, the air inside the room froze.
“Pardon…?”
“Did you not hear me?”
The Duke looked down at the servant coldly.
“Clean them all up. If even one mouth remains alive, it will become a blade.”
At those words, the servant’s face turned deathly pale.
“I shall obey…”
After the door closed, Jang Munyeon cautiously opened his mouth.
“…Is there truly a need to go that far?”
The Duke snorted.
“That is why you are the way you are.”
He spoke firmly.
“You survive only by going all the way to the end.”
The next day.
The imperial court.
Wolhwa’s voice rang out heavily.
“Yesterday, We were attacked.”
In that instant.
The court stirred.
But the Duke’s expression did not change.
Instead, he stepped forward.
“Your Majesty. I have already heard of that matter.”
The Duke bowed his head.
“Would the one entrusted with your guard not bear great responsibility?”
His gaze turned toward Yunseo.
“This is the result of entrusting Your Majesty’s safety to a young man driven only by hot blood.”
The court fell silent.
It was a blatant attack.
Wolhwa’s eyes narrowed.
“Do those words mean that Yuk Yunseo failed to protect Us?”
The Duke answered without hesitation.
“They do. If that man had not been there—”
At that moment.
Wolhwa cut off his words.
“If that man had not been there, We would already have died on the road.”
The entire court held its breath.
“There is no need to speak further on this matter.”
With that single sentence, the situation was settled.
The Duke’s expression stiffened for a moment.
He stood there as if struck speechless, but soon opened his mouth again.
“Your Majesty. At present, the court is beset by troubles within and without. In such circumstances, if you place excessive trust in a single Inspector Censor…”
His eyes gleamed sharply.
“The hearts of the other ministers will be shaken.”
Wolhwa’s eyebrow moved slowly.
“Is that so?”
She asked back briefly.
“If beheading corrupt officials wounds the hearts of the ministers, then We shall gladly cast those hearts aside.”
The entire court was plunged into shock.
At that moment, Yunseo laughed softly.
“Your Majesty’s words are correct.”
He took one step forward.
His gaze went straight toward the Duke.
“If there is someone who attempted to harm Your Majesty, it is only proper that they pay the price. Even if—”
He deliberately stopped speaking.
A brief silence weighed down on the court.
“They are outwardly pretending loyalty.”
The air sank all at once.
The Duke’s face twisted for an instant.
“What do you mean?”
Yunseo smiled.
This time, there was clearly a sound.
“It is simple.”
Yunseo pressed forward head-on.
“There is only one thing I wish to ask.”
His gaze drove completely into the Duke.
“Do you truly have nothing to hide from Her Majesty?”