Chapter 48

"Why can I hear the voice of my deceased lover? And right behind me? Aini gripped the armrest of the chair tightly. The creaking sound from the wooden chair echoed eerily. Should I turn around... or should I ask who it is without turning? Should I call for the guard? Various thoughts flooded her mind simultaneously.

‘I’ll turn around.’

When the voice didn’t come again, Aini finally made her decision and slowly turned her body. However, the high back of the chair blocked most of her view. Aini swallowed hard and leaned slightly. But again, there was no one, no ghost, no one at all.

“Phew...”

Just as Aini felt a moment of relief,

“Aini, Aini.”

The voice came from right beside her ear.

“Aah!”

Startled, Aini screamed and squeezed her eyes shut. She had always longed to hear Haeum’s voice, but the actual sound of the deceased was chilling.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

At that moment, someone grabbed Aini’s arm and shouted. Aini’s eyes snapped open, and she gasped for breath. Her heart was pounding.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

Aini’s eyes widened as she noticed the maids and guards looking at her with frightened faces. The maid who had touched her arm asked again.

“Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?”

Aini looked around.

“Your Majesty?”

“Haeum? Haeum?”

“Pardon?”

“Haeum? Haeum?”

Haeum was nowhere to be seen, despite hearing his voice clearly four times. Aini looked at the maid, but there was no response to her question.

“Where did Haeum go?”

When Aini asked again, another maid spoke up hesitantly in a small voice.

“Your Majesty, there are many ears in the palace, so it might be best not to mention Prince Haeum’s name.”

“What?”

Aini realized the maids had misunderstood her and quickly shook her head.

“No, it’s not that. I just heard Haeum’s voice. Didn’t you hear it?”

The maids and guards all shook their heads, looking at Aini as if wondering why she was acting this way. Some even looked as if they thought she was missing Haeum so much that she was acting out. But that wasn’t the case. Aini bit her lip. Of course, she missed Haeum, and she had been missing him even before hearing his voice. But if it was just an auditory hallucination, it wouldn’t have been so terrifying.

“No one has entered this room, Your Majesty.”

Seeing Aini’s troubled expression, a guard stepped forward to report.

“The wall is high, making it difficult to enter, and if someone did, it would make noise. All the other entrances were guarded tightly. No one was asleep, there were no blind spots, and there was no gap in the shift changes. No one has entered this room, Your Majesty.”

Aini walked to the back of the chair and looked down. The grass was pressed down, as if someone had stood there.

‘Sure enough, someone was here.’

Aini wanted to show the guards this footprint but decided against it. They all seemed to believe they had done their job well. Showing them the pressed grass would only make them doubt her. They would think the grass was pressed because Aini had been standing there.

“Alright, I understand.”

Aini decided to drop the matter. As the maid had said, there were many ears in the palace. Her father and she had placed people to watch over Hyacinth, and Hyacinth likely had people watching over her. If they heard her talking about Haeum, they would have all sorts of wild imaginations.

“Let’s go.”

Aini said coldly and turned around. * * *

“Shall I join the interrogation?”

Tashir asked, but Latil, who intended to handle it himself, told him it was fine and instructed the captured individuals to be placed in separate cells in the underground prison. Previously, this was to prevent the High Priest from discovering his presence, but this time it was for a different reason. The eerie words muttered by the fox-masked individual, the word ‘Lord,’ were the cause.

‘He deliberately said it that way.’

Latil didn’t think he was the ‘Lord’ who appeared once every 500 years. He was born to a mother, raised by a wet nurse, and hundreds of people had seen him grow up. He couldn’t possibly be the Lord.

‘But some people might find it unsettling to hear such words.’

Tashir had been very reliable in this matter, but he had also investigated Latil on the orders of his late father and suspected him of regicide. If the attackers said strange things about Latil, it would be uncertain whether Tashir’s loyalty would be to his late father or to Latil.

‘That fox-masked individual is definitely a subordinate of Tella. Sowing discord and reporting are Tella’s specialties.’

“Open the door.”

Latil, who had changed his clothes, gave the order, and the two guards at the prison entrance opened the closed door. Latil entered with a torch. In the underground cells, the twelve attackers who had tried to assault Latil and the two criminals Tashir had captured were lined up in separate cells.

“!”

However, a few of them had committed suicide by banging their heads against the wall. Their mouths were gagged, and their hands were tied behind their backs, yet they managed to commit suicide.

‘Damn.’

Latil cursed inwardly and entered the cell of an attacker who hadn’t committed suicide. But as soon as the gag was removed, this attacker tried to bite his tongue.

“No way.”

Latil quickly inserted his fingers to prevent the attacker from biting his tongue and smiled eerily.

“I didn’t bring you here to dispose of a corpse, you know.”

* * *

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

As Latil came out of the prison, Seunet and Tashir, who had been waiting, quickly approached.

“...”

The chief steward was also waiting, but Seunet and Tashir stuck to Latil’s sides as soon as he came out, preventing him from getting closer, and he frowned.

“Well, I’m fine, but...”

While Tashir carefully wiped the blood from Latil’s face with a handkerchief, Seunet stood there, watching them.

If Tashir hadn’t been there, Seunet would have stepped in, but with Tashir, a concubine, right in front of Latil, it was awkward to step in. What a pain. The chief steward, recalling how he had been pushed back earlier, inwardly gloated, but seeing Seunet looking down dejectedly, he felt strange and turned his gaze elsewhere. However, Latil, still thinking about the events in the prison, didn’t notice the awkward atmosphere between the three.

‘The attackers didn’t even know I was the emperor...’

Among the captured enemies, those who had attacked Latil and the fox-masked individual had been ordered to “eliminate the tail that was following them.” They followed orders without knowing much. So, the only ones who actually “knew something” were the two Tashir had captured. Unfortunately, the one Pol was trying to contact had committed suicide, so there was nothing to learn. And Pol...

“I mean the criminal from the 1st Guard Unit.”

As Latil, who had been silent, finally spoke, Tashir quickly put away the handkerchief, and Seunet lifted his head. The chief steward also took a few steps closer.

“Pol?”

Tashir asked, and Latil nodded.

“Yes, that one. At the end, when he realized it was over, he started to rant at me.”

Seunet’s expression crumpled. Tashir, instead of frowning, asked with a gleam in his eyes.

“What did he say?”

Seunet, disliking Tashir’s intrusion as Latil’s closest confidant, glared at him but couldn’t tell him to step back since Latil remained silent. Latil, walking towards his palace, answered.

“He said he was warning me, the one who assassinated the previous emperor for the ‘true owner of the throne.’”

Upon hearing this, the chief steward was speechless, and Seunet’s expression turned cold. Tashir echoed, “What?” All three were clearly thinking, “What the hell is this?”

“Strange, right? But he genuinely believed it. He saw himself as the righteous one and me as the villain.”

After that, Latil remained silent until they reached the sleeping quarters. When they arrived at the bedroom, he dismissed the others and asked the three remaining people.

“What this person meant by the ‘true owner’... Could it be Tella?”

“Then, could the tomb incident have been orchestrated by the forces that supported Prince Tella?”

“No, Tashir. I mean a living Tella.”

Latil’s correction made Tashir even more surprised.

“But Prince Tella is dead, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is. But I keep hearing about people who know he’s dead. What’s the reason?”

As Latil explained the recent attacks, Tashir became even more puzzled, and Seunet’s face darkened, not wanting Tashir to know such important matters. Latil, who usually shared secrets only with Seunet and the chief steward, seemed to be treating Tashir as a confidant, which made Seunet feel uncomfortable. Tashir, the only concubine who had never shared a bed with Latil, was seen by Seunet as the most trusted among all the concubines. While it was hard to read affectionate glances, hostile ones were easy to spot. Tashir, focusing on Latil, felt Seunet’s cold gaze and smirked.

“What’s with you, Tashir? Why are you so happy that Tella is alive?”

“Oh, it’s not because of that.”

“Your smile says otherwise.”

“I’m just pleased that Your Majesty is so perceptive.”

Tashir, sticking close to Latil, rubbed his head, making Seunet’s expression even darker. But instead of confronting Tashir, Seunet asked Latil seriously.

“Your Majesty, could the ‘true owner’ be someone else?”

Latil, patting Tashir’s annoying behavior, asked.

“Someone else?”

Seunet didn’t say the name outright but looked at Latil with a heavy gaze. Latil, understanding what Seunet meant, was taken aback. Seunet was referring to Latil’s half-brother, Leean.

“Seunet, your brother didn’t retreat because he lost to me. He could have easily ascended the throne if he wanted to, but he chose to step down. His supporters know this.”

Leean and Latil had a good relationship, so Latil’s voice naturally became sharp.

“I spoke out of turn.”

Seunet apologized, but Latil, with a stern expression, waved him off and Tashir.

“Enough. You must be tired. Go and rest. Tashir, you too.”

* * * After dismissing the three, Latil entered his room alone, took off his clothes, and got into the bathtub. The warm water helped ease the tension from interrogating the criminals, but his expression remained serious. Latil loved his brother, but Seunet’s words had a point. Leean might have changed his mind, or even if he hadn’t, there could be supporters who were dissatisfied with Latil.

‘The possibility is low, but it’s better to be cautious and prepared than to be caught off guard.’

Latil, pushing aside the floating dried flower petals with his fingers, clenched one tightly.

‘I shouldn’t trust anyone until this matter is resolved.’

* * * Although he had resolved not to trust anyone, he couldn’t handle everything alone. Solving the mystery was important, but governing the country was also Latil’s responsibility, and the state affairs were numerous and complex. Moreover, in his position, he couldn’t move freely like he did when he was a princess. Latil decided to choose people he could trust and confide in them, assigning them tasks. The first person he chose was Seunet, the captain of the royal guard, who had been with him the most, whom he had trusted since childhood, and to whom he had already entrusted several secrets.

‘I need to be careful. Seunet is trustworthy, but he also has a deep friendship with my brother.’

However, he couldn’t weaken Seunet’s mental strength by treating him like a criminal, so Latil decided to use alcohol.

‘Alcohol will weaken his mental strength, and he’ll spill his guts.’

That night, Latil called Seunet to his room with several bottles of alcohol.

“Did you call for me, Your Majesty?”

Seunet, curious about what was happening, entered and was surprised to see the table filled with bottles of alcohol.

“Your Majesty? Why the sudden...”

“Right now, I’m feeling a bit down. Could you join me for a drink, Seunet?”

Latil picked up one of the bottles and gently shook it. Seunet hesitated for a moment before sitting down opposite him.