After he finished eating the food prepared, Ji Hak opened the window, and lit a cigarette. Then, while staring in the direction of the gentle breeze, he closed his eyes.

He exhaled the smoke, smiling coldly at all the scent carried by the wind.

‘They said there were seven bodies, so why didn’t they try to hide the smell?’

After clearing the table, the girl immediately took out a book and began to read. He had read the book enough to memorize most of the sentences, but the words coming out of her mouth were strangely unfamiliar.

It was surprising she wasn’t a woman of status because not only could she read and write, but she was also fluent in a foreign language that was difficult to learn and not well known.

If she had been born into a family with power, he thought, he may have met her in the palace instead of here.

‘The royal family’s marriages are arranged at the age of nine, so maybe…’

Ji Hak recalled the tiny, fragile Crown Princess who passed away before she had the chance to hold his hand. His daring and smart young fiancée couldn’t endure the prison-like life in the palace and lost her life due to a lung disease.

Ji Hak smiled cruelly.

It is rather fortunate that she fell ill and died young. If she, the daughter of the manufacturer, had not died, he would have killed her with his own hands.

“Stop.”

At Ji Hak’s words, Eun Ha, who was leaning close enough to the book that her nose was nearly touching the book, raised her head.

“If you don’t like this part…”

“No.”

Ji Hak casually flicked the ashes from his cigarette and nodded in the direction of the door.

“Come in, Yul Jae. Eun Ha, you should go and rest.”

“Right now?”

‘It’s only one o’clock?’ 

Eun Ha stood up with a puzzled expression. She thought he would have her reading all night.

“I can’t just make you read without filling your stomach. Right?”

Dazed, she parted her lips at his words, then hugged her stomach, her cheeks blushing.

“Oh, did you hear that? I tried not to make a sound, but it didn’t work out the way I wanted.”

“What?”

“Well, it’s…”

“Are you talking about the rare sound of your stomach growling?”

Like a flower blooming, Eun Ha’s cheeks turned even redder at his teasing question. Ji Hak’s mouth went dry as he watched the blush travel down to the back of her hands. She couldn’t help but be curious and intrigued.

After the Crown Princess died, all kinds of women were selected and pushed into his palace. Even though they had the backing of fairly famous families, they were women of virtue, who wanted to become the Queen of the royal palace and knew how to conduct themselves. Their behavior was obvious and very boring.

That made the girl in front of Ji Hak all the more interesting and entertaining. Although he knew everything about her, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. It was shameful for her to create a situation where he had to take care of her.

“It’s a joke. I didn’t hear anything, so go back to your room and eat.”

“After I eat, I will return to tidy up your room. If you need bedside assistance, please let us know. I will bring the book.”

“A bed attendant? Ha, Are you going to put me to bed?” Ji Hak asked in amazement.

Unaware of the issue, Eun Ha smiled shyly and glanced down at the book in her arms.

“This book is too difficult. There is so much to process, and I think it will give you a headache. Although I’m not a real storyteller, I know how to tell a good bedtime story.”

‘This girl is not aware of men.’ 

The only way for a man of the court to sleep well is to have sex. Even though the idea was absurd, he would be happy to listen to her cute pillow talk1.

“Good night. Be prepared to come if I call you. I must also prepare my heart.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell you a scary story. Well, I will take my leave now.”

Eun Ha bowed politely and opened the door with an expression that could not hide her joy. Yul Jae was standing in front of the door. He nodded at Eun Ha as he crossed the threshold.

Yul Jae’s heart was filled with warmth to see his master laughing wholeheartedly again.

“My Lord.”

“Yes, I am here.”

Effortlessly erasing the smile from his face, Ji Hak propped his arm on his raised knee and lit another cigarette.

“How did it go?”

After closing the open window, Yul Jae knelt beside Ji Hak, covering his mouth with his hand, and whispered his report directly in his ear. After hearing the report, Ji Hak’s eyes began to glow with a cruel energy.

“The luminous stone powder…”

“I applied it all over their uniforms and shoes before sunset, so by now they should be glowing blue.”

“Even as the spies head home they will surely glow blue as well.”

No matter how reliable or confident someone seemed, when it came down to it, they were no different than anyone else. How can such people claim to be their one person? Until death, their lives were not their own.

Ji Hak stood up and took out the clothes hanging in the back corner of his closet. Removing his night robe, which was embroidered with elegant silver thread, he changed into the same clothes as Yul Jae, and replaced his top hat with black leather.

When the two men of similar height and physique stood face to face, it was almost as if they were looking into a mirror. With the sword at his waist and a bow, Ji Hak smiled softly before pulling his face covering over the bridge of his nose.

After confirming that he was ready, Yul Jae turned off the lights in the room and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

The night was still, not even the sound of the birds chirping was heard. The two men left the building silently and closely examined the seven different trails illuminated by the luminous stone dust.

The traces of the uninvited all led to the forest behind them. They would either go into the woods to change their clothes and burn them, or head straight to their masters.

The moon followed behind the two fast and stealthy shadows. Upon reaching the depths of the oak forest, Ji Hak raised a brow when he found the faint presence of luminous stone dust scattered on the frozen soil.

Then, out of nowhere, an arrow suddenly flew through the air, grazing Ji Hak’s cheek before striking the ground. Blood trickled down from the wound.

Before Yul Jae could shout, Ji Hak pressed a finger to his lips and shook his head. Furious, Yul Jae drew his sword, aiming it in the direction the arrow had come from.

The darkness wasn’t a hindrance. Feeling the presence of a total of 30 people surrounding him, Ji Hak felt excitement and a strong urge to kill for the first time in a long time.

They had set the trap but were also drawn into one as well.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve given someone a proper taste of my sword.’

Ji Hak whistled, falling back towards Yul Jae, who seemed to have vanished. Then, 12 of the former Crown Princes’ guards immediately jumped out upon hearing the signal and joined Ji Hak.

“Keep two of them alive. The rest… Slaughter them all.”

Eun Ha quickly scooped up the rice with her spoon. On the table, there was a side dish not much different than the one she ate earlier. Only the combination of herbs was slightly different.

When Eun Ha began to eat the barley cuttlefish, a dish she hadn’t tasted in a long time, she glanced at Ga Ri occasionally, who was squatting in front of her, between bites until there was nothing but bones left. Ga Ri pouted her lips, staring at the table with resentful eyes. It seemed as if she had no intention of going back and planned to watch Eun Ha until she finished eating.

“You don’t have to stare at me like that,” Eun Ha said as she finished off the rice fom her spoon.

Pulling her knees to her chest, Ga Ri rested her chin on them, her eyes brightening as she asked, “But the book … Were you really reading earlier?”

“Yes. Didn’t I tell you I am a storyteller?”

“But why did my Lord ask you to help out?”

Eun Ha couldn’t say it was because he probably believed she couldn’t betray him. She didn’t trust him; she trusted the gold coins he would pay her.

She couldn’t explain that she came here to earn much-needed money in fear of sounding arrogant.  Instead of answering, she started to clean up the leftover side dishes.

“I don’t know either. By the way, Ga Ri, did you know who he was?”

“You came here without knowing who he is?”

“I only knew that he is a high-status person, and his position was comparable to an important official.”

“That’s true, but that’s not all. My master is Hong Seo Woo, a consul of the Central Division. I was his wife’s maid, but I was only sent here to help a blind noble. But how can he look at me with such a scary expression…”

“He wasn’t like this until you came,” Ga Ri added, wiping away her tears and jumping to her feet.

“Anyway, I’ll be on my way. When you’re done eating, just leave everything on the table. If you want to wash up, go to the bathroom and pull the rope, and I will come.”

“Why…would you come back, Ga Ri?”

“I would like to wait on you! Since I won’t be the one serving my Lord…”

Ga Ri stared at Eun Ha, then opened the door and disappeared. Eun Ha gulped down the fragrant barley tea with a blank expression on her face.

‘His status is higher than the consul of the Central Division, perhaps even higher than that. What if…’

Eun Ha shook her head vigorously. Then, as Ga Ri instructed, after eating, she gathered her undergarments, then left the room. She could still smell the perfume Chun Hee applied last night all over her body. Now that she had the chance, she wanted to take a proper bath and to cool her head.

However, no one had told her where the bath was. After wandering around for a while, she found what appeared to be a bath.

“Wow…”

This was not a place where you just wash up and leave. The walls had self-illuminating night crystals embedded throughout. The scent of the bath was similar to the fragrance used by nobles. There was also a dressing table and comb placed on one side.

‘Is this really the right bath for me to use? Is it okay to use such a big bath all by myself? Who filled this big tub with hot water?’

Eun Ha gazed at the water bathed in the moonlight, then searched for the rope to call Ga Ri.

‘Ga Ri definitely said there was a rope…’

Suddenly, the door opened abruptly, and a metallic scent filled the air.