SAFBIAN Ch 58

Chapter 58

After a while, the writhing inside the leather pouch subsided.

“Hand it over.”

“No, I’ll…”

“That’s enough.”

The man placed a small dagger on the palm of his hand. Yungak sat up and took it, lightly swinging it through the air.

Then, with a quiet thud, he thrust the dagger deep.

The leather pouch convulsed violently as if in a death spasm, but Yungak calmly wiped the blood that splattered onto his cheek. The man, though not the one who had done it, bowed his head deeply, apologizing for sullying a noble person with such lowly blood.

Loosening his temper as he pleased, Yungak murmured soon after.

“The peony withered before it even bloomed.”

A dark red lump beneath Yungak’s feet trembled violently. It had no tongue to make a sound, and its mouth was gagged, so not even a groan escaped. Only the thick pool of blood slowly congealed like a stagnant puddle.

Yungak wiped the blood from his hands with the cloth the man handed him and sat in a chair.

“First of all, I understand now that my brother was being deceitful.”

Pretending to travel lightly with only a few escorts, leisurely toting around a fox, but in truth, there had been a second group trailing behind.

“Even so, the damage on our side was far too great, and in contrast, we couldn’t even leave a single wound. That was excessive. To think they’d fail and return even after taking so many people.”

The blades used had been laced with such potent poison that flesh would blacken and rot almost instantly upon being cut. Not that they had expected to kill the Emperor with a single strike.

Nevertheless, since the Peony had suffered such heavy losses, there needed to be some kind of result.

“……”

When Yungak lifted his long eyelashes, the one kneeling with his forehead to the floor remained silent.

“Yeok-ah.”

“Yes.”

“Iyeok.”

“Yes, kuh!”

Iyeok, who had answered as he was called, swallowed a cry of pain. A shoe made of precious leather pressed down on his head, grinding it into the floor.

“The peony must bloom. Most beautifully and most brilliantly.”

As the words were spoken slowly, the pressure on his head grew heavier.

The harsh friction stripped his skin, and blood soon seeped out. Yet neither Yungak nor Iyeok made any move to stop.

Only after venting his anger did Yungak lift his foot.

“My shoe’s gotten dirty. Clean it.”

His tone was light, as if talking about a flower stain.

The dangling shoe swayed gently at the end of his lightly shaking foot. The heel of his white sock flickered in and out of view, revealing pale skin.

Still propped on his palms, Iyeok lifted his bloodied head and slowly extended his tongue to lick away the blood staining the shoe.

Yungak, having swept aside a stack of papers, was now gazing down at the table.

This was not the imperial palace, so there were no maps spread out—but he had looked at them so often that he could visualize the terrain clearly in his mind even without them.

A soldier on the ramparts confirmed the flag.

At last, the heavy iron gate opened with a deep rumble, followed by a loud cheer. Startled by the noise, the curled-up fox sleeping inside the carriage raised its head and pricked its ears.

“No need to be alarmed. It’s nothing. Stay calm.”

Haban soothed the fox on his lap, stroking it gently.

Its tail twitched nervously, showing just how tense it was. It was understandable, considering they had been attacked by assassins all throughout their journey to Dongcheon.

A soldier came running up to Jipyeong after confirming there were no abnormalities inside the gate. Hearing the report, Jipyeong brought his white horse closer to the carriage.

“Your Majesty. It seems more people have gathered than expected. We’ll head straight inside.”

“The Chancellor made a fuss for no reason.”

“He must’ve been worried for Your Majesty. He only received updates from the palace. I’d wager he was absolutely furious when he heard of the ambush.”

Assassins targeting the Emperor he served.

He would have done the same under such circumstances. After once more asking for understanding regarding the Chancellor’s extravagance, Jipyeong rode off again to direct the soldiers.

With a thunderous shout, the well-disciplined troops moved in perfect coordination.

First, the guards flanking the carriage raised their spears upright beside them, pointing toward the sky. Then, the vanguard holding the banner began leading the procession into the gate.

As the gate loomed nearer, the cheers grew louder.

“Even the farmers in their busy season must’ve come out.”

Lifting the curtain slightly, Haban clicked his tongue briefly as he saw the road lined with his people.

Of course, he understood their welcoming hearts.

As important as farming was to them, even if they cursed the Emperor as a tyrant or a mad ruler, it made sense they’d welcome his return after performing the Dongcheon ritual for a bountiful harvest.

However, just a day’s delay could ruin the season for farming.

“This is why I wanted to return quietly.”

Frowning, Haban let the curtain fall back down.

They had needed to move in secret while heading to Dongcheon, so it was just the carriage and a few escort soldiers. Even that small armed group was enough to attract attention, so they had deliberately pretended to be on a leisurely outing to avoid suspicion.

But the return journey was much harder to disguise—especially after the ambush, as the Chancellor had dispatched nearby soldiers to meet them.

The result was a sizable procession surrounding the Emperor’s carriage.

“Sniff.”

At that moment, the fox, apparently having awoken completely, stood up and stretched its long, slender legs. Then it started pacing along the edge of the carriage, sniffing around.

“Curious again, are we?”

“……”

The fox glanced back over its shoulder.

“For such a timid creature, you sure are nosy.”

“Whimper……”

“There’s no need to fuss. We’re almost at the palace now. You’ve been asleep the entire way from the shaking. I suppose you’ve finally come to your senses.”

Haban… If you rattle the carriage like that, anyone would get motion sickness…

Dori murmured to himself in a small voice.

Everything she had eaten felt like it was churning, her insides completely upset. Though she had never been on a boat, she imagined this must be what seasickness felt like.

Haban had hurried their return even more than he had their departure to Dongcheon. The carriage had jolted so violently, her head still throbbed.

The fact that I didn’t throw up in the carriage means I did my absolute best…

Dori felt somewhat wronged, but instead of voicing it, she turned her head.

A massive crowd had gathered, and she was curious to see outside, but the heavy curtain hanging down to the floor blocked her view, leaving her feeling stifled.

Why isn’t he lifting this? Isn’t the Emperor supposed to wave from the window at times like this?

Dori scratched at the floor with her claws and poked her snout under the curtain, twitching her nose.

There isn’t even a window—couldn’t they have at least made a hole?

Just then, a delicious smell wafted through as if they were passing by a marketplace. Unable to resist any longer, Dori peeked her eyes out to look around.

Ooh!

The crowd was enormous.

All of this is to welcome Haban, right?

Their faces were bright and genuine. They must have come straight from whatever they were doing, without bothering to dress up, which somehow made it feel even more heartfelt. They truly seemed delighted.

Dori stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed, oddly proud for no reason.

Uh… but wait, hadn’t they hated Haban?

Even if public opinion can flip like the back of a hand, this seems a bit too fast, doesn’t it?

It was Chancellor Geumhu who had finally stepped in, refusing to stand by any longer while the Emperor ignored the false rumors being spread about him—but Dori didn’t know that. She just scratched her nose, puzzled.

And then—

…Red hair?

Among the crowd, she spotted a few men with strikingly red hair.

Since this was a novel world, hair colors were more varied than in reality, and dyeing was advanced enough that people could freely change their color.

So, there was no guarantee that those people were red foxes…

But Dori leaned forward, trying to see more clearly.

“If you fall out of the carriage, you’ll be trampled by those behind us and flattened. Even your intact hide won’t be of any use then.”

Haban warned from behind with a sharp tone.

“…Yip.”

Dori slowly backed away and sat down beside him.

Right. Even if those people are red foxes, what does it have to do with me? It’s probably just a coincidence.

They were the ones who had wanted “Dori” to disappear from the village. They might even sneer if their eyes met, calling it bad luck, so it was better to avoid them.

Besides, I don’t want to act that way in front of Haban.

Dori hesitated for a moment, then leaned her back against Haban’s thigh. As if sensing her feelings, though he likely didn’t, his large hand gently stroked her fur.

And so, the procession slowly continued forward until it finally entered the imperial palace.

Even after passing through the palace gates, the carriage continued for a while before finally stopping. When Haban lifted the curtain, the long-awaited view outside was revealed.

Palace servants stood in lines on either side according to rank, and behind them, a scene of bowed heads stretched out. At the center stood Chancellor Geumhu and the closest attendants to the Emperor.

It looked like a scene straight out of a historical drama.

“Your Majesty.”

“This is quite the show of excess.”

Immediately, Chancellor Geumhu hurried over.

Haban, holding the fox who was still blinking in a daze, stepped down from the carriage. The fox let out a small, uneasy yip, but unlike before, it didn’t struggle and remained calm.

“I can’t express how terrified I was.”

“Chancellor.”

“I did insist that you bring more troops, didn’t I? If the second wave had arrived even slightly later… Just imagining it makes me shudder.”