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Chapter 45
A Person with Nothing Left to Lose
For a moment, silence fell over the room.
There was no way Heebin and Court Lady Han didn’t know the meaning of the words “full moon night.”
Yonghee’s already pale face had turned completely white.
And lastly, Sukbin…
“……”
She glared at me.
That gentle face.
The eyes that always seemed elegant enough to offer kindness to anyone instantly turned as cold as ice.
She neither hesitated nor panicked.
“When did I ever do that?”
That was all she said.
A moment later, Sukbin let out a small laugh as though the accusation were absurd.
“Heebinja. It seems the child had a dream. To say something so ridiculous.”
Sukbin immediately added,
“Well, she is four years old, isn’t she? Children that age often mistake fantasies for reality…”
“I didn’t imagine it.”
I sprang to my feet.
“It was that day. The day I went to Huijeongdang. I was passing in front of Bogyeongdang when the court ladies grabbed me, and Sukbin saved me, remember?”
Afraid Sukbin might escape the situation, I hurriedly continued.
“You struck the Bogyeongdang court ladies’ palms with a switch. Then you secretly told me to pass the words ‘full moon night’ to Yonghee.”
I deliberately mixed truth and lies.
In reality, Sukbin had told me to say “full moon day,” not “full moon night.”
And the person she had instructed me to deliver the message to was Bokhee, not Yonghee.
I had reconstructed the situation to block every possible escape route for both Sukbin and Yonghee at once.
“…Ha.”
Without a moment’s thought, Sukbin burst into laughter.
“For a child’s fantasy, it’s excessively elaborate. What nonsense is this about me saving you? And what switch? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t even know why I have to listen to such nonsense…”
“I have proof!”
I shouted back.
“So you’re going to deny everything?”
I refused to back down.
“Bring the court ladies who said they saw Yonghee earlier. The marks from the switch should still be on their palms.”
“……”
Sukbin’s mouth snapped shut.
Meticulous as she was, she had clearly failed to account for that.
“Check their palms. Hurry!”
Before Heebin could even issue an order, Court Lady Han had already left the room.
She returned shortly afterward and announced proudly,
“I have confirmed it. The court ladies of Bogyeongdang still bear very clear marks from the switch on their palms.”
The moment Court Lady Han finished speaking, Sukbin responded.
“I disciplined the maids in my quarters with a switch before. How is that evidence of anything? All this commotion because of a four-year-old child’s nonsense…”
“However.”
Heebin, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke.
“Two things seem strange.”
“……”
The composure vanished from Sukbin’s eyes.
She seemed unaware that she was biting her lip.
“First, you, Sukbin, who rarely speaks at length, are suddenly being remarkably verbose.”
Her gaze shifted toward Yonghee.
Yonghee was trembling pitifully from head to toe.
Her face was already covered in tears and mucus.
Even so, she kept glancing nervously toward Sukbin for guidance.
“And Yonghee. This child is the second strange thing.”
Heebin’s voice was frighteningly cold.
Sukbin remained silent.
As the silence dragged on, I drove in the final nail.
“Sukbin told Yonghee to do it! She told her to watch the west side of Chwiseondang! She said to gather evidence every time the little mistress came on the full moon day!”
“Enough!”
Sukbin screamed.
It was a reaction more violent than anything I had ever seen from her.
She glared at me.
She no longer seemed interested in hiding her emotions or pretending to be kind.
“It’s a lie!”
Sukbin shouted.
At that point, I decided to unleash my final trump card.
After all, Sukbin and I were enemies now.
That was unavoidable.
Every truth had to come out here and now.
“Yonghee mama. Do you know why the Bogyeongdang court ladies are outside?”
“…N-No. Why?”
“Sukbin brought them! The Bogyeongdang court ladies said they saw you carrying a fire source into Chwiseondang!”
The eyes of the tearful Yonghee widened to nearly twice their size.
Looks like she still didn’t know anything.
Perhaps she believed that if she admitted only to accidentally starting the fire, Sukbin would somehow save her.
The fact that Sukbin herself had brought witnesses to expose the arson seemed to shock her deeply.
“I know nothing about this. What kind of bizarre game is this? I shall take my leave now—”
Sukbin tried to escape again.
“A-Actually, Sukbin?”
It was Yonghee who spoke.
“What Bongbong said isn’t true, right? About bringing the court ladies here. That’s a lie, isn’t it?”
“I said I know nothing about it!”
Sukbin snapped harshly and glared at Yonghee.
A powerful, wordless warning.
But Yonghee had already lost all reason.
“Sukbin… please don’t leave. Help me. You promised.”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
Sukbin gritted her teeth.
“I don’t know you.”
“Sukbin… how can you do this to me…”
Yonghee collapsed to the floor sobbing.
Court Lady Han grabbed her shoulders and asked,
“Answer properly if you want to live. Is everything Bongbong just said true?”
“I… I…”
Yonghee still couldn’t let go of her last shred of hope.
Looking toward Sukbin, she asked,
“Sukbin… what should I say…?”
A confession.
Those words coming from Yonghee, a maid of Chwiseondang, were practically an admission that she was Sukbin’s spy.
“I will not repeat myself. I do not know a woman like you.”
Sukbin quickly turned away.
Just as she placed her hand on the paper door—
“Stop, Sukbin.”
Heebin’s cold voice rang through the room.
“Court Lady Han.”
“Yes, Heebinja.”
“Take Yonghee away and clear the surroundings.”
“Yes. I obey.”
Court Lady Han dragged Yonghee out.
Even as she was being pulled away, Yonghee desperately cried out Sukbin’s name.
Now only three people remained in the room:
Heebin, Sukbin, and me.
Even at the very end, Sukbin refused to admit the truth.
“Heebinja. What meaning can there be in the words of a four-year-old child and a ten-year-old child? A spy? No matter how young they are, they have insulted me. They should be punished for such slander—”
At that moment—
Heebin’s hand sliced through the air at tremendous speed.
Smack!
Crash!
Struck across the face, Sukbin lost her balance and fell to the floor.
In that instant, everything about Sukbin shattered.
Her gentle and innocent face.
Her benevolent and compassionate expression.
Her graceful and modest bearing.
Everything she had spent years trying to maintain came crashing down with a loud noise.
Clutching her cheek, gasping for breath, Sukbin suddenly sprang to her feet.
Madness gleamed in her eyes.
“Heebin!”
she screamed.
“Do you think you’ll remain unharmed after doing this? You dare strike me? I am a First Senior Rank Bin! A Bin equal in rank to Heebin! Do you still think this is the same as ten years ago when you beat my calves? How dare you—”
“How dare you!”
Like a thunderclap, Heebin hurled the words right back at her.
“You were caught planting a spy in Chwiseondang, and yet you still dare stand there and try to deceive me?”
“It’s a lie! I know nothing about any spy!”
“Then!”
A sharp roar erupted from Heebin.
“Go report it. Go to the Queen or His Majesty yourself. Tell them that Heebin, another First Senior Rank Bin, slapped you. Put on mourning clothes and cry if you wish.”
“……”
“The moment you speak those words, I will stand before His Majesty and report your crimes as well. I will tell him that you planted a spy in my residence and set fire to it.”
“Who would believe such a story? It comes from a mere four-year-old child—”
At that, Heebin let out a mocking laugh.
“You think they wouldn’t believe it?”
“……”
“Do you think His Majesty is such a fool that he cannot discern truth from lies?”
“……”
“Or perhaps… do you truly believe your pitiful acting can deceive even His Majesty?”
Heebin took a step closer.
Sukbin visibly flinched.
After staring at her for a long moment, Heebin finally spoke.
“Sukbin. Tell me. Do I look like someone who still has anything left to lose?”
“……”
“I have nothing left to lose. I once rose to the highest position, then lost everything and fell all the way down to this.”
A poisonous smile touched Heebin’s lips.
“But you…”
“You are someone with very much left to lose.”
“……”
“You should learn to be satisfied. You rose from such a lowly background to become a First Senior Rank Bin. By now, you ought to know when to stop.”
By then, even I was completely overwhelmed by Heebin’s presence.
For a long time, I could only swallow nervously while watching Sukbin’s expression.
I could see her tightly pressed lips trembling.
“After the Crown Prince ascends the throne someday in the distant future…”
With a murderous gaze, Heebin stared directly at Sukbin.
“What punishment do you think he will bestow upon the woman who humiliated his mother? Is that truly what you wish to find out?”
It was a terrifying prophecy.
Sukbin’s body began trembling like a leaf in the wind.
“Well?”
“……”
“Will you still report that I slapped you?”
“……”
“Will you still dare watch me, spy on me, and challenge me?”
At last.
Sukbin’s tightly sealed lips parted.
“…I overstepped my place, Heebinja.”
Her voice sounded as though it had been squeezed from the depths of her chest.
“I swear sincerely that I will never again act in a way that offends Your Ladyship.”
“Remember those words.”
Heebin glanced briefly at me.
“Do not lay a hand on my people again. Understood?”
“Yes. I understand, Your Ladyship.”
After staring at Sukbin a while longer, Heebin slowly nodded.
“Then leave.”
With her chin raised arrogantly, Heebin gestured toward the door.
Sukbin bowed more deeply and respectfully than ever before and left the chamber.
There were tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.
They were not tears of sorrow or humiliation.
They were tears of rage.
