Chaotic Nights — Chapter 83. Provoke

Translator: Atlas

Weekly Chapter 1/6

Eunha to Gari with an anxious face due to the hustle and bustle that had started in the morning. It looked like a holiday, there were ingredients she had never seen before. The maids were busy preparing the food.

“Is there a celebration today?”

“Don’t you know? Today is his birthday.”

Gari gave Eunha a precious apple before she went back to work. Eunha smiled with a shocked expression on her face.

She didn’t know why he hadn’t said anything to her. She didn’t need to be embarrassed.

Eunha approached Jihak’s door. But there was no sign that he was there.

Yuljae, typically stationed at the door, was nowhere in sight.

“Why are you here?”

She heard Kim’s voice from behind, so she turned around.

“I wanted to ask Jihak what book he wanted me to read today. But I guess he’s not here.”

“He went out. Quite a few people will be coming today, I hope you’ll remain unnoticed.”

“Alright.”

Eunha knew that Kim had also lived in the palace. She felt intimidated at his attitude, as if she had committed a sin.

“I’d like to request a favor.”

“Tell me…”

“Please do what His Excellency tells you. Don’t think about escape, just stand still. Even though I know how His Majesty treats you, I find it necessary to have you request this.”

“Hmm…”

“I have served him all my life, but I have never seen him sleep soundly. My Lord slept so soundly at your side. I don’t want his insomnia to return because it will affect his life. This is the reason I ask you to remain at his side.”

Eunha didn’t know what to reply, she just pursed her lips. Kim had never treated her with kindness, offering only the instructions that were required.

“Can I ask you something?”

Eunha wanted to confirm what Heein had told her. But now that she couldn’t meet with Yongi, the only person who could clarify her doubts was Kim.

His expression shifted suddenly, as though he had heard something unpleasant. He gathered his doubts into a single question.

“You know who I am, right? Was my father a criminal who committed high treason? Was it my father who put the Kingdom in danger?”

“You looked familiar. You are not nectar to His Excellency, but a poisonous weed!”

Eunha took a step back when Kim pointed at her. She was afraid to provoke him further.

“You should feel lucky that you were not punished for high treason.”

“A reader only entertains his listeners. If he was blamed for high treason for merely echoing words handed down by a superior, then the superior who guided an uninformed individual to their demise is indeed malevolent. It seems that ignorance is a sin.”

“Huh!”

“My father didn’t know about politics.”

Eunha turned around to return to her room. Kim’s roar echoed down the corridor. Eunha covered her neck with her hands.

She was sure.

She now grasped the meaning behind Jihak’s expression of disillusionment. And the reason he couldn’t break her. She wasn’t in his heart, but he couldn’t let her go.

***

When the masks were removed, their bloodied faces appeared. The five warriors, bound with ropes, gnashed their teeth. They endured a night filled with suffering.

Their wrists, where the tendons had been severed, lacked any power.

When they awoke in the morning they could hardly breathe. But nothing changed.