After U'nso left for Sunyahng, Seon received an unexpected visitor. She took Dara with her to the back gate of the rear garden to welcome Sobi, who was dressed in plain clothes and accompanied by two other Emissaries carrying what seemed to be heavy luggage. Sobi greeted her with a bright smile.

  "It's been a while, Lady Myeonghyeon."

  Seon returned the greeting and then asked, "It's good to see you again. What brings you all this way?"

  Sobi's smile turned awkward, as if she was embarrassed. "Didn't the High Councilor tell you?"

  Seon shook her head slightly. "My brother hasn't returned from Wicheong yet."

  Sobi became even more flustered. "What? He left for Nahmgyo yesterday. He instructed me to leave a day later because of the Dahnians, so I came separately."

  After she finished speaking, Seon was gripped by a sense of foreboding as she saw Sobi's face stiffen.

  "Yesterday?"

  "Yes. Didn't he arrive?" Sobi's voice trembled with anxiety. Seon's guess did not flow towards optimism. Ryang was not one to break his schedule without notice, and there was no reason for Sobi to suddenly visit Nahmgyo and spout nonsense.

  Seon asked, "Did my brother leave alone?"

  "I believe he set out alone in case he was followed."

  Seon's heart sank. She said with a calm smile, "please come inside for now."

  Seon took Sobi's arm to lead her inside, but Sobi held onto Seon's hand and didn't move. "What are you going to do?"

  Seon managed a smile at Sobi, controlling the chill that enveloped her body. "Just go inside. It will be fine."

  In front of Seon, who was desperately trying to soothe her anxiety, Sobi couldn't bring herself to speak of ominous things first. She quietly nodded. After sending Sobi and the two other Emissaries inside the rear garden, Seon turned to Dara with a sharp look and said, "Prepare the horse. Right now!"

  "My Lady, where are you going?"

  "Just bring me the horse!" she exclaimed.

  Her raised voice was chilling. Dara, pale and frightened, bowed her head and hurried to prepare the horse. Without any delay, Seon mounted the horse, gripped the reins, and rode towards the south gate.

  After leaving the south gate and galloping away, Princess Kyeong'ui's encampment wasn't far off. Seon left the panting horse with the guard in front of the camp and strode towards the entrance. Another guard blocked her way.

  "What brings you here?" he asked.

  "I'm here to see the Royal Attendant," Seon replied.

  The guards briefly searched Seon and then guided her to Hongyoo's tent. As soon as she reached the tent, Seon roughly pulled back the flap, but Hongyoo was nowhere to be seen. The guard spoke.

  "It seems he's stepped out for a moment. What would you like to do?"

  "I'll wait."

  Hongyoo's tent felt cramped, filled with a bed, a small table where two people could sit facing each other, and several firmly locked chests piled up. Seon sat on a chair, and the guard who had guided her remained inside the tent with her. Hongyoo appeared only after a considerable amount of time had passed. He had been looking at the ground as he entered, but as soon as he saw Seon sitting there, he smirked and twisted his lips.

  "We have a distinguished guest," he said.

  Hongyoo motioned with his chin to the guard, who withdrew. Alone in the tent, Seon abruptly asked Hongyoo, "Where's my brother?"

  Hongyoo's head tilted. "What's this about? Why are you asking me about your brother?"

  Seon's anxiety was intense, her suspicion deep, and her patience thin. She immediately raised her voice. "Where is my brother? Where is Myeonghyeon Ryang, you treacherous spy..."

  Hongyoo quickly grabbed Seon by the nape of her neck and covered her mouth. He brought his face close to hers and threatened in a low voice, "While I'm being nice, stop making a fuss and behave yourself. Do you even know where you are?"

  Seon pushed Hongyoo away with all her might and said in a determined voice, "Try it if you dare, you son of a bitch. I'm all in."

  "If you're going to lose it, at least explain the situation properly before you do."

  "Do you think I'm asking because I don't know?!"

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  "This is driving me crazy." Hongyoo let out a hollow laugh, as if he couldn't believe it. To summarize, it seemed there was a problem with Ryang's whereabouts, and it wasn't entirely unreasonable for Seon to suspect him first. He was receiving troublesome oversight from the young Baek Ryucheon, who wasn't even his direct superior, and with Kyeong'ui, he was about to be swept into the vortex of this island. His true desire was to kill the two Myeonghyeon siblings right away. Hongyoo scoffed at Seon's outburst.

  "Try to be at least half as clever as your brother," he warned. "Haven't you learned anything after being treated so harshly? Why are you coming here and causing trouble for someone who has no idea what's going on?"

  "How can I believe what you say, whether you know or not?!"

  "If you're not going to believe anything I say, why bother asking?"

  Hongyoo showed no impatience, nor any satisfaction in looking down on the anxious Seon. Seon's hostility, which had seemed ready to kill Hongyoo at any moment, wavered. Hongyoo said nonchalantly, "You've got the wrong person. Go quietly and find out somewhere else."

  Just as she finished speaking, the sound of the tent flap being roughly pulled back echoed beside them. Hongyoo was stunned at the sight of the person standing before them.

  "Your Highness," he bowed his head.

  Kyeong'ui and Gahngyun Hyeok stood between the parted flaps. Kyeong'ui walked in, her cold gaze alternating between Hongyoo and Seon. Seon hurriedly raised her hands and bowed her head. Kyeong'ui approached and asked, "Why are you here, at my Royal Attendant's tent, asking for your brother, who should be in the city?"

  Seon was conscious of both Kyeong'ui's stern gaze and Hongyoo's anxious glances. Where has she heard it from? Seon replied with her head bowed, "Because my brother, who should be in the city, has not returned."

  "What do you mean?"

  "It's been six days since my brother went out, and he hasn't returned without any word."

  Hyeok suddenly intervened. "How dare you lie before Her Highness!"

  Kyeong'ui looked back at Hyeok. "Lie? What are you talking about?"

  "Myeonghyeon Ryang has never left Yeonyahng."

  Seon retorted, "Are you saying I have nothing better to do than come here and lie about my brother's whereabouts?"

  Kyeong'ui pressed Hyeok, "Young Master Gahngyun, explain yourself clearly."

  Hyeok's lips twitched, but he couldn't answer properly. Seeing his hesitation, the suspicion that had briefly crossed Kyeong'ui's mind turned into certainty.

  "Don't tell me you had Lord Myeonghyeon followed," she accused.

  Hyeok glanced at Hongyoo with pleading eyes, hoping for help. Hongyoo, who had subtly instigated him, ignored Hyeok and pretended not to know anything. Hyeok gritted his teeth at Hongyoo's indifferent expression, but he had no choice but to bow his head to Kyeong'ui.

  "His actions were so suspicious..." he confessed.

  "Where did you get the manpower to follow him? I doubt your brother in Sahcheon across the sea would have lent them to you."

  "Your Highness."

  "Surely you didn't use my name to mobilize my father's soldiers?"

  With each question from Kyeong'ui, Hyeok became increasingly cornered.

  He protested, "That's not important right now. Shouldn't you first clarify the truth of this suspicious situation where she's here at your encampment looking for her brother who never left his residence?"

  Hyeok swallowed hard as he saw Kyeong'ui's lips tighten into a firm line. Kyeong'ui replied curtly, "Let's talk later."

  Kyeong'ui turned her gaze to Seon. "Continue your story, Lady Myeonghyeon. His claim that your brother never left Yeonyahng sounds true."

  Seon froze under Kyeong'ui's stern gaze. She took a deep breath and began speaking with a heavy heart. "There's a secret passage leading outside the city, beneath our establishment."

  Kyeong'ui's brow furrowed. "Why would a normal establishment need such a thing?"

  "Large sums of money pass through the merchant house and the inn. My grandfather had it built just in case. Wouldn't the Yeonghwi Palace in Sunyahng also have a secret passage for emergencies?"

  Kyeong'ui retorted, "your establishment and a palace are not the same."

  Seon hurriedly bowed her head. Kyeong'ui said, "Anyway, continue."

  "My brother left through that passage six days ago, saying he had something to look into outside the city. And he hasn't returned to this day."

  "Has something like this never happened before?"

  "You know him. He's not someone who wouldn't return without notice."

  After hearing Seon's explanation, Ryang's disappearance no longer seemed like a mere fuss. Kyeong'ui said, "But does that justify coming to the encampment and causing trouble for my Royal Attendant? The Royal Attendant is a recipient of the royal decree. You should know that treating him disrespectfully is no different from disrespecting me and my father."

  Seon bowed deeply. "I apologize."

  "I'll ask again. What makes you suspect my Royal Attendant in relation to your brother's disappearance?"

  "That's..."

  Kyeong'ui continued to fire sharp questions. Seon's mind raced as she saw Hongyoo's anxious expression. Like it or not, if Seon and Hongyoo couldn't protect each other, they would both perish. It didn't take long for Seon to come up with a plan to protect Hongyoo while getting a small measure of revenge. After a pause, Seon spoke.

  "It's because we had an argument with the Royal Attendant the last time he stayed at Nahmgyo."

  Kyeong'ui frowned, urging Seon to answer. Seon continued, "It's embarrassing to say, but that night, I sent a boy to the Royal Attendant's room."

  "By 'sent,' you mean..."

  "You understand correctly."

  Kyeong'ui turned to glare at Hongyoo. Dumbfounded but unable to refute Seon's words, Hongyoo looked down at the floor with a dazed expression. Only Hyeok, who had been driven into a corner alone, found this situation amusing. Seon continued, "The boy came back to us severely injured. We had an argument while questioning him, and I suspected the Royal Attendant might have harbored a grudge against my brother because of it."

  Kyeong'ui's eyes hardened as she listened to Seon. She tried to answer calmly, "My Royal Attendant is not one to harm someone over such a petty grudge. Calm yourself and wait here. Hongyoo and Young Master Gahngyun, follow me."

  Kyeong'ui passed by Seon, who was bowing her head, and headed towards her own tent. After entering the tent with Hongyoo and Hyeok, Kyeong'ui stood with her back to them for a moment, silent. Her shoulders, rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath, were clearly visible from behind. Hongyoo and Hyeok remained silent, as if awaiting their punishment. Finally turning to face them, Kyeong'ui first unleashed her fury on Hyeok.

  "Do you wish for me to punish you with military law?"