Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 224 – Lady Seo, the Imperial Noble Consort (1)

“Your Highness, surely not…?”

“Yes. It seems this young lady is the real master artisan.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s meaningful words, Song-ah, who had been introduced as the daughter of Master Hong Bong-yuk, stood with a stiff expression before sighing deeply.

“Whew. It doesn’t seem like you’ll believe me no matter what I say.”

“That’s right. I’m convinced that you’re the real master artisan.”

Mok Gyeong-un remembers everything he sees.

That’s why he also remembers the palms of all the people at Hong Bong-yuk’s slaughterhouse.

Most of them had calloused and rough hands, but anyone could tell it was from years of working in the slaughterhouse.

However, only Song-ah’s palms were different.

Her unhealthy palms weren’t the type that could be formed from slaughtering.

They were the kind of palms one could only get from doing delicate work or handling a lot of glue.

Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said to her,

“Is there any point in trying to deceive me further?”

At this, Song-ah shrugged her shoulders and replied,

“I suppose not. No one has ever observed my palms this intently before, so I’ve been properly caught.”

Seop Chun asked in amazement at her unapologetic attitude,

“Are you truly the master artisan, young lady?”

“Why? Is it hard to believe that a young woman makes human skin masks?”

“That’s not what I meant. It was simply unexpected.”

“Unexpected, huh. Well, I suppose it could be. You might think this kind of work that earns one the title of master should be done by an older, experienced man, but unfortunately, I am that master artisan.”

Now that she had been exposed anyway, she candidly revealed her true thoughts.

Then, looking at Mok Gyeong-un, she said,

“I didn’t intentionally deceive you. My life has been threatened more than once or twice while doing this work. There have also been many who coveted this technique and tried to forcefully recruit me into their organizations.”

“It was to protect yourself.”

“Yes. Then how else could I protect myself? I don’t know martial arts like all of you or have power like Sir Embroiden Uniform Guard.”

Hiding behind a fake identity was her way of safeguarding herself.

Understanding this, Seop Chun nodded and spoke.

“That’s perfectly understandable.”

“Then can you keep my secret?”

“Secret?”

“Yes, a secret. If my true identity is revealed, I’ll be subjected to threats once again.”

“Ah, of course we’ll keep it. Our purpose is simply to commission human skin masks, not to threaten or inconvenience you, young lady.”

“That’s a relief then. I trust you’ll also keep this secret, sir?”

Song-ah shifted her gaze to Mok Gyeong-un as she asked.

Mok Gyeong-un crossed his arms, smiled, and replied,

“That’s not difficult. However, such requests always come with a price, don’t they?”

“A price? The price is that I’ll take on your commission…”

“Something you were going to do originally can’t be considered a price.”

“Ha! Then what are you suggesting?”

“Personally, I have one favor to ask of you.”

“A favor?”

As she echoed back, Mok Gyeong-un approached and whispered quietly in her ear,

“I’d simply like to observe how you make the human skin masks, if that’s alright?”

“……..”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Song-ah scoffed inwardly.

She felt like she knew what this man’s ulterior motive was.

It seemed he wanted to know how she crafted the human skin masks.

However, unfortunately, this wasn’t something one could imitate just by watching.

One had to be born with deft hands, and without knowing her secret methods for producing the necessary chemicals, it would be difficult to even preserve the human skin.

Thus, she readily agreed.

“Do as you please.”

Watch all you want.

As if that’ll allow you to do anything.

But then Mok Gyeong-un said,

“Thank you for allowing it. And this is just out of simple curiosity, but may I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Is it possible to directly peel off a person’s facial skin and use it as a human skin mask?”

“Excuse me?”

“Ah, I just thought that would be much more efficient.”

‘!?’

At Mok Gyeong-un smiling and nonchalantly saying something so revolting, a chill ran down her spine.

***

As the sun set,

Mok Gyeong-un and his group, having successfully completed the commission for human skin masks and taken a brief rest in the afternoon, were following Gan-yang, the leader of the advance party, to a certain location.

It was a restaurant located not far from the outer palace of the imperial court.

Known for its famous fried duck dishes, this large-scale restaurant with a lavish exterior was a high-end establishment frequented by nobles and even imperial family members.

Pointing to the restaurant’s wall in the distance with numerous lanterns lit, Gan-yang said,

“Yoo-bong has likely reserved the entire place.”

“Reserved the entire restaurant?”

“Yes. Her Majesty the Imperial Noble Consort dislikes having her meals interrupted. And the conversation today isn’t something that should reach the ears of others.”

Reserving the entire restaurant meant renting out the whole establishment.

As it was such a famous place, it must have cost a pretty penny.

Mok Gyeong-un looked at the several dozens of armored soldiers guarding the vicinity of the restaurant’s walls and remarked,

“There are a lot of guards.”

“This is actually quite normal. If we move just a bit further from the palace, hundreds of guards will accompany her.”

“His Majesty the Emperor’s favor is no joke.”

“Yes, there’s that. And given Her Majesty the Imperial Noble Consort’s status as the mother of the Crown Prince, that level of precaution is taken.”

“That makes sense. Shall we go then?”

“Ah! Before that, there’s one more thing I must tell you.”

At Gan-yang’s words, Mok Gyeong-un stopped and turned his head.

Gan-yang then lowered his voice and said,

“This matter is extremely important. No matter what Her Majesty the Imperial Noble Consort says, you must not get agitated or respond emotionally.”

This was why the excommunicated monk Ja Geum-jeong had been left to stay at the inn.

In fact, Ja Geum-jeong was so notorious as one of the Three Mad Ones that he had been separated just in case trouble occurred.

However, the one Gan-yang was truly worried about was Mok Gyeong-un.

‘I’m worried.’

He considered the real uncontrollable one to be Mok Gyeong-un rather than Ja Geum-jeong.

Unlike Mong Mu-yak or Seop Chun from the rear party, he had a tendency to act according to his own will, so Gan-yang was concerned he might accidentally provoke Lady Seo.

That’s why he was reminding him once more.

Mok Gyeong-un smiled at him as if telling him not to worry and said,

“As Gan-yang said he’d handle it, I’ll simply observe.”

“…I understand.”

If he could really do that, Gan-yang would be truly grateful.

With that, they headed towards the restaurant.

Upon arriving at the restaurant’s main gate, the soldiers guarding it blocked their path.

“The entire restaurant has been reserved today, so no meals can be served. Please leave.”

Gan-yang then took out a tile he had prepared from his bosom and showed it to them.

The soldiers then bowed their heads as if they had been waiting for it.

However, they couldn’t pass through just like that.

“We will hold onto your weapons for now.”

“Our weapons?”

At his words, Gan-yang and Ok-gi from the advance party handed over their weapons as if they had anticipated it to some degree.

On the other hand, Seop Chun, Mong Mu-yak, and the others seemed displeased at having to relinquish their unique weapons, their expressions not very good.

However, as they couldn’t provoke the Imperial Noble Consort’s temper, they had no choice but to hand over all their unique weapons and armaments.

“You there, hand over your sword as well.”

The soldier pointed to Mok Gyeong-un’s Evil Commandment Sword and spoke.

Mok Gyeong-un handed the sword’s scabbard to the soldier and warned,

“I’m telling you this just in case, but don’t draw the sword from the scabbard.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“I’m just telling you out of concern.”

The soldier who received the Evil Commandment Sword’s scabbard snorted as if it was absurd.

Mok Gyeong-un then whispered in the soldier’s ear,

“It’s a cursed sword, so if you carelessly draw it, you’ll regret it.”

“What are you..?”

“If you’re really curious, you can draw it. But you’ll have to deal with the consequences yourself.”

“………”

At the ominous words that seemed to be a threat, the soldier frowned.

However, knowing they were Lady Seo’s guests, the soldier no longer showed any reaction and stepped aside.

Thus, the group who had handed over their weapons entered through the main gate.

Inside, the smell of fried duck that had been wafting out from the start, along with various spices, stimulated their appetite even more.

“You’ve arrived.”

A familiar face was waiting in the front garden of the restaurant.

It was Yoo-bong, one of the advance party members.

He greeted the group, wearing even more makeup than when they parted during the day, appearing like a eunuch.

“Her Majesty the Imperial Noble Consort is waiting.”

At his words, Gan-yang carefully asked,

“How is Her Majesty the Imperial Noble Consort’s mood?”

“Hohoho. Fortunately, as this is a restaurant she greatly enjoys, she is in a good mood.”

“That’s a relief.”

This was extremely important as the request could go either way depending on the Imperial Noble Consort’s mood.

“Then please follow me this way.”

With quick steps, Yoo-bong led the group to the VIP room where the Imperial Noble Consort was.

In front was a small pond, and before that was a pavilion.

Thin ramie fabric curtains hung around the pavilion, and the silhouette of someone presumed to be Lady Seo could be seen inside, along with two shadows thought to be palace maids attending to her.

-Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un swept his eyes around.

There was a considerable number of hidden presences that couldn’t be seen.

‘Around thirty people.’

They all seemed to be first-rate masters who had cultivated martial arts, qualitatively on a different level from the soldiers outside.

And in front of the pavilion were two middle-aged men who appeared to be extraordinary.

One was a man wearing black official robes, clean-shaven and with a powdered face like Yoo-bong, seeming to be a eunuch.

The other middle-aged man was wearing neat gray official robes and had a willow leaf saber at his waist.

‘That eunuch must be Eastern Depot’s leader, So-gam.’

Mok Gyeong-un had heard from Gan-yang beforehand that there was a eunuch from Eastern Depot who guarded Lady Seo.

The head of the Eastern Depot eunuchs was called Palace Eunuch, Tae-gam (태감, 太监).

Under this Tae-gam were two Junior Supervisor, So-gam (소감, 少監).

Both of these So-gam were said to have mastered the secret martial arts passed down through generations in the imperial palace, and indeed, the aura they exuded was no ordinary matter.

However, the other person standing on the left side in a gray official robe was unknown.

‘Who is that?’

Gan-yang also seemed to be unaware of his identity.

At that moment, Yoo-bong announced,

“Your Majesty, the guests have arrived.”

With those words, Yoo-bong sent a signal with his eyes to Gan-yang and Mok Gyeong-un.

Led by Gan-yang, they joined their hands and bowed their heads in a formal greeting.

“We pay our respects to Her Majesty the Imperial Noble Consort.”

“………”

As they offered their greetings, Lady Seo, reflected in the curtains, showed no reaction.

They had expected a light greeting in return, so this was unexpected.

Thus, they all had to remain with their heads bowed.

‘What’s going on?’

According to Yoo-bong, Lady Seo was supposedly in a good mood.

But what was the meaning of this?

As silence flowed, the atmosphere was quite peculiar.

At that moment, the leader of Eastern Depot standing on the right side of the pavilion opened his mouth.

“How impudent. What kind of lowly servants greet Her Majesty in such a manner? Immediately kneel and pay proper respects.”

‘!?’

At these words, Gan-yang, who had been bowing his head, frowned.

He hadn’t expected them to nitpick about etiquette right from the start like this.

‘They’re trying to gain the upper hand.’

Gan-yang clicked his tongue inwardly as if troubled.

He had anticipated to some degree that Lady Seo wanted to change this relationship that had lasted long since her days as a noble consort, but it was a rough start right off the bat.