Absolute Regression - Chapter 405



Only Noblemtl

Evidence that it was not the 405th suicide.

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

When Geommugeuk read her mind and said that she had to help her mother, Hanseol was secretly surprised.

The reason Geommu-geuk said that was because he had the plot behind this incident in mind. If the Blood King was going after the Ice Palace, they had to join forces to stop him.

Of course, I couldn’t tell her that.

“The reason the Ice Palace Lord accepted the conditions I set was probably because he made some kind of deal with the North Blood Gate. He saved the North Blood Gate Lord’s second son and received a reward for it.”

Hanseol couldn’t deny those words.

“It’s under these circumstances that we entered the Ice Palace. Mother is worried about the Bukhyeolmun Gate, so shouldn’t you take care of us?”

Is that really why he said that? It felt like something a little more important than that.

“The Young Leader has no need to get involved in the affairs of the main palace.”

“I said that for you.”

Hanseol doesn’t have long conversations with anyone except her mother.

First of all, if she just tells the matter briefly, who would dare to talk to the princess at length?

But this cult leader keeps making me talk. No, he makes me unable to stop talking.

“Why are you doing this for me?”

“I just want to help.”

“There is no such thing as unreasonable kindness in this world.”

She spoke firmly and took a step forward.

She hates receiving favors, but she hates the situation where she has to return them even more. The emotions and exchanges between people felt like a poisonous exchange to her.

The sword dance followed her.

“Why are you following me?”

“That’s not something someone who was secretly eavesdropping on what I was saying should say.”

At that moment, Hanseol became angry.

“Eavesdropping? I was just.”

“just?”

“I just didn’t have a chance to come forward.”

“Just as there is no favor without a reason in this world, there is no grave without an excuse.”

Hanseol made a face of disbelief and started walking again. Then she realized that it had been a long time since she had lost her temper. She really hated people who tease people and manipulate their emotions as they pleased.

“Don’t be fooled into thinking that everyone in the world will fall for you. They just… pretend to like you because you’re a cult leader. If you were a low-level warrior, would they have liked you?”

“I bet he got beaten up a lot for talking so much as a low-level unmanned person.”

Hanseol was about to burst out in anger, saying that it wasn’t a joke. If she did, she’d respond with something ridiculous.

She walked away without saying another word.

The passing drones greeted her politely.

Hanseol received their greetings with a consistently expressionless face.

Then the sword dance began to interfere with everything.

“Are you always this strict with your subordinates?”

“We are unmanned. Why should we expect kindness?”

Eventually, she stopped walking again. Her values ​​were too different from this man’s.

“Are those people here to play? Are you going to order them to go on a dangerous mission where their lives are at stake after they’ve been hanging out together? Do you think they’ll be willing to go if you order them to?”

The sword dance didn’t say anything.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“What can I say when you say the right thing?”

Hanseol, who had been quietly watching the sword dance, turned around after saying her last words.

“Even if you are not a low-ranking warrior but a small cult leader, you will be thoroughly beaten one day.”

Hanseol walked briskly, telling people not to follow her. She heard Geommugeuk’s voice behind her.

“Let’s have a drink sometime! I can’t drink because the master is abstinent! Ian won’t drink with me out of loyalty.”

It’s like that all the way. A non-drinker? And what? That guy says he won’t drink because he’s keeping his loyalty? Then he’s saying he’s going to drink because he thinks he has no loyalty? How much are you trying to tease people?

So she left there.

The playfulness disappeared from the face of the swordsman who was looking at her.

I was digging into her like this because I couldn’t get close to her through normal methods, as she was building an invisible wall.

The reason for this was not to brighten her personality or fill the hole in her heart. It was for her and the Bukhae Ice Palace’s safety.

If the Blood King was involved in the Ice Palace, he would have definitely extended his power to Hanseol as well. Or he would have tried to do so. That has been their method so far.

Geommu-geuk looked around. Towering buildings and giant ice statues stood out in this barren land, reflecting the sunlight and shining brightly.

‘Blood King, where are you?’

Where are you hiding that cruel red blood?

* * *

There were a total of three rooms provided by the Bukhae Ice Palace.

The swordsman said to Ian.

“You stay in the middle room.”

“Are you two going to protect me from both sides?”

“If you want to eat delicious noodles, you have to protect yourself.”

You have to be extremely careful because you don’t know what’s going on in the North Sea Ice Palace. The horse will protect itself, and if it’s in the next room, the Heavenly Horse Guardian Spirit that has achieved great success will react.

“Before coming here, I sent a message to Eunwol and Tongcheon-gak. I want them to focus all possible information on the Bukhae Ice Palace and Bukhaeul Gate.”

If the two intelligence organizations join forces, it will be a powerful force.

“I think the people behind this are the same people who plotted in the Murim Alliance and the Sadomaeng.”

Chwima and Ian nodded in agreement. They were the ones who were also active in Saewoo Pungcheon Church. If they weren’t in the Ice Palace, it would have been a strange situation.

“Because of what happened before, this is an even more dangerous situation. Be careful, Young Master!”

“It’s okay, Hyung will protect you. Right? Why aren’t you answering? I’ll take care of it! Why aren’t you doing it again?”

At Geommugeuk’s urging, Chwima acted like a fool.

“Ah! I want to drink.”

“You can’t go back to your original form!”

Ian smiled faintly as he watched their conversation.

I never dreamed that Chwima would be like this. He was always drunk and I was afraid that I would be able to communicate with him. I thought that when he got angry, he would get so emotional that he would explode with madness.

Above all, I thought I could overcome my sadness with alcohol.

He knows that drinking and being sad is not true mourning.

He rather quit drinking and calmly looked at the world, and controlled his mind. That is how he consoled himself. He knew that only by knowing how to console himself can he truly mourn.

“You have to be especially careful of the Bukhyeolmun Gate. They found out what they were trying to hide.”

Ian asked worriedly at Chwima’s words.

“Then wouldn’t they try to destroy all the evidence at Bukhyeolmun and cut off the tail?”

“I will do it.”

The person who answered was Geommugeuk.

“Then is it okay to stay like this?”

“It’s okay. If you try to cut off the tail, you’ll end up with another tail.”

“okay.”

Ian sighed, not knowing exactly how he was going to deal with it, even though he answered as if he understood.

I’ve never had a fight like this before.

The power behind it, the North Blood Gate, and the North Sea Ice Palace.

It feels like you’re standing in the middle of enemy territory, surrounded by fearsome enemies.

“How do you feel?”

“I’m shaking.”

But she looked back and forth between the two people who would fight together, and then added a word to that trembling.

“It feels good.”

* * *

The investigation into Wonju’s death began in earnest the next morning.

Hanseol came to pick up the three people herself.

She approached the sword dance calmly, as if she had never lost her temper yesterday.

“First, I will show you the room of the deceased lord. The princess told us not to clean it up yet, so it has been preserved as is.”

It was fortunate for the investigation of this case. But why did Binggungju tell her not to clean it up? Because he was close to her? Or was Binggungju also suspicious of her death?

“What was her sign?”

Hanseol answered Chwima’s question.

“I drank alcohol.”

At the word ‘drinking alone’, the corners of Chwima’s eyes twitched.

“Could it be that he was poisoned?”

“That can’t be true. He left a will.”

“Can I see it?”

As if he had expected that Chwima would ask for it, he took out a will from his bosom and handed it over.

It was about confessing that life was hard and apologizing to the people of Baekjuseolwon who made the liquor. It ended with asking Binggungju to forgive his disloyalty.

Something strange flashed through Chwima’s sad eyes as he read the will.

“After investigation, it was confirmed that it was the owner’s handwriting.”

“Yes, her handwriting is clear.”

Drunkard also admitted it. He had read more of her writings than anyone else, so at least it wasn’t someone else’s will.

“Where did you get the poison?”

“I haven’t looked into that.”

It seems that no investigation was conducted because it was clear that he had committed suicide.

“What happened to Wonju’s body?”

“He was buried in the tomb where the warriors of the main palace were buried.”

If the body had already been buried, it would be impossible to determine what poison was used on the body.

Hanseol guided the three people to Wonju’s room.

“I heard that since there is no family left, there is no one to collect the deceased’s belongings.”

In that sense, Chwima was also Wonju’s only family.

They entered the circle room together.

The drunkard who entered the room mourned her for a moment.

‘It’s been so long since I’ve known you, but this is my first time in this room.’

The room was neatly furnished. There was a small bed by the window, just large enough for one person to lie down on, and next to it was a small desk and chair.

‘You must have sat at that desk and sent me a letter.’

The image of her sitting there writing a letter came to Chwima’s mind.

Most of the books on the desk were related to alcohol.

Various parts and devices used in the brewery were also placed in the corner, and the clothes worn while working were also neatly folded.

Everyone felt the same way.

She really was a person who only knew alcohol.

A display case against one wall contained dozens of liquor bottles, each of various shapes.

“I see you’ve collected them separately. Are they precious liquors?”

Chwima didn’t answer. No, he couldn’t. Among the collected liquors were the liquors he had sent. Among them were many ordinary liquors that could be found in the market, but she had collected them together with the rare liquors she had collected.

That wasn’t all they had collected.

Chwima found a box under her desk. In the box were carefully placed the letters she had received.

‘You’ve collected all of these!’

Chwima didn’t know where the letters she had sent were. Some might have disappeared, and some might have been thrown away somewhere.

However, Wonju organized and stored the letters by date.

Chwima took one out and read it. It was worn from having been read several times.

‘Oh, something like this happened.’

I remembered something that happened a long time ago. There was something written in the letter that made me wonder if I had even told this story. My history was literally written in the letter.

“Can I take the letters we exchanged?”

Hanseol readily responded to Chwima’s words.

“Okay, then.”

Even though he was stuffing the letters into his chest, Chwima didn’t show any emotion.

“Now let’s go to the broad daylight field.”

* * *

The white snow field was moving busily.

Behind those carrying the raw materials on carts, there was a place to ferment and age the liquor. There were also those bottling the finished liquor.

As I was watching them work for a while, the man who was in charge of the temporary headquarters of Baekjuseolwon was called in. He said that he was the person the deceased headquarters trusted the most.

“I have a question for you about Jeon Dae Wonju.”

“Please speak.”

“Did anything strange happen before she died? Did she act differently?”

“That never happened.”

“Who fought?”

“The Lord is not the type of person to fight with anyone.”

I spoke to a few other people besides this man, but it didn’t seem like there was any internal conflict.

Before leaving Baekjuseolwon, Chwima investigated the liquor produced there. What kind of liquor is produced, what the production schedule is, and where the liquor is distributed.

After completing their investigation, the four of them left the snowy field.

“It is so obvious that he committed suicide, so is there a need to investigate further?”

If it is confirmed that she committed suicide, the three will have no reason to stay in the ice palace any longer.

But, in response to Hanseol’s confidence, Chwima showed another confidence.

“Since it wasn’t suicide, we need to investigate it in earnest. The Ice Palace should help us more actively.”

When Hanseol made a puzzled expression, Chwima said confidently.

“During the investigation today, I found three pieces of evidence and suspicion that this was not suicide.”

“In what part?”

Not only Hanseol, but also Geommugeuk and Ian looked curious.

There are three?

“First of all, even if he committed suicide, he would not have died by drinking poison.”

“Since he was a person who liked alcohol his whole life, it’s possible that his final journey was also accompanied by alcohol.”

Chwima shook his head firmly.

“If I were a drinker like you, I would. But she’s not a drinker, she’s a brewer.”

Chwima added an explanation to Hanseol, who still didn’t understand what it meant.

“I would rather jump off a cliff than allow poison to be mixed into the liquor I made. That’s because I am a person who purely loves liquor.”

Geommugeuk understood that feeling like this.

A warrior may be able to commit suicide by stabbing his own heart with his sword, but a swordsmith would probably not want to get blood on the sword he made.

“What other reasons?”

“I just checked the schedule of Baekjuseolwon. The ice wine that was to enter the palace was completed five days after her death. This exquisite ice wine can only be made during this time. It is also the most important day of the year in Baekjuseolwon. But she committed suicide without completing that last wine? That is absolutely impossible.”

Geommu-geuk and Ian nodded together. Hanseol also didn’t react outwardly, but he thought that Chwima’s words made sense. The fact that the will had been discovered must have obscured the mystery.

“What is the third and final reason?”

“That’s the decisive reason.”

Chwima spoke calmly with sunken eyes.

“The point is that he didn’t leave me a will.”

At least I was confident that he couldn’t have left without saying anything to me.

“She sent me her final message by not leaving a will. Ask me to reveal the truth about her unjust death.”

What if he had written the will under duress? If he had expected death, he might have left his last words to Chwima.

But by not leaving a word behind, he let Chwima know that this death was not suicide. This was something that was only possible when there was deep trust.

“Do you know what their mistake was? They killed the man who was supposed to protect them.”

Chwima said, slowly touching the blood clot hanging from his waist.

“Someone to stop me from getting drunk and going wild.”