Who threatened Cheonma Hara with a knife - Chapter 42



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Who threatened to call me Cheonmahara with a knife? Episode 42

Assassination (4)

The room was cleaned up in a hurry since morning, but there were still knife marks on the walls.

There was the ambassador, the third executioner, and me sitting around. Everyone else was sent away.

“Is there a problem?”

Was it because I was making a serious expression? The ambassador asked with a very serious expression.

“What I’m going to tell you from now on is only a story of possibility. It’s not a story of certainty.”

So, I opened my mouth and told him what I had inferred a little while ago.

“Currently, that person called Chugak is known to be the third son of the Murim Alliance, but he could also be an assassin sent by the Shinshu to target me.”

“!!”

“What does that mean?”

“First, I think I should explain how the assassin came to visit me. I was able to survive the assassin’s attack thanks to the third death penalty. Since the third death penalty had visited me several times at night, I was able to prepare for this by being able to know when someone came.”

“… So that’s why you said it was thanks to me.”

The third death row inmate nodded his head with a gloomy expression as if he had just realized it.

“Yes. And this was a secret that only I knew. Since the two guards and Lady Jin disliked the third death penalty sneaking in at night, I prepared it so that I could calmly welcome it without being surprised.”

“I didn’t know you cared that much about me.”

“Ahem. Anyway, the important thing is that I was able to survive because I prepared for it. On the other hand, if I hadn’t prepared for it, I would have died without even knowing that the assassin had come.”

“Hahaha! It really is as the youngest said, the priest saved our youngest!”

The third death row inmate’s gloomy expression slightly eased at the ambassador’s praise. However, that wasn’t what was important right now.

“The important thing here is what would have happened if I hadn’t prepared. In other words, what if I had died in vain.”

“What if the priest dies?”

“Yes. If that were the case, who would be the first person to come under suspicion?”

At my suggestion, the ambassador, who had been pondering for a moment, turned his gaze to the third death row officer. And the third death row officer’s face had also turned pale.

I nodded, because their reasoning was correct.

“If I had died without making a sound, my body would have been discovered by Lady Jin or the guards in the morning. And Lady Jin and the guards knew that the third death sentence often sneaked into my quarters at night.”

“… But I was there at the time. I was even in a state of possession.”

The third death row inmate, his face pale, protested as if he had been framed as the real culprit.

“That’s the problem. Think about it, Death Penalty. I lost my life in the middle of the night, and at the time of my death, Death Penalty was in a state of obsession with money. If, in the meantime, there was a bloody knife or something like that left in Death Penalty’s room, what would Death Penalty think?”

“… While I was in a state of obsession with money, I must have thought I had killed the priest without realizing it.”

Thirdly, the executioner and the ambassador shared a gloomy expression for a moment. As if it occurred to him belatedly, the ambassador asked in a questionable tone.

“But why was there a bloody knife in the third room all of a sudden?”

“For my reasoning to work, those who are after me must know that the third death row inmate was possessed by a demon last night. That means someone close to the third death row inmate must have leaked that information.”

“!!!”

“If there is such a person, it would not be difficult for him to secretly take the sword he received after assassinating me and place it in the death chamber where he was possessed by a demon.”

Of course, there was a logical leap here. The two executioners, surprised by my unexpected story, didn’t seem to notice.

Are you waiting endlessly for the third death penalty to come at any moment, in order to kill me and frame me for it?

Even knowing when that coin possession would end, you killed me and hid the knife around Samsahyung.

Well, I guess we could skip over the bloody knife and just go with circumstantial evidence, but it still felt a little lacking.

If there is one way to make this possible.

‘If there is a way for those who are after me to induce possession by a coin or to control the time of possession by a coin, then all contradictions will be resolved.’

I couldn’t tell if there was actually such a thing.

“Anyway, if this reasoning is correct, then there must be a swindler among those who know that the third death penalty often comes at night. There must be at least one of them by the third death penalty’s side.”

Jin Ha-yeon, Gwan Mu-yeol, and Jang Hui. At least one of these three was a lackey of the guy who targeted me.

“Then shouldn’t we tell this to the teacher immediately!!”

The ambassador, who was furious at the mention of the weed, tried to get up, exuding a murderous aura.

I had to quickly grab the ambassador’s trouser leg and stop him.

“Didn’t I tell you at the beginning? This is just a possibility. Since there is even evidence that it is the work of the Murim Alliance, honestly, the possibility is slim. It is only a conjecture, and there is no direct evidence.”

“Evidence. If we interrogate those three, won’t something come out?”

“… … .”

To be honest, I wasn’t sure about this reasoning either. It was just something that came to mind while I was obsessively thinking about what-ifs, and maybe because of my OCD, I just had a hard time asking about it and letting it go.

Because of that, torturing those close to me was not a very pleasant choice.

“Not only is it more likely not to be true, but if I report to the Master without knowing who the body is, there is a risk that the body will hide. I must approach this matter cautiously. This is an important matter not only for me, but also for the Ambassador.”

“???”

Towards the ambassador’s expression of incomprehension, I added an explanation.

“If it wasn’t the work of the Murim Alliance, if they were trying to frame the third death row brother, why would they go to such lengths to target me?”

“… Are you saying that it’s because I care about you?”

I nodded to the ambassador’s question.

No matter how much I thought about it, that was the only reason they were targeting me. To be exact.

“Perhaps it is because they judged that we would be an obstacle to them becoming the next great Heavenly Horse.”

There is a man who wants to rise to the position of the next Heavenly Demon even if it means dealing with the Heavenly Demon’s disciples.

The ambassador’s face, realizing that fact, looked as if it would explode at any moment from holding back anger.

“The followers of the Great Heavenly Demon Sect, how could they choose such a petty method!!”

The reason I was angry seemed to be because they had chosen a mean method rather than fair competition.

Even though he was snarling as if he was going to go crazy at any moment and his eyes were blazing red, the ambassador somehow managed to keep his wits about him.

Certainly, it seemed as if he had been caught in a trap.

Then he turned his grim face towards me and asked me in a harsh tone.

“So, what does the youngest want to do? Do you have any plan in mind?”

Faced with that terrifying aura head-on, I answered in as calm a tone as possible.

“First of all, let me say this again, this is just a speculation based on a weak possibility. It is not certain. However, just in case, I have a plan in mind.”

* * *

That night. Somewhere in the Cheonmasin Church.

Three men, including Hogyo Wonju, were meeting in the dark.

“Tsk. It’s a shame that someone who belongs to the Dark Shadows can’t even deal with a young girl who has only been a member for half a year. It’s really a shame.”

The head monk spoke soothingly to the man on the right.

“Still, didn’t you succeed in turning your attention to the Murim Alliance? It was truly fortunate that you had prepared.”

The plan to frame the three princes for the crime was something that had been planned from the beginning, based on information that the informant attached to Ilmok had asked for.

The plan was delayed to prepare for an emergency.

If the assassin failed, there was time to create fake evidence to blame the Murim Alliance for the crime.

However, the man on the right looked at the man in the center with an anxious tone, as if he was not satisfied with that.

“But is it really safe? What will you do if what you wrote to the three princes is discovered?”

To that question, the man in the center clicked his tongue lightly and answered.

“Don’t worry. After use, no evidence will remain.”

The man in the middle spoke to the head monk, as if the man on the right who was whining was uncomfortable.

“The escort will be replaced because of this incident, so I won’t be able to use the one I had attached to me.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll just prepare another one. But what do you plan to do now?”

In response to the monk’s question, the man in the center stroked his beard for a moment and then answered.

“I guess it wouldn’t be a bad idea to use what you said back then. Didn’t you say that the youngest prince has been suffering from the side effects of magic recently?”

The fact that Ichimoku had consulted with the escort warriors about how to deal with the side effects had already been relayed to them.

“Are you planning on dealing with him by disguising him as a possessed demon, just like you did with the Five Princes?”

To the monk’s question, the man in the center nodded.

Although it was a method that only worked on some magic’s side effects, there was a way to induce magic possession by stimulating the side effects.

As used on the three princes this time.

* * *

The next morning.

The master came to Pungamjeon again.

“May the heavenly horse come and be blessed!”

“Meet the master of Manma!”

When the two guards guarding Pungamjeon and Jin Ha-yeon bowed, the Master accepted their bow as usual and spoke.

“I have a word to share with you for a moment, so please leave.”

“Your name!”

The master, who had sent the three of them out of Pungamjeon, asked me, who was holding the sword.

“If you overdo it, the wound may reopen.”

“It’s just a shallow cut, so there’s no major problem. Maybe it’s because he’s still young, but he seems to be recovering quickly. Hahaha.”

“Hahaha. You speak as if you have experience growing old.”

“Ahem. That’s a story I often hear from Mr. Taehyun. He said that maybe because he’s getting older, even if he sleeps well for a day, his body doesn’t get better.”

It was a moment when I almost revealed that I had been reincarnated without knowing it.

Fortunately, the teacher didn’t seem to have any doubts about what I said and moved on to the main topic.

“We have been investigating those involved in the past day’s investigation. Naturally, the first person to be investigated was the Dark Shadow Lord, but there was nothing particularly suspicious about him. We are currently looking into those who were even slightly close to the Dark Shadow Lord, but it seems highly likely that he acted alone.”

The teacher spoke as if he were an ambassador. So, it was obvious that he was holding back his anger.

It seemed that he was quite furious at the fact that not only had the Murim Alliance’s Sejak been hiding, but that they were targeting his youngest disciple.

“Also, I plan to replace your guards and concubines. Since you have already taken out all the scriptures, history books, and laws, there is no need to receive lessons from the true concubines. I will assign you those with a bit more experience as concubines.”

It was the Master who said that, perhaps out of concern for my safety. It seemed that he had dismissed the guards for this story.

And this was the story I was waiting for.

“If my safety is at stake, wouldn’t it be enough to just increase the number of escorts a little? Is there really a need to expel them?”

“… I know that you have been with them and have become attached to them. However, since you almost got into trouble, I cannot just let it go.”

“Am I not so fine?”

“If you didn’t know until the assassin entered your quarters, it’s already a failure.”

“Anyway, I’m the target of the escort, so it’s not a failure, right? So, I’d like you to just add one or two more people and end it.”

“…Why do you care so much for them?”

To the teacher’s question, I answered with the saddest expression possible.

“If they are punished for this incident, won’t their future life in the school be difficult? How can they rise to higher positions with the stigma of failing to protect?”

He watched me speak so sadly that I seemed to be about to shed tears at any moment. The Master stroked his beard and said,

“How admirable. I understand your heart for caring for the believers.”

“Thank you, Master!”

“One, this is just this one time. You are the disciple of this old man, the Heaven of the teachings. Your life is not a private matter. If you are swept up in feelings and protect those who have failed in public affairs, it can lead to mistakes in the future.”

“Keep that in mind! I’ll keep that in mind!”

The teacher bowed to the floor and showed the utmost courtesy.

There was nothing mean or special about it.

The attitude towards Cheonma among the pseudo-religionists was like this even in normal times.

Also, it wasn’t that I was really asking the teacher because I felt sorry for those three.

‘First of all, the first button is off.’

It’s unlikely, but if my guess is true, at least one of those three is a spy for the enemy.

And there’s a famous line from a certain movie: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

My first plan was to be the bait.

* * *

As if the fish weren’t ready to take the bait yet, nothing much happened today.

And that night.

Not long after Ilmok finished his work and went into his quarters.

dripping.

“Your Majesty, are you sleeping?”

Jin Ha-yeon’s voice was heard from beyond the door.

“What’s going on?”

“Hey, would it be okay if I come inside?”

At night? Why?

That thought occurred to me, but Ichimoku told me to come in first.

And when Jin Ha-yeon entered the room, Ilmok’s mind was momentarily paralyzed.

“…Why did you bring all those things?”

It was Jin Ha-yeon, who had brought a blanket and pillow with her, wearing comfortable clothes similar to a white nightgown, whether it was her usual bed clothes or something similar.

The question was, why did you bring that?

“I heard from Heavenly Demon that Confucius forgave me, who should have been demoted.”

Are you planning to repay my forgiveness in this way?

“… That, that’s not what I meant when I told you, Master.”

In the midst of being embarrassed in many ways, I answered with a moderate amount of humility.

The answer that came back was a little different from what Ichimoku had expected.

“I felt that since I have been forgiven by Confucius, I should show a more developed side of myself. The girl felt that the reason I was late this time was because I was too far away from Confucius. So, from now on, I will sleep with Confucius and be with him twelve hours a day.”

“… So, you’re saying that you’ll sleep in the same room as me for protection?”

“Yes.”

“everyday?”

“How can there be a day of rest when protecting Confucius?”

“… … .”

Jin Ha-yeon answered with her usual cold expression, without even a hint of hesitation.

Ichimoku, who had been thinking for a moment, soon nodded.

“Do so.”

There was absolutely no malicious intent.

‘Yeah. Jin Ha-yeon is one of the suspects. I’m just bait, so if I stay close, something might happen, right?’

It was a scene where I kept repeating that to myself.

I didn’t know why my heart kept beating faster.