Chapter 864

“My subordinate’s crime is my own failing. Please forgive me, Your Highness.”

Baek Yeon smiled warmly as he looked at the young prince before him.

Prince Shangshan’s eyes shone with unusual clarity. Reflected in them was Baek Yeon, spattered with his subordinate’s blood.

He looked like a beast facing its prey.

The response came at once.

“Baek Yeon, how dare you—!”

Hong Jin sprang in front of his young lord, his voice boiling with fury. But Baek Yeon paid him no mind.

No—more precisely, he couldn’t afford to.

Someone far more dangerous than any eunuch was staring straight at him.

“This guy. I thought we were going to settle this nicely, but you’ve really crossed the line.”

At the young man’s offhand remark, Baek Yeon’s smile deepened.

“Is there a problem, Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan?”

“There is. A big one. Are you really allowed to do this?”

Jin Taekyung scratched his chin and pointed at the severed head on the ground.

Blood poured without pause from the neck, cut so cleanly it sent a shiver down his spine.

“You commit murder in front of His Highness? Is a Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard allowed to run wild like this?”

“Of course.”

“What?”

“I said I’m allowed. No matter how much power a high official wields—even if he’s a member of the imperial family—I and the Embroidered Uniform Guard serve only one person and obey his will.”

Baek Yeon raised one hand toward the dark sky, then spread both arms toward the vast buildings stretching endlessly behind him.

“The Son of Heaven. Aside from His Majesty the Emperor, who rules this world on Heaven’s behalf, who would dare punish the Embroidered Uniform Guard on a private whim?”

“……!”

“The only reason I—or rather, the Embroidered Uniform Guard—exist is to serve His Majesty. If anyone tries to undermine his authority or defy him…”

His mouth was still smiling, but his eyes weren’t.

Baek Yeon swept a cold gaze over those around him: the East Depot eunuchs, their faces stiff; Hong Jin and Hyuk Mujin, tense; and finally Jin Taekyung, standing between him and Prince Shangshan. Only then did he continue.

“Whoever they are, they won’t escape death.”

Thud.

Baek Yeon kicked the head. It rolled to a stop at someone’s feet. Jin Taekyung stared down at his leather shoe as blood soaked into it, then spoke.

“So, are you going to claim we’ve committed treason now?”

“Prince Shangshan, committing treason? Ha! That’s a frightening thing to say, my friend.”

Baek Yeon laughed aloud and waved a hand.

“No, no. I merely punished him myself.”

“Punished him?”

“He dared draw his sword in front of His Highness Prince Shangshan. That’s a capital crime. As someone said earlier, shouldn’t he be thoroughly fucked up for it?”

“I appreciate you taking my opinion into account, but it looks like there’s one more person who needs to be fucked up.”

Jin Taekyung laughed along with him.

“The man who drew his sword in front of royalty is dead. What happens to the man who spilled blood?”

“I summarily executed someone who might have become a traitor. I expect I’ll receive due praise and a reward.”

“Who says?”

“You may not know this, but incidents within the Embroidered Uniform Guard are generally resolved quickly. There are only two people who get to decide.”

Jin Taekyung let out a dry laugh.

He could already guess who they were.

One was the Son of Heaven, the very reason the Embroidered Uniform Guard existed. The other…

“The Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?”

“Correct. You’re sharper than I expected, Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.”

“Damn it.”

“There’s another way, so don’t be disheartened just yet. If you want me punished, you can submit a formal petition to His Majesty the Emperor. Every citizen of the Great Nation has that right. Ah, of course…”

Baek Yeon continued as if something had just occurred to him.

“That might be difficult for a martial-world ruffian without even an identity tablet.¹”

“……Hah.”

“There is one more way. Want to hear it?”

Jin Taekyung thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“That would be difficult.”

“Why?”

“I want to kill you, but I don’t want to die.”

“The first is absurd nonsense, but the second is a fairly sensible reason. And that answer just saved your life.”

Clank. Clank.

An unpleasant scrape sounded with every step Baek Yeon took.

Clad in golden armor that gleamed even in the dark, he stopped in front of Jin Taekyung. He looked up at the young man, who stood a head taller than he did, then turned his gaze to the young prince visible past Taekyung’s side.

“Your Highness Prince Shangshan. Do you also believe my conduct was disrespectful?”

“……”

“Your Highness. I am asking you.”

The prince’s breath trembled. But Baek Yeon’s armor wasn’t the only thing that still shone in the darkness.

“You are… truly arrogant and discourteous.”

Prince Shangshan Zhu Bao trembled, but kept his eyes fixed on Baek Yeon as he continued.

“Even so, I will not blame you. Nor will I ask my elder brother, His Majesty, to punish you.”

Baek Yeon bent at the waist in an exaggerated bow.

“I am most grateful to hear that, but may I ask why?”

“You are my elder brother’s subject, not mine.”

“……!”

“Both you and I are ultimately His Majesty’s subjects. But if you were my subject, you would not escape death here today. A sovereign must not forgive a disloyal subject.”

At those words, an unreadable emotion passed over Baek Yeon’s face.

It vanished almost at once. Without a word, he turned and gestured to his subordinates with his chin.

“His Highness appears weary from the long journey. Take him inside at once.”

“Loyalty!”

“Oh, and Thousand Captain Jeong, stay behind a moment.”

The Embroidered Uniform Guard soldiers, who’d paused where they stood, closed in around the party once more.

It was impossible to tell whether they were escorting the party or surrounding them. As they moved, Baek Yeon sent a quiet Sound Transmission.

—You’ll regret coming here.

Jin Taekyung’s reply came flying back amid the golden tide flowing toward the Inner City, as though he’d been waiting for it.

—My whole life’s a regret already. Mind your own business and go suck a dick.

Who else would dare say that to the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Baek Yeon let out a dry laugh at the young ruffian’s reply, which defied his expectations yet again. Leaving the East Depot eunuchs behind, he walked away.

Jeong Hogun, who had stayed at Baek Yeon’s order, followed him as a matter of course.

“Is there something you wish to command me?”

“There is. But before hearing an order, an Embroidered Uniform Guard should think for himself.”

“I will watch Prince Shangshan and his party without the slightest lapse.”

“That’s close to the answer I wanted, but not quite.”

“Then…”

“Make it look as though you’re watching them without a lapse, but leave gaps all the same. Make sure someone can slip through and approach them.”

“……!”

Clank. Clank.

Baek Yeon climbed the stairs that stretched upward without end. Hundreds, even thousands of them. They symbolized the Son of Heaven’s authority.

No matter how high an official’s rank, every time they went to court, they had to climb those stairs drenched in sweat.

Leaving behind their power and their gold and silver treasures.

Reminded of the Son of Heaven’s majesty, which reached all the way to Heaven.

“Watch whom they meet and who comes to see them. Find out everything.”

To catch fish in a net, you first had to spread it wide.

Only then did you draw it tight and haul it in.

Of course, you also had to consider the possibility that something bulky or sharp-toothed might tear through it.

“How is ‘that matter’ I entrusted to you some time ago?”

No answer came. Jeong Hogun lowered his head in silence, and Baek Yeon clicked his tongue softly.

“Cunning bastards.”

“I have nothing to say. I did my best, but…”

“It doesn’t matter. Not yet. But there must not be a second mistake.”

“Of course. Give me the order, and I will carry it out without fail.”

“Without fail? Whatever the order?”

“Yes.”

Baek Yeon suddenly stopped and turned to look at Jeong Hogun. A silent whisper slipped through his slightly parted lips.

—If I ordered you to assassinate His Highness Prince Shangshan, would you do it?

“……!”

Jeong Hogun’s eyes widened, his pupils wavering. Baek Yeon looked down at his subordinate without a word, then chuckled.

“No need to be so shocked. It was only a joke.”

“A joke…?”

“Yes. But I really am curious about your answer.”

A bead of cold sweat ran down Jeong Hogun’s forehead. He hadn’t even noticed it forming.

His silence did not last long.

“I will follow your orders with my life. If they are the Emperor’s command.”

The smile slowly faded from Baek Yeon’s lips. He studied his subordinate with an odd expression, then smiled faintly again.

“You’re right. That is an answer worthy of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

“……I apologize.”

“What are you apologizing for? The Embroidered Uniform Guard lives and dies by the Emperor’s command. Of course we act only according to His Majesty’s will.”

Baek Yeon turned his head.

Far in the distance, he could see a procession of torches and golden armor stretching out one after another.

And though he could not see him now, the prince with dragon’s blood was somewhere within that ironclad escort.

Prince Shangshan Zhu Bao.

The young prince might not remember, but the old officer remembered clearly.

The Son of Heaven’s only younger brother. The sole direct member of the imperial family to survive the most brutal power struggle in history.

The child he had last seen more than a decade ago had grown considerably. In body and in mind.

“…Which makes him all the more dangerous.”

Jeong Hogun lifted his head at Baek Yeon’s whispered words.

Baek Yeon waved a hand as if nothing had happened, then spoke again. Not a trace of a smile remained on his stern face.

“Remember one thing.”

“Give me your command.”

“Once they’ve set foot in this imperial palace, no one is to be allowed to leave.”

Jeong Hogun understood at once.

Baek Yeon wasn’t speaking only of Prince Shangshan Zhu Bao.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had to watch more than the prince with dragon’s blood. There was also the martial-world ruffian who dared bear the title of Divine Dragon.

Blazing Flame Divine Dragon Jin Taekyung.

The dragon was a mythical spiritual creature that symbolized the Son of Heaven alone.

Yet the young prince had brought an uninvited Divine Dragon into the imperial palace where the Son of Heaven resided.

He had made that ruffian, who disregarded the laws of the Great Nation, his guard. He had defended him and taken him under his protection.

No one could be certain what that choice would bring.

Not Jeong Hogun. Not even Baek Yeon, who had anticipated the situation and let it happen.

The Blazing Flame Divine Dragon Jin Taekyung they knew had always been like that.

He always overturned everyone’s expectations, bringing storms and flames that swept in from every direction.

Fwoosh.

In the darkness, a fierce wind blew from somewhere, setting the torches flickering.