Chapter 169
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 169
Chapter 169. Bok-Yoon (2)
I asked innocently.
“Assassin? What do you mean?”
He looked perplexed and said.
“There was an attempt on my life earlier. There was a nail stuck in the leg of the horse that was carrying me.”
“I knew it! I thought it was strange that a professional horse handler from a trading company couldn't handle a single horse, but now I understand why.”
Captain Bok-Yoon nodded solemnly.
His face showed a mixture of pride in the Trading Company and concern about the assassination attempt.
“But if you think it was an assassination attempt and not an accident, does that mean there have been previous attempts?”
“Yes, there have been.”
“And yet you continue to run the company?”
“If we stay locked up in the Trading Company out of fear of assassins, how can we become the best Trading Company in Liaoning?”
The words of Captain Bok-Yoon conveyed his upright and dignified character.
Unfortunately, however, the assassination attempt was successful.
In my past life, it was Bok-Young, not Bok-Yoon, who became the captain.
From that time on, the upper class of Liaoning began to falter, and several trading companies took advantage of the situation to grow rapidly.
They not only monopolized the trade of medicinal herbs such as ginseng and deer antlers, but also took advantage of their position to make huge profits, causing considerable losses to the Eunhae Trading Company.
We managed to resolve the situation by establishing a branch office here, but we have no intention of doing so again.
It costs a lot of money to set up a branch office.
“But you really didn't know that I had an assassin following me?”
“No, I didn't.”
“I thought you had chosen a place out of sight so that no one would notice you.”
“No, I just don't like being the center of attention.”
“I see.”
In fact, his guess was correct, but it was difficult to explain the process and reasons, so he pretended not to know.
We waited for our food to arrive and exchanged small talk.
“Come to think of it, how did you manage to calm down the horse that was bucking earlier?”
It was a question I had expected.
I had calmed down a horse that even a professional horse handler couldn't calm down.
Of course, I had already thought of an answer.
“Actually, it's a secret of my family. Please understand that I can't reveal it to just anyone.”
“I understand. I'm not so ungrateful as to ask someone who saved my life to give me their bag.”
We continued our conversation.
I could tell that Captain Bok-Yoon was a wise man with a broad perspective.
Even if it was just small talk, it was enough to get a sense of a person's character and disposition.
Thanks to that, we had a pleasant conversation.
To be honest, it was the first time I had such a good conversation with someone my age.
“By the way, how old are you, Captain?”
“I'm nineteen this year. My birthday is in November, so I'll be twenty soon.”
“Oh!”
Captain Bok-Yoon was impressed.
“What a coincidence! I am also nineteen years old and my birthday is in November.”
“Could your birthday be...”
Not only were their birth months the same, but their birthdays were also on the same day.
That meant they were the same age, and not just close in age.
That fact made me even happier.
“Your order is ready.”
The waiters placed the food on the table and left.
“Excuse me. Please allow me to try the food first.”
Bok-Yoon's attendant asked for permission, and I tried a little bit of each dish with silver chopsticks.
I was checking to see if the food was poisoned.
I was impressed by the servant's loyalty.
After all, being a servant meant risking one's life.
Seeing that his hands were not shaking, it seemed that his loyalty to Captain Bok-Yoon had overcome his fear.
Wait, his loyalty overcame his fear?
Even if there are people like that, loyalty that overcomes death is rarer than one might think.
Even if one's hands and legs tremble, one may have loyalty that will not back down even in the face of death for one's liege.
Fear of death is instinctive, so how can one overcome that instinct?
How do I know that?
Because that's how my previous life ended.
That's why I took a closer look at him.
Huh? Something's strange.
Even though his hands weren't shaking, he couldn't control his facial expressions when he was eating.
This was especially true when he was eating hot food.
Therefore, when trying to figure out what someone was thinking, he would deliberately serve them very hot tea.
This was because people's true expressions would momentarily show when they were trying not to burn their tongues.
But he was eating food that could have been poisoned, and he was smiling?
Suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine, and I heard Jin-yu's telepathy.
- Liege! Be careful! I sense the aura of an assassin.
My hunch was right.
An assassin who hides his killing intent!
I thought I knew why Captain Bok-Yoon was killed in my previous life.
He must have trusted him completely because he was a servant who could see everything for him.
In the end, he was killed by the very person he trusted.
Then what I have to do is simple.
When I saved Captain Bok-Yoon's life, I did calculate the benefits I would gain, but to be honest, he was the first person I had ever been able to communicate with so well.
A friend... perhaps?
I had many good people around me, but none of the young masters of the trading companies were close friends.
We didn't see eye to eye, and we didn't get along very well.
If I save this man, the Kwangjoon Trading Company will surely grow even bigger and stronger.
He is a good friend and a good competitor.
I can't just stand by and watch him die.
And this is also for my own sake.
Why would someone who is certain of being an assassin smile when he sees a sign?
It means he is up to something.
For example, he might use my offer to treat him to a meal as an excuse to frame me as the culprit.
Some poisons do not react with silver.
That servant probably had no intention of poisoning him today.
But when the situation turned out like this, he must have thought it was his chance.
In that case, I must strike first.
I sent a telepathic message to Seo Woo.
“There is poison in that food. Don't eat it.”
“Yes, I heard from Jin-yu.”
It seemed that Jin-yu had explained the situation to Seo Woo.
Since there were assassins around, it was necessary to explain the situation in advance so that they could respond quickly.
“And I will act a little.
”Act?
"You will see.
I am sorry, but it would be awkward if I told you in advance.
At that moment, the attendant put down his chopsticks and said,
“Everything is fine. You may eat now.”
“It looks delicious.”
I quickly picked up my chopsticks to eat, but the attendant stopped me.
“I'm sorry, Captain. This food is hot, so it would be better if you let it cool down a little.”
Seeing him say this just as I was about to eat, I knew what was going on.
Damn it!
I was going to pretend to eat it first and then act like I collapsed from poisoning.
“You may eat now, young master. You are good at eating hot food.”
“Oh, really? Then I'll eat first.”
Captain Bok-Yoon smiled and picked up the food and put it in his mouth.
Damn it, I think there's poison in it.
In this situation, whether I tried to stop him or not, I would likely be suspected of being the culprit.
Then...
I put the plan that had just popped into my head into action.
“Geum-ryung! Headbutt Pal-gap!”
At my whispered instruction, Geum-ryung quickly jumped out from behind me and headbutted Pal-gap in the stomach under the table.
“Guh!”
The force of the blow caused Pal-gap, who was about to eat across from me, to drop his chopsticks just before putting food in his mouth and groan.
He looked as if he had been poisoned, and I smiled to myself as I rushed over to Pal-gap.
Naturally, Captain Bok-Yoon put down the chopsticks he was about to use.
“Pal-gap! Are you okay? What's wrong?”
“Geum...”
“What? A deadly poison?”
“That...”
Geum-ryeong's blow to the chest was so strong that he couldn't speak properly.
Pal-gap wrote with the tea from the overturned teacup that the culprit was Geum-ryung, but I quickly erased it and said, “Captain Bok-yoon.
It seems that my servant has been poisoned.”
.
.
.
.
The poison was meant for Bok-Yoon, the young master he served, so why would Eun-Seo-Ho's servant suddenly collapse after drinking it?
If this happened, the mission would fail.
“How hard I worked to get this position as a servant.”
He suppressed his anger.
Whoever commissioned this job seemed to have a deep grudge against Captain Bok-Yoon. Otherwise, they wouldn't have commissioned multiple assassination groups at the same time.
As far as he knew, the client promised 100 nyang of gold to anyone who succeeded in assassinating Bok-Yoon.
100 nyang of gold was enough to support three generations.
The Sixteen Houses sent their most skilled assassin, who was none other than him.
He immediately began investigating his target and realized that this would not be an easy task.
Contrary to his appearance, Bok-Yoon was cautious and careful in everything he did.
On top of that, he was extremely wise and meticulous, making it difficult to find any weaknesses, so he decided to take his time and choose a surefire method.
That was to become his attendant and assassinate him.
Of course, not just anyone could become an attendant, so he kidnapped one and pretended to be him.
For a year, he pretended to serve him with all his heart and even took care of his meals.
As a result, Bok-Yoon seemed to trust him completely.
Thinking that it was finally time to carry out the assassination, he waited patiently for the right moment, but then something happened that made him feel a sense of crisis.
An assassin from another assassination group spat on the leg of the horse Bok-Yoon was riding.
He became impatient, thinking that he would end up failing and letting Bok-Yoon escape.
Then, a good opportunity presented itself.
A man named Eun Seo-ho offered to treat Bok-yoon to a meal.
He could slip away and frame Eun Seo-ho and his group as the assassins.
However, the opportunity slipped away in an unexpected way.
He quickly regained his composure.
“This is not the time.”
While pretending to taste the food earlier, he had poisoned his sleeve.
If they searched him, he would have been caught red-handed.
He quickly hid the poison between the wooden slats of the tavern. Now, even if someone found the poison, no one would know who had it.
However, he didn't realize that a small pig had found the poison he had hidden.
* * *
People from the county office immediately rushed to the scene.
It was only natural, considering that it was an attempted poisoning in the most bustling tavern in Yingning, and the captain of the Trading Company was at the scene.
As a result, not only the constables but also the county magistrate rushed to the scene and began investigating the case.
“We fed the food to a chicken, and it died, so it is certain that the food was poisoned.”
“...
”Then we'll have to search him.“
The constable asked for permission and began to search me.
In the process, my pocket became suspicious.
”To be sure, why don't you check it yourself, Mr. Jihyeon?“
”All right."
Ji-hyun approached me and opened my pocket himself, finding the identification card of the inspector general inside.
“...!”
Seeing this, Ji-hyun was startled and tried to bow in respect, but I stopped him and whispered softly.
“Act as if nothing happened. Your life is precious.”
“Of course... I understand.”
Although I was not pleased with the badge, thanks to it, we were able to get away smoothly.
Sigh... Is power the ultimate?
I feel bitter.
At that moment.
“What is this?”
“I don't know!”
“Isn't this poison?”
At that moment, the constable who was searching the attendant of Captain Bok-Yoon shouted, and it became noisy.
Poison was found on the sleeve of the attendant's clothes.
“If you don't know anything, then why was the poison bag open?”
“That...
”I heard that you saw something earlier. Then you must have put the poison in it!"
“I am innocent.”
“Yeon cannot be the culprit.”
Bok-Yoon Dao was also standing next to him, insisting on the attendant's innocence. That meant he believed him.
The poison attendant hid it and was ordered to put it back in his sleeve.
I had my suspicions, but I was now certain that the Martial Alliance was not behind this.
They would never have carried out such a sloppy job.
I approached them and swung my dagger at the attendant.
Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
“Captain Bok, do you still think that man is your attendant?”
“What do you mean...?”
At that moment, one of the constables raised his weapon and said,
“You're an impostor.”
Captain Bok Yoon was shocked when he saw the attendant and shouted,
“Who are you?”
“Damn it!”
At that moment, he threw the dagger he had hidden in his bosom at Captain Bok-Yoon...
Bang!
“Ugh!”
Pagap! You shouldn't throw the table...
No, wait, you're already up? You're recovering quickly.