Chapter 467
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 467
Chapter 467. Why Did It Turn Out Like This (3)
After that, two more people came to see me, bringing the total number of people who asked me for help to four.
If I accept their request, there will be no traitors left alive, so I plan to delay carrying out their request.
They must be punished by the emperor, not by me or my guards.
Not that I ever had any intention of accepting their request in the first place.
When they asked me to eliminate the others, they gave me something as a sign of their trust.
It was the location of their hidden treasure.
Once this is over, they will probably move the treasure.
But I have no intention of letting them do so.
Those treasures do not belong to them. Of course, they are not mine either.
“Mr. Jin-yu. Mr. Yeo-eung-am.”
“Yes.”
“I have a favor to ask of you. Mr. Jin-yu, you heard about the place where they hid their treasures, didn't you?”
“Yes, I heard clearly.”
“Take all the treasures from there.”
“Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
I smiled and said.
“Of course it is. Those treasures were collected by squeezing the blood of the residents of Chunkyungseong. So shouldn't they be returned to Chunkyungseong?”
“You are absolutely right, but how can we steal those treasures?”
Of course, the amount had to be large.
With that, I took the gold coin out of my sleeve and handed it to him.
“Take this with you. It will help you steal the treasures.”
Then I turned to Geum-ryung and asked, “Geum-ryung, will you help him?”
“If you do a good job, I'll give you a gold coin.”
Of course, I would have to give her my own money, not the money I stole.
At my words, Geum-ryeong's eyes lit up and she wiggled her hips.
Does she like money that much?
I felt embarrassed at my own thought. I like money too. Hmm.
Several days passed.
During that time, the Royal Guards and my bodyguards began to sow distrust among the defectors, following my orders.
Trust had already disappeared to the point where it was unnecessary, but that made it even more effective.
They argued loudly at least once or twice a day. The emotional divide was growing deeper and deeper.
***
Gongho sighed.
“Ugh, what the hell am I doing?”
With an exhausted look on his face, he headed for his new quarters.
It was his job to mediate the disputes that had arisen among the traitors who had started this whole thing with him.
At some point, his perfect plan had begun to unravel.
“When did it start?”
Returning to his quarters, he began to rethink the whole situation.
Soon, he thought he knew when everything had started to go wrong.
“Captain Eun Seo-ho. Was it when he came here?”
However, he couldn't find anything suspicious about him, which was frustrating.
If there was something suspicious, he would use it as an excuse to interrogate him or investigate him.
Then, something strange caught his eye.
Huh? Why is that open?
One of the two boxes containing the funds Eun Seo-ho had given him was slightly open.
Perhaps he had closed it in a hurry and it hadn't closed properly.
“I'm sure I closed it properly.”
He tilted his head and opened the box, then was startled.
Half of the contents of the box were missing.
He hurriedly left the room and called for someone.
“Who went into my room?”
“Yes?”
“What do you mean?”
“I said, who entered my room today!”
“Oh, now that you mention it... Baek Seon came here. He waited inside until the military officer arrived, then left.”
The culprit was undoubtedly Baek Seon.
“That eunuch!”
He ordered the soldiers.
“Find Baek Seon and bring him here immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
However, the soldiers returned shortly after and delivered absurd news.
“Um... Baek-seon just left the castle gate.”
***
Baek-seon opened his eyes.
He realized that he was hanging in the air with his hands tied.
“Where am I?”
He couldn't see anything because he was blindfolded.
All he could tell was that the air around him was damp and smelled of blood, and that he could hear occasional moans.
He swallowed nervously.
Thud, thud.
He heard footsteps, and soon his blindfold was removed.
“...!”
He couldn't help but be surprised.
It was because the person who had removed his blindfold was someone he didn't expect.
It was Eun Seo-ho.
“I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here.”
He wanted to ask what was going on, but no sound came out.
“I've sealed your mouth, so there's no need to try to speak.”
“...”
“It's about time someone in Chunkyungsung betrayed us again, so we gathered everyone here.”
He wanted to ask what that meant. As if reading his mind, the masked man behind Eun Seo-ho said,
“It means that right now in Chunkyungsung, everyone is in an uproar because they think you stole the funds and ran away.”
With that, he took off his mask.
“...!”
Baek Sun's eyes widened in shock.
He was a high-ranking member of the Royal Guards.
“And there's a familiar face over there.”
Baek Sun turned his head and looked where he was pointing. There, Jin Dae-cheol, who had disappeared with the crown prince, was hanging in the air just like him.
Only then did Baek Sun begin to understand what was going on.
Eun Seo-ho had not approached him to ask for money.
Eun Seo-ho smiled and said,
“It must be hard hanging there. Just hang in there a little longer. The royal guards will be here soon. I'll get you down then.”
Hearing this, Baek Sun closed his eyes tightly.
He could see his future so clearly.
But Eun Seo-ho didn't stop there.
“Thank you for telling me where you hid your treasure. There's quite a lot.”
“...!”
“I will use that treasure for a meaningful purpose.”
At those words, he lost his mind.
“No!”
Kwon-jik's fist slammed into his struggling stomach.
“Guh!”
***
I rolled my tongue as I looked down at Baek-seon, who was hanging from the ceiling, unconscious.
He's going to die anyway, so he won't need his wealth, but he's too greedy.
The reason I kidnapped Baek-seon and made him a traitor is simple. It is to sever the ties between the traitors and Gongho.
I confirmed that there was still trust between them when Gongho mediated the dispute between the traitors.
If there is even a little trust left between them, there is a possibility that they will fight back when the royal army comes to suppress them.
Then, there could be casualties.
My goal is to resolve this matter neatly without any casualties.
To that end, I secretly sent Geum-ryeong and instructed him to take the money from the box and move it inside.
At that moment, Master Kwon said to me,
“I have decided once again that I will never betray you.”
“What?”
“Your scheming is truly frightening.”
That's a compliment, right?
“The emperor had good reason to warn me.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
What did the emperor say to me? Anyway, what matters now is what happens next.
The imperial guards will soon gather around here, and they have to get inside.
It is the job of the Royal Guards who are with me to help them.
“Now, sneak outside and make contact with the other Royal Guards and the Royal Army.”
“Yes, sir.”
After giving my orders, I returned to my room.
“...?”
However, the scene before my eyes made me smile.
“Hey! You brat!”
“Kui! Kui!”
“Huh! Hey! If I catch you, I won't let you off!”
“Kui?”
Pal-gap and Geum-ryung were playing together happily.
“Geum-ryung.”
“Kui!”
At my call, Geumryeong kicked Palgap's face with her hind legs and dashed toward me, landing gently on my palm.
“Would you like to visit Miss Seohyang?”
Today is the day I decided to send Geumryung to visit Miss Seohyang.
“Kui!”
At my request, Geumryung nodded and darted out the window.
I watched her happily, then turned to Palgag.
“So, what are you arguing about this time?”
“What quarrel? That's not fair. I just came to get the teapot, but when she saw me, she rushed at me.”
“Why are you two always picking on each other?”
To me, they seem like a perfect match. It's nice that they keep each other company.
.
.
.
The next day, Geum-ryeong returned, and I untied the letter tied to her tail.
The beginning was the usual greeting.
And at the end, there was a short piece of advice.
“Beware of crows.”
Huh? Crows?
When I saw that, I wondered if it was a coincidence that it reminded me of the black bird that had sent a letter to the Seo-hyang faction about the poison that had been put in the car sent to kill Miss Dongja-ryeong.
I folded the letter and muttered to myself.
Don't worry. Fortunately, I have the best way to prevent that.
Then I took a coin out of my pocket and handed it to Geum-ryeong.
“Here, Geum-ryeong. Eat this and do a job for me.”
“What?”
“Catch a suspicious crow and kill it for me.”
***
Yook Ho belonged to the royal guard.
When he was getting bored with his daily routine, someone approached him.
They gave him the name Yook Ho and a well-trained crow.
What they wanted was simple.
They wanted him to use the crow to relay information about the royal guard.
So he used the crow to relay information about the royal guard.
If this fact became known, he would be severely punished, but as long as he wasn't caught, it didn't matter.
The reward was quite generous, and it added excitement to his boring daily life.
Then, one day.
His royal army unit received orders to march.
Soon after, he received his orders.
He was to use the crow to deliver a message to Chun-gyeongseong.
However, to do so, he had to get close enough to Chunkyungseong to release the crows.
When he thought he was close enough, he released the crows toward Chunkyungseong.
But strangely, the crows did not return.
Nevertheless, having grown fond of them, Yook Ho began to worry about the crows.
“Hey! They're calling you from the barracks.”
“What?”
He headed toward the barracks, puzzled.
They had rented a private house so as not to be noticed by those around them, but officially it was a barracks.
He went inside.
“You called me?”
Something was thrown at his feet with perfect etiquette.
Thud.
Yook Ho's eyes widened when he saw it.
It was the crow with colored thread tied around its leg.
It was the one he had sent to Chunkyongseong.
Seeing the crow fainted and soaked in something wet, he gulped.
“Leaking military secrets is a capital offense. Do you have any excuse?”
“I don't know anything about this.”
“You call that an excuse? Then why were your eyes darting around?”
At that moment, the crow woke up, flew over, and landed on Yook Ho's shoulder.
Seeing this, his superior smiled and said,
“Crows are quite intelligent. They never land on the shoulders of strangers.”
“....
The superior showed the note that was in front of Seok-tak.
”Then let's have a serious conversation about who you were trying to deliver this note to.“
”Please spare my life! I'll tell you everything!"
Yook Ho, who wanted excitement in his boring life, regretted his choice.
It was too exciting.
***
I stroked the letter on the desk with my finger.
“Well done.”
I sent the letter to Miss Seo Hyang as she advised, and it paid off handsomely.
It caught a crow flying from the village in midair.
A letter was tied to the crow's leg.
When I looked at the letter, I couldn't help but freeze.
If this letter had been delivered normally, we would have been in big trouble.
There was a high probability that this letter would have been delivered to Gongho.
Then he would have fled.
There was no reason for him to stay here and fight with us.
So that's why!
Only then did I realize the true meaning of his advice to check my shoes.
In other words, he wanted me to prevent him from escaping.
That meant that if he escaped, he would regret it greatly.
If I hadn't stolen his shoes, he would have escaped wearing them.
Then the Martial Alliance would have found out about my actions...
Without realizing it, my back was covered in cold sweat.
If the Martial Alliance found out about this, they would suspect my actions up until now.
It would be problematic if they found out that I was still hostile toward the Martial Alliance.
I owe Miss Seo Hyang a huge debt.
.
.
.
It was dawn, past midnight.
I led my bodyguards toward the city gate.
The gate and watchtower were heavily guarded.
To be precise, they were martial artists brought by a man named Gongho.
The soldiers who originally guarded this castle had all been disarmed and imprisoned in the dungeon.
It seemed to be in plain sight if you entered through the official entrance, not the secret passage I had used to sneak in.
That meant the crown prince was deep inside the prison.
Anyway, it was time.
I checked the time by looking at the night sky and gave orders to my bodyguards by telepathy.
Everyone moved secretly to their assigned positions, and at my signal, they cut the throats of those who were on guard.
Then I opened the gate.
Squeak.
The Royal Guards quickly entered through the open gate.
At the forefront was Master Jin.
Because there were martial artists, not only the Royal Guards but also the Royal Guards came.
“You've worked hard.”
“The job isn't done yet. We'll hear your praise later.”
“I'll give you plenty of time for that later.”
After exchanging greetings, they headed toward the magistrate's residence with the bodyguards.
They had to catch Gongho, who had noticed the situation, before he could escape.
A few broken legs should do the trick.