Chapter 91: Nochuldoen (Exposed)

"Remember me, please remember me, you must!" Her voice and mannerisms were so familiar to me, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out who she was. I still couldn't see her face but she kept pulling at my arms desperately and I had no idea how to react. She was wearing noble clothing with a rose scent to match her handkerchief and the pink ribbon she was wearing in her hair. "Why?" "Why what?" Why did you save me?" "Was I supposed to let you drown?" "No-one likes me, everyone ignores me, bullies me and hates me. So why did you save me? Why didn't you let me drown with my brother?" My accident was all I had to think about when my father took me away from my mother and I had to stay inside my bedroom and what until the news of the accident died down. Who saved me? And why? Not even my own father acknowledged my existence before this, so how was I worth saving in anyone's eyes, especially someone I had never seen before. But as soon as I asked the girl that question, she had disappeared the dream ended. I woke up on the bloody floor of my prison cell in so much pain, but the fact that I couldn't see Yeon was hurting me a lot more. I called out to her until I nearly lost my voice, but she still hadn't come back yet. Where was she? What was taking so long? Had something happened to her? What was going on?

"Shut up and stop shouting! The trial of the Seo siblings are in session and you are being called in as a witness. Get cleaned up and let's go."

The entire prison started spinning in front of my eyes and my legs started bucking under me. The Seo siblings? Together? A trial? No, no no please not now, not after we just had the greatest night of our lives and after I was forced to arrest her myself. Yeon, Hwi...what on earth was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to say? Or do now? My mind was buzzing out of my control and I couldn't stop shaking until I saw them both holding hands in the third prince's residence and none of them would even look at me. I lost myself momentarily and I tried to reach out to her, but Hwi pulled her so far away from me and kept both of her hands into his, which stung me a little.

"Your Highness, Nam Seon-Ho was subjected to the exact same abuse as I was and he had no say in the matter about keeping me as a hostage. The old bruises on his arms match the ones on my back as proof. He couldn't even choose which office suited his talents as his father forced him to become a general inspector so he could get rid of the allies of the Third Prince as Nam-Jeon forced my brother to eliminate him. Nam Seon-Ho was constantly beaten by his father, he was forced to practise weaponry until all hours of the morning and could only stop an hour to two before his shift started and was barely fed at home."

How? How did Yeon know all of this? How did she know what my work was like? What I was forced to do? I had never spoken about that with her at all. And the beatings my father gave me, I had always gone through great pains to hide that from her? So how on earth did she know? "Seon-Ho, you are a gifted man, more than you realise. But there is one thing that you are not good at, I hope that it follows you through every rebirth that you go through. What are you talking about? You do not know how to lie, you are not as good as it as I think you are and honestly, it doesn't suit you. Your eyes, heart and should are too pure for it." That was what Yeon told me a long time ago when my mind was still on Hui-Jee and I was faced with a lot of guilt whenever I saw her, and now I knew what she meant. But for how long? How long had she regained her memories for? Why did she hide it from me? Did she....no, there was no way that she used me to help her brother. She wouldn't do that to me...she loved me, she had always been in love with me...she was in fact the only person who never used me at all...

"So, you are telling us that Nam Seon-Ho knew what was going on? And didn't say anything at all?" "My brother and Nam Seon-Ho have been friends since childhood and we all grew up together. Nam-Jeon didn't just use me against my brother, he also used me against Seon-Ho and never left us alone with each other."

"So who do you suggest that I blame for my sister's death, if it was not you or the Nam's!" The Empress finally made her way into the residence with a face like thunder, even the Emperor and the third prince squirmed in their seats when they saw her approaching. "I have already proved my innocence, Your Highness. I wonder what else I need to do to convince you that I not only have not committed this crime, but it is physically impossible for me to strangle the concubine right outside the Third Prince's residence where it is bound to be heavily guarded." "The guard's were already dismissed from their posts during the time in which the crime took place! You must have followed her there along with the man you are having an affair with and you had him strangle my sister...." "I was at the nunnery at the time of the murder. The entire brothel can attest to my presence there for at least 3-4 hours. And I most certainly hope that you are not suggesting that a lowborn penniless orphan has the power to withdraw the guards of a prince so she could commit a murder, despite the support she has from my father. And I wonder why the concubine's body was found there at all to begin with?"

"You..." "I was the one who dismissed the guards from my residence because I was in the company of a woman from the very same brothel that day." "As for this so-called murder plot of myself...Seo Hwi? Would you like to tell your side of the story and explain the posters of Nam-Jeon's own murder plot 20 years ago in which my own father was the victim?"

This was something that I had no knowledge about and I had to hear about it from Hwi who still refused to look at me at all. My own father didn't have a single comeback at all and even I was almost thrown into this conspiracy until Yeon defended me once again. I had no idea what spell she cast on the Emperor and the two princes who were paying so much attention to her in fascination but she actually accomplished what I couldn't; she managed to separate myself from my father which was something that my father had never accomplished before. And she had to use my painful yet public childhood trauma in order to show the fact that my father never treated me as his own son, and therefore I was coerced to do his bidding at the threat of my own life and the Seo's, who I was trying to protect.

But the Empress was not happy at all and she tried to go after Yeon at every single angle that she could, only to to rebuffed time and time again by her husband, who seemed to be quite firmly on the Seo's side, despite what Hwi was forced to plot against him. It didn't make any sense; the Emperor was the most paranoid member of the imperial family and did not hesitate to wield his sword when he came across an obstacle like Hwi. So why was he acting so calm about it?

"Your Highness, Seo Hwi had already informed me of this trap that Nam-Jeon alone had put him up to. And as we can see from the records of the General Inspectors, it came be seen that his son's records that there have been some manipulations, and he himself isn't that powerful to get away with it." "But Your Highness, my sister's murder...." "Your Highness, this world is already quite harsh on women. If you insist on taking shortcuts to even go so far to pin a murder on me, the world will ignore the efforts you have made as Empress. And every step you take in the future will not get rid of the pain caused by salacious gossip someone did indeed murder your sister, but it was not me. And since was outside your stepson's residence, it should be someone powerful enough to order the guards away."

Even I had no idea what to say to that and everything else she managed to come out with, but I could only wait for my judgement from the royal family on my knees right next to Yeon. "The Seo siblings have been put in a terrible condition after the passing of their father, and were taken advantage of by the director of the privy council, who went as far as to exploit his own son for his selfish deeds. I will raise their social statuses and allow Seo Hwi a position in the palace as a weaponry teacher for the imperial family members as his father was. Seo Yeon has also contributed a great merit by saving the imperial family, and I will also reward her. Seo Yeon...?" "Your Highness, I am a woman of small standing and fortune, and yet my father took great pains to educate me. In compensation for my suffering, I would like to finish my education with all expenses paid by Nam-Jeon, who should equally compensate my brother. I would also like to ask for a position in the palace library, if it does not offend you." "Your Highness, Seo Yeon is known throughout the village for being the only woman who reads for pleasure and has extensive knowledge in the law. This request is not entirely uncalled for." "Is that so? If she has managed to charm you Bang-Gan, then she must be someone special. What do you say, Bang-Won?" "It is already rare to have a woman use her intellect as she does. I see no harm in it. As for Nam-Jeon..." "My Lords, please forgive me for this final request. Nam-Jeon should compensate his wealth to his many victims in his rise to power, at least half of it. The rest should become compensate for his own son, who he hasn't hesitated to torture. He has no crime in this and he should be separated from his father's criminal deeds and reputation."