The man’s first mistake was not restraining her arms when he caught her. His second was thinking a girl wouldn’t be able to put up a fight.
Mai reached inside her satchel and pulled out another needle, pricking the man with it. At first, he did not react, as he tried to pull her into one of the alleyways. She pushed the needle in further, stabbing him with it, and a trail of blood pooled around the wound. The man hissed but persisted. Everyone in Mother’s posse was persistent. Those who did not persist were soon killed off. Like Gyeo-wool.
Mai was also one of Mother’s children though, and before sparing another thought, she bit down hard on the man’s hand. A yelp left the man, and they tussled some more, the arms around her loosening. A jab into the man’s gut was the final straw. Mai wasted no time getting away from the man, who staggered after her a few steps and then began to sway from side to side. With a loud thud, he fell to the ground in a heap, his peasant clothes making him look like a penniless drunkard. No one important enough to get help from passersby.
There was no time to ponder, however. They knew she was here now. Mai needed to get back to her horse. She turned the corner to the stables where she’d left Mudan. The stables were dim and smelled of hay and pine needles, each stable appearing well kept. Except there were no horses. Mai’s mare was nowhere to be seen.
They’ve taken them all? And so soon as well.
The sinking feeling in her stomach worsened, as she backed out of the stables and sprinted back into the crowd. Even if she did make the journey on foot, Min-jun would die before then.
She weaved through the crowd of people perfumed with flowers and alcohol, many of them dressed in the finery of the upper class. Three beautiful kisaengs giggled and waved to a group of men. They approached the kisaeng like they were stalking prey, surrounding the beautiful women as they talked.
Her body rammed into someone’s chest full force. Mai muttered a quick apology, too fearful to look up, and tried to side-step the man. Instead, he took her by the arms, forcing her to look up.
“Mai?” Iseul asked. An information broker through and through, Iseul wore clothes that drew no attention to him, his hair tied up in a tight topknot. “What are you doing here?”
Iseul had been the first and only person to provide any comfort after Gyeo-wool died. He’d claimed that the two of them had bonded over the course of their mission in Hanseong. Then he’d offered her persimmons and games he’d gotten in Hanseong, along with a beautiful hanbok adorned with flowers and golden vines. At the time, Mai had only shrugged him off. It was no secret that Iseul was in love with Min-jun. He would do anything to keep him alive.
Anything? Iseul and his brother had always been hard for Mother to manage. Haneul had once planned to take Min-jun out of the brothel, before he died. Mai had only been seven, or maybe eight, when that had happened. Haneul had fallen ill from a disease common in brothels. It had taken him in a matter of months. A tragic ending. One Mai was beginning to think wasn’t entirely natural. How difficult would it have been for Mother to have slowly poisoned Haneul, just to remind Min-jun of how trapped he truly was? And now . . .
“Min-jun is sick,” she said, her voice cracking. “I-I need to get to him.”
Iseul took her to the side, away from the crowd, and glanced around for any familiar, unfriendly faces. This meant that he would help her, yes? Whatever love he had for Min-jun must be stronger than his fear of Mother.
He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward. “What do you mean he’s sick?”
“H-he was poisoned,” Mai said, pulling on his sleeve. “It was snow peony poison.”
Shock froze him, his mouth hanging open slightly. He sunk to his knees and put his head in his hands. Passersby stared at them. He ran his fingers into his hairline, sighing.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“That idiot.”
He isn’t that much of an idiot. Mai stopped herself. Was she defending Min-jun? Even though he definitely was an idiot? Preposterous.
“Jjc sbe tfiq wf?” rtf jrxfv. Klwf kjr bo atf frrfcmf.
Mbg j wbwfca, tf vlv cba rqfjx, jcv tlr ojmf vlv cba rtloa. Dea atfc tf mibrfv tlr fsfr jcv cbvvfv ribkis.
“Yo mbegrf.” Prfei rabbv eq. “Gb sbe tjnf atf megf klat sbe?”
Lfrlajalbc kjgqfv tfg lcrlvfr, yea rtf rkjiibkfv vbkc tfg kbgglfr. Ktfgf kjr cb alwf ab kbcvfg lo rtf kjr wjxlcu atf gluta vfmlrlbc. Vtf qeiifv atf nlji bea bo tfg rjamtfi jcv boofgfv la ab tlw.
The absence of the vial left her hand feeling empty. Iseul brought it up to the light and squinted. Did he have any experience with poisons? Mai clenched her hands into fists, growing nervous again. What if he took it, or smashed it on the ground? What if she was wrong? Unable to handle the uncertainty any longer, she reached out and seized the vial back. Iseul let her take it.
“I’ll take you out of the city.”
“All the horses have been moved,” Mai said. She fiddled with the strap of her satchel. “And they already know I’m here.”
Iseul put a finger to his chin. “Of course, they do. That woman has eyes all over the city. Walking is out of the question as well.” He put his fist in his hand. “We can ask old man Baek. He’s got plenty of boats leading out of the city. If you get there before sunset, you’ll be able to make it back to Hanseong in a day.”
Of course! Why hadn’t she thought of that? The passage would likely be expensive, but perhaps the money the King had given her would suffice.
“But what about my horse?”
“I’ll look into it,” Iseul said, pushing her forward down the path. “Right now, you need to get back to Hanseong as quickly as possible. Mother won’t be happy if Min-jun dies either.”
“Mother tried to kill him once already.”
“But she’d prefer to keep him alive.” Iseul and Mai walked on toward the docks, between narrow streets walled in by old buildings. “And she’d especially hate it if his death is unplanned. So you don’t have to worry.”
“What do you mean?” Mai began to look over her shoulder, but before she could settle her eyes on Iseul, something hit the back of her neck and her entire body went limp. Iseul caught her in his arms, whispering a few last words of comfort.
“Sorry, kid.” He gathered her up in his arms. “But you’re gonna have to trust me that this is for Min-jun’s sake.”
You have no idea what’s good for Min-jun.
. . .
Incense filled Mai’s nostrils as she sucked in a breath, waking up to a dimly lit room. The ceiling was so high up, embellished with golden birds. The ridges of a bamboo floor mat dug into her back. Her muscles would not move. The sweet, cloying smoke filled her burning lungs. She recognized the feeling.
“You’re awake.” Mother’s voice broke through the silence. Mai turned her head on the mat. Behind an old pine desk, Mother sat, red silk skirt pooling around her. When Mai had first met her, she’d thought Mother was beautiful. Her brown eyes were slightly downturned, and with her soft, round face, many would assume she was a kind, generous matron. Her hair was let down for once, a silken black curtain that framed her face.
Mother put down her brush with a light clack and stood up. Mai’s heart sped up as Mother stepped closer to her, that placid smile frightening in the faltering candlelight. How late was it?
“I didn’t expect you to be foolish enough to steal from me,” Mother said, coming to a stop beside Mai’s bedside. Dread filled Mai as Mother reached into her sleeve and pulled out the little vial of red antidote.
Mai swallowed, pushing the fear aside. “Pl-please give it back to me.”
Mother kneeled down beside her. “Oh, silly, silly Mai.” The liquid in the vial sloshed around in its container, dangerously close to falling. “You’ve gone and betrayed me, and now you want my help. Shouldn’t you at least ask for forgiveness first? Where are your manners?”
I wouldn’t need your help if you hadn’t stopped me.
“I’m sorry,” Mai croaked. “I’m sorry, Mother.”
Mother let out a sigh and hung her head. “You never used to lie to me, Mai. Min-jun has been a bad influence, I see?” Soft footfalls as Mother went to lean against the wall, holding the vial between two fingers, bringing it up to eye level. “To think you’d do all this for the man who killed your real father.”
“He didn’t.” Mai had never spoken to Mother with such blatant defiance, but if she showed any more faith in Mother’s stories, she would surely lose her own sense of reality. Gyeo-wool was not killed by Min-jun. The true bane of Mai’s existence was standing right before her. The woman who killed Gyeo-wool, who had turned Mai into an assassin, who had forced Min-jun to work in the brothels and take up the impossible mission of killing a King who was too kind for his own good.
“He didn’t,” she repeated, louder this time. Mother’s face had lost its sunny smile. “It was you.”
Mother raised an eyebrow, bringing a finger to her cheek as if she was considering her words. “I was not the one who gave Gyeo-wool the poison.” She gestured widely. “We all have choices to make, Mai. Blaming our actions on others is childish of you. I thought I had taught you better than that. Min-jun has the burden of Gyeo-wool’s life on his shoulders now, no matter what nonsense he fills your head with. That much will never change.”
It was not Min-jun filling my head with nonsense.
“You’re a coward. All you’re good at is using people,” Mai spat back. “That much will never change.”
“You’ve developed a sharp tongue in your time in the Palace.” Mother’s eyes narrowed as if searching for something in Mai. Those warm brown eyes would not leave her for quite some time. Something had changed. “How did you –”
How did she . . . what?
Mai glared right back. In Mother’s expression, something dangerous slipped through the cracks. The coiling fear in Mai’s mind returned. Fool.
It took only the blink of an eye for the vial of antidote to slip from Mother’s hand, and shatter into a million pieces of broken glass, reflecting the candlelight at Mother’s feet. The red liquid that might’ve cured Min-jun spread across the pine floor like blood. In that moment, Mai felt just as shattered as that glass, her mind scattered.
Tears welled up in Mai’s eyes. Her last hope had been dashed.
“It seems you’ve forgotten your place.” Mother approached her slowly, stepping over the mess of shattered glass and red antidote. She sank down to her knees again and leaned down to whisper in Mai’s ear. “Do you remember now?”
Any last vestiges of Mai’s previous fierceness left her as she trembled on the mat. She had regained her ability to move, but she couldn’t even bend a finger. Min-jun is going to die. The King will go mad with grief. Everything is lost.
“Wonderful!” Mother said, sitting up straight and clapping her hands together. “Then, as I am benevolent, I will help you save our darling Min-jun.”
Mai sucked in a breath. A flutter of relief filled her, but she could not bring herself to celebrate just yet. “You will?”
“I will give you a choice to make.” Mother raised two fingers. “One, I will send the antidote with Iseul. He’s been bothering me about seeing Min-jun all this time, and as long as he behaves himself, I see no reason not to entertain his request.”
Mai felt cold. “Wh-what about me?”
“You will stay here, of course.” Mother patted down Mai’s frizzy hair. “This is the best place for you, after all. The Palace would’ve swallowed you whole the second your power was revealed. And then poor Min-jun would have to be burdened with the consequences of your own selfishness.”
You know a lot about selfishness, don’t you, Mother?
“And if I refuse?”
“Then Min-jun will die,” Mother said, “but at least, you will be able to return to that Palace you seem so fond of. Now, Min-jun’s time on this Earth is quickly drawing to a close, so I suggest you make your decision quickly.”
The choice was easier to make than Mai expected. By the time the sun began to set, Iseul was sent on his way to the Palace, and Mother had her pawn safely back on her side of the board.
A/N: 
Oh dear, someone is in trouble. Thank you for reading! If you liked this chapter, please leave a comment down below.
Can’t wait to see how this is better for Min-jun than just helping Mai leave! But I like how analytical she is even as it’s all working against her. Losing Min-jun is bad for the whole kingdom. Mother doesn’t know that yet, though, does she?
All these people have skewed perspectives smh. It’s all Mother’s fault. Mai knows Cheol is unhinged. He needs MJ there so they can be unhinged together and balance each other out ig. Thank you for commenting!
Thanks for the chapter ♥️♥️
Thank you for commenting!
I cant wait to see what happens once Min-Jim awakens! 🥹
I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for commenting!
Just kill heeeeer already 😭😭
I second this.
Mai is so brave! I wish one of those pins were laced with a killing poison just for Mother
I do think mai is one of my favorite characters to write about now. She’s so brave and clever. Thank you for commenting!