How To Kill A KingCh34 - Deliver Poison

Firelight illuminated the prison courtyard. Bribing the guard had proved to be an easy task. A couple hundred mun for ten minutes. He had no reason to suspect that Min-jun had poison on him. The other prisoners had fallen fast asleep going by the ruckus of coordinated snoring. Min-jun found Gyeo-wool by the way the moonlight and fires illuminated his silver hair.

Gyeo-wool sat with his legs crossed and his head tipped back against the wall of the cell. When Min-jun approached him, Gyeo-wool refused to look in his direction. Thick wooden bars kept the prisoners from escaping FGDBVd

“How does it feel to be a convicted criminal?”

“Not convicted yet,” Gyeo-wool replied. “I haven’t gone to trial.”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Min-jun kneeled down across from Gyeo-wool. “The King’s set on you already. After all, it’ll make him look bad if it’s revealed that he caught the wrong person.”

“You’d be the one in real trouble. Even though both of you seem rather close.” Gyeo-wool said it like an accusation. Min-jun didn’t appreciate his tone. 6lBGWE

“That’s my job,” Min-jun said. “It’s all an act. On both our parts.”

Gyeo-wool snorted, bowing his head. “You’re both good actors, in that case.”

What a pointless conversation. Give him the poison and leave. That was the plan. Min-jun reached into the folds of his vest and withdrew the small packet of leaves. “Here.” He threw it into the cage. “It’s elder leaves. I gather it’s preferable to whatever you’re planning on doing.”

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.

“Always prepared, aren’t you?”

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Footsteps shuffled and Min-jun glanced over to the gates. Nothing there. It must’ve been the guards. “I’m surprised you aren’t. It’s hard for me to believe you planned on being caught without a poison on you.”

“Mother said not to take one.”

Min-jun stared at the dirt on the ground. Small particles of sand, silt, clay, forever unaware of the way in which it is being watched. “Seems counterintuitive.”

“Depends on what her plan is. She wanted me to be caught by you. That’s plenty counterintuitive.” Gyeo-wool shifted and stretched one of his legs out in front of him. “Whatever it is she wants, she’ll probably get it sooner or later.” d7KYuA

His words tasted bitter. Min-jun considered him: The frown on his face, the way he slouched over his knee, the creases between his eyebrows. Deep in his chest, something clenched and tightened. “I’m sorry.”

Gyeo-wool raised his head, eyes wide. “For what?”

“For the fact that you’ll likely have to die for Mother’s sins,” Min-jun said, “and that you’ll never get an apology from her.” For being incapable of ridding you of your expendability. 

Gyeo-wool’s somber expression lightened, his lips curling into a smile. In the moonlight, he looked every bit a nobleman. “What a haven we’ve found for ourselves.” DgcY08

“Did she prey on you too?” he asked. Gyeo-wool looked about Mother’s age, but anyone could get preyed on if they were vulnerable enough. Not just adolescent orphan boys.

Gyeo-wool extended a hand slashed with shadows. At his wrists, shackles glinted. “She offered safety from my ability.” His eyes had lost focus of his surroundings, trapped in painful memories. “It was mostly for Mai.”

“Will she know?”

“I asked Iseul.” A3K6 n

Min-jun nodded. Iseul was a pain in the ass, but for all of his awful traits, he could keep a promise. That poor girl would be devastated, and Gyeo-wool seemed halfway there already. “You can choose not to take it.”

“I fear what will happen if I don’t. I’m not loyal enough to keep myself from talking.”

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But loyal enough to die. “Do you want me to stay?”

Gyeo-wool shook his head. “No. Go back to your King, Min-jun. He’ll be suspicious if you’re not by his side when he wakes up.” oiuyXj

Min-jun rose and brushed the dirt off his clothing. “I suppose you’re right.” He paused. He paused because he wasn’t sure what to say to a man whose death he’d helped expedite. “I’ll make sure you’re given a proper burial.”

“Little consolation to a dead man … but thank you.”

What else could he do? Leave him as he wished, he supposed. And, selfishly, Min-jun found that he didn’t want to watch another person die.

He faced the gate, surprised to find his legs wobble as he approached it. A breath in, his lungs filled with the summer coolness and the scent of sweat and grime from the unbathed prisoners. Goodness, they should at least let them take a bath from time to time, for everyone’s sake. 1cK6gI

The guard waited for him outside and shook the string of coins Min-jun had given him, grinning all the while. Novels didn’t always lie, but he’d never expected a mere five hundred mun would be enough to persuade him. Again, an easy feat. Maybe they should give them a higher salary to prevent situations like this?

The stones had evened out underneath the soles of his shoes. The smell of the prisoners had cleared from his nostrils, replaced by the sweet scents of the King’s precious blooms. Right, it wasn’t as if he’d done anything wrong. Or rather, between the two choices presented to him, he’d chosen the least painful one. Gyeo-wool was a murderer. Punishment was inevitable, no matter who he murdered in the name of.

No, focus on getting home. The mission was over now.

He turned the corner, leaving the prison behind. Clouds gathered in the sky, and in the absence of moonlight, the lanterns glowed brighter. No honey-colored eyes watched him and the want of them made him uneasy. He had half-expected Sun to drag him away from this place. Instead, his bodyguard had left him unattended. Aa8x3o

Without warning, the presence of another person came to stand right behind him. “You’re out late.”

He swiveled around, recognition sinking into dread. The King arched a brow.

“Well,” the King said. He was dressed in only his nightclothes and a light blue durumagi that hung open. Not angry, but not amused. Min-jun couldn’t pinpoint his expression. “Don’t you look every bit the guilty party?”

Don’t panic, He told himself. The mission is already done. It doesn’t matter that he’s figured it out now.  7UBv5e

Min-jun bowed.

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