Chapter 065. The Lost Kingdom (4)
Meanwhile, there was one place in the center of Hongyang filled with a bleak and ominous atmosphere.
It was the execution ground where criminals were punished.
The crumbling stone walls and wooden pillars were covered in dark, dried bloodstains. Torn pieces of cloth hung from them.
Sharp pieces of metal and broken boards stuck out from platforms, punishment frames, and torture devices.
The sight alone was enough to terrify any prisoner.
A short while later, a woman was dragged in and thrown onto the straw-covered ground.
It was Cheongyeon.
Her beautiful silk clothes had been torn, and her hair was a complete mess.
A strange rope made from tangled strands of black bronze tightly bound her entire body.
The evil energy flowing from those restraints made it difficult for her to regain consciousness.
Loud voices could be heard beyond the wall.
A crowd was gathered nearby.
"Where... am I...?"
Cheongyeon finally spoke.
Her voice was weak and cracked.
"This wall is right beside Hongyang's main plaza."
Someone looked down at her from the dim light of the execution ground.
"Doesn't that make you feel wronged?"
A noblewoman's face covered in pale makeup came into view.
Her cheeks were raised high, and her lips stretched wide as though she could not hide her delight.
"The carriage procession will probably pass nearby soon."
Cheongyeon's eyes slowly widened.
"You are..."
She finally recognized the woman.
"Nam Huyeong?"
Cheongyeon forced herself upright.
"The countless spectators outside have already forgotten that there was ever a fake Heavenly Maiden."
Huyeong smiled.
"Even if you scream, no one will listen."
Cheongyeon's entire body was bound.
Yet anger came before fear.
She trembled.
"I let my guard down."
Her eyes became cold.
"I never imagined a member of the royal family could fall so low that she would harm even a sick child lying helplessly in bed."
Just thinking about Jeongyo made Cheongyeon's chest burn.
It might already be too late...
But seeing Huyeong standing there without shame filled her with the desire to make the woman answer for her crimes.
"Harm?"
Huyeong tilted her head.
"Who harmed whom?"
She smiled innocently.
"A servant girl failed to adjust to life in Beopsindang and hanged herself. That's all."
She spoke as though Jeongyo's death had absolutely nothing to do with her.
Driving someone into a corner until they killed themselves...
It was one of Huyeong's favorite methods.
She could destroy someone's life without dirtying her own hands.
"So that child's death is your fault."
Cheongyeon froze.
Huyeong continued.
"You failed to take care of her."
Her smile deepened.
"If you can't even protect your own people, how can you call yourself an all-powerful Heavenly Maiden?"
Anger spread through Cheongyeon's heart like fire.
Still crouched on the ground, she gathered energy into her blue necklace and tried to use her power.
Nothing happened.
It was like striking a broken flint.
Black thread-like energy flowed from the bronze restraints around her body.
It erased her spiritual power before it could take form.
A disgusting heartbeat seemed to pulse through the restraints.
Cheongyeon's face turned pale.
"You really shouldn't be worrying about some servant girl right now."
Huyeong looked down at her.
"The one caught in a trap is you."
She emphasized every word.
"Fake Heavenly Maiden."
Then Huyeong spread the hem of her skirt as though showing off.
Her clothes were far too luxurious for such a grim execution ground.
And they were exactly the same as Cheongyeon's.
When Cheongyeon thought back, everything had happened little by little.
It had begun when Huyeong entered Beopsindang and bribed the maids of Cheonsingak.
At first, Huyeong's imitation had looked clumsy.
But now...
She had become frighteningly similar to Cheongyeon.
A chill ran through Cheongyeon when she realized two identical outfits had been prepared for the Fifteenth Day Festival.
Someone had been obsessively trying to copy her.
And the final target of that obsession was Seongha.
"Seongha will come for me."
Cheongyeon forced the words out.
"When he realizes the carriage was switched because of your scheme, he'll definitely..."
Huyeong lowered her eyes and smiled gently, as though she found Cheongyeon's faith adorable.
"You really are a stupid girl."
She bent down before Cheongyeon and brushed the hair away from her face like an old friend.
Huyeong always became sweetest when whispering the word death into the ear of someone hanging from the edge of a cliff.
"Seongha will not come to save you."
Cheongyeon's heart tightened.
"Everything is over anyway."
Huyeong smiled.
"So I'll tell you something interesting."
Originally, Huyeong had planned to remove Cheongyeon from Beopsindang as soon as the High Priests left for the palace.
That was why she killed Cheongyeon's beloved bird.
She wanted to create confusion and use the people around Cheongyeon to lure her into a trap.
"I told that servant girl..."
Huyeong's smile widened.
"If she helped guide her master into the carriage, I would give her a chance to live."
Cheongyeon's expression stiffened.
"But do you know what she said?"
Huyeong laughed softly.
"She said she would rather hang herself and die."
Cheongyeon's breathing stopped for a moment.
The people who followed Cheongyeon had refused to cooperate.
And the experienced Nuchin had interfered.
Because of that, the festival schedule had nearly continued as planned.
Until then, Huyeong's plan could still have failed.
"But then..."
Huyeong's eyes gleamed.
"Seongha appeared."
"..."
"He looked as though he already knew everything about our plan."
Cheongyeon's mind immediately returned to Seongha's final words.
[You do not need to force yourself.]
[When things become painful, you are allowed to stop and rest.]
[Go somewhere safe and calm your heart.]
That strangely cold and detached gaze...
The way he had failed to understand Cheongyeon's feelings.
"That was when everything Seongha had done until now finally made sense."
Huyeong leaned closer.
"He did not bring you to Beopsindang to protect you."
Cheongyeon's eyes trembled.
