Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 42
The soldiers who faced the young palace maid who had survived death more than once felt a weight in their hearts. Especially those with daughters of her age could not hide their pity.
“You’ve been through an ordeal.”
“You can rest easy now that we’re here.”
Samcheon asked with a slightly subdued expression.
“The bandits won’t attack us again on the way back, will they?”
“You needn’t worry about that. They’re all dead.”
“That’s right. Every last one of them.”
Samcheon’s eyes widened dramatically.
“Not a single one left alive?”
“One survived—the one caught spying and locked in the quarry. He managed to escape before we could question him further, which was troublesome, but he confessed that he’d been sent by the Jin Clan.”
Samcheon, who doubted this, asked further.
“What became of the captured bandit?”
“The wretch was sent under guard to Sabi Fortress. The princess managed to escape safely, and we’ve even been commended for it. What a stroke of fortune.”
Samcheon poured tea once more into the empty cups.
“Our princess truly is remarkable. Please have another cup each.”
After they drank and returned their cups, Samcheon picked up the small table and turned to leave. As she approached the barracks, her expression grew heavier.
Perhaps the captured bandit hadn’t spoken the truth at all, but rather the answer Seonhye wanted to hear.
For a moment Hae’s face flashed through her mind, but she deliberately pushed it away. The possibility of the Jin Clan’s involvement was slim, yet it existed.
Steadying herself, she entered the barracks and found Gyesan waiting.
“You’re back?”
“All the bandits are dead except for one, and he confessed the Jin Clan had hired him.”
“The Jin Clan couldn’t possibly be involved.”
Gyesan kicked her foot in frustration.
Samcheon shared her frustration but spoke calmly.
“What if we return and testify, then request a reinvestigation? Things have gone this far—we can’t brush past it.”
“You’re right. We can’t let this drop.”
But there was commotion outside.
“Mother!”
“My child! Oh, my precious one.”
“I shall never forget this kindness.”
“Thank you. Thank you.”
“The princess saved them. Count yourselves blessed.”
“The princess?”
“Yes. She who will become the Undefeated general.”
Samcheon peered out from the barracks, keeping only her eyes visible. It seemed the parents of the children who had been held captive had come to claim them. Among the people clinging to one another and weeping, she spotted a familiar face.
“It’s the Hunter.”
“Mm?”
“The one who caught the snake for us.”
Gyesan hurried over and looked out as well.
The Hunter, clutching his child, was sobbing openly. He held the child close as if precious beyond measure, caressing the small face and hair.
So the Hunter’s child hadn’t been taken by a tiger after all—he’d been seized by men.
“At least one of Tiger Ghost’s Tombs will disappear.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“It truly is.”
Affection poured from the Hunter’s gaze and touch.
“Is this how a father naturally cherishes his child?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Then perhaps this Hunter is exceptional.”
Gyesan, lost in thought, spoke.
“What was that voice in the Secret Chamber?”
It was less a question directed at Samcheon than a voicing of frustration.
Seonhye reported that no additional Secret Chamber or person had been discovered. The chamber where the child and corpse had been found was searched several times, but no one heard the voice again.
Samcheon deliberated before offering a theory.
“Perhaps they can no longer speak, or they simply didn’t wish to answer the soldiers’ call.”
“There was no sense of danger.”
“That’s true.”
The voice had been slow and composed.
“They might not be trapped at all. It could have been a villager from the nearby village moving through an undiscovered secret passage, or…”
Samcheon trailed off as she continued her reasoning. There remained a hypothesis she didn’t wish to entertain.
“It could be a spirit. This is Forbidden Land, after all.”
“Even so, it wouldn’t be a malevolent one.”
The feeling it gave was far removed from gloom, strangeness, or fear.
Moreover, that voice had seemed to speak in hope that the child would be rescued. The final words—”how fortunate”—carried relief within them.
Even if it truly were a ghost, it seemed less frightening than the sword-wielders present.
“Might it be a Guardian Spirit of some kind?”
“That seems most fitting.”
“Doesn’t it.”
“Let’s go check anyway. It could be a person the soldiers simply failed to find. We should investigate while we can.”
Gyesan drew her sword.
“…Your Highness, are the soldiers truly so incompetent?”
“They’re hardly competent.”
“That much is fair.”
Samcheon prepared to move as well. Since they would depart the moment dawn broke tomorrow, now was their only opportunity to investigate.
“We’ll know when we get there.”
Gyesan looked toward the quarry.
As they made their way past the bustling crowd and into the quarry, eyes followed them. The soldiers who had come from Sabi Fortress to the Separate Palace wore frightened expressions.
More precisely, they were the surviving members of the abduction team.
They had failed to properly carry out their duties. They had neither protected nor located Gyesan. They had done nothing until Gyesan revealed her own location.
Even if not entirely their fault, they would struggle to avoid censure. They might even be silenced.
Samcheon arrived at the Secret Chamber under the weight of all those stares.
The interior was neatly arranged. Samcheon gazed at the soot-blackened stone, then bowed her head slightly.
‘Go to a better place.’
She and Gyesan examined every corner carefully, but found nothing remarkable. The only peculiarity was a Stone Pagoda standing in the center.
“Are you here?”
Samcheon called out, but no answer came.
“The child who was here is being treated. Once recovered, we’ll send him home, so don’t worry. The other children have all been claimed by their parents.”
Gyesan also spoke toward the empty air.
“If you need help, tell us. We’ll aid you.”
[That’s enough. Go away. I want to be alone.]
Finally, an answer came—a weary, listless voice as though indifferent to all worldly matters.
Though they listened intently, they could not tell from which direction the sound came. The entire chamber seemed to resonate with it.
Samcheon glanced around, then spoke.
“We’ll be withdrawing soon.”
[You’re interrupting. Finally it’ll be quiet again.]
“Do you require no assistance?”
[Enough. I can’t remove anyone.]
“What? Are you trapped?”
Samcheon was startled, having initially assumed the voice belonged to someone not confined here.
[You could say so. See the stone pagoda in the middle?]
Samcheon immediately turned to examine the Stone Pagoda in the center of the chamber.
“Yes, I see it.”
[I’m in the wooden box.]
Drawing closer, she could indeed see a Wooden Box inside the pagoda. That no one had taken it was strange—the box was exquisitely crafted.
[Useless. No one can remove it.]
Without thinking, Samcheon lifted her hand and grasped the box. Gyesan, observing the situation unfold, called out to the empty air.
“Do you truly wish to be alone?”
[I hate hoping and then being disappointed. Just before, the soldiers tried to remove it and made a fuss. When they couldn’t, they spat and cursed it as ill-omened, then left.]
As she listened to their exchange, Samcheon lifted the box free. There was no resistance, no weight.
Samcheon, holding the box aloft, spoke.
“I’ve removed it.”
[…How?]
There was no particular method. She had grasped it and taken it out. That was all.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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