Three Thousand Court Ladies - Chapter 55

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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 Fifty-Five
‘What flag was it?’
Even as Sam-cheon searched her memory, the flag’s identity eluded her. She pulled out paper and sketched the banner’s shape and markings with meticulous care.
No matter how long she studied the drawing, nothing came to mind.
‘Not enough clues.’
Lately, her visions extended only half a day into the future, measured from the moment of death. Yet this dream held only a single instant.
Besides, the wol mok-seo bloomed in autumn.
‘It’s January now.’
Spring hadn’t even arrived.
This was the first time she’d glimpsed so distant a future.
This world flowed forward tangled in the choices of countless souls. Her visions came only when those choices interlocked to create a current powerful enough to drag her toward death.
Until now, her Prophetic Dreams came at most a day or two in advance—why had she been shown something months away?
She closed her eyes again, but the dream’s afterimage tormented Sam-cheon through the night. By morning, her eyes were bloodshot crimson.
Ha-bin walked the main thoroughfare of Ungijn Fortress wrapped in pristine white silk. Behind her, attendants in black garments filed in orderly procession.
The townsfolk who glimpsed the procession stepped aside and bowed their heads. Some offered prayers.
Ha-bin occasionally granted Prophecy to those she encountered in the street. Her predictions proved so remarkably accurate that people yearned for their turn to come.
Yet all of them merely fixed her with intense gazes; none begged or rushed forward.
Should anyone speak to Ha-bin first, reach out a hand, or block her path, men appeared from nowhere to drag them away.
As Ha-bin moved slowly through the silence, she suddenly stopped before a man.
“You.”
When Ha-bin opened her mouth with an impassive face, all eyes converged upon her.
“You’ve lost a child.”
The well-built man’s body crumpled as though struck.
“Oh—oh no. Celestial Maiden.”
As Ha-bin looked down at the man on his knees, weeping openly, she spoke again.
“South from Ungijn Fortress, you’ll find a small cave. Beyond it lies a cliff face directly ahead.
As her words trailed off, the crowd gazed upon her with desperate hunger. Having savored their yearning sufficiently, she continued.
“Halfway up the cliff, there’s a small cottage where a herbalist dwells. Your child is there. A precious one destined for great deeds now cowers in fear. Go and rescue them.”
“A small cave to the south, a cliff face, a cottage?”
The man muttered as if entranced.
Ha-bin walked on without answering. The well-built man spun around and bolted southward, while the crowd prostrated themselves upon the ground.
Ha-bin glided serenely through the people’s worship.
Waiting for Ha-bin when she finished her afternoon walk was the eighteenth prince, Gyeol. His cheekbones were prominent, and his thin, ruddy lips curved in a smile—he appeared to be in good spirits.
Ha-bin made a formal bow.
“I am Ha-bin of the Ye Clan, and I greet the prince.”
“What was all that about?”
“Did you see, my lord?”
Ha-bin unwrapped the pristine white silk she wore and sat naturally before him. Gyeol pressed further.
“Why did you help that man find his child?”
“I didn’t help him find them.”
“Then?”
“When he reaches the place I described, he’ll find only traces of the child. He was barely holding on after losing them. I gave him hope—and now I’ll snatch it away again.”
Ha-bin smiled like a painting come to life.
She was beautiful, but she concealed poison within herself. Indeed, she didn’t even hide the fact that she harbored it. This was why Gyeol found her appealing.
Gyeol, his arms folded loosely, offered his thoughts.
“Cruel, aren’t you? What do you gain from it?”
“That man is the fortress gate commander. Our elders need something brought inside, but their requests go unanswered. He has no corruption to exploit and his reputation runs too deep—it’s difficult to remove him quietly. But if he’s searching for his child, won’t he take leave from his post?”
Gyeol asked as though hearing an interesting tale.
“Is the child alive?”
“Does it concern you?”
“It shouldn’t. Mere curiosity.”
“I kept them alive. They may prove useful later. If the father doesn’t collapse at losing his son, I’ll send the child back poisoned instead—occupied with nursing duties, he’ll have no time to think.”
Gyeol made an exaggerated motion as if clapping.
“Of all the people I know, none are as wicked as you. Take it as praise—you’re more malevolent than anyone in the palace.”
“That’s precisely why you keep me at your side, isn’t it?”
Ha-bin laughed with wide eyes, and her beauty mark became strikingly visible.
“Shrewd, even. Have you no intention of giving that child to me?”
His words were not a request but a demand. Ha-bin answered with an unruffled face.
“I’ll have them packaged for you before you leave, my lord.”
“I’ll pay the price. But first, take this.”
Gyeol extended a small wooden box, his long eyes tilting slightly in a smile.
Ha-bin knew that wasn’t his genuine smile. It was merely the habitual mask he wore to conceal his cruel nature.
Pretending not to have noticed that facade, Ha-bin mirrored his smile and opened the wooden box. Inside lay a flower carved from white jade, no larger than a fist.
Gyeol’s tone grew softer.
“Thanks to you, His Majesty praised me greatly. Gye-san truly did hand over the Amnesty Authority. From now on, I’ll listen more carefully to what you say.”
“If you follow my counsel, fortune will fall into your lap even as you sleep, my lord.”
“But why did you insist that maidservant not be harmed?”
Gyeol asked probing, and Ha-bin closed the wooden box with an audible snap.
“If that maidservant were hurt, the Gyeon-heon Forces would come swarming like rabid dogs to tear you apart. You must maintain good relations with Princess Gye-san on the surface. Even if you ascend the throne, you’ll need a guard dog to defend the border.”
“A maidservant worth more than the Amnesty Authority itself? Does Gye-san have such tastes?”
Ha-bin studied his expression carefully.
Though Gyeol had called Ha-bin the most wicked person he knew, in her assessment, he surpassed even that.
Ha-bin killed only when necessary; he seemed to relish killing for its own sake. His interest in Sam-cheon was not a good sign.
The wider Gye-san’s reputation spread, the higher Ha-bin’s own standing rose as the one who had prophesied the “Undefeated General.” Thus Ha-bin had no desire to see Gye-san fall.
Deciding it better to release information than to escalate matters unnecessarily, Ha-bin spoke.
“Have you never found it strange—Princess Gye-san’s Gyeon-heon Forces?”
“They’ve enjoyed an uncanny string of victories.”
“A princess, barely come of age, commands the army. Her second-in-command is a boy fresh from Dongyeon Palace. The training master is an unknown swordsman appointed from her guard detail. The left and right wing commanders are commoners. The strategist fell in the first battle, and the post has remained vacant since. With such meager personnel, they’ve achieved overwhelming victories. Not once have they failed in the smaller mopping-up operations or capture missions assigned to them.”
“The secret lies elsewhere, then?”
“I suspect that maidservant is the strategist. Princess Gye-san is no thinker, after all.”
Ha-bin spoke with a slight smile.
“A guard dog keeping the border must have such a necessity to fulfill its role.”

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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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