『–Tssrut? (Dad, you’re okay, right? You are, right?)

–Kyuuu? (Father, where are you? Dong-ah, are you keeping Grandpa safe?)

–Kkyut! (I’m keeping Grandpa safe! Don’t worry, Dad!)

–Grrrng! (Dong-ah, if they try anything, tell us right away! Got it? I’ll rush over immediately.)

–Kkyuut! (Got it!)

–Beeeep. (Baap. Food.)』

Their voices echoed in my mind the entire time I was being dragged away.

Even though I’d attached Dong-i, the others clearly weren’t reassured.

While Hwa-eun and the Dragon Fangs were sweating bullets trying to hold the kids back, a flash of white light slipped like lightning through the door the Dragon Fangs had barely managed to block.

Dong-i.

He darted out between everyone’s legs and clung to my leg, burrowing into my robes—he had clearly attached himself, but still couldn’t stop worrying about me.

『“Dad’s fine, don’t worry. Dong-i’s here too, and this guy doesn’t seem like a bad person.”』

Were the kids still trying to follow me?

Or maybe things were still a mess back at the port?

I quietly reached out to Hwa-eun to ask.

Even as I was being dragged off, all I could think about was the kids making a scene and getting into real trouble.

A full-blown suppression force would’ve been a disaster.

‘Hwa-eun, are the kids calmer now?’

‘Yes, So-ryong, Cho is flying overhead for now, so things have settled down. Don’t worry about us.’

‘Cho is following us?’

‘Yes, I couldn’t stop him. But... have you found out who that man is?’

‘No. We just arrived at some kind of hall. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.’

As expected, Cho was tailing us from the sky.

I looked up, but couldn’t see him in the dark.

That’s when we arrived in front of a building.

The door opened, revealing armed guards and a staircase leading down.

And the sounds... of pain.

“Gggggh... J-just kill me...”

“P-please... mercy...”

From beyond the guarded hallway, moans of agony leaked through. They were eerie, chilling, unmistakably wrong.

I turned to the man walking ahead of me—Meng Cheong-un, the Jinmusa of the Imperial Guards—and asked,

“W-where exactly are we?”

He responded with a kind smile that didn’t match the atmosphere.

“Ah, this is the headquarters of the Imperial Guard. And down there is the Imperial Dungeon. Once you enter, they say it’s near impossible to come out alive.”

“T-the Imperial Dungeon!?”

–Gulp.

Even an average citizen trembles when facing the police, but this?

This was like being dragged to a royal version of Alcatraz, run by the Emperor’s secret police.

My hands were shaking. My throat was dry.

According to Hwa-eun, the Imperial Guards were the Emperor’s direct intelligence agency—his hands and feet.

And the dungeon they ran? Once you entered, you wouldn’t leave. Even if you became a corpse.

When I heard we were going to the Imperial Dungeon, one terrifying thought crossed my mind:

Was all that kindness just to get me to come here quietly!?

The entire way here, he’d been polite. I hadn’t felt a single trace of hostility.

But now that I was standing at the edge of a pit of groans and shadows... how could I not be suspicious?

Maybe I’d been too naive about this whole thing.

I hadn’t even had my wedding yet.

I thought of Hwa-eun’s warm embrace, and the cute faces of the kids flashed before my eyes.

“Ughhhh...”

I couldn’t get my feet to move, and as I was pushed down the stairs by the guards behind me, Meng Cheong-un spoke again, still smiling.

“Careful—it’s dark. Come on in.”

He gestured to a corridor lit by flickering torches, soot curling up their handles.

If they started torturing me, should I bring up the fact that I knew the princess?

Should I call Cho, even if it meant being labeled a traitor?

Just as I was bracing myself for the worst—thinking we were headed deeper in—Meng Cheong-un stopped walking.

–Creeeeak.

He opened a door set into the dark stone wall.

For a moment, I thought it was an interrogation room.

But no.

Inside were a desk, a chair, and a warm atmosphere—like an office.

As I stepped in, a familiar voice called out.

“It’s been a while, Young Hero So.”

I focused my sight through the lantern light—and saw a familiar face.

My eyes went wide in shock.

“Huh? S-sir!?”

“Look at that face. Geom-ah, you didn’t say anything before bringing him?”

The old man scolded Meng Cheong-un for bringing me without explaining.

“I figured if he looked too calm, it might raise suspicion from others. I did at least tell him not to worry, though.”

“Well, still. He’s not a child. You can’t just say that and leave it at that. Look at his face—it’s pale as a ghost. Don’t worry, come sit down.”

“Sir!”

Hearing that warm voice, I nearly burst into tears.

It was General Maeng Gyu-seong of the Imperial Iron Cavalry.

The man who’d given me the nickname Venom King Papa, and the one who’d taken the Jidam Pill from me.

There he was, right in front of me.

“I seriously thought my guts were going to turn inside out.”

***

This time, I quickly relayed the truth to Hwa-eun.

She must’ve been worried sick.

『"Hwa-eun, thank goodness—turns out that man Meng Cheong-un is the son of General Maeng Gyu-seong, the one your father-in-law once hosted as a guest from the Tang family!"』

Meng Cheong-un, a Jinmusa—one of the highest positions in the Imperial Guard—was the son of General Maeng Gyu-seong of the Iron Cavalry.

The Maeng family held tremendous influence in the military.

The father was commander of the Iron Cavalry, and the son was one of the two top officials in the Imperial Guard. They were undeniably a powerful household.

『“Really!?”

“Yes. So there’s no need to worry.”

“That’s such a relief.”』

I could feel a wave of relief flow in from Hwa-eun.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The children seemed to calm down as well after she explained the situation.

『“We don’t have to worry anymore. The man who took Dad away earlier was the son of one of Grandpa’s old friends who visited the Tang family before. Right, Bini? Remember that man drinking in the pavilion?”

–Tssr. (Ah, that old guy?)

–Grrrng. (Do you know him, Bini?)

–Tssrut. (Yeah, I met him once, sis.)

–Grrr. (Then we can rest easy. Still, Cho, stay close to So-ryong just in case.)

–Tssrrut! (Got it, sis!)』

After reassuring Hwa-eun and the kids, I heard the general click his tongue and speak.

“You rascal, if something like this happened, you should’ve told me immediately. When I heard that Commander Ak had been seized by the Imperial Guard, I rushed over—only to hear your name being mentioned. That’s when I told Geom to bring you straight to me. You almost got taken by the Dongchang.”

“Dongchang?”

“The Dongchang is a secret organization of eunuchs. If you get dragged there, even I can’t interfere.”

“Yes, Young Hero. Think of it like the eunuch version of the Imperial Guard. My father came to ask why Commander Ak ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) was being dragged in by our side. When I mentioned your name, he told us to bring you immediately—even though it was the middle of the night.

The Dongchang is already on the move because this involves a eunuch.”

It definitely felt like something massive was happening behind the scenes.

Two secret organizations within the imperial family were in motion.

I’d thought this was just a matter of reporting one bastard from the Five Venoms Sect to the Emperor and having him rooted out. Clearly, it was much bigger than that.

“But what’s going on exactly? Commander Ak said His Majesty was a wise and benevolent ruler—that even if a eunuch from the Five Venoms Sect was close to him, he wouldn’t hesitate to punish such a vile man.”

At my question, the father and son exchanged a look and let out a heavy sigh.

Then, in a lowered voice, they spoke.

“Huuu...”

“What I’m about to tell you must never leave this room. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Five years ago, the Empress passed away. Not long after, the Emperor’s beloved daughter, the Princess, got married and moved far away. His Majesty has been very lonely ever since.”

Ah, so the Princess’s mother passed away five years ago?

From what I’d heard about the Princess, the Emperor had cherished the Empress deeply. I hadn’t realized she had died.

The Princess had always seemed so bright that I didn’t even consider it. But it made sense now.

“I’ve also heard that His Majesty deeply loved the Empress.”

“Yes. Their relationship was so affectionate that she herself would tell him to show more care to the other consorts. That’s how close they were.

So after losing her, and sending off their daughter who resembles her, he’s been deeply lonely.”

“I see...”

To lose his wife and then see his daughter married off, left alone in a vast palace?

Yes, even a ruler could feel empty and lost in that situation.

As I nodded sadly, General Maeng continued.

“Then, just a few months ago, he snuck out of the palace incognito. At a brothel he visited, he saw a woman whose face resembled the Empress in her youth.”

The moment he said that, my instincts flared.

The eunuch from the Five Venoms Sect who was suddenly promoted.

A courtesan resembling the Empress.

There was no way this wasn’t connected.

“You mean the eunuch, Еunuch Heo, now head of the Department of Rites and Ceremonies, is linked to this?”

“Yes. At the time, he was serving under the Office of Imperial Carriages. When the Emperor expressed interest in visiting a brothel, Еunuch Heo volunteered his own as a safe option.

He said public brothels weren’t secure, but claimed his was. And that’s where His Majesty saw the courtesan resembling the late Empress.”

According to the explanation, the woman was granted the title Beauty—the lowest rank in the inner palace’s Six Chambers.

Still, since Еunuch Heo had become head of the department in charge of sending consorts to the Emperor’s bedchamber, she now enjoyed His Majesty’s full favor.

“So that’s what happened...”

“Commander Ak is loyal, but unaware of inner court politics. That’s why things turned out this way. I’ve told him many times to be more mindful of what happens inside the palace.

But he only keeps company with similarly upright men—so this was bound to happen.”

So the sister-in-law’s uncle—Commander Ak—was indeed a loyal subject, but also a bit too rigid.

He seemed like the type to say the right thing regardless of the risk.

A man with a neck that was easy to chop.

Should’ve looked into him better... I trusted my sister-in-law too blindly.

You always had to be cautious when a woman was involved. This whole approach had been wrong from the beginning.

Whether the courtesan was part of the Five Venoms Sect, or someone Еunuch Heo had acquired by chance—if Heo was the one who made her a consort, she’d likely defend him fiercely to the Emperor.

I could imagine exactly how it played out.

‘Why the dark face, my dear?’

‘Well... there’s been a report claiming that Еunuch Heo is involved with the Five Venoms Sect.’

‘What!? That’s impossible. Someone must be trying to frame him. Your Majesty, please make sure the truth is revealed so he isn’t wrongfully punished!’

‘R-right... I will do so.’

Snapping out of my thoughts, I turned to General Maeng.

There was no way we could resolve this without help.

“What should we do now?”

“First—are you certain about the woman you captured being a leader of the Blood Cult?”

“Absolutely, sir.”

“Then we’ll need to interrogate her once more through the Imperial Guard, and bring that to His Majesty as formal evidence...”

He trailed off at that last part, clearly unsure how the Emperor would react—given the woman had become a favored consort.

And just then—

A voice came from outside.

“Jinmusa! You must come quickly! The Dongchang has arrived—they’re demanding we hand over the prisoner!”

“What!?”

They wanted me and Nanhwa—the Bloodshade Unit’s leader.

Startled, I instinctively clung to General Maeng.

“U-uh, sir...”

The eunuchs had come for me.

And just hearing that made my legs go cold.