Chapter 59
Argana wasn’t the only one watching Hwansigung after the sudden poisoning deaths among the palace maids and attendants.
Although Consort Turegen was currently imprisoned, the hatred toward Empress Sorkate IV had only grown because of that. There were more than a few who suspected she might be plotting something behind the scenes.
But poisonings kept happening one after another, and finally even servants of Hwansigung — and worst of all, Homuja, a maid close to Consort Turegen — ended up dead.
When the first Hwansigung attendant died, people suspected that Turegen had even killed her own people to avoid suspicion. But Homuja’s death while imprisoned stirred up a whole new wave of rumors.
“Who’s trying to kill me! Who’s trying to kill me, I tell you! Aagh—! Hey! Is there no one here?!”
After Homuja died, Consort Turegen was half-crazed with fear.
News of the events reached the Khan’s ears, and Astrahan Khan immediately ordered a thorough investigation.
“Let’s see what kind of brazen person would do such a thing. Start the inquiry at once and catch whoever did it!”
With the Khan’s wrathful command, people began to move. Even then, maids and attendants continued to die one or two at a time, but strangely, none of the royal household staff suffered any harm.
“How could this be?” Kartak asked; Argana shook her head and sighed as if she didn’t know.
“If someone resented the royal family, they’d target the royals. There’s no reason to randomly pick only maids, attendants, and eunuchs,” he went on.
“That’s exactly my worry, Kartak. At first I thought it was almost certainly Consort Turegen’s doing…”
“And then?”
Argana hesitated for a moment and then shook her head again.
“…No. I don’t know. I still haven’t let go of my suspicions about Turegen.”
“But Homuja died. She was in prison, yet she still died…”
“That’s exactly why I can’t drop my suspicions. Think about it. Homuja was already a useless card to Turegen — someone whose usefulness had run out.”
Argana’s expression turned meaningful as she fell into thought.
“People say Turegen was half-mad with fear when she heard Homuja was dead — but what if that’s all an act? What if she cut Homuja off to cover up her own crime?”
“But prisoners’ meals are different from what ordinary maids, attendants, or eunuchs get. Would there have been anyone capable or willing to tamper with those meals? If anyone could do it, Homuja would have been a perfect target—she knew people everywhere among the maids.”
That made sense too. In the first place, it was impossible to know who would single out maids and attendants and why.
There was also no sharp common thread. Except for Empress Ayulsiran and Empress Marata, every other empress and consort’s palace had lost at least one maid.
‘Still, the probability that Empress Siran or Empress Marata is the culprit is almost nil. Why would they do such a thing? They already have everything.’
They could be suspected in many ways, but it would be foolish to pry at things one knew weren’t true. What bothered Argana more was the matter of Heehyo Palace.
After Ryuloslav Bi’s death, Heehyo Palace — where his son, Prince Yetekerid, lived — had been neglected and forgotten by the people. Argana sometimes wondered if even her own father had forgotten Yetekerid existed.
“What are you thinking about, Wihui?” Kartak asked.
Argana blinked and looked at Kartak.
“How did you know I was thinking about something?”
“You’re joking, right? How long have I known you — you think I can’t tell?”
“Well, I didn’t know our prince was such an observant fellow.”
Argana teased with a sudden little snort, and Kartak’s neck flushed red. He only did things like that at the most inappropriate, serious moments…!
‘And it’s not a matter of being observant,’ he thought.
He didn’t care about other people’s feelings and had no habit of watching his steps or being overly considerate. As someone born of a ruling bloodline, he never learned to tiptoe around others. But Argana was different. They’d lived practically every moment together since childhood; how could he not notice her? If she sighed, he instantly knew whether it was a happy sigh, an irritated one, or the kind that meant she wanted to beat someone half to death but was holding back.
“What were you thinking about?”
Argana glanced at Kartak, twiddling her nails as she answered.
“I was thinking about Heehyo Palace.”
“Heehyo Palace?”
Kartak paused, trying to remember where that was, then exclaimed, “Ah—your older brother… what was his name? The one whose mother was from the north?”
“That’s right. Prince Yetekerid. His mother, Ryuloslav Bi…”
Argana trailed off and then shook her head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing. You probably don’t remember.”
“I remember people whispering when he died — they said the Khan was wary about it…” Kartak recalled.
“That’s right. He was said to be nearly out of his mind at the end. I didn’t see him often either, but still.”
“Then why Heehyo Palace all of a sudden?”
“Prince Yetekerid is frail. He knows herbs well. Didn’t you hear what happened at Jinnyeogung last time? Didn’t Ishuder say something about it?”
“He came to look for plants at Yetekerid’s request.”
Argana continued.
“At the time I thought it was nonsense, but looking back, it could have been true. Yetekerid likes that sort of thing—medicinal herbs, poisonous plants—he loves plants and trees.”
“So you think this all started from Heehyo Palace? Just because the prince is knowledgeable about herbalism, that’s not proof.”
“Of course that alone isn’t proof. But there’s another reason.”
Argana pressed her lips together, hesitated for a moment, then folded her hands on the table and leaned toward Kartak across from her.
“Prince Yetekerid hates this country.”
Kartak cocked his head. His handsome brows rose slowly, then furrowed in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Prince Yetekerid thinks his mother died because of Abamama,” Argana said. “And he thinks Darga… drove his mother mad. Once, a maid who served at Heehyo Palace came asking for help from Yetekerid after being beaten.”
Argana had secretly listened, hidden behind a curtain, as that maid had begged, bruised all over.
“Please save me, please save me! Mama, I’ll die if this continues….”
“How could the Fourth Prince do such a thing? Didn’t you serve him properly?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s not that at all! The consort, Bi Mama, says his mother died because of us and beats me every day. Who could stand that? Please save me…”
After a year or two things quieted down, but Yetekerid’s seclusion showed his resentment hadn’t been resolved. He’s knowledgeable about plants, so making poisons would be easy for him. That’s why it felt unsettling.
“So you plan to go to Heehyo Palace and look into it?”
Argana rubbed the corner of her mouth, closed her eyes briefly, and pressed her brow.
“It seems we should.”
