I asked, feigning ignorance.
“What do you mean, an assassin? What are you talking about?”
He responded with a troubled expression.
“There were signs just now that someone tried to assassinate me. There was a needle stuck in the leg of the horse I was riding.”
“I knew it. I thought it didn’t make sense that a merchant group specializing in horses couldn’t control a single horse. Turns out there was a reason.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun gave a heavy nod.
His face showed both pride in his merchant group and concern over the attempt on his life.
“If you’re certain it was an assassination and not an accident, does that mean this has happened before?”
“It has.”
“And even so, you’re still pushing ahead with this trading expedition?”
“If I cower in my merchant compound, scared of an assassin’s blade, how could I ever build the greatest merchant group in Liaoning?”
There was a straight and dignified spirit in his tone.
But unfortunately, that assassination attempt had succeeded.
Because in my previous life, the one who became Merchant Lord wasn’t Bok Yun, but Bok Yeong.
From that point on, the merchant world in Liaoning was shaken to its core. A few merchant groups rose rapidly to fill the vacuum.
They monopolized not only the horse trade, but medicinal goods like ginseng and deer antler. They gouged prices. The Eunhae Merchant Group took no small losses because of it.
We eventually resolved it by opening a branch here, but I don’t plan to handle it that way this time.
Setting up a branch ought to cost them a fortune, not me.
“By the way, did you really not know someone was targeting me?”
“I didn’t.”
“I thought maybe you noticed. You took the seat that’s hidden from view.”
“No. I just don’t like having too many eyes on me.”
“I see.”
Truthfully, his guess was right. But the reasoning was complicated, so I kept playing dumb.
We made small talk while waiting for the food we’d ordered.
“Ah, come to think of it, how did you manage to calm that rampaging horse earlier?”
The expected question.
I’d calmed a horse even a professional horse merchant group couldn’t handle.
Of course, I’d already prepared my answer.
“That’s actually a secret art passed down in my clan. I hope you’ll understand, I can’t reveal it recklessly.”
“In that case, it can’t be helped. I’m not the kind of man who demands even the shirt off the back of the one who saved my life.”
The conversation continued.
Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun struck me as someone with broad insight and a discerning mind.
No matter how trivial the topic, you could tell a person’s character and depth from how they spoke.
Thanks to that, we had a genuinely enjoyable conversation.
Honestly, among my peers, I’d never met someone who I could talk with this easily.
“By the way, how old are you, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun?”
“I’m nineteen this year. My birthday is in the eleventh month, so I’ll be turning twenty soon.”
“Oh!”
Bok Yun exclaimed in surprise.
“What a coincidence. I’m nineteen too, with a birthday in the eleventh month.”
“Could it be… we have the same birthday?”
Turned out we didn’t just share the same age, we were born on the same day.
That made me even happier.
“The dishes you ordered have arrived.”
The waiters brought the food to the table and stepped back.
“Pardon me. Allow me to taste the dishes first.”
Bok Yun’s attendant stepped forward politely and, using silver chopsticks, sampled each dish.
He was checking for poison.
I couldn’t help but admire his loyalty.
Poison-tasting is something you do at the risk of your life.
His hands didn’t even tremble, his loyalty to Bok Yun must have outweighed his fear.
Loyalty overcoming fear, huh?
It’s not unheard of, but loyalty that overcomes death is rarer than you’d think.
True loyalty is when your hands shake and your legs tremble, but you still don’t back down in the face of death.
But fear of death is instinct. How do you overcome that?
How do I know?
Because in my previous life, Palgap died like that.
So I took a closer look.
Something’s off.
Even if your hands don’t shake, when you eat something, especially hot food, it’s hard to fully control your expression.
That’s why, when trying to read someone’s intent, people serve scalding tea. In the split-second it takes to avoid burning your tongue, the truth tends to slip through.
But this man… was smiling?
A chill ran down my spine just as Escort Guard Jin Yu’s sound transmission reached me.
— My lord. Be careful. I sense an assassin’s aura from that man.
So I was right.
An assassin concealing his killing intent.
I suddenly understood how Bok Yun had died in my past life.
He must’ve trusted the attendant deeply. After all, the man was tasting his food for poison.
In the end, he was betrayed by the one he trusted most.
So my next move was obvious.
I’d already calculated the benefits of saving Bok Yun’s life, but honestly, this was the first time I’d met someone who truly resonated with me.
A close friend… maybe?
I had many good people around me, but among the heirs of merchant families, there hadn’t been anyone I could call a true friend.
Our goals didn’t align, and our words didn’t connect.
But if I saved this man, the Gwangjun Merchant Group would rise even higher than before.
A worthy friend, and a worthy rival.
I couldn’t just sit back and let someone like that die.
And this wasn’t just for him, it was for me too.
Why would an assassin smile while tasting food that might be poisoned?
Because he had another aim.
Like using my offer to treat him to a meal as a pretext, to frame me as the poisoner.
There are poisons that don’t react to silver.
He probably hadn’t planned to use it today.
But seeing this opportunity, he must’ve decided to seize it.
That meant I had to move first.
I sent a sound transmission to Escort Guard Seo Wu.
— There’s poison in the food. Don’t eat it.
— I already heard from Escort Guard Jin Yu.
It seemed Jin Yu had briefed him ahead of time.
Smart. That way, they’d be able to react immediately when things turned.
— And I’m going to do a bit of acting.
— Acting?
— You’ll see.
I felt a little bad, but warning him ahead of time would ruin the act.
Just then, the attendant set down his chopsticks and spoke.
“There’s nothing wrong. You may eat.”
“Looks delicious.”
I quickly picked up my chopsticks, pretending I was about to eat, but the attendant stopped me.
“Apologies, Deputy Merchant Lord. That dish is still quite hot. It’d be best to let it cool.”
That confirmed it.
Damn it.
I was planning to pretend to eat it first, then fake a collapse from poisoning.
“Young Master can eat it now. He’s quite used to hot food.”
“Ah, is that so? Then I’ll eat first.”
Bok Yun smiled and brought the dish toward his mouth.
Damn. That one’s probably the poisoned dish.
Whether I stopped him or didn’t, I’d likely be blamed.
In that case…
I went with the clever idea that had just popped into my head.
“Geumryeong. Body-slam Palgap.”
At my whispered command, Geumryeong darted from my sleeve, slipped under the table, and slammed into Palgap’s stomach.
“Guhk!”
Palgap, who’d been about to eat, dropped his chopsticks with a groan just before the food reached his mouth.
It looked just like he’d been hit by poison.
I rushed to his side, hiding my satisfaction behind a concerned expression.
Naturally, Bok Yun stopped eating and set his chopsticks down.
“Palgap! Are you alright? What’s wrong?”
“G-Geum…”
“What? Poison?”
“Th-That…”
Geumryeong must’ve hit him pretty hard, he couldn’t even get the words out.
He tried to write something using the spilled tea from the overturned cup, something like “the culprit is Geumryeong”, but I quickly wiped it away.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun. It seems my attendant has been poisoned.”
.
.
.
Number Sixteen had no idea what was going on.
Why had Eun Seo-ho’s attendant suddenly collapsed from poison, when the target had been Bok Yun?
If things continued like this, the mission would fail.
All that work to become this man’s attendant…
He gritted his teeth in silence.
The one who commissioned this hit clearly held a deep grudge against Bok Yun. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have hired multiple assassination teams at once.
From what he’d heard, one hundred gold taels would go to whoever succeeded.
Enough to let three generations live in luxury.
His organization had sent him, their top operative.
He had investigated the target thoroughly and realized right away, this wouldn’t be easy.
Contrary to his youthful appearance, Bok Yun was cautious, meticulous, and wise.
So he chose a sure method.
Infiltrate as an attendant. Assassinate from the inside.
It hadn’t been easy.
He kidnapped the real attendant, took his place, and for a full year served faithfully, even handling poison tasting himself.
Eventually, Bok Yun came to trust him completely.
He’d been waiting for the perfect moment. Then, a complication arose.
Another assassin had tried to kill him, using a needle to the horse’s leg.
That made him panic.
He didn’t want someone else to steal his kill.
And then a golden opportunity appeared.
Eun Seo-ho invited Bok Yun to a meal.
A chance to carry out the poisoning, and blame it on someone else.
But now, that plan had completely unraveled in the most ridiculous way.
Still, he regained his composure.
No time to lose.
He’d hidden a small dose of poison in his sleeve. If they searched him, he was done for.
So he subtly stashed the poison in the wine house’s wooden framework.
Even if it was found, it couldn’t be traced back to him.
But he never imagined…
That a little piglet had sniffed out and wandered over to the hiding spot.
Officials from the county office quickly arrived.
A poisoning attempt at the busiest wine house in Liaoning, and with the Deputy Merchant Lord of Gwangjun on site? Of course they came.
Not just constables, eventually even the County Magistrate showed up.
“We tested the food on a chicken. It died. There’s no doubt, it was poisoned.”
“…”
“Therefore, we’ll need to conduct body searches.”
The constables requested permission and began the searches.
Soon, my own pockets came under suspicion.
“To be thorough, County Magistrate, perhaps you should check personally?”
“Very well.”
The Magistrate came over and opened my pouch himself, only to find a Censorate Inspector’s plaque.
“…!”
His eyes widened. He started to bow, but I quickly stopped him and whispered.
“Act normal. Your life’s worth more.”
“O-of course…”
I wasn’t fond of the plaque, but… I had to admit, it made things easier.
Tch. Power really is the best.
Leaves a bad taste, though.
Just then,
“W-what is this!?”
“I don’t know, sir! I swear!”
“Isn’t this poison?!”
A constable shouted while searching Bok Yun’s attendant. The room exploded into noise.
They had found the poison in his sleeve.
“If you don’t know, then why is the poison packet open?”
“T-that’s, ”
“I heard you tasted the dishes earlier. Didn’t you put it in then?”
“I-I’m innocent!”
“Yeon can’t be the culprit.”
Bok Yun stood by his attendant, insisting on his innocence.
He clearly trusted the man deeply.
As for the poison, I’d had Geumryeong slip the packet the assassin hid back into his sleeve.
I’d had my suspicions, but now I was certain.
The force behind this wasn’t the Murim Alliance.
They wouldn’t bungle a job this badly.
I stepped forward and slashed at the attendant’s face with a dagger.
Shaaak!
Everyone flinched in shock, and Bok Yun glared at me.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun! What are you doing!?”
“Deputy Merchant Lord Bok. Do you still see that man as your attendant?”
“What are you…?”
One of the constables stepped forward, weapon in hand.
“A human-skin mask.”
Bok Yun looked at the exposed face and cried out.
“Who are you?!”
“Damn it!”
The man suddenly hurled a hidden dagger at Bok Yun.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
Palgap, why are you throwing a table,
Wait, more importantly…
You’re already up?
Your recovery is fast.
–TL Notes–
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