Chapter 405: The Evidence That It Wasn't Suicide

TL: FoodieMonster007

"What do you mean by that, all of a sudden?"

When Geom Mugeuk, as if reading her mind, spoke of helping her mother, Han Seol was inwardly surprised.

Geom Mugeuk had spoken with the mastermind of this incident in mind. If the Blood King was targeting the Ice Palace, they would have to combine their strength to stop him.

Of course, he couldn't tell her this directly.

"The Ice Empress accepted the conditions I proposed because she struck a deal with the Northern Blood Sect. She must have received compensation for rescuing the Northern Blood Sect Leader's second son."

Han Seol could not deny his words.

"In this situation, we've entered the Ice Palace. Your mother will be preoccupied with the Northern Blood Sect's affairs, so I meant that you should manage our presence here."

Was that truly why he said it? It felt like something a bit more significant than that.

"Young Cult Leader, there's no need for you to involve yourself in the affairs of this palace."

"I said it for your sake."

Han Seol rarely held long conversations with anyone except her mother. She typically spoke only when necessary, and who would dare prolong a conversation with the Princess? Yet, this Young Cult Leader kept drawing her into conversation. No, he made it impossible for her to remain silent.

"Why would you do that for my sake?"

"I just want to help."

"There's no such thing as kindness without reason in this world," she stated firmly, then turned to leave.

She disliked receiving favors, but she disliked even more the situation where she had to return them once received. The exchange of emotions between people felt to her like trading hidden weapons coated with poison.

Geom Mugeuk walked behind her.

"Why are you following me?"

"That's not something someone who was eavesdropping on my conversation should say."

Han Seol bristled instantly. "Eavesdropping? I was merely…"

"Merely?"

"I just didn't have a chance to make my presence known."

"Just as there's no kindness without reason in this world, there's no excuse that isn't a cover for something."

Han Seol wore an incredulous expression and resumed walking. She then realized it had been a very long time since she had bristled like that. She truly disliked people who provoked others and manipulated their emotions at will.

"Don't delude yourself into thinking everyone in the world will fall for you. They're merely… pretending to like you because you're the Young Cult Leader. If you were a low-ranking martial artist, would they like you then?"

"They'd probably beat me senseless, saying I talk too much for a low-ranking martial artist."

Han Seol almost erupted in anger, wanting to say she wasn't joking, but she caught herself. He would only respond with more nonsense. She said nothing further and continued walking.

Passing martial artists respectfully greeted her. Han Seol consistently received their greetings with a blank expression.

Geom Mugeuk interjected at every turn. "Do you always treat your subordinates so stiffly?"

"We are martial artists. Why would we expect kindness?"

Ultimately, she stopped walking again. Her values were far too different from this man's.

"Are those people here to play? Can you joke around with them and then order them to go on a dangerous, life-threatening mission? If you order them, will they willingly go?"

Geom Mugeuk said nothing.

"Why are you silent?"

"You're speaking the truth, what can I say?"

Han Seol, who had been quietly staring at Geom Mugeuk, uttered her final words and turned away. "Even if you're not a low-ranking martial artist but the Young Cult Leader, you'll get thoroughly beaten someday."

Han Seol strode away, signaling him not to follow. From behind, Geom Mugeuk's words reached her.

"Let's have a drink sometime! The Drunken Demon is abstaining, so I can't drink! And Lee Ahn won't drink with me out of loyalty."

He's incorrigible. The Drunken Demon abstaining? What is that? His subordinate won't drink out of loyalty? So, does he think I lack loyalty, which is why he's asking me to drink? How much does he intend to provoke people?

With that, she departed from the place.

The playful expression vanished from Geom Mugeuk's face as he watched her. He couldn't approach her, shielded by an invisible wall, through conventional means, which was why he was trying to break through like this.

The reason for his actions wasn't to brighten her personality or fill the void in her heart. It was for her safety and that of the North Sea Ice Palace. If the Blood King had intervened in the Ice Palace, he would surely have extended his schemes to Han Seol as well.

Or he would attempt to. That had been their method until now.

Geom Mugeuk looked around. The towering buildings in this barren land and the colossal martial artist statues made of ice gleamed, reflecting the sunlight.

Blood King, where are you? Where do you hide that cruel, crimson blood?

The North Sea Ice Palace had provided a total of three rooms.

Geom Mugeuk told Lee Ahn, "You should stay in the middle room."

"Are you two going to protect me from both sides?"

"I have to protect you if I want to eat delicious noodles."

They had to be as careful as possible, as they didn't know what was happening in the North Sea Ice Palace. The Drunken Demon would take care of himself, and if he was just in the next room, the Heavenly Demon's Body Protection Art, which he had achieved complete mastery over, would react.

"Before coming here, I sent word to the Hidden Moon and the All-Knowing Hall. I asked them to focus all available intelligence on the North Sea Ice Palace and the Northern Blood Sect."

If the two intelligence organizations combined their strength, they would unleash formidable power.

"I believe the masterminds behind this incident are the same individuals who plotted in the Murim Alliance and the Evil Alliance."

The Drunken Demon and Lee Ahn nodded in agreement. These were the same individuals who had been secretly active in the Outer Regions' Heavenly Wind Cult. It would be strange if they weren't in the Ice Palace.

"Since we've been ambushed before, this situation is even more dangerous. Please be careful, Young Master!"

"It's fine, my Hyung will protect me. Right? Why aren't you answering? You said you'll take care of it previously! Why aren't you doing it again?"

At Geom Mugeuk's urging, the Drunken Demon feigned indifference. "Ah! I want to drink!"

"Don't revert to your old self!"

Watching their conversation, Lee Ahn smiled faintly.

She had never truly imagined the Drunken Demon to be this kind of person. She had always feared he was too drunk to even hold a conversation. She had expected him to erupt into a drunken frenzy when angered, consumed by emotion.

Most of all, she had thought he would drown his sorrow in alcohol, yet he understood that grieving while drinking wasn't true mourning. Instead, he had quit drinking and was calmly observing the world, mastering his own emotions, comforting himself in this way, understanding that only by comforting oneself could one truly mourn.

"We especially need to be careful of the Northern Blood Sect. We've uncovered something they were trying to hide."

At the Drunken Demon's words, Lee Ahn asked worriedly, "Then won't the Northern Blood Sect try to destroy all evidence and cut ties?"

"They will," Geom Mugeuk replied.

"Then is it alright for us to just stay like this?"

"It's fine. The act of trying to cut ties will become another clue."

"I see," she replied, as if understanding, but Lee Ahn sighed, unable to grasp exactly how he intended to deal with it.

She had never experienced this kind of fight before. The forces behind the scenes, the Northern Blood Sect, the North Sea Ice Palace. It truly felt like standing in the heart of enemy territory, surrounded by terrifying foes.

"How do you feel about it?"

"I'm trembling," she admitted. But after looking at the two people she would fight alongside, she added a qualifier to that trembling feeling. "In a good way."

The next morning, the investigation into the Brewmaster's death officially began.

Han Seol herself came to fetch the three. She treated Geom Mugeuk calmly, as if she had never bristled yesterday.

"First, I'll guide you to the late Brewmaster's room. The Empress ordered it not to be cleaned, so it has been preserved as is."

This was fortunate for the investigation of the incident. But why had the Ice Empress ordered it not to be cleaned? Was she close to her? Or did the Ice Empress also have doubts about her death?

"What was her cause of death?" the Drunken Demon asked.

Han Seol replied, "She drank poisoned wine."

At the mention of poisoned wine, the Drunken Demon's eye twitched. "Could she have been poisoned by someone else?"

"That's impossible. She left a will."

"May I see it?"

As if anticipating the Drunken Demon's request, she produced the will from her sleeve and handed it over. It contained a confession that life was difficult, an apology to the people of the Hundred Wines Snow Cellar who made wine, and ended with a plea to the Ice Empress to forgive her disloyalty.

As the Drunken Demon read the will, a strange glint flickered in his sorrowful eyes.

"The investigation confirmed it was indeed the Brewmaster's handwriting."

"Yes, it's definitely her handwriting," the Drunken Demon conceded. Having seen her writing more than anyone, he knew the will was at least not forged.

"Where did she obtain the poison?"

"That wasn't investigated."

It seemed no investigation was conducted because her suicide was considered certain.

"What happened to the Brewmaster's body?"

"She was buried in the tomb where the palace's martial artists are interred."

Since she had already been buried, it was impossible to determine what kind of poison had been used from the body.

Han Seol led the three to the Brewmaster's room.

"I heard she had no family, so there was no one to claim the deceased's belongings."

In that sense, the Drunken Demon was also the Brewmaster's only family.

They entered the Brewmaster's room together.

Upon entering the room, the Drunken Demon mourned her for a moment.

I've known you for so long, yet this is the first time I've entered this room.

The room was neatly furnished. A small bed, just right for one person, was by the window, and next to it were a small desk and chair.

You must have sat at that desk and sent letters to me.

The image of her sitting there, writing letters, came to the Drunken Demon's mind.

Most of the books on the desk were related to wine. Various parts and devices used in the brewery were also placed in a corner, and the clothes she wore while working were neatly folded.

Everyone felt the same emotion. The Brewmaster truly was a person who knew nothing but wine.

On a display cabinet against one wall, dozens of wine bottles were collected. They were of various shapes.

"Since they're collected separately, they must be precious wines, right?"

The Drunken Demon didn't answer. No, he couldn't. Among the collected wines were those he had sent. Many of them were ordinary wines easily found on the market, yet she had collected them alongside the rare and precious ones.

That wasn't all she had collected. The Drunken Demon found a box under her desk. In it, she had carefully kept the letters she had received from him.

She collected all of these!

The Drunken Demon didn't know where the letters he had sent her were. Some might have been lost, others tucked away somewhere, but the Brewmaster had organized and stored the letters by date.

The Drunken Demon took one out and read it. It was worn from being read countless times.

Ah, that happened.

He remembered something from a very long time ago. The letter contained details he wondered if he had even shared. It was, quite literally, his own history contained within the letters.

"May I take the letters we exchanged?"

At the Drunken Demon's words, Han Seol readily replied, "Please do."

Even as he tucked the letters carefully into his chest, the Drunken Demon showed no emotion.

"Now, let's go to the Hundred Wines Snow Cellar."

The Hundred Wines Snow Cellar was bustling with activity. Behind those carrying raw materials on carts, the fermentation area was visible, as was the aging area. Others were bottling the finished wine.

After observing them at work for a moment, the man serving as the Temporary Brewmaster of the Hundred Wines Snow Cellar was called over. He was said to be the person the deceased Brewmaster had trusted the most.

"I have some questions about the late Brewmaster."

"Please ask."

"Was there anything unusual about her before she died? Any different behavior?"

"No, there wasn't."

"Did she fight with anyone?"

"The Brewmaster was not someone who would fight with anyone."

They spoke with a few more people besides this man, but it didn't seem like there had been any internal conflict.

Before leaving the Hundred Wines Snow Cellar, the Drunken Demon investigated the wines produced there, including the types of wine being made, the production schedule, and where the wine was distributed.

Having completed their investigation, the four people left the Hundred Wines Snow Cellar.

"Since it's so clear that she committed suicide, is there any need for further investigation?"

If her suicide was confirmed, the three would no longer have a reason to remain in the Ice Palace.

Despite Han Seol's certainty, the Drunken Demon showed a different kind of conviction. "It definitely wasn't suicide, so we must investigate thoroughly. The Ice Palace must assist us even more actively."

Han Seol made a puzzled expression.

The Drunken Demon confidently stated, "During today's investigation, I found three pieces of circumstantial and direct evidence that it wasn't suicide."

"In what way?"

Not only Han Seol but also Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn wore curious expressions. Three pieces of evidence?

"First, even if she committed suicide, she wouldn't have died by drinking poisoned wine."

"She loved wine her entire life, so couldn't her final journey also have been with wine?"

The Drunken Demon firmly shook his head. "A drunkard like me might have, but she wasn't a drunkard; she was a person who made wine."

To Han Seol, who still didn't understand his meaning, the Drunken Demon added, "She would rather have thrown herself off a cliff than ever allow poison to be mixed into the wine she made. She was a person who purely loved wine."

Geom Mugeuk understood that sentiment this way: A martial artist might commit suicide by stabbing their own heart with their sword, but a craftsman who makes swords would not want to stain their own creation with blood.

"What's the other reason?"

"Earlier, I looked at the Hundred Wines Snow Cellar's schedule. Five days after her death, the Ice Wine destined for the Empress's palace was due to be completed. This premium Ice Wine could only be made during this season. It's also the most important day of the year for the Hundred Wines Snow Cellar. Yet, she committed suicide without completing that final wine? That's absolutely impossible."

Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn both nodded.

Although Han Seol didn't react outwardly, she also considered the Drunken Demon's words to be valid. It must have been a doubt obscured by the discovery of the will.

"What's the third and final reason?"

"That's the decisive one," the Drunken Demon said calmly, his eyes sunken. "She didn't leave a will for me."

He was certain that she wouldn't have left without saying anything to him, at the very least.

"By not leaving a will for me, she sent her final message: a plea for me to uncover the truth of her unjust death."

What if she wrote the will under duress? If she had anticipated her death, she might have left a final message for the Drunken Demon. However, by leaving no words at all, she informed the Drunken Demon that this death was not suicide. It was something only possible with deep trust.

"Do you know what their mistake was?" the Drunken Demon said, slowly caressing the blood tear hanging from his waist. "They killed the only person who could protect them. The only one who could stop me from going wild when drunk."