When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Sa Yeonju shouted urgently, as if she no longer had the presence of mind to keep up her act.
"Test that! Test that!"
At Sa Yeonju's outcry, the physicians' bewildered gazes turned toward Ju Kyunghyun.
In that moment, Sehwa stepped forward first.
"Then I'll get tested too. I touched that document as well, so if there was something wrong with it, poison should be found in my body too."
"Get lost! You must have already taken the antidote!"
Sa Yeonju pleaded with the Young Lord.
"Young Lord, please test those things. There's no reason poison would be found in my body unless it came from that document!"
"You're the one who needs to get lost!"
"Young Lord!"
When it seemed her pleas wouldn't work on the Young Lord even as she sobbed, Sa Yeonju knelt before everyone in the banquet hall.
"Please, please help me. It really wasn't me. If I had taken Sosa beforehand, would I have so boldly agreed to be tested? There must have been something wrong with that document. Please let them test those papers. Please."
"......"
"......"
While most remained coldly silent, a few who found this chaos entertaining responded to Sa Yeonju's pleas.
"Let's just do it."
"Yes. At this point, we should uncover the full truth so no one feels more or less wronged than others."
"That's right. If we end it like this, there might be talk later about favoring one side by not testing properly. What would we do then?"
Though their faces were filled with nothing but interest, even that seemed to give Sa Yeonju hope.
She turned to look at the Young Lord.
Ju Kyunghyun, who had been furrowing his brow as if the messy situation was giving him a headache, reluctantly nodded to the physicians in response to others' reactions. It meant to test that document.
The physicians approached reluctantly and pressed the dragon scale needle against the paper.
But the needle remained unchanged.
"That won't show anything! The poison only works when it enters the body! So touch it! All of you touch it! Or eat it!"
"......"
At Sa Yeonju's shout, Ju Kyunghyun nodded halfheartedly, seeming to indicate they should do as she said.
But the physicians hesitated. Who would want to rashly touch something when they didn't even know what kind of poison it might be if not Sosa?
They were members of the medical division responsible for the Mystic Ruler and Young Lord's health. Of course they would take any risk for the Mystic Ruler and Young Lord, but should they take such risks for that Sa clan girl?
If it had been for someone of Ju blood, they might have felt compelled to do it. But for someone from the Sa clan?
Besides, from how things were unfolding, it seemed that whatever happened, the bad one was that black-haired beast of a Sa clan girl?
Seeing the physicians' hesitation, someone suddenly stood up.
Large hands gathered the scattered pieces from the floor and rubbed them roughly against his own hands.
Then without hesitation, he shoved those paper pieces into his mouth, chewed roughly, and swallowed.
It was Ju Myoungyoon.
"Whatever this may be, it's our family's matter, so I'll take responsibility. Now test me."
Ju Myoungyoon's sharp gaze turned to Sa Yeonju.
"As you said, I not only touched it but ate it too. If there was even a tiny amount of poison on it, there would surely be a reaction. However."
Ju Myoungyoon gritted his teeth.
"If nothing shows up, you are no longer my niece. Do you understand!"
"El-Elder."
"Even if Sehwa doesn't, I will cast you out. Nothing our family has allowed you will be yours anymore, and you won't be able to stay in any place. This is an oath I make on my name, Ju Myoungyoon!"
"!!"
"!"
Severing ties by putting one's name on the line meant complete severance that would show no sympathy under any circumstances. It meant passing by without helping even if seeing someone dying.
It was a statement that showed Ju Myoungyoon's anger at the current situation.
People held their breath and turned their gazes to the physician all at once.
They were curious how this story would end.
The physician made a cut on Ju Myoungyoon's finger, just as they had done to Sa Yeonju, and pressed the dragon scale needle.
The needle was clean.
"No!!!!!!"
Sa Yeonju thrashed about.
"The antidote! He could have taken the antidote beforehand!"
The physicians shook their heads.
"Even so, since it takes time for poison to be neutralized, it would definitely still show up in the test."
"That can't be! That's impossible!"
As if unable to bear hearing Sa Yeonju's screams, Sehwa turned her head away, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
Her hidden eyes sparkled.
Her gaze flew to a memory of some day.
"It needs to be completely dried. Not even a bit of moisture should remain."
"But does this really have such an effect? If that were known, wouldn't everyone have taken all the leaves from the Spirit Tree by now?"
"Other Spirit Trees won't work. It has to be that one."
"Just keep it for now. It's my reward. Use a little bit at a time in emergencies."
She had gone with Youngsun to pick leaves from the Spirit Tree at the outpost.
Leaves thoroughly imbued with spiritual power that had flowed from the spirit orb of the blue turtle with healing powers over a very long time.
In her previous life, she had seen Baek Giha use powder from these leaves to save newly missing children who had been found again.
Now, perhaps because of the long war, there were no new missing children, and she knew that the children who had gone missing long ago were already dead.
So she had decided to use the powder that could instantly neutralize any poison and save someone even from the brink of death for herself.
"Besides, just watch. This will lead to something quite interesting."
"What do you mean interesting? What is it?"
"If that Young Lord has even a bit of intelligence, or even if he doesn't, if the guards around him have any brains, then my cousin will probably suffer greatly."
How long had the Young Lord been waiting to bring that sister?
And today, as she entered the banquet hall, she confirmed Sa Yeonju leaning against the wall.
At that moment, she carefully pulled out the paper containing the powder from inside her sleeve.
Hiding it in her palm, she pretended to grab the neck of the wine bottle and sprinkled it inside.
After that, not knowing when things would unfold, she had kept drinking wine since sitting down.
'Just confusing Sosa with common poison isn't enough. The physicians and Ju clan members here aren't fools, so later someone might think it could have been something other than Sosa.'
So what should be done?
Make them feel it's not even worth thinking about anymore.
So when the accusations were flying back and forth, she slightly raised her gaze that she had been keeping lowered.
The moment her eyes met Sa Yeonju's, she turned her head toward the torn paper as if hurriedly hiding her gaze. So that Sa Yeonju, who would now have nothing else, would latch onto the document.
No one here knew the coldness of the Ju clan better than Sehwa. She had learned it well enough to carve it into her bones through five years of continued torture.
That no one would sacrifice their body to test the document directly for someone from the Sa clan.
Only her father would be different. He would gladly put his own hands to it for her, Sehwa.
"Father. Let me pour you some wine."
"No. Your father has no appetite. The aroma seemed nice, you drink it."
"Still. I was disrespectful to the Mystic Ruler and shocked you, didn't I? I feel so sorry thinking how startled you must have been. Please accept it. Besides, once I go to the Baek clan like this, who knows when we'll have time like this again?"
"...I only realized today that you've been worrying about various things regarding going to the Baek clan. I'm sorry I didn't know you were so scared you would cry like that."
"It's alright. The Baek Clan Head isn't a bad person, so I'll go and return safely."
"The Baek Clan Head is... Never mind. Yes, then pour me some wine. The mood isn't good, so I should have a few cups from my daughter."
Though she was sorry to have to involve her father, Sehwa focused on Sa Yeonju before her for now.
"No! It wasn't me!!"
Sa Yeonju screamed and tried to cling to Ju Kyunghyun.
"Young Lord! Young Lord, it wasn't me! It wasn't!"
"Shut up!"
Before she could reach Ju Kyunghyun, the guards rushed over and forcefully restrained Sa Yeonju.
"How dare she bring poison to an audience with the Mystic Ruler! Throw her in the underground cell!"
"It wasn't me! This is a false accusation. This is a false accusation!"
"I'll kill you all! Just as you did to my family, I won't forgive any of these clan members!"
"Someone gag that mouth!"
"Someone gag that mouth!"
At those words, one of the guards struck Sa Yeonju's cheek hard.
Blood trickled between her rouge-painted lips, perhaps from a cut inside her mouth.
Experiencing such intense pain for the first time in her life, Sa Yeonju blinked her eyes, momentarily unable to gather her wits.
"Drag her out!"
"Y-Young Lord! Young Lord! Young Lord!!!!"
Though Sa Yeonju screamed and struggled, the guards didn't budge.
Held by their arms, Sa Yeonju was dragged across the banquet hall floor.
"Young Lord!! Everyone!! Everyone please save me! Everyone!"
Though she was dragged out in a miserable state, everyone in the banquet hall ignored her as if they had never taken her side. That fact made Sa Yeonju even more wretched.
Finally, the thick wooden doors closed silently between her and the banquet hall. Only her continuing screams indicated the increasing distance.
Young Lord Ju Kyunghyun wrapped up the situation with an anxious expression.
"Since that child poured my wine too, I should go get treatment- no, examination. Myoungyoon, I'd appreciate if you took charge of the banquet."
"Yes. I'll do that."
"Baek Clan Head. I apologize for showing such a chaotic scene and leaving like this. But I must receive the physician's examination, so I'll take my leave now."
When the Baek Clan Head nodded as if to say he understood and to go quickly, Ju Kyunghyun left the banquet hall with the physicians without looking back.
Whether intentional or not, he seemed anxious that even a tiny bit of poison might have gotten into his wine, and that his body might be harmed.
'He's still terribly concerned about his own body.'
Yet he had no hesitation in laying hands on others.
Seeing Sa Yeonju's state reminded her of that intense pain from the final blow to her own cheek so long ago.
Sehwa's misty gaze followed Ju Kyunghyun's retreating back.
'Yes. Take good care of your health. That way there will be more satisfaction when I bring you down.'
Below her wet eyelashes, Sehwa's gaze flashed fiercely.
'You're next.'
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