“Drunken Demon!”
At Geom Mugeuk's call, the Drunken Demon looked up.
Geom Mugeuk was relieved to see that he was not in a state of madness and fury.
After all, if he were sober, he would never have done such a thing.
“There's no need to explain twice anyway, so let's wait a bit.”
The Drunken Demon understood Geom Mugeuk's words and nodded.
On the other hand, the Ice Palace martial artists surrounding him became even more tense at Geom Mugeuk's appearance.
A few of them turned towards Geom Mugeuk, on guard.
They seemed convinced that the Drunken Demon was the one who had caused this incident.
A moment later, Lee Ahn arrived, followed by Han Seol.
The two women were startled.
One of the dead was Jo Myeong, the man in charge of the brewing ingredients at the Hundred Wines Snow Courtyard whom they had met.
He was the very person who had told them that the brewer had drunk with Elder Seo several times.
After glancing at each other, the two women's gazes turned to different people.
Han Seol looked at the Drunken Demon first.
‘Surely, you didn't kill them, did you?’
In the current situation, it looked like the Drunken Demon's doing to anyone.
Lee Ahn, however, looked at Geom Mugeuk first.
‘What should we do? I think the Drunken Demon has fallen into a trap.’
If Geom Mugeuk hadn't been here with her, her heart would have been pounding as if it would burst.
But upon seeing Geom Mugeuk's calm gaze, her agitated heart calmed down as if by a lie.
It was a gaze that seemed capable of resolving any danger in the world.
No, it was fine even if he couldn't resolve it.
He was someone whose presence alone was enough.
How long did they wait like that?
From all directions, martial artists carrying shields and spears appeared and began to blockade the area.
They were the Northern Winds Branch, the most elite martial artists of the Northern Sea Ice Palace who followed only the orders of the Ice Palace Master.
Armed with armor and shields, they were composed of individuals with martial arts superior to any other elite unit in the Ice Palace, and one could tell how skilled they were just by their extraordinary gazes.
The Northern Winds Branch sealed off the area like an iron wall, and some of the members lined up on both sides, creating a path with their shields.
The Ice Palace Master walked through their perfectly disciplined ranks.
Behind her followed escort martial artists clad in pure white martial robes.
Until now, they had only seen her in the Palace Master's Hall, where she seemed alone in the ice castle, but seeing her like this, outside, was completely different.
The Ice Palace Master stared at the corpses without a word.
Her expression was colder than ever.
She had confirmed that among the dead, there was someone who did not know martial arts.
Only then did Geom Mugeuk ask the Drunken Demon, “Drunken Demon, what happened?”
The Drunken Demon finally opened his mouth. “That person contacted me, saying he had something to tell me and wanted to meet.”
The corpse the Drunken Demon was looking at was Jo Myeong, the one Lee Ahn and Han Seol had met.
“I was about to talk with him when suddenly, the blood vessels in his neck burst. Then, the ones who heard the noise and came running also burst.”
Then, someone shouted, “How are we supposed to believe your words?”
The person who arrived next was Seo Nak.
Just a moment ago, he had retreated from the Palace Master’s Hall with a troubled expression, but his aura now was different.
“Covered in so much blood, and you expect us to believe you?”
The circumstances were against the Drunken Demon.
Covered in blood, he looked even more like a murderer.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk stepped forward. “That's why we can believe him.”
As everyone's eyes turned to him, Geom Mugeuk calmly asked them, “If the Drunken Demon had really killed them, would he have gotten blood on himself?”
Geom Mugeuk turned to the Drunken Demon and said, “Even if they exploded right in front of him, he could have avoided all that blood if he had wanted to. The fact that his clothes and hands are stained with so much blood means….”
After a brief pause, Geom Mugeuk said, “He must have been trying to save them.”
The Drunken Demon nodded silently.
Without him needing to make any excuses, Geom Mugeuk had accurately grasped the situation.
Geom Mugeuk said to the Ice Palace Master, “If a Demon Sovereign truly intended to kill those people, he would have done it without anyone knowing. He wouldn't be standing here, covered in blood and surrounded. You know what the Demon Sovereigns of our Main Sect are like, don't you?”
Of course, the Ice Palace Master knew well.
If the Drunken Demon had been determined, the martial artists who first surrounded him would all be corpses by now.
Then, Seo Nak asked excitedly, “Then why is he just standing there?”
Geom Mugeuk's gaze remained on the Ice Palace Master. “He was waiting out of respect for you, Palace Master. Trusting that you would make a wise judgment. Because if he had left this place, the problem would have only grown larger.”
A faint smile appeared on the Drunken Demon's lips.
Yes, this was why he could remain calm.
As long as Geom Mugeuk was here, he wouldn't be easily framed.
“We cannot easily trust the words of demonic practitioners. Naturally, he should be detained until the investigation is over.”
Geom Mugeuk countered Seo Nak's firm assertion. “That would be an unfair treatment.”
“Unfair? What do you mean by that?”
Geom Mugeuk spoke to the martial artists around them. “You've all probably heard the rumors that we are investigating the death of the brewer from the Hundred Wines Snow Courtyard. During that investigation, we found some suspicious circumstances. A master from this Ice Palace secretly requested the deceased brewer to make Incense Snow Ice Wine.”
For a moment, Seo Nak's expression stiffened.
He hadn't expected Geom Mugeuk to bring that up here.
“That master hid this fact from us. But even after we uncovered it, we did not detain him. Why? Because we respected the Northern Sea Ice Palace and the Ice Palace Master.”
The surrounding martial artists looked at each other, exchanging glances.
Seo Nak couldn't argue.
If the conversation dragged on, Geom Mugeuk would reveal right here that he was the suspicious person.
Geom Mugeuk's gaze turned icy cold.
He had never shown anger since coming to the Ice Palace, but for the first time, he revealed a frosty demeanor.
“We respect you, but you refuse to respect us?”
If the Ice Palace Master had not been present, he would have released his aura to pressure Seo Nak more strongly.
But because he was before the Ice Palace Master, he maintained his decorum.
Han Seol was surprised by Geom Mugeuk's sudden change.
The man she saw now was not the Geom Mugeuk who made frivolous remarks.
That cold demeanor, on the contrary, suited the Ice Palace very well.
Finally, the Ice Palace Master, who had been watching, stepped forward. “I understand the Young Cult Master's words well.”
After looking back and forth between the Drunken Demon and Geom Mugeuk for a moment, the Ice Palace Master ordered her subordinates, “Lower your swords.”
The martial artists who had surrounded them lowered their swords.
Seo Nak did not give up. “Palace Master, you must not believe them.”
“Yes, we must thoroughly investigate the cause of death of the deceased.”
The Ice Palace Master said to the Drunken Demon, “Do not leave the palace without my permission.”
I won't imprison you, but don't leave recklessly.
That was the Ice Palace Master's compromise.
To this, Seo Nak added, “The masters of our palace should keep them under surveillance until the investigation results are out.”
The Ice Palace Master accepted his opinion.
However, she added one condition for Geom Mugeuk's sake. “Only until the investigation is over.”
The Drunken Demon waited for Geom Mugeuk's reaction.
He had to act according to Geom Mugeuk's decision on this matter.
Geom Mugeuk said nothing.
It meant he should accept the compromise.
The Drunken Demon readily accepted the proposal. “I will do so.”
As the Drunken Demon left the place, Lee Ahn followed behind him.
Before leaving, Geom Mugeuk said to the Ice Palace Master, “You asked why I was provoking him to this extent.”
Earlier, she had asked Geom Mugeuk why he was provoking Seo Nak so much.
Why he was trying to show her his true nature.
Geom Mugeuk had replied that while it was true he was provoking him, it wasn't to show the Ice Palace Master herself.
Now, Geom Mugeuk answered that question.
“It seems he has finally seen it.”
It meant there was someone in the background.
Provoking Seo Nak was a means to provoke that person behind him and draw him out.
“Then, I will see you later.”
About to bid farewell to the Ice Palace Master and leave, Geom Mugeuk turned to Han Seol and said, “What are you doing, not coming with us? Didn't we agree you'd be one of us? Are you only one of us when things are good?”
The Ice Palace Master and Seo Nak looked at Han Seol.
The Ice Palace Master looked at her daughter without showing any emotion, while Seo Nak was the opposite.
Seo Nak shook his head with a firm expression, telling her absolutely not to follow.
She had never disobeyed him before.
“Let's go together.”
Han Seol started walking, following Geom Mugeuk.
After the three left, Seo Nak looked at the Ice Palace Master and said, “We cannot let the Young Palace Master associate with the Demon Sect's Young Cult Master.”
At this moment, the Ice Palace Master couldn't tell if his behavior was shamelessness or genuine concern for the Ice Palace.
That was how long she had spent with him.
Betray all those long years? This thought clouded her judgment.
“I will look into it carefully.”
The Ice Palace Master turned and left the place.
As she left, the Northern Winds Branch and the escort warriors instantly withdrew.
To the martial artists who were about to investigate the corpses, Seo Nak said with a grief-stricken face, “Please leave me alone for a moment.”
Those present knew well how much Seo Nak cherished the people of the Ice Palace, so they all quietly withdrew, giving him space.
Seo Nak looked down at the corpses alone.
Instead of sadness or pity, he was lost in other thoughts.
‘He is helping me.’
Just when he was cornered because of the Incense Snow Ice Wine, an incident like this occurred.
It was then.
Drip.
The blood from the large puddle began to flow.
The blood flowed towards Seo Nak's feet.
Thinking it could happen, Seo Nak stepped aside.
Then, as if alive, the blood changed direction and headed towards Seo Nak.
Startled, Seo Nak moved to the opposite side to avoid it.
Then, the blood changed direction again and flowed towards Seo Nak.
Stepping back, Seo Nak asked, “Is that you?”
At Seo Nak's question, the flowing blood stopped.
It was as if it had understood his words.
In a trembling voice, Seo Nak said, “Thank you for this. I will now deal with them without making any mistakes.”
As if it understood, the blood that had paused slowly began to return to the original puddle.
Surprisingly, no bloodstains were left on the ground where it had flowed.
Like that, the blood returned to its original puddle as if being absorbed.
Seo Nak slowly walked over and looked down at the puddle of blood.
It had already returned to being ordinary blood.
It occurred to him that perhaps this incident was not to help him, but to warn him.
His own face was reflected on the surface of the blood.
It was the grim face of a man who had made an irreversible decision.
*
“Stop suppressing your anger and just drink.”
Despite Geom Mugeuk's words, the Drunken Demon drank tea.
“This makes it even scarier.”
The opponent had framed the Drunken Demon.
In other words, they had framed a Demon Sovereign.
He must have been furious, but the Drunken Demon was still just drinking tea.
Geom Mugeuk said to Lee Ahn, “I don't know who it is, but they picked the wrong opponent.”
Lee Ahn could also tell that the Drunken Demon was truly enraged.
What was surprising was his self-restraint.
He seemed like the one who would get excited most easily among the Eight Demon Sovereigns.
Yet he was controlling himself more admirably than any other Demon Sovereign.
“I suppose this is why you were able to become the Drunken Demon.”
As Lee Ahn expressed her sincere admiration, the Drunken Demon gave an awkward smile.
As a drinker, he had tried to control himself well, but he was an emotional person.
His composure here was possible because of one desire.
The desire to show a cool side of himself to Geom Mugeuk.
He wanted to show that getting drunk and throwing himself into a lake wasn't all there was to him.
Geom Mugeuk said to the three of them, “Thanks to this, we now know for sure. That Seo Nak is definitely connected to the hidden forces.”
The Blood King had finally started to move.
When Seo Nak was in trouble, he moved immediately.
He is not far away.
The one surprised by those words was Han Seol. “Hidden forces?”
“I believe someone has joined hands with him and is plotting a great conspiracy.”
Unlike the Drunken Demon and Lee Ahn, who already knew this, Han Seol was unaware of such matters.
“Why didn't you tell me sooner?”
To her question, Geom Mugeuk replied, “That seems like a question you should ask the Palace Master.”
“My mother knows too?”
“I believe so.”
Sensing Han Seol's expression stiffen with a feeling of being left out, Geom Mugeuk said, “It's probably not just a problem for the Palace Master.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean it's time for the Young Palace Master to have a talk with her mother.”
He now said to Han Seol what he had said to the Ice Palace Master.
He thought what the two of them needed was a conversation.
“In my relationship with my father, I was the one who approached him first. It was a really difficult thing to do, considering my father. But if they've raised us to our age, isn't it a child's duty to make them say, 'Look how much this kid has grown' at least once?”
Of course, Han Seol had never once thought like that.
“The problem with your relationship isn't about being distant or close, cold or warm. The problem is that it has hardened.”
“!”
The word 'hardened' struck a chord in Han Seol's heart.
She felt it was true.
Nowadays, even before feeling hurt, she would just think, 'That's just how mother is.'
She had no thought of pulling what was distant closer, or of warming what was cold.
“Why are you telling me these things?”
“It's because I'm a busybody.”
There must be some intention.
Han Seol couldn't guess Geom Mugeuk's true thoughts.
He was a person who made her think he was truly strange.
Lee Ahn asked Geom Mugeuk, “Why did they frame the Drunken Demon?”
“It means they were that desperate. In other words, it also means Elder Seo is an indispensable person to them.”
From this incident, Geom Mugeuk had gathered a lot of information about the opponent.
Moreover, he was already planning the next step.
“They've tied our hands with this incident.”
Outside their residence, masters from the Ice Palace were standing guard.
It meant they would be monitored wherever they went.
“On the contrary, this is good.”
“Good?”
Not just Lee Ahn, but even the Drunken Demon and Han Seol looked at Geom Mugeuk with expressions asking what he meant.
“Conversely, it means that whatever we plot won't be considered our doing.”
“Ah! Because we're being watched here! But it doesn't seem easy to slip out secretly.”
“We're not going out. Because there's someone who will do that job splendidly in our place.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at one person.
The gazes of the Drunken Demon and Lee Ahn followed Geom Mugeuk's to that same person.
Looking at the three people staring at her, Han Seol shouted before even hearing what they had to say, “I refuse!”