I caught my breath, then continued.
“The most important piece of evidence in this case was the poem written on the wall. So, with Poet Song Rok’s help, I narrowed down the poets whose work showed habits similar to the ones in that poem.”
“Similar habits?”
I reported Poet Song Rok’s explanation to the Emperor exactly as I had heard it.
“But there was a problem. Among the people who participated in the preliminary round of this Poetry and Prose Competition, five of them had similar habits.”
“Five?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I nodded.
“Then the culprit must be among them. But you said this man you captured, Namgoong I-in, had his eyesight damaged?”
“That’s correct. Which means we have to identify the culprit by relying only on his testimony and hearing, and that has made things rather difficult.”
The Emperor clicked his tongue at my words.
“Why did Elder Namgoong Geon-ji have to lose his temper and make a mess of everything…?”
That is exactly what I want to ask.
I suppressed the bitter smile threatening to slip out and continued.
“But I believe we can find the culprit without relying on that alone.”
“How?”
“Now we come to the real point.”
I paused for a beat. Everyone looked like they was dying to know what came next.
“One day, in a certain village, there lived a renowned scholar and poet. But to a man named Na Jeong-su, he was a delicious-looking piece of prey. The greater the man’s reputation, the more famous Na Jeong-su would become if he tore that man’s writing apart.”
I continued my explanation.
“But he couldn’t find an opening. And of course he couldn’t. That scholar was simply that skilled. Still, he was only human, and because of that, he eventually made a mistake.”
I stopped briefly to breathe, then went on.
“Naturally, Na Jeong-su did not miss the opportunity. He pointed out that mistake, wrote a critical poem attacking it, and posted it on a wall. In the end, that scholar, whose pride was as great as his talent, chose to take his own life to wash away his disgrace.”
Even after I finished explaining, the Emperor still tilted his head.
“I know that much already. Was that not how this man Na Jeong-su built his infamy?”
“Here is the thing, Your Majesty.”
I gave a faint laugh.
“That scholar was not only a man of fine character. He had also devoted himself to nurturing younger students.”
“Younger students…?”
“Yes.”
Only then did the Emperor seem to understand, and he slapped his knee.
“Oho! So that was it!”
“Yes. Those disciples were enraged that their teacher’s honor had been sullied, and that their teacher had died. They resolved to take revenge.”
“But that alone cannot be enough to be certain who the culprits are, can it?”
At Warrior Jin Yeong’s words, I nodded.
“Of course. For now, it is only a conjecture. However… there was something about the poem on the wall that kept bothering me.”
“What was it?”
I recited the poem. I had seen it so many times that remembering that much was not difficult.
“Your poem tore open the earth,
and even shredded the heavens to pieces.
One who condemns another
should remember
that he too may be condemned,
and if he kills another with that condemnation,
then he must also be prepared to die.
Did you truly not know?
Since you tore another’s heart to pieces,
you too shall be torn apart.”
“Yes, that was the poem.”
“That poem is made up of ten lines in total.”
At my words, Warrior Jin Yeong counted them on his fingers, then nodded.
“You’re right.”
“That poem has an original version.”
I took a sheet of paper from my robes, the original poem written upon it, and held it out.
Warrior Jin Yeong personally accepted it, read it, and passed it to the Emperor.
The Emperor read it as well.
“Your poem tore through the earth
And ripped even the heavens to shreds.
Those who condemn others
Must remember that they, too, may be condemned,
And if that condemnation kills another,
Did you truly not know they must be prepared to face death themselves?
Since you tore another’s heart to pieces,
You, too, shall be torn apart.”
After the Emperor finished reading it aloud, I calmly asked,
“Does anything about it seem strange when compared to the one on the wall?”
“What do you mean?”
“The content is the same, but the original has eight lines, while the wall poem has ten.”
“That is true. They split the fourth line into the fourth and fifth, and the seventh line into the seventh and eighth.”
“That is correct. They did that because five people each had to write two lines.”
The Emperor’s eyes narrowed at my words.
“What?”
“The reason they wrote the poem not with a proper brush, but with crushed tree roots used as a brush, was to keep that from being discovered. But if you look closely, the thickness of the characters differs in subtle ways.”
From the first moment I saw that poem, I had felt a strange sense that something was off.
Only recently had I finally realized what that strange feeling was.
No matter how much someone crushed tree roots and used them to write, no matter how cleverly they tried to disguise their handwriting, there was one thing that could not be hidden.
The writing pressure of the person who had written those characters.
“They divided a single poem among the five of them and wrote it on the wall. That is the evidence proving all five of them were the culprits behind this critic murder case.”
“…”
A brief silence settled over the room.
“Hahahaha!”
The one who broke that silence was the Emperor, laughing heartily.
“To think you truly solved it! Remarkable!”
“This is merely my conjecture, Your Majesty.”
“If it were merely conjecture, you would not have asked me to show them mercy. The leniency you mentioned at the start of this story must have been meant for those disciples.”
He knows me too well.
“You really are a brilliant talent.”
“I am overwhelmed by Your Majesty’s boundless grace.”
So why is it that whenever the Emperor calls me a brilliant talent, cold sweat runs down my back?
I bowed respectfully and said,
“There is one more thing I must tell you. In truth, I am told that the poem written on the wall was the death poem their deceased teacher left behind.”
“How unfortunate!”
I continued.
“At first, I thought someone else had written it, but that was not the case. The reason that poem and their poems revealed similar habits was because they had studied under the same teacher. When one learns poetry and prose from childhood, is it not only natural to be influenced by one’s teacher?”
Because of that, in the end, it also became evidence showing the relationship between the five poets and the deceased scholar.
“Although murder is never something that should be done, I do not believe there is an absolute standard in matters like this.”
“No absolute standard?”
“Yes. For instance, is a man who slays a villain not called a hero? And Poet Na Jeong-su was a villain who tore apart the hearts of many.”
“…Mm, that is true.”
“For that reason, I humbly and earnestly ask that Your Majesty show them mercy.”
.
.
.
The next day.
The five poets were summoned to the Magistrate’s Office. Warrior Jin Yeong and I met them in person.
“Why have we been called here?”
The one who asked me that in a trembling voice was a man named Jo Saeng.
They were trying hard to look calm, but did they really think I could not tell they were nervous?
“Wouldn’t all of you know better than I do why I called you here?”
At my words, one of them let out a sigh.
“So… we shouldn’t have hired a contract killer. We should have handled it ourselves. That man must have confessed everything about this matter.”
He looked as if he had no regrets about what they had done.
I shook my head at those words.
“I’m sorry, but no.”
“No?”
“Yes. It is true that we captured the contract killer alive, but due to certain circumstances, he has lost his sight. We can no longer trust his testimony.”
“Th-then how?”
The five of them soon began glaring at one another.
I waved my hand and explained.
“Ah, there was no traitor among you, either.”
“Then how?”
“The poem on the wall. That was the evidence in this case.”
“What?”
I explained it to them.
After hearing my explanation, they murmured with hollow expressions.
“To think that was what tripped us up…”
“We never even considered that.”
I said to them,
“I heard that poem was your late teacher’s death poem.”
“That’s right.”
“The way I see it, your teacher may have been thinking of all of you, his disciples, until the very end.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that the death poem was what told me you were the culprits in this case. Perhaps it did so to keep your hearts from rotting away.”
Warrior Jin Yeong, who had been quietly listening beside me, spoke.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho is right. My path is that of a martial artist, so I have killed many people. But no matter how wicked the person on the other end may be, taking a life never leaves the heart unscathed.”
He continued.
“You may not realize it at first. But as guilt slowly begins to bind you, it eventually wears down your very spirit. That is why, among those who have learned martial arts, there are some who cannot overcome the guilt of killing and choose an extreme end.”
I continued after him.
“And on top of that, this was a killing done in secret, wasn’t it? The pressure of that guilt must have been enormous. But now the matter has come to light. In a way, you may actually feel relieved.”
“…”
One of them opened his mouth with a heavy expression.
“Hoo… Our teacher told us not to take revenge, but we simply could not bear it unless we did.”
I quietly nodded.
Because I could understand how they felt.
“Then what punishment will we receive? Whatever the circumstances, we committed murder. I imagine we cannot escape execution.”
“Well?”
I smiled as I answered.
“I don’t really know that, either. So go back and study poetry and prose with everything you have.”
“What?”
All of them looked bewildered, but I offered no further explanation and changed the subject.
“His Majesty has issued an Imperial Decree ordering you to participate in the final round of the Poetry and Prose Competition.”
.
.
.
Several days later.
The final round of the Poetry and Prose Competition.
It was the third contest, held only among the poets who had advanced from the second round.
Since the winner would be decided here, the Emperor himself appeared to encourage them.
“I was deeply pleased as I read your poems. Yet at the same time, I found myself filled with anticipation. Because I do not believe any of you have yet reached your limits.”
“…”
“I want all of you to wring even more from your minds. Think, and then think again. If you do, then at the very end, you shall face radiant glory!”
“Long live His Imperial Majesty!”
“Long live His Majesty!”
“Long live His Majesty!”
The people gathered there shouted the three cheers and offered the EmperorThe people gathered there shouted the three cheers and offered the Emperor the utmost respect.
It was now time for the Emperor to step down from the platform, but he did not. Instead, he continued speaking.
“I wish to use this occasion to reveal one truth to all of you.”
Everyone’s attention immediately focused on the Emperor.
“Recently, a man who had come to Beijing to participate in this Poetry and Prose Competition was murdered inside the Inner City.”
“…!”
At those words, everyone stared at the Emperor with eyes wide as startled rabbits.
In truth, that incident had caused such an uproar throughout Beijing that there was no one attending this Poetry and Prose Competition who did not know of it.
But no one had expected the Emperor to speak about it in such a public place.
“The dead man’s name was Na Jeong-su.”
“…”
“He was a plague upon this empire.”
“…!”
Everyone was shocked for a second time.
Everyone had thought Na Jeong-su was utter trash, but none of them had ever imagined the Emperor would say it so openly.
“As Emperor, I feel sorry toward all of you for failing to deal with such a man sooner.”
At those words, every person there prostrated themselves on the spot and cried out,
“We are unworthy of such words, Your Majesty. Please take them back!”
“Please take them back!”
The Emperor looked at them for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“This time, I heard a very interesting story.”
From the Emperor’s mouth came a brief summary of everything I had reported.
“I considered what punishment should be given to those five disciples.”
As I listened, I looked toward the deceased scholar’s disciples.
The men who had been summoned a few days earlier were now stiff with tension.
“I have decided their punishment will be conditional.”
The Emperor looked toward where the five men stood and continued.
“If they do not lose their honor, then I will not punish them, either. However, if they do lose their honor, I will take their heads.”
That was the Emperor’s response to my request that he show them mercy.
At those words, the five disciples merely blinked. They, too, likely could not understand what was happening.
But they would soon understand.
They would realize that the only way to preserve their lives was to raise their honor high.
And they would realize the Emperor had shown them tremendous mercy.
That aside… the Emperor I knew would not have said such a thing merely for the purpose of showing them mercy.
There had to be some other meaning hidden in his words.
“I want all of you gathered here to hold the desire to make a name for yourselves and serve the empire. And now, the final round of the Poetry and Prose Competition shall begin.”
Make a name for yourselves and serve the empire.
At those words, I found myself smiling without meaning to.
To make one’s name and serve the empire meant, in other words, entering government office.
Of course.
.
.
.
The final round of the Poetry and Prose Competition began.
After watching its start, I immediately headed to the Ministry of Justice.
I had to meet the Minister of Justice and report on this matter.
“Hahaha!”
The moment he saw me, Lord Bang laughed and said,
“I heard. They say you performed magnificently this time?”
“I heard something as well. I heard you were too busy and left this entire matter to me. So what else could I do? I merely ran myself ragged trying to uncover the truth.”
At my words, Lord Bang gave a faint laugh.
“There’s a barb hidden in your words, isn’t there?”
“…”
“After seeing how this matter turned out, I came to a realization. As expected, you are qualified.”
“Pardon? Qualified for what… exactly?”
“To become my successor.”
He grinned broadly.
“I, Bang Hyo-myeong, have decided to make you my successor.”
At those words, I tightly shut my eyes.
Ah… should I seriously just run away?
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt
