The Question of Truth

“At first, I thought it went well. He was an easy mark if you just catered to his whims. But somehow, the feeling was off. I had a premonition that if I got any more tangled up with him, I’d be screwed.”

“A-and then?”

“Premonitions like that never miss. Just as I was about to slip away…… I accidentally found out his true identity.”

Chang-yeon said with a weary voice.

“That young master was none other than the Fourth Young Master of the Demonic Cult, Chae Won-pyeong.”

Seol Ah-heon was speechless at the unexpected name.

No wonder the usually chatty Chang-yeon hadn’t even hinted at why he was locked in the Thunder Jail. There was a backstory like this.

Even in the original novel, Chang-yeon strictly kept his past to himself. Because of that, only rumors circulated: ‘Chang-yeon, the master of Hyangnak-ru, once took on the Demonic Cult’s assassination squad all by himself,’ or ‘The scar on his face was from that fight.’

‘I understand now.’

Being a host who got locked in jail after trying to con a Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult is far less honorable than being a performer who got locked up while fighting off an assassination squad alone.

In that sense, Chang-yeon was understandable. Only in that specific sense, though.

“I thought I was in big trouble, so I tried to run away in the middle of the night. But I didn’t get far before I was caught red-handed by the Fourth Young Master~. He was absolutely intent on killing me.”

“……But he didn’t kill you?”

“That’s exactly it. It was unexpected for me, too. Honestly, I thought he’d drag me into his bedchamber and…….”

A truly lewd story followed.

It was beyond what Seol Ah-heon, who had lived a sexually sheltered life, could handle. He hastily cut Chang-yeon off.

“N-no way! Even a Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult wouldn’t go that far, right?”

“Ah-heon, you don’t know, do you? Even without going as far as a Young Cult Leader, there are tons of people who do that sort of thing~.”

“How…….”

The question of what kind of environment he had grown up in rose to his throat. He hadn’t exactly grown up like a flower in a greenhouse, but it was nothing compared to Chang-yeon, who came from a pleasure house.

“Anyway, at first I thought I’d at least be released that way. But as you can see, it wasn’t the case. I would have rather given my body…….”

“St-stop talking about that!”

“……I should have, but instead, he threw me into this jail. It’s no different than plucking a wildflower that bloomed in the field because he coveted it, then tossing it aside as soon as he got bored, right?”

The fate of a plucked flower is obvious. In nine cases out of ten, it would wither and die.

But Chang-yeon wasn’t just any flower; he was a wildflower, and his vitality was not inferior to that of a noble peony.

Knowing this, Seol Ah-heon sincerely consoled him.

“It’s okay. You’ll be able to get out soon.”

“……I hate sounding pathetic, but I’m getting tired. I don’t know if I’ll ever see the morning sun again.”

Actually, same here.

Seol Ah-heon replied only in his heart. He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, fearing that if he did, both he and Chang-yeon would lose their resolve.

Just then, heavy footsteps echoed through the jail.

‘What is it?’

Seol Ah-heon became tense instantly. Many people had come and gone in the jail, but this was different. It felt like someone was approaching directly toward them.

His premonition was correct. The footsteps that had been drawing closer stopped right in front of his solitary cell, and the sound of metal clinking reached his ears. It was the sound of a lock being undone.

‘……Are they here to release me?’

Just moments ago, he had wished, ‘I want to get out soon,’ but now that it was reality, fear struck him first. In a way, he knew the world outside the jail was even more dangerous.

Whatever Seol Ah-heon’s feelings were, the tightly shut door finally swung open.

“Come out.”

The demon ordered. Seol Ah-heon put strength into his trembling legs and forced his body to rise.

It was the first step he had taken in ten whole days.

********************************

Seol Ah-heon followed the demon, cowering as much as he could.

He had to act cautiously. If he looked around aimlessly, a sword might fly at him with a shout of ‘Are you spying?!’

So, Seol Ah-heon only stepped where the demon had stepped. If he took an wrong step and triggered a mechanism, hidden weapons would come flying at him.

‘Whatever comes flying, I’m dead anyway.’

It would be nice if this were just excessive imagination and fear-induced anxiety. Unfortunately, this was the heart of the Demonic Cult, where it wouldn’t be surprising if anything happened.

“…….”

Seol Ah-heon glanced at the demon walking ahead. It would be nice if he could at least be told where he was being taken, but the atmosphere was far from one that would allow such conversation.

Of course, he had an inkling.

‘Did Baek Geon-ha call for me?’

There was no one else who would pull him out of the Thunder Jail anyway.

Seol Ah-heon let his shoulders slump. He felt as if he were already being crushed by Baek Geon-ha’s sheer pressure. He wanted to run away this instant, but that was impossible.

‘I can only hope Baek Geon-ha is in a good mood…….’

He felt like a corporate employee submitting a report, desperately hoping their boss was in a good mood.

The surroundings became more flamboyant with every step. Even while keeping his head down to avoid seeing things he shouldn’t, he could feel the brilliance of the surroundings. This made Seol Ah-heon more certain that he was headed toward Baek Geon-ha.

They crossed a garden decorated with strangely shaped rocks and entered a large pavilion.

How many sliding doors did they pass? Finally, they entered a room filled with a fragrant scent.

It was the moment of his reunion with Baek Geon-ha.

“I greet the Fifth Young Master of the Divine Cult.”

The demon prostrated and announced. Seol Ah-heon also hurriedly followed and prostrated.

“I greet the Fifth Young Master of the Divine Cul……”

“It’s filthy.”

Baek Geon-ha said, throwing the words out casually.

At the unexpected insult, Seol Ah-heon kept his head bowed and only rolled his eyes upward. The red carpet spread on the floor came into view—a vivid, intense color that reminded him of blood.

“You’re no different than a rat just fished out of a sewer. Did you not even wash yourself? You’re filthy.”

‘Then why don’t you provide some water for washing…….’

Seol Ah-heon felt a bit wronged. Honestly, wasn’t it them who threw him in the jail and didn’t let him wash even once?

“Don’t hunch over. It’s unpleasant, as if a real rat has crawled into my quarters.”

The sense of injustice rose again, but Seol Ah-heon straightened his cowering body. Naturally, he lifted his head.

He had been worried that he would be shouted at with, ‘Dare you lift your head without permission?’, but fortunately, Baek Geon-ha did not do so. It was impossible that he had a merciful nature—it seemed he was just in a good mood.

‘Things must have gone well……!’

Baek Geon-ha’s lips were curled into a slight arc. He had the satisfied face of a cat that had succeeded in its hunt.

In the situation he had been praying for, Seol Ah-heon shouted like a sycophant.

“Congratulations, Young Cult Leader!”

It wasn’t flattery, but sincerity. He had proven his worth. The fact that the future he knew hadn’t changed because Baek Geon-ha remained secure was just a bonus.

“For what?”

“……Yes?”

“I asked, for what are you congratulating me?”

Baek Geon-ha seized on the slip. Desperate to salvage the situation, Seol Ah-heon stammered.

“W-well, that you have achieved what you desired, Young Cult Leader…….”

“How do you know what I desire, and whether I have achieved it?”

Cold sweat flowed from his forehead. It seemed he had overstepped his bounds.

“I apologize…….”

Seol Ah-heon bowed his head deeply. Almost immediately, a bored reprimand fell.

“I told you not to hunch over.”

He realized his mistake. As he jerked his head up, he saw Baek Geon-ha, who had approached close by.

‘Hick……!’

Seol Ah-heon stiffened like a mouse in front of a poisonous snake. He couldn’t understand how someone dressed in layered robes could move without even the sound of fabric rustling.

With the extremely tense Seol Ah-heon in front of him, Baek Geon-ha muttered slowly.

“Right……. I see. You don’t know how you knew.”

A resentful and suspicious wretch.

He had intended to slit his belly while he was alive and pull out his organs one by one, but the reason he hadn’t was because of the absurd things the guy had spouted.

‘Then, do you know that the two of them have joined forces and obtained the Blood-Mad Demonic Blade?’

He hadn’t believed those words. Yet, the reason he had checked it out was, well, something more than mere whim. Perhaps his instinct, comparable to that of a beast, had caught a point of truth.

Thanks to that, he couldn’t deny that he had gained an advantage.

He had prosecuted the Second Young Master, who had defied the Cult Leader’s order and broken the seal of the Blood-Mad Demonic Blade, and had crushed the momentum of the First Young Master.

In truth, Baek Geon-ha would have achieved what he wanted even without the guy’s information. Still, it was somewhat interesting.

Ice Block Seol Ah-heon.

A rat who claimed he had lost some of his memories due to the Soul-Binding Art in exchange for knowing something he shouldn’t.

It was a clumsy lie, and if it were the truth, it would be even more absurd. No matter if he was subjected to the Soul-Binding Art, how could he lose his martial arts too?

“However, right…….”

Baek Geon-ha folded his eyes into crescents. Fear flashed across the guy’s face as he saw it. It seemed that even if he were an idiot, he wasn’t without survival instincts. Then again, those who saw Baek Geon-ha’s smiling eyes usually showed that kind of reaction.

“Answer me. Where did you get the information about the Blood-Mad Demonic Blade?”

The moment he saw a glimmer of utility in him, Baek Geon-ha became curious.

Was Seol Ah-heon truly a clumsy liar? Or was he a pathetic idiot?

The probability was nine-to-one that it was the former, but his intuition whispered that the latter might be the correct answer.