Lady of YeonSung (Lisrene)

Chapter 7

The evening rain began to fall even harder. Joohyun looked down at her notes before looking out the window. Jewol was late today.

"Madame."

Joohyun flinched in surprise and answered the call.

"Wait."

She quickly gathered the papers and placed them beneath the blanket. They were the documents Jewol had secretly acquired at the judicial office. The documents provided the strange details of the deaths of the victims.

Her hunch had been correct. These men all came from families rooted in the northern province, just like the guibin. The only problem was figuring out what connected these men other than their origins. These men weren't familiar with each other.

"Enter."

At her order, Ran entered the room and lowered her head.

"The duke has sent a message. He said that he'd be staying at the Academy today."

"Really?"

Jewol was helping her at the Academy where all the historical documents and reports were kept. But no matter how much work he had, he always returned home. Did something urgent happen today?

"All right."

After Ran left the room, Joohyun folded back the blanket and glanced back down at the papers. There was no record of the victims visiting each other. It didn't seem like they were close to each other at all, but saying that they were killed solely for their connections to the northern province could be too much of a leap.

Feeling the onset of a headache, Joohyun let out a deep breath and looked out the window. It didn't look like it would stop raining anytime soon. She could hear the faint sound of thunder. The heavy rain came down even harder.

The short rainfall would wash away the pain and suffering and bring forth a revival. It was also preparing a new life for the people of Yeha.

I wonder how Brother is doing? Is his leg okay? He shouldn't overwork himself in his condition...

Joohyun quickly shook her head and brushed off the worries and yearning.

"I should work hard too. I can't lose to Brother."

She took out the papers and began to look through them carefully. The report stated that the Danju had burst into flames when he was asleep. The location was written as ChiHwaRu, next to the Silk River. The judicial office's investigation wasn't finished, so the scene of the incident would still be in tact. Maybe she should check it out and search for some clues.

Having made her decision, Joohyun quickly began to tie her hair.

***

The raindrops shot down onto the earth like spears. Standing on top of the overgrown branches of the magnolia tree, Joohyun didn't blink as she looked below.

The Silk River was a river that flowed through the west of YeonSung. A large floodgate ran across the river, and a variety of large and small boats were anchored along its pier.

Connected to the pier, the ChiHwaRu Brothel was bustling with people from all over the world. The men who had gone through a long, arduous journey at sea swarmed to the brothel like bees to honey as they became drunk with women.

As if the Danju's death had already been forgotten, the brothel was once again filled with music and song.

The dead was the dead, and the living continued to live on.

What should she do? Joohyun bit her lip. She hadn't thought much of it as she made her way here, and now she realized that she was wearing her black robe. Additionally, she'd only heard about brothels from her older brothers back at home. She had never been to one herself.