Decisions

The Culprit

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday with their families and friends. Please enjoy this update and leave a comment or review to let me know what you think!

Not sure if anyone watches We Got Married, but I found out Jong Hyun was on there...he and his wife Yoora from Girl's Day are so cute :3

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Soo wasn't sure if she heard right, so she asked again.

"What did you just say?"

Arang and Eun Bi looked at each other nervously before turning back to her.

"We believe the King has been poisoned," Eun Bi said again.

"But how? Who could have done it?"

Arang and Eun Bi grew silent and they both averted their gazes to the wooden floor. It was only then that Soo realized the truth.

"It cannot be either of you, since you are both in front of me now. And no one else has served the King with his bath except for me and...Chae Ryung."

There was a pregnant silence before Arang spoke up.

"It was my fault. I should have been more careful yesterday, but I was too careless."

"You still have not told me what happened."

"I was the one preparing the pouches yesterday, but something arose with the soaps being prepared, so I left the remaining pouches for Chae Ryung to prepare. When I came back, I did not think to check them before we served the King. After we were done, and I went to apply the salve you usually do for the King, I noticed rashes that were not there before he entered the bath."

"Was he alarmed?"

"Yes, but I managed to calm him down."

Soo nodded, remembering how scared Crown Prince Moo was when she discovered for the first time he had atopic eczema. Luckily she knew how to treat it because her mom had the same condition. Although in the past months he didn't have any relapses, it seemed like yesterday was the first in a long time. It would make sense for him to worry.

"Did you identify what it was?"

Arang shook her head.

"I could not see a difference after the pouch had been soaked in the water."

"Have you told anyone besides Eun Bi of this incident?"

"No, I did not dare! You are the only person other than Eun Bi."

Soo stood up and paced around her room as Eun Bi and Arang watched her.

"We must keep a tighter control on what comes in and out of Damiwon. We will inspect every shipment closely before accepting it. We will also control where these shipments come in. They will only come in from one entrance. If anything else goes in another way, we will intercept it and inspect it."

"Yes, your highness."

"Eun Bi, I am tasking you with keeping attendance. We will record the presence of every single Damiwon Court Lady at all times. They must sign in, and if they are absent, they must have at least two other ladies vouch for their absence. Report to me any suspicions you have."

"I will do as you ask, your highness."

"Arang, you will be in charge of overseeing preparations of everything we make at Damiwon. Check the ingredients before they are used and keep a record of what is being made and what it is used for. If anything is made before your inspection, discard it and have it prepared again. Report to me if you have any suspicions."