Time travel || Wonhyuk

7: Weird disappearances

Recently, there had been many reported cases of palace servants going missing. All of them had a thing in common; They were all sent to run errands within the East Wing. This caused a rising fear within the palace and was an exceptional threat against the Royalty. Of course, generally if the palace is to be targeted, it was the royals that were the root cause of it all.

The King had stepped up the security around the East Wing, dispatching more guards to patrol at the area, and also created a more frequent patrolling schedule so as to catch any perpetrators or simply to bar them from further acts. However, a tragedy still took place three days after the the increment of guards. This time involving someone Wonho was rather close with.

It happened in the afternoon. A stream of knights had entered the vicinity, carrying out their patrol dutifully. They were mildly aware of the change in atmosphere within the area, a chilling breeze blowing through to their core. The scent of death hung in the thick dense air, suffocating them with its menace. Something was off and they knew it, each and everyone of them. Anxious glances were exchanged when a tinge of metallic sweetness flooded their nostrils. Blood. Wonho just so happened to be on duty that day. Passing by the chief minister's
accommodation, he did not miss the splatter of blood on the ground. A deep, foul red...

He couldn't stop the silent tear that rolled down his cheek as he stared at the gruesome sight. The mangled mess of flesh and blood, with a twisted neck that connected the body and head like a frayed piece of rag. The murderer was clearly a sadist; multiple lacerations decorated her body, even in obscene places. Among the many cases recently, this was the first death, and Wonho swore it will be the last. He couldn't stand the thought of another one of them dying. Especially after he failed to protect Taepoong. Yes, Taepoong was killed. The one lying on the ground covered in blood. Taepoong, Wonho's first friend in the palace. Her eyes were wide open, trained on Wonho's form, mouth opened in a silent scream which never came. He hated the sight. He wanted Taepoong back, but there was nothing he could do. Helplessness.

The murder was filed for study by the imperial court. By the looks of the corpse, Taepoong had been attacked from the back, having fallen down the stairs head first, thus twisting her neck. The first suspect was no doubt the chief minister himself, but he had appeared in the hall for the morning assembly, which ruled him out since the time of death was around that time, when the guards are supposed to patrol. That left the next suspect to be the guards. That made absolutely no sense, so the court ruled it out too. That leaves the last choice, which was assassins sent from another kingdom.

Right, Korea was divided into three kingdoms at this point in history, namely the Lee Kingdom, Jung Kingdom and Kim Kingdom. Recently, the Lees have had a dispute over the utilisation of the army with the Kims and tension had built up. This was likely the cause of the cases that have arised, since the Lees denied the Kim Kingdom's request for aid in the fight against a clan from the neighbouring country. The King was known to be particularly grudge-holding, and would turn against even the closest of his allies with small feuds.

However, the worst part of everything was, they're merely a wild guess by the court. There was no evidence that shows that the murderer and the people involved in the kidnapping cases had been from the Kims. They were good; no traces of foreign weapons, fabric, badges and things as such. The crimes were executed with perfection.

Before the Lees could march into the Kims kingdom, the King could only afford to find personal guards for his sons. Besides him, only the concubines have specially trained female assassins that offer protection. The Princes had always been on their own, expected to be able to fend for themselves, but it was far too risky for that now.

The knights gathered at the main hall, standing at attention as the King addresses the issue. He stared down at every single on of them, looking for those that looked more reliable. Eventually, he read out the list of knights that the general had handed him that day; those of which the general had thought were the elites among others. The rest were sent back to the knight quarters, while those called out stayed behind. A total of 16 knights. Elites among the thousands.

"I'm expected to choose 4 out of all of you. However, I am unable to do so, until you prove your worth of such a position. Tomorrow, at the light of dusk, I expect to see you at the training court, ready. A match will be held. You are now dismissed."

An elite knight huh... How Wonho managed to get into the list, he did not know. But he was aware of the presence of another one knight. Hyunwoo.

Does that mean they would have to fight each other? He hoped not.