An Ode to Maehwa | kth

Chapter 55: The Schemer

—late night, underground cell

The night had never been so cold for Lady Myungok.

She'd always been cradled in a soft and warm quilt on freshly washed sheets, and if it were ever to grow cold during winter, she'd call upon her maids no matter dawn or dusk, to heat up the room. Because she could. Because she was worthy.

She was worthy.

Now she laid on a thin rag, that was barely blocking the coldness and hardness of the solid floor beneath. Although her sin had been revealed, she was still of royal blood and hence she was allocated in a better cell than what a normal criminal would, she did not know. Anything besides her room was reprehensible.

Allowing the cold dirty stone floor to even touch her regal body was outrageous, but she couldn't help the weak overtaking her, breathing heavily on the last thread of breath.

Namjoon.

She thought of her son. With her scheme revealed under a moonlight, she was imprisoned, and she saw Namjoon being taken away too. He must be locked somewhere. The Emperor wasn't dumb enough to lock them at the same place, she called and she heard no response and that was all the proof she needed. She hoped to see him. She hoped he was well. She hoped-

"Lady," a voice called her. It's soft and it's unmistakably female.

The what little dignity she had swelled in her, and made her sit up, to face the visitor. The cell was dark, and just the moonlight from the high window wasn't enough to reveal her face. She was a maid though, judging by her uniform.

"I asked the guard if I could bring you tea," she said.

And Lady finally recognised the face—only vaguely—with a maid who was serving her lotus tea. The name, she had no idea of. Lady noticed a tray she was holding; a cup on top with a freshly brewed lotus tea. Lady sighed at the familiar scent.

Youngmi picked up the cup and passed it to her in between the bars.

"I heard you haven't been eating and—I thought this could help you."

It always did. She hadn't an appetite for how long, she forgot to count, but ever since she fell ill for unknown reasons. But this tea had always been the comfort to her body, confirmed after taking a sip.

"Thank you," she mumbled weakly, feeling the warmth roll on her taste buds.

"You don't have to thank me," Youngmi said, emotionless. "I'm only doing this for myself."

"No, you have served me well," Lady heaved, something coiling in her pit. "Tell me your name and I shall reward you when I'm released."

The palace maid was only a silhouette in her eyes, light reaching through a small window of the dark hallway only barely making her recognisable.

"You don't know who I am, do you?"

She was a palace maid, who served her lotus tea—a good tea maybe—and that was all the Lady knew. What was a point of remembering irrelevant people who served her? If they couldn't present her with the throne then they were void.

"I bet you don't even remember the tea tradesman you used to call in the palace. The one you dismissed because he made your son graze his knees. The one you couldn't execute because the Crown Prince had saved him."

Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. Again, there was no point in remembering minor commoners who were only used by her. They were trivial and insignificant.

"But you were never satisfied were you? You couldn't help but feel the need to ruin his life, as a revenge for a small scratch on your son's knees. No lowly born people shall lay a finger on the royal blood. And so you specifically ordered not only his town, but the entire land of Kwandae to disregard him. No one ever came to buy his tea again, no one ever came close to him. All his neighbours and friends treated him as a sinner like you asked for."

Youngmi's voice was growing deeper, lower. The Lady felt irritated, not understanding why she was talking about such a trivial matter. The coil in the pit of her stomach swelled.

"The tradesman, who couldn't bear to see his family being ruined because of him, hung himself. Can you imagine what his family felt, greeting him goodnight just hours ago to see him cold and lifeless, as a body that can't even greet you good morning?"

It was still nothing to Lady Myungok. Something was creeping up her throat.

"He was my father. And you killed my father. You didn't know that, did you? You don't know how many people you've killed. Because you don't even care," her voice trembled as if she was holding back her tears. It was too dark for the Lady to see.

"How does it feel to be slowly killed by the drink you love?" Youngmi asked.

It took the Lady a while to sink the word in. She glanced down at the tea cup that still held half of the translucent drink. "You...?"

Youngmi chuckled. "This is my revenge. This is how you pay me. Although I do regret I couldn't save His Highness the Crown Prince...."

She stood up abruptly, having said everything she wanted to and turned away. Lady Myungok wanted to call her, swear at her, make her come back and pay for the price, but the swelling reached her mouth and she choked on heavy clog. She watched the translucent drink in the cup grow murky with dark liquid. She was dying.

A/N:

Who knewwwwwwwwww lol

If anyone had guessed Youngmi would play somewhat of an important role, then kudos to you!

I do believe in the importance of giving a role to an introduced character (as in the ones given a name), and not just have them insignificantly, so yes, I did plan this thing. As for the merchant (Youngmi's father), he is starring in chapter 22!