[Arthdal Chronicles] Fight for freedom

CHAPTER 43: Consequences.

She was doing her hair when she heard hurried steps in the corridor. She had just the time to stand up when Whan burst into her room without bothering knocking.

"We have a big problem," he told her as he tried to catch his breath.

"Why? What's the matter?" she asked, losing the smile she thought she would keep the whole day.

"This," he said as he took something out of his inner pocket and handed it to her, "this has been stuck up everywhere around the center of the city." 

She took the paper he was handing her and didn't even have to read completely the words written on it to understand what it was: it was the secret of the steel that she had given to Taealha the day before and that she had warned her should not be spread if she wanted her people to live.

"Who did this?" she asked, horrified about the potential consequences.

"We don't know yet. For now we are just trying to take those off but the words are already spreading and it surely has come to both, Taealha and Tagon's ears, especially if it was one of them who is behind this."

"No, they wouldn't have done that," she said as she started pacing back and forth, trying at the same time to comprehend the situation and to control her emotions, "the Hae Tribe made all its power over the fabrication of weapons, Taealha wouldn't have given up on that and Tagon doesn't want to make an enemy of her. Even if they didn't like having to share that knowledge, they probably settled an agreement to keep it for themselves."

"What if we were wrong? What if they decided to go after one another? Tagon could have done that to suppress Taealha's control over the weapons fabrication, once and for all."

"No, he wouldn't have done that without being sure that method works. They will surely go after each other but not now, not with the war against the Agos coming. It's too risky for the stability of the kingdom."

"Then it's Tanya or Saya or maybe the both of them!"

"Tanya wouldn't have done such a thing without talking to me first," she defended her.

"Except if she let herself be convinced by the unstable boy she married," he hissed.

She stayed silent for a moment. Saya could have really much done that. If the steel method became a common knowledge, the Hae Tribe would lose their greatest asset and Taealha's power over Arthdal would be considerably diminished. If it was Saya then he was trying to impress Tagon by giving him a way to get rid of Taealha. 

"How could they do such a thing knowing our people' lives are at the stake?" Whan asked, his voice trembling with both worry and anger.

She approached him and took his trembling hands in hers. "Whan," she said in a voice she wanted calm and steady, "what is done is done. Go and make sure the posters are taken down. I'll go speak to Taealha and try to negotiate, then I'll talk to Saya."

"My Yihy-"

"I know," she interrupted as she lightly squeezed his hands, "I know. There's unfortunately nothing much we can do. I will do my best to handle the situation with Taealha. Meanwhile, you need to focus on removing the posters and minimizing the spread of this information, understood?"

Whan reluctantly nodded. They shared a brief moment of silence, drawing strength from each other, before parting ways with the hope they would find a way for the situation to end well.