horanghaeee guys. fml
Hyewon could feel Riki tense beside her.
Subtly, her hand brushed against his for support as she looked at Taehyun calmly, taking control of the situation. "What happened?" she asks seriously, ignoring the rising anxiety in fear of how Riki would react mixed with curiosity.
"Someone confessed to the crime," Taehyun explained, lowering his tone, "Can't believe someone this young could've done it," he muttered to himself, yet still audible to Hyewon.
She frowned. "Someone confessed? Why would they?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion. "Wouldn't it be better just to remain silent until the whole ordeal passed?"
The messenger merely shrugged. "Maybe out of guilt. The emperor may have held the funeral already, but he wouldn't stop until he found the empress' killer. People also thought that she might've been the one who killed Envoy Shin in the forest..."
"She?" Riki finally spoke up. He eyed Taehyun suspiciously. "It's a girl?"
"Come to the courtroom and find out for yourself," Was the only thing he offered in reply. "Your father wants to see you there. The both of you." he added curtly, before walking away.
Finally out of anyone's view, Hyewon reached for the prince's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Are you okay?" she asks him softly.
He grimaced. "Not really," he answered ruefully. Then, he squared his shoulders and straightened his posture. "My mother didn't deserve to die. At least now, justice will be served," he says quietly before letting go of her hand, walking stiffly in the direction of the courtroom
-
The sight of so many people and government officials, including the emperor, gathered in the courtroom brought deja vu and memories of her last visit to the courtroom.
There were even more people than last time, considering how important the empress had been to the kingdom. The seats were filled, every last one, with people whispering apprehensively to one another. Hyewon stared up at them, looking through the crowd, but marking no one as familiar to her.
"Hyewon." Riki appeared at her side, nodding towards an empty bench in the front row that she assumed was probably reserved for them. "Let's sit down."
As they strode into the middle of the room, all the whispers seem to stop for a moment. She could feel their watchful eyes piercing into their backs, scrutinizing them. She ignored it, walking to the bench with her head high.
Soon after they she and Riki were seated, the room had fallen silent as an old looking judge (Hyewon couldn't remember his name) took his place at the high podium, banging a gavel.
"Bring in the perpetrator!" he barked loudly to the guards. "Let the court commence!"
The perpetrator. She sat up straight on the edge of the bench curiously, wanting a good look at the culprit of the deceased empress.
Taehyun had been right. It had been a girl. Two guards dragged in a short girl whose head faced the ground, her long, black hair covering her face. Shackles bound her hands together and she stumbled into a kneel in front of the throne of the emperor as one of the guards kicked her aggressively.
Emperor Hankyu, Riki's father, only regarded her. "Lift your head." he ordered monotonously, not an ounce of sympathy in his voice. When the girl did not comply, not showing any response of hearing him, the same guard yanked her hair, forcing her to raise her head, allowing Hyewon to scan her face.
The sight sickened her, even though Hyewon knew the atrocities that had been inflicted on her were well-deserved. The culprit had not been anyone she had known during her stay here, but that offered no sort of relief nor comfort.
Her tear-stained face was filled with scars and scratches, her hair choppy and uneven as if someone had cut it with a knife. She wore a ripped rag of a former tunic stained with her very own blood. Eyes red from crying, she stared blankly ahead at the emperor in the eye, showing no emotion despite her condition. Even though she had committed an unforgivable crime to the royal family, the guard had to hand it to her, she was strong not to buckle her knees in the face of the wrath of the emperor, who would offer no mercy.
She bit her lip. The girl was awfully young, just around her age or even younger. Could she have really done it? She shouldn't be questioning the suspect, after all, she even confessed to the crime. That would be hard to counter and override and surely, if she were to speak up, the emperor wouldn't appreciate it, especially at a time like this.
What motive would she even have to poison the empress? Certainly, it couldn't be from a grudge or a desire to overthrow the kingdom. Even a fool would've left it be despite his ego, the emperor would certainly retaliate with all his might and crush him completely. And to confess to the crime when the detectives had no leads yet? Hyewon couldn't comprehend the reason behind that either, it made no sense unless the girl had a death wish. She frowned, puzzled. Something was missing, but what? There was something off about this whole case, but even if she were to protest or vouch for the girl's innocence, her reasoning would be deemed folly. Why would they even believe her when all the evidence was piled in front of them? There was nothing she could do, so she remained silent, keeping her questions to herself.
"Yamamoto Akira." The judge intoned. "You are charged with treason with the following offense: slipping poison into late Empress Mika's noon tea." He sweeps his hand at the audience. "You are found guilty of this criminal act. Do you confess your crime before the whole court?"
Akira only held his gaze steadily. "I do." she answers without missing a beat, her voice croaky from the lack of water.
A gasp rippled through the audience, but the emperor stops it with one hand.
The judge leaned forward. "What were you attempting to achieve by this crime?" he asks.
"My aim was to poison the late empress quickly and silently and by extent, if possible," Akira's eyes darted towards Hyewon, "the Crown Prince Riki's guard, Warrior Cho Hyewon."
Great. Now the crowd's gaze was on her. Hyewon fidgeted uneasily, not sure what to do with this attention. Sure, she had her suspicions, but it never truly hit her that someone wanted her dead.
A warm hand closed over hers. She looked to her right and found Riki smiling slightly at her, which made her feel a tad better.
"Do you have any accomplices? Family, perhaps? Affiliation with spies with the West? If you confess to this and give us a name, your punishment will become more lenient."
She glances at the exit as if thinking of escape before looking back at the judge. "No. I planned the poisoning alone." she answers finally. "My family was completely unaware of my actions. My actions are solely my own. Leave them alone. Please," she added.
Hyewon studied her. She cares about her family more than herself, she thought to herself. Could that be her motive? But how was poisoning the queen connected to her family?
The judge raised an eyebrow skeptically, but moved on."Where did you find this poison? The poison found in the tea is quite rare, Miss Yamamato, used only by the most specialized assassins," he says carefully. "Care to tell us where you found this poison?"
As if caught off guard, the latter stiffened for a second before recollecting her composure. "I bought it off a dealer in the black market," she replies coolly. "Didn't bother to catch their name."
"Last question," the judge paused. "How did you execute your plan?"
She licked her chapped lips. "I bought the poison and waited for my opportunity. It was easy since I worked in the kitchen, so when it came around, I slipped it into the tea and had someone deliver it to the empress during her tea with Warrior Cho."
The judge nodded. "Very well. The emperor will deliver his verdict."
The emperor rose from his throne, staring imposingly down at the murderer or his wife. "Yamamoto Akira, for your heinous act, you are charged with the death penalty." His voice was calm, yet dangerous. "On the next full moon, the following week, the sentence will be carried out. However," he continued, "considering your full honesty, your family will receive no backlash or punishment for your actions. I believe that is just and fair enough. A life for another life. Court dismissed."
Death penalty. That was the only thing Hyewon heard amidst the crowd slowly dispersing out the door before she ran towards the chained girl.
What compelled her to speak with the girl who had allegedly also tried to kill him, she didn't know. Maybe it was the urge to know the truth. It was like her legs were moving by themselves until she crouched down right in front of Akira.
"Tell me," she says urgently, lowering her voice. "You're innocent, aren't youYou didn't really poison the empress? So why falsely turn yourself in?"
Perhaps stunned by her appearance, Akira froze, her blank facade falling for a brief moment before her guard went back up. She looked at Hyewon, frowning, "I'm afraid I did commit the crime, Warrior Cho. I'm merely telling the truth, I slipped the poison into the tea. I also tried to kill you, so why are you still here?" Curiosity mixed with confusion laced her voice.
"You did?" Hyewon grabbed her cold, chained hands, staring at her in complete disbelief. "But that doesn't make sense, it doesn't add up at all! You don't have a reason to commit the crime, and even if you did, surely you wouldn't turn yourself in-"
She blinked her eyes. "It wouldn't have mattered, I would've faced equal punishment either way. My family- she threatened me-"
The rest of her words were muffled by a gag one of the guards tied around her mouth. He turned and sneered at Hyewon. "Best if you keep your distance from this one or you could end with the same fate, Warrior Cho, being affiliated to a criminal." he says mockingly before turning to his comrade. Hyewon only watched helplessly as they hauled Akira, who only sent her one last fleeting glance before she disappeared out of the room.
"Hyewon!" Riki rushed to her side, inspecting her. "Did she do something to you? Are you okay-"
She interrupted his rant of questions, "Riki, do you think Akira really poisoned your mother?" she asks quietly.
He hesitates. "Akira?" he questions, "You mean the murderer? Surely, it has to be her, she even turned herself in and the court says so too."
"But, that's the thing! Why would she admit to the crime? No one would admit such a notorious crime, Riki! Maybe she was framed or... she told me she was threatened! Someone might've threatened her to poison your mother or confess to the crime-"
"Hyewon, don't trust a word of that criminal. Of course she might say that! She wants to get you on her side, so that you'll believe her!"
"But I'm sure she wasn't the one, it doesn't make sense! She doesn't even have a reason to commit the crime in the first place," she insisted.
"She killed my mother!"
The prince breathed heavily after his outburst. "How could you side with that- that murderer after the life she took? I thought you were better than that."
He stormed off, leaving the room without her. Hyewon was just about to follow him when someone grabbed her arm.
"Lee Hyewon, we need to have a talk."
A/N: long chap! another cliffhangr yayyyyy. im kinda surprised how fast samurai us gaining attention, how did u guys find this story cuz its pretty low in rankings which is usually how i find fics to read