Chapter 266
“…What is it?”
–I heard you came to Jeju Island.
From then on, I couldn’t answer calmly. Both he and I knew what had happened during my jaunt over to Jeju Island. Bae Jaemin did not rush me even though I was struck momentarily speechless.
–What I’m curious about… I assume that Lee-kyung-ssi can guess at my meaning?
“……”
–Let’s meet tomorrow and have a conversation.
He acted as if he was going to hang up the phone. I tried to answer him calmly–I had to buy time somehow. “Tomorrow… is a little too soon…”
–Really? I thought Lee-kyung-ssi would ask to meet today.”
“……”
–I guess you don’t find the Jeju story all that interesting.
However, this didn’t work on the Priest.
–Well, it’s fine if you’re not interested. I just thought of Lee-kyung-ssi and wanted to give him an opportunity…
“……”
–You know that there are a lot of people interested in this incident, right?
It was an obvious threat.
“…I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
–Very well.
I answered after a deliberate pause, trying not to show my anxiety. Even though I docilely accepted the Priest’s offer, I had no idea how much he knew.
After hanging up, I racked my brain for a while, but could only come up with one conclusion.
‘If he knew everything, he wouldn’t be able to call me so leisurely.’
He probably has no idea about my connection with [Red Lotus].
If he had uncovered that I had contacted the deposed guild, he would have stormed into the hospital earlier. However, it was clear that, by mentioning [Jeju Island], he was inquiring about Park Hoseok’s death rather than his secret with [Red Lotus].
‘He must not have thought about the guild yet, but he must think I’m involved in some way with Park Hoseok’s death?’
Through this line of reasoning, I could figure out Bae Jaemin’s motive and attitude.
He seemed to regard me as an intermediary to a key figure–just like the last time at the hospital ward. Furthermore, since it’s been a while, Bae Jaemin would probably have noticed that there’s someone else pulling the strings from behind me…
‘As expected, he’s suspecting Koo Hui-seo…’ That was the only conclusion I could draw.
When I went to Jeju island, the documents stated that I was acting on behalf of Koo Hui-seo. Plus, Bae Jaemin had seen me on the night that the ex-chimera was released.
With this, I could guess at the Priest’s thoughts.
‘He thinks Koo Hui-seo’s involved with Park Hoseok’s death.’
The reason why he believed Koo Hui-seo intervened in this situation was probably because…
* * *
“That’s certainly…strange.” Ryu Hyerin murmured as she turned over pages in Park Hoseok’s case file one by one. These were documents that Bae Jaemin had received directly from Moon Sung-Hak, chairman of the User Association, through ‘a deal of sorts.’
And, because of these documents, Ryu Hyerin was summoned into the [HaHae] office in the middle of the night.
Legs crossed, Bae Jaemin spoke in a concerned voice, “Did you see the results of the skill evaluation?”
“Yeah, I’m seeing it.”
“Does that even make sense?”
“……”
“What do you think? How much do you think…this bastard knows?”
Ryu Hyerin waited until Bae Jaemin calmed down.
He was always on the thinner side, but recently the man could hardly eat or fall asleep, making his face gaunt.
Ever since Moon Issak mentioned Beatrice, Bae Jaemin had carefully poured over the details of Park Hoseok’s case, but he could glean nothing useful.
The official investigations surprisingly concluded that this murder was impossible unless ‘Jung Garam’ himself had killed Park Hoseok using his skills.
Of course, that was impossible; that meant someone else had manipulated the scene meticulously. Their problem, though, was that they still had no idea who the manipulator was.
Any User who had the ability to be considered a suspect was cleared through their alibi; those who couldn’t be cleared by their alibi were people who joined hands in the ‘Tower of Command’ incident.
In other words… There may be a traitor.
Therefore, Bae Jaemin spent several weeks feeling like everything was about to be revealed or he’d be assassinated by someone. He had barely been suppressing that emotional weight while going about his official business, but… it seems he’d lost his mind after reading the documents today.
Because of that, he had contacted Ryu Hyerin at dawn–the time where most others were asleep and there were fewer straying eyes–and calmed himself down using her skills.
Then, after using her skill, Ryu Hyerin took a look at the data while sitting in the Priest’s usual seat. Bae Jaemin looked at her with an expressionless face and bit his lips.
“It seems like this person knows of your relationship with Jung Garam during your [Red Lotus] days,” she said.
“……”
Ryu Hyerin was far from optimistic about the situation, but she spoke cautiously, trying to soothe the overly sensitive Priest. Inwardly, she agreed with the Priest’s conclusion and suspected a traitor, but she did not outwardly voice that opinion.
Bae Jaemin noticed her consideration and took giant breaths. When she finally saw him simmer down, she continued, “This’ll be easy to uncover. We just need to find whoever brought up the topic of [Beatrice] to Moon Issak.”
“Do you think Moon Issak will cooperate and tell us? Even now, although I’ve stated this is personal business, he’s gently trying to scratch away at these hidden matters…”
“We can look through all the people Moon Issak met with since the Park Hoseok incident. It won’t take long.”
Only then did Bae Jaemin plop down into his seat. He slowly swept away his bangs, as if he could finally relax, then bowed his head. “If there was a traitor…”
“Yeah.”
“Who would have betrayed us? We’ve already made an [Oath].”
The effect of the [Oath] was so powerful that not even Bae Jaemin could escape certain death.
When they had decided, a few years ago, to bring down [Red Lotus], maintaining secrecy was par for the course; everyone who participated in this plan had to agree to the [Oath]. With such strong shackles around them, neither hide nor hair of the truth had been revealed to the world at large.
However, Ryu Hyerin had already guessed who was the most likely traitor. From the moment betrayal had entered the realm of possibility, she had thought no one else matched the description. “It’d be Koo Kyungman, of course.”
“What?”
“…He may not have revealed it willingly.”
Before Koo Kyungman had vanished into thin air, he was [Red Dragon]’s former guildmaster.
Bae Jaemin fell into deep thought, “Then… Do you think Koo Hui-seo crafted this whole thing?”
“Who knows. I can’t be sure, but… He’s the most suspicious person at the moment.”
The Priest didn’t respond, but he inwardly agreed.
Actually, he was startled to hear that Koo Kyungman was missing, but he also felt refreshed, as if a rotten tooth had been pulled out.
Even when he was on the same side as Koo Kyungman, that man was a disgusting human being who couldn’t be trusted. The Priest felt awkward, but there was no other person he could rely on for this matter. Of course, that man had grabbed at Bae Jaemin’s ankle several times in his great greed, even after they had achieved their shared goal. That’s why he pretended ignorance when the man had fallen to Koo Hui-seo.
It wasn’t uncommon for sibling rivalry–dog fights over status or power–to end in murder. Therefore, he was able to stay a spectator, as if he were watching from across the river bank, in this sudden change in the guildmaster seat. He held no particular stake in this matter–he was only interested to see whether Koo Kyungman lived or died.
However, he recognized his shortcomings when he heard Ryu Hyerin’s theory. 1 He had overlooked the possibility of Koo Hui-seo torturing or forcing the information one way or another out of his brother after capturing him.
Maybe Koo Hui-seo didn’t intend to reveal this information either. At best, he probably intended to torture the location of a slush fund out of his brother. Then, unable to endure the pain, perhaps Koo Kyungman had confessed an unmentionable secret…
Although this was something conjured by Bae Jaemin’s imagination, this scenario was so airtight, that he couldn’t find an easy hole to poke into this. Ryu Hyerin, while looking at the Priest’s changing expression, said, “Call Jisoo Unni.”
“…..”
“Let’s gather soon.”
Bae Jaemin couldn’t easily authorize that decision even after hearing Ryu Hyerin’s recommendation.
Lim Jisoo was a legendary Mage who had manufactured the [Oath]; the co-conspirators who shared that [Oath] often exchanged information and insisted, amongst each other, that they should help if someone should fall into trouble.
However, it was clear that Lim Jisoo would prove troublesome and argue since she had stayed still and simply allowed Koo Kyungman’s death.
It would be one thing if she were to just interrogate him, but Lim Jisoo always tried to find a scapegoat amongst the group and lord her presence over them. He may have to be dragged around by her until he offered her one of his secrets.
However, Ryu Hyerin, who had guessed the reason for his hesitation, grabbed the Priest’s hand. “Just call them for now. I’ll step up as one of the [Oath-takers].”
“As a representative of [Opera]?”
“……Yeah.”
Bae Jaemin looked at Ryu Hyerin with eyes widened from surprise. He knew how much she hated the name [Opera].
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TL: Bae Jaemin and Ryu Hyering again O.O
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