"Lady Tang..."
"Lady Namgung..."
As the two women addressed each other by their family names, just as my sister had predicted, it became clear they weren’t particularly close.
Yet, despite the lack of familiarity, as they stood face-to-face, I felt momentarily blinded.
Their combined beauty radiated so intensely it felt like my eyes might burn from the overlapping brilliance.
Today, my eyes were truly being blessed—or perhaps overworked.
If my sister, Tang Hwa-eun, was the epitome of a cool and elegant beauty, Namgung Seol exuded the fresh and vibrant charm of a blooming spring flower.
Together, they created a scene so picturesque it could have been a painting.
Still, I couldn't help but think, This comes down to personal taste—my sister is certainly not inferior.
Seeing them side by side, my first thought was an unshakable certainty: my sister was in no way beneath Namgung Seol.
This wasn’t just because I was her fiancé; objectively speaking, the idea that Namgung Seol was considered the greatest beauty of the central plains while my sister was ranked lower simply didn’t sit right with me.
It was clear to me that some re-evaluations were in order.
As I mulled over this, the two women exchanged greetings.
"I heard from Eun that you brought the elixir. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to wield a sword again. I don’t even know how to thank you..."
"It’s nothing. I’m just glad it could help."
The conversation felt oddly stiff, a far cry from the concern my sister had shown for Namgung Seol earlier.
Why does it feel like neither of them has any friends?
Even I felt awkward just watching, and it seemed Namgung Eun thought the same, shaking her head silently.
At that moment, Namgung Seol turned to me and asked, "And who might this be?"
"Oh, this is my fiancé, Wei Su-long. Su-long, say hello. This is Lady Namgung Seol of the Namgung family."
"A pleasure to meet you. My name is Wei Su-long."
"Oh, you’re engaged now? It’s nice to meet you, Sir Wei. I am Namgung Seol."
"The pleasure is mine."
"Yes."
"...?"
Is she not interested in continuing this conversation?
Usually, after introductions, there’s some polite small talk—asking about the journey, or complimenting appearances—but the dialogue ended abruptly with her simple "Yes."
Seeing this, Namgung Eun stepped in with an awkward laugh, attempting to ease the tension.
"Congratulations to both of you! Oh, when will I find my own fiancé? It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other; let’s not stand around like this. Why don’t we sit down for tea and chat? I have so many questions for both of you!"
"Perfect timing—I was just feeling thirsty. That sounds lovely, Lady Namgung."
"Ah, I knew I made the right suggestion! I’ll ask the maids to prepare some tea and light snacks right away. Haha..."
Namgung Eun and I exchanged weary glances, silently acknowledging the effort it would take to make this less awkward.
With a short round of greetings complete, we moved to a gazebo in the courtyard where tea and refreshments had been set up.
As we sipped tea and talked, the conversation naturally shifted to how my sister and I had met—a topic that seemed to intrigue the two sisters.
Eventually, the discussion turned to Namgung Seol herself.
Her younger sister, Namgung Eun, frowned and spoke in a tone of frustration.
"But I still can’t understand. If it wasn’t my sister, what exactly did those people see? And how do they know about the marks on her body in such intimate detail?"
Given my past fascination with escape rooms and deduction games—where I’d earned the nickname "Sherlock Fabre"—I cautiously ventured a question.
"Forgive me for asking, but... have you ever, perhaps, bathed alone at night in a pond or river?"
My question drew the attention of all three women, their gazes sharpening as they turned to me.
Namgung Seol responded first, her tone measured.
"Are you suggesting that someone might have been spying on me?"
"It’s a possibility, yes."
Namgung Eun followed up, her voice tinged with anger.
"So you think someone watched her and then spread rumors to slander her?"
"That’s usually the most plausible explanation in situations like this."
"But everyone currently detained in the guest hall grew up in the village at the base of the mountain. They’re practically part of our household. None of them would slander or insult our family."
"And I’ve never bathed outside the house," Namgung Seol added.
So, no one spied on her, and no one would have reason to slander her?
With my theory dismissed, my line of reasoning hit a dead end.
As everyone sat in awkward silence, my sister suddenly spoke with confidence, a knowing smile on her face.
"In situations like this, there’s usually one highly likely explanation."
"Highly likely?"
"What do you mean?"
Both Namgung sisters looked at her with puzzled expressions.
Tang Hwa-eun’s smile widened, and she answered proudly, "A ghost."
"Excuse me?"
Wait, what? Sister, why are you doing this? This is embarrassing!
While I could somewhat understand bringing up mythical beasts like dragons, introducing ghosts into the conversation felt completely out of place.
Was my sister perhaps too enamored with Eastern fantasy or superstition?
In my past life, many experienced mentors had warned me about the dangers of spouses who became too absorbed in religion or superstitions—they said it could destroy families.
But my embarrassment was short-lived as I reconsidered her claim.
Wait... no, she might actually have a point.
After all, the O-gongs’ mother had once appeared to me in a dream after her death.
Thinking back, she had even taken on my sister’s appearance in the dream. If I considered this, it wasn’t impossible that a spirit might manifest in a similar way, perhaps using Namgung Seol’s appearance.
Could my sister be a genius?
"That does seem like the only explanation, doesn’t it?"
"In a situation like this, it must be the answer."
"Ghosts are terrifying... but I can’t help but want to see one."
The Namgung sisters nodded in agreement, appearing to accept Tang Hwa-eun’s theory without question.
I turned back to Namgung Seol and asked, "In that case, have you recently come into contact with any unusual items or objects? Perhaps something imbued with spiritual energy, or the inner core of a mythical creature?"
Drawing from my own experience, I suspected that some sort of contact might have been necessary for such phenomena to occur.
Namgung Seol seemed to ponder the question carefully before shaking her head.
"I only use things I’m familiar with, so I don’t think so."
"I see..."
Then what could it be?
Once again, my deductions hit a wall.
But just as I was about to give up, Namgung Seol suddenly spoke, her voice filled with realization.
"Ah! There is something I touched recently—two things, actually!"
"What are they?"
"What did you touch?"
The room’s attention shifted entirely to her as she responded.
"Recently, I touched an acorn. Oh, and a tree branch!"
The surge of anticipation deflated almost instantly.
Could it be? Is Namgung Seol revered as the most beautiful woman in the central plains because of her airheaded charm?
If that were the case, dethroning her from her rank would be no easy feat.
After all, my sister’s intelligence would pale in comparison to the innocent charm that seemed to captivate men’s protective instincts.
As I grappled with how to respond, Namgung Seol, for the first time, mentioned something truly suspicious.
"Oh! And one night while training alone, I felt someone’s presence nearby. When I went to check, there was nothing there."
"You felt someone’s presence?"
"Yes, I did."
"Indeed, I felt a presence, so I went to check, but no one was there. At first, I thought it might be you following me, Eun. But when I found no one, I dismissed it as my nerves playing tricks on me. However, thinking back, I realize it happened every time I trained—this constant feeling of being watched. Yes, that's exactly what it was."
"That does sound suspicious," I said, nodding.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside, and a servant burst into the gazebo, hastily addressing Namgung Seol.
"Young Lady! I must speak with you..."
"Is it related to the noise outside?"
"Yes, Young Lady."
The servant leaned close and whispered something into Namgung Seol’s ear.
As soon as the servant finished, Namgung Seol abruptly stood up, her hand striking the floor of the gazebo with a resounding thud!
"What’s going on, Sister?"
"What’s the matter, Lady Namgung?"
"It’s quieted down over the past few days, but now another villager has gone missing. I’ve just been told that the guards have left to help search for the missing person."
"Another disappearance?!"
The servant’s report revealed that the disappearances, which had stopped around the time Namgung Seol was confined, had resumed.
Namgung Seol touched the red peony-shaped mark on the back of her hand, a symbol of the Su-gung-sa ritual, her face hardening with fury as she declared, "I have to catch that ghost myself and repay the grudge of my stolen chastity! This grudge of the Su-gung-sa must be settled!"
Namgung Eun, alarmed, raised her voice.
"Sister, what are you planning?! If you sneak out again and get caught, you’ll be in serious trouble this time!"
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Namgung Seol smiled faintly and replied, "This time, we’ll all go together. It’ll be fine."
"All of us?"
Namgung Eun blinked in confusion as Namgung Seol turned to my sister and me, her smile still lingering—a rare sight since our meeting.
"Would you two help me?"
It felt like we were being dragged into something we shouldn’t be involved in. As my sister and I exchanged uneasy glances, Namgung Seol reached into her sash and pulled out an object.
"What’s this?"
She handed over something resembling a traditional norigae ornament, woven with blue and red threads and adorned with a jade centerpiece.
"It’s a norigae made from knotted threads," Namgung Seol explained. "The centerpiece is carved from Ice Jade, and it can be separated into two parts. I don’t know why you’re searching for Ice Jade, but if you need something portable, this might suit your needs better.
"It could even serve as a token between you two. What do you think? If you help me, I’ll give this to you."
To be honest, while the billiard ball-sized Ice Jade orb we’d exchanged with the Namgung family head wasn’t bad, it wasn’t very portable. If I wanted to carry my lizards around, this norigae would be far more convenient.
I turned to Namgung Seol and gave her my answer.
"Helping a woman reclaim her honor, which is as sacred as her life itself, is the right thing to do. And it has nothing to do with my interest in the Ice Jade, of course. Don’t you agree, Lady Tang Hwa-eun?"
My sister nodded slightly in agreement, though she seemed unconvinced by my overly righteous tone.
After all, I was a humanitarian at heart.
And as for the poor lizards that had suffered abuse at the hands of the Su-gung-sa ritual... this Fabre would see to it that their grudge was avenged.
***
A crescent moon hung in the sky, veiled by clouds, casting the night in near-total darkness.
It was a good thing I had learned how to enhance my vision with inner energy; otherwise, navigating this murky night would’ve been an ordeal.
Namgung Seol was leading us in a direction completely opposite to where the guards were conducting their search, her pace deliberate and focused.
Behind us trailed Namgung Eun, her voice filled with complaints as she whined incessantly.
"Sister, if we get caught this time, I’m definitely going to be confined to the isolation chamber. No, it’s not just certain—it’ll be for at least six months!
"And Sir Wei, how could you let yourself be so easily swayed by the Ice Jade? I thought we had some sort of common ground, and you’d help me talk her out of this!"
"Lady Namgung, I already explained. It wasn’t because of the Ice Jade—it’s about protecting Lady Namgung Seol’s precious honor. I—"
"I don’t want to hear it! Ugh, what am I going to do..."
Her complaints weren’t entirely without merit. Not only had she failed to stop her sister from sneaking out, but she had also stolen the sword belonging to their grandfather—a relic displayed in the family’s main hall—under Namgung Seol’s orders.
The sword, imbued with the power to dispel evil, was apparently the perfect weapon for catching ghosts.
And that wasn’t all. She’d also sweet-talked the guards on duty into keeping their mouths shut. If caught, she was sure to face harsher punishment than her sister.
It seemed Namgung Eun had a weakness for her sister’s requests, unable to say no even when it landed her in trouble.
Despite her grumbling, she was doing everything asked of her—a classic case of whining while doing.
"Eun, there are guests here. Stop being so reckless," Namgung Seol admonished.
"Reckless? Haven’t I already crossed the line into reckless?!"
"Eun, keep it up, and you’ll scare away all the ghosts."
"Haa..."
Between the reprimands from both my sister and Namgung Seol, Namgung Eun eventually fell silent.
We finally arrived at a small hill blanketed in fallen petals. Namgung Seol led us to the edge where the hill met the dark forest, its shadows so thick it was impossible to see even a few steps ahead.
"Is this the place?"
"Yes, I’m certain it was around here."
"Whether it’s a ghost or something else, there might be traces nearby. Let’s search the area carefully."
"Understood."
We didn’t know what we were dealing with, but we decided to search for any clues.
Scanning the surroundings and the ground for any signs, we continued our investigation.
Before long, the air began to change—shadows blurred, and a dense fog rolled in.
The mist thickened rapidly, swallowing everything around me until I could no longer see my companions.
"Lady Tang Hwa-eun? Lady Namgung Seol? Lady Namgung Eun?"
I called out their names, but there was no response from any of them.
Did we get separated in the fog?
Thinking it might be dangerous to wander alone, I decided to gather everyone back together.
As I carefully took a step forward, I felt something catch on my ankle.
Bending down to inspect, I picked up a thin, elastic thread caught around my leg.
Following the thread with my eyes, I saw it extended deep into the forest, glinting faintly in the pale moonlight.
"What is this?"
The realization struck me almost immediately.
I’d seen this kind of thread countless times in my previous life.
This is spider silk.
Though it was much thicker than an ordinary spider’s web, there was no mistaking what it was.
If the thread was this size, I could only imagine how enormous the spider that spun it must be.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a scream rang out from deeper within the forest.
A sharp, piercing cry.