Samurai ↔ Nishimura Riki

twenty eight

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.