“Suhyang of the Yoon family.”

The moment she met those eyes, honed sharp as a blade, Suhyang’s expression slowly hardened.

“......”

A cold wind blew from somewhere. The heavy scent of trumpet creeper rode the breeze. Beneath the bright moonlight, a suffocating silence spread through the vast garden. A chill ran down Suhyang’s spine. An unpleasant sense of crisis, impossible to put into words, seemed to seize her entire body.

How did he know her name?

“I know quite a lot about you,” Yoon Taehee said quietly.

“Probably more than you imagine.”

“......”

With every trace of laughter gone from her face, Suhyang asked, “Who in the world are you?”

She had just taken one step toward Yoon Taehee when he spoke again.

“I know you’re waiting for that boy to come.”

By “that boy,” he most likely meant Jaegyeom.

“But he won’t come.”

“...What?”

“He sleeps a lot.”

“......”

It was impossible to tell whether he was serious or joking, but his answer sounded far too casual. Yoon Taehee behaved as if he truly knew something. It was clear that Jaegyeom had told him everything—every conversation he had shared with her, and everything he had been hiding.

What do you know about that child?

Until now, she had sensed a faint distrust between the two of them. She had judged that they had joined hands because their interests aligned, but did not fully trust each other.

This was unexpected.

“......”

A clear crack appeared in Suhyang’s composure.

“Don’t tell me he has decided to give up on death and live forever.”

“I’m not sure about that. I can’t see inside his heart either...”

Yoon Taehee drew the words out slowly. Even when you tried to hold him, he would not be caught. Even when you thought you had him in your grasp, you opened your eyes to find yourself in the boy’s grip instead.

“Even if you possess the mask, you cannot use its power. Which means you are not the Bangsangsi.”

“How can you be so sure I cannot use that power?”

At Suhyang’s question, Yoon Taehee glanced around before answering.

“If you could use the authority of the Bangsangsi, you would have no need to test anyone or distrust anyone. You would simply command them to obey. But the one who opened the way for you was Manager Seok.”

Suhyang was surrounded only by things that were not human.

“You said humans are black-haired beasts and should never be taken in. I agree with that. That is how I know. Because you do not trust humans, you have never kept one by your side.”

Yoon Taehee did not doubt his own deduction.

Because he, too, had once been that kind of human. Until not long ago, he had been exactly the same. Yoon Taehee preferred ghosts to humans, and regardless of whether he liked or disliked them, he could not trust human beings. He kept no one by his side except the intelligent ghosts he had taken as subordinates, and he drew a line there, never giving affection to anyone.

“If I were you, I would have subdued the Naja. But you didn’t. Instead, out of nowhere, you chose to manipulate only weak gifted people, or ordinary people like Kim Yekwon and Cho Youngwoo.”

The guards protecting Suhyang were not human. Neither was the cat she cherished. While Yoon Taehee had kept ghosts close instead of humans, Suhyang, who hated ghosts, used straw dolls—things that were neither ghost nor human—and placed spells on them to protect herself.

Of course, there were a few humans serving at Suhyang’s side. Cho Youngwoo was one of them. But that was nothing more than controlling them through spells by using parasitic insects.

“So I’ve been wondering.”

The only being Suhyang had allowed near her was a single cat.

“Why didn’t you use the authority of the Bangsangsi to subdue every Naja? And why did you choose to use parasitic insects only on weak humans? If you had simply used the mask to command every Naja, or planted the human-controlling insects in them, that would have been the easiest, simplest, and most convenient method.”

“......”

“But why didn’t you?”

After a brief pause, Yoon Taehee slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.

“It wasn’t that you didn’t. You couldn’t.”

“......”

At last, Suhyang’s eyes sank coldly.

“The authority of the mask and the use of the parasitic insects are the same. You cannot use the authority of the Bangsangsi. And the insects may work on people who are not gifted, or on those with weak spiritual force, but they would not work on humans with enough spiritual force to become Naja. Or perhaps the effect does not last long. That is why you brought in ordinary or weak people like Kim Yekwon and Cho Youngwoo and used those methods on them.”

Since things like parasitic insects did not work on Naja, she must have taken each of their names and placed a forbidden spell on them instead. Despite possessing the Bangsangsi mask, Suhyang controlled humans with parasitic insects and kept wooden tags that stole names as collateral. What did it mean that she had prepared measures to kill or suppress them if necessary?

It was proof that she could not use the authority.

“That is my interpretation. If I got anything wrong, please correct me.”

Having finished speaking, Yoon Taehee pulled off the mask he was holding and tossed it aside.

“......”

Silence followed, as though time itself had stopped. It felt as if a very long time had passed, and at the same time, as if it had lasted only the flash of an instant. After remaining silent for a while, Suhyang curled up one corner of her mouth.

“You are a child with an exceptionally quick mind.”

“I hear that often.”

At the crooked praise, Yoon Taehee, who had been standing expressionless, let out a short laugh.

“Anyway, that is how I know what you want.”

Yoon Taehee skillfully shifted the topic once again.

“I heard you want that boy’s body... but he will not come here. So if you were thinking of using me as a hostage to negotiate with him, you should give up. But there is no need to be too disappointed. Even without bringing him here as a sacrifice, there is a way for you to gain immortality.”

“...There is a way to gain immortality?”

“Yes. Not some forbidden art like the kind you use. I found it while investigating why that boy became immortal. I suppose I only have to use the same method on you that was used on Jaegyeom.”

“Surely that child’s teacher must have done something.”

“At first, I thought so too. But that is only half right.”

“Then what is the reason?”

Yoon Taehee removed the mask from his own face completely.

“Are you curious?”

Revealing his expressionless bare face, Yoon Taehee added, “Return my wooden tag. Then I will tell you.”

A slow crease formed between Suhyang’s smooth brows.

“......”

After a brief silence, Suhyang slowly looked up at him.

“Are you trying to strike a bargain with me?”

“It is closer to negotiation than bargaining.”

Yoon Taehee answered casually, then continued as he tossed away the mask he had removed.

“It is not as if I am asking for the Bangsangsi mask. It is only a wooden tag, so what is there to think so hard about? You know very well that even if I get my wooden tag back right now, I cannot do anything immediately.”

Yoon Taehee was alone here, and his body was not in normal condition after paying the price for violating a taboo. Even if he received the wooden tag, no method of opposing Suhyang would suddenly appear.

“Then why are you so obsessed with the wooden tag yourself?”

“That is because...”

Yoon Taehee stopped just as his lips were about to move.

It was to violate the taboo and bring down the Office of Narye. At first, that had been the only reason. But now that he stood here facing the director like this, that reason had lost its meaning.

Even so—

“Because it is my name.”

After finishing his sentence, Yoon Taehee waited for the director’s answer.

And in the instant he closed and opened his eyes, Yoon Taehee was surrounded by the director’s personal guards. Dozens of straw figures wearing white masks appeared around him in a circle, their swords pointed at him. It happened, quite literally, in the blink of an eye.

“......”

Countless blades aimed at his throat.

That was the director’s answer.

“I suppose the negotiation has failed.”

Yoon Taehee’s eyes flickered as he glanced around.

“What a shame. You failed to recognize my desperate sincerity.”

The director gave a thin smile and clicked her tongue lightly.

“You certainly are bold, trying to bewitch an old woman.”

“As expected of someone who has lived so long. You are wise.”

The director was a person who did not even trust Seok Juryeon, who had been with her for many years. There was no way someone like that would readily accept an uncertain promise without any collateral.

Yoon Taehee knew that. Still, he smirked.

Because he had been sincere.

If Suhyang had accepted his proposal, he truly would have kept his promise.

But in the end, Suhyang did not trust Yoon Taehee.