39: The dead body is not human?

"M-Master got captured!"

"Then, what will happen to us? Will we all get killed?"

"No way! I was about to get married next week. What will I tell my family now?"

The maids looked terrified of their future, and Sui felt sorry for them all. 

She had been in the position of these maids many times, but unlike them, Sui had never been directly employed by the concubines who had died before her.

'Suddenly losing one's steady source of income must be a terrifying experience for all these maids. I wish I could do something to help them out.'

But the truth was that Sui was powerless to help these maids.

Culprit or not, they were part of the scene when the princess almost got poisoned, so they needed to be held accountable as well.

"Hmm, now that I've dealt with the most pressing issue, let's see what we can do about these people. Sui, what do you suggest we do?"

The princess turned the decision toward Sui, and everyone in the room looked at Sui with expecting gazes.

It made Sui uncomfortable, and she quickly tried to step back out of the way.

"I…Princess, I am not able to make these decisions. Please, pass your judgement regarding this matter."

Sui quickly left the decision up to the princess and took herself out of the equation.

'Stop trying to cause me trouble! Do you think it is funny when people look at me with such facial expressions? The pressure is real!'

Sui complained and cursed the princess inside her mind.

The princess tried to hold her laughter back, but Sui did not see the funny situation; I got it. I will pass my judgement now.'

The princess's expression got calmer and looked menacing when she looked at the servants before her.

"For now, all the servants of this household will be given paid vacation until the matters of this household are being investigated. Once the situation is clearer, you will be called back to your working post."

"Those who want to seek new employment can terminate their contracts and ask for their recommendation letters from the people in charge. Now, you all are dismissed from here."

The servants looked like spectacles of the princess's orders, and they stood in their place, not moving.

The princess was in a good mood, but there was no telling when it would change. So, Sui knew she needed to do something.

"Are you all pretending to be deaf? The princess has dismissed you all. Hurry up and get out of here."

Sui flashed her sword in front of the maids, and they all ran out of the room after that 'warning.'

"Sui, that was too much. You scared those poor maids away. Who will clean up this dead mess in front of us?"

The princess teased Sui, but if she tried to make her feel uncomfortable, she was mistaken.

"Don't worry, princess. I have experience dealing with dead bodies. After all, someone kept leaving them all over the harem in the past. Cleaning them usually fell to low-level grunts like me anyway."

Sui reminded the princess, causing her to chuckle at Sui's words.

"Oh really! I wonder who such a daring person could be. It makes me feel interested."

The princess knew Sui was talking about her, but she spoke these teasing words anyway.

Sui knew it was wrong to ignore the princess, but she had nothing else to say about this topic.

So, instead, Sui reached out to check out the dead body in front of her.

The body needed to be disposed of before it could infect anyone else, and Sui was the best choice.

"Princess, please keep your distance from the dead body. We still don't know what kind of poison it injected and what the side effects can be."

Sui was quick to protect the princess by pushing her away and not letting her touch the dead body.

The princess was getting irritated but did not fight against Sui's orders, which was nice of her.

Sui tried to touch the dead body, but something felt wrong. This body did not give off the same feeling that a dead person gave off.

Rather, it looked closer to a doll than a human.

"Oops, I would not touch that dead body if I were you. I do not even remember what laxatives I used in my puppet's outer coating. You might become paralysed if you touch it too carelessly."

Sui quickly turned around at that sound and positioned herself with her knife out in front. 

"Princess, please stay behind me. If the situation gets too dangerous, you might also need to run away."

Sui quickly assessed the situation to find where she could help the princess run.

"I never thought I would see this scene. Didn't you say that being protected by someone else made your skin crawl, Princess Yunjin? To see this scene….it makes me feel offended."

The man spoke softly and made a disappointed face when he stepped out of the shadows.

Sui recognised the man who walked out of the shadows.

"Dimitry Hun? What are you doing here?"

Sui asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

She did not think the leader of the biggest information guild was here because he was involved in this case, but the possibility could not be denied either.

"Why am I here, you ask? It's simple! Because the princess asked me for a favour. But princess, I am hurt by your accounts. You did not even tell our newest member about the identities of her seniors? One would think you are ashamed of us-"

The princess threw a plate toward Dimitry's head, and the man flinched at the impact.

A huge red mark formed on Dimitry's head, where he was hit by the plate, causing the man to pout.

"Ignore this fool, Sui. You will not need to associate with this annoying person."

The princess looked sour when she spoke, but her tone was not harsh enough. She did not consider Dimitry to be her enemy.