The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

15 | Report of the Boundary

Once an old War Room, the meeting chamber of the Court Palace still maintained hints of its past with dark bricked walls and low hanging chandeliers over a long mahogany table. Unlike the blue mist beyond the single large window, its interiors had a warm glow from the fireplace at the side.

The officials arranged themselves around the table in order of a rank they seemed was fit, leaving a space for Jaehyun next to Taeyong.

'Please, be seated,' Taeyong said, unbuttoning his suit jacket and taking a seat at the head of the table.

Now that he was addressing a closed room, Taeyong gave a detailed account of the murder of the guard including the discovery of the Aseclock Charm, Senior Taeil's and Mark's arrival, and the witnesses and alibis of everyone present in the Night Mansion that night.

By the time he was done, Jaehyun had arrived and taken the vacant seat next to Taeyong.

'I would like to hear from all of you now. Jaehyun, if you could start with the report,' Taeyong said, leaning back in his chair.

'Yes, my Lord. We can start with Johnny who was assigned North region,' Jaehyun said and Johnny got up from his seat.

'Please, stay seated,' Taeyong told him.

'Yes, my Lord,' Johnny bowed and sat back down. 'My Lord, the situation is under control right now. The guards and the villagers have been informed of the breach and asked to stay on alert. For the villages located right on the boundary, we have increased the patrolling and security specially for the snowed-in areas. No unusual activity has been reported nor has anybody suspicious been spotted near the boundary. But, my Lord, given this new development, should we consider halting the authorised movement between the two realms for now?'

'No,' Taeyong said, after some thought. 'The villagers on both sides share the resources near the border. We cannot compromise with their means of livelihood. Increase the check points in the area with a stricter screening. Jaehyun can help you get the clearance for this. Jaehyun, can you take a note of this please.'

'Understood, my Lord,' Johnny said, bowing his head.

'My Lord, Jungwoo and Haechan have been assigned the Southern region,' Jaehyun said and everyone turned their attention on the two.

They bowed then Jungwoo began, 'My Lord, the situation is more or less the same in the Southern part though initially we were met with a bit of unrest from the villagers.'

'What was the cause?' Taeyong enquired.

It was Haechan who spoke this time, 'It was our fault, my Lord, for which we apologise. We had failed to establish a clear dialogue with the villagers which made them rely on rumours. But we have now managed to clear the air now.'

'The villagers and the guards have been given all the necessary details and have been asked to take all the precautionary measures with the assurance of extra patrolling,' Jungwoo said.

'For now, the two of us have found a temporary stay near a boundary village in the south where the unrest was the most severe so that we can mediate further with the locals,' Haechan added.

'Good, well handled,' Taeyong said. 'If there is anything you need, please let Jaehyun know.'

'Thank you, my Lord.' The two bowed.

'My Lord, the region near the breach including Nakori village was assigned to Yuta,' Jaehyun said and the vampires in the chamber went silent with their ears perked up.

'Yuta, if you will, please,' Taeyong said.

Courteously, Yuta stood up and bowed then sat back down. 'My Lord, everything is fine,' he said, in an almost casual tone. 'The extra security is a bit annoying but the vampire villages are fine so I don't have any issue to report.'