The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

31 | Last Line of the Crescent

Chapter Warning: Graphic Depiction of Violence

The tension in the South was much greater than Taeyong had expected. The unrest had escalated overnight and had started spilling over to the neighbours. The villagers were scared, afraid of their own kind, and fear has the capability to make one lose their mind.

This was precisely the reason that when the Lord himself showed up to settle the issue, the unrest dissolved on its own. The villagers wanted answers and security and Taeyong gave them both, kindly and with compassion.

Jungwoo and Haechan were rescued, although they didn't need much rescuing since it was merely a threat and the locals had not intended to induce any harm on them. The two had asked for punishment when Taeyong met them in the evening, stating that they had failed him.

'Fine,' Taeyong had said. 'I will be returning to the Night Mansion early tomorrow morning but I will leave Doyoung here for another day to sort the remaining matters. I think that's punishment enough for you both.'

The two did not seem to understand. 'My Lord...' Jungwoo spoke, hesitantly. 'Is that it?'

'You have never worked with Doyoung before, have you?' Taeyong asked.

They exchanged a look between them. 'Is... is he that bad, my Lord?' Haechan asked.

'Best of luck,' Taeyong said, cheerily and left with this.

𓆩 𓆪

The day was just breaking over the horizon when Taeyong emerged from the forest in front of the Night Mansion to find it shrouded in a winter mist of gloom. The grass was wet with dew and the air was heavy with moisture. All was silent and cold like it had been sleeping under a blanket of melancholia since eternity.

But in this silence, Taeyong heard a whimper, soft but painful. Slowly, he walked closer to the entrance and soon could make out the silhouette of someone sitting by the door, with their knees held close to their chest and body shivering uncontrollably. Taeyong immediately rushed forward when he saw that it was Mark.

The moment Mark's eyes fell on Taeyong, he leaped to his feet crying. His face was ashen and his eyes were sunken. He was covered in bruises from head to toe and bleeding from lashes across his chest with his cloak slashed in places and hands covered in cuts.

'My Lord,' he cried but feel to his knees, his feet giving up on him.

Taeyong immediately removed his own cloak and draped it over the boy but Mark was inconsolable.

'I tried to fight Senior Taeil...' he sobbed. 'Dal-ae... I couldn't save her...' he broke down.

At the mention of her name, Taeyong stilled. 'Where?'

'Du-dungeon, my Lord,' Mark replied through the tears.

The steps descending to the dungeon were completely dark with no windows nor any torches. As Taeyong climbed down the stairway, the air became heavier to the point of suffocation with the smell of blood weighing immensely on him. It did not take him more than a single whiff to recognize whose blood it was.

His eyes had gone bloodshot, and his entire body was trembling with rage. From the darkness, he emerged onto the landing of the dungeon sitting in the silence of its own gloom. On either side were cells with metal bars fixed in the concrete to keep the prisoners in their place. At the sight of a stranger, the prisoners erupted in a cacophony of howls and wails, banging their heads against the bars in their madness. They had not even bothered to look who it was, the mere glimpse of someone new was enough to provoke them.