When Seulhee awoke the next morning, she could feel a tight feeling in her gut. Inevitably, she was nervous about the whole situation. Now, she simply had to make it through the day without completely driving herself mad.

The ring sat in a small pouch in her pocket, bouncing against her side with each step she took. There was no forgetting its existence and its presence.

Throughout the day, several of the servants left to visit family and celebrate the holiday. Seulhee had made the excuse that she had no family in the capital, so she didn’t have any reason to go out. Instead, she would be staying and serving the council, as per usual. They would be celebrating indoors, and they would want someone to keep their cups filled the entire night.

She managed to run into Sungjong once during the course of the day’s chores, and he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before going along his way. Seulhee was grateful for that.

During lunch, one of the council members mentioned the night’s celebration. “Somebody will need to let the kitchen know that we want the best moonlight drinks.” The others nodded or voiced their agreement.

That was good, and as expected. It wouldn’t require any special action on Seulhee’s part.

***

In due time, dinner finally arrived. Seulhee had to be careful not to drop or spill anything. Her nervousness was making her a bit unsteady. Thankfully, she didn’t botch anything while pouring the council members their drinks, otherwise she would have been yelled at and beaten if not worse.

Aside from simply refilling their glasses, she had little else to do to pass the time but stand in the corner and hope that the toast would come soon enough.

The night wore on, and already the noblemen were becoming a bit tipsy, though no one had gotten completely drunk. They seemed to hold their alcohol pretty well.

There were fewer petty remarks and miniature conflicts at this meal, probably because everyone was in a better mood for the festivities. Plus, the alcohol seemed to have mellowed them a bit. Seulhee took this as a good sign. It meant her task would be easier since they wouldn’t have as sharp of an attention span.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, one of the men walked over to her and gestured for her to bring out the special drinks. So she scampered off to the kitchen, trying not to run and lose her breath. There the cook handed off a tray of silver goblets to her.

It was hard to tell, but Seulhee was reasonably certain the goblets were made out of real silver. It wouldn’t be surprising for them to make use of fancy goblets for the special occasion.

As she walked along carrying the tray, it seemed to weigh down on her more and more with each step. Here she was with the fate of the kingdom literally in her hands. It was strange to think about, almost inconceivable, even though she was living it out at the very moment.

Seulhee arrived at the door, feeling slightly out of breath, and knocked quickly before her single-handed support on the tray collapsed. The door swung open, and she sauntered in, setting the tray down on the stand.

“Took long enough,” one of the nobles muttered. As usual, she contained her desire to go kick the offender. She would get her revenge in good time.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the pouch. Nobody was paying attention to her at the moment, still eating while they waited for her to give them the drinks. She slipped the ring onto her ring finger, and it glinted in the light of the room.

All it took was a slight twist, and the top of the ring opened, revealing a well of clear liquid. As far as she could tell, it could be water, but of course, she knew better. One drop would be enough. Sungjong had whispered as much into her ear during their encounter earlier.

One by one, she let a single drop fall into each of the goblets. There was no hissing sound or anything to reveal that the drinks had changed, but now they were irreversibly altered.

“What’s taking her so long?” someone grumbled. Evidently, the distraction spell didn’t distract the council members from the passage of time.

Once she was done, she capped the ring, which was now virtually empty, and stowed it away. Then, wiping her hands on her apron, she grabbed two of the drinks carefully and walked over to place them in front of the waiting noblemen.

They had to wait before they could touch their drinks, so everyone sat in relative silence as she brought their beverages around.

The moment she finished distributing the moonlight drinks, the oldest member of the council began to speak. “Well, gentlemen, shortly we will be going out to admire the silver lady in all her glory. But for now, let’s have a toast to this holiday. Let us set aside our differences and quarrels for a bit and enjoy this night.” He lifted his glass, and the other did the same.

Seulhee had to stop herself from holding her breath as she waited. The seconds seemed to drag by, as if everyone was wading through water.

Then, the goblets touched the lips of the council members, and their fate was sealed.

Almost seconds after they had drunk their first sip, the door to the room burst open. A flood of people rushed in, including the Duke and several other important-looking people, as well as several armed men.

The members of the council had no time to react. Those who were about to jump up, whether in surprise or in self-defense, found that they couldn’t. They were frozen to the spot, their eyes wide and bewildered and angry.

The Duke took a spot at the back end of the room before declaring in a loud and firm voice, “In the name of the Crown and the king of Ashidor, I declare all of you guilty of treason, punishable by lifetime imprisonment, and even execution.”

To Seulhee, this moment was like the scene of a dramatic play, carrying the weight of the , but once the words were said, it all fell into something closer to reality. People were tying the council members down with ropes while others muttered spells over them, to keep them bound should they somehow escape their physical bonds.

After a few moments of watching this all unfold, Seulhee remembered Sungjong’s words of advice and slipped out, headed on her way to the upper floors.