Please support the authors by reading the manhwas on the official websites. This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night I am also using doctor Frost as reference again. https://www.webtoons.com/en/mystery/dr-frost/list?title_no=371
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1. The imaginary sick person
I have to admit that I was initially disappointed by Yoon Seungho’s behavior in episode 108. One of the reasons is that he didn’t trust his lover, though he didn’t buy the doctor’s statement right away too. That’s the reason why he went to the maids and asked for their observations and opinion. 
(chapter 108) But then I changed my mind about the lord, for Yoon Seungho didn’t rely on just one testimony contrary to his father: 
(chapter 86) Finally, thanks to the argument in the shed, I had another revelation which I will explain more details below.
However, the protagonist’s huge mistake is that he trusted the maids’ words too. While one might judge the apology from the main lead as a sign of humbleness, I view it in a different light: it exposes his low self-esteem. 
(chapter 108) He blames himself for everything. For me, these women were lying to their master. Why do I think so? The first proof is that the painter’s fate is to go through the same experiences than his lover. And what did the valet admit in the shed? 
(chapter 108) There was not a soul in this household who was standing by his side back then and now! This signifies that there is not a soul in the mansion truly standing on the painter’s side as well!! Back then (before the massacre) and even now… Moreover, while these maids’ attachment was sincere 
(chapter 51)
(chapter 63), this doesn’t signify that it is the same for all the female servants. This would be just another prejudice. 
(chapter 108) Yes, this woman is not the same than the one from chapter 51, for her clothes diverge despite the same pigments. She is wearing a white ribbon around her waist. 
(chapter 108), whereas the other wears the belt more around the hips, hence her skirt has a bump on her butt. (chapter 108) Finally, pay attention to the form of her mouth. It doesn’t ooze warmth or joy, quite displeasure and mistrust. But let’s return to my initial statement, the staff was actually deceiving their own lord. 
(chapter 108) First, when the manhwalovers saw him in the kitchen, he was eating to his heart content and enjoying his breakfast. 
(chapter 38) Moreover, the painter had long stopped eating with the maids, he would share his meals with the main lead. 
(chapter 46) 
(chapter 74) This explicates why the artist returned the table with the porridge to the kitchen himself. 
(chapter 98) This means that they couldn’t witness how the artist would eat. To conclude, the statement from the staff was once again a mixture of truth and lies, for they were combining different situations together. Hence their apology was not genuine despite their gesture.
With their words (chapter 108), they admitted that they had been fooled themselves. At the same time, they implied that the painter has been hiding his discomfort all along, as he was only eating properly in front of his lover. Moreover, they insinuated that the painter’s laugh and smiles weren’t sincere at all. In other words, the lord’s eyes had been “deceived”, as the painter had been acting. This explicates why he took the blame and apologized to the staff. (chapter 108) He had not perceived the artist’s discomfort. Indirectly, they were putting the blame on the lord and Baek Na-Kyum. Nevertheless, they never stated that they had seen the painter vomiting. And now, observe that someone else had said the same thing about the artist in the past: 
(chapter 62) The painter had been faking his “submission”, hence the “valet” got fooled. He had trusted the artist blindly. Thus the lord got angry, and resented the butler, for he wished the opposite. He didn’t want to admit that the artist had been acting. Yet, the seed of doubt was implanted in his mind. Consequently, in episode 108, we have the exact same situation, yet contrary to the past, the lord didn’t get angry at his lover. He never condemned the painter for his dishonesty, though he was not truly lying either. To conclude, chapter 108 is a reflection from episode 62. Thus it dawned on me that the valet could have attempted to fool his master once again. The artist was a hypocrite, for he was acting in front of the lord hoping that he wouldn‘t cut ties with him. It was for his best interests to send back to the kisaeng house. Yet, nothing like that happened.
Yet, in reality, the artist had been eating properly, as we could see him glowing in this image, 
(chapter 104), a sign that he was recovering. But due to the two incidents during that day, Baek Na-Kyum had been feeling unwell and was hiding his discomfort out of fear of getting abandoned. This means that the deceivers were trying to portray the painter’s actual disposition as something unchanging. Since the painter had trouble with eating now, his eating disorder existed in the past. And this perception got reinforced, for the lord could notice afterwards that the maids’ statement had become a reality. What they had described, truly happened afterwards. Due to worries and anxieties, the artist lost his appetite. He would fake his “happiness”. The manhwalovers could witness how the painter had slimmed down
(chapter 108), just like his “husband”
. (chapter 108), a new version of episode 51. This time, the roles had been switched, the painter was sitting in the patio. To sum up, the schemers and the accomplices were creating a prejudice, a so-called universal truth. This is the negative reflection of season 1, where the gossips about Yoon Seungho were turned into a reality. In many of my previous analyses, I had outlined that these rumors about the protagonist had been false. 
(chapter 1) He couldn’t have a proper erection, and it was never his choice to have sex at any time and any place, because he was treated as a male kisaeng. And now, it is the painter’s turn. Gossips about him would become a verity. Yet the other difference to season 1 is that in season 4 the artist is exposed to the same “prejudices” than Yoon Seungho in the past: He is ill!! He needs to be treated and the “gibang” is the right place for that🤮. He would be with his noonas, a new version of the lord’s past. And now, you comprehend why father Yoon said this to the physician in chapter 57: 
(chapter 57) A single incident was turned into a generality, implying that it was the same in the past!! To conclude, the noble is put into the same situation than his own father, the only divergence is that Yoon Seungho has indeed the painter’s best interests in his heart. He is determined to provide him with the best!! Thus he blames himself contrary to the elder master Yoon.
2. Yoon Seungho’s believes
But why did Yoon Seungho choose to trust others instead of his loved one? In my eyes, there exist two reasons. First, let’s not forget that the lord has been hiding the truth from his partner, his action in the shaman’s house. He is worried, but he doesn’t desire to burden his loved one, hence he chose silence and secrecy. 
(chapter 104) This statement implies that the painter is responsible for the bloodbath, for he left the propriety. Yet, instead of confronting the painter, he was encouraged not to talk about the past. He was suggested that way, he would protect the artist’s mind and heart. Besides, his choice was influenced by his own anxieties. The lord fears argument, because the last time they had quarreled, the artist had threatened his lover to leave the place. 
(chapter 85) I would like my avid readers to keep in mind that the lord wished to keep the artist by his side, sending the artist back to the kisaeng house was just a temporary measure. 
(chapter 105), yet the painter had heard something different from his noona. 
(chapter 105) That’s how a misunderstanding was created, provoking the painter’s abandonment issues to resurface. The lord had selected secrecy and silence out of love for the artist. Therefore when the lord sensed Baek Na-Kyum’s agony, he could only jump to the conclusion that the painter was acting the same way than him. He was also hiding something from Yoon Seungho. That’s the reason why the lord didn’t argue with Baek Na-Kyum. 
(chapter 107) He imagined that the artist was doing it out of concern for the noble. He was projecting his own thoughts onto the artist.
Nonetheless, for me, the biggest cause for his mistake are his own believes, and more precisely the “rules” he was indoctrinated with. He might have dropped his suicidal disposition, yet his self-hatred was not solved entirely. Its source is based on the following principle: “bird of misfortune”. 
(chapter 68) According to this belief, the lord brings bad luck to others. This rule can only incite the main lead to doubt himself, to judge himself in a negative light, to doubt his own judgement. Moreover, the perfidy is that this principle pushes the protagonist to deny the existence of his own misery. It was, as though the lord had never suffered, only the others. This “faith” represents the biggest lie and hypocrisy. However, the main lead questioned this rule in front of Yoon Chang-Hyeon, (chapter 86), as he started putting the whole responsibility on the elder master and the ignorant servant. But due to the last massacre in the shaman’s house, Kim could use the painter’s suffering as the evidence of this “irrefutable truth”. Yoon Seungho brought misery to the painter. That’s the reason why Kim “suggested” his master to send Baek Na-Kyum away by proposing the opposite. Simultaneously, we have the explanation why the painter has abandonment issues again. Since their magical night in the gibang, Yoon Seungho and his lover are no longer sharing the same bed. 
(chapter 108) He remains seated by his side, because he is projecting his own reaction onto his loved one. Remember how Yoon Seungho reacted in the past with Lee Jihwa: he pushed his childhood friend away. 
(chapter 59) It was, as if Yoon Seungho feared to taint the painter by sleeping next to him. However, the artist’s biggest wish is to share the same bed than his lover. 
(chapter 97) To conclude, Yoon Seungho’s life is still influenced by a false cult, by propagandism. This faith is is based on Rene Girard’s theories about mimetic desire and scapegoat mechanism.
“Girard’s fundamental concept is ‘mimetic desire’. Ever since Plato, students of human nature have highlighted the great mimetic capacity of human beings; that is, we are the species most apt at imitation. However, according to Girard, most thinking devoted to imitation pays little attention to the fact that we also imitate other people’s desires, and depending on how this happens, it may lead to conflicts and rivalries. If people imitate each other’s desires, they may wind up desiring the very same things; and if they desire the same things, they may easily become rivals, as they reach for the same objects.” Quoted from https://iep.utm.edu/girard/#H3
According to the psychologist and anthropologist, rather than bringing people together, convergence gives rise to hostility. Humans aren’t violent by nature. Our nature is social. The tragedy is that, even without deliberate evil on anyone’s part, our social nature constantly pits us against each other. Thus the French philosopher developed the following revolutionary hypothesis: human culture began with religion, and religion arose from our species’ need to master its own violence. 
(chapter 250) Hence the man created the following theory which is inspired by religion.
“Girard calls this process ‘scapegoating’, an allusion to the ancient religious ritual where communal sins were metaphorically imposed upon a he-goat, and this beast was eventually abandoned in the desert, or sacrificed to the gods (in the Hebrew Bible, this is especially prescribed in Leviticus 16).The person that receives the communal violence is a ‘scapegoat’ in this sense: her death or expulsion is useful as a regeneration of communal peace and restoration of relationships.” Quoted from https://iep.utm.edu/girard/#SH3b
This means that the community deceives itself into believing that the victim is the culprit of the communal crisis, and that the elimination of the victim will eventually restore peace. 
(Doctor Frost, chapter 250). Under this new light, it becomes comprehensible why the author from Doctor Frost utilized the image of a black sheep as the future scapegoat. IT was selected, because it stood out. And you comprehend why Yoon Seungho became the target in the end. His good reputation attracted envy and jealousy.
(chapter 57) Why? It is because each noble family aspires to the same: power and wealth! 
(chapter 86) I had already detected father Lee’s jealousy and greed, just like Kim, Yoon Chang-Hyeon and Yoon Seungwon. The butler and the father might have desired the same (recognition and fame), but this could only end up in resulting in rivalry and jealousy.
“Scapegoating can happen to protect the image of the family or people who are favored in the family, not just the self. It is common for one person to be scapegoated, but it can happen with more than one person. Commonplace in families with unhealthy dynamics, scapegoating tends to start in childhood when children are blamed for all of the problems in dysfunctional households. The term “scapegoat” originates from the Bible. […] In addition, it results in an upbringing in which the scapegoated child’s inherent worth, goodness, and lovableness are ignored. Instead, insults, bullying, neglect, and abuse are deemed appropriate for the child forced into this position. […] Why a parent decides to scapegoat a child tends not to make any sense because this behavior is rooted in dysfunction. For example, a child who is sensitive, inquisitive, attractive, and smart might be perceived as a threat and scapegoated by a parent who lacks these qualities.” Quoted from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-the-family-scapegoat-5187038
As you can see, this article corroborates my perception of the elder master Yoon. Because the Yoons were a dysfunctional family, where the main lead was neglected by the mother, and the parents were alienated, Yoon Seungho was isolated, making him vulnerable. There is no doubt that the father just viewed his son as a tool for his own glory, it becomes understandable why the main lead lost very quickly his special status, when an incident occurred. The latter was definitely turned into an immutable truth, and Yoon Seungho had no one by his side to refute the deception. The lord’s good reputation could only be perceived as a threat by others. There is no doubt that it was the same for lord Haseon. 
(chapter 107) This explicates why Yoon Seungwon was mentioned by the man with the purple hanbok. He implied that the son might have been well educated, yet he must be lacking elsewhere: his sexual education…. as his other task is to have a heir. This means that by standing out, Yoon Seungwon caught the jealousy and envy from other yangbans, though I have my doubts if he truly passed the civil service exam first. In other words, it is better not to stand out.
But let’s return our attention to Yoon Seungho who became the scapegoat. Nonetheless, he didn’t die, because his mother had sacrificed herself for her son’s sake. To conclude, since the mother killed herself and her son survived, the main lead got blamed for everything. Consequently, I deduce that the same occurred to No-Name who is “lord Song” according to me. With each sacrifice or punishment, peace was restored, however this was just an illusion, for the lord got still abused and the “real lord Song” came to lose everything. Hence there is still resent, jealousy and desire for revenge, because no real justice was delivered. With Rene Girard’s theory “scapegoat mechanism”, we have the perfect explanation why Min would lust after the painter. It is because everyone was looking at the artist either out of jealousy or greed. Finally, this connection confirms my interpretation: religion plays a central role in this story. And the main lead is not questioning this psychological phenomenon. Why? I had already pointed out that Yoon Seungho had been exposed to brainwashing and was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. But how is it possible?
3. The birth of “brainwashing”
In order to answer that question, I will use Doctor Frost as a reference again. 
(Doctor Frost, chapter 183) Since deprogramming is like brainwashing, it signifies that for the brainwashing, the victim needs to be isolated and even imprisoned too. And in order to be effective, the target of the brainwashing has to be exposed to stress and lack of sleep.
(chapter 187) Fatigue and exhaustion are necessary in order to lower the target’s defense mechanisms. This explicates why it has to take place during the night, for the night is the time for humans to rest. Therefore the place of brainwashing is called “the fox’s hole” in Doctor Frost.
However, there is more to it. 
(Doctor Frost, chapter 187). 
(chapter 187) The Ganzfeld effect happens when you undergo sensory deprivation for some time, and your brain tries to make sense of what is happening. Just 15 minutes of sensory deprivation can induce vivid hallucinations, according to researchers. This process involves muffling the ears and blindfolding, so people are unable to see or hear. And note what had happened to Baek Na-Kyum during the abduction. His head had been covered 
(chapter 66), and according to me, while his head was covered, he got strangled. Hence he had this nightmare. 
(chapter 61) But he lost notion of time and chronology, hence his nightmare is not coherent. One feature of altered states of consciousness during Ganzfeld exposure is an altered sense of time. In general, regardless of the induction method, altered states of consciousness can be characterized by changes in the sense of self and time. But this can only happen, when the brain is deprived of stimulations. 
(chapter 187) I had already outlined that Yoon Seungho had lost not only the notion of time, but also all his senses. And the nightmare is displaying the evidence of the Ganzfeld exposure. Hence the young master viewed himself flying 
(chapter 74), and at the end his eyes and ears got covered by hands and blood. 
(chapter 74) Besides, he was trapped in the dark room which looked like the servants’ quarters. Only thanks to the painter, the lord could recover his own senses, slowly he became the owner of his own body again. In addition, remember what he said to his own father: 
(chapter 86) The darkness he was referring to is the indication of “Ganzfeld effect”. Because he was trapped in this nightmare, he lost the sense of reality. He had to rely on someone else’s senses and words. That’s how his memories got repressed and even distorted. Consequently, a new past could get recreated. That’s the reason why the lord had no memories for a long time. The valet was the “owner of the truth and as such of the time”. We could say that till the meeting with the painter, he possessed the lord’s memories. Besides, one of the side effects of scapegoating is becoming vulnerable to gaslighting.
“
- Trauma: Being deprived of a family’s love, singled out as the “bad one” in the household, and having one’s positive attributes overlooked can set up a child for a lifetime of emotional and psychological distress, where they struggle believing they are good, worthy, competent, or likable.
- Toxic relationships and environments: It can also result in these individuals entering friendships, romantic relationships, and working environments that are abusive and harmful.
- Normalizing dysfunctional behavior: Dysfunction and abuse often feel “normal” for family scapegoats, making it difficult for them to spot dangerous people and places before harm is done.
- Difficulties with boundaries: The fact that gaslighting is common in dysfunctional families makes it challenging for abused individuals to set boundaries and recognize when other people’s behavior crosses the line. They are more likely to believe that they are exaggerating, are being too sensitive, or can’t trust their judgement.
- Self-sabotage or self-harm: Scapegoats tend to internalize the harmful messages they’ve received about themselves from birth or early childhood onward. This could result in the child engaging in self-sabotage or self-harm, such as doing poorly in school, neglecting self-care, engaging in risky activities or behaviors, and acting out in ways that indicate they deserve the title of the scapegoat (even though no child does).Quoted from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-the-family-scapegoat-5187038
The information from Doctor Frost made me realize that the shed is the place where the main lead got brainwashed. This explicates why the main lead put a fire in the storage room, when the artist was brought there after the “fake abduction”. 
(chapter 62) Under this new light, it becomes comprehensible why the lord didn’t lose his whole sanity and as such didn’t fall completely into despair. The warmth and light served him as a guidance. Consequently, I deduce that in his childhood, he was trapped there in the dark for hours!! Because he was jailed in that room, he was exposed to the Ganzfeld effect. Therefore he relied on the valet’s words. 
(chapter 77) He trusted the butler, even after getting betrayed and abandoned each time. He developed blind faith in the butler. Why? It is because he was the only one “talking to him”. Though he wounded him so many times, he still remained by the lord’s side. That’s the reason why I come to the conclusion that the shed is not just a room for punishment, but also for “faith”, the place where the scapegoat was placed: “
(chapter 77) That’s the reason why he got treated like an animal. This is no coincidence that in the storage room, the butler utilized such a religious vocabulary: “I do not believe” 
(chapter 62); “beg”, “trust” a synonym for faith, 
“soul”, ” (chapter 108) “Save” 
(chapter 108) Moreover, I would like to outline that the main lead was seen sitting while looking up 
(chapter 83) It looks like Yoon Seungho was praying, when Lee Jihwa opened the door. This means that Yoon Seungho has been treating Kim as his idol, his highest priest. Besides, doctor Frost explained why people become victims of brainwashing. 
(doctor Frost, chapter 191). This description fits to the shed, the lord was not only cornered mentally, but also physically.
But since the shed plays such an important role in the story, I wondered why the storage room from the mansion was not shown in season 1 [As a reminder, for me, in chapter 1, the painter was brought to father Lee’s propriety] That’s how I recalled this scene, the butler standing in front of the gate of the barn. 
(chapter 32) What was he doing there, and why was he looking at the bedchamber? It is because he imagined that after the sex session, Yoon Seungho would send the painter to the shed as a punishment for his desertion. Let’s not forget that during the day, the whole staff had been beaten by their master. Besides, I would like to point out that the staff in season 3 viewed the painter as a spoiled brat, for he was receiving the lord’s favors. 
(chapter 98) Consequently, I deduce that when the valet got punished in season 3, he portrayed the painter as a tattler for that reason. He didn’t want to become the scapegoat in the end. 
(Chapter 77) At the same time, receiving treatment from the physician, Kim could say that the lord regretted his decision. These new discoveries reinforce my prediction that the painter is doomed to become the next scapegoat!! Yet, chance is on the couple’s side. On the other hand, this signifies that someone will have to become sacrificed!
4. The priest and his disciple’s discussion
Now it is time to focus on the argument between the butler and the surrogate son. While many viewed this discussion as something positive, for the butler cried (chapter 108) and apologized to the noble 
(chapter 108) for his wrong choices, I come to the opposite interpretation. Naturally, if the manhwalovers compare the butler’s apology in the shed to the one in the library, 
(chapter 77) it really looks like Kim is sincere. He is no longer standing, he is now weeping. Finally, he is not blaming someone else (the kisaeng), but himself. 
(chapter 108) Nevertheless, for me, everything is an illusion, and you can only detect the manipulations, the moment you examine closely Kim’s words.
First, it starts with the butler’s statement. 
(chapter 108) Kim feigned ignorance, and the lord confronted him with his lie, he admits that in reality he knew something. 
(chapter 108) He had not told him about the shaman’s house on purpose. He had hidden the truth by omission. He justified his decision by using the “townsfolk” and their liking of creating gossips. However his real task was to protect his lord’s interest and inform him about everything. He made a decision without his lord’s permission, and as such he usurped his authority. He acted, as if he knew what was the best for Yoon Seungho. But this doesn’t end. What infuriated me the most are these two declarations:
- : While many judged the confession from Kim about his constant betrayal and abandonment as something positive, I paid more attention to the second sentence: “I’ll regret”. He is employing the future and not the present tense. This stands in opposition to Lee Jihwa’s regret:
(chapter 61) The red-haired master utilized the present perfect tense, which is a combination of the past and present!! This time reveals that the young man was about to move on. On the other hand, the butler is either referring to the past and to the future, but not to the now! This means, he has no regret right now. He is projecting himself in the future. He implies “regret”, but he is not truly admitting it. Finally, when the childhood friend came to regret his choice, he voiced it outside the barn!! 
(chapter 61) This contrast outlines that the storage room is the place of illusion or false faith. 
(chapter 108): Here, my blood was literally boiling, when I read his second “confession”, because here he was now omitting Yoon Seungho. It was, as if the protagonist was not existing. His words were actually reflecting a new betrayal towards the main lead. Here, he was vowing loyalty to Baek Na-Kyum and not to Yoon Seungho!! He insinuated that if he was taking care of the painter, he was protecting Yoon Seungho’s interests. However, the artist and the noble are two different persons. Imagine the following situation: The main lead gets arrested for “murder”, the butler could justify his vanishing, passivity and silence by saying that he needs to take away the painter from the mansion so that the latter avoids getting into trouble as well. As you can see, he would keep his promise, but he would sacrifice Yoon Seungho. With his words, he was insinuating that he only had two choices: the elder master Yoon or the painter. Besides, once the lord were to be removed, Kim could put the whole blame on the painter afterwards. If he had not left the house… That’s the reason why I viewed the last statement as the biggest treason. In reality, he was not vowing loyalty to the main lead. This scene was a reflection from episode 30, where the artist had pledged loyalty to the main lead 
(chapter 30) and this in front of people. This explicates why the butler got grabbed in the storage room 
(chapter 108) like the painter in the courtyard. 
(chapter 30) We could say that it was the butler’s karma for his past manipulation. He had been the one who had encouraged the painter to flee the mansion (chapter 29/30). But this doesn’t end here. When the artist vowed his loyalty to the protagonist in the courtyard, the latter was present, which is not the case here. The artist is left in the dark. (chapter 108) He has no idea about the valet’s oath. Therefore we should consider it as inexistent. This means, if the painter got arrested, the valet could put the blame on the artist and say that he is trying to protect the lord’s interests, to save his skin. That’s the reason why I consider this confession from the butler as a huge sign of his culpability and dishonesty. Moreover, he is not feeling any remorse.
Besides, note that he never admitted that he truly cared for Baek Na-Kyum, he simply suggests it. 
(chapter 108) Where is the personal pronoun “I” here? Nowhere. Only the lord cares for the painter, this was the butler’s declaration in the end. But what about the tears? How could he fake the crying?
First, the author never let us see the valet’s eyes and not even his mouth. The tears were implied with the sound “hic” and the drops of water falling onto the ground: (chapter 108) My avid readers will certainly recall the following rule which the story is based on. Each scene will be reflected in a previous season. 
(chapter 81) When the lord had wounded his lover, when he was in a dissociative state, he had perspired so much that his sweat was falling like tears!! As you can see, fear could be the reason why drops of water were falling. Let’s not forget that the main lead had treated Kim very harshly and even threatened to have him killed, something he had never done before. 
(chapter 108) Kim had reasons to get scared and to sweat.
Besides, note how the valet keeps switching Yoon Seungho’s title (either young master 
, chapter 108, or my lord ), a sign that he is not truly recognizing him as his real lord. One might refute my interpretation, because Kim voiced regrets in this scene. 
(chapter 108) However, the manhwalover should question this. Why did he regret that day? It is because he had revealed his true thoughts about Yoon Seungho to the painter, and he got reprimanded from the artist. Besides, according to me, he had hoped that the artist would leave the mansion due to the altercation. In addition, when he mentioned this scene, he wanted to appear as honest, because he had no idea if the artist had leaked this conversation to Yoon Seungho. Finally, just because he told the truth here, we shouldn’t judge the butler’s confession as verity. To conclude, for me, the valet was not really remorseful, he was more acting.
One might argue that my interpretation about Yoon Seungho was wrong. It was his choice to live in debauchery, as it admitted it in the shed. 
(chapter 108) However, this is another illusion which can be easily refuted. 
(chapter 108) This memory is the same than the painter’s (chapter 1). However, this is not possible, for the painter had never gone to the main lead’s mansion before. He had this memory, when he met him at the inn for the first time. This vision was a reference to the gibang. But note that in the lord’s statement, he never mentioned the kisaeng house. He only invited the nobles to his “bedchamber”. The words don’t match the picture. This admission was actually exposing the manipulation, a fake memory… the “traces of brainwashing”. Besides, the manipulator had employed the same MO like mentioned above. Since it happened once (chapter 8), then it was the same in the past. Because we saw guests in the lord’s mansion, we could be tempted to assume that this represents Yoon Seungho’s true past. Concerning the painting, Kim just needed to explain why lord Yoon had barged in his mansion. He had sent the painting to his father to provoke him. 
(chapter 108) In other words, the butler had acted on his own, and informed his master afterwards, when this information was necessary in order to protect himself. As you already know, for me, the butler had definitely acted on his own. But why does Kim need to deform reality so much? It is because he was present, when the young boy was abused sexually and he did nothing. He needs to erase the “traces” of the rape so that his culpability will not come to the surface. Just like the painter, Yoon Seungho has totally forgotten the sexual abuse. Besides, he never mentioned the incidents about the shed to the painter, only the bedchamber. 
(Chapter 87) Here, he was already hiding his guilt by turning Yoon Chang-HYeon into the main culprit. He is responsible for the lord’s suffering.
But the problem is that Yoon Seungho is escaping more and more from his claws, and his manipulations are now turned more and more against him!! The reason why I was first disappointed is that the young master was not able to detect the contradiction. He had accepted the butler’s version as a truth from his past
(chapter 68), but he had heard a different story from the painter. 
(chapter 93) However, now I understand why Yoon Seungho was not able to discern the hypocrisy from the assistant. 
(chapter 188) It is related to the long brainwashing he was exposed for so many years and the lord’s low self-esteem. Thus I perceive this argument in the storage room as a new version of episode 40, a confrontation between the painter and the scholar. But who had been defeated in the shed? Yoon Seungho was still the loser, for he kept his distance from his lover afterwards. 
(chapter 108) He was making sure that no one would know that the painter was his weakness. 
(chapter 108) The new version of episode 50-51!! However, this was totally pointless, for the painter was living his bedchamber. His position was the proof that the painter was still favored, though the artist feared to be abandoned by the painter.
I am now full of optimism. Why? It is because Yoon Seungho’s role is to remove all the painter’s wounds from his heart and mind! Don’t forget that in season 1, the main lead was the painter’s emancipator. And as a reward for his good deed, the lord’s last rule will be removed. How can this happen`?
(doctor Frost, chapter 187) This means that the couple has to communicate and the painter will interrogate his lover. 
(chapter 187) But this deprogramming is not pleasant, for the destruction of believes leads the victim to question everything afterwards. What caught my attention is that the painter went to the library, the symbol for “knowledge and education” which stands in opposition to the shed. This is no coincidence. Brainwashing is the antonym for insight. 
(chapter 108) In addition, the lord was dressed like in episode 36, he had the green hanbok. 
(chapter 36) Back then, the painter didn’t talk to the owner of the mansion. Finally, this episode is connected to the lord’s memories: 
(chapter 36) That’s how I had this revelation. The lord’s suffering is also linked to the library. From my perspective, the young master was dragged from the library to the shed at some point. 
(chapter 77) I had already pointed out that in episode 77, the main lead had been dragged on multiple occasions, for he was dressed differently, and the servants would be different. Because I had described that the lord’s mind had been manipulated by indoctrination and the butler had confessed, I deduce that the next episode will contain elements from episode 48/49. 
(chapter 49) That’s the moment the painter dropped the last principle from the scholar and kisaeng. For me, something similar will take place, but such a deprogramming is painful. From my point of view, Jung In-Hun will be mentioned, as in the same place, the scholar had mentioned the painter’s past and future. 
(chapter 40) 
(chapter 40) Since the shed embodies the valet’s betrayal, the lord voiced his abandonment issues there. On the other hand, the library symbolizes the teacher’s abandonment. This is not random. Baek Na-Kyum can not read, the symbol of the learned sir’s negligence. Hence I am expecting a new confession from the artist, like this scene: 
(Tweet) So far, the artist has never spoken ill of the teacher. To conclude, the library is the place where both protagonists will experience a new liberation! For me, episode 108 and 109 are focused on education, responsibility, memories and truth. That’s the reason why I am suspecting that the painter’s words will trigger the lord’s memories so that the verity about his own past will come to the surface.
Before closing this essay, I would like to point out two other thoughts. The storage room has another symbolism. It is connected to wealth and gathering. This would explain why Kim likes the storage room, indicating his materialistic side, and Yoon Seungho was his bird of fortune, for the former came to enjoy a good life. As you already know, he became the true owner of the mansion, the “ghost lord”. Finally, I would like to outline a detail which caught my attention: the jar in the shed with a new lit. (chapter 108) What is this jar doing there? It was not present, when the painter was kept captive there. 
(chapter 62) My avid readers will certainly recall my theory that a corpse was hidden in jar!! In other words, I am more than ever convinced that there’s still a corpse hidden in the mansion. This is important, because this represents the condition for the appearance of the scapegoat mechanism. Someone has to take the fall for the schemers and accomplices.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My Reddit-Instagram-Tumblr-Twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
(chapter 105) „Thank god, he didn’t see nor hear a thing about that awful matter“. This is what Heena said in the original version. [Here I would like to thank my follower @katamins again for her help] 
(chapter 105) He desired to spare his heart. To conclude, “that awful matter” is referring to the whole prank and its consequences.
(Chapter 97) At the same time, the idiom includes the staff‘s tricks as well: the corpse in front of the gate and the maids‘ badmouthing 
(Chapter 97) 
(Chapter 104) However, he had been silenced by his lover, when the latter suggested to him to view everything as a nightmare. The lord made the mistake not to listen to the victim and witness. 
(chapter 105) With such a contrast, the manhwalovers can detect the link between ignorance and absence of memories. To conclude, in both versions, the main lead is “lying” out of ignorance. This is the positive version of “ignorance is a blessing”. Hence the noona thinks herself safe.
(Chapter 99) It was clear that her brother would meet the noble, as their meeting didn’t surprise her. She was more upset that Baek Na-Kyum was unconscious. 
(chapter 99) However, her question „What’s wrong with Na-Kyum?“ divulges her hypocrisy and acting. How could she not realize that her sibling had been beaten? 
(Chapter 99) His head was bleeding, and the black guards were carrying sticks. It was clear that his state was not caused by an illness. To conclude, the calling “lord Jihwa” is the proof of her complicity, though in front of Yoon Seungho it serves as an excuse to portray herself as a victim. 
(chapter 105) Thus I deduce that Heena thinks, the painter could not witness her acting in front of the scholar’s house, for his head was turned around and he was not moving. She feels secure concerning that night, while I am expecting the opposite. Nonetheless, her past behavior in the kisaeng house represents a source of danger for her. That’s the reason why she has to hide the “attempted murder” from her brother. The moment Heena mentions that she has been hurt, the painter won’t believe her. Why? It is because in the kisaeng house, he has not forgotten her words: 
(chapter 97) Even if she was “fooled”, the artist can only reproach her stupidity. Remember her harsh words, she had called him stupid: 
(chapter 97) She had helped Min, and she can not claim ignorance. As you can see, Yoon Seungho was encouraged to hide the “attempted murder” from Baek Na-Kyum for selfish reasons. Therefore it is no coincidence that when the lord visited Heena, he made sure that his lover wouldn‘t see Heena in bed. 
(chapter 105) She has now the perfect excuse to avoid nobles. She has been hurt, hence she can not work. The lord never questioned her attitude, for he wished himself that the painter would take a rest and remain in bed. 
(Chapter 104) This explicates why later the lord was hugging his lover under the cover. 
(Chapter 104) Hence I conclude that Heena must have thought the same way about Yoon Seungho. „Thank god, he didn’t see or hear a thing about that awful matter“. He has no idea about her altercations with her brother in the kisaeng house. It is important, because our beloved seme has the impression that the noona has her brother’s best interests at heart, but actually he is wrong. In my opinion, the relationship between Heena and his lover serves as a mirror to his relationship with Yoon Seungwon. So far, the young noble doesn’t suspect his brother to have betrayed him. Note that he blames his father more than his younger sibling. 
(chapter 105) Yet, this incident was presented as Yoon Seungho’s memory. This panel could be used as an evidence that my theory, Heena was present next to the shaman’s shrine during the bloodbath, was wrong. Nonetheless, this image didn’t make me change my mind. Why? I paid attention to details and judged this rescue as “fake” again. The servants had a drop of sweat on their face, the symbol for deception. Secondly, the kisaeng was wet, while the staff’s clothes weren’t damp. How did they save her then? Besides, where are the foot prints? Moreover, where was the head cover? 
(chapter 99) Finally, her hands and feet were not tied. So where did the items go? Since we saw her “execution”, we are the witnesses, and as such we know the truth about that “awful matter”, but it is not the case for the lord. This image contains so many errors, hence it can not reflect reality. 
(chapter 103) Hence he could have never been outside the mansion. That’s how I realized that the author was presenting us a false memory. This means that the manhwalovers are facing an implanted memory. But how could this happen? First, false memory is quite normal and is often of no consequence. But a false memory relayed during criminal testimony might lead to the conviction of an innocent person. As the manhwalovers can detect, it represents a serious problem. 
(chapter 58), it makes him particularly vulnerable to false memories. 
(chapter 104), the lord and even the readers imagined to see medicine in the white bowl! 
(chapter 105) Besides, the author had always connected the drug with the tray. 
(chapter 23) As you can see, the readers interpreted this scene due to associations. Nonetheless, like mentioned in the previous analysis, the different color and the traces on the edge were the evidences that it was ink. 
(chapter 36) Besides, Heena was in bed indicating that she was still weak. The circumstances led people to have a different perception of “verity”!! Only through the mind’s eye, the manhwalovers can detect that this scene was staged. 
(chapter 103) The protagonist projected his own thoughts and emotions onto one servant: shock! 
(chapter 61) This was interference by excellence. Besides, emotions can affect your memories. Since the lord was so under shock after witnessing the painter’s unconsciousness, it is not surprising that he imagined to have witnessed this scene. At the same time, when he left the shrine in trance, he could have overlooked the presence of a third person… similar to Lee Jihwa next to the shed. That’s how he doesn’t recall anything from that night except his crime. He didn’t see and hear the person by his side. Where is the sword? Where did he get the hanbok from?
(chapter 102) Therefore it is not astonishing that he imagined a similar scenery. 
(chapter 1) This shows that the artist had only heard his name without seeing his face before. This explicates why the main lead’s gaze and facial expressions were similar 
(chapter 1) 
(chapter 1) 
(chapter 103) 
(chapter 104) My avid readers can certainly recall the rule I had detected: each chapter will be reflected in the next! 
(chapter 105) How is it possible? Especially, when the painter said this: 
(chapter 94) Furthermore, the painter is associating the learned sir to the moon and as such the night. 
(chapter 94) Thus I am now suspecting that this image 
is a false memory. But I have another reason to think that the painter’s idolization was more the result of “brainwashing” and as such “false memories”. 
(chapter 105) How can she date this incident so precisely? The moment I read her testimony, I discovered that in episode 94 the author had never shown us the painter crying! 
(chapter 94) 
(chapter 94) 
(chapter 94) It was, as if the noonas had never been informed about the painter’s suffering and tears. This shows that Heena has been hiding many things from her colleagues. But there is more to it! The manhwaphiles saw the artist’s tears in his childhood. 
(chapter 68) But here he was much older!! Under this new perspective, I realized that the following image could have been a false memory: 
(chapter 68) Heena was misremembering that night, and she was misattributing the painter’s tears. In other words, she was confusing two incidents.
(chapter 105) It is the same facial expression, though the redness around the eyes is more pronounced. This observation confirms that the noona’s memories in the kisaeng 
(chapter 86), so the painter must have made a similar experience. In my analysis “
(chapter 105) He had run after his lover in socks. While in “Baek Na-Kyum’s foot”, I thought that this memory was true, I come now to a different signification. It was a false memory in order to hide a crime related to Heena. I would like to outline that in the kisaeng’s comment, we have the notion of “shame” and as such “guilt”. First, I thought of rape, but then it could be much simpler. The painter could have witnessed his noona having sex with the learned sir. But because he was too young, he misjudged the situation… as a virgin, she had to bleed. Because he saw blood, he imagined that the learned sir had hurt Heena. This would explain why the artist was afterwards anxious around the teacher. One might think that this is not terrible. But let’s not forget that as a kisaeng, she can not have sex like that. 
(chapter 105) 
(chapter 96) A similar situation had happened in the past.But because of her brother’s reaction, his huge tears, she got scared. 
(chapter 68) Through suggestions, she had been able to convince her brother that the learned sir was a nice person. This explicates why the caresses and hugs were used to silence the artist. By repeating to her brother, he liked Jung In-Hun, he came to develop such feelings. The kisaeng’s statement implies that the admiration for the teacher was not constant. 
(chapter 46) A change of heart versus “eternity”. This shows that the painter’s decision to go to the learned sir’s house was never his choice. He had simply followed Heena’s suggestion. She was definitely distorting his past. Furthermore I detected a strong connection between love and memory. 
(chapter 94) If it is a loved one, then it can only be a good memory. Therefore it is not surprising that by saying constantly saying that the painter likes the scholar, he is repressing the bad memories with the scholar (the beating in episode 34, the betrayal in chapter 29, his words in the library and his reproach about his job). So far, he only mentioned one negative incident. 
(chapter 105) In the original version, this is what the artist thought: 
(chapter 76) So while the painter was following his lover, the latter turned around and hugged him. Afterwards, he asked him to go to his noonas, for he needed to talk to Heena. Moreover, contrary to Yoon Seungho, Baek Na-Kyum paid attention to time. He was not lost in thoughts or had lost the sense of time
(chapter 105) But the latter acted, as if his hand was not wounded. 
(chapter 105) He ignored his physical pain and heartache.
(chapter 105) This is important, because the stumbling symbolizes the intervention of the gods… We have the perfect example at the end of season 3. The lord fell on his knees in front of the scholar’s house, hence there is a hand print on the snow. 
(chapter 100) That’s how he refused to view Lee Jihwa as the murderer of his lover, Baek Na-Kyum”. YES, the falling is the real manifestation of CHANCE! How so? I would like the manhwaphiles to keep in mind that chance is the antonym of trick and scheme! The latter are connected to plan and organization. Thus I come to the conclusion that the noble will decide to go to the doctor’s office in order to treat his lover’s hand. 
(chapter 57) he was feverish so that he couldn’t pay attention to the physician. Besides, the man never remained by his side. Finally, in episode 74, the man never left the office!! 
(chapter 74) I conclude that Yoon Seungho never saw the physician for commoners! Besides, I doubt that he remembers him from his childhood. But this is not the same, when Baek Na-Kyum was ill. He met the other doctor twice. 
(chapter 33) 
(chapter 103) On the other hand, the artist assumes that the man in the office is Yoon Seungho’s doctor!! He heard his confession: 
(chapter 57) There exist two physicians in the city at least. That’s how a part of the truth will come to the surface! And who had fetched the doctor? 
(chapter 103) The staff… I would like to outline that in this panel, Kim was no longer seen next to the couple. 
(chapter 105) So where did he vanish? Probably to the mansion, for he had to warn the domestics that the artist would be returning! But if he left the couple behind, this means that he can’t witness what Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum will do next. And if they don’t go to the doctor, there is no ambiguity that the main lead will send for the doctor again. But according to me, the man disappeared. 
(chapter 103) To conclude, I am expecting that Yoon Seungho will make a huge discovery in the next episode… just like the painter did in the gibang. 
(chapter 101) so that he could put the blame on his “friend”. But the problem is that he was caught red-handed. Hence he ended up executed. On the other side, the corpse in the well was supposed to be Deok-Jae 
(chapter 98), although he was wearing clothes similar to the learned sir’s. What caught my attention is the expression Yoon Seungho employed: “pretending”. With such an idiom, he was implying that the servant had not only violated social norms, but also he had been acting. As you can sense, these two situations have one common denominator: playing a role and the clothes served as a disguise. It was, as if both victims of a murder had been playing in a theater play. This explicates why in the fanart, the author is portraying Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho as actors who are working in a sageuk. 
And this made me think of the famous poem from Shakespeare who describes life as a stage, where a person plays different roles all along his life: an infant, a school boy, a lover, a soldier, etc., until he dies, which is symbolized by an eternal sleep. 
(chapter 98) Why? From my point of view, they were trying to scare the main lead, to remind him that he could never replace Jung In-Hun in the painter’s heart, to shake his belief. But the problem is that the schemers had missed the right timing, for the artist had already confessed his love for Yoon Seungho and this twice. Therefore the latter couldn’t doubt his lover’s words, and mistake it for an illusion. As a conclusion, the clothes were used tools to trick the couple, they had become costumes!! However, because the author is using karma as poetic justice, this signifies that the hanboks and shirts can serve as a clue to perceive the truth too. The ones who tried to deceive the protagonists with clothes and words, should be fooled by their own manipulations. 
were different from the head-maid and her colleague? 
(chapter 94) Their clothes were almost identical, yet their body shapes and the cut of the shirts diverged. That’s the reason why I deduced that in episode 98, the author had the intention to manipulate the manhwaphiles. But in order to escape the trap, the readers needed to look carefully at the characters’ clothes. This was the clue that Byeonduck had left for the readers to discern the truth. And now, look at this: 
(chapter 98) What was the painter wearing on his way to the bedchamber? White pants with his Mountbatten pink jacket. But how did he show up at the learned sir’s home? 
(chapter 98) He was dressed differently. 😮 He had changed his pants, put on his scarf and hat. But when he went to the lord’s study, he was not carrying them!! How do we explain the difference? The answer is quite simple. He had returned to his room in order to fetch his clothes. And since Baek Na-Kyum took the lord’s clothes, this signifies that he had the intention to return to the domain. The readers will certainly recall the artist’s behavior, when he had threatened the main lead to leave Yoon Seungho. He had switched his clothes, and put on his old clothes. 
(chapter 98) Thus if the lord had gone to the study, he would had realized that the painter had not deserted the propriety, for he had not taken his belongings with him. The hat and scarf were signalizing that Baek Na-Kyum considered himself as a member of the Yoons‘ household.
(rule 3) If only Yoon Seungho had left a word… The servants served as his messenger. Hence I am convinced that Baek Na-Kyum must have talked to the maids and told them where he was going!! He copied his lover, yet contrary to him, he must have given a precise information. (Rule 5) This means that he had informed the staff about his departure!! Moreover, in chapter 98, the maids acted, as if they had not detected the painter’s presence while badmouthing Yoon Seungho. 
(chapter 98) Hence they were portrayed without eyes and with a drop of sweat on their face, a sign for deception. So the negative reflection would be that Baek Na-Kyum had informed the maids, and he had gone to the kitchen for that reason. From my point of view, when he met them, he was already wearing his hat and scarf. To sum up, the artist had never left the maids in the dark. And the clothes are the evidence of the staff’s lie. 
(chapter 100) And now observe that after Lee Jihwa’s departure, the artist’s clothes except the white shirt vanished too. 
(chapter 102) Where did they go? The readers saw Black Heart leaving the building, but we should question this: WHY? He never went there to fetch lord Shin, since he abandoned him outside. We all imagined that he left the room empty-handed. But it is true? Now, I don‘t think so. He had to get rid of the clothes in order to mislead the main lead!! A new version of chapter 61 
and
97! Furthermore, was Min talking to himself, when he said this? 
(chapter 101) Because the readers could detect the presence of a shadow in episode 102 
, I am now envisioning that Min was not alone outside during that night. In fact, someone had misled Black Heart telling him that lord Jihwa had ran away. However, the unconscious lord Shin should have made him think that Lee Jihwa had fought back… Hence he had not fled, rather betrayed them. Moreover, he was not looking at the direction of the entrance and gate. In fact, he was turning his gaze in the direction to the shrine. 
(chapter 102) Since he had informed Yoon Seungho through the maids about his whereabouts, Baek Na-Kyum was expecting that he would come to his side. I would like the manhwalovers to keep in their mind that the artist was not conscious, when he moved to the shaman’s house. So in his mind, he was not far away from the learned sir’s house. Finally, since he had informed the maids, he could anticipate that the lord wouldn’t get mad at him, and wouldn‘t imagine that he had abandoned him 
(chapter 101) He trusted his lover’s heart in the end. That’s the reason why Black Heart’s superficial promise had no effect on Baek Na-Kyum. The latter truly believed that Yoon Seungho had been informed. But how could they play such a trick on the couple?
(chapter 86) He had witnessed the argument between the couple by hiding behind the door. Thus in chapter 103, Kim will get the shock of his life… and it is the same for the maids. Yoon Seungho is returning with the painter. And the new trailer reveals that when the lord opened the door, adomestic was standing next to a maid. 
This is an indication of their involvement, though we need to discern the head-maid from the women in chapter 98. That’s the reason why the moment the maid appears, observe her clothes and try to discern her identity. Is this the head-maid or one maid from season 3? The preview displayed the arrival of the doctor. 
(chapter 103) 
The form of the beard is also similar. But now, I have another evidence that this doctor from season 4 is not the physician from season 2!!! 
(chapter 63) The shoes are also different! That’s the reason why in the trailer, the beholders are seeing the physician’s shoes!! 
He doesn’t possess mituri like the other. Moreover, he is wearing a hanbok under his apron 
, while the other is dressed more like a commoner, a shirt with pants. And note that in chapter 33, we had the following combination: Min’s party, the visit of the doctor, Baek Na-Kyum’s illness, the maids and Yoon Seungho who “ran away” after his mistake. (rule 1 and 4) 
(chapter 33) And what had Kim done during his examination? He had not only threatened the physician 
(chapter 33), afterwards he had even badmouthed him, for he had not given the correct diagnosis. 
(chapter 33) However, here the butler had simply lied to hide his own wrongdoings: his passivity and silence. And note the doctor’s words addressed to the “beholder”: 
(chapter 57) The latter was introduced to Yoon Chang-Hyeon through the butler. The protagonist must have had a doctor in the past. Can you imagine a life without a doctor for 13 years? And this assumption was proven correct after the release. But let’s return our attention to the physician from season 4. 
(chapter 33) (rule 1-2-3) But why would he do such a thing? Simply, because he had been helping Min. He needed the protection of a powerful lord, since Kim had abused his position by threatening him. After seeing the new pictures from chapter 103, I had this sudden revelation. What did Min do after getting beaten by Yoon Seungho? 
(chapter 54) He certainly didn’t let his wounds untreated. Thus the next morning his face 
(chapter 56) looked much better. He had no swelling and the redness was already vanishing. From my point of view, he asked for the doctor’s assistance and that’s how the both came to an understanding. But since Min is now dead, the physician could get into trouble, for he helped the lord and now he is dead. But why am I so sure that the physician is about to run away? Look at all these images: 
(chapter 44) 
(chapter 44) 
(chapter 45) 
(chapter 100) 
They are all carrying the white bag on their back… and they are about to depart! Kim wished to leave the propriety with his master under the pretense that he was bringing misfortune to the painter. All this proves that the doctor is far from being innocent. Hence he wishes to run away. However, if he does this, this means that he exits the “play”. So he could die. Moreover, how did he know that the lord would return to the mansion with the wounded painter? I can not answer to this question with certainty. However, I would like to point out that since Min talked to someone in the shadow, it is very likely that this person had long planned Black Heart and his friend’s demise. Nonetheless, the schemers had not foreseen two three elements: 
(chapter 61) [For more read the essay “No matter what… Baek Na-Kyum must vanish”]
(chapter 59) Lord Jang had disguised himself as Black Heart’s friend, the hanboks looked very similar. 
(chapter 99) 
(chapter 59) The schemers mistook him for the noble with the mole.
(chapter 76) And this observation leads me to present the following theory: father Lee is definitely involved in this new trick! The drama has not ended yet. Why? According to my theory, these domestics didn’t belong to Yoon Seungho’s staff 
(chapter 61), for the colors grey-white off are only seen at the Lee’s. 
(chapter 9) 
(chapter 18, Lee Jihwa’s spy) 
(chapter 41) 
(chapter 50) 
(chapter 100) And now compare these servants to the staff from chapter 97: 
(chapter 33) Yet, the painter survived, hence the doctor has every reason to run away. His complicity could come to light… on the other hand, the moment he leaves Yoon Seungho’s side, he is no longer protected. The reason is simple. He owns a part of the truth, and what the schemers are attempting to do is the exact opposite: burying the truth so that their act is not discovered. And now who participated in this huge “drama”? The list of the suspects is quite long… Father Lee 
(chapter 82), lord Yoon Chang-Hyeon
(chapter 86), the other physician 
(chapter 74), “lord Song” 
(chapter 83), the “fake servant” alias the king (for me) 
(chapter 37) There is no doubt that a tailor was involved, for he had to create similar clothes, the costumes …
(chapter 64) All have one common denominator: the BEARD. They are OLD BEARDED MEN! 
He is on the ground, his face bruised and bloody, while he is asking an anonymous man for help. He is mentioning the shrine. As he is wearing the same hanbok, we can definitely assume that this scene takes place during the same night. The irony is that each time Byeonduck offers a new piece of a puzzle, she also creates a new riddle or mystery. How did the young master get wounded in the first place? And who is the person facing lord Shin? 
(Chapter 59)
(chapter 66) The size and length of the protections and the cords around the pants were different. Besides, the masks were also different due to the form of the mouth.. 
(Chapter 61) 
(chapter 61) Finally, I had also detected his presence next to the barn because of a time jump. First, the manhwaphiles saw Lee Jihwa sitting on the floor, 
(Chapter 60), then shortly after he was standing at the entrance of the storage room holding a fireplace poker! 
(chapter 60) His position indicated that the young master had shortly left the building. However, the readers had not witnessed his move, for the author had diverted their attention by exposing the character‘s inner thoughts. He was recollecting the past, while talking to himself. 
(chapter 60) However, how did the fire poker end up in his own hand? The last time this tool was seen, it was in the kitchen. 
(chapter 60) As you can see, each image has its importance! However, I doubt that the upset aristocrat had this sudden idea and returned to the kitchen and take the fire iron. His mind and heart were definitely elsewhere, while such an action exposes the intention of hurting someone. Jihwa was acting, as if he was in trance, the moment he saw the hickey and heard the painter’s scream. His long lasting stupor was visible in this image. 
(chapter 60) That’s the reason why I had developed the theory that someone was hiding in the shadow, next to the barn and observing the evolution of the event. [For more read the essay “
(chapter 57) It is because they serve as a clue for unveiling the truth. 
(chapter 62) It is the same furnace! 😨We all assume that the lord prepared the fireplace, because he put his clothes on his lover. But is it true? We were all jumping to this conclusion, but actually we never saw it. Our brain was led to fill the blanks. 
(chapter 61) Finally, the readers were all assuming that the butler had never entered the storage room due to this image and his action before.
(chapter 61) But is it true? He could have opened the door before, and go to the lord in order to explain his intervention. Faking his concerns for the painter. Why would he place the fireplace there? He wished that the warmth from the fire would wake up the painter. Hence he remained close to the gate of the storage room. That way, he had a reason to visit his master. Moreover, the author exposed that the valet had been keeping an eye on his master for a while too. 
(chapter 62) Because the valet went to his master, we got the impression that the valet had followed his master’s instructions. 
(chapter 61) In fact, this request could be perceived differently. The lord had seen the butler’s intervention, hence he expressed this wish. From my point of view, the butler must have brought the fireplace to the barn, and he left the poker there on purpose. I am quite certain that some people will think that I am again exaggerating. But why did the butler put a fireplace with a fire iron in the lord’s room, when the coal was not properly lit? 
(chapter 86) Compare the fire to this one: 
(chapter 88) Consequently, I am suspecting that Kim had expected an outburst from Yoon Seungho. The latter could hurt his father with the fire iron. But none of this happened, for the lord preferred playing a comedy. 
(chapter 65) He had expected that the lord would hurt the main lead. But how was he supposed to harm Baek Na-Kyum in the end? With the fire iron… This signifies that he had been present in the barn during the abduction, and even knew the place of the sequestration. Thus he took the furnace and the fire iron to the shed. 
Compare his face to the painter’s who got wounded by wooden sticks. 
(chapter 99) Besides, this theory also explains why the shrine is set on fire. 
(chapter 103) The fire iron is connected to a stove. Finally, I would like to outline the absence of the furnace in the shrine, though it was very cold outside. 
(chapter 99) So when the lord said this to his lover
(chapter 88), we could interpret it the following way. It was once again a vision from the future, he was seeing from lord Shin’s perspective the betrayal. 
(chapter 60) 
(chapter 60) At no moment, he was told that his childhood friend had been brought to the physician’s. He just heard him leaving. Moreover, the joker never mentioned the place where the couple was fooling around. 
(chapter 60) He didn’t even admit that he had seen them himself. These were memories from someone else! One might assume that these could represent the criminal’s recollection, but I don’t think so. He arrived much later to the physician’s house. If he had been present right from the start, he could have kidnapped Baek Na-Kyum on his way to the restroom. 
(chapter 59) To conclude, the person with such memories 
(chapter 43) Here, he had visited the place, hence he could imagine what had happened, though he never saw their encounter according to me. [For more read the essay “
(chapter 58) He had left the bucket of water in the patio! But note that when the painter left the room, the item had simply vanished. 
(chapter 59) The painter was not supposed to detect his presence.
(chapter 100) The manhwaworms can grasp the similarities. Back then, the lord had refused to help Baek Na-Kyum, thus he was even encouraging Lee Jihwa to return to the shrine. Hence he had acted as a willing accomplice and perpetrator. Thus his karma is to be denied any assistance, he is punished the same way than his friends, Min and the other nobles. Finally, observe that the red-haired master 
(chapter 66)
(chapter 88) Abandonment and rejection versus embrace and acceptance. And what had Yoon Seungho said during that fateful night? 
(chapter 88) 
(chapter 88) But while the painter was exposed to sexual abuse, lord Shin had indeed left his friend’s side. In my eyes, lord Shin embodies treason. As you can see, I conclude that lord Shin is about to get assassinated and from the person he expected the least. Why? It is because no one has to realize that lord Shin ran away from the shaman’s shrine. 
(chapter 60) hence in episode 102 they had to mask his escape, for this would have exposed the involvement of other people, like Lee Jihwa, the doctor with the drugs and Heena. And now, you have the explanation why the shadow hidden behind the tree had put mattresses on the soil. The desertion and survival from lord Shin should not be detected. But who is this person facing the weak lord? 
(chapter 7), 
(chapter 65) or boots 
(chapter 86), a sign for a high position. They even had all a sword. Why would the guards from chapter 99 use a wooden stick? In my eyes, it is because they are no real black guards. Besides, I detected that one man had a scarf similar to the butler’s, from lower quality. Thus I am suspecting that these two men are more servants than trained black guards. In other words, they are commoners. This would explicate why they didn’t know how to tie Heena properly. Her mouth was not covered, her feet were not tied. Thus they covered their face. That way, Baek Na-Kyum wouldn’t recognize them. And if he were to survive, then he could blame it on Yoon Chang-Hyeon, as their uniform was similar. During the assault, he couldn’t pay attention to such details and question their true origins. Besides, don’t forget that so far, the beating was tasked to the staff: 
(chapter 13) 
(chapter 77) As you can see, the wooden stocks were present during the first straw mat beating. 
(chapter 83) As you can detect, I see a strong connection between the new panel and the hunt from chapter 83. And here we have 3 people again. 
(chapter 66) Finally, when her brother was on the verge of getting abducted, she saw him lying unconscious with a bloody face. However, she never considered it as an abduction, for his hands and feet were not tied up. 
(chapter 102) This is the evidence that someone had manipulated the crime scene. The clothes from the painter could serve as evidence of her brother’s curtains. Heena could come to the conclusion that Min had gone back on his words, and her fake death, which had definitely shocked 
(chapter 99) and bothered her, could only be perceived as real at the end. But this means that while Yoon Seungho had murdered the nobles, there was someone hiding in the shadow 
(chapter 66) However, his new attempt to have the painter vanished failed again.
(chapter 97) It could be the same, though I have my doubts. Secondly, I suddenly got aware that the painter had 3 different grey pants at least. 
(chapter 4) This one had a cut just below the knees, though the color is much brighter. 
(chapter 84) This is the third one I detected, as the shape of the pants diverge once again. This explicates why Baek Na-Kyum chose to change his clothes before leaving the mansion. 
(chapter 97) 
(chapter 67) 
(chapter 67) Their pants have either a different pigment (white, black, khaki, or light grey) or the shape is different. That’s the reason why I am assuming that the person was wearing these trousers on purpose. A new version of this scene: 
(chapter 83) What did the lord see back then? Three shadows, two men wearing a gat and one caught in the middle with a topknot. Since I consider Yoon Seungho as a shaman, I believe that this vision was not only referring to the past and the incident in the shrine. It exposes the immutable truth, the involvement of three people, either. This is no coincidence. Thus imagine one moment that this illusion was referring to lord Shin’s murder. He is about to get murdered because of a new conspiracy. From my point of view, the man is disguising himself. However, I doubt that he is wearing the lord’s boots. The latter could be “couple boots”, just like the lord and the painter had couple hats. 
(chapter 91) And note during that day, Baek Na-Kyum was called sir due to his hat and clothes. 
(chapter 91) However, if the woman had paid attention to his shoes (mituri), she would have realized that our beloved painter is just a low-born. One might think that I view Kim as the one facing lord Shin. 
(chapter 54) But the readers should question themselves this: why did Kim dress like this in the first place? From my point of view, the schemers have already planned to frame Baek Na-Kyum for the murder of the nobles and even of Jung In-Hun. Kim is trying to separate the couple so that the artist can be arrested easily and sentenced immediately. By burning the place, the evidence that Baek Na-Kyum was a victim vanished. That’s how they can manage to turn a victim into a perpetrator. They wanted to erase every trace of the crimes, but then the return of the painter will force them to change their plan. The fire can help them to turn Baek Na-Kyum into a scapegoat. That’s the reason why the anonymous shadow is wearing clothes similar to the painter’s. No one should recognize him. Later, Baek Na-Kyum can be “identified” as the culprit. And any blood trace on his clothes could serve to incriminate the painter. They could use the resemblance of the clothes as a proof for his crime. That’s the reason why lord Shin had to die in the end. And if lord Shin never doubted this person, I am suspecting that the latter is working with the authorities. Kim is not the only suspect, for according to me, there always exist a conspiracy of 3 and even 5 people. This observation leads me to create a list of suspects. First of all, Yoon Seungho’s confession to the learned sir should help us to determine the schemers and culprits. 
(chapter 44). A synonym for old bearded men is “elders”. The latter are supposed to serve as role models. That’s the reason why the young man didn’t suspect the man. With his beard, he must have oozed “responsibility” and even “selflessness”. But who are the suspects?
from the bureau investigation is definitely involved. Thus he misled Yoon Seungho. Besides, observe that the officers are connected to fire! 
(chapter 94) Secondly, his explanation implied the involvement of a physician. 
(chapter 57) Finally, the painter met the Joker again on the same day he visited the physician.
(chapter 75) Finally, why was the doctor never brought to the mansion again after his last visit in chapter 57? And it looks like he was not there to treat Baek Na-Kyum. 
The latter is suffering from PTSD. Thus the painter had a nightmare. Hence I have the impression that the butler’s intervention and suggestion to Yoon Seungho will fail. The lord won’t be able to leave his side. Moreover, I would like the readers to recall that when Baek Na-Kyum got sick, a different physician was fetched. 
(chapter 33) Different clothes displays a different identity. From my point of view, the doctor doesn‘t want to be connected to Yoon Seungho. Finally, don‘t you find it weird that he was not by his side in chapter 57? He literally abandoned the young master in the room with the painter
(chapter 57), though the latter was a patient too. He had a wounded wrist. The physician should have controlled Yoon Seungho’s fever, brought him water and even an infusion. His absence and passivity caught my attention. So what was he doing in the kitchen? Finally, the doctor is also connected to the shaman. Not only he mentioned him, but also there is the symbol of shamanism in his kitchen. Why did the gods want our couple to have their first “true” love session at the physician’s office? Somehow, it was to confront him with the truth. Finally, don’t you find it weird how Kim reacted
(chapter 82), when the new version of Deok-Jae made the following suggestion to Kim: 
(chapter 82) Hence the doctor is not off the hook, quite the opposite.
(chapter 67), and discovered Lee Jihwa’s sodomy which was supposed to be a secret. The father is well aware that the main lead’s suffering is linked to the young master’s sexual orientation, which the father had always denied. His involvement could be detected, when he allowed one of his servants to be dragged to the gibang. 
(chapter 99) Finally, The Joker also heard father Lee’s humiliation and powerlessness. 
(chapter 101) Thus the fire could be seen as a desperate measure to cover the Lees’ culpability. 
(chapter 9)
(chapter 1) This means that no one had witnessed the wrongdoing committed on the anonymous lord. However, it is important, because it exposes how a person committing a wrongdoing could escape scolding and punishment, even from the readers. There was no witness! Only an attentive reader could detect this. Hence you have the explanation why Yoon Seungho suffered for so long. There was either no witness or the persons chose to close an eye and remained silent. Since it was the negative reflection from Baek Na-Kyum’s slap and the main lead had used his right hand 
(chapter 11), I deduced that the culprit was left-handed. That’s how I could identify the culprit, lord Min. The lord was in reality left-handed. We could observe this in chapter 8
, episode 19 
, chapter 33
and episode 43
, but also in episode 76 
, in chapter 96 
, in episode 100
and finally in chapter 102 
! Yet, in other occasions like in episode 33 
or 43, or 52 
, he used his right hand! Thus one might argue that Min was simply ambidextrous. However, I can prove 100% that Black Heart is left-handed!😮 The evidence is the usage of the bow. 
(chapter 22) This is how a right-handed man shoots an arrow. On the other hand, we never saw Min using the bow. The bird was already wounded by the arrows, when the scene of the second hunt took place. 
(chapter 41) However, the manhwaphiles can discover the verity thanks to one detail: the bag of arrows. 
(chapter 22) As you can see, the bag is carried on the right side, but the arrows are almost touching the left shoulder. They need to be on the other side, since the scholar needs his right hand to grab the item. And now compare the position of Min’s bag. It is inclined in the opposite direction, hence the arrows are visible on his right side! 
(chapter 41) Thus the noble is carrying the bag 
(chapter 41) differently from the painter too. 
(chapter 22) Under this new light, it becomes comprehensible why Byeonduck never showed the Joker’s hunting skills. People would have noticed that he is left-handed immediately. She made sure to hide this important fact, thus within the same chapter Min was often portraying as using both hands. In episode 43, he employed his left hand to pour the alcohol in the glass
(chapter 43), when he gave the drink to Lee Jihwa. 
(chapter 9) Here, he was still present, but even before the end of the sex session, he had already vanished. 
(chapter 9) Finally, when the noble with the mole visited Lee Jihwa, the latter claimed that he had spent a long time at Yoon Seungho’s. 
(chapter 9), and his friend never denied it. As you can see, the characters made sure to confuse the readers with the change of the chronology. As you can see, it took me a long time before noticing the bruised face (only during season 3), then to bring up the conclusive evidence that Min was the culprit of the slap. Then in the shaman’s house, he took the dildo with his left hand, because he was angry and frustrated. 
(chapter 100) too. This shows that he could barely control himself here. And once he faced the main lead’s sword, he got so scared that he showed Jung In-Hun’s glasses with his left hand again. 
(chapter 92) The irony is that in this scene, the main lead employed his left hand too, the positive reflection from the night in the pavilion (chapter 43). While here it was to bring him back to reality, in the pavilion, the Joker had the opposite intention: to lure Lee Jihwa to believe in illusions. 
(chapter 74) They announce the future events, though the information is not given properly. On the other hand, since they are memories either, this signifies that they contain insight about the lord’s tragedy. Thus I noticed that the anonymous perpetrator used his left hand to grab his hanbok!! I deduced that the perpetrator in the past is also left-handed!! Secondly, since this vision can also be seen as the announcement of the painter’s second kidnapping, this is no coincidence that Byeonduck created such panels during the painter’s last torment. 
(chapter 99) However, in the shaman’s temple, Black Heart grabbed Baek Na-Kyum with his right hand. He was trying to manipulate the artist, he was acting. He was not showing his true self. Yet, the vision was revealing the truth: the future mastermind of the last scheme was in reality left-handed!! It didn’t matter, because at the end, the main lead was able to discern the truth. He sentenced Black Heart, for he believed that he had killed his loved one! That’s how I realized why the author would focus so much on the hands and on the distinction between unconscious and conscious! The hand in Painter Of The Night represents the crucial clue to identify the culprits!! 
In season 1, we had the hands in the illustration. The hands were revealing the crime committed against the main lead. The latter was totally passive in this picture. The hands are touching and unclothing the immobile man. It also shows that Yoon Seungho was at the center of the conspiracy, in the past and in the present! The painting in the background indicates the presence of a hidden painter. Thus Baek Na-Kyum was not drawn in the cover. The painter of the night was in truth someone else, the painter from the past! Nevertheless, the main lead was looking at the readers, indirectly at Baek Na-Kyum, the young painter of the night. This describes the arrival of Baek Na-Kyum in his life. Striking is that the painting in the background was destroyed… indicating that the portrayed relationship was no longer existent. This represents another clue that the lord’s suffering is linked to a previous relationship. Then in season 2, 
the author revealed Baek Na-Kyum as the painter, who had now become the target of the plot. Yet behind him we see Yoon Seungho’s foot. The latter symbolizes the main lead feared to get close to him, but he wouldn’t leave his side. Moreover, this corresponds to the lord’s impulsive decisions, he let his foot guide him. Thus during the first night of the failed gangrape, he walked towards the study and stopped unconsciously, when he was next to the room. 
(chapter 53) Due to his strong denial, he was strolling not realizing that his feet were under the influence of his subconscious. And it was the same, when he opened the door with his foot at the Lees’ 
(chapter 67) Nonetheless, I believe that the author had another reason to draw the foot in the cover. The foot prints are the evidence of the crime, and as such the deceptions and the culprits. 
(chapter 59) 
(chapter 61) The shoes were the clues how to recognize the perpetrators and accomplices. That’s why I compared these feet 
(chapter 56), but also to the theft of the painting
(chapter 56) and the painter’s break! At the end of season 2, he was no longer painting and in the beginning, he had also stopped due to his heartbreak. Simultaneously, we have the presence of water which serves as a connection to season 1 with the ruined painting and to season 3 with the well and drowning. The dark shades were an allusion to the lord’s darkness and suffering. The latter would come to the surface. However, since the cover only showed the lord’s foot, it exposes that the lord would not divulge his traumatic past. 
(chapter 78) In season 3, this time the main leads were facing each other, they were recognizing each other: their true self! But this stands in opposition to the deceased people without identity! 
, the back 
(chapter 99) That’s the reason why I am anticipating a cover with the gibang. It would be the perfect place to find closure for the couple. It is a place where both suffered. Moreover, I think, belongings should serve as an evidence for the identification of the schemers and accomplices. Remember that we had the glasses as the evidence of a murder in season 3, yet I am sensing that the possession should serve to identify the perpetrators from the past and the present. Since the clothes were used to confuse people in season 3, I am assuming that in season 4, they should help to recognize people, but at the same time, it is totally possible that our main leads decide to employ the same method to fool the schemers and accomplices. And now, we have the cover for season 4. Both protagonists are not only facing each other, but also touching each other. They are no longer hiding their emotions and thoughts. 
This image represents the opposite to the other seasons. At the same time, the author is again referring to the bedchamber indicating that this place is strongly connected to the protagonists’ suffering. On the other side, since the painter is wearing a silk white shirt, it implies that he is not a commoner. This panel indicates that the main lead was able to the true owner of the study and even bed. However, due to the tears, the beholder can sense that this season will be painful as well. Striking is that in the cover, they were either alone, or they were just looking at each other, hence they didn’t pay attention to their surroundings. Consequently, they couldn’t sense the presence of a plot and the schemers. This indicates that the couple is still not prepared to face new schemes. To sum up, the author selected such covers because she had planned to leave clues there about the mystery! But wait… I had outlined that the person who grabbed the young master Seungho was left-handed, and he played a huge role in the main lead’s downfall and suffering! But who is left-handed in this story? 
(chapter 12) 
(chapter 56). But then I noticed that he carried his master on the left side. 
(chapter 74). Furthermore, don’t forget that in his nightmare, the author exposed the presence of plates with 3 candles 
(chapter 74) which were also used in the shaman’s house. Finally, in this picture, we have a right-handed person. 
(chapter 74) So Kim could have been the one silencing him with his hand.
(chapter 86) Hence his right cheek was red and he had a wounded lip. 
(chapter 86) On the other hand, at the doctor’s office, he employed his right-hand to keep his son by his side. 
(chapter 57). Why is there this change? The turning point was the prank in the bedchamber. 
(chapter 83) During that scene, the father slapped his son with both hands. First with the right
(chapter 83), then with the left! Striking is that the author never showed, when the patriarch employed his left hand. The readers could only hear the sound, and see the result of the beating. Both cheeks were wounded. From my point of view, he was conditioned exactly like Min! He was not allowed to use his left hand, but the angrier he got, the less he could hide his true self: he was left-handed and he was a stupid and brutal father!! 
(Chapter 74) I don’t believe in hazard. Besides, the lord had his nightmare during the same chapter. This means that he could have leaked this information about Yoon Seungho to an outsider, like he did with the painter. As the manhwalovers can grasp, the physician is more suspicious than before. 
(chapter 92) Besides, observe that the angry man put the brush on the left side. 
(chapter 92) The man is left-handed! And what did Yoon Seungho do? 
(chapter 92) He grabbed him by the collar! Exactly like in the dream!! 
(chapter 44) or patio of his mansion, similar to Heena’s. And since the young main lead suffered so much, it is normal that he doesn’t have such believes. IT is also possible that the young master Seungho played a prank which made the man angry and humiliated. As you can see, I come to the conclusion that jealousy and resent were the reasons why he got involved in the first place. Moreover, we shouldn’t forget that the calligrapher is linked to the kisaengs! He even recognized Baek Na-Kyum, as he called him a peasant. 
(chapter 92) Yet, he was either perceived as servant, a noblewoman or as a sir so far! He was never recognized as a peasant. Since he could identify the artist, it is also possible that he was also able to identify Yoon Seungho. But he thought that he was not well educated after living as a male kisaeng for so long. From my point of view, the man could have decided to get revenge on Yoon Seungho and participated in his abduction and gangrape!! Thus his karma was to lose his home! 
(chapter 39), the other only recognizes him as master Yoon. 
(chapter 83) Striking is that he is not “smoking here”, yet I had outlined that one abuser was a heavy smoker due to Yoon Seungho’s behavior. 
(chapter 86) Let’s not forget that in season 3, clothes were used to deceive Yoon Seungho, and the authorities played along. Besides, as the painter had become the love interest of Yoon Seungho and Black Heart, it is very likely that in the past, the victim was exposed to two different abusers, but they all hid behind the name: lord Song. Note that during this feast, one man had a moustache beard which is in Painter Of The Night the sign that he is no yanbang, not even chungin, the upper-middle class. He could be a rich merchant. Just because they are all wearing hanboks 
(chapter 22) This theory of the participation of a merchant got even reinforced, when I made the following discovery. The wooden boxes in season 1 were present at the tailor‘s shop!! 
(chapter 39) Thus I am deducing that the barn in season 2 
(chapter 51) could have belonged to the tailor or the owner of this shop. And note the couple was in the same position than with the kisaeng with No-Name in episode 51! 
(chapter 51) This was the negative reflection from episode 39: no penetration versus penetration, no interruption versus interruption, no rumor versus rumor etc. And this contrast clearly displays that the tailor shop is involved in Yoon Seungho’s suffering. And the best evidence for this is the nightmare. The main lead’s clothes had a design. 
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 