Chapter 26: A Future Woven by Three Hearts

“I am… this country’s only legitimate wife and its Empress.”

“You are, Majesty.”

“Therefore, the child I take as my own son shall become the legitimate Prince and heir of this nation.”

Jaran took a sip of her tea, using the sight of Hwaun’s face—lost in thought as he ruminated on her words—as her scenery. Though it had cooled a bit, the tea possessed its own unique charm, a flavor she quite liked.

“So, you as well… do not exhaust your spirit with such worries any longer.”

Ultimately, that was what Jaran wanted to say. She was concerned about the guilt Hwaun would carry. Jaran knew all too well that Hwaun was a man infinitely generous to others, yet stricter with himself than anyone else. Left to fester, this matter would undoubtedly leave a deep scar on Hwaun’s heart. And that, in turn, would become the Emperor’s pain.

Realizing the reason Jaran had brought up such a long, winding story, Hwaun’s eyes trembled. Jaran wore a gentle smile and spoke quietly, as if talking to herself.

“On the day I underwent so many trials and finally ascended to the seat of Empress… in the eyes of the world, I was likely nothing more than a mere woman. But I had a country I dreamed of.”

“……”

“A world where the heavens are at peace, where the people do not starve, where the Inner Court relies upon one another, where the Empress receives the respect of all, and.”

Jaran’s eyes grew misty with the dream she had dreamt in her youth. It was a dream that now felt close enough to touch. Jaran looked directly at Hwaun, who did not turn his gaze away, and continued with a smile.

“I wanted to create a nation where His Majesty the Emperor—who gave me a life not as a woman, but as a human being—could feel true happiness.”

A nation belonged to the Emperor, yet a nation was something that could not be achieved by the Emperor alone. Seong Ihan’s country was a place created as the numerous benevolent seeds he had sown sprouted and grew.

Soon, Jaran’s hand quietly covered the back of Hwaun’s. Her eyes, staring steadily, were sending a wordless plea to Hwaun for the sake of the future she had dreamed of.

Eventually, Hwaun bowed his head.

“With all my heart, I will help you, Empress Mama.”

The nation they dreamed of was right here.

“The weather has become quite chilly. Are you not cold?”

Ihan, walking slowly through the flower garden, suddenly asked Suk-bi, Bi-yeong, who stood by his side. Bi-yeong calmly bowed her head and replied.

“Yes, Your Majesty. It is still fine for now.”

It was the Emperor who had first suggested a walk after they had shared lunch at Unhwa Palace. Bi-yeong had no reason to refuse the proposal, and the two were enjoying the scenery of late autumn as they strolled through Suhwa Garden after a long while. Bi-yeong continued.

“Since winter will soon be here, Your Majesty must have many concerns.”

“Hm…?”

“Jin-bi is quite weak against the cold, is he not?”

At Bi-yeong’s unexpected mention of Hwaun, Ihan looked at her with a somewhat surprised face. He hadn’t expected to hear Hwaun’s story from her. Regardless, Bi-yeong, who had developed a slightly serious expression of her own, said:

“It would be wise to have him receive preventative acupuncture to block the chill from entering his body before winter arrives.”

“I see. I shall do so.”

Bi-yeong’s voice was serious, but the Emperor’s voice in response carried a somewhat unnatural energy. Only then did Bi-yeong turn her head to quietly examine the Emperor’s face. Glimpsing embarrassment and a flicker of self-reproach on the Emperor’s face—he had briefly met her eyes before subtly avoiding them—Bi-yeong eventually let out a light laugh and spoke.

“Your Majesty.”

“Why do you call me?”

“You do not need to feel sorry toward me.”

At Bi-yeong’s quietly flowing words, the Emperor’s steps came to a sudden halt. Fittingly, Bi-yeong also stopped and faced the Emperor with a calm gaze.

In truth, they were words that defied protocol. The Emperor was fundamentally a supreme position where no one under heaven bowed their head. What reason could such an Emperor have to feel sorry to a mere concubine? Even if the Emperor felt such a way, for a concubine to be the first to voice it was an act that could be punished as a crime.

However, there was no anger in the Emperor’s eyes as he looked at Bi-yeong, and no fear in Bi-yeong’s face as she faced the Emperor. It felt as though they already knew what the other was saying. Bi-yeong spoke again, composed.

“Your Majesty.”

“…Yes.”

“How wretched the life of a concubine who does not receive favor can become… Your Majesty surely knows this well.”

“……”

“Furthermore, when there is a specific concubine who monopolizes Your Majesty’s favor, it is the lot of a concubine to lower herself even further, being careful not to let even the sound of her breath grow too loud, while her heart trembles with anxiety.”

Everything Bi-yeong was saying was inappropriate for a concubine to speak directly in front of the Emperor. But Ihan, instead of blocking those words as irreverent, stood still and listened. Ihan was a man who knew the plight of a woman without favor better than anyone.

It was not just concubines. Ihan had grown up watching with his own two eyes how even an Empress’s life could completely crumble before one whom the Emperor favored excessively.

“But how am I now?”

As she said this, Bi-yeong smiled. That smile appeared more relaxed and leisurely than even during the days when she was counted as the Emperor’s most cherished concubine.

“Your Majesty walks with me and worries for my heart; the Empress serves as my shadow and my pillar of support; and Jin-bi…”

Bi-yeong paused for a moment. Originally, Yeon Hwaun should have been the person she most guarded against. Was that not why she had doubted and mistrusted the changed Hwaun until the very end? Quietly ruminating on the numerous events and altered relationships that had occurred since then, Bi-yeong continued.

“Jin-bi still shows me full etiquette as if I were his superior, so what reason do I have to be unhappy?”

Those who do not know might think Bi-yeong is miserable. They might think that since she entered as a concubine and was once called the woman the Emperor favored most, yet lost that favor to a man overnight and can no longer even serve His Majesty’s nights, she must be unable to sleep due to bitterness and sorrow.

But the reality was different. In the current Inner Court, no one fought over the Emperor’s nights to the point of hurting one another. His Majesty did not use his affection to discriminate or persecute the concubines, and the Empress looked over the Inner Court with a broad mind to ensure no one suffered absurd mistreatments.

And what’s more? The person who, if he set his mind to it, possessed the power to pressure even the Empress with the Emperor’s heart at his back, was treating everyone with a heart more beautiful than anyone else’s. To be very honest, since entering the Imperial Palace, Bi-yeong had never felt as comfortable and at ease as she did these days.

The Emperor, who had been listening quietly to Bi-yeong’s words, finally spoke.

“Since you… say it like that, I feel nothing but gratitude.”

“Your Majesty. The Empress always looks after us, but the heart of a concubine is best understood by another concubine.”

“Hm…?”

“Also, in this palace, excluding Your Majesty, I am the person who most desires Jin-bi’s happiness.”

Bi-yeong was a person who had survived thanks to Hwaun’s grace. She truly wished for Hwaun to live a happy and peaceful life, receiving the Emperor’s overflowing love for a long time. Toward the Emperor, who wore a face that suggested he didn’t quite understand why Bi-yeong was saying such a thing this time, Bi-yeong spoke with a smile.

“Your Majesty considers the Empress a companion and consults her on matters of state both great and small, but there will surely continue to be things regarding the heart for which you cannot bring yourself to seek her advice.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Ihan realize what Bi-yeong was speaking of. It was not about national affairs. Bi-yeong was talking about the extremely trivial yet important, and by no means easy, human emotions that the Emperor would have to experience in the future.

“When that happens, please do not forget that I am by Your Majesty’s side. That is enough for me.”

By the time Bi-yeong said that, Ihan had no choice but to burst into laughter. It was because he felt so incredibly blessed to have such good people by his side. It would be natural for her to be resentful. No matter how great a debt she owed Hwaun, it would be natural for her to feel slighted and upset at not obtaining the Emperor’s nights as a concubine—and yet, to have someone who speaks like this by his side was truly a great blessing.

Pressing down all that gratitude and apology, the Emperor affectionately took Bi-yeong’s hand once and patted it as he replied.

“Yes. I shall do so.”

And Bi-yeong, who briefly held the Emperor’s hand before letting go, followed the Emperor as he slowly began to walk again.

“Well, since the subject has come up, I have one favor to ask of you…”

Just then, after a few steps, the Emperor spoke as if something had suddenly occurred to him. When Bi-yeong immediately replied, “Please speak, Your Majesty,” the Emperor said in a voice clearly filled with mischief:

“Tell Jeong-bin to stop hating me so much.”

In the end, Bi-yeong had no choice but to forget protocol and burst into laughter.

“Your complexion looks good today.”

Yeon Ju-won, having returned home from the Imperial Palace, looked at the face of his wife, Suk-jin, who was helping him remove his official robes, and spoke.

Ever since the Emperor had openly displayed his affection for Hwaun, Suk-jin no longer voiced the anxiety she felt to Ju-won, but Ju-won knew it wasn’t because her heart had truly become light. It was merely that she no longer inquired because she knew she wouldn’t find a satisfying answer even if she spoke.

Because Ju-won was equally unable to provide a solution even if he probed her inner thoughts, he had spent this time pretending not to notice that Suk-jin still hadn’t fully discarded her unidentifiable anxiety. But seeing Suk-jin’s face today, which looked lighter than ever before, Ju-won had blurted out the words before he knew it.

Suk-jin looked at Ju-won’s face in silence for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.

“In my dream… Hwaun appeared.”