Chapter 10: The First Move

Gangcheon asked quietly, his eyes still fixed on Haeryeong.

“What does that mean? His memory is not intact?”

“Th-that is… His Highness currently believes himself to be seventeen….”

Gangcheon’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at those words as he asked back.

“Seventeen?”

Did he mean that not just recent memories, but three whole years of his past had vanished?

Gangcheon allowed a deeper smile to spread across his face than before.

Yes. It was certainly possible to be confused by a delirium-inducing fever.

Though it was hard to believe, one could entertain the possibility if one were generous enough to make a hundred concessions.

Yet, was he saying he had forgotten everything as if he wanted to tear out every trace of his life in the Imperial Palace?

The earlier suspicion reared its head again like a hissing snake.

Just what did that dull person hope to achieve by staging this farce?

Gangcheon’s eyes, narrowed in a smile, gleamed as he quietly observed the Empress.

“Oh dear.”

Letting out a regretful sigh, Gangcheon climbed onto the bed and whispered softly.

“Then you do not even remember marrying me?”

Haeryeong drew up his knees and curled his body as if on guard against Gangcheon.

Gangcheon reached out, pulled those trembling shoulders close, and whispered in his ear.

“How tragic. Empress, have you truly forgotten that you once claimed to love me? And the heat cycles we spent together?”

Haeryeong’s body shivered in his arms.

Gangcheon’s suspicions deepened further.

Whatever he feared, this reaction was too excessive for someone who supposedly had no memory.

It would be one thing if he pushed him away as a stranger, but this level of trembling was simply too much.

“Why are you so cold, Empress?”

He gently caressed Haeryeong’s shoulder as the other gasped for air, his eyes softening into a mockingly tender gaze.

‘I do not know your scheme, but I will gladly play along with this clumsy tune.’

‘So, go ahead. Do your worst. Let us see how well you can play.’

Haeryeong stiffened in the Emperor’s embrace.

‘Was I already caught? Should I give up now?’

A storm of thoughts raged in his mind in a split second.

‘Should I beg for forgiveness even now?’

Clutching his trembling heart, Haeryeong made his decision.

No. It was too late to turn back now.

Besides, he could not go through that nightmare again.

Had the Emperor’s indifferent gaze not been even colder than the freezing floor?

He could never forget the humiliation and betrayal he felt until the moment his life ended.

And he believed he must never forget.

He had once hoped that the Emperor would eventually look back at him.

Having met such a pathetic end because he let his guard down with such expectations, he vowed that he would never let it happen again.

What else could he do?

It was enough to simply insist he remembered nothing.

Even if the Emperor were to split his head in a rage, he would have no way to prove his words were a lie.

Moreover, since the man did not know the reason for this change, he was likely only testing him.

He must not ruin everything by jumping to conclusions based on mere assumptions.

Haeryeong swallowed hard and pushed away the Emperor’s hand that was holding his shoulder.

His hands shook violently, perhaps because the memory of his death was so vivid.

“Please do not do this…. You must not.”

“Must not?”

As if he had planned this, the Emperor poured a sweet voice into Haeryeong’s ear.

His attitude was so transparent that his hidden intentions were plain to see.

‘Did you think this foolish Empress would be moved by your whispers and marvel at your grace?’

Haeryeong steeled himself once more.

He would never be swayed by the man’s silver tongue.

“I have heard of the circumstances, but… this is the first time I have ever met the Emperor of Yeoran.”

“Should you not give me time to process this? There must be a proper distance between an Eumin and a Yangin; how can you act like this?”

The Emperor patted Haeryeong, smiling with a tenderness he had never seen before.

“Proper distance? That is not a phrase to be used between husband and wife.”

“Even if your memory is lacking, we have already shared the matrimonial cup before the gods of heaven and earth.”

“I… have no such memory.”

“Besides, I am merely a prince of a small nation, so please… stop addressing me as the Empress.”

The Emperor’s grip was so powerful that no matter how Haeryeong shook his shoulder, it wouldn’t let go.

Instead, it only tightened as if he were bound by ropes.

Even when he groaned from the pain in his gripped shoulder, the Emperor’s expression remained unchanged.

‘Is he angry? Is he thinking I am merely resorting to such shallow tricks?’

“If the title of Empress is uncomfortable for you… should I call you as I did before? Haeryeong-ah?”

Though he had never once addressed him so, the Emperor maintained his brazen attitude and called Haeryeong’s name again.

Haeryeong felt a surge of rage before fear at the man’s behavior.

‘I see. This is a wager.’

It felt as if an invisible crack had appeared between them.

He and Haeryeong were no different from opponents exchanging moves across a game board.

Every word from the Emperor and every word from Haeryeong would be a move aimed at the other.

To the man, it was likely just a light game, but to Haeryeong, it was a matter of life and death.

He could not afford to lose.

He suppressed the emotions boiling in his chest and took a deep breath.

“Haeryeong-ah, you must not even remember that I called you this on the day you first arrived at the Imperial Palace.”

Haeryeong bit his lip and desperately pulled his neck back to put even a little distance between them.

“I do not remember.”

“You will remember soon enough. I shall make sure of it.”

Haeryeong carefully closed his mouth.

Unlike the Emperor, he was in a position where he couldn’t just throw out any words, so he held his ground with silence.

He didn’t know if the man would play by the rules of this exchange, but he couldn’t just let it pass indifferently.

To him, every move was precious.

As if he had never been interested in Haeryeong’s reaction to begin with, the Emperor called for Iryeon, who was standing by the bed.

“Look here. Has the Empress eaten his breakfast?”

“Since the physician’s examination has only just finished, he has not yet eaten.”

Gangcheon clicked his tongue and spoke in a voice as stern as winter frost.

“What are you all doing? Now that the Empress has regained consciousness, you should have thought to fill his stomach first.”

“Inform the Sangsikguk at once and bring some rice gruel.”

“I shall have it prepared immediately.”

He knitted his thick brows in feigned displeasure, then turned back to Haeryeong with a counterfeit smile.

“Seeing you so gaunt, I am worried sick.”

“For the time being, I shall come to the Empress’s Palace for every meal to be with you.”

“If we spend time together, surely your memory will return in no time.”

The more brazen the man acted, the more Haeryeong’s heart settled into a cold calm.

Haeryeong looked at the Emperor’s face with a composed attitude.

“Why do you look at me so? Have you fallen in love with me at first sight again?”

Leting out a low laugh, he pulled Haeryeong into an embrace and rested his chin on top of the other’s head.

Haeryeong hunched his shoulders out of a visceral sense of revulsion.

“Please let me go.”

Gangcheon instead used his wide palm to slowly stroke Haeryeong’s forearm and back, whispering.

“Will you continue to be so cold? Even if you have no memory, surely your body should remember my touch.”

“Think of how much I have cherished you.”

Ridiculous.

It felt almost like a blessing to have his face hidden by the man’s embrace.

Yet, he wondered just what kind of face the man was making while uttering such brazen lies.

When Haeryeong lifted his head, the Emperor lowered his own to meet him.

The eyes meeting his from such close proximity seemed to be dancing with amusement.

How shameless.

Haeryeong scanned the man’s face with trembling eyes before slowly lowering his gaze.

With an attitude that could be mistaken for shyness, Haeryeong carefully pulled himself out of the embrace.

“Your grace is boundless, but I am still very confused. Therefore, please do not stay so close.”

He tried his best not to let his fingertips tremble as he pushed against the man’s chest, but it was not easy.

Perhaps because it wasn’t a violent rejection, the Emperor backed away more easily than expected.

Haeryeong occasionally stole glances at him with downcast eyes as he slowly spoke.

His mouth felt parched as he tried to recall what his seventeen-year-old self would have been like.

“I understand that since a person who should be in the Kingdom of Yeonseo is here in the Empress’s Palace of Yeoran, I must have undergone a state marriage.”

“However, since this is the first time I have met Your Imperial Majesty, please… if you could just step back a little….”

The Emperor softly rubbed his hand over Haeryeong’s cheekbone, now prominent from weight loss, and whispered soothingly.

“I would like to tell you to endure that much after making me worry for fifteen days, but very well. Today is not the only day. Instead….”

His gaze was so tender—as tender as it had been when he held the Noble Consort at the banquet—that Haeryeong’s mouth clamped shut of its own accord.

When the Emperor signaled, Iryeon placed a small jade tray holding a bowl of rice gruel on the bed beside him.

Gangcheon picked up a silver spoon and scooped up some gruel himself.

“I shall be the one to serve you. Now. Open wide.”

Haeryeong looked at him with eyes full of weary disbelief before finally parting his lips.

“There are many eyes watching. Please maintain your dignity.”

“What shame is there to speak of dignity between husband and wife? Especially when we have shared the bed before everyone’s eyes.”

It was natural for there to be witnesses to the consummation of Imperial or Royal marriages.

Having been raised as royalty from birth, Haeryeong was accustomed to being served by others and was even used to being seen unclothed.

Even so, it was not something to be spoken of so casually.

The Emperor smiled radiantly as he watched Haeryeong flush with shame.

His intentions were so transparently obvious.

‘How petty.’

Haeryeong felt as though he wanted to claw at his own thighs just to suppress the urge to glare at the man.