Chapter 48: Amnesia Side Story 2: The Shattered Mirror

Hwaun realized that he shouldn’t cause further worry to those around him while the Emperor was still unconscious. If he fell ill in this situation, it would only put the servants in a more difficult position. Though he knew he couldn’t sleep soundly, he resolved to close his eyes by the Emperor’s side for at least a little while.

“…….”

Before leaving to change his clothes, Hwaun turned back to look at Ihan one more time. The dignified Emperor, surrounded by lavish bedding, looked incredibly fragile to Hwaun at that moment.

I shouldn’t have ridden that horse. I shouldn’t have tried to show off when my body is so weak.

Pushing down his late regrets, Hwaun turned away. The Emperor would soon wake up as if nothing had happened, and all this self-reproach would turn out to be useless. It had to be that way.

“…how dare… you…!”

A voice ringing in his ears forced Hwaun to struggle to open his heavy eyelids. Through his blurry vision, he saw bright morning light filling the bedchamber.

Did I fall asleep? Hwaun slowly recalled his memories. He had spent the night awake, watching the sky turn blue outside the window, but it seemed he had dozed off just before dawn.

“How dare you enter the Emperor’s bedchamber as you please?”

Hwaun’s eyes snapped open at that moment. The voice, filled with cold fury, was unmistakably Ihan’s. His mind began to race. He felt a wave of relief that the Emperor was awake, followed by immediate worry over his anger. But when he realized Ihan was talking about someone “entering the room as they pleased,” his heart dropped.

An assassin? Feeling his blood turn cold, Hwaun scrambled up to protect Ihan, but someone grabbed his arm with a force so brutal it felt like it might snap.

“Your Majesty…?” “Why are you not getting off this bed right now?”

The voice spitting out words filled with murderous intent belonged to the Emperor—Hwaun’s one and only lover, Seong Ihan.

“Your Majesty… what… ugh!”

Hwaun’s confusion was cut short by a pained groan. Ihan was squeezing the very arm that bore the unhealed injury from the accident. Blood began to seep through his thin sleeping robes as the wound reopened. Normally, Ihan would have been horrified and checked the wound before Hwaun even made a sound.

But Ihan didn’t seem to care about the groan. Instead, he tightened his grip and hauled Hwaun’s slender body out of the bed. Shocked and unable to react, Hwaun was thrown to the floor.

As Hwaun blinked, unable to process the reality, Ihan roared toward the door.

“Oh Jin-seong!” “Your Majesty!”

Eunuch Oh rushed in, pale with fright. He was shocked enough that the Emperor, who had been unconscious until last night, was now shouting, but the scene inside the room left him utterly paralyzed.

Hwaun—the Noble Consort whom the Emperor cherished more than his own life—was collapsed on the floor in disarray. Even more shocking was that the Emperor remained sitting on the bed, making no move to help him, comfort him, or pick him up.

“You truly wish to die, don’t you?” Ihan’s voice dripped with ice. Eunuch Oh immediately fell to his knees, prostrating himself.

“Y-Your Majesty, I beg your forgiveness. What… what has happened…?”

“What has happened?” Ihan let out a hollow, incredulous laugh. “Since when has someone like Yeon Hwaun been allowed to enter my bedchamber without permission?”

“…Pardon?”

“A concubine who climbs into the Emperor’s bed without leave, and the servants who fail to stop him… they should all be executed for high treason. Is that not right?”

Eunuch Oh was so bewildered he couldn’t even answer. He wanted to say, ‘Your Majesty, I don’t understand a single word you’re saying,’ but he couldn’t find the breath. His eyes desperately sought Hwaun, hoping for an explanation.

But Hwaun was in a worse state. He was trembling, staring up at the Emperor with a hollow expression. The phrase ‘someone like Yeon Hwaun’ echoed in his ears like a deafening ringing.

“Answer me carefully. If you cannot give a proper explanation, this spot will be where you die.”

The coldness was so absolute that a heavy silence fell over the room. Even as the blood from Hwaun’s arm began to stain the floor, the Emperor didn’t give him a single glance.

“Your… Your Majesty…” Hwaun called out soulfully. But he was met only with a gaze as sharp and frigid as a winter blade.

Ihan felt as if his head would burst from rage. How could this happen before his eyes?

Everyone in the palace knew what he thought of Yeon Hwaun and the atrocities that man had committed. How could he be lying in the Emperor’s bed so boldly?

Looking at Eunuch Oh, a flicker of fear mixed with his anger. If Yeon Hwaun could enter the room at will, there was only one reason: he had used his father’s power to subjugate the Emperor’s closest aides.

Of course, if Ihan had thought rationally, he would have known that Eunuch Oh would never submit to the Yeon family. But he was too shocked to think clearly.

Ihan’s eyes fell on Hwaun’s hand pressed against the floor. He saw the blood pooling. Instead of worry, a sneer touched his lips. Another trick to get attention, he thought. This was a man who wouldn’t hesitate to jump into a pond just to get the Emperor to look at him; a cut on the arm was nothing.

What was more annoying was Hwaun’s face—the way he looked up with a shocked, hurt expression, as if this were the first time he’d ever been treated this way. His acting has improved, Ihan thought bitterly.

Then, Eunuch Oh spoke to Hwaun. “Noble Consort, what on earth has happened?”

“Noble Consort? Did you just say Noble Consort?”

Ihan felt like he was going to faint from the sheer absurdity. Noble Consort? Who gave Yeon Hwaun that title? He’d rather give it to a stray dog! He raised his voice: “Who gave Yeon Hwaun the title of Noble Consort?!”

At this, Eunuch Oh could no longer hide his confusion. “Y-Your Majesty, did you not give it to him yourself?”

“…What?”

“It was Your Majesty who promoted him to Noble Consort shortly after his initial appointment… was it not?”

Ihan’s brow furrowed deeply. “Are you… are you mad?”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty… but it was entirely your will to allow the Noble Consort to enter and leave the bedchamber freely. Otherwise, how could I have ever opened the doors for him?”

Ihan was speechless. He couldn’t understand a single word. Yet, he knew Eunuch Oh wasn’t a man to lie or submit to the Yeon family.

“Then what is this…?” Ihan looked between Eunuch Oh and Yeon Hwaun in total confusion.

“Could it be…”

Hwaun, who had been silent in shock, muttered in a horrified voice. He crawled on his knees toward the Emperor and opened his mouth to speak.