Chapter 109: A Realization in the Dark

The two who remained until the banquet reached its end bowed deeply before parting from Gangcheon below the Dohwa-gak Pavilion.

“Even in Yeonseo, rumors of Yeoran sometimes circulate.”

“Though they are usually outdated, whenever news of Your Highness being so far away reached us, the entire family was moved to tears by longing.”

“We worried because the news was often unpleasant, but seeing it for ourselves, it seems the rumors are not to be trusted.”

“My brother is right.”

“Seeing how the Emperor of Yeoran treats His Highness the Empress, I believe our family can finally set aside some of our concerns.”

Gangcheon simply listened to the two of them in silence.

As a human himself, he found it difficult to say that the rumors they had heard were entirely false.

“You should come to visit often from now on.”

“If the Grand Lady of the State could also visit, the Empress would be even more delighted, so you are welcome to come together in the future.”

“Our mother is naturally frail, so traveling this great distance is no easy feat for her.”

Heamyung let out a sigh, explaining that her health had suffered greatly from worrying after sending Haeryeong away.

“Still, she will surely recover soon once she hears that he is faring so well, Brother.”

“Since the Emperor has granted his permission, I truly wish to bring Mother with us next time.”

“So be it.”

“I wish I could send medicinal herbs back with you for the Grand Lady, but it is a pity, as I doubt Yeonseo lacks for medicine more than Yeoran does.”

Yeonseo was a land where precious herbs and tea were abundant, so they would not be wanting for medicine.

Indeed, the tribute the two had brought this time consisted of three roots of two-hundred-year-old wild ginseng.

The two responded softly, saying that she would surely shake off her illness now.

Looking at their smiles, which appeared both shy and tender, the face of his Empress—who was likely fast asleep by now—flickered in his mind.

Despite being Yangin, the two bore a striking resemblance to Haeryeong, who was an Eumin.

It was evident in their quiet, gentle way of speaking, their refined bearing, and above all, the smiles they wore.

That very smile, which he had always found unsettling because he could never tell what was behind it.

Meeting them made Gangcheon realize that Haeryeong’s expressions and mannerisms had been that way since childhood.

Perhaps it was their household tradition.

Even without seeing the other siblings, it was not difficult to guess that there were several others in Yeonseo just like Lee Haeryeong.

He was simply born gentle.

He had undoubtedly been born and raised exactly that way.

Just as Gangcheon had lived swinging a sword until calluses formed to protect his life and throne, and just as he had naturally spent his life galloping across battlefields to take the heads of others, Haeryeong had lived his own life just as naturally.

Realizing this now made his heart sting.

He felt a sense of regret for having left such a mild and gentle person alone for so long.

Had he known sooner, he would have treated him better.

That was his greatest regret.

What would have happened if he had looked at him with interest from the very beginning, or if he had known just a little more about him?

He became consumed by an unbearable curiosity.

Gangcheon offered his nightly greetings to the two.

He felt a surge of impatience at the thought that the Empress—who had confessed to being afraid of his dark bedroom—might be unable to fall asleep alone.

“It is late, so return to your quarters and rest.”

“There is a hawk hunt tomorrow, so I must depart early, but I shall return before dinner so that I may share a meal with the Empress.”

“We shall look forward to it.”

“May you have a peaceful night’s rest.”

Parting from the two, Gangcheon returned to the Great Hall by palanquin and headed straight for the bedroom.

With a single candlestick lit—not nearly enough to illuminate the dim room—Haeryeong was asleep, burrowed deep beneath the quilt.

Considering he had rushed here out of worry, Gangcheon felt a bit slighted that the man was sleeping so unbothered.

However, seeing the candle lit beside the bed caused a series of chuckles to escape him.

“You truly were afraid, I see.”

Come to think of it, he had been told the man was quite fearful.

Gangcheon had laughed even then, when Su-yong told him the story of how Haeryeong was so terrified of thunder as a child that he hid in his younger brother’s quarters until he was twelve.

Was that why he was always so startled whenever he saw the Emperor?

It seemed he hadn’t been that way in the early days of their marriage, but he brushed it off, assuming that was the reason.

‘If he is that fearful, then so be it.’ He let it pass.

Gangcheon pulled back the quilt that covered even Haeryeong’s face and touched him.

His face was warm, likely from the lingering effects of the alcohol.

His cheeks still looked flushed.

Watching the man breathe with the steady rhythm of a child, the smile on Gangcheon’s lips deepened.

It was truly strange.

To think that even his sleeping profile could look this beautiful.

Gangcheon watched Haeryeong’s sleeping form in silence before leaning down.

When his lips touched the soft cheek, Haeryeong hunched his neck and let out a long exhale.

Gangcheon lifted his head, wondering if he had woken him.

But far from waking, Haeryeong burrowed further into the quilt Gangcheon had just pulled back, let out a moan in his sleep.

Gangcheon pulled the folded quilt up to cover half of Haeryeong’s face and sighed.

“Just what have you done to me?”

He was someone he clearly had no interest in, yet when had he started looking so beautiful?

It was truly beyond his understanding.

Having finished his preparations for bed, Gangcheon slid under the quilt and embraced the warmly heated body from behind.

When he pulled the face hidden beneath the covers closer to rest it upon his arm, Haeryeong’s face crumpled enough for Gangcheon to notice even from behind.

Perhaps his breath had touched the man’s face, for Haeryeong raised a hand and slowly scratched his cheek.

Fearing the man might mar his face with his nails, Gangcheon took Haeryeong’s hand and rubbed it gently.

After a few movements of his hand, Haeryeong offered a soft smile in his sleep.

“Nureongi, you rascal… are you lunging again?”

Gangcheon, who had stopped involuntarily for a moment, withdrew his hand and sighed.

“Are you truly even asleep?”

A small laugh came in response instead of an answer.

At that sound, his intention to shake the man’s shoulder vanished instantly.

Gangcheon rested his head on the pillow and sighed.

Haeryeong hunched his neck as the long exhale brushed against him.

“Stop it, you rascal… if you keep this up, I shall have to scold you… you rascal.”

His sleep-drunken voice was remarkably clear at times like this.

****

Meanwhile, at that same hour.

Yun Hyeon-pyeong, the Minister of Rites, was heading home, having left the banquet slightly earlier than the Emperor.

He spat out a quiet curse he had been holding back throughout the evening while watching the Emperor whisper to the Empress.

“Dammit.”

The image of Sirak, who had sat between the two of them like a motionless statue, made the veins on his forehead pulse.

Hyeon-pyeong squeezed his eyes shut and clawed at the cushion in his palanquin.

His eldest son, Yun Se-chang, had in truth been a total scoundrel.

Because he was the eldest, he had been pampered, but once he grew a bit older, he spent his time being promiscuous all over the place.

And that wasn’t all; he often lived in gisaeng houses, drinking himself into a stupor, or stayed in the gambling dens of the marketplace where thugs gathered.

His studies were always an afterthought, and he had no interest in official ranks.

Whenever Hyeon-pyeong set a date to scold him, the boy would only say things that made his father’s blood boil, asking what there was to worry about when he had a princess for a mother and a high-ranking official for a father.

Because of him, his other children grew up under even stricter discipline, and the household was never quiet.

The siblings often fought.

When the younger children, disgusted by the eldest’s behavior, looked down on Se-chang, he would act superior because of his birthright, leading to constant brawls.

Still, Hyeon-pyeong had believed that since the boy was intelligent in his youth, he would eventually amount to more than the others if he just settled down.

That belief was shattered after the incident involving Sirak’s mother, Ilhong.

Hyeon-pyeong was profoundly disappointed in Se-chang after learning the truth.

He had raised a beast as his own child, someone less than human.

Furthermore, his heart nearly broke when he discovered his son had orchestrated the murder of Ilhong’s husband because he coveted her.

After finding out that he had poisoned an old man who would have died soon anyway, Hyeon-pyeong decided to no longer consider him his son.

Fearing that this scandal might leak out, Hyeon-pyeong had attempted to eliminate Ilhong.

However, she was remarkably quick-witted; she seduced the man sent to kill her and managed to flee the capital.

He had sent men to pursue her, but the last news he received was that she was heading toward the border, as if planning to flee the country.

After her disappearance, the relationship between Hyeonpyeong and Sechang reached a breaking point.

Hyeonpyeong declared Sechang was no longer his child, and Sechang likewise refused to acknowledge him as his father.

But when Se-chang met a sudden, violent end, Hyeon-pyeong felt the hollow emptiness of losing the eldest son he had once cherished.

‘If only I had raised him more strictly… if only I had done so when he first started to stray.’

Regret gave birth to more regret, growing larger as time passed.

And those feelings exploded within his chest when he heard the rumor that Ilhong’s son was working as a musician at Jayangnu.

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