X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the Server[Suyong, which eunuch came to the Empress’s Palace today?]
[As far as I know… no one visited. However, I did hear the new court lady tell His Highness exactly that.]
[Drag that court lady here this instant.]
Gangcheon ground his teeth while sending the telepathic command, and Su-yong replied in the affirmative.
His presence vanished immediately.
“I am trying to verify your words because I cannot understand them, so please, lower your anger for a moment and—”
“There is no need for that.”
“Empress.”
“Even if Your Majesty verifies it, your servant cannot believe you.”
Gangcheon let out a massive sigh.
“You are truly a difficult person. Am I not telling you I will prove it was not I who sent it? Do you still refuse to believe me? Or is it that you simply wish not to believe?”
“Your servant told you that not a shred of trust remains. Therefore, I will not believe no matter what evidence you present.”
Haeryeong stared directly at Gangcheon, his voice now eerily calm.
“Are you not someone for whom creating a witness is a simple task? No matter what proof you bring, I will not believe it.”
Gangcheon felt wronged, utterly wronged.
Even if there was no trust, this was too much.
To refuse belief even when he offered to present evidence—what a cruel way to be treated.
Ha. Gangcheon let out a hollow laugh along with a long sigh and rubbed his face roughly with his palm.
Perhaps it was because the sweat on his forehead had cooled, but his temples felt tight and strained.
Unable to handle the stifling feelings in his heart, he grumbled.
“You are truly something else. It is suffocating beyond words. If someone goes to the trouble of speaking, should you not at least pretend to listen? How can a person be so bull-headed?”
Seeing Haeryeong’s gaze sharpen, Gangcheon realized he had said something he shouldn’t have again.
But he only said it because he was frustrated and hurt.
Gangcheon could not understand Haeryeong at all.
The man acted as though he would reform even someone who had killed him, yet why was Gangcheon treated worse than such a person?
“How can a person be so heartless?”
He had only added a single sentence as a complaint, but Haeryeong turned his head away as if he couldn’t stand the sight of him.
A laugh of futility leaked out.
Good grief. Laughing hollowly, everything suddenly felt meaningless.
What was the point of this life?
He had no one to lean on since childhood, and it was the same even at this age.
The Noble Consort he had cherished was hiding a scheme from the start, and the subordinate he valued betrayed him for the sake of his child.
Nothing went according to his will.
Just what sin had he committed in a past life to lead such a lonely existence?
His spirit truly flagged.
He felt like a fool for agonizing over how to win the heart of the only person he felt he could finally trust.
What was the use of trying?
That man only pushed him away, claiming everything he did was unnecessary.
Gangcheon felt the strength drain from his entire body and let his arms hang limp.
The letter he was holding fell to the floor with a rustle.
“If I had intended to harm the Empress, I would not have rushed here in my socks. If you cannot believe me even with your own eyes, what am I to do? Everything you say is correct. Are you satisfied now?”
Gangcheon took two more steps toward Haeryeong.
After confirming that the man had backed away from the table, Gangcheon fixed his gaze on the teacup sitting upon it.
“To clear my name, I suppose I have no choice but to drink this tea before you. Will that satisfy you? I am asking if it will take risking my life for you to believe me even a little.”
Haeryeong snapped back with a cold shout.
“Do not speak so lightly of things you cannot do, Your Majesty!”
Gangcheon offered a bitter smile, meeting Haeryeong’s frigid gaze.
How could he not back down even an inch?
Being told that even these words were unbelievable only made him more stubborn.
[Seok-hwan. Do not intervene, no matter what happens.]
Having sent the telepathic command to Seok-hwan, Gangcheon lifted the teacup and poured the cold tea down his throat in one gulp.
Gulp.
As the sound of the liquid passing down his throat echoed, Haeryeong’s eyes grew as wide as lanterns.
Shocked beyond measure, his mouth fell open as round as his eyes.
Yet no sound could escape Haeryeong’s wide-open mouth.
Only then did Gangcheon look at him and laugh with a bit of spiteful satisfaction.
“I have done as you wished, so now, listen to my words.”
Haeryeong blocked his own mouth with his hand.
Eeeeek. A high-pitched sound like grinding metal escaped him.
The next moment, he twisted his body as if to bolt outside.
Gangcheon snatched Haeryeong’s forearm as he tried to brush past and pulled him close.
Haeryeong’s eyes shook frantically in shock, and his whole body shivered like an aspen leaf.
“Why are you trembling so?”
“Le… let… go…. Hah, the… the physician… call…”
“Haeryeong-ah, look at me.”
Gangcheon shook the man’s body lightly, trying to catch the gaze of the one who was busily mumbling to himself.
Finally stopping his movement, the Empress screamed.
“Are you in your right mind?!”
“My mind is perfectly fine.”
As Gangcheon replied flatly, Haeryeong’s face distorted, and he shouted toward the outside.
“Han Su-yong! Iryeon! Is anyone there?! Quickly, fetch the Imperial Physician! The physician! His… His Majesty has…”
“Haeryeong-ah.”
Gangcheon shook his arm again.
But Haeryeong did not stop screaming for help, and soon Manchul and Iryeon rushed into the inner chamber in a panic.
In a voice on the verge of tears, Haeryeong commanded them.
“His Majesty has taken poison. Quickly, fetch the Imperial Physician.”
Manchul let out a horrified groan, but Gangcheon did not take his eyes off Haeryeong.
The chaotic situation was soon brought to order by Seok-hwan’s appearance.
“I shall bring the physician. You two, prepare as much water and salt as possible.”
Even after the others hurried from the room, Gangcheon stared only at Haeryeong’s face.
It took roughly one sijin for the Chilyeopcho poison to spread and cause death.
First, one would vomit blood from the mouth, followed by the nose, eyes, and ears in order, before dying.
Though there was still time, the period he could remain conscious was much shorter.
Moreover, since this poison had no known antidote, Gangcheon believed his time was truly limited.
Therefore, he wanted to finish the conversation he had started.
“Are you still refusing to listen to me even after this?”
Haeryeong was now weeping, tears streaming from his large eyes.
Seeing him cry in pure terror, the earlier venom completely gone, Gangcheon offered a faint smile.
“Why do you cry? What is there to worry about? If I die, you will become the pinnacle of this nation.”
There was no heir and no remaining Imperial family members.
While there were those of his aunt’s bloodline waiting for their execution after the last rebellion, he had intended to deal with them all before he left.
So once he vanished, Haeryeong could simply think of it as a relief, could he not?
The Empress would become the regent and rule the country, so what was the problem?
To think that a man he loathed had vanished should make him smile even in his sleep.
But Haeryeong began to weep even more sorrowfully than before.
Between his loud wails, a barrage of complaints flowed out.
“Who… hic… ever wanted… sob… such a thing?! Just what are you thinking?! Did you think I would… wah… dance with joy if Your Majesty died before my eyes?!”
“You said you hated me so much, I assumed you would.”
At Gangcheon’s words, Haeryeong raised his fisted hands.
He began to pound on Gangcheon’s chest with his small, cute fists.
Though his chest throbbed with pain from the increasingly rapid blows, he somehow felt like laughing.
Gangcheon stealthily pulled Haeryeong into his embrace and asked.
“Are you actually worried about me now?”
Instead of answering, Haeryeong burst into louder wails and continued to drum on Gangcheon’s chest.
For some reason, the strength in the fists seemed to be increasing.
Gangcheon giggled and rested his face against the man’s ear.
He felt a bit languid; perhaps the heat was starting to rise in his body.
Gangcheon lightly caressed Haeryeong’s back and whispered to him.
“Listen to me. I have words I must say to you.”
Haeryeong shook his head violently as if refusing to hear, but Gangcheon paid him no mind.
Since he was going to die anyway, he intended to do exactly as he pleased until the end.
“Since I grew up without knowing human affection, I was unaware that I was causing you so much pain. You do not have to forgive what I have done, nor do you have to trust me. However, how do you feel right now? Are you crying because you worry for me, or are you crying simply because you are shocked?”
Gangcheon pulled his head away and cupped the pale cheeks, which were now drenched in tears.
“Even if it is a lie, tell me that you are worried about me.”
He wanted to hear those words.
Surely even if he hated him, this man would feel pity for a dying man.
Even if the whole world laughed and cheered at Sa Gangcheon’s death, surely Lee Haeryeong would worry for him as he faced the end.
He wished for only that.
Haeryeong bowed his head and sobbed.
Gangcheon applied pressure to the hands on his cheeks, but the resisting Haeryeong was quite formidable.
In any case, he was a man who refused to follow his will until the very end.
“How heartless you are. Why will you not say the words I wish to hear even once?”
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read Eat Me, Sweetie! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : Eat Me, Sweetie
