Chapter 23: The Root of Discord

The best defense was always a strong offense. When Yeo Jae-won struck a nerve with his sudden bluntness, Ahnok’s mouth clamped shut.

Is he truly willing to throw away these ideal conditions and the fate of Baekya-bu for a mere lover? His curiosity toward the unpredictable Ahnok deepened. He pulled the corner of his lip into a slanted smirk.

“Ah, did I hit the mark? It seems you truly do have a lover left behind.”

It was foolish. Ignorant and pitiful. The fact that the boy was thinking of abandoning a life-altering opportunity and fleeing all for the sake of affection was as absurd as it was strangely pathetic.

Yet, it was typical of his age. Twenty—exactly the age where one might entertain such romantic whims.

However, Yeo Jae-won could not let him go for such a trivial reason. This marriage was not a simple matter he could afford to sabotage.

His Imperial Father was a fastidious and inscrutable man. While the Emperor claimed that a man should harbor ambition, he simultaneously dismissed any genuine challenge for the now-vacant Eastern Palace as “greed.”

Perhaps the Emperor secretly wished to pass that seat to Prince Hye. For over a decade, Noble Consort Sa had been his steadfast favorite; it was highly probable he intended to hand the throne to her bloodline.

But if it truly was Noble Consort Sa who had harmed the late Crown Prince, then Yeo Jae-won could never allow her son to take the Eastern Palace. Beyond his desire for his father’s recognition, he had to ascend the throne for the sake of his deceased mother and brother.

Yeo Jae-won’s expression cooled into a frozen mask. He would ruthlessly crush and trample anything that obstructed his path to the Eastern Palace.

“And if I do?”

At the somewhat provocative counter-question, Yeo Jae-won replied nonchalantly.

“Then I must eliminate them.”

The scales of legitimacy were currently tipping in his favor. Scholarly officials and principled traditionalists were gathering around him, hoping to back the returned Prince of Myeong.

They were both an asset and a liability. While they helped consolidate his power, their support invited his father’s suspicion.

This marriage was his chance to offset that liability. Even if it was pitiful to break the flower-like affection blooming in his betrothed’s heart, it was a necessary cruelty.

“Whether I eliminate the person you call your lover, or eliminate that heart you harbor for them.”

He was also curious. Who on earth was this person who held the heart of this fresh-faced youth so tightly that he would dare ask a Grand Prince to call off their engagement?

What kind of magnificent person could make the seat beside him seem so unappealing?

“It is not a marriage based on mutual affection anyway, so what does it matter if I have a lover? Whether I fold my heart or you eliminate my lover, I will never love Your Highness.”

Mutual affection. How laughable. Yet, as he mulled over the words “I will never love you,” an inexplicable sense of unpleasantness washed over him.

Then again, who could hear that someone would never like them and brush it off like a trivial joke? Though it was clearly a jarring point, Yeo Jae-won maintained his composure and replied in a steady tone.

Since it wasn’t a marriage of love, everything was technically irrelevant. It was a bond formed by enduring any condition for the sake of the union. That was the nature of a political marriage.

He decided there was no point in continuing the conversation further. He had heard Ahnok’s request and learned that the reason for wanting an annulment was a “lover.”

It was a request he would not grant and a reason he had no intention of considering.

Yeo Jae-won, who had intended to deliver his message and send the boy back to the annex, added a few more words.

“Get rid of your lover before I find them, even if I have to turn the lands of Baekya-bu upside down.”

He knew he was being selfish. But if he couldn’t let Ahnok go, it was better to remove any element that might become a distraction.

“What… do you mean by that?”

“I’m telling you to erase those feelings.”

Affection was, after all, just an emotion. No matter how beautiful a flower is, it does not bloom for more than ten days; no matter how full the moon becomes, it begins to wane after the fifteenth. Feelings were no different. Rather than letting the boy cling to a stagnant, unsightly despair over someone he could never meet, it was better to cut it off at the root.

Perhaps the command to forget his lover was too sorrowful; Ahnok’s large eyes welled with moisture. He crumpled his delicate features with all his might, stood up, offered a bow, and walked out of his own accord.

Yeo Jae-won sat still, staring at the door as if tracing the afterimage of the pale blue hem of the boy’s robe. Soon, the headache returned, stabbing his brain like needles. He bent his knuckles and pressed them against his temple.

A familiar feeling, as if he had seen this before. Yet, no trace of it could be found anywhere. Strange words and actions wrapped in a mysterious déjà vu.

The existence of “Ahnok” was a sudden, massive contradiction—an insoluble riddle.

But who exactly is this lover? Is it a first love…?

In an instant, his mood soured, crumpling like paper caught in the rain. Pressing his palm with his fingers, he brooded over Ahnok’s unknown lover for a moment before shaking off the clinging thoughts.

As he stared at the seat where Ahnok had sat, he suddenly recalled the scratch on the clear face he had seen up close. He didn’t know how the boy had been hurt, but it was clearly a fresh wound.

“Eunuch Seok, are you outside?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Command me.”

Eunuch Seok entered immediately upon being called.

“Take some medicine for a facial scratch to the annex.”

“To the annex? Is Master Ahnok injured?”

“I saw a scratch on his cheek. It doesn’t seem to require a physician, so just send the medicine. Tell Court Lady Cho to ensure he applies it diligently, as the wedding is not far off.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Eunuch Seok tilted his head curiously before nodding and withdrawing.

Even if I hadn’t stepped in, they would have called a doctor or used medicine if needed. Did I do something unnecessary? The thought occurred to him only after the eunuch had left, but it was too late to take it back.

Ahnok was a being that invited far too many thoughts. Before the origin-less headache could take hold again, Yeo Jae-won stood up and headed toward the table piled with unread reports.

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