Chapter 53: Echoes of Another Life

Yeo Song clasped his small hands together and bowed his head deeply before the Princess of Jeongan, responding with formal courtesy. It seemed that while the bond between mother and son was usually close, the princess maintained a strict, measured distance whenever she had to correct him.

Anok watched the exchange, quietly swallowing down a bitter wave of envy, before his eyes locked with Yeo Jae-won’s. The prince stood just behind the princess, his presence heavy and silent.

The Princess of Jeongan lightly reprimanded the young prince before turning to listen to the physician’s assessment of the injury. Throughout it all, Yeo Jae-won kept his gaze fixed directly on Anok, his expression entirely composed. Ultimately, it was Anok who broke the contact first, averting his eyes into the distance.

Only after the physician explicitly confirmed that the scrape was entirely superficial did the Princess of Jeongan let out a quiet sigh of relief. She instructed the head nurse to carry Yeo Song inside, then turned back toward Yeo Jae-won, a slightly awkward look passing over her features.

No matter how comfortable they were with one another, she clearly felt a pang of embarrassment for losing her composure and lecturing the child in front of her brother-in-law and his new spouse. She did her best to mask the momentary unease.

“Then I shall leave the matter of Kim Myeong-hyeon entirely to you, Your Highness,” Yeo Jae-won spoke smoothly, his face a mask of absolute calm as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

The Princess of Jeongan offered a solid nod. “When your schedule permits, please bring your spouse to visit our estate more often. My husband has few acquaintances within the capital and rarely finds a reason to venture outside our walls.”

As if sensing her lingering awkwardness, Yeo Jae-won, who had been on the verge of taking his formal leave, suddenly brought the conversation back to Anok. Only then did the princess turn her attention fully to the young man.

Anok, who had intentionally stepped away to give them space, was caught off guard by the ease with which Yeo Jae-won had referred to himself as a husband.

“Grand Consort Myeong.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Anok replied quickly.

The Princess of Jeongan stepped closer, a gentle smile appearing on her face as she looked at the tall young man who had quietly lowered his gaze, waiting for her words. Aware that members of the royal family could be deeply intimidating, she spoke in a reassuring tone, attempting to put him at ease.

“There is an Archery Society formed by the ladies of the inner and outer courts. It is an esteemed gathering, and our members achieve remarkable results during the spring and autumn imperial hunts.”

Anok’s eyes trembled slightly beneath his long, lowered lashes.

He was well aware of the society’s existence. It comprised not only the women of the imperial family but also the wives of high-ranking officials and prominent nobles. As the princess noted, their skill was highly respected.

However, Anok had never been taught the art of the bow. In his youth, he had caught small game in the mountains by setting simple traps, but he had never released an arrow. No one had ever offered to teach him.

In his previous life, Anok had deliberately avoided the society. Every single time he had forced himself to attend, Consort Sa had gone out of her way to humiliate him, leading him to withdraw entirely.

“I shall ensure an invitation is sent to your estate,” the princess continued warmly. “It matters not if you are entirely inexperienced; the primary purpose of the gathering is to foster meaningful relationships.”

Did she ever make such a kind offer to me in the past? Anok blinked slowly, trying to recall. Regardless of his past memories, it would be incredibly disrespectful to decline the princess’s explicit kindness now.

Driven by an instinct beyond his own will, Anok’s troubled gaze naturally sought out the most familiar face in the garden. Yeo Jae-won gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod, silently signaling that he should accept the invitation.

“……I have never even held a bow,” Anok admitted softly, his voice carrying a trace of hesitation.

The Princess of Jeongan reached out, gently patting his shoulder to reassure him. “It is of no consequence. Besides, do you not have the finest instructor in the entire capital residing right inside your own estate?”

“Pardon? Ah……”

The instructor she referred to was undoubtedly Yeo Jae-won. Anok’s gaze shifted to the man standing a few paces behind the petite woman, his distinct, powerful presence impossible to ignore.

Yeo Jae-won might very well be the most lethal archer in the capital, but the idea of him acting as a patient teacher was absurd. The man simply did not possess the immense forbearance required to guide a novice—especially not him. Had the prince not gone out of his way to hire an external master just to teach him basic horsemanship? Anok pressed his lips together, barely suppressing a frown.

“The Prince of Myeong mastered the bow at a exceptionally young age,” the princess added, praising her brother-in-law in an effort to encourage Anok. “He simply has not participated in the imperial hunts for several seasons, but his precision remains entirely undiminished. Pray, ask your husband for guidance.”

Believing Anok was simply unaware of the prince’s martial talents, she smiled warmly, clearly hoping this shared activity might also help bridge the visible distance between the newlyweds.

Only after Anok offered a polite, forced smile and a nod did the princess step back. Despite having overheard every single word of the conversation, Yeo Jae-won approached with an entirely neutral expression, smoothly reaching out to take Anok by the wrist.

“My spouse has not spent this much time outdoors in quite a while. The sun is exceptionally bright today, and he must be growing fatigued. We shall take our leave now.”

“I shall come to visit the estate shortly. Travel safely,” the princess replied.

Watching Yeo Jae-won seamlessly fabricate a convenient excuse regarding his health, Anok swallowed a heavy sigh, exchanging the final polite pleasantries under the safe guise of being fragile.

The very moment they cleared the palace gates and left the Geumwon gardens behind, Anok sharply wrenched his wrist free from the prince’s grip. With his mind completely thrown into turmoil by the incident with the child, he had absolutely no desire for physical contact.

He walked briskly ahead, intentionally leaving his husband behind, though a relaxed, effortless shadow followed closely in his wake. After a long, tense silence, Yeo Jae-won finally spoke up.

“I received word that you practically sprinted to the pavilion while carrying Prince Jinyang yourself.”

Anok’s face hardened. Was the man preparing to reprimand him for making a scene at another royal estate? He turned around fully to look at the prince.

“A child was bleeding. I could not afford to waste time.”

His words cut through the air with a sharp, defensive edge. No matter how many hundreds of times he reminded himself that the man standing before him was not the same cruel Emperor from his past, he constantly found himself dragged back into the old script.

While such a cold rebuttal would have deeply offended anyone else, Yeo Jae-won merely stared at him, his usual proud, unreadable expression intact as he muttered quietly, almost to himself.

“I had assumed you harbored a dislike for children.”

During their time in Baekya-bu, Anok had never gone out of his way to dote on the young. He had merely offered the ordinary, passing interest anyone might show when a toddler wandered past.

His profound, agonizing connection to children had only formed after he became a parent himself. As Anok froze in his tracks, Yeo Jae-won stepped closer, his dark eyes searching.

“Is that not the case?”

To snap back with ‘What business is it of yours?’ would be a severe breach of etiquette. Anok stared directly into the prince’s face, the words tearing off his tongue like a honed blade.

“Even if I favored them immensely, what difference would it make?”

“……?”

“Now that I am the Grand Consort, there will never be children under my care.”

There had once been a child between them, but that reality belonged entirely to a life that had been erased. Though the threads of fate would spin as they pleased, Anok was fiercely determined to never repeat the crushing agony of that loss.

Yeo Jae-won stared down at him with an inscrutable gaze, then leaned his head down. Because Anok’s hair was pinned up immaculately for the visit, his ears were completely exposed. The prince lightly pressed his forehead against the shell of Anok’s ear, letting out a soft, low chuckle meant for him alone.

“If you possess such a deep affection for children, we could always adopt an heir.”

“I have no desire for that.”

“Meaning you refuse to care for a child that does not share your blood? Even so, you are well aware that you cannot take concubines.”

“Mind your surroundings,” Anok hissed, his face flushing with anger. “How can you speak such reckless, absurd words so easily?”

“It truly seems you have no intention of letting me fulfill my duties as your husband.”

“Your Highness……!”

The prince was clearly mocking his intensity, using it as a game to amuse himself. Anok’s heart was twisted and aching with old wounds, yet this man, entirely ignorant of the past, was merely enjoying the banter. Glaring at him with utter disdain, Anok snapped his wide sleeve away and walked off at a furious pace.

“Do you even know the way to the outer gates? Why must you walk so incredibly fast—as though you have navigated these paths a thousand times before?”

“Perhaps it is because Your Highness insists on treating serious matters as a common jest,” Anok threw back over his shoulder.

“I find it entertaining,” Yeo Jae-won replied, a chuckle starting to form in his throat.

But the laugh cut short as a sudden, violent throb flared behind his eyes, causing him to frown deeply. Recognizing the immediate shift in his master’s condition, Chief Eunuch Seok hurried forward to offer his arm for support, but Yeo Jae-won waved him away with a sharp gesture.

“Are you well, Your Highness?” the old servant asked, his face tight with deep anxiety.

The prince had been perfectly fine upon leaving their own estate, but around the time of the wedding, these agonizing headaches had grown progressively worse. Even the most resilient warrior could be worn down to the bone during a grueling three-year period of mourning. Was it possible that some lingering physical ailment was finally taking its toll? A flood of worrisome thoughts crossed the old eunuch’s face as he looked at the master he had served for decades.

The dull, heavy ache spreading from the prince’s temples was incredibly sharp at its peak. As he paused in the middle of the path to let the wave pass, it felt as though jagged fragments of something foreign were violently rummaging through the depths of his mind. Through his blurred peripheral vision, the vibrant violet-blue hem of Anok’s robes flickered as the young man walked further away.

Why does the sight of him turning his back on me feel so unnervingly familiar?

Yeo Jae-won closed his eyes tightly, forcing out a long, ragged breath. The blinding pain, which had threatened to sweep away every coherent thought, slowly began to recede into a dull thrum.

By the time they reached the outer gates of the palace, Anok had already boarded the carriage he had arrived in, refusing to wait.

“My spouse truly saves his coldest behavior entirely for me,” Yeo Jae-won muttered with a wry, self-deprecating smile before climbing into his own carriage.

Shortly after their return to the Myeong estate, urgent word arrived from the inner quarters. Anok, who had seemed perfectly healthy throughout the entire visit at the Jeongan Palace, had suddenly collapsed with a violently high fever.

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