Chapter 5: The Confession

Prince Jin’s birth mother, Noble Consort Hyeonsuk, had originally been a courtesan.

Although she had risen to the rank of imperial consort with the finest beauty of her era, Noble Consort Hyeonsuk’s life had been utterly tragic.

Entangled in the battle for imperial favor, she departed this world at a young age.

The young Prince Jin left behind was essentially reduced to a tiny boat drifting upon the vast open sea.

With neither a maternal family to back him nor wealth to his name, he could not help but suffer countless injustices.

Had he not been born a Prime Yang, it would have been difficult for him even to survive.

To bestow a courtesan upon such a Prince Jin under the pretext that she suited him well.

This was not a reward, but an outright insult.

Even after being insulted at a gathering held under the guise of celebration, not a single flicker of emotion crossed Prince Jin’s face.

Rather, he merely let out a mocking sneer, as if it were all too laughable.

The one who felt humiliated by that reaction was instead Prince Wu.

He had orchestrated a golden opportunity to humiliate Prince Jin, yet a premonition struck him that something was going awry.

Prince Wu barked toward Hwawol.

“Hwawol, serve Prince Jin from this day forward!”

“Y-Your Highness.”

“This concubine is already Your Highness’s Yin.”

“How could you send me to another Yang…?”

“Quiet, silence!”

“Are you defying my command?”

Putting Prince Jin aside, how dare even a mere concubine disobey his words?

Irritation flaring, Prince Wu flew into a temper, yet Hwawol was equally desperate.

“Your Highness, please reconsider.”

“This concubine has only Your Highness…!”

“I cannot leave Your Highness’s side!”

Hwawol hastily dropped to her knees and pleaded.

It was behavior unbecoming of someone whose haughtiness usually pierced the heavens.

Yet if she were handed over to Prince Jin like this, there was no telling what grim fate awaited her, so Hwawol had no choice but to be desperate.

“Silence, I say!”

“Are you, a mere courtesan, trying to cling to chastity?”

“I am no longer a courtesan, but Your Highness’s Yin alone!”

“If you are to send me to another Yang, I would rather die by Your Highness’s own hand!”

“You babble whatever comes out of that mouth of yours.”

“Fine, very well.”

“Do you think I would hesitate to kill you if you ask for death?”

Unable to rein in his fury, Prince Wu kicked back his chair and rose.

He snatched a sword from a nearby guard.

With a metallic scrape, the blade cleared its scabbard, ringing with a chilling sound.

“Eek…!”

“Your Highness, please calm your wrath!”

The banquet was on the very brink of being bathed in blood.

Startled onlookers rushed to hold Prince Wu back.

Yet such pleas did not sway the hot-tempered and stubborn Prince Wu.

Brandishing the sword loosely in his hand, he strode toward Hwawol.

“Husband, spare me!”

“Husband…!”

“Vile wench, you still have not come to your senses!”

“Choose, Hwawol.”

“Will you die as my concubine, or will you go to Prince Jin?”

“I-I will go to Prince Jin.”

“To His Highness Prince Jin…”

“Sob, please spare my life, Husband—no, Your Highness… I will obey Your Highness’s command…”

Stricken with terror, Hwawol burst into tears.

Tears streaked down her beautifully painted face.

It was a pitiful sight, yet few held any sympathy for Hwawol.

Prince Wu’s consorts were inwardly gloating, and there were even those who felt a perverse pleasure at the sight of a lovely Yin reduced to misery.

Only one person, Wei Shiyoung, genuinely felt pity for Hwawol.

He knew all too well the terror of dying by an imperial prince’s blade.

Though it had been in a dream and under different circumstances, the terror of that moment was still vivid.

‘Prince Jin and Prince Wu are one and the same.’

‘Is being royalty everything, that they treat human life as so trifling…’

As he clicked his tongue in disdain, a sudden realization struck Wei Shiyoung like a bolt of lightning.

Only now did he understand why Hwawol had been absent from his prophetic dream.

‘She left Prince Wu’s estate after becoming Prince Jin’s concubine!’

This had surely been Zhang Meiang’s machination.

What mattered was not such behind-the-scenes intrigue, but the undeniable fact that Hwawol had escaped the household of a traitor.

It was truly a blessing in disguise.

The moment he realized the method to survive, Wei Shiyoung leapt to his feet.

Time was too pressing to hesitate or act with caution.

He marched purposefully toward Prince Wu.

“Husband!”

“W-What is it?”

His presence was commanding enough to make even Prince Wu recoil slightly.

Wei Shiyoung dropped to his knees with a resounding thud.

Then, like a general declaring his departure for the front lines, he proclaimed boldly.

“I beg of you, please send me to His Highness Prince Jin!”

The entire hall froze in stunned silence.

It was a situation far more preposterous than what had just unfolded.

Shoving a courtesan onto Prince Jin was at least comprehensible, but whatever was this madness supposed to be?

Having gathered his wits, Prince Wu spoke.

“…Have you lost your mind, Wei Shiyoung?”

“I have not.”

“My mind is clearer than ever.”

“Then why are you acting like a madman?”

Madness.

Those words fit precisely.

Even Wei Shiyoung thought this was sheer lunacy.

Yet he wanted to live.

He had to survive and protect his family.

If it meant achieving that, he was willing to play the madman as many times as necessary.

“It is because I wish to serve His Highness Prince Jin.”

“I am asking you for the reason!”

“What does Prince Jin have to do with you!”

“Four years ago, Prince Jin led reinforcements to Wunan Fortress.”

“At that time, His Highness saved my life.”

“From that day on, I… I…”

It was often said that politics was a battle of justification.

The present moment was no different.

If he merely shouted to be sent to Prince Jin without any plausible justification, it was obvious he would be dismissed as a raving lunatic and that would be the end of it.

“…I have been deeply in love with His Highness Prince Jin!”

Therefore, Wei Shiyoung hurled out a monumental justification.

It was a lie, of course, but what did that matter?

Since Prince Jin was a Prime Yang and he was a Yin, it was not entirely nonsensical.

In truth, there was no other pretext he could squeeze out anyway.

“Love, you say?”

“You are in love with Prince Jin?”

“Ha, love…”

Prince Wu muttered as if hearing the word ‘love’ for the first time in his life.

He did not appear to believe Wei Shiyoung’s confession at face value.

Lest his falsehood be exposed, Shiyoung quickly added.

“Is His Highness not robust and endowed with a countenance as beautiful as jade?”

“Moreover, his scent was so intensely sweet that I had no choice but to fall in love.”

“Mmm, Prince Jin’s face is indeed pointlessly handsome.”

“And as a warrior, his physique is commendable… But sweet scent?”

“Was Prince Jin’s scent ever sweet?”

“T-To me, it felt sweet beyond measure.”

“Haha, is that so?”

“You have fallen hard, haven’t you?”

Shiyoung had momentarily forgotten that the prince’s scent was as far from sweet as could be.

Breaking into a cold sweat, Wei Shiyoung gauged Prince Wu’s reaction.

Even if he was a neglected consort, he had essentially confessed to unfaithfulness, so there was no way he would be left unscathed.

Fearing that he might be struck down by Prince Wu’s sword instead of Prince Jin’s, Shiyoung hastened to apologize.

“Forgive me, Your Highness…”

“Please punish this unworthy consort.”

“No.”

“How can one stem the flow of a wandering heart?”

Unexpectedly, Prince Wu responded like a paragon of virtue.

Of course, it was not out of pity for Wei Shiyoung.

It was because Prince Wu had his own calculations.

Wei Shiyoung was a consort who possessed not a single pleasing trait in his eyes.

Despite being a Yin, was he not more solidly built than Prince Wu himself, and superior in martial arts to boot?

Even smelling the scent released during his heat made one doubt whether he was genuinely a Yin.

This was a golden opportunity to rid himself of such a Wei Shiyoung.

Since the man wanted to leave on his own two feet, there was no reason to stop him.

Rather, he was eager to shove him out the door.

Fearing he might change his mind, Prince Wu encouraged Wei Shiyoung.

“Now that I think about it, you and Prince Jin suit each other rather well.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Indeed.”

“Do you not hail from a martial family?”

“You must share common ground with a commander like Prince Jin.”

“Yes, I revere His Highness Prince Jin’s martial arts.”

That, at least, was no lie.

As one warrior to another, Wei Shiyoung truly admired Prince Jin’s martial skill.

Prince Jin was someone who wielded a blade both elegantly and lethally.

While he had admired and envied that swordsmanship in the past, today it brought him nothing but sheer terror.

‘At this rate, I might end up dying today without even waiting for winter…’

Wei Shiyoung squeezed his eyes shut.

The presence emanating from behind his back was terrifyingly murderous.

Even without turning around, he knew it was Prince Jin.

The aura had been ominous from the moment he rushed forward, but now it was downright homicidal.

Perhaps due to rage, his scent was leaking out as well.

As if the insidious scent was wrapping around his throat and strangling him, Wei Shiyoung gasped for air.

“There is no need to be tearful, Wei Shiyoung.”

“…”

“I understand your feelings of love well.”

“While harboring unfaithfulness is insolent, how could I stop you when you love Prince Jin so deeply?”

“I shall send you to Prince Jin.”

“T-Truly?”

Wei Shiyoung snapped his head up.

Before him sat Prince Wu, beaming with delight.

It was the most benevolent expression he had shown in all the three years Shiyoung had known him.

Yet Prince Jin himself remained freezing cold.

“I refuse.”

A surging wave of scent crashed over Wei Shiyoung.

It was threatening, as if released deliberately.

It conveyed a refusal far clearer than words.

Under the unprecedented intensity of a Prime Yang’s scent, Shiyoung’s head spun with dizziness.

“You are acting far too harsh, Prince Jin.”

“Do you not feel pity for a Yin who has loved you with such pure devotion?”

“Prince Wu, I have explicitly refused.”

“Do not foist an unfaithful Yin upon me under flimsy pretexts.”

Prince Jin had now cast aside even the barest respect for his elder brother.

At that, the world went dark before Wei Shiyoung’s eyes.

Prince Jin showed not the slightest intention of accepting him.

Even in Shiyoung’s opinion, it was only natural.

When someone as ungraceful as himself threw himself at him declaring his love, what Yang would welcome it with open arms?

In his heart, the prince might very well wish to cut him down with a single stroke.

Even so, Wei Shiyoung could not back down.

“Your Highness Prince Jin, please take me in.”

“I do not seek Your Highness’s affection.”

“Nor will I contend for your favor.”

“Only allow me to remain by Your Highness’s side…”

“Even as a concubine rather than a consort is fine.”

“No, even as a menial laborer, I do not care, so please… make me your person.”

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