Chapter 102: Heart in Turmoil

The sight of the siblings, who seemed to share a deep bond, was pleasant to behold.

Yet, seeing Haeryeong weep like that left Gangcheon with a complicated feeling.

He had assumed the man simply possessed a temperament that allowed him to endure everything alone.

Gangcheon found it irritating that the man—who rarely showed what he held deep inside—was so prone to weeping.

While his tears before the Emperor felt piteous, seeing him cry in the arms of others made Gangcheon’s lips twist in a strange way.

As Gangcheon clicked his tongue again, Manchul, who was waiting behind him, whispered softly.

“Your Majesty, I too often forget that His Highness the Empress has only just reached twenty.”

“Please do not take it to heart too much.”

‘That is right.’

‘Barely twenty.’

When he first came to Yeoran, he was three years younger than that.

It was only natural for him to feel resentful toward the one who had left him entirely alone all that time.

Looking at it that way, the man’s nature was indeed quite gentle.

After all, his only rebellion against a husband who had neglected him for so long was the occasional word of dislike.

Gangcheon stared at the back of Haeryeong’s head and let out a faint smile.

Even at his age, human relationships remained incredibly difficult.

It was hard to find the heart to cherish both Sirak and the Empress equally.

But then, is that not simply the way of the human heart?

When he first saw Sirak, his melting laughter and the way he would cuddle up and act affectionately were merely cute.

Even when he failed to study as promised, Gangcheon had simply found it endearing at first.

However, those small things had accumulated, and a sense of disappointment had grown.

Was that not why he was growing more distant from the man?

On the other hand, the Empress caught his heart even more because he thought carefully and answered sincerely, even to a single word spoken in jest.

When those thoughtful eyes turned toward him, Gangcheon grew more curious about the man’s inner world.

He wondered how he would react if he said this, or if he would glare again if he said that.

While he poked and prodded to see his reactions, Gangcheon had eventually forgotten all about Sirak.

‘Since when did it start?’

‘When did I stop thinking of Sirak while with the Empress?’

At some point, looking into those clear eyes made everything else vanish from his mind.

Seeing a dejected expression made his hands twitch with the urge to comfort him.

Yet, when he spat out mean words to the man who kept pushing him away, he would find himself sighing involuntarily afterward.

Despite knowing he shouldn’t, his heart easily drifted from one place to another.

‘What a truly fickle heart.’

He wondered if state affairs could be managed properly when he couldn’t even find his footing between only two spouses.

Such thoughts made him question if he was truly looking after the nation correctly.

The feelings he hadn’t even felt when he first ascended the throne kept resurfacing whenever he met the Empress.

He felt as though he could somehow trust the man’s grave and serious answers.

Thus, whenever they discussed various matters, the Empress listened to him with all his heart.

He never listened to a word carelessly or let it pass; he would ponder and then answer whether something was well done or not.

Raised as royalty, the man was a quite helpful individual.

Of course, there were still things he didn’t know about the situation in Yeoran.

Even then, he did not answer recklessly, but questioned Gangcheon or those around him until he understood.

When an answer to a question asked at dinner the previous night only came the following day, Gangcheon would sometimes have forgotten it and only then recalled it.

Even before an Emperor who clearly showed he had forgotten, the Empress would provide an answer according to his convictions, his serious eyes sparkling.

When he spoke sternly, saying something “must not be,” it truly felt as though it were so.

When the Empress gave a word of praise, Gangcheon’s shoulders would even swell with a bit of pride.

The Empress had a surprising knack for swaying his emotions.

Looking at his clear gaze made him want to grant his every wish, yet seeing him look wary made him want to tease him maliciously.

He was a person who truly unsettled a man’s heart.

Unaware that Gangcheon had belatedly noticed his hurt and wanted to soothe him, the man would often speak harsh words.

‘Just what am I to do with him?’

“Manchul.”

Gangcheon called for the one who had stayed by his side the longest after chewing over his feelings for Haeryeong for a while.

“When human relations do not go as one’s heart desires, what should one do?”

“If you wish for a good relationship, serve them like a parent; if you wish to remain on bad terms, treat them like an enemy. Is it not that simple?”

“I have never properly served a parent.”

At Gangcheon’s words, Manchul let out a sigh.

“Do exactly as you did for Her Late Highness, the Suk-won.”

“With the heart that drove you to light the fires in the early dawn, surely you can move even a mountain of stone.”

Gangcheon let out an irritated sigh at Manchul’s words.

“It has to be a reasonable stone for me to move it.”

“The problem is that he stands there not like a stone, but like a mountain of rock.”

Manchul let out a rare laugh.

When Gangcheon stole a glance back, the eunuch stopped laughing and slowly bowed his waist.

“Then Your Majesty must work hard until the mountain of rock looks back.”

Gangcheon sent Manchul a narrow-eyed look and turned his gaze back out the window.

Having finally stopped weeping, the profile of the man looking between his siblings was graced with a smile like a red flower petal.

A sigh escaped him for some reason.

‘If only you would smile like that before me, I would pile up gold like a mountain for you. Why are you so lacking in tact?’

While grumbling internally, Gangcheon remained unaware of his own expression.

He failed to notice that despite his constant clicking of the tongue, a faint smile was etched on his lips.

[Your Majesty.]

Seok-hwan sent a telepathic message to Gangcheon, who was watching Haeryeong and his siblings.

[The interrogation concluded at dawn.]

The Black Shadow Unit had seized and interrogated several officials from the Bureau of Military Equipment to track the origin of the akisal made of ojuk.

At first, they only interrogated those in charge of directly managing the inventory, but they knew nothing.

Thus, they moved up the ranks, eventually calling in the Secretaries and Vice-Directors.

When Gangcheon did not reply, Seok-hwan proceeded with the report.

[We have confirmed that there is no discrepancy between the warehouse inventory and the remaining quantities recorded in the ledgers.]

[It seems the ojuk used to make the akisal indeed leaked from the Ministry of War.]

Evidence had already been confirmed that the Ministry of War had requested a significant amount of ojuk at the beginning of last winter.

The problem was that the person who requested it was Jeong Yak-hong, the current Jibusa.

Gangcheon narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.

‘Does the Noble Consort’s foster father have a connection with the Minister of Rites?’

Although it hadn’t been confirmed that the Minister of Rites was the mastermind behind the spy, it certainly felt that way.

While it was Gangcheon’s own men who had orchestrated the rebellion before the enthronement, the Minister of Rites had been the core of the group actively plotting it.

Had he not known the man was Sirak’s grandfather, he wouldn’t have cared what Jeong Yak-hong did.

He would have laughed if the man had used the ojuk to build a house, wondering what that individual could possibly achieve.

But the timing was remarkably coincidental.

Just as he discovered the link between Sirak and the Minister of Rites, the connection between Jeong Yak-hong and the ojuk was revealed.

As if it were all part of a calculated design.

‘No.’ Gangcheon shifted his perspective.

‘Perhaps there are more incidents that passed by simply because I didn’t find them suspicious.’

‘Is everything not coming to light bit by bit only after I began to find Sirak suspicious?’

‘Perhaps even more has transpired without my knowledge.’

[Ask the men monitoring Jeong Yak-hong’s residence to identify where his servants frequent.]

[See if there are any overlaps with the places frequented by the Minister of Rites’ servants.]

[Furthermore, increase the surveillance on the Consort’s quarters. Investigate everything brought in from his private home without exception.]

Gangcheon bared his teeth in a fierce smile.

If Sirak’s goal was to block the Emperor’s eyes and ears, he had done a magnificent job.

He felt a surge of regret for the things he had failed to notice while being so focused on cherishing him.

****

Haeryeong finished his meal with the delegation in the pavilion the Emperor’s eunuchs had prepared in advance.

A mere breakfast.

Seeing the delegation looking dazed after receiving such meager treatment made his heart heavy.

Still, Haeryeong kept a beaming smile to hide his feelings.

Heamyung, having finished his meal in near-silence, let out a sigh.

“How much you must have suffered, with not a soul you know beside you.”

Heasu also nodded in agreement after cleansing her mouth with the provided water.

“Everyone was so worried because you were quite shy even back in Yeonseo.”

Haeryeong went wide-eyed at her words.

“Was I shy, Sister?”

Heasu narrowed her eyes and gave Haeryeong a playful look.

“If it were only shyness, it would be a blessing.”

“You were so full of fear that I cannot count how many times I was summoned to your quarters because you burst into tears the moment the sun went down.”

“Brother Heamyung was summoned several times as well.”

“That was when I was a child…”

It was only natural, as he had been given separate quarters at the age of four.

At Haeryeong’s pouting grumble, Heasu let out a laugh and continued to tease him.

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