Chapter 11: The Unlit Lamp

After tumbling around so much, the clothes he had just changed into were covered in dirt. A voice of complaint flowed from Yun-jo’s mouth.

“Beom-il, do you know how much this costs…!”

The truth was, Yun-jo didn’t know how much it cost either. But it was obviously expensive. It wasn’t that he lacked money, but the problem was he didn’t even know where to get such clothes. It was a rare outfit he liked.

As he got upset, Beom-il, whether feeling a bit sorry or not, folded his ears and let out two short cries.

“Ooh, ooh.”

“It’s fine. I can wash it. Let’s go to the stream.”

“Ooh—”

As if in agreement, Beom-il let out a long sound.

Taking off his clothes, Yun-jo went to the stream. Without any detergent, just soaking and shaking them in the water did nothing to remove the deeply embedded dirt. He carefully kneaded the thin silk, worried it might tear; it was so thin that light shone through when held up to the sun. Meanwhile, Beom-il, despite coming to the stream, didn’t go in the water; instead, he sniffed the grass nearby and wagged his tail gently.

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”

When Yun-jo turned and asked, Beom-il snorted. Pretending not to hear was a clear admission. It was definitely a protest about being left alone near the red gate the day before. Plus, it included dissatisfaction about Yun-jo not returning immediately and wandering around until now.

“Fine, I’m sorry. But I had to go check.”

Yun-jo had already realized in the carriage that the other man was the Crown Prince.

From what he learned by grabbing people in the city, the one visiting Anwon was the Empress’s nephew. But that was surely a lie. There were plenty of reasons the Crown Prince wouldn’t reveal his identity outside the palace. He could easily use a relative’s name for that purpose.

To confirm his guess, Yun-jo went to the palace as soon as he fell asleep today. Sure enough, the Crown Prince was not in the Crown Prince’s residence. The door was closed as usual, so at first glance, it seemed no different, but Yun-jo noticed the hall was empty. That convinced him the guest at Anwon was the Crown Prince himself.

“Pfft.”

Hearing Beom-il’s snort, Yun-jo turned his head.

Beom-il, who had already realized from the smell on Yun-jo’s new clothes and body that he had snuck into the camp, fallen into water at dawn, and caused all sorts of commotion to attract Sahyeon’s attention, looked at him with a mocking gaze.

“Well, it bothers me,” Yun-jo said in excuse.

Sahyeon was the first person he saw when he came here. Maybe that’s why he felt a sense of familiarity on his own. Besides, he was injured, and when Yun-jo offered water, he reached out like a wounded animal. When something like that happens, it’s natural to get concerned.

Though Sahyeon probably doesn’t remember.

“Phew.”

At the snort, Yun-jo frowned and shot back.

“What? Overstepping?”

“Prrrr.”

Beom-il stood up and flicked water with his tail.

“This bastard.”

Yun-jo reached out to grab Beom-il’s retreating tail, but Beom-il turned and lunged, causing both to fall into the stream. Beom-il liked water and was a good swimmer, but being suddenly immersed startled him, and he jumped up on the spot and ran far away. Left alone, Yun-jo climbed out of the stream, dripping wet.

This was already his second dunking today.

In reality, he’d be heading to the emergency room, but here his stamina was abundant, so it was really fortunate. He lay flat on a warm rock heated by the sun and sorted through the thoughts that had been swirling in his head since last night.

The reason Sahyeon bothered him so much wasn’t just because they had met before.

The question of why he was in that state back then still remained. But what kept circling in his head now was yesterday’s event.

When the arrow flew into the carriage, Sahyeon wasn’t surprised or afraid. Even Yun-jo, who rarely worried about dying here, felt cold sweat on his back when the arrow grazed him. But Sahyeon showed no hint of agitation amidst the attack clearly aimed at him. It was an attitude impossible if one valued their life even a little.

On the contrary.

It was as if… he wanted to die.

“Nah, that can’t be.”

It was a ridiculous thought. You can’t judge anything from such a brief encounter. Above all, he wasn’t an ordinary commoner’s son but the Crown Prince who would inherit the throne. What could he possibly be lacking? Wasn’t he just waiting to become emperor?

“Or is it really overstepping?”

But once such a feeling takes hold, it sticks in the mind like an unpleasant premonition and can’t be shaken off. The reason Yun-jo went all the way to the camp was to confirm that he was overthinking things.

But he couldn’t confirm anything.

Yun-jo didn’t know much about Sahyeon. But he knew how dangerous that boy’s eyes could sometimes feel. Probably the brief moment their eyes met three years ago had left an imprint on a corner of Yun-jo’s heart that remained.

He met Sahyeon for the second time nearly half a year after the first dream.

After moving to the rehabilitation ward, Yun-jo couldn’t sleep due to pain for a while and would only fall asleep at dawn. He’d borrow the strength of painkillers to barely sleep, then wake up to find it already afternoon. It was natural for day and night to get reversed. Thanks to that, he spent more time at night in his dreams than during the day.

When the dream began, the time there was at least three or four in the afternoon. Once the short sun set, there was nothing to do in the mountains. Playing with tiger cubs was fine for a day or two, but if they fell asleep or played among themselves and didn’t show up, Yun-jo’s only job was to sit blankly in the middle of the night counting stars.

But he didn’t want to wake up either. It was around that time Yun-jo started roaming the palace for fun.

Not long after learning the first dream’s location was the Eastern Palace, Yun-jo headed there again. Worried about encountering palace attendants on duty or guards on patrol, he would carefully sneak into the palace by choosing deserted spots on the outer walls rather than the interior. Thanks to that, even while prowling the palace, he never once showed himself to others.

By then, he was familiar enough with the palace’s complex roads to reach his desired locations without much delay.

As soon as he entered the Eastern Palace grounds, the first thought that came to Yun-jo’s mind was:

‘Why is it so dark here?’

That day, all the lights in the Eastern Palace were out. Due to the high walls and long eaves, shadows came early even normally, but for a Crown Prince’s residence, that hall was the only one without a single lantern hung under the eaves.

Unlike commoners’ homes, the palace didn’t get dark even at night. When the sun set, every hall would hang silk lanterns inside and out to brightly illuminate the surroundings. The number of lanterns used in a single night amounted to hundreds, so even the most remote walls of the main palace weren’t as dark as this place.

Contrasting with the splendid lights of the tall and low halls standing in the distance, the Eastern Palace, alone submerged in darkness, felt even darker and more desolate.

Soon he found the Crown Prince’s bedchamber. Like the other buildings in the Eastern Palace, it was also dark. Every paper door had attendants on duty, so Yun-jo couldn’t enter.

He circled the building. At the back, there was a spot with no people. It was a small annex attached to the edge of the hall. It seemed to be used as a reading room, with a black persimmon-wood desk placed facing away from the window. Beside it were only a brush and inkstone set; there was no other notable furniture.

And on the windowsill, a single unlit reading lamp sat lonely.

Yun-jo looked around. No one was in this room, but beyond the door, he sensed the presence of eunuchs guarding. No matter how skillful, going further would surely catch someone’s eye.

Not wanting to cause a disturbance in the quiet palace where no footsteps were heard, he was about to turn back when Yun-jo stopped in his tracks.

His gaze fell on the reading lamp on the windowsill.

Going closer, he saw that the lamp had an oiled wick inside. He wondered again why, with such a perfectly good lamp and ample oil, it hadn’t been lit yet.

After a moment’s thought, Yun-jo took out a flint from his pocket and lit the wick. The fire caught easily. He placed the small lamp, burning with a faint crackling sound, on the lampstand and turned away.

As he left, he looked back. In the pitch-black surroundings, a round, yellow light hung in the air like a small moon.

The trouble came a while later.

Several days passed, and Yun-jo headed to the Eastern Palace again. It was later than last time, already deep night.

Upon arrival, Yun-jo immediately sensed a very different atmosphere. Though still dark and deserted, the air was somehow tense. The number of military officers guarding the bedchamber was also double that of last time. That meant getting into the inner quarters was twice as hard.

While loitering near the palace gate to find an opening, he reached the end of the connecting corridor, where he found an open door. It seemed like a storage place for miscellaneous unused items. What caught his eye first were the lanterns piled in a corner.

Going closer, they all seemed intact and in sufficient quantity. There were enough to light all the halls of the Eastern Palace.

Yun-jo was very puzzled as to why these items, which should normally be lit and hung under the eaves by now, were stuck in storage.

Just then, he heard footsteps outside the door and quickly hid further inside the storage. Immediately, two eunuchs entered. One held a bunch of keys, the other carried a bamboo basket.

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