Chapter 112: Blood on White Silk

One could tell that a shallow breath was escaping rapidly from between his slightly parted lips.

It was as if he were terrified of something.

Moreover, Haeryeong stubbornly refused to turn his head toward where the Emperor was.

Was the sword truly that frightening?

Was it so scary that he recoiled just at the sight of it?

There was no reason for it.

No matter how much he thought about it, it was puzzling.

Since he had been raised in a palace, he should be used to seeing armed warriors.

Was he not someone who acted unbothered by the presence of Su-yong, other Black Shadow members, or the Imperial Guards?

If he were the type to be bothered by the Imperial Guards—who were often armed to excess—it was impossible that Gangcheon wouldn’t have noticed by now.

Haeryeong was a person very accustomed to living as royalty.

Even with eunuchs and court ladies teeming around him, he never paid them any mind unless it was necessary.

The same went for the Imperial Guards.

Hundreds of Imperial Guards patrolled the palace every day and every hour, yet had the Empress ever cast so much as a glance their way?

At least never once when he was with the Emperor.

Then why exactly was he so tense?

While tilting his head in bewilderment, Gangcheon saw Haeryeong’s lips part and turned his head toward the mountain.

A male pheasant took flight with a flutter toward the ridge where the mountain ended.

Gangcheon pointed toward the pheasant, which was crying out in alarm.

“Release him. Now.”

Haeryeong moved his arm and sent Changcheon flying.

Ppi-ik.

The hawk, letting out a long cry and flying like an arrow, landed on the ridge and pounced on the pheasant as it was scurrying away in haste.

The pheasant’s cries and the jingling of the bells on the identification tag echoed loudly.

Gangcheon turned his gaze back to Haeryeong and smiled quietly upon seeing the fear in his eyes replaced by pure wonder.

“Let us go retrieve the hawk.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Had the new experience chased away his fear?

With a much-improved expression, Haeryeong set his horse in motion.

Gangcheon followed slowly behind him, scanning the surroundings.

If something were hiding, it would be somewhere in those mountains.

Due to the lush leaves, it was not easy to detect an assassin’s silhouette from the treetops.

Seeing as he couldn’t even sense bloodlust, perhaps he had been worrying for nothing.

Gangcheon scanned the mountain with sharp eyes and sent a telepathic message to Seok-hwan.

[Search every inch. Ensure they do not even realize they are being tracked.]

Since yesterday, members of the Black Shadow Unit had been infiltrating the mountain.

They would be descending slowly by now to begin a quiet search.

‘If I were that spy, I would certainly make a move when they approached the ridge to retrieve the prey.’

Seok-hwan knew this as well, and the Black Shadow members on horseback closed in around Haeryeong and Gangcheon.

Gangcheon offered a bitter smile as he watched Haeryeong head toward the ridge as if unbothered, despite the Black Shadows narrowing the distance.

Since he was fine now, what on earth had made him so startled earlier?

Truly, that person grew more peculiar the more one looked at him.

Was that why his eyes were constantly drawn to him?

Because he wanted to see just how much more peculiar he could get.

Haeryeong’s horse, which had been trotting lightly, suddenly came to a halt.

Snort.

With a rough, huffing breath, the horse twisted its head and stomped its hooves.

Then, it finally turned its body in the opposite direction from where they were heading.

“Nureongi. You rascal, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

The startled Haeryeong tried to calm the horse.

But the horse, as if desperate to run the other way, pawed at the ground and bucked its body restlessly.

Seeing Haeryeong grip the reins to keep from falling, Gangcheon signaled the nearby Black Shadow members.

Though he still sensed no bloodlust, had the sensitive animal felt something?

Just as the Black Shadows swarmed to shield Haeryeong, something flew through the air.

“……!”

The object, flying soundlessly, missed Haeryeong just as his body tilted back due to the horse’s commotion and slammed into the ground.

The short arrow fletching was almost entirely buried in the earth, with only the tip visible.

The moment he identified the arrow, Gangcheon urged his steed forward and drew alongside Haeryeong.

“Protect His Majesty and His Highness!”

At Seok-hwan’s shout, the Black Shadows converged, tightening the circle.

Gangcheon turned his head widely, scanning the area.

Had the assassin’s position been identified?

The Black Shadows in the mountain would surely be closing in on the killer, and the members here would undoubtedly move to protect him and the Empress.

All they had to do was wait cautiously.

Though his mind knew this, his body moved instinctively.

Haeryeong, seemingly unaware that something had even been fired at him, was simply at a loss, bewildered by the horse’s behavior.

As Gangcheon drew near, he reached out his hand.

“Empress, give me your hand!”

At Gangcheon’s urgent call, Haeryeong’s face turned toward him.

He looked back and forth between Gangcheon’s eyes and his hand, but instead pulled the reins and retreated.

Haeryeong’s horse whinnied roughly, resisting his control.

Yet, for some reason, he pulled the reins desperately and backed away two more steps.

Gangcheon looked back and forth between his own hand and the man’s face, matching Haeryeong’s movement.

He wanted to ask what on earth he was doing in this situation.

But seeing his terror-filled expression, the words would not come.

And right at that moment.

Something flew through the air and embedded itself into Haeryeong’s shoulder, which had been facing the mountain.

“Haeryeong-ah!”

The sight of the shocked Haeryeong entered his vision in slow motion.

It felt as if time were gradually coming to a standstill.

The way the red spots began to spread across the white robe, and the way the even more startled horse whinnied and threw its head back—it was all the same.

The moment the man lost his grip on the reins, Gangcheon braced himself against his own horse’s back and leaped.

Throwing himself onto Haeryeong’s horse, Gangcheon barely managed to catch him by the waist as he began to fall backward.

The moment his hand touched the man’s clothes, he pulled him with all his might into his embrace and landed on the ground after clearing the horse’s back.

As Gangcheon lowered his body, the Black Shadow members surrounded them without a single gap, forming a human barrier.

It was to defend against any further arrows that might fly their way.

No matter how legendary a marksman might be, they wouldn’t be able to hit him through such a dense wall of people.

Therefore, the correct priority now was to gauge the direction of the arrow and confirm the assassin’s location.

They had to catch the culprit to uncover the mastermind.

However, in this moment, neither the direction of the assassin nor the vigilant Black Shadows entered Gangcheon’s field of vision.

He saw only Haeryeong’s hand, turned deathly pale, as it gripped his own shoulder.

The moment he spotted the arrowhead made of black bamboo between fingers that were becoming drenched in blood, Gangcheon ground his teeth.

He had certainly anticipated that such a thing might happen.

Nevertheless, a rage so intense it turned his vision red surged within him.

He should have been more vigilant.

Had his mind turned to mush after only four years away from the battlefield?

To have let his guard down while knowing an enemy was present.

‘Dammit.’

Gangcheon swallowed a curse and looked at Haeryeong’s face.

The sight of him with his eyes shut tight and his face contorted in agony was somehow not unfamiliar.

A strange sensation swept through his body.

Gangcheon swallowed the urge to demand why he hadn’t taken his hand.

Instead, he resolved to handle the immediate emergency first.

“Empress, are you alright?”

“Hng… nng, I… I do not know…”

Gangcheon moved Haeryeong’s hand and examined the arrow embedded in his shoulder.

The arrow, which had struck diagonally from the back, had passed through the shoulder and was even protruding out the front.

Because it was a clean penetration, it would actually heal faster.

Had it been lodged in the bone, it would have been difficult to treat, but the clean pass suggested the bone was unharmed.

Gangcheon pulled Haeryeong closer and pressed his lips to his forehead, which was damp with cold sweat.

“It is alright; it will be fine.”

Haeryeong bit his lip hard, as if to suppress a groan.

The body he held was shivering and frozen stiff.

While he rubbed the man’s back to soothe the body paralyzed by shock, Su-yong drew right up behind Gangcheon.

“Your Highness!”

Su-yong knelt on one knee beside Gangcheon and extended his hand.

“Your Majesty, I shall tend to the wound.”

Gangcheon glared at Su-yong with a savage expression.

“Withdraw your hand at once.”

In the moment the startled Su-yong flinched and retreated, Haeryeong’s voice, filled with pain, was heard.

“Your… hng… ugh…”

Hearing his name called from between gritted teeth made something inside him boil over.

Gangcheon barely swallowed it down and soothed him.

Haeryeong raised a trembling hand and clung to Gangcheon’s robe.

He could easily imagine that the pain was excruciating for someone who was not accustomed to injury.

He knew it would be quite different for the Empress than for himself, who was used to the minor wounds of the battlefield.

Was he not the one who was so terrified even by mere physical intimacy?

Suddenly, Gangcheon realized that Haeryeong’s pained face resembled the expression he had worn during their first heat cycle together.

Even then, he had suffered greatly as he opened his body for the first time.

The memory of his voice begging to be spared also surfaced.

‘Why did this thought occur to me now?’

Lacking the leisure for deep thought, Gangcheon quickly banished the idea from his mind.

He then tore away the fabric of the man’s clothes to inspect the wound, whispering small comforts to Haeryeong.

“Shh. Endure for just a moment. Hmm? Haeryeong-ah, let Me see the wound.”

It was best to pull out a penetrating arrow as quickly as possible.

Once the blood began to clot, it would quickly entangle with the flesh; if pulled out then, there was a risk of tearing the tissue or causing even more severe bleeding.

Small noises were heard as one or two Black Shadows at the front were struck by arrows, but the barrier was immediately replenished.

Gangcheon paid not a shred of attention to the surrounding situation, his eyes fixed solely on Haeryeong.

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