Chapter 127: Where We End?

Haeryeong shielded his eyes with the side of his hand to watch the hawk grow smaller in the distance.

The clear sky was dazzling, and his eyes stung from the brilliant blue, causing tears to well up.

He felt a hollow ache in his heart after letting Chang-i go and did not want to head back inside immediately.

Thus, Haeryeong left the Empress’s Palace and wandered the surrounding area for a while.

He had apparently given more of his heart to Chang-i than he had realized.

Now that the hawk was gone, his chest felt utterly empty.

It felt as though a cold wind was blowing through him despite it being the warmth of June.

Chewing over those emotions alone, Haeryeong fiddled with the feather Chang-i had left behind.

After letting out several deep sighs in a place where no one could see, he felt as though his heart had eased a fraction.

Having finally composed himself, he returned to the courtyard of the Empress’s Palace to find the Emperor’s palanquin waiting.

Catching sight of it from afar, Haeryeong let out a sigh and approached.

The eunuchs and guards in charge of the palanquin bowed low to show their respects.

Haeryeong gave them a nod and moved inside the palace.

Mok was waiting near the door and hurried forward to report when she saw him.

“Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting for you.”

“I saw the palanquin outside and just returned; tell me, where is he?”

“He is in the inner chamber.”

As he entered the inner chamber with Mok, he saw the back of the Emperor standing near the window.

The man was staring at the empty perch where Chang-i used to be, then turned around as if sensing Haeryeong’s presence.

“What brings you here?”

Haeryeong asked, struggling to suppress the urge to turn around and walk back out.

The Emperor slightly raised an eyebrow and then replied with a faint smile.

“I came to ask the Empress a few things.”

“Please, ask.”

“While standing like this?”

Haeryeong lowered his eyes with a sigh.

“I am terrified to say this… but I am not in the mood to sit and share pleasant conversation with Your Majesty.”

The Emperor fell silent for a moment as if at a loss for words.

When Haeryeong lifted his gaze, the man was staring at a spot in the room with a weakly furrowed face.

Time flowed on with neither of them opening their mouths first.

Even though they stood facing each other, their eyes never met simultaneously.

Haeryeong glared at the Emperor’s feet, while the Emperor stared somewhere in the direction Haeryeong had entered.

‘What is the point of this?’

‘The room is filled with a visible, suffocating discomfort.’

Haeryeong steeled his heart against the urge to back down.

Had things not ended up this way precisely because he had repeatedly let things slide under the guise of “what’s good is good”?

‘Why must I be the only one to endure every time?’

‘When it was the Emperor who committed all the wrongs.’

Haeryeong bit his lip at the surge of indignation.

Perhaps having noticed the gesture, the Emperor let out a sigh and spoke first.

For some reason, his voice was quieter and more drained of energy than usual.

“I have something to discuss.”

“It is not a short story, so let us sit for a moment.”

Haeryeong looked at the Emperor’s expressionless face and decided to hear him out.

Since the Emperor had taken the first step back, he felt he should do the same.

Thus, they moved to sit across from each other at the table, and the Emperor spoke first.

“Did you release the hawk?”

“Since the hunt is over, I felt it only right to return him to the mountains.”

“You gave much of your heart to that hawk, so you must feel a sense of loss.”

“In the summer, I shall find you a hawk chick; how about taming one from the very beginning?”

The Emperor’s tone was so soft that it felt strangely cloying.

‘Why is he acting as sweet as taffy in one’s mouth?’

When Haeryeong did not reply, the Emperor offered a bashful smile.

“I only asked because you are so fond of hawks.”

‘Surely he did not come here just to discuss that.’

Perhaps the Emperor was trying to ease the atmosphere.

The problem was that such efforts were falling on deaf ears as far as Haeryeong was concerned.

Even though the man whispered kindly with a gentle expression, Haeryeong felt it all the more.

He truly realized once again that he had discarded all expectations for the Emperor.

‘I suppose I only listened to his words when I still held some shred of hope.’

“Was the matter you wished to discuss regarding the hawk?”

The Emperor paused for a split second and turned his head toward the window.

A moment later, he turned back with an expressionless face and resumed.

“The Yojin delegation will be departing soon.”

“I intend to give them the answer I have been delaying.”

‘Does he mean he will take the concubine?’

Haeryeong gave a light nod and replied.

“Please, do so.”

‘He might as well take this opportunity to depose me and raise the newcomer to the position of Empress.’

‘A prince of Yojin would certainly be of more help to the nation than a prince of a small state like Yeonseo.’

“What is it you are telling Me to do? I have not yet said what My decision is.”

Haeryeong, who had been nodding while looking at the table, lifted his face at the Emperor’s suddenly frigid voice.

The Emperor’s lips were trembling as if he were on the verge of an explosion.

Haeryeong let out a light sigh at the man’s sudden shift in mood.

“I meant that it does not matter to me what you decide.”

“Furthermore, considering the relationship with Yojin, is it not a difficult offer to refuse?”

“So you are telling Me to take another concubine, is that it?”

“That is correct.”

When Haeryeong replied quietly, the Emperor said nothing more.

Haeryeong fixed his gaze on the glossy surface of the lacquered table and continued.

“Surely a prince from Yojin would be better suited to produce an Imperial heir than I.”

“Therefore, please take the concubine. In fact, why not depose your servant and perform a new state marriage altogether?”

Haeryeong lifted his calm gaze.

He scrutinized the Emperor’s face.

“Does it not matter who occupies this seat anyway?”

“Moreover, since your servant will no longer spend the heat cycles with Your Majesty, it seems only proper to bring in a new Empress.”

The Emperor raised his hand.

‘Is he going to strike the table again?’

Haeryeong followed the movement with his eyes.

The Emperor’s hand paused in mid-air.

His wide sleeve slid down, revealing the inner jacket beneath his dragon robe.

And within that thin fabric, his muscles bunched.

Just from the shivering of his arm, it was clear the Emperor was currently in a state of extreme rage.

Yet, it was truly strange.

Haeryeong felt neither the dread nor the terror he once did.

‘What if he gets angry? If he intends to kill me quickly, I would find his grace to be boundless.’

The Emperor clenched his fist in mid-air and slowly lowered his arm.

Leaving his tightly balled fist on the table, he asked in a low, sunken voice.

“Is your anger still not appeased? Is that why you are doing this?”

Haeryeong blinked slowly and looked at the Emperor.

“What relationship does my anger have with this matter?”

“Your servant is merely offering the counsel I ought to give as the Empress.”

“……”

The Emperor started to say something but then quietly shut his mouth.

With his eyes drooping, he slowly rubbed his face with his palm.

Every time he shifted the direction of his hand, his lean cheeks were pushed this way and that.

It was an expression that clearly showed his distress.

Haeryeong acknowledged that the man was trying his best in his own way.

He noticed that even if the man couldn’t entirely discard his thunderous temperament, he wanted to show a better side of himself to Haeryeong.

He guessed that the man might have actually developed some form of affection for him.

‘Is that why he is trying to salvage this relationship?’

But so what?

If he put in the effort, did Haeryeong have to accept it all?

Did he have to suppress his own heart—which no longer wanted to even look at the man—and receive him?

Every time such thoughts surfaced, his chest boiled over.

The things he had struggled to suppress and live with were now seething to a point where he could no longer hold them back.

‘How much more must I endure from a man who will not even grant my wish to be left alone?’

Haeryeong furrowed his brow and let out a sigh at his complicated feelings.

“Please, take someone new. If one is not enough, take two; if that is still not enough, take three or four more.”

“Eventually, someone who satisfies Your Majesty will appear. Build your life and affection with them.”

The Emperor let out a hollow laugh and tilted his head back.

Haeryeong watched the man’s Adam’s apple twitch in his throat and continued.

“And please, treat those new people with tenderness from the very start.”

“In order for several to share Your Majesty’s heart, someone is bound to feel neglected and sorrowful, so treat them with enough kindness to wash away even those feelings.”

The Emperor pulled his head back down.

After staring at his throat, Haeryeong’s eyes met his.

As Haeryeong bowed his head, the Emperor spoke in a voice drained of strength.

“So you are saying I should take someone new and leave you be.”

“I am sorry.”

The Emperor let out a deep sigh and then chuckled.

“Very well, I see that the Empress’s resentment toward me is deep enough to warrant this.”

“I only ask one thing out of curiosity: is that heart of yours truly never going to change, no matter what I do?”

The strength gradually left his low voice.

When Haeryeong hesitated to answer, the Emperor smiled faintly as if that were answer enough and whispered.

“Forget the answer. I fear my heart would break if I heard a reply I did not want, so I shall not listen.”

“Simply think of this as my own petulant tantrum and let it pass.”

His reaction was far too different from what Haeryeong had anticipated.

He had expected irritation or a burst of rage, yet why was the man only smiling as if he were completely defeated?

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