Chapter 128: And Yet, Nothing Changes

Haeryeong felt a sense of unease, feeling as though he had become the villain in this exchange.

Above all, he couldn’t help but suspect that the man before him was harboring some other scheme.

When Haeryeong instinctively shifted his upper body backward, the Emperor, who had been watching him, gave a slight shake of his head.

“You said there is nothing absolute in a person’s heart,” the Emperor said.

“Since those were your words to me, I shall choose to believe them.”

“Please do not do that,” Haeryeong replied swiftly.

‘He pretends to be so tender before me, yet what kind of plot is he hatching behind my back?’

“Is it not true that a certain level of trust is required for a heart to change? However, your servant does not trust Your Majesty in the slightest. Therefore, I beg you to put forth no more effort.”

“So you are saying it is all in vain?”

“I am terrified to say so, but yes.”

“And you will not even give me a chance to explain?”

Haeryeong looked him straight in the eye.

“What use would there be in hearing it? Your servant is the one who was wounded. Must I hear and understand every one of Your Majesty’s circumstances? Did Your Majesty ever do the same? When you left your servant alone and never showed your face, did Your Majesty ever even think to consider my circumstances?”

Haeryeong struggled to suppress his surging emotions.

But with every word he uttered, the tremor in his voice deepened.

His throat grew hot and his eyes stung.

How could a person be this way?

“Does it make Your Majesty feel neglected and wronged because I will not listen to your words? Then you may continue to feel that way. How could the world ever bend solely to Your Majesty’s will? Do you think you are the only one in this world who feels wronged? Your servant shall not listen, no matter what Your Majesty pleads.”

Haeryeong struggled with all his might to keep the tears pooled in his eyes from falling as he forced out his final words.

“You once told me that the bond of a couple is bestowed by the heavens. However, I have learned that a bond from the heavens is not always a good one. Your servant was slow-witted and has only realized this now, after three years have passed.”

Three years? He had been stubbornly holding on for over seven years.

Even when he died after all that endurance, his sorrow had been greater than his hatred.

Even after returning, he had been constantly anxious about whether the man’s heart had turned toward him.

The word ‘foolish’ was not enough to describe it.

“Therefore, I wish to settle this bond even now, so I beg for Your Majesty’s understanding. This is my final plea. Please depose your servant and take another as your Empress.”

The Emperor, who had remained silent, stood up quietly.

‘Is he going to ignore me again?’

Since it was no longer a novelty, Haeryeong simply kept his head bowed.

The Emperor approached, his fingertips tracing the table as if drawing upon it.

“I have no intention of taking a new Empress or even another concubine. I shall refuse Yojin as well, stating I have no desire for more consorts. I made up my mind the moment I saw that portrait at the banquet, and my heart remains unchanged.”

Haeryeong lifted his head to look up at the Emperor standing beside him.

The man stared down at him with an expressionless face before his features softened into a slight scowl.

“I did not realize it would be this distressing when another refuses to listen to my words.”

“If you had already made that decision, then why did you come here at all?”
The Emperor gave a strange smile despite his scowl.

“Why did I come? Why would I go to the trouble of visiting someone who returns my flowers and never replies to my letters?”

“Your servant does not know. I cannot even begin to guess Your Majesty’s intent for this visit.”

“I simply wanted to see you. I wanted to see my heartless Empress so badly that my feet turned in this direction of their own accord. I brought a collection of questions that didn’t even need to be asked, just so I could have a chance to speak with you.”

Just as Haeryeong opened his mouth to reply, the Emperor poured out his words rapidly.

“The Empress will likely not believe me this time either… but during those few days we did not meet, I missed you terribly.”

The sound of that low, sunken voice left Haeryeong speechless.

The Emperor reached out toward Haeryeong, his hand stopping near his cheek, his fingertips twitching.

Haeryeong stole a glance at the man’s hand out of the corner of his eye and then bowed his head deep.

“I heard your injury is healing well. So, how are you faring?”

“I believe it has improved significantly.”

“That is a relief. If even that had gone wrong, I would have had no face to show you at all.”

While speaking, the Emperor lightly rubbed the back of his hand against Haeryeong’s cheek and then passed him by.

Left alone in the room after he vanished, Haeryeong finally managed to lift his head.

Only then did the breath he had been holding burst out.

Why was his chest so stifled?

Every time the Emperor’s words pierced his heart, he felt as if his world were crumbling.

Even the man’s claim that he had missed him left Haeryeong breathless.

After a moment of deliberation, Haeryeong shivered and banished all thoughts of the Emperor.

He told himself he must not be swayed anymore.
No matter what emotions the man claimed to have, they had nothing to do with him now.

****

The next day, a minor commotion erupted in the palace.

It was caused by the Yojin delegation, who left the Imperial Palace earlier than scheduled, incensed by the Emperor’s attitude.

While envoys from other nations had already returned, the Yojin delegation had lingered to hear the Emperor’s response.

However, it seemed the Emperor had procrastinated before finally delivering a half-hearted answer the previous day.

The Yojin delegation was reportedly furious at being made to wait only to be rejected.

Haeryeong heard that the protests from the man named Yang-baek, the King of Yojin’s cousin, were quite severe.

The problem was the Emperor’s subsequent attitude.

Instead of trying to soothe them before their departure, he had supposedly told the protesting envoy to just take the sword back.

Haeryeong let out a deep sigh upon hearing only this much.

It was said that while Yang-baek fumed with rage, the Emperor didn’t even bat an eye.

He reportedly sent them away, claiming he had been too busy with state affairs to find the time for consideration.

Granted, the Emperor likely had no time to focus on that matter while dealing with the Minister of Rites after the hawk hunt.

It was probably handled quietly because it occurred while other foreign envoys were still present.

While rumors flew among the court servants, no one would have dared relay the situation to the other delegations.

Thus, the Yojin delegation must have been even angrier because they were left in the dark.

‘Was there truly a need to send them back so offended?’
Yojin was a nation of considerable power; he could have sent them away with careful appeasement.

‘Why must he escalate every matter?’

Haeryeong let out a sigh at the Emperor’s arrogant nature.

He realized once again that none of the advice he had given had truly sunk in.

‘And yet, why do you act so gentle in my presence?’

The Emperor was truly an impossible man to understand.

****

Sirak was occupied with monitoring the palace atmosphere over the past few days.

He had a premonition that something had gone wrong ever since the Empress returned safely from the hawk hunt.

But why was it so quiet?

He had ordered Court Lady Han to investigate, but the information coming back was sparse.

Furthermore, when news arrived that his foster father had suddenly left for a provincial inspection and all contact with the Minister of Rites was severed, he became utterly restless.

‘Just what on earth is happening?’

He had tried to send someone to his private residence, but the messenger had returned, unable to even leave the palace grounds.

According to the court lady who returned, all entry and exit from the palace were being controlled by the Emperor’s command.

There was no doubt the Emperor had caught on.

In that case, the most urgent question was: how much did he know?

Since contact was lost, he had to assume the Minister of Rites had been discovered.

‘Then what happened to my foster father?’

There were many locations where the Imperial Army was stationed, so it wasn’t necessarily strange for a man who had become the Vice-Chief to go on an inspection.

However, the timing was too convenient.

‘Why now, of all times?’

‘Could the Emperor be holding my foster father as well?’

It was entirely possible.
Sirak had already vaguely noticed the Emperor’s suspicion ever since the man met the proprietress of Jayangnu.

If that suspicion had persisted, the Emperor’s first move would have been to secure his foster father.

‘Then why is it still so quiet? Given his temperament, he should have already dragged me out at the head of the Imperial Guard or the Black Shadows.’

As time passed, his blood felt like it was drying up.

‘Is he playing along and stalling for time just to see me act this way?’

Sirak, who had been unable to sleep at night and spent his days in constant anxiety, finally learned late that the Minister of Rites’ interrogation had taken place, and he collapsed into his chair.

Throughout the two days of interrogation for the Minister and his kin, and even until the sentences were decided, Sirak had heard nothing.

Seeing as even the court ladies heard no word, it was clear the Emperor had been intentionally suppressing information.

Now that it was certain the Emperor suspected him, Sirak’s entire body trembled.

‘He will come for me soon.’

Fear and rage made it impossible for him to remain composed.

‘What will that cruel Emperor do once he has me dragged away?’

It would be a blessing if he simply beheaded him immediately, but how could he endure if the torture dragged on?

The time spent shivering in fear felt like an eternity.

But that wasn’t all.

He had accomplished nothing yet.

Even if he had given up on killing the Emperor from the start, he hadn’t achieved any of his other desires either.

Sirak was so lost in these thoughts that he could not even swallow a drop of water properly.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Cultivation and Destiny, All Because of You

Angstcultivationfluff

Read Now →
Not interested