Chapter 17: At the Same Table

“Your Highness.”

Haeryeong, who had been drinking his tea with downcast eyes, looked up at the Consort’s call.

The man’s beautiful face still bore traces of the upset caused by Iryeon’s earlier attitude.

‘What am I to do with him?’

Haeryeong didn’t particularly care how the man felt, but he couldn’t allow any trouble to fall on Iryeon because of it.

“Why did you call for me?”

When Haeryeong replied with kindness, the Consort’s expression softened slightly as he asked hesitantly.

“I suppose I should return once I have finished my tea?”

“If you wish, would you stay for lunch? I shall tell them to prepare any dishes you particularly enjoy.”

The man offered a smile that mirrored the Emperor’s.

Haeryeong hadn’t noticed it before, but it seemed the smiles the Emperor gave him were actually a reflection of the Consort’s own expressions.

Haeryeong stared at the Consort and let out a low, soft laugh.

He was struck by the realization that everything—every look, every gesture—truly belonged to that man.

The Consort, with a shy air, asked if that would truly be alright.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“The Emperor might come for lunch, but he won’t object. So, stay and eat with us.”

‘I hope the Emperor doesn’t suddenly get busy or forget his promise to come.’

If he didn’t show, Haeryeong would be stuck alone with the Consort, which would be incredibly uncomfortable.

Then again, even with the three of them together, the other two were so close that Haeryeong would be the odd one out anyway; either way, it was a thorny seat to occupy.

‘How did things end up like this?’

While Haeryeong sipped his tea and let out a sigh, the Consort seemed delighted, a wide smile spreading across his youthful, fair face as he began to chirp away like a nightingale.

Haeryeong let the man’s voice drift past his ears as he scanned the other’s flushed face.

The way his large, round eyes blinked rapidly was certainly cute.

He seemed a bit slow-witted, but perhaps that had its own charm.

There was a reason the term ‘innocent beauty’ existed, after all.

The Consort’s small, plump lips were as red as if they had been stained with rouge, and the tongue moving incessantly behind them was much the same.

His skin, as white and translucent as white porcelain, gleamed with a healthy glow.

Observing that fair skin, seemingly devoid of even the finest downy hair, Haeryeong let out a silent sigh.

‘When that small, dainty body was held in the Emperor’s arms, it would have been completely hidden by the folds of his dragon robe.’

Even for an Eumin, Haeryeong was on the taller side, and he had continued to grow slightly even after turning twenty.

By the time he reached twenty-two, he stood nearly eight cheok tall.

Beside the Emperor, he might look small enough, but since he was nearly a cheok taller than the Consort, it was perhaps no wonder the Emperor hadn’t favored him.

“Your Highness? Your Highness? What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Haeryeong replied with a faint smile.

“I was thinking how fortunate the Emperor is to have someone as lovely as you.”

“You flatter me. Surely it is the same for Your Highness, the Empress.”

“Is His Majesty not effectively holding a flower in each hand?”

A high-pitched, shy laugh filled the pavilion.

The Consort laughed brightly throughout the time they spent drinking the fresh tea.

Haeryeong offered a smile in return to that clear, refreshing sound.

‘Is he so lovely that the Emperor cherishes him so dearly?’

‘I pray you both remain so devoted and grow old together.’

Haeryeong made that wish in his heart.

****

However, things took an unexpected turn.

When the Emperor arrived for lunch, he remained indifferent to the Consort’s charming smiles and eventually tried to send him away.

“I told you I would not call for you until you finished the Thousand Character Classic.”

“But, Your Majesty…”

From the way Sirak stole glances at him, Haeryeong could vaguely guess the situation.

The man had likely grown so anxious because the Emperor neither visited nor called for him that he had come all the way here.

Looking at the Consort’s tear-moistened eyes, Haeryeong clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Birds of a feather truly do flock together.’

If they were this similar in their dark, calculating depths, were they not truly a match made in heaven?

He realized how much they must have hated him for occupying the seat right between such a devoted pair.

Haeryeong placed his hand on the Emperor’s arm as the man tried to dismiss the Consort.

The Emperor’s gaze briefly flickered over Haeryeong’s hand.

“I insisted he stay because I was grateful for the gift he brought. I asked him to share lunch with us.”

This time, the Emperor’s eyes narrowed as he smiled at Haeryeong.

“Even though you knew I was coming?”

Haeryeong’s wide eyes blinked rapidly.

“But… is Your Majesty’s Consort not like family to me as well?”

“I did not think it a cause for shame for family to gather and share a meal. I thought Your Majesty would be pleased to have the Consort join us, but have I done something wrong?”

His heart pounded under the Emperor’s gaze.

The man maintained his indecipherable smile for a moment before finally nodding.

“The Empress is right. Both you and the Consort are my spouses, so you are like siblings.”

He signaled the Consort and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“Since it is the Empress’s wish, I shall say no more today.”

“But know that you will be punished if you continue to be so idle. Understood? You must study hard. Did you not promise me?”

The Consort buried himself in the Emperor’s embrace, acting coquettish.

“I am studying hard, Your Majesty. But today, I came because I was worried about the Empress’s illness.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. But you wouldn’t even listen to me… I am so aggrieved.”

Watching the backs of the two as they moved toward the dining table, Haeryeong felt a strange twisting in his stomach.

‘Did the jujube ginger tea not agree with me?’

Haeryeong let out a long breath through his nose as he followed them inside.

‘Will I even be able to swallow my food while watching this spectacle?’

It was a bizarre sight.

The Emperor sat at the head of the table with Sirak wrapped in his dragon robe, and Sirak sat in the chair beside him, leaning his upper body so far over that he was practically collapsing against the Emperor.

Haeryeong sat opposite the Emperor, watching the scene in silence.

The Emperor seemed to have decided to fully dote on and coax the Consort.

At twenty-seven, the man was hardly at an age to act so childishly, yet seeing the Emperor indulge him so completely made Haeryeong want to sigh.

Then again, because of his youthful face and small frame, the Consort suited that behavior quite well.

One could call it cute, or perhaps even lovely.

While the meal was being laid out on the table, the two whispered and murmured into each other’s ears, seemingly enjoying themselves.

After a while of such intimate whispering, the Consort looked at the thin porridge placed before Haeryeong with a startled expression.

“Was it true that you were still so unwell, Your Highness?”

Haeryeong didn’t know how to respond to that, so he merely offered a smile.

From the Consort’s expression, he looked genuinely curious and innocent.

‘But why do I feel so strange? Am I merely misinterpreting an innocent person?’

That feeling vanished like melting snow at the conversation that followed.

“Why, did you think the Empress was making things up?”

At the Emperor’s question, spoken with a chuckle as he looked at Haeryeong, Sirak nodded with that same innocent expression.

“I thought His Highness found me unpleasant and was only saying so to send me away.”

The Emperor spoke soothingly as he rubbed the Consort’s cheek.

“How could that be? The Empress is of a fair and just nature; even if he disliked you, he would not treat you so.”

He spoke in support of Haeryeong, though the words were ambiguous as to whether they were a compliment or not.

Haeryeong’s eyes met the Emperor’s.

“Is that not so, Empress?”

Haeryeong smiled softly, dropping his gaze to the table.

His face felt so stiff he wondered if he was even smiling properly.

‘How are they so perfectly alike even in this?’

The two of them were so identical in their inability to distinguish between what should and shouldn’t be said in front of others that one might think they were twins.

Haeryeong let out a silent sigh in his heart.

And he maintained his smile—or at least, made sure it looked like one.

“How could I find such a lovely Consort unpleasant?”

When he lifted his eyes again, he found the Emperor’s gaze lingering on him.

Haeryeong moved his facial muscles, now much more relaxed, to smile deeply enough that his dimples showed.

“The meal will get cold. Please, let us begin.”

“Let us do so.”

It grew a bit quieter as the Emperor began his meal.

Throughout the lunch, the Consort clung to the Emperor’s side, acting affectionately.

The Emperor, in turn, fed him the flower pancakes and stuffed cucumbers that the Consort supposedly enjoyed, creating a harmonious atmosphere of their own.

Haeryeong slowly ate his watery rice porridge and cold kimchi broth, watching them in silence.

‘I used to be quite envious of such a sight.’

Now, he simply wondered why they were acting like that.

He wished they would just do this privately in the Consort’s Palace.

It wasn’t that he was envious or hurt; he was simply exhausted and wanted to send them both away so he could lie down.

The signs had been there for a while, and it seemed his fever was finally returning in earnest.

He had lost his appetite because of it, but he forced himself to eat for the sake of his weakened body.

He believed the Emperor would only return to his private quarters once he had recovered his health, so he chewed and swallowed the porridge as if trying to melt it in his mouth.

Haeryeong emptied his bowl and set down his spoon.

The Emperor had been picking at his food slowly until then, and he also set down his utensils once Haeryeong had finished.

The Consort had already finished his meal moments before.

Silence fell until the table was cleared and cold tea was served for cleansing the palate, at which point the Emperor spoke first.

“How do you find the new medicine?”

“It was not bad, Your Majesty.”

“I am glad to hear it.”

The Consort looked back and forth between the two of them before suddenly interjecting.

“Your Majesty. Please change my calligraphy tutor.”