Chapter 27: King Seongrim’s True Intentions

“Uh…”

Caught off guard by the unexpected development, he froze for a moment, unsure how to react.

“If you don’t need it, I can take it back…”

“No, no!

What do you mean I don’t need it!

I need it!

Yes, I’m really, really happy!”

Snapping back to his senses before the Crown Prince could retract his offer, he emphasized how much he wanted it.

“Where do you want to go first?”

At that question, he was stumped again.

A few days ago, King Seongrim had given him a list of places to look around, but it only had brief names written down—he didn’t even know what or where they were.

“For starters, a tour of the palace…?”

“A tour of the palace?”

The Crown Prince frowned.

“Since I’m here in the palace, I want to see as much of it as possible.

It’s fascinating, isn’t it?”

That was half true.

When would he ever get another chance to tour the Sinhye Kingdom’s imperial palace?

So far, he’d only been to the Crown Prince’s residence, the Crown Princess’s residence, and the banquet hall.

He wanted to slowly look around, learn the layout, and figure out what was where.

Sightseeing would be a bonus.

“We’ll do that once morning comes.”

“Yes. …Yes?”

He realized a beat too late that the Crown Prince had said “we’ll” rather than “you’ll.”

Surely he didn’t mean to go with him?

Hoping he’d misheard, he waited, but the Crown Prince didn’t correct himself as he approached the bed.

“Get some more rest.

Just touring the entire palace will be no small feat.”

He pulled Eun-gyo back down and lay down beside him.

He wanted to say that the Crown Prince didn’t need to come along—that he’d be fine with just Court Lady Han and the guards—but he feared that if he said that, the Crown Prince might change his mind and confine him to the residence again.

He just blinked, staring at him.

“If you can’t sleep, shall I offer you my arm as a pillow?”

At the Crown Prince’s question, a reflexive “eugh” escaped him.

That seemed to displease him, as his expression hardened.

“You don’t want to?”

The question was followed by an unspoken “do you dare?”—or at least he imagined hearing it.

“It’s not that I don’t want to—I’m worried your arm might go numb.

For all my size, my head is actually quite heavy.”

As he smiled and made excuses, he saw the corner of the Crown Prince’s mouth curl up slightly.

Then he stretched out his arm, lifted Eun-gyo’s head, and placed it on his forearm.

“For such a small head, you worry about useless things.

Do you think my arm can’t support a single head?”

He couldn’t deny that.

Though he never saw the Crown Prince exercise, his body—not just his abdomen, but his arms and thighs—was wrapped in solid muscle.

Sometimes during s*x, his body felt like a stone slamming into him.

“But your shoulder is hurt…”

“It’s the other arm.”

He was offering his uninjured arm as a pillow.

Having no comeback, Eun-gyo fell silent.

Well, even if his arm went numb, it would be his own arm, not mine.

If it got too uncomfortable, he’d pull away on his own.

In any case, he wasn’t the kind of person to listen to him anyway.

He would do as he pleased, so arguing would only waste his breath.

Giving up, he closed his eyes.

With the arm pillow, the distance between them was too close.

Even his breath would brush against his cheek if he exhaled deeply.

Finding the closeness unbearable, he chose to fall back asleep quickly.

Breathing evenly with his eyes closed, drowsiness crept back.

It had been an exhausting day—between the sword dance and s*x with the Crown Prince.

“Eun-gyo.”

Just as his consciousness was fading, he heard the Crown Prince’s low voice.

He wasn’t fully asleep yet, but answering felt like too much trouble, so he kept pretending to be asleep.

“Are you asleep?”

He couldn’t tell if he was telling him to sleep or to answer his call.

As he stubbornly pretended not to hear, warmth brushed against his cheek.

He knew without looking that it was the Crown Prince’s hand.

“I’m glad it was me who got hurt, not you.”

It sounded muffled—whether from sleepiness or the Crown Prince’s low voice.

“If this pale skin of yours had been scarred…”

His consciousness sank into the darkness, and the Crown Prince’s voice gradually grew distant.

***

King Seongrim, having left the Empress’s residence, sat atop a building and gazed at one spot.

His line of sight ended at the Crown Prince’s residence.

The fires around had long been extinguished, leaving only darkness.

The Crown Prince’s residence was the same.

Yet King Seongrim could not tear his eyes away.

“Eun-gyo…”

Even with the longing mixed in his breath, there was no reply.

Though he knew, he couldn’t shake the bitter feeling.

‘I like you.’

It felt as if his voice, carried on the wind, brushed past his ears.

Did he regret it?

Did he regret bringing Eun-gyo into this palace?

Asking himself, he smiled wryly.

Saying he hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to take notice was an excuse.

Even if the Crown Prince hadn’t taken a liking to Eun-gyo, King Seongrim had intended to lead him to the Crown Prince’s residence anyway.

It was just that the order had gotten tangled—he had caught the Crown Prince’s eye too quickly, before Eun-gyo could find what he was looking for.

If anything, the current situation might actually be better.

The more attached the Crown Prince became to Eun-gyo, the more advantageous it would be for their plans later.

Attachment…

Following the flow of his thoughts, he let out a wry laugh.

In truth, even if the Crown Prince took Eun-gyo to his bed, considering his nature, it was unlikely he would develop any real attachment.

The Crown Prince had been cold even to his previous Crown Princesses.

Putting aside the second Crown Princess as an exception, the first had entered the palace quite young and had spent a considerable time with the Crown Prince.

Yet even when she was found hanging, the Crown Prince hadn’t shed a single tear.

Not a tear—he hadn’t even frowned.

He had simply looked on as if it were someone else’s business and turned away.

It was no different for those closest to him.

As long as they were loyal, he kept his duty as their lord, but the moment they showed their back to him, he would cut them down without mercy.

He had thought it would be the same with Eun-gyo.

Whatever whim had led him to take Eun-gyo, once that whim or need was satisfied, he might coldly discard him too.

That was why he worried—that the Crown Prince’s cold nature might someday make him cut down Eun-gyo.

That was why the Crown Prince throwing himself in front of the broken blade during the sword dance was truly unexpected.

He could guess that the sword shattering and flying toward the Emperor was the Empress’s doing, and that the Crown Prince had already seen through it all.

Why had the Crown Prince jumped in front of the blade?

To pretend to protect the Emperor?

To turn the Empress’s scheme against her?

That could be.

But until now, the Crown Prince had never schemed anything that involved wounding himself.

Perhaps he thought he’d had enough brushes with death on the battlefield.

After returning from war, the Crown Prince had been terrifyingly cool-headed and perfect.

He would fully grasp his opponent’s moves, leave them no room to maneuver, and then cut their heads off—never once using himself as bait.

So why had he changed his approach this time?

Moreover, this approach had only preemptively prevented the Empress’s suspicion—he gained nothing from it.

Why had he done it?

What could the Crown Prince gain from this…

As his thoughts deepened, King Seongrim arrived at a conclusion and let out a hollow breath.

Ha Eun-gyo’s heart.

Whether it was guilt or pity, he must have gained something of Eun-gyo’s heart.

Given Eun-gyo’s nature, he couldn’t possibly turn his back on the Crown Prince after he’d been hurt because of him.

Was he overthinking it?

Could it have been just coincidence?

No.

There was no such thing as coincidence in the Crown Prince’s actions.

So this time too, he must have had a target.

Rustle.

A sound like leaves being stepped on.

King Seongrim glanced in that direction, then casually looked away.

No matter how well they hid their presence, he could tell there was someone watching him from the shadows.

The Shadowless Legion.

The Crown Prince’s hidden guard.

They had been tailing him, but he pretended not to notice.

The Crown Prince too must have received reports that he had returned and infiltrated the palace, yet he was also pretending not to know.

It meant he was waiting until he had solid evidence.

But so far, the Crown Prince hadn’t found anything.

To him, King Seongrim would only appear as a man worried about Eun-gyo, harboring feelings for him.

So he pretended not to notice.

King Seongrim too was holding his breath, trying to gauge the Crown Prince’s intentions.

***

The sky was beginning to turn pale blue.

Though dawn was just breaking, Lee Kang threw open the window.

Tied to the outer handle was a folded note—left by the Shadowless Legion during the night.

No unusual activity.

He spent the night gazing toward where His Highness was, then blended in with others and concealed himself around daybreak.

It was a report on King Seongrim, who had infiltrated the palace.

What King Seongrim had been watching all night was not Lee Kang himself, but Ha Eun-gyo.

The more he observed his movements, the more certain he became.

He had ordered surveillance to find a connection to the Empress, but every report of King Seongrim’s activities pointed toward Ha Eun-gyo.

He also knew that King Seongrim had secretly visited and met him during the sword dance practice at the banquet hall.

Was it merely a guardian’s concern?

Would a mere guardian risk danger and secretly infiltrate the palace just to watch over him?

Ridiculous.

What King Seongrim felt for Ha Eun-gyo was more than that of a guardian.

Ha Eun-gyo himself didn’t seem to realize it, but there were times when his eyes wavered when mentioning King Seongrim.

At first, he hadn’t suspected romantic feelings because Ha Eun-gyo was a man.

But Ha Eun-gyo was someone who let himself be taken by him.

And his body already knew what it meant to be taken by a man.

It would be unreasonable not to suspect a relationship with King Seongrim.

Nor did it seem to be a one-sided feeling on either side.

But even if their feelings were romantic, it was an impossible relationship.

Was that why they held back?

A member of the imperial family and a dancer of unknown origin.

No matter how kind-hearted King Seongrim was said to be, such a relationship could never be accepted.

Most would think that precisely because he was King Seongrim, he merely pitied and cared for a foreign dancer.

Reading the contents once more with an expressionless face, he burned the note in the candle flame and turned away.

Even if it was love, he could simply sever it.

Even if they were both of royal blood, King Seongrim was different from him.

If he wanted something, he took it.

Even if that “something” was a person, nothing changed.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Underdog Connection

ChaebolContemporaryObsessiveLove

Read Now →
Not interested