Chapter 43: The Sovereign Firewall

At the Emperor’s decree, Anok’s gaze naturally drifted toward Seol Eun-hyun. The Imperial Consort met his eyes effortlessly, offering a smooth, placid smile.

Anok knew exactly how quickly that gentle, benevolent mask could distort. He was intimately familiar with the deep-seated contempt concealed beneath that soft, gracious smile.

Anok drew a sharp, quiet breath. Though his mind understood that he needed to show outward submission to the Emperor’s command, the words caught in his throat. The horrors of his past life remained too deeply branded into his mind and body, paralyzing him with fear.

“Her Imperial Majesty the Empress has been looking after the Grand Consort with exceptional care since before the wedding.”

It was Yeo Jae-won, standing firmly at his side, who cut in to answer the Emperor on Anok’s behalf.

No matter how boundless the Emperor’s favor was, Seol Eun-hyun remained nothing more than a concubine of the inner palace. For the Emperor to command the Grand Consort to follow Noble Consort Sa when the Empress was sitting right there was a direct, public snub to the Gyoyeong Palace.

“Furthermore, as his husband, I shall see to it that the Grand Consort faces no difficulty adjusting to life in the capital, so please do not burden yourself with worry, Imperial Father.”

Anok, who had been staring vaguely at the floorboards, lifted his eyes to quickly scan the room.

Seol Eun-hyun forced himself to maintain his smile, though it had lost its previous, effortless ease. The Emperor glared coldly at his son before looking away, clearing his throat. Seated beside him, the young Empress Dowager seemed defensive at the mention of her pre-wedding care; she tilted her chin upward but kept her eyes cast down, remaining in defensive silence.

And Yeo Jae-won… met the Emperor’s piercing glare with an entirely unreadable, expressionless face, before turning his gaze downward to lock eyes with Anok.

Husband. Even though it was a perfectly ordinary word given their arrangement, Anok found himself turning the word over and over in his mind, hearing the low baritone of Yeo Jae-won’s voice speak it aloud.

It wasn’t an improper word, and it merely stated a basic truth, yet it left a strange, hollow sensation in his chest.

In his past life, Yeo Jae-won had always referred to their relationship through rigid, administrative titles: a Prince and his Consort, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, or the Emperor and Empress. He had never once utilized a common, intimate word like husband. It felt deeply foreign.

Meanwhile, the Emperor, clearly interpreting the Prince’s words as a blunt directive to mind his own business, made zero effort to hide his displeasure. He stared grimly at Yeo Jae-won for a moment before dropping his head into a fit of harsh coughing.

Since the audience had been arranged merely to satisfy mandatory court protocol, and the Emperor harbored a profound indifference toward the Third Prince and his new bride, the meeting did not drag on.

The moment the Emperor rose to leave, Yeo Jae-won turned to exit as well, clearly possessing zero desire to linger. Anok followed him out in silence. Though they had only stepped foot inside the palace for a brief interlude, he felt completely spent, his mind and body thoroughly exhausted.

“Your Highness, Grand Consort of Myeong.”

A calm, steady voice called out to Anok the exact moment they cleared the threshold of Seonghwa Hall. Having just passed through the side gate alongside Yeo Jae-won, Anok blinked and looked around until he spotted a court lady standing a short distance away, flanked by three or four attendants.

“Her Imperial Majesty requests your presence at the Gyoyeong Palace.”

The lady delivered the summons in a thoroughly composed, polished cadence.

Eunuch Im had mentioned that Yeo Jae-won had personally reported Court Lady Cho’s transgressions during his earlier visit to the Empress. Even if the Empress Dowager herself had no hand in the plot, the undeniable reality remained that a servant bearing her seal had committed a grave offense. It was only natural that the Empress would want an explanation to swiftly sweep the matter under the rug.

Anok turned his head to look at Yeo Jae-won. It wasn’t because he was seeking permission or craving his company. Since the Prince was already fully aware of the situation, there was no logical reason for him to block Anok from going to the Gyoyeong Palace.

Yeo Jae-won stared back at him intently. Then, he gave a subtle, singular twitch of his brow toward the court lady waiting for Anok’s response. Not understanding the meaning behind the silent gesture, Anok merely tilted his head in confusion.

“……Are you not going?”

“I am going.”

When Anok answered with a firm, resolute tone, Yeo Jae-won let out a brief, soft chuckle and began walking straight toward the waiting court lady. Anok had assumed the Prince would simply brush past and go his own way without a backward glance, so this sudden change in direction caught him off guard. He hurried his steps to catch up.

“Where are you going, Your Highness?”

“Were we not heading to the Gyoyeong Palace?”

“We are. But why are you……?”

The Empress’s court lady naturally moved to lead them toward the Gyoyeong Palace, but her steps halted once more when Anok stopped dead in his tracks to question the Prince.

At Anok’s bewildered inquiry, Yeo Jae-won turned around, looking as though he had just been asked the most absurd question in the world.

“Did you not look at me just now to ask me to come with you?”

“What?”

This was the first time he had ever been caught so completely off guard by the Prince’s words. As Anok blinked in utter bewilderment, Yeo Jae-won took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Moving slightly away from the court lady and her attendants, he lowered his voice to a whisper.

“Or…… would you prefer I do not accompany you?”

It was a perfectly mundane question, yet the way the Prince deliberately dropped his volume to a hushed murmur sent a strange, fluttering sensation through Anok’s chest. Because he had spent the last few days believing the Prince was deeply displeased and cold toward him, this sudden shift in demeanor was disarming.

When Anok failed to offer a swift reply, Yeo Jae-won tilted his head slightly, studying his bride’s pale features.

“We need to bring the matter of Court Lady Cho to a formal conclusion, do we not?”

At the gentle pressure of his words, Anok finally found his voice.

“I am entirely capable of handling it alone.”

At that, the corners of Yeo Jae-won’s lips tugged upward. Anok’s eyes instinctively traced the faint dimple on the Prince’s right cheek before lifting his gaze to meet those deep, dark pupils once more.

Straightening his towering frame, Yeo Jae-won reached out and carefully adjusted the collar of Anok’s robes.

“Every corner of this imperial palace is crawling with eyes and ears.”

His low whisper was so soft it was meant for Anok’s ears alone. The eunuchs and court ladies, seeing the intimate proximity of the royal couple, had tactfully stepped back and could likely hear nothing.

Even so, Anok reflexively glanced around his surroundings. Yeo Jae-won was hovering incredibly close. For a man who was actively warning him about the hidden eyes and ears of the palace, the Prince seemed remarkably unbothered by them.

……Or perhaps, he is simply using me to put on a display.

Anok tried to peer deep into Yeo Jae-won’s dark, fathomless eyes. But the only data reflected in those dark irises was his own small silhouette standing before him.

“I am telling you to trust no one.”

In his past life, Anok had handed his trust out to anyone who crossed his path. He had trusted Choo-san, the King of Baekya, Court Lady Cho, Noble Consort Sa, and even Yeo Jae-won. But in the end, he had been left entirely alone. Choo-san had been cruelly torn from the world by fate, the others had treated him with utter contempt, and Yeo Jae-won had remained completely indifferent.

Therefore, he had firmly resolved never to offer his trust easily in this lifecycle. Yet, the Prince’s quiet warning sounded dangerously close to suggesting that Yeo Jae-won was the sole exception to that rule.

“If that is the case, then I must ensure I do not trust you either, Your Highness.”

The faint, lingering trace of amusement completely vanished from Yeo Jae-won’s face, his expression freezing into a mask of absolute stone. He dropped his hand from Anok’s collar and gave a single, slow nod.

“I shall be waiting at the Ministry of Justice while reviewing my cases. Take your time.”

Anok had expected at least a flash of irritation or displeasure, but Yeo Jae-won simply dismissed him with a calm, easy air, as if their dialogue had naturally concluded.

To this man, he was merely a political convenient bride, forced upon him by the Emperor’s grand strategy. Why on earth had Anok expected him to be offended? To a cold pragmatist like Yeo Jae-won, maintaining an absolute lack of trust in a political marriage was simply standard protocol.

Forcing his turbulent emotions back beneath the surface, Anok offered a quiet, “Yes,” and turned away first. He focused all his energy on settling his racing heart as he followed the Empress’s court lady, completely oblivious to the reality behind him.

He had no idea that Yeo Jae-won remained anchored to that exact spot for a long, quiet moment, tracking his retreating silhouette until he vanished from sight.

The current mistress of Gyoyeong Palace, Empress Min Hwa-young, possessed virtually zero political backing. Though her lineage had managed to produce an Empress, her family was remarkably ordinary. The clan’s name carried historical prestige due to the high reputation of their ancestors, but their actual, practical leverage within the central courts was non-existent.

Furthermore, her greatest vulnerability was her lack of a biological heir. Because of this, Anok remembered that in his past life, the moment the Emperor passed away, the Empress Dowager had immediately requested to retreat to a southern villa, effectively severing all ties with the imperial family.

When simply preserving her own crown took every shred of her energy, there was zero baseline for her to offer Anok any meaningful protection. Consequently, in his past life, whenever Noble Consort Sa aggressively targeted the Grand Consort over the most microscopic breach of etiquette, Min Hwa-young had merely stood by as a detached spectator.

Anok harbored zero hatred or resentment toward Min Hwa-young for her past inaction. From her perspective, a direct collision with Noble Consort Sa would have been a catastrophic political risk. Even from her exalted seat, she was entirely alone with no one to protect her. It was only logical that she chose to avoid making an enemy of the Emperor’s favorite consort.

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