Chapter 50: Growing Used to Each Other

The sound of a quiet, deep breath being drawn reached his ears.

Haeryeong often breathed in deeply like this whenever he was troubled.

The inhalation was deep, but the exhalation was far too shallow.

It was only recently that Gangcheon had realized Haeryeong was holding back a sigh whenever he did that.

Every time he saw the Empress in such distress, Gangcheon would deliberately act more petulant.

He did it because he knew that Haeryeong’s stiff brow would eventually relax with an air of resignation.

Seeing that visible shift was so endearing that it made him want to tease the man even more.

Lately, it seemed the Empress had grown quite accustomed to it, as a trace of resentful whining occasionally flickered in his upward glances.

After biting his inner lip with a slightly furrowed expression, Haeryeong always moved according to Gangcheon’s wishes.

It was the same now.

After his resentful eyes dropped submissively beneath his lids, Haeryeong slowly drew closer.

Watching him cautiously bite at his lower lip, appearing quite familiar with kissing now, Gangcheon quietly swallowed back the heat boiling in his lower abdomen.

As he parted his lips to receive him, a hot breath flowed into his mouth.

Mixed with the sweet scent of his breath, Haeryeong’s fragrance filled his nasal passages.

Though the smell of the rain that had stopped last night had vanished by morning, the scent of a water-drenched forest still clung to him.

A moist tongue slipped briefly into his mouth before cautiously withdrawing.

Gangcheon, unsatisfied by the short contact, pulled the retreating man back for another kiss and forcefully thrust his tongue inside.

It was impossible to tell if the groan breaking from between their joined lips belonged to him or to the Empress.

He only knew that the rising scent of wood was so dizzying that he squeezed his eyes shut.

Even when Head Court Lady Yang brought cold tea to cleanse their palates, Gangcheon was still sucking on Haeryeong’s lips.

He finally pulled away only when the Empress, still struggling to catch his breath, gripped the black robe Gangcheon had donned for their secret outing.

Gangcheon handed the gasping man a cup filled with sweet and refreshing omija tea.

“Drink your tea, and then let us head out. The horses should have arrived by now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Gangcheon emptied his tea in one gulp and set the cup down.

Watching Haeryeong finish his tea without a sound, Gangcheon felt his throat go dry again.

Forcing his gaze away from Haeryeong’s lips, Gangcheon asked with feigned curiosity.

“Is the hawk training manageable?”

He had already received a report that the Empress had learned how to train with a rabbit-fur decoy from a falconry official this morning.

“Yes. He is still young and cannot snatch it at once, but he catches up much better than I expected.”

The moment the hawk was mentioned, a spark of vitality returned to those round eyes.

Gangcheon felt both that he had done well to teach him hawking and that he would cherish the man even more if he showed such a gaze to him as well.

He felt a sudden surge of petulance.

The Empress always flinched around him, yet his eyes sparkled the moment the hawk was mentioned; it was only natural to feel a bit slighted.

“Then, leave the hawk training to the falconry officials from now on.”

“Why do you say that, Your Majesty?”

When Haeryeong asked back tentatively with a look of immediate disappointment, Gangcheon scrambled to find a reason for the spite he had blurted out without thinking.

“Should the Empress not start preparing for the Founding Festival banquet soon?”

Haeryeong blinked his startled eyes slowly.

“The… banquet, Your Majesty?”

The question, which suggested he had no idea why the Emperor was saying such a thing, was not an act but his sincere heart.

Gangcheon let out a chuckle.

He still didn’t believe the claim of amnesia, but the Empress’s confusion was understandable.

After all, he had never once entrusted the man with such a task before.

Originally, the Imperial rites and banquets were matters the Empress and the Ministry of Rites prepared together, but Gangcheon had never allowed them that time.

In the beginning, he had done so out of wariness toward the Ministry of Rites, and later, he had withheld the Empress’s authority for Sirak’s sake.

Consequently, all the Empress had ever done for banquets or events was briefly show his face.

Since he had only started making those appearances as of last year, Haeryeong’s current expression was perfectly natural.

“Your servant…”

Haeryeong started to speak but clamped his mouth shut.

“I do not know if I am capable of such a task.”

When he finally spoke again, he answered quietly, keeping his eyes downcast as they wavered with confusion.

Gangcheon stepped closer and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“It is the duty of the Empress. Until now, the Chief Eunuch handled it because of your memory loss, but it is time you grew accustomed to it. Is that not so?”

Gangcheon whispered to him, stroking the spot he had kissed to reassure him.

“You simply need to decide on the food and wine to be served at the banquet and the rites. The Ministry of Rites will handle the rest, so when the officials from the Bureau of Food come to see you, you can just listen and nod your head.”

Haeryeong bowed his head submissively.

“I shall carry out your command with all my heart.”

It was a sudden order, but since things had turned out this way, it was for the best.

Gangcheon actually liked his sincerity—that he didn’t whine or claim he couldn’t do it.

Whether he would do well or not remained to be seen, but the very fact that he said he would try was admirable.

Unlike Sirak, the Empress was not one to slack off.

The thought of the man racking his brain over a job he was doing for the first time already made Gangcheon feel amused.

Gangcheon pushed aside the fact that he was once again comparing the man to Sirak and gave a sly smile.

“If the burden becomes too great, tell me anytime. I shall come running even just to massage your shoulders.”

He had no intention of taking back the work he had given, but he was more than willing to help.

He looked forward to the enjoyment of the Empress coming to him with his difficulties.

“If you have something to discuss, send word at any time.”

“I shall do so.”

Confirming that Haeryeong had finished his tea, Gangcheon rose from his chair.

“Now then, let us get ready.”

Gangcheon stopped Haeryeong from rising and stood behind him.

The Empress, who usually wore his hair half-up or let it down, had pinned it all up with a hairpin today.

Perhaps he was worried his hair would flutter about while he was riding.

When Gangcheon quietly pulled out the hairpin and removed the crown, the coiled hair cascaded down.

The hair, meticulously maintained with camellia oil, fell smoothly without a single tangle.

Haeryeong turned his head in confusion.

Instead of answering the question in his eyes, Gangcheon addressed Head Court Lady Yang.

“Bring a different hairpin.”

His next words were directed at Haeryeong.

“We are going on a secret outing; you cannot go wearing a phoenix hairpin.”

Haeryeong nodded as if he finally understood and added to Iryeon.

“There should be a jade hairpin I brought from Yeonseo in the jewelry box. Bring it.”

Suddenly wanting to see the Empress’s jewelry box, Gangcheon changed his mind.

“Bring the Empress’s jewelry box here.”

After Iryeon backed out into the room where the box was kept, Haeryeong turned back to Gangcheon.

“Your Majesty. Please allow the court ladies to finish my grooming.”

Gangcheon understood his meaning and gave a crooked smile.

“Are you saying I am a distraction by staying here?”

“I fear that if Your Majesty remains, the court ladies will be too nervous, and my preparations will be delayed.”

His gentle reply was the same as always, but recently he had begun to speak the plain truth that he would have swallowed in the past.

‘He is growing accustomed to me.’

Gangcheon did not dislike that change.

He even hoped that as they spent time together, the day would come when the man would act truly spoiled.

However, since his own wicked nature wasn’t going to vanish overnight, the Empress’s growing assertiveness only made the Emperor want to be more stubborn.

“I shall handle your preparations myself.”

“How could I ask Your Majesty to perform such a menial task? I fear the servants will gossip.”

Gangcheon ran his fingers through Haeryeong’s trailing hair and let out a low laugh.

“What is there to worry about? I shall simply behead any of them who dare to gossip.”

Seeing the man freeze in shock, Gangcheon realized his words were problematic.

He noticed the reaction, but he didn’t take the words back, even if they frightened the man.

That was the reality of the palace, after all.

Even if the Empress’s court ladies were close to him, the dynamic remained the same.

Iryeon placed the jewelry box on the table and opened the lid.

To Gangcheon’s surprise, there were only a couple of items inside.

In Sirak’s quarters, there were over ten jewelry boxes, each larger than this one.

Of course, the box itself was different, being an Empress’s item engraved with a magnificent phoenix pattern.

Sirak’s boxes were mostly decorated with flowers like peonies or fruits like pomegranates.

The opened box was meager, barely containing the essentials.

As the stacked layers were revealed, there was piteously little to see.

A few jade norigaes, some jade bracelets, and a few jade rings.

And a few hairpins, including dragon and phoenix designs.

At least the hairpins were the most numerous.

Gangcheon casually pulled out a jade ring.

“Give me your hand.”

He slid the jade ring and a jade bracelet onto the hand the man offered, then his fingers traced over the hairpins resting in the silk-lined box.

Since the dragon and phoenix pins were useless for a secret outing, he set them aside, leaving truly only one jade hairpin.

The jade pin said to have been brought from Yeonseo was a simple design made of yellow jade; to Gangcheon, who was accustomed to the fine jade of Changryeo, it looked like a low-quality item that failed to meet his standards.

Gangcheon suppressed a sigh and picked up the hairpin.

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