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Join the ServerThen again, looking back at how he had always been so slick with his schemes, Haeryeong doubted he would have believed the man even if he had made a normal face.
Haeryeong bowed his head quietly toward the Emperor, whose face was layered with petulance.
“It was not meant that way, Your Majesty.”
“I was simply taken aback.”
He had wanted to give the answer the man desired and send him away quickly, but it seemed he had failed.
The Emperor’s face crumpled even further.
Just what was he supposed to do?
Haeryeong struggled to swallow the sigh that threatened to burst out, pressing a hand gently over his chest.
He knew the man would fly into a rage again if he spoke the words truly in his heart.
Looking at that scowling face, which seemed to accuse him of speaking words he didn’t mean, Haeryeong felt his stomach tighten.
“I would rather you say you cannot, instead of telling lies without a single change in your expression.”
The Emperor spat out those words and strode away on his own.
Haeryeong simply stood there with his mouth agape, watching the tail of the eunuchs as they hurried after him.
‘He told me to say I disliked it, so why does he leave without even giving me time to say a word?’
Beating his stifled chest with a fist, Haeryeong finally exhaled a massive sigh.
The Emperor did not show his face again after that.
It was absurd for him to be sulking so uncharacteristically, yet he occasionally sent gifts, making it impossible to understand his true intentions.
The court ladies chattered excitedly whenever a gift arrived.
However, Haeryeong only felt a sense of unease, unable to grasp the man’s hidden thoughts.
As time passed, Haeryeong spent his mornings preparing for the hawk hunt and his afternoons finalizing banquet arrangements with the officials from the Bureau of Food.
Among his tasks, the most difficult was arranging the seating for the officials.
The banquet for the Founding Festival was tricky because it involved many envoys from foreign nations.
The Emperor’s seat was naturally placed at the head of the hall, with seats for himself and the Noble Consort beside it.
While the domestic officials could be seated according to their ranks, the foreign envoys required careful consideration of the hierarchies between their respective nations.
The Vice-Director suggested that the envoy from Yeonseo could sit in the closest proximity.
He argued that since it was the Empress’s homeland, there would be no issue.
However, Haeryeong knew better; since envoys from larger nations like Gangju or Yojin were also attending, such a thing was out of the question.
Haeryeong racked his brain and eventually arranged the seating for the envoys of the larger nations, led by Gangju and Yojin, on both sides, and placed Yeonseo’s seat last.
He feared that if the Empress appeared to favor his own homeland, he would fail to set a proper example for the court.
When Su-yong later asked him with a thumping chest why he had done such a thing, Haeryeong merely replied calmly.
“Yeonseo is a small nation.”
“To survive among giants like Gangju and Yojin, is it not best to remain as inconspicuous as possible?”
“They will not even be able to move, for they are too busy gauging His Majesty’s mood.”
“There is nothing eternal in this world.”
Who could say how long Gangju or Yojin would continue to walk on eggshells around Yeoran?
Though he could not say it aloud, the Emperor’s reign was not eternal either.
In his previous life, the man had ruled for over eight years, but there was no guarantee it would be the same this time.
Moreover, why should he trust a man who would never lift a finger to protect Yeonseo?
Whether a report had reached him or not, a summons from the Emperor came that evening.
Since it was before dinner, Haeryeong hurried to the side hall, only to find the Emperor ignoring him and focusing solely on a report.
Haeryeong prostrated himself before the Emperor and let out a quiet sigh, unable to rise.
‘Has he summoned me just to torment me again?’
The sound of pages turning continued for a while before suddenly stopping.
He felt the presence of the Emperor’s gaze on the back of his head.
Though it was obvious the man was staring, no command to rise was given.
Since this wasn’t the first time he’d faced such pettiness, Haeryeong remained prostrate and endured, until a heavy sigh reached him from above.
“So, how long do you intend to stay like that?”
Haeryeong answered while still bowing his head.
“Is that not for Your Majesty to decide?”
The Emperor clicked his tongue.
“Your stubbornness is quite something. Enough, stand up.”
Haeryeong straightened his upper body and bowed.
“Your grace is boundless.”
“I see now that the Empress is quite desperate to see me burst with frustration.”
Haeryeong replied submissively, keeping his eyes downcast.
“How could your servant ever wish for such a thing?”
“I am merely practicing the etiquette I was taught as a child.”
“Has observing proper decorum now become a fault?”
Haeryeong lifted his calm gaze to meet the Emperor’s.
The Emperor, leaning diagonally against a long pillow, wore a look of disapproval and clicked his tongue again.
“I have told you several times not to be so stiff and formal with your etiquette in my presence.”
“It seems the Empress hears my words as nothing more than a dog’s bark.”
‘Why does he pick a fight the moment we face each other?’
Haeryeong had hoped the man’s heart might have softened after a few days apart, and he bit his lip in bewilderment.
The Emperor pressed him for an answer.
“Why do you not reply?”
Haeryeong lowered his eyes and stared at the edge of the desk before the Emperor.
“No matter how close a husband and wife may be, are there not certain proprieties that must be maintained?”
Haeryeong stealthily lifted his gaze to check the Emperor’s expression.
“Your Majesty says there is no need to be so stiff, but for your servant, that is the most difficult task of all.”
“You do not mean that I should abandon all etiquette, but rather that I should treat you informally at the ‘appropriate’ time, do you not?”
“However, since that ‘appropriate time’ depends entirely on Your Majesty’s mood, how is your servant to discern it?”
Only then did a small smile appear on the Emperor’s face.
“You certainly have a silver tongue.”
The Emperor flicked his hand, and the Chief Eunuch standing nearby raised his voice toward the outside.
The sliding doors opened silently, and a swarm of eunuchs rushed in, creating a bustle of activity.
One cleared the desk before the Emperor, while another gathered the petitions that had been scattered upon it.
In the empty space left behind, a dinner table was brought in.
It seemed he had ordered it prepared in advance.
The Emperor gestured toward Haeryeong, who was still sitting quietly even after the table was set.
“Come closer. I summoned you because I have something to say, and it happens to be the hour for dinner.”
Haeryeong could not help but let a smile slip.
It was obvious he had ordered the meal prepared and summoned him accordingly.
The Emperor’s feigned casualness was so strange that Haeryeong found himself laughing involuntarily.
Seeing Haeryeong’s expression, the Emperor let out a small cough.
“Let us talk while we eat.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Haeryeong sat obediently by his side.
Even as he picked up his spoon, he found himself laughing.
“It is good to see you smile, but let us share the joke. Tell me, what do you find so amusing?”
Even faced with the man’s lukewarm expression, the laughter wouldn’t stop.
It was quite peculiar.
Knowing that the Emperor had this side to him wouldn’t change anything, yet of all the man’s childish traits, this one was the most tolerable.
‘Yes, if I cannot step down from the position of Empress, I suppose I need moments like this to breathe.’
Laughing even at nothing made his heart feel much lighter.
“You could have simply asked me to join you for dinner; why go through such trouble?”
As he asked while still holding onto his smile, the Emperor’s expression turned even more sour.
“As if you would have agreed if I had just asked.”
Haeryeong let out a light sigh, finally wiping the smile from his face.
“When has Your Majesty ever cared whether your servant refused or not?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.
His thoughtless tongue had once again failed to distinguish between what should and shouldn’t be said.
However, instead of the rage he expected, the Emperor replied with a short chuckle.
“You’ve been wearing a face that looks as though you can’t digest anything lately, so I was hesitant to even ask.”
It was typical of him to have noticed the indigestion yet still arrange such a meeting.
Haeryeong stole a glance at the Emperor and followed his lead, picking up his soup spoon.
Under Haeryeong’s gaze, the man began his meal with a faint smile on his lips.
Haeryeong swallowed his soup in silence and watched the Emperor.
Seeing the man slightly narrow his eyes during the meal as if asking “what is it,” Haeryeong felt an emotion he couldn’t quite describe.
“Why do you look at me so?”
“How was I looking at you, Your Majesty?”
“As if you wanted to give me a good thumping.”
Haeryeong let out a small laugh at his jest.
“You laugh when I hit the mark.”
“How could your servant dare think such a thing? Please stop these groundless assumptions.”
“Then tell me. Why were you looking at me like that?”
Haeryeong gently stirred his soup with his spoon, watching the ingredients swirl in the broth.
“I simply thought it wasn’t so bad.”
“What wasn’t?”
Lifting his head to meet the Emperor’s gaze, Haeryeong offered a soft smile.
“I thought that if Your Majesty did not threaten me, and if your servant was not afraid, it wouldn’t be bad to live like this.”
“You have a very elegant way of telling me not to lose my temper.”
The Emperor spoke crookedly, but his voice was far softer than usual.
Encouraged, Haeryeong allowed his smile to deepen rather than succumbing to fear.
The Emperor’s reaction was better than expected.
Throughout the meal, while not exactly harmonious, the atmosphere remained reasonably smooth.
He had thought he was summoned for a specific reason, but had the man truly called him just for a bite of food?
The Emperor focused only on his meal until Haeryeong set down his utensils.
Finally, while waiting for the table to be cleared and tea to be served, Haeryeong was the one to ask about his reason for the summons.
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, The Moon Reflected In The Water is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : The Moon Reflected In The Water
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