Chapter 98: A Twist of Fate

In his past life, the Noble Consort had been the one to suggest this location, but since it had been chosen by mere coincidence this time, Haeryeong had tried not to worry.

Nevertheless, a seed of anxiety began to sprout within him.

Even back then, when he was an Empress who never received the Emperor’s attention, such an incident had occurred; he wondered how it would unfold this time.

Just thinking about it made a sigh escape him involuntarily.

That trivial favor.

He wondered how the man—who knew nothing of Haeryeong’s desire to have that favor taken away entirely—would act.

****

By the time Haeryeong arrived at Janggyeong-ru Pavilion, the Noble Consort had already arrived and taken his seat.

Haeryeong climbed the stairs to the pavilion and approached the Consort, stopping him from rising.

“There is no need; we already shared our greetings this morning.”

Sirak bowed his head with a soft smile playing on his lips.

He watched Haeryeong take his seat before parting his lips.

“It was a shame to only offer a brief greeting this morning.”

“Even though we reside in the same palace, it is not so easy to come and go.”

“Has Your Highness been in good health?”

“Your servant has also felt the regret of not being able to pay more attention to the Consort.”

“As for me, I have been faring well enough, aside from my usual dull existence.”

“Though it seems the Consort has lost some weight in his face.”

His radiantly fair skin remained the same, yet he looked somehow haggard.

The Consort offered a quiet smile and shook his head gently.

“The days are growing warmer, so I have been losing sleep at night.”

“I suppose that is why I look this way.”

“Oh dear; I shall ask the Bureau of Medicine to brew some restorative medicine for you.”

“Your Highness’s grace is truly boundless.”

While they shared small talk, the court ladies brought out tea and charyun-byeong.

Looking out past the railing, it seemed the court ladies were preparing for the swing, gathering in small groups and laughing loudly.

The first to mount the swing was a maid from the Emperor’s private quarters.

It seemed there was a hierarchy even in the order of the swinging.

As Haeryeong looked outside, the Consort naturally followed his gaze.

A green jacket with red sleeves and ties, paired with a deep navy skirt, fluttered along with the gradually rising swing.

It took a moment to reach a significant height, but from then on, the swing moved at a rapid pace.

As it rose high enough to make one dizzy just watching, the skirt ballooned like a jar before retreating and scattering like waves.

“It is truly beautiful, is it not?”

“Indeed; watching them makes me feel nothing but envy.”

“Would Your Highness not like to try the swing as well?”

Haeryeong stole a glance at the Consort and offered a faint smile.

“In Yeonseo, men do not mount the swing.”

“It is the same in Yeoran; usually, the swing is a pastime for women.”

Their eyes met.

Strangely, in that moment, he felt a sense of kinship.

Though the man was his enemy, he was also a comrade who could understand the life lived as a male Eumin.

A life that was different from an ordinary man’s and different from a woman’s, surely filled with things one must not do, no matter where one resided.

Haeryeong kept his eyes on the Consort and asked quietly.

“If you had not entered the Imperial Palace, how would you have wanted to live?”

The Consort tilted his head with a look of bewilderment, then asked back after a brief pause.

“Why do you ask such a thing?”

“I asked out of simple curiosity; I wondered what you would have wanted to do with your life if you were not an Eumin.”

“And how would Your Highness have wished to live?”

At the Consort’s question, Haeryeong turned his gaze back toward the railing.

“As for me, though my nation is small, I am of the royal bloodline; would I not have taken a government office?”

Haeryeong paused his answer and let out a soft laugh, bowing his head slightly.

“In truth, I wanted to become a military officer.”

“Since I have loved horses since childhood, I think it would have been good to learn horsemanship and swordsmanship to join the army.”

“What about the Consort?”

Sirak, after a brief glance, blinked rapidly with a look of confusion.

“Your servant has… never thought about it.”

“Then think about it now.”

Haeryeong waited in silence until the man could formulate an answer.

Only after the person on the swing had changed twice more did Sirak speak.

“Your servant learned the zither from my mother at a young age.”

“If I were not an Eumin, I think it would have been nice to be a wandering musician, traveling here and there.”

“A wandering musician; that is quite a poetic occupation.”

“Since I am well aware of the Consort’s skill with the zither, I believe it would have suited you well.”

“Money might have been scarce, but wandering wherever the heart leads and the feet take you is not a bad thing.”

Haeryeong simply nodded at the man’s voice, which sounded somehow distant.

Sirak, who had been lost in thought for a moment, covered his mouth with his sleeve and let out a small laugh.

“It is a dream that can never be realized anyway.”

“Now that I have spoken it aloud, it feels even more futile.”

Sirak fell silent.

Haeryeong also simply drank his tea in silence and nibbled on a piece of mugwort cake, watching the court ladies on the swings.

It was a sight that felt refreshing just to behold.

As if to vent the frustrations of living confined within the palace, the swings rose higher and higher.

After watching the swinging for a while, the Consort spoke quietly.

“The breeze is blowing so softly that I feel sleep might overcome me.”

“I suppose I have kept a weary person for too long; would you like to rise first?”

“Yes; I believe that would be best.”

“I shall leave before I show Your Highness an unseemly sight.”

“I shall see you down to the bottom.”

Haeryeong rose along with Sirak.

The Consort lowered his gaze for a moment before lifting it again with a submissive smile.

“I am overwhelmed.”

Haeryeong followed him toward the stairs as he led the way.

He did not take his eyes off the man.

It was due to his worry about the event that had already occurred once, whether it had been intentional or an accident.

As they approached the very stairs where Sirak had slipped in his previous life, Haeryeong’s heart hammered against his ribs.

Then, as if it had been destined to happen, Sirak’s body suddenly plummeted.

Because he had been watching him intently, Haeryeong managed to snatch his body before he could tumble down.

Sirak was small enough to fit perfectly within Haeryeong’s arms.

Holding him by the waist, the difference in their sizes was starkly apparent.

For a split second, their eyes met—Sirak’s wide with shock—but soon, Haeryeong also lost his balance and they both went down.

With a loud crash, they slipped down the stairs together.

Haeryeong’s buttocks thudded against each step until they finally stopped, a dull ache radiating upward from his tailbone.

“Your Highness!”

“Noble Consort!”

The court ladies waiting at the top and bottom of the stairs swarmed toward them.

Iryeon knelt beside the grimacing Haeryeong and asked urgently.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

She pulled the Consort away, almost pushing him out of Haeryeong’s arms.

Sirak appeared dazed from the shock, wearing a blank expression even at Iryeon’s rough handling.

“It was only a minor slip; do not cause a commotion.”

Haeryeong cautioned Iryeon and then asked Sirak if he was alright.

As he checked him over, Haeryeong noticed that Sirak’s fingernail had been torn as he clutched Haeryeong’s clothes, and he let out a small click of his tongue.

“Your beautiful nail is damaged; does it not hurt?”

The Consort looked down at his hand and hid it within his long sleeve, nodding.

“Your servant is fine.”

“Is Your Highness… unhurt?”

Just as Haeryeong opened his mouth to say he was fine, someone pushed through the court ladies and approached.

“What in the world is happening here!”

Before he could even be startled by the thunderous voice, Haeryeong was swept off the ground.

It was the Emperor.

“Your Majesty?”

The Emperor looked around with a face full of intense rage, reprimanding the court ladies.

“How are you attending to your masters?”

“Must you lose your heads before you finally come to your senses?”

The Emperor continued to pour out his lecture in a stern voice toward the bowing court ladies.

Haeryeong’s face flushed as he remained cradled in the man’s arms.

‘Is he trying to humiliate me for slipping on a perfectly good set of stairs?’

He could not understand why the man was making such a fuss, picking him up like this.

Haeryeong tried to call out to the Emperor cautiously, but eventually gave up and waited for his anger to subside.

Then, he stole a glance at Sirak’s face, who was still sitting behind the Emperor in a state of dismay.

Tears began to pool in those large eyes.

Sirak stared blankly up at the Emperor’s back, then quickly turned his head away when his eyes met Haeryeong’s.

“Your Majesty.”

When Haeryeong called him softly, the Emperor, who had been venting his fury at the court ladies, finally turned his head.

“Empress, are you alright?”

“Please, set me down.”

“I must see if you have been injured.”

Haeryeong spoke firmly to the Emperor.

“There are many eyes watching; please, set me down.”

He could feel the Emperor’s gaze upon him.

Haeryeong did not look back at him and kept his eyes lowered.

By the time the silent Emperor finally set him down, the Consort had already risen with the assistance of Court Lady Han.

Haeryeong let out a quiet sigh.

‘This is not how I intended things to go.’

He had only reacted sensitively to the Consort’s movements out of fear that the same event from his previous life would repeat.

After all, the problem might very well lie with those stairs.

He had thought it would pass quietly since no one was seriously hurt.

But because the oblivious Emperor had appeared so suddenly, the matter had escalated.

Furthermore, it was incredibly awkward that the Emperor had turned his back on Sirak entirely.

The fact that the Emperor was genuinely worried about him was the furthest thing from his mind.

Haeryeong’s mouth simply felt bitter as he looked into Sirak’s wounded eyes.

‘Should I have just left him be?’

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