Cheol returned just after daybreak, defeated. His heart ached, as he sneaked into his quarters. He ignored the pull to see Min-jun. To tell him that he remembered and to beg for his forgiveness as he should’ve done from the moment they’d met. He might be selfish but even now he could not fool himself enough to believe he deserved to spend another second in Min-jun’s presence.
Instead, he picked up the pin he’d left on the table before his journey. He turned it over in his fingers, much like he had a few hours before. The jewels glistened, freshly polished, but it seemed duller to him somehow. Cheol had hoped he would be able to return it to its rightful owner eventually, but perhaps it would be better to leave things as they were.
There was the sound of rushing footsteps outside of his quarters, and then some heated whispering exchanged between his maids and the new arrival.
“Your Highness,” the court lady called. “A messenger from Jangmi Villa is here.”
Despite himself, his heartbeat sped up at the mention of Min-jun’s residence. Cheol’s hands felt limp, so much so that he nearly dropped the pin then and there. His fingers tightened around the metal.
“Have them deliver their message.”
A nervous voice responded, stumbling over his words. “Y-your Majesty, His Highness Royal Noble Consort Hui has fallen ill.”
Cheol barely registered the clanging of the pin as it hit the pine floors. Ill? Min-jun was ill?
“Say that again!” Cheol demanded. Surely, he’d misheard.
Even more nervous now that Cheol had raised his voice, the man stammered out, “His Highness Royal Noble Consort Hui has fallen ill.”
Cheol slammed the doors open. “How did this happen?” Min-jun had been perfectly healthy just yesterday. This . . . this must be a plot against him. He must’ve been poisoned. Those damned officials. Cheol would have them all beheaded, and there would be no one to talk him down this time. All this time, he’d been so patient with them, and this is how they repay him? By poisoning the one person Cheol had shown he’d kill for. They were no longer cowards and tyrants, they were complete fools.
“His royal guard thinks His Highness was poisoned. H-he has not been unresponsive since the early morning hours,” the man said, close to tears now. Cheol listened to no more of his stammering. He needed to see for himself that it was true.
Frost had covered the land as Cheol stepped out of the King’s quarters. The harbingers of Winter had begun to take hold, and along with it, a chill had settled in Cheol’s heart. The Earth seemed to hold her breath as he raced toward Jangmi Villa.
You’re the fool here! How could you have left him for even a moment? This is your fault.
“Where is he?” he demanded of the court ladies cleaning the patio. Their eyes appeared worn with tears.
One of them bowed. “His Highness is inside his sleeping quarters. Doctor Myeong-suk is examining him. H-he says . . .” She trailed off, breaking into a heart-wrenching sob. The other court lady wrapped an arm around her.
“Doctor Myeong-suk fears he might be lost to us.”
Impossible.
Cheol was the King. How could he fail to save the life of a single person? The same way you’ve failed before. Do you think it’s so difficult for a person to leave you? Death knows no Kings or Emperors. It only knows its own whims. He shouldn’t have left him.
The halls seemed hollow and abandoned, though it was full of court ladies and every luxury a person could imagine. The teary-eyed court ladies stepped out of his way as he marched past them. He did not care to appear benevolent or graceful now. His every thought had been consumed by his ailing consort.
He walked through one set of doors, revealing the living area of Min-jun’s quarters. A few mystery books had been left on the floor, one of them left open. Min-jun must’ve been reading when the poison had taken him. Cheol could picture it: The beautiful consort reading through yet another depiction of a crime scene and criticizing the text for being unrealistic. He would’ve worn his hair up in a tight bun, and worn the delicate silk nightclothes Cheol had picked out for him. The mirage of Min-jun shifted his gaze from the book to Cheol. There were tears running down his face.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Cheol stepped back and the vision fell away. He inhaled deeply, wondering if he’d gone mad. He needed to see Min-jun. Only that would soothe him.
Lf yegra atgbeut atf ijra rfa bo vbbgr jcv kjr ugffafv ys akb batfg qfbqif jigfjvs rajcvlcu jgbecv j riffqlcu Zlc-pec. Vec jcv Zsfbcu-rex rajgfv ja tlw, mbcmfgcfv cba bcis obg atf ecmbcrmlber qjalfca yea obg Jtfbi jr kfii. Lf wera wjxf delaf atf rluta gluta cbk.
“Tbeg Zjpfras,” Vec yfujc. Jtfbi qertfv qjra tlw jcv rjcx vbkc ab tlr xcffr cfza ab Zlc-pec. Cii atf mbibg tjv vgjlcfv ogbw Zlc-pec’r ojmf, jcv tf kjr mbnfgfv lc j atlc rtffc bo rkfja, tlr mtfra glrlcu jcv ojiilcu gjqlvis. Jtfbi qertfv Zlc-pec’r tjlg bea bo tlr fsfr, offilcu atf kjgwat bo tlr rxlc. C tlut ofnfg. Qlat j tfjns tfjga, Jtfbi mjgfrrfv Zlc-pec’r mtffx, ygertlcu tlr mtffxybcf klat tlr atewy. Zlc-pec ifa bea j rwjii cblrf, j ktlwqfg, jcv ifjcfv lcab Jtfbi’r abemt.
“Explain,” Cheol ordered the Doctor, though his eyes remained on Min-jun’s face.
“We believe something in His Highness’ breakfast had contained poison.”
“And the taste tester?” Cheol asked.
“She’s still alive and well, Your Majesty.” Doctor Myeong-suk’s hands shook. Cheol wished he’d stop being so nervous.
“Then, the person who had served him must’ve been the one to poison him. Who are the ones who usually serve His Highness breakfast?” Cheol asked.
“His closest maids,” Sun said. “Jeong-eun and Chae-won. His Highness had trusted them as friends.”
And they had betrayed him like this. Fury sparked in the depths of Cheol’s fear and grief. He could have those maids be interrogated and executed, and Min-jun would be none the wiser about the deaths of his ‘friends’. Cheol could tell Min-jun he’d sent them to the countryside, all the while they’d actually been ripped limb from limb . . .
Haven’t you killed enough of his loved ones?
Cheol sighed, taking Min-jun’s hand in both of his. They were cold.
“Have you found out what he was poisoned with?” Cheol asked.
“Not yet, Your Majesty,” Doctor Myeong-suk said in that same shaky tone. “We are doing our best to uncover it as quickly as possible, but the assassin used a type of poison we’ve never seen before.”
Cheol tightened his grip around Min-jun’s hand.
“You will save him.”
“We will do our best, Your Majesty.”
Cheol fixed his gaze on the nervous doctor. “Your best?”
Sun placed a hand on Cheol’s shoulder. A reminder. Calm down.
“Then do so,” Cheol said, stroking Min-jun’s palm with his thumb, following the lines on it. “I will tend to him and try to keep his fever down. Tell one of the court ladies to bring us cold water and towels. Oh, and Sun . . .”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Take those two court ladies away. The ones who poisoned His Highness’ food.”
A pause, and then: “Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Doctor and Sun got to work, and Cheol turned his attention back to his Consort. Even in sickness, he was still radiant, or perhaps Cheol’s emotions were getting the better of him, painting Min-jun in an ethereal light.
“Oh love,” Cheol whispered to him, pressing out the wrinkles in the blankets on top of Min-jun. “It seems I’ve failed you once more.”
“Quite spectacularly, if I do say so myself,” Min-jun might’ve said, had he been awake. But all the reply Cheol got was silence, and in that silence, there was the realization that Cheol might never hear Min-jun’s voice again. He’d never listen to Min-jun complain about the weather or his clothes or Cheol’s mannerisms. Cheol would never hear him try to sweet-talk his way out of punishment or into a criminal investigation he had no part of being in. There would be no more haphazard attempts at seduction, half-hearted threats, or midnight talks.
Cheol pressed his lips to Min-jun’s forehead. This was no time for such grim thoughts. For now, Min-jun was still holding on, and Cheol needed to do whatever was in his power to help him stay alive.
“Your Majesty, the water and towels you asked for,” a court lady said politely on the other side of the door.
“Place them next to me,” Cheol ordered. The court lady obeyed and left just as quickly as she’d entered. He soaked one of the towels in the water and placed it over Min-jun’s forehead.
It was just for a moment that Cheol pulled his eyes away from Min-jun and to the crack in the door. He could see the books still lying on the floor. No one had picked them up after all this time.
When he took Min-jun’s hand, the ink stains on Min-jun’s fingertips did not go unnoticed. It was perfectly reasonable to suspect that Min-jun might’ve dipped his fingers in some ink and forgotten about it, but Cheol knew better by now. Min-jun hated getting dirty. He hated it all those years ago in the river towns, and he hated it still. Min-jun would never walk around with ink stains on his fingers, never mind ones so prominent.
It’s a message.
Cheol jolted from his spot, standing up and walking back toward the table in the living area. He picked up the books that had been scattered on the ground. He checked them for ink stains, hints to whatever Min-jun had realized in the moments before he fell unconscious. Eventually, he came upon a page with three characters.
‘Snow peony?’
A flowering bush with petals that resembled fallen snow in their brilliant white hue, highlighted with light blues and violets. Cheol was familiar with it. It only grew in the Northern Empire.
Could it be turned into a poison? And how could Min-jun have recognized it? He could not have had much time to take notice of his symptoms if he’d been poisoned at breakfast time.
Right, he was an assassin. Being well-versed in poisons wasn’t that surprising, even if Min-jun wasn’t very good at any of the practical parts of being a killer.
“Your Majesty?” Dr. Myeong-suk had returned with assistants carrying crates of medicine. “Is everything alright?”
Cheol stood up from his spot near the desk. “Doctor Myeong-suk, do you know if the snow peony can be turned into a poison?”
“The snow peony?” Dr. Myeong-suk repeated, uncertainly. “Well, I heard there is a technique from the Northern Empire, but it’s very difficult to make. Because of this, it is also a very rare poison. I have never actually seen it used.”
“Can you cure it?”
“Cure?” Dr. Myeong-suk’s gaze darted to Min-jun’s unconscious body. “The only treatment we currently have are ones that slow down the poison. We cannot completely stop . . .”
Something in Cheol’s face must’ve been quite terrifying because the young Doctor trailed off.
“We will do our best,” Dr. Myeong-suk squeaked.
“I’ll help,” a voice from behind them spoke. Mai had entered the room unbeknownst to either of them. She was still in her nightclothes, her braid hanging over her shoulder. “I’ve been reading a lot about medicine, and . . . I was taught a lot about poison when I was . . . when I was growing up.”
Cheol had guessed long ago that Mai and Min-jun were likely from the same organization. With his memories returned, he know realized why the two of them had both been targetted. They were both orphans, by chance or by design. Talented orphans. And in Min-jun’s case, an orphan with ties to the most powerful man in the country. Min-jun had known enough about the snow peony poison to recognize the side effects. It was likely that Mai shared the same knowledge.
“Very well,” Cheol told her. “Dr. Myeong-suk will supervise you.”
Dr. Myeong-suk opened his mouth in surprise. “A child in my clinic?” A glance from both Cheol and Mai silenced his complaints. Dr. Myeong-suk hung his head and mumbled, “yes, Your Majesty.”
“I will stay here and watch over him.” Cheol returned to Min-jun’s side.
“But Your Majesty, the morning assembly . . .” Dr. Myeong-suk bit his lip.
Cheol smiled. One of those officials was certainly behind this whole ordeal. “I’m sure they will understand that I am a husband as well as a King. They will have to allow me a moment to stay by his side.”
With that, Dr. Myeong-suk got to work administering various medicines. Syrups to lower his fever, a pill to even out Min-jun’s rapid breaths, and a fragrant poultice to cleanse his body. Then, the acupuncture needles were brought out, and Cheol could not deny that he disliked the sight of his consort being poked and prodded with those silver pins.
“Gyeom is our best nurse,” Dr. Myeong-suk said, as he placed various vials back into one of the crates. “He will watch over His Highness’ condition while we search for a cure.”
Cheol caressed Min-jun’s cheek. It was cooler now. The medicine must be working somewhat.
“You may leave,” Cheol said. As the Doctor and his posse filed out, Cheol’s suspicion grew greater. Mai had been fiddling with the end of her braid. She must be nervous. In any other situation, perhaps that would be normal. Min-jun was her guardian, after all, and she’d clearly grown attached to him over the last few months. Still, that was not the face of a girl who feared for her guardian’s life. That was the face of a girl who was about to do something dangerous.
Should he follow her? Cheol intertwined his hand with Min-jun’s once more.
“Y-your Majesty?” a quiet, strained voice called out to him. Min-jun was speaking to him. Whether he was conscious or not was anyone’s guess, but his eyes were still shut. His fingers gave Cheol’s hand the slightest squeeze. “. . . Majesty.”
“I’m here,” Cheol said. “My love. Min-jun.”
He barely caught the slight wrinkling of Min-jun’s nose, a clear sign of his disdain. “Don’t call . . . that,” Min-jun said, stumbling over his words. Cheol took the towel off Min-jun’s forehead. It had grown warm already. He dipped it into the cool water and wrung it out.
Well. It must be disgusting to hear a murderer call you pet names, never mind that that murderer was the one who sent your parents to their deaths.
“Do not worry,” Cheol said. “After this is over, I’ll leave you be.”
Min-jun furrowed his brow and shook his head, before sinking off into a deeper sleep. It didn’t take much longer for Cheol to make his decision. If Min-jun was cured, he’d certainly want to make sure that his ward was safe. Cheol would go check up on her, even if his suspicions were unfounded.
“Take care of him,” Cheol told Gyeom. “If he dies, you do not wish to know what I will do to you.”
“I will not let him die, Your Majesty.”
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and Cheol’s melodrama (pull yourself together, man!) You must forgive him, he’s in the process of possibly losing the person he loves most in the world, so you can imagine the stress he’s under. Anywho, if you liked this chapter, please leave a comment below. Also, I guess updates are gonna switch to Sundays now? My schedule has been messy ever since work started smh.
Cheol getting emotionally smacked down again, hopefully he’ll pull himself together enough to read the clues Min Jun left
He deserves some emotional smacking after getting so arrogant 😌
Thank you for reading and commenting!
I really want to give Cheol a few minutes to think lol. He experienced all that by himself – but for Min-jun, nothing has changed since the last time they saw each other. And he should think about what he was in the middle of doing when that happened.
He’ll snap himself out of it eventually 😔.
Thank you so much for commenting and reading!
OH MY GOSH MIN JUN YOU GOT THIS I BELIEVE IN YOU
Min-jun will scare the poison out of him before the rest of them find a cure at this rate lol.
Thank you for commenting and reading!
😂
I think min-jun was poisoned because cheol got his memories back but i could be wrong… that timing is a little sus after all
The timing is very sus, indeed. Thank you for commenting and reading!
Thanks for the chapter ♥️ ♥️
Thank you for commenting!
There’s a lot of nice foreshadowing that goes on in this story. I’m beginning to wonder if min jun was really poisoned by the lords.
I wonder why Cheol felt it necessary to take away his memories of min jun. It feels like a dangerous weakness to have a gap like that. I mean, what’s stopping Cheol from bringing this river town boy into his harem if he succeeds? Unless he’s afraid of failing and being tortured?
Anyways I really enjoyed this chapter!
There’s a few things that led to Cheol giving his memories up, but they will be revealed a few chapters down the line.
Thank you for commenting and reading!