Dr. Myeong-suk sat beside Iseul, staring intently as Iseul mixed the antidote. They had all gathered in Min-jun’s bedroom. It was a place of silk curtains, painted paper screens, and fine ebony furniture. Iseul had recognized some of Min-jun’s personal touch in the lavish rooms. The mystery books that lined the shelves, the assortment of cosmetics on the vanity, the little charms Min-jun liked to collect. It was evident that the King spoiled him. It made Iseul want to vomit.
The maids had lit the lanterns, casting the room in a warm glow. Min-jun laid on the mattress, beautiful, despite the ghostly cast that had spread over his entire body. His black hair had been tied into a braid, and thick blankets were layered on top of him. Still, he shivered. The King sat near his bedside, bringing one of Min-jun’s pale hands to his lips.
Iseul looked away, unable to continue watching the display of affection between Min-jun and the bane of his existence, the man who had led him down such a dark path. If it weren’t for Mother, Iseul would’ve stolen him away long ago. Then Min-jun would’ve been his.
But Haneul had already tried to run away with Min-jun, and he had ended up dead, nothing more than a pile of ashes in an urn. Iseul would have to be smarter about this.
Iseul’s hand tightened around the vial of antidote as he glanced over at the royal couple. Now Min-jun was stuck with that fiend. Tch, he wasn’t even that handsome. Those violet eyes were nothing short of eerie.
Iseul stirred the contents of the vial in a bowl along with a sweet syrupy beverage and announced that the antidote was ready. Perhaps a bit too eagerly, he approached Min-jun, and his emotions must’ve shown on his face because the King held out a hand to take the medicine.
“I can administer it,” the King said, his voice downright icy. Iseul didn’t have to take any snow peony poison at that moment to feel like a chill had come over him. “Or is this task also far too sensitive for you to hand off to someone else?”
Dammit, he was onto him. And so quickly too. All Iseul had wanted was a chance to feel Min-jun’s smooth skin beneath his fingertips, to touch his cheek, to brush his thumb over Min-jun’s reddish lips if circumstances allowed. Iseul was a fool, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get much further with the surveillance present in the Palace. Even so, if he could’ve gotten Min-jun to agree, they could’ve made do with an empty storage room. Although taking Min-jun in the bed the King was meant to share with him had its own temptations. He wouldn’t have refused. Min-jun knew how to conduct these affairs, and he wasn’t one to leave a favor unpaid.
But now the King had picked up on Iseul’s lust. All his planning had been for naught. Getting Min-jun out of the Palace would be too difficult with the King watching his every move.
“Of course not, Your Majesty.” He gave the bowl of medicine to the King, who watched Iseul with keen eyes. Was there nothing that could get past the man? “He must take the entire thing.”
Min-jun was seated in the King’s lap, lovingly embraced. The King brought the bowl to Min-jun’s lips. At first, there appeared to be no reaction, but then Min-jun’s eyes fluttered open, half-open in a sort of delirium, dark lashes lining them. He was beautiful as ever. As Min-jun drank more of the medicine, his face began to flush, and he brought one shaky hand to the one holding the bowl, as he tilted his head back against the King’s shoulder.
Tch. The King had put them in such an intimate position on purpose. Showing off his little consort.
Min-jun dropped his head to the King’s chest once the bowl had no more medicine to give. He licked his lips clean of the wine red liquid and cuddled closer to the King, undoubtedly unaware of what he was doing.
“His temperature is returning to normal,” the King said, lips brushing the top of Min-jun’s head. Gently, the King lowered him back down on the mattress, and the doctor approached to examine Min-jun’s body. After taking his pulse, the doctor smiled triumphantly.
“It’s strong, Your Majesty,” the doctor said. “His Highness will make a full recovery.”
The entire room erupted into cheers and celebrations. The King alone only wore a soft smile of gratitude, as he bowed his head. Amidst the chatter, Min-jun’s soft, hoarse voice emerged.
“You’re too loud,” he mumbled, turning onto his side.
“My consort is right,” the King said. “Let us leave him to rest.”
A chance? Iseul perked up. But soon, a hand made its way to his shoulder. The doctor stood behind him.
“You must teach us how you made that concoction, young man,” the doctor said. Young man? The doctor didn’t look that much older than Iseul. “Come, come. I’ll take you to the clinic.”
Just like that, Iseul was dragged out of the room by the doctor.
. . .
“You’re leaving, too?” Min-jun asked, half-asleep. He was lying on his side, his eyes still shut. Cheol stopped at the door to Min-jun’s bedroom, turning to look at his consort. That pang of guilt returned. All your fault. He couldn’t control his own subordinates, he couldn’t control his emotions, and he couldn’t hold onto his memories. And all it had led to was Min-jun being put in danger over and over again.
“Min-jun, I –”
Min-jun’s eyes opened, his gaze shifting to Cheol. There was something on the tip of his tongue, Cheol knew, but Min-jun could not open his mouth. He shut his eyes again, fatigue pulling him under again.
“I have other matters to attend to,” Cheol said, finally.
The smallest of smiles appeared on Min-jun’s face, and Cheol’s heart ached. Min-jun spoke in a quiet, but seemingly content, tone: “How cold.”
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.
“P’w rbggs.”
Zlc-pec tewwfv. “Gbc’a yf rb rfglber. P kjr bcis afjrlcu.”
Not about that. Ah, Cheol felt as if his apologies would never end.
“Ofa atf mbega ijvlfr xcbk lo sbe cffv jcsatlcu. P’w regf sbe’gf –”
Lf kjr mea boo ys Zlc-pec’r ribk, rafjvs ygfjatlcu. Lf’v ojiifc jriffq. Jtfbi rlutfv, kjixlcu bnfg ab yglcu atf yijcxfa eq ab Zlc-pec’r mtlc. Llr tjcv ygertfv bnfg tlr obgftfjv, qertlcu Zlc-pec’r tjlg bea bo tlr ojmf.
“I’m glad you’re alright.” But you will never be safe here.
. . .
When Min-jun awoke the next morning, his mind was clear and his body no longer felt so cold. There was the lingering feeling of a hand brushing over his forehead, the touch gentle. It was the King, no doubt. No one else’s touch matched his tenderness.
Min-jun sat up in bed, running a hand through his hair as he yawned. At least Mother’s poisoning lessons had been useful, even if all those endless nights in the brothel had been nothing short of futile. Speaking of the brothel, had that been Iseul in the room with the doctor? A dream? Min-jun found it difficult to believe he’d dream of Iseul. Perhaps it had been Haneul. Haneul visited him in his sleep often enough.
Min-jun let out another yawn. Who knew being poisoned could take so much out of a person? He felt as if he could sleep another two days away.
He stood up on wobbly legs and managed to make his way to the door dividing his suite from the corridor of court ladies outside.
“Your Highness!” the maids greeted him, their eyes teary. Sun stood beside them. His expression was similarly downcast. How odd. Weren’t they celebrating just yesterday?
“Why the long faces?” he asked. “You hadn’t spent too much money on my funeral gifts, now, did you?”
One of the maids burst into sobs then and there. Well, perhaps the joke was in poor taste.
“Sorry, sorry,” he said, wiping the girl’s tears away with a hand.
The girl shook her head, her hand hovering over his. “That’s not it, Your Highness. We’re all so very happy you’re alive. It’s just . . . just . . .”
She began to sob again, burying her face in her apron. Min-jun looked to Sun. Come to think of it. Where were Jeong-eun and Chae-won? They were always the first to serve him. Surely the King hadn’t punished them. He must’ve known they had been blackmailed into poisoning him.
Sun cleared his throat. “This morning, his Majesty declared that he will take Lady Ni Ok-jeong as his Queen.”
Unfortunate but foreseeable. Min-jun would have to test the waters to see if she was truly a danger to his plans. Still, this wasn’t enough to cause such a reaction, surely.
“His Majesty has also declared that from this day, Hae Min-jun’s title will be removed. In three days’ time, he will be exiled from the Palace.” Sun paused, his grimace deepening. “His Majesty has abandoned you, Your Highness.”
Abandoned.
“What?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” Sun said. It was clear he did not agree with the decision. “The King has said you may take anything you wish from Jangmi Villa and that he will arrange for you to stay in any part of Saro you desire.”
He’s letting me go.
It was as if Min-jun’s lungs had ceased to function properly. He backed away from them until he hit the screen door. He let one of his hands search for the handle but then paused.
“Where is Mai?”
The court ladies exchanged cautious looks. The one who had been sobbing spoke up.
“Lady Mai has not been seen since you fell ill. She left a note saying she’s left the Palace.”
Of course someone had to go after the antidote. The two of them had gone through the same training. Mai must’ve taken the chance to steal the antidote from Mother. The King let her go alone because he was desperate.
But he was already cured. So then . . .
“Who delivered the medicine?”
“A young man,” said a court maid with frizzy hair.
“Iseul,” a court lady with freckles across her nose said. “His name was Iseul.”
The other maids nodded in agreement. So he had been there in Min-jun’s room. Mai and Iseul must’ve crossed paths. And then what? Knowing Iseul, he probably did something incredibly selfish. A renewed rage lit up inside of him.
“Where is he?” he seethed.
“The doctors gave him a temporary abode at their clinic.” Min-jun needn’t hear more. He had returned to his room to get ready to greet the day.
He was going to murder that fool. He hadn’t anything to lose anymore. Not now that his position was lost.
. . .
“Ah, Your Highness!” a few doctors greeted him. Force of habit, he supposed. Iseul was sitting next to Doctor Myeong-suk, pointing things out on a diagram. When he spotted Min-jun, his eyes lit up.
“Min-jun, you’re up on your feet already!”
Min-jun had no time for such niceties. With strength he likely shouldn’t possess after several days in a comatose state, Min-jun pulled Iseul up by his arm and began to drag him out of the doctors’ meeting room.
“O-ow, ow, ow, when’d you get so strong?” Iseul whined as Min-jun pulled him into a quiet closet space. Not that he cared much about eavesdroppers at this point.
“Where is Mai?” Min-jun asked.
Iseul scowled, rubbing at his arm. “Is that what this is about? She bargained for the medicine. She ended up choosing to stay with Mother. That’s the end of that.”
“Yes, it’s very convenient that you ended up coming in her stead as well,” Min-jun said. “No person in their right mind chooses to stay with Mother.”
“Would you really say any of us are in our right mind?” Iseul asked. In a movement that was likely meant to be seductive, Iseul pushed Min-jun back a little, his arm sliding around his waist.
Oh, for heaven’s sake.
“If you say you betrayed Mai just for the off chance I’d want to fuck you, I will tear you limb from limb.”
“Darling,” Iseul said. “Even I’m not that delusional.” There was something more to those words. It wasn’t the only reason, but it was certainly a contributing factor.
Min-jun pushed Iseul back against one of the cabinets in the storage room, pressing his elbow against his throat, blocking his airway. A technique he’d learned from the King, unfortunately.
“She’s a child! How could you leave her with that woman!”
“Mai’s a big girl. She can take care of herself,” Iseul choked out. “She’d survived with her longer than you had.”
“Where will she take her?” Min-jun pressed harder for a moment, close to crushing Iseul’s throat.
“How should I know?” Iseul said. “Even if she had gotten away, she wouldn’t have gotten the right medicine or known how to mix it. Only Mother knows that.”
“You’re a coward.”
“As if you’d have done any different. We’re all scared of her.”
Not Mai. She was learning not to be afraid anymore. No wonder Mother had to tighten her leash.
And Haneul. He’d been brave enough to try to free Min-jun of Mother’s shackles. And he’d paid for it with his life. “A brothel disease,” the doctor had said.
“I’ll get her back,” Min-jun said, releasing Iseul.
Iseul laughed. “And how are you gonna do that? Will you run to your royal husband about it?” Iseul brought a finger to his chin. “Though, I suppose he wants nothing to do with you now.”
His words hit a nerve and Min-jun froze at the door. Right. The King didn’t want anything from him. Not his body, not his mind. Min-jun had not been good enough for him. He’d been discarded by the King as easily as he’d been left for dead by Mother.
Iseul wrapped his arms around him.
“I could help you instead. Mother is a sensible woman. I can convince her to let Mai and Su-jin go, and leave you be. What do you say?”
It was always a favor with him, wasn’t it? Sometimes Min-jun doubted the man had even grieved his own brother’s death.
A giggle bubbled up from Min-jun’s throat, as Iseul’s hands wandered. “What do I say? When have you ever been able to go against Mother?”
“I will. For you.” His words were barely above a whisper but his arms tightened around Min-jun to the point that the embrace became painful. And although Min-jun loathed comparing the two, he couldn’t help but notice that the King’s embraces were never so cagey. Possessive, yes. As if he were afraid that Min-jun would disappear or crumble into dust or turn out to have been an illusion all along. But when the King held Min-jun, it did not feel as if he were trying to confine him.
Min-jun dug his elbow into Iseul’s stomach, pushing him off. He turned around to meet his affronted gaze.
“Go back to Mother, Iseul,” Min-jun said. “It’s what you do best.”
“Is that what you think of me?” Iseul asked. “You know as well as I do that I’m the only reason you were allowed to leave after Haneul died. You have no idea how much I’ve done for you.”
“So you could have me to yourself,” Min-jun snapped. “You convinced Mother to let me go so that you could visit me more often after she told you to stay away from me. You delivered the medicine to me because you tricked Mai into staying with Mother. You comforted me that night because you knew I was vulnerable. And somehow throughout all of it, you have yet to realize that I do not want you.”
Iseul did not respond until Min-jun had turned away. “So you’ll do it yourself again? If that’s so, then there is nothing stopping me from warning Mother that you’ve grown disobedient. Poor Su-jin, though. You know how Mother gets when she’s angry.”
He would do it. Min-jun felt cold suddenly. Colder than he ever had under the snow peony poison.
“Then again, I don’t even need to say anything. It’s not as if you’ll last much longer in the Palace. Imagine how she’ll be when she discovers that you’d failed your mission. The two of you will be as good as dead. Hell, maybe she’ll kill Su-jin and sell you to some of Saro’s enemies. The Northern Emperor has been keeping a close eye on the Palace recently. A once treasured consort is sure to hold some valuable information.”
“No,” Min-jun said.
“No?”
“I will never ask anything of you again.” Min-jun slid the door to the little storage room open and stepped out into the corridor, which was flooded with sunlight and warm despite the cool weather outside. Iseul followed him, one arm reaching out to cease him, but before he could do so, the tip of a sword was pressed against the skin of Iseul’s neck. They both turned their attention to the wielder.
Sun stood there, his golden gaze, usually so warm around those he loved, was now as steely as the first day Min-jun had met him. He looked ready to chop Iseul’s head off right then and there.
“Sun . . .” Min-jun started, unsure of how much authority he had now that his title had been removed.
“Forgive me for being late, Your Highness. No one could tell me where you’d gone.”
A/N: Hello MJ protection squad! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please leave a comment down below.
CHEOOOOOOL DAMN YOU WAKE UP
😀
😢
Iseul makes my skin crawl. The entitlement to touch Min Jun is disgusting
Desperately need a Mai update! Please
Thank you for chapter.. I think
Iseul is awful and I’m glad he comes off as such. As for Mai, it might be a while before we see her again😔. Thank you for commenting!
Lady Ok-Jeong is in and Min-jun is out?? Even if Cheol thinks he’s safer that way, he’ll just be a target for the Iseuls out there. Sun called him Your Highness though, is that only for three more days or was he just intimidating Iseul?
Sun will always see Min-jun as Cheol’s consort 😌. Even if he did get his title removed and they reunited somewhere outside of the Palace, Sun would call him “your highness”. Thank you for commenting!
Oh my! I did NOT expect this turn of events. I still can’t quite believe Cheol would be willing to let Min-jun go despite his guilt. I hope he has a deeper plan. Really enjoyed this chapter!