“I have the gift of foresight,” Lady Yun-seo admitted, caution in her low voice. The servants stayed on the opposite side of the courtyard, making eavesdropping an impossibility for the most part. Lady Yun-seo brought her knees up to her chest. A defensive gesture, no doubt.
“That seems like quite the burden to bear on your own,” Cheol replied, matching her whispered tone. The two of them sat side by side in the courtyard, although up until then they had hardly spoken a word to each other.
“As is yours,” Lady Yun-seo said. “I knew you could control plants. I did not know it was on such a scale.”
Cheol’s lips curled mirthlessly. Well, now they both had a reason to keep the other’s gift a secret. If news ever reached the court officials that Cheol could control plants, they would undoubtedly blame him for every little change in the weather. Even more so than they already did.
“I usually do not let things get so out of hand,” Cheol replied.
Lady Yun-seo plucked some dried grass from the ground below the plum blossom tree. She let the wind blow it from her hand. “It’s good that the harvests are over.”
“It is.”
They both waited for Yun-seo to reveal the true reason she’d come here. She’d kept her secret to herself for so long. Why tell him now?
Yun-seo inhaled deeply, leaning back against the tree trunk and focusing her eyes on something ahead, between the bushes and stone walls of the King’s estate.
“I’ve never been here before. The moonlight is so bright,” Yun-seo said. “My father used to say the moonlight followed us to show us the way on the darkest nights. It seems foolish now, knowing how inconstant the moonlight is.”
“I suppose.”
There was another pause between them as the wind swept up the leaves from the ground, swirling them down the path. “You know, up until today I could never sense anything in Consort Hui’s future.”
“And what have you seen today?” Cheol asked, quietly, though inside his heart rate quickened.
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.
“He was dead,” Yun-seo said. Her clear brown eyes turned to him, turning glassy with tears. “We mourned him.” She drew in a shaky breath. “He’d looked so peaceful, you’d think he were sleeping. But he was dressed in funeral garb. You could almost feel how cold he was.”
Jtfbi qijmfv j tjcv bc tfg rtbeivfg. Pa kjr wfjca ab yf mbwobgalcu, yea ogbw atf kjs rtf pbiafv, la wera tjnf mbwf jmgbrr jr delaf atgfjafclcu lcrafjv. “Jbeiv sbe afii tbk biv tf kjr ogbw atf nlrlbc?”
Tec-rfb rtbbx tfg tfjv. “Lf kjr ralii sbecu. Ktfgf kjrc’a j rlcuif yifwlrt bg kglcxif bc tlr ojmf. Llr tjlg kjr yijmx jr j gjnfc’r klcu.”
Soon, then. Or did it mean that Min-jun would age particularly gracefully from all those cosmetics he used? Either way, it would be too soon. Cheol stopped himself from spiraling. Even if a thousand oracles told him Min-jun would die soon, he would do everything in his power to prevent it.
“Did you see the faces of the other people in the room? His surroundings? Was he in the Palace or somewhere else?”
Yun-seo shook her head. “It was all too blurry. I could see their mourning clothes and hear their cries.”
Cheol sat back, trying not to let his disappointment show. “Your power seems quite selective.”
“Not all of us have the luxury of having a gift they can control,” Yun-seo snapped. It would appear that Min-jun’s continued disregard for status and position was rubbing off on the rest of Cheol’s consorts.
“I apologize,” Cheol said. He could not imagine living with a power so frightening. Undoubtedly, the few times Yun-seo might’ve told someone of her power, they would’ve laid the blame on her when misfortune fell upon them.
“I’d spoken thoughtlessly,” Cheol continued.
In a moment, Yun-seo had gathered herself. Etiquette had been taught to her since she could talk. It was difficult to get rid of something engraved in your mind. “It is I who should apologize to Your Majesty . . .” She wrung her hands together in a nervous gesture. “Is – is it true Consort Hui tried to drown himself earlier today?”
“No,” Cheol replied, assuredly. That must’ve been the catalyst for her coming here. “He jumped into the water as a way to test me, that’s all.”
Yun-seo raised an eyebrow. “Did you pass?”
Cheol let a small smile cross his lips. “No. I always lose to him.”
Yun-seo clasped her hands on her lap. “I do not know what you should do when it comes to Consort Hui. Your situation is too complicated. But . . . I think you should talk to him, at the very least. Leaving loose ends is the last thing you should want for him if you really wish for Consort Hui to move on. The future is impermanent. We can only do our best to live without regrets.”
She stood up and bowed to him. “I hope you do not mind my arrogance in offering Your Majesty advice.”
“Of course not,” Cheol replied. “I appreciate it.”
Yun-seo’s face lit up for a moment, a smile crossing her lips. “As far as husbands go, you are not so bad, Your Majesty. I hope you do not doubt yourself too much.”
How could he not, after all that had happened?
. . .
Cheol ordered the officers of the Investigation Bureau to look for evidence dating back seven years ago. If the letter from Min-jun’s mother was anywhere, it would be within the heavily guarded walls of the Investigation Bureau.
“That’s a lot of resources you’re wasting on something that will likely be fruitless,” Hye-jin said, as the maids dressed him in his red robes. The sun had yet to rise over the horizon, but a King was to awaken before the sun.
“Hye-jin,” Cheol said. “Tell me, why do you hate him so much?”
Hye-jin glanced up at him. “I do not harbor any such feelings for him. I just worry that you’re going to lose sight of what’s truly important.”
The maids bowed when their work was finished and exited the room. Cheol stepped closer to Hye-jin. It would not do to have her continue showing such hostility.
“He is important to me. Is that not enough?” Cheol asked. Hye-jin had always cared more about his role as a King than his true self. Cheol knew that well enough by now. But still, it could get on his nerves.
Hye-jin shut her eyes and sighed. “He will be gone by tonight. Let us not discuss him anymore. Do as you wish.” She left the room without another word. It would appear all of his loved ones were upset with him recently.
As I wish. That was a dangerous offer indeed.
He could picture his father in this room, doing as he wished. Crafting plan after plan on how to trap the Queen here.
He must go to the Morning Study. Perhaps by the time he returned, the Investigation Bureau would have found something.
. . .
The nerve! Min-jun paced around the room. He hadn’t slept. He hadn’t even been able to lay his head down on the pillow for longer than a few minutes. Beneath his feet, the heated floors warmed the room. Chuchu was fast asleep on Min-jun’s mattress, not a care in the world. Meanwhile, Min-jun had a knuckle pressed to his lips as he continued to curse the King’s name. May he die a thousand deaths! May he receive the worst punishment Hell could offer! May he –
Damn it all! Min-jun would go talk to him himself, whether the King liked it or not. So His Majesty thought he could do as he pleased with Min-jun without even consulting him? The King would continue to play this charade, pretending he had lost all interest in Min-jun, after nearly losing his mind at the lake yesterday? Well, not if Min-jun had anything to say about it.
Min-jun left his sleeping chamber and walked into the room where he took his meals. He tried to open the doors to the corridor but found that they were being held shut by the court ladies. When had they gotten the order to do this? The sun hadn’t even risen. Min-jun banged on the door.
“What is the meaning of this?” he hollered, trying to channel the part of him that had once been royal. He couldn’t recall ever having yelled at his court ladies before.
There were hushed voices outside of his room, and then the doors were opened just enough for Sun to slip through.
“Your Highness,” Sun said. The phrase took on a different meaning knowing what Sun had given up in order to continue protecting Min-jun. His loyalty was commendable, but it did not stop the guilt from infecting Min-jun.
“Tell them to move aside,” Min-jun demanded.
“There is nothing I can do.”
“Is this the King’s doing?”
Sun shook his head. “The order came from Lady Hye-jin.”
A/N: Hello, everybody! So how many of you want to throw knives at Cheol and Hye-jin? Cheol may redeem himself later at least. Can’t say if the same will hold true for Hye-jin. Anywho, expect more Chuchu next chapter. He is needed for Min-jun’s grand plan. Also, we’ve now reached 600 subscribers on Tapas! How exciting! Thank you so much to everyone who has read, subscribed, commented, and liked, whether it’s on Tapas or CG. I appreciate all of your support so much! I hope you all continue to enjoy this novel!
I’m embarrassed to say I couldn’t remember Lady Yun-seo very well but I found myself liking her. On a hunch, I went back several chapters and sure enough, I found her being very likeable. She has a lover in the harem already so she’s not jealous of Min-jun, and his memories made her sad and sympathetic.
It’s nice that Cheol’s psychotic side has a friend to play with ( murdering without hate or fear of consequences?), but is anyone safe when Hye-jin can do whatever she likes?
Seriously starting to dislike hye-jin, and soon it will become hate if she does not let my two boys alone 🔪🔪🔪