Chapter 6

Seonjae gazed intently at Yeon-oh, who was being propelled back toward him.

“Young Master Gyo.”

His eyes asked why Yeon-oh was leaving when he had followed him, offering to help with the work.

Yeon-oh could not tell him that he had been chased away because his hands were like pickaxes.

“Young Master Seon, are you sure you didn’t forget anything?”

“No.”

Seonjae replied without hesitation to Yeon-oh’s question.

That couldn’t be right.

The man, who volunteered to help with work only to devastate the surroundings, possessed many extremely valuable things. Moreover, he not only scattered those precious things everywhere but often realized they were missing only much later.

Each item was so rare that one would think its loss would be instantly noticeable, yet the man showed no sign of concern.

“Your jade ornament.”

At Yeon-oh’s comment, Seonjae showed him the jade ornament on his waist sash. It was a clear, blue jade ornament, different from the one he had worn a few days ago, of a quality only the Imperial Family would possess.

“What about the white jade ornament?”

“I couldn’t find it, so I put this one on.”

Seonjae said with a serene face. He had lost a treasure that could fund a regular household’s annual food expenses, yet he showed no anxiety whatsoever.

“That is usually called ‘forgetting something.’”

Yeon-oh politely challenged him, fighting the urge to laugh. He had always thought he was raised gently and spoiled, but compared to the man before him, he seemed hardly so.

“Hmm.”

Seonjae wore an expression that asked what the big deal was about losing just one jade ornament.

“You probably also forgot the tortoiseshell ornament for your sword or bow, and the jinsa white porcelain phoenix-patterned incense burner.”

At Yeon-oh’s words, a realization resembling acknowledgment dawned on the man’s face. He looked surprised that Yeon-oh knew everything he had lost.

The man with the destructive, pickaxe-like hands continued to shed valuable items.

If one simply followed Seonjae, they could easily pick up rare treasures found nowhere else in the world.

“They’ve been gathered in front of Doyeongak, so let’s go.”

Yeon-oh smiled and led the way.

“The work?”

Seonjae followed Yeon-oh, speaking with concern. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Yeon-oh found the man’s affectionate worry pitiful, as he was oblivious to the fact that the people inside the building had actually rejected him.

“They said they don’t need us.”

“Just as Young Master said, everyone in Goksan seems to lack ambition. All those things are quite valuable; they could be traded for a bounty of gold.”

Yeon-oh glanced quietly at the man next to him, who spoke without a care. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] He suspected this might not be the first time the man had traveled alone.

‘He is so clueless about the world. Will this brother be able to marry properly?’

Yeon-oh was filled with concern, even though the man wasn’t his actual brother.

“If one carries around overly precious things, they can attract trouble, so they entrust them to the Gyo General’s Household.”

Yeon-oh spoke with the utmost diplomacy.

“Isn’t there always a way to manage things in the world?”

Seonjae, who usually nodded to everything Yeon-oh said, seemed subtly reluctant to agree with that statement this time, narrowing his eyebrows and maintaining an unusual expression that looked exceptionally grim.

The expression looked particularly severe, but Yeon-oh didn’t think too deeply about it.

The cold, distant-looking man was only so in appearance; in reality, he had many careless flaws. Yeon-oh lightly dismissed his thoughts, believing that the man’s arrogant looks masked a childish ignorance of reality.

******

There were several of Seonjae’s rare treasures at Doyeongak. Yeon-oh collected all the valuable items for the man and headed to the tavern to spend the money Gwak Jin had given him.

The second floor was better for viewing the scenery, but many earlier guests had already claimed the seats. They sat on the outside of the first floor, where the outside was clearly visible.

“Isn’t that the youngest Young Master of the Gyo General’s Household?”

“Sir Sa-gong, it’s been a long time.”

“Every time I see Young Master Gyo, he is more refined; it’s dazzling. The bride would fear standing before such a handsome groom at the wedding. The late Grand Madam and the former head of the household would be overjoyed to see the youngest Young Master. They wished for a successor who resembled the Grand Madam during their lifetime, and now their wish has been fulfilled.”

“You praise me too much. Please visit the Gyo General’s Household sometime.”

Because the tavern was a place where people came and went, everyone passing by greeted Yeon-oh. Since they recognized his face and exchanged ceremonial greetings, most of the comments were embarrassingly flattering.

“Young Master Gyo is quite popular.”

Seonjae did not eat the meat in front of him, merely fiddling with it with the tip of his chopsticks. He seemed to be carefully selecting food but only picked up a single thinly sliced bamboo shoot.

“It’s just empty pleasantry because they have nothing else to say.”

At Yeon-oh’s indifferent remark, Seonjae only cast a silent gaze.

“…”

The deliberate stare seemed to contain several layers of meaning.

Yeon-oh pondered how to explain to the man that being called ‘elegant’ or ‘pretty’ was certainly not a compliment.

Above all, he wanted to stress that the constant remarks about resembling the Grand Madam or having a face comparable to hers were merely hollow words intended to flatter.

Though he had seen her face as a child, his mother in his memory was an incomparably pure beauty.

“Young Master Seon.”

Having interacted for several days, Yeon-oh had grown noticeably close to Seonjae. He had asked Seonjae, who seemed to be the same age as his second brother, to treat him comfortably, and Yeon-oh himself affectionately called him Seon hyung (Elder Brother Seon).

Seonjae usually addressed Yeon-oh as Young Master Gyo, but sometimes he would call him by his given name. When he did that, Yeon-oh felt they had become quite close.

Just as Yeon-oh was about to correct Seonjae’s misunderstanding,

“Gyo Yeon-oh, so you were here!”

A loud, slightly flushed voice called out Yeon-oh’s name. When Yeon-oh turned toward the sound, he saw his eldest brother alighting from a carriage. His second brother, who was on horseback, also dismounted and prepared to follow his eldest brother toward Yeon-oh’s location.

Yeon-oh wondered how the two had come together. Just as the question crossed his mind,

Gyo Myeong-oh, the head of the Gyo General’s Household, and Gyo Jin-oh, the second son of the Gyo General’s Household, who were walking toward Yeon-oh, widened their eyes and stopped. They were looking at the man seated across from Yeon-oh.

The moment Seonjae saw the two of them and made a slight motion as if to shake his head,

Gyo Myeong-oh, walking ahead, hastily lowered his body to the ground and paid his respects.

“Your, Your Imperial Majesty, I pay my respects!”

“Your Imperial Majesty. This official, Gyo Jin-oh, pays his respects to Your Majesty.”

Gyo Jin-oh followed Gyo Myeong-oh in paying his respects.

“…”

An awkward silence and a stir spread through the tavern.

“His Imperial Majesty? The Son of Heaven is here…!”

“I pay my respects to His Imperial Majesty…”

“Your…! I pay my respects to His Imperial Majesty!”

“…”

Following the head of the Gyo General’s Household and the second Young Master, everyone inside the tavern busily rose and paid their respects. Some were so surprised that they stumbled sideways while bowing.

Yeon-oh was frozen in shock. He had expected the man before him to be of a luxurious and extravagant lineage, and had even considered he might be an Imperial relative, but he had never imagined he was the Emperor.

For the past twenty-odd days, Yeon-oh had called the Emperor “Young Master Seon.” He had casually rebuked the careless man under the guise of being polite. He had employed the Emperor’s labor for picking jujubes, moving laundry, feeding horses, and cleaning empty buildings.

He had shrieked in terror when the Emperor separated the frame and the painting of a cherished folding screen. He had grumbled, picking up the books and accessories the Emperor had scattered, asking if the man intended to treat him like a servant boy.

His disrespect was unparalleled.

‘Am I going to die?’

Yeon-oh’s eyes trembled with anxiety.

“I forgot to tell the head of the household not to acknowledge me. I didn’t think he was so unperceptive. I didn’t mean to deceive you, Yeon-oh?”

Seonjae smiled at Yeon-oh, who was warily watching him. He subtly reached out a hand toward the face that was frozen in shock with eyes wide open. At the light touch, Yeon-oh leaped up.

Thump!

The chair was violently pushed back and tumbled over.

“…Y-Your Imperial Majesty?”

Yeon-oh’s face, whose eyebrows were drawn down like a sorrowful child looking at Seonjae, trembled slightly. His worried expression looked less cute and piteous, and more woeful and pathetic.

Seonjae smiled in a familiar manner at the terrified face.

“I am indeed the Emperor.”

At the Emperor’s declaration, Gyo Yeon-oh was engulfed in a shock that threatened to make him collapse right then and there.

******

A great commotion broke out in the Gyo General’s Household.

It was revealed that the frequent guest who had visited while the head of the household and the steward were away was the Emperor. The head of the household immediately escorted the Emperor, who was lodging at the tavern, to the Gyo General’s Household’s private villa.

By evening, the Chief Eunuch, court ladies, and guards, who had received a message from the Gyo General’s Household at the Imperial Palace, arrived.

The man Yeon-oh had called Young Master Seon and casually conversed with yesterday had, in an instant, become an unreachable, lofty being, surrounded by countless people.

“…”

Yeon-oh stood at Sangnyangjeong, looking dazed. He couldn’t quite recall how he had returned to the Gyo General’s Household after meeting his brothers at the tavern.

Hwangje.

Facing the wind, he moved only his lips to utter the name of the terrifying presence.

Yeongmu, Year 5.

The current Emperor was a ruthless man. After the former Emperor’s death, he killed all the former Emperor’s sons and seized the throne.

There were several brothers between the former Emperor and the current Emperor. However, the fear of the current Emperor, Emperor Yeongmu, was so great that none of the brothers dared to point out the Emperor’s injustice or cruelty.

The Emperor, according to rumors, was a cold-hearted, ruthless ruler who did not hesitate to shed blood. Though he was the youngest brother with a significant age gap, the Emperor had grown up like a brother to the former Emperor’s sons. Yet, the Emperor personally executed his own nephew, whom he had followed and served as his lord, to ascend to the throne.

Filial piety and brotherly affection are weighty virtues, even for the Son of Heaven.

In his later years, the former Emperor had distributed various responsibilities among his sons and prepared for the future. The current Emperor, who had served as a strategist for his nephews and assisted in governance at the time, had good relations with the officials, and his capabilities were acknowledged.

Therefore, although people were wary of the Emperor who had personally killed his relatives to take the throne, no one could easily denounce him.

It was said that at one point, some officials questioned the Emperor’s cruelty, lack of filial piety, and ruthlessness. The Emperor calmly listened to the official who denounced him to his face, then removed him from his post.

Coincidentally, every official who had offered direct counsel to the Emperor passed away a few years later, either due to old age or unfortunate accidents. Rumors spread that they had been cursed by the Emperor, but the truth remained unknown.

‘The Emperor must have intervened,’

Yeon-oh had thought so when he heard the story. A man who wrote the history of blood and seized power would not rely on mere curses.

Yeon-oh had spent only twenty-odd days with him.

Yet, he found it impossible to believe that that Emperor was the same person as Seonjae.

‘I only believe what I see.’

Yeon-oh often used to say that. But the fact that the Emperor was the master of a cruel history could not be denied. The path the man had walked was terrifying, based on the facts alone.

“…Oh, Yeon-oh.”

A low voice called out to the dazed Yeon-oh. Yeon-oh belatedly recognized the voice calling him and frantically turned to the side.

Seonjae, dressed in common clothes, stood there with an expression of slight difficulty.