Chapter 10

The Emperor and the Imperial Family did not pressure or corner Yeon-oh and the Gyo General’s Household regarding his entrance into the concubine ranks. They did not compel or drive the matter forward. However, they did offer subtle hints.

Ten days after the Emperor gave Yeon-oh the horn phoenix-patterned ornament, a Chief Eunuch (Taegam) visited the Imperial Palace.

The Taegam delivered gifts bestowed by the Emperor to the head of the Gyo General’s Household. They were items completely unrelated to the concubine matter, but since nothing was supposed to pass between the Emperor and the Gyo General’s Household at that time, one could guess the meaning of the Emperor’s gifts.

The Taegam asked the head of the household for permission to speak with Yeon-oh briefly in private. He asked if Yeon-oh had any particularly favored auspicious dates, any days or numbers that weren’t unlucky but should be avoided, his favorite color, and which of the four directions he preferred. He asked for answers to these and other small details.

What pressured Yeon-oh and the Gyo General’s Household most were the Gyo Clan relatives and the powerful families in the capital. They frequently visited the Gyo General’s Household, urging for a definite answer on when Yeon-oh would enter the concubine ranks, and if he would become a consort at all.

These were noisy days.

In the meantime, the Emperor would pay Yeon-oh a sudden visit when least expected, late at night or close to dawn.

The man always carried the strong scent of alcohol. And he would instantly gobble up Yeon-oh’s share of the cherry slush, put on a bright, mind-dizzying smile, and then leave.

As the weather grew colder, Yeon-oh began to go to bed earlier. Today was a day he had settled down particularly early.

“Gyo Yeon-oh.”

In the chill of the dawn, the man’s deep baritone, colder than the air, resonated. Tap, tap, a careful knocking sound on the window silk woke Yeon-oh, who was buried in his blanket.

Just as the Emperor had said, the Gyo General’s Household’s security was utterly lax.

‘They all deserve a severe scolding…’

Yeon-oh got up, his face still heavy with sleep. Sleepiness and fatigue washed over him. His sleep schedule had been ruined recently due to the man who visited him every few days in the dead of night.

He was sitting on the bed, intending to put on his shoes, when he was about to nod off.

“Gyo Yeon-oh.”

A cold voice, like a cool breeze, woke Yeon-oh.

“I’m coming.”

Yeon-oh answered sleepily and stuffed his feet into his shoes. When he opened the building door, a man with an unfamiliar expression stood there, instead of the carefree, innocent smile he usually wore.

The scent of alcohol poured from the man again today. His cheeks were red, perhaps from the alcohol or the cold wind. Though he was smiling with his eyes, his expression was ambiguous, carrying a bitter undertone rather than the bright cheerfulness of previous days.

“Were you sleeping?”

“Yes, what is…”

“Let’s go out.”

Today, Seonjae did not abruptly visit and command Yeon-oh to bring him sweet and cold things, as he had the past few days.

“Pardon?”

The man’s large hand gently grasped Yeon-oh and pulled him outside. Yeon-oh was swept away by the gripping hand and headed toward the wall.

“We should go for hangover food.”

“Hangover food? What hangover food when I haven’t had a drink… Wait, why are we climbing this wall? We can just open the door and leave. Your Majesty, hold on.”

Yeon-oh found it hard to believe the man was drunk. He smelled of alcohol, but Yeon-oh thought he was probably not intoxicated.

Seonjae positioned Yeon-oh on his shoulder, approached the wall, and gestured with his shoulder for Yeon-oh to climb up.

Yeon-oh, driven by the overwhelming difference in strength and power, obeyed the Emperor and secretly climbed his own building’s wall. Just as he was hanging awkwardly on the wall like laundry.

Seonjae lightly stepped on a stone lantern, grasped the top of the wall with his hands, and easily leaped over.

“…”

Yeon-oh stared blankly and vowed:

‘I must destroy all the stone lanterns near the wall for the Gyo General’s Household’s defense.’

Seonjae, unaware of this vow, pulled Yeon-oh, who was hanging on the wall like water-soaked laundry, with little effort.

“What are you doing?”

The man must have assumed everyone was just like him. Yeon-oh tried hard not to look at the Emperor, who was helping him up with a smiling face, with scornful eyes.

Looking at the Son of Heaven that way was presumptuous.

Seonjae held Yeon-oh’s hand and subtly signaled for him to jump down from the high wall.

“H-How can I jump down from here…!”

Yeon-oh spoke involuntarily, his voice thick with complaint.

“Are you scared?”

Yeon-oh felt truly aggrieved by Seonjae’s question.

‘Is there no one in the Imperial Palace who teaches that jumping from a high wall will break your ankles or legs?’

When Yeon-oh glanced sideways at the Emperor, Seonjae jumped lightly from the wall with a look of pity. Yeon-oh realized that the man saw him as a coward or something similar.

Wasn’t climbing and jumping from a dizzyingly high wall something ordinary people wouldn’t do?

“Jump down.”

“How can I jump down!”

“You’ll wake everyone up, Yeon-oh. I can’t climb back up. Can I? It would be difficult for me to climb up, push you, quickly climb down faster than you, and then catch you at the bottom.”

Seonjae flicked his hand, urging him to jump down.

Yeon-oh, helpless in the absurd situation, decided to obey the Emperor’s command to jump. He shut his eyes tightly and threw himself toward the spot where the man was watching him with leisure.

If his ankle broke, or his life went far away, or if by some extreme misfortune the Emperor was injured, it would not be his fault. It was the responsibility of the person who had ordered this ridiculous jump.

Swoosh!

The moment he threw himself down, a fierce wind swept past Yeon-oh’s cheek. For a brief moment, a strong dizziness spun in his head.

Yeon-oh did not open his closed eyes, waiting for the dizziness to pass quickly. If the moment of breaking something came, he wished that moment would also pass quickly.

“Gyo Yeon-oh.”

A low voice resonated close to Yeon-oh’s ear.

“…! ”

Yeon-oh opened his eyes at the sound of his name and was relieved that his limbs were intact. He slid down from the wide embrace that held him and looked up at the Emperor, who could be called his savior, with an inappropriate gaze.

“You truly are a scaredy-cat.”

Seonjae teased Yeon-oh with something preposterous.

“Please use the door when you come and go.”

Yeon-oh held his ground and said what needed to be said.

“If I use the door, people bother me.”

The man seriously presented this incomprehensible argument and hoisted Yeon-oh onto his shoulder, pushing him over the wall several more times. The two crossed three walls and headed toward the dawn market.

Yeon-oh was utterly drained from climbing and jumping over the walls. In contrast, the Emperor looked as serene as if he had just been for a stroll. The exhausted Yeon-oh ordered noodles with warm broth, and Seonjae debated for a long time before ordering a stir-fry dish.

Yeon-oh picked up the bowl of noodles and first drank the broth.

“Are you hungry?”

Seonjae regarded Yeon-oh as a pitiful child who was starving.

“Yes.”

Yeon-oh strictly swallowed the rebellious thought, ‘Thanks to whom?’ The man who had dragged him to the dawn market for hangover food only picked out bamboo shoots and ate them.

“After this, let’s go eat frozen fruit.”

Winter was already just around the corner. Moreover, it was a chilly dawn. Yeon-oh thought his throat might freeze if he ate frozen fruit in this weather. But it was hard to refuse.

The man was the Emperor, and he had barely eaten anything but a few vegetables. Furthermore, Yeon-oh knew how much he loved sweet and cold things.

“Do you think there will be a place selling it?”

To Yeon-oh, the man was a difficult opponent, but no matter how he looked at it, the day was too cold to eat frozen fruit.

“I spotted one when we were coming.”

The man boasted of his thoroughness against Yeon-oh’s subtle refusal.

“Let’s go then…”

Yeon-oh did not hide his sullen tone.

“If you don’t want to eat it, then don’t.”

“In that case, yes. I’ll pass.”

Seonjae cast an intent gaze at Yeon-oh’s firm refusal.

“How can you refuse something sweet and cold?”

The man looked baffled, as if Yeon-oh were some strange creature.

“Y-Your… Ahem! Aren’t you cold?”

Yeon-oh started to call him ‘Your Majesty’ but then swallowed the last word, conscious of the few people passing by. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] At his question, Seonjae gave the brightest, most innocent smile Yeon-oh had seen all day.

The man’s hand reached out and pulled Yeon-oh’s hand, which had briefly relaxed while eating the warm broth. The large hand pulled Yeon-oh’s hand toward his neck.

The man’s neck, which otherwise gave off a cold and arrogant impression when the smile faded from his face, contained a surprisingly hot fever. Yeon-oh, who flinched at the sudden contact with the bare skin, was taken aback by the man’s heat.

“Are you… in pain?”

“No.”

Yeon-oh tried to pull his hand out, which was trapped between the man’s neck and his hand.

“Then…”

As his hand touched the man’s hot neck, Yeon-oh felt a strange sensation of heat rising to his own head. It was strange, as if he was catching something, even though he was only touching another person’s body heat.

“I seem to have a higher body temperature than others.”

“I see…”

The man’s hand, which had been pressing Yeon-oh’s hand, slowly relaxed its grip. Yeon-oh returned his hand to his side, but the unfamiliar tingling heat on his head lingered for a while.