Chapter 43

“What brings you here?”

“How long are you going to stay there, Consort Gyo?”

The Emperor, who had been speaking informally to him until a moment ago, now spoke formally. Yeon-oh felt more scared than honored by the man’s polite words.

“Please come in.”

Wan Taegam urged Yeon-oh, who was attempting to look around. There was nowhere to run.

“Yes, of course.”

Yeon-oh entered the study. A breath, like a faint sigh, inadvertently escaped his lips. It was a long sigh tinged with deep fatigue.

Seonjae, who had been writing, stared intently at Yeon-oh’s slowly dropping shoulders.

“Did you sigh?”

Yeon-oh did not bother to argue with the man, who had immediately switched back to his comfortable informal speech. This was not an opponent he could argue with.

“Did you see that?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t see it?”

“I apologize. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] I must have been tired from the long walk. Please forgive me with Your Majesty’s generosity.”

Yeon-oh uttered the brazen words respectfully. The facial muscles of Wan Taegam, who was attending nearby, twitched.

“I shall withdraw now.”

“Go ahead.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Wan Taegam quickly bowed and left alone. Yeon-oh looked back at the eunuch who was leaving him alone with the Emperor, his face showing surprise.

“Where are you…”

His blurry voice inadvertently spoke his true feelings.

“Where would he go? He’ll be outside. The Emperor has come to the concubine’s residence; would an attendant eunuch remain by my side? Consort Gwi-bi.”

Yeon-oh tightly bit the inside of his cheek at the Emperor’s words, which adhered to etiquette. He felt it would be better if the Emperor treated him casually, regarding him as trivial, or coldly spoke down to him, as the supreme Emperor would treat a lesser concubine, or simply treated him roughly. Every time the Emperor spoke formally, it suited him so well that it was chillingly terrifying.

For a moment, only the sound of the Jupil scratching against the paper echoed. Feeling awkward and uneasy, Yeon-oh cleared his throat and spoke.

“Why have you truly come here?”

“The memorials.”

The man put his brush down on the brush rest and checked the finished content. Yeon-oh focused his sight on the red writing, then immediately turned his gaze away. The Emperor was personally writing replies to the memorials. He had expected this since he was using the Jupil. However, he hadn’t expected him to be here conducting actual official business.

Making any comment about the Emperor’s handwriting on a memorial was, naturally, impossible. If he were to spread the contents of the memorials submitted by the officials or even acknowledge he had seen them, his head would be severed. Yeon-oh retreated as far as possible, his gaze fixed on the floor.

“…”

Seonjae, who was about to set aside the reviewed memorial, stopped moving. His eyes caught Yeon-oh’s face, which was trying to distance himself from him. Seonjae understood the reason why Yeon-oh was not even looking in this direction.

“It just happens that the writing comes out well here.”

“Is that so?”

Yeon-oh replied with his eyes cast down. Seonjae kept his gaze fixed on that face. He understood the reason for not looking at the memorial and the Jupil, but there was no need to go this far.

“Gyo Yeon-oh.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Do you have a command?”

“Could you attend to me from there?”

At the man’s word, ‘attend,’ Yeon-oh raised his gaze. His eyes, containing a hint of indignation, paused upon seeing Seonjae’s face staring intently at him. The dark-colored eyes were overtly watching Yeon-oh.

Yeon-oh approached the desk in his study that the Emperor was occupying. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The inkstone had plenty of ink rubbed in it. The brush rest and paperweight were in place. The plum blossom water dropper was also filled with water, so there was nothing more to do.

“I apologize. Do you have any instruction?”

Yeon-oh examined the items on the desk with cautious hands and then took a step back, saying.

Swish. Seonjae grabbed the end of a memorial, unfolded it, and handed it to Yeon-oh.

“Check for any missing or incorrectly written characters.”

It was the correct attitude for a concubine not to commit disloyalty. It was wrong to provide a situation that would cause trouble or an accident for a cautious person. Yeon-oh first accepted the memorial that the Emperor handed him.

“Is this for me to check?”

His puzzled voice slowly echoed. Seonjae nodded his head without lifting his gaze.

His temper had been inconvenient all day. His stomach was twisted despite nothing being wrong. He was displeased by an unknown irritation all day. Because of that, he simply couldn’t write. Woo Seonjae was not the type to torment unrelated people simply because he was in a bad mood. However, seeing someone unaffected while he was experiencing difficulties, a malicious desire arose. It was his fault to make Yeon-oh, a concubine, read a memorial with the Emperor’s reply written on it. He would have nothing to say even if he were accused of having a nasty, perverse hobby.

“…”

Yeon-oh hesitated, then read the red writing. He finished reading one memorial and folded the booklet. As he turned his gaze, Yeon-oh almost screamed. The Emperor, whom he thought was writing, was staring intently at him.

“…!”

Seonjae lowered his gaze from the startled Yeon-oh.

“No missing characters?”

“No, there are none… But, is it alright for me to see the memorial? Shouldn’t this be done by the eunuchs outside, or a Seungji (Royal Secretary) directly under Your Majesty?”

“They are busy with the tasks We assigned them.”

Seonjae said, waiting for the finished writing to dry.

“Yes.”

Yeon-oh folded the reviewed memorial and placed it in a beautiful paper box. He considered the order and organized them according to the nature of the government office and the position of the writer. The Emperor had drawn many red lines on the memorials. He had issued cold replies with splendid writing like, “Speculation is unnecessary. Investigate properly and rewrite.” There were also cases where red lines covered most of the content. Thanks to that, there weren’t many characters for him to check. Yeon-oh thought that while it was convenient for him since there wasn’t much to see, the ministers receiving them would probably have their hearts tremble and tears well up. A large hand suddenly grabbed Yeon-oh’s hand, which was neatly organizing and putting the reviewed memorials away.

“Are you looking at it properly?”

“Yes, I am looking at it properly. Some of them have very little writing.”

Yeon-oh replied, slowly pulling his hand away from the grip.

Outside, it was quickly getting dark. As he filled one paper box, Yeon-oh felt a strange sense of exhaustion and injustice. The Seungji who were supposedly busy with the Emperor’s orders had probably left court by now. On the other hand, he would have to keep attending to the man here until he left. The Byeongpil Taegam waiting outside might not be comfortable either, but he wondered what Imperial order kept them so busy.

‘Is this why he came?’ Yeon-oh quickly checked the memorials, frequently glancing at the man. He wanted to avoid being startled by his gaze again like before.

When he finished organizing the last memorial—

“Gyo Yeon-oh.”

The Emperor, who had been writing with an unwavering posture, looked at Yeon-oh. A deliberate crookedness flickered across the man’s handsome face.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Do you have a command?”

“Are you spying on me?”

Displeasure was etched onto his furrowed dark eyebrows.

“No, I am not.”

“Then, are you criticizing the speed of my replies? Organizing and putting away the reviewed memorials… well, that’s done well. But why do you keep glancing at me? Are you signaling me to hurry up?”

Yeon-oh was speechless for a moment and just blinked.

“It would be good if you hurried.”

“Gyo Yeon-oh.”

“How dare I signal Your Majesty? I was merely looking to react immediately when Your Majesty needed something. But how did you know I was glancing at you? Our eyes never met…”

Yeon-oh unconsciously tilted his head slightly. Seonjae dismissed Yeon-oh’s question and only spoke his own thought.

“It would be good if I hurried, you say. Does that mean, ‘Hurry up and get lost’?”

He wanted to nod his head, but he couldn’t.

“…”

Yeon-oh’s eyes avoided the man, who was looking at him as if piercing him, and shifted to the side, cast down. That habit was what Gyo Yeon-oh did when he hesitated, unable to utter a lie due to his carelessness. Yeon-oh was about to offer an excuse but realized it was too late.

“Your Majesty.”

Just then, Wan Taegam announced from outside the hall.

“Come in.”

Seonjae said without taking his eyes off Yeon-oh. The hall door opened, and under Wan Taegam’s direction, eunuchs carrying lamps entered. Large lanterns were additionally placed everywhere, and beautiful hanging lanterns were suspended high up. Yeon-oh examined the hall, which was filled with lanterns and hanging lanterns. Yeon-oh also wrote and read books in his study, but he never lit up the place this much when he used it.

Seonjae silently watched his bewildered face.

“Prepare the food.”

The Emperor commanded the eunuchs who were bowing before withdrawing.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Yeon-oh, who flinched, intending to follow the man’s command, stopped moving when he saw the eunuchs answering before him.

“We will handle the state affairs here in Yeongsan-jae today and sleep in Giryung Palace.”

Seonjae spoke, intending to pour misfortune onto Yeon-oh’s despairing face. As he expected, Yeon-oh, who had been avoiding his gaze, turned to look at the man.

“…”

Wan Taegam and the eunuchs did not react to Yeon-oh’s surprise or the Emperor’s triumphant smile.

“Your Majesty, we receive your command.”

The eunuchs only bowed respectfully to the Emperor.

“Look straight.”

Seonjae pushed the fully replied-to memorial toward Yeon-oh and said strictly. Yeon-oh, who had been frozen in difficulty, replied sullenly to the work thrust in front of him.

“Yes…”

The eunuchs, who saw and heard this with lowered eyes, exchanged ambiguous expressions as they withdrew from the room.