Chapter 54

The Imperial Palace at night was extravagant. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Bright lanterns (haengdeung and hwadeung) were hung everywhere the Emperor’s feet might touch, and long lanterns (deungrong) were set up in various places.

The main gate of Giryung Palace softly rattled.

Thump-thump.

A palace servant on duty approached the dull sound.

“Who is it?”

“Open up.”

At the Grand Supervisor’s voice, the palace servant, who was rubbing his sleepy eyes, quickly opened the door. He first opened the inner door, which was shaped like a storm door, and when he pushed the outer gate open, the Emperor’s eunuchs helped with the opening.

The Emperor, having entered Giryung Palace, extended his arm, signaling the servants to drop the ritual greetings.

“Where is the Consort Gwi-bi?”

So-ha, the most senior among the servants on duty, followed the Emperor.

“He is sleeping. I will quickly…”

“Stand back.”

The Emperor shook his head and walked ahead with long strides.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

So-ha instructed the duty servants to secure the gates with a hand gesture and exchanged a puzzled look with Wan Taegam. Wan Taegam also shook his head, indicating he knew nothing.

As some of the Emperor’s eunuchs and the Giryung Palace duty servants stood in their respective positions, Seonjae stepped into the inner chamber of Giryung Palace.

There was no one guarding the antechamber of the inner room. Only short lanterns were placed in the corners of the quiet, night-shrouded room. As he approached the depths of the inner chamber, the number of brightly lit lanterns decreased. There was not even a small lantern around the bedchamber.

“…”

Curtains were drawn at the four corners of the bed, but they were not meticulously closed enough to completely conceal the sleeping person. Perhaps because spring had arrived, the curtains were thin.

Seonjae, sitting on the edge of the bed, covered his forehead with his hand.

“Did I pick up something strange?”

He muttered to himself.

It was not a matter of yesterday or today that the court ministers blamed the concubine close to the Emperor for whatever occurred. If rain did not fall, causing a drought, it was the fault of the Emperor’s concubine, and if too much rain caused floods, it was the fault of the Emperor’s extravagant concubine. Plagues, rampant heinous crimes, foreign invasions on the border, thunder and lightning, the sun momentarily disappearing during a solar eclipse, and tremors in the earth. If there was a concubine the Emperor frequently visited or bestowed valuable gifts upon, it was that concubine’s fault, and the Emperor who kept him close was the problem.

When the power of the ministers was strong, they raised their voices, claiming it was punishment from heaven because the Emperor was not righteous. When the imperial authority was too strong and they feared the monarch, they criticized the concubine to pressure the Emperor.

“Is this the way of a perverse concubine?”

Seonjae muttered, looking down at the clear, sleeping cheek.

He easily crushed the ministers’ vehement opposition, yet, on the other hand, he understood their harsh reactions. Because he would probably do the same. Among the sovereigns he had served, there was no one who had done what he was doing these days. That he was paying more than twenty gold pieces to hear a concubine’s geum performance; even his opponents would have voiced their concerns out of loyalty.

Was it a problem, or should he call it ridiculous?

Woo Seonjae’s perverse concubine had not the slightest interest in the Emperor. Gyo Yeon-oh, who had one day looked at him with glittering eyes full of excitement, now looked at him like a stone by a well.

It was not the first time he had been treated as insignificant and indifferent by someone. That was primarily due to his origins, background, and environment rather than the existence of Woo Seonjae himself.

But Gyo Yeon-oh was the exact opposite. He was indifferent to his very existence. Yet, he did not hide his anger and resentment toward the man who had deceived and fooled him. He did not fear the Emperor and resisted as much as he could, not bending his opinion on what he considered right.

These days, Gyo Yeon-oh openly found Seonjae bothersome when he offered gold and asked for a geum performance.

Something is going wrong.

That was the thought he had.

He had expected he might be unusual since he was brought from an extraordinary place, but there were too many unexpected things.

“What is that fellow?”

Seonjae’s impression was not much different whether Yeon-oh looked at him with sparkling eyes or, like now, as if he were a roadside branch.

“Why did I come here?”

The question of why he had come here only occurred to him after arriving. Just as Seonjae was about to stand up, he heard a sleepy voice resonate from the darkness.

“Your Majesty…?”

The man, who had been about to get up, was caught by a groping hand that touched his arm and sat back down.

“Do you sleep after refusing my request?”

Yeon-oh looked up at the man with sleepy eyes. The Emperor, sitting alone in the darkness, looked strangely lonely. This must be because he was sitting with his back to the door, through which the moonlight faintly streamed.

Yeon-oh, who was looking at Seonjae with eyes crinkled from lack of sleep, blinked repeatedly. He slowly sat up, but his body, unbalanced from sleep, swayed and fell. The man’s large hand caught Yeon-oh’s leaning body.

“… I apologize.”

“At a time like this, you should thank the Emperor. Were you comfortable resting after firmly refusing my request and going to sleep?”

The Emperor spoke, lightly stroking Yeon-oh’s head, pretending to be a kind person and a close acquaintance. Yeon-oh pretended not to notice the man’s hand. He rubbed his eyes with his hand and spoke.

“The Imperial Grace is overwhelming. However, a musician also has his own opinion. Is it not for a better performance? Since Your Majesty is a wise ruler, you will not disregard the will of an insignificant person.”

“That damned wise ruler.”

Seonjae looked at Yeon-oh with a ferocious smile. A more distinct clearness drifted across the man’s smiling face than at other times. Yeon-oh carefully met the face hidden in the darkness.

“…”

He did not smell alcohol from the Emperor. But from his much less formal demeanor than usual and the impression that the corners of his eyes were naturally crinkled, he could tell the man was drunk. He found himself pathetic for being able to recognize this.

“Do you even know what a wise ruler is?”

Seonjae spoke as if picking a quarrel. Yeon-oh knew that the man was displeased that he was using the term ‘wise ruler’ to force generosity upon the Emperor. Using ‘wise ruler’ to pressure the Emperor and sovereign was an old tactic used by ministers.

“I did use ‘wise ruler’ to displease Your Majesty, but the words are not empty.”

Since learning he was deceived by the man, Yeon-oh had rarely been sincere with the Emperor. The Emperor was the same. They pretended to follow etiquette and protocol, but in a twisted manner, they revealed their true feelings and attacked each other. That exhausting way was the communication style of those who held power.

“Did the Gyo Marquisate family not teach you?”

Seonjae said, moving inward about a handspan’s distance on the bed. His expression suggested a genuine problem.

“Teach me what?”

“Since I ascended the throne, ‘wise ruler’ has become forbidden language.”

The man seemed exasperated by Yeon-oh’s and the Gyo Marquisate family’s conservative attitude.

“…”

Yeon-oh did not ask why at the Emperor’s words. The man had killed a relative and seized the throne. No one now dared to speak of the former Emperor, who had taken him in like a father, or his nephew, who had grown up with him like a brother.

“You dare bring up ‘wise ruler’ to me? Do you wish to die?”

Seonjae, who had chuckled, instantly wiped all emotion and expression from his face. The cold, arrogant face showed no trace of a smile.

“The Gyo Marquisate family informed me that Your Majesty did not like the term ‘wise ruler.’ But my family, and even distant relatives, know that I will not heed and follow their advice.”

“Gyo Yeon-oh.”

Seonjae slightly frowned, relaxing his stiff expression. Yeon-oh wanted to laugh a little, seeing the man look at him as if he were beyond saving. He felt beyond saving himself.

“Although you are the one who deceived me, calling you a wise ruler follows a deeply considered conclusion. I did intend to embellish my words by placing it before and after a phrase that would otherwise prompt you to immediately drag me away and have my neck severed. However, the term ‘wise ruler’ itself is sincere.”

So, I am telling the man what he wants to hear. Of course, there was no lie in those words. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] He was just reluctant to give words that would please the man he had liked so intensely until recently. He did not know if it was because he truly thought so or because he still couldn’t let go of his lingering attachment to him.

The Emperor’s eyes crinkled in a soundless laugh.

“Young Master Gyo, you are still young. You do not know what a wise ruler is. Before I ascended the throne, I was called Prince Jeyang. Now, no one dares to utter that name. Prince Jeyang was the princely title bestowed upon me by the former Emperor, my brother. The former Emperor’s crown prince was deposed one year before the former Emperor’s death for treason and exiled to a distant location from the capital.”

The man’s expression while looking at Yeon-oh was that of looking at a very young, ridiculous, innocent person who knew nothing of the world’s ugliness.

“At the time the former Emperor’s crown prince was accused of high treason, I, Prince Jeyang, was at the border. I was dealing with pirates on the southern border, as commanded by my brother, the former Emperor. No one can question me, but everyone must suspect. The evidence and circumstances to frame the crown prince for treason were provided by me.”

Seonjae did not take his eyes off the face listening indifferently to his secret.

“At the time, Prince Jeyang was the crown prince’s advisor. When the situation called for the Crown Prince to command the army, the one actually leading the troops was Prince Jeyang. But when the Crown Prince, facing a crisis from the accusation of treason, pleaded for my help, I did not listen. I gave that letter, ordering me to bring the army, to the Crown Prince’s biggest rival, Prince Hoe. Because of that, the crown prince became a true traitor guilty of high treason for attempting a real rebellion.”

Yeon-oh listened quietly to the man’s words. He only listened to his secret, which the Emperor would probably have carried with him for life.

“The former Emperor’s Crown Prince, Prince Hoe, Prince Hyeon, Prince Shim, Prince Un, and all their inconspicuous male siblings were killed by my hand. Prince Hyeon was assassinated by his political rivals, and Prince Shim and Prince Un died due to the betrayal of their trusted subordinates, but it may not have been quite so. I personally executed Prince Hoe. They were all my nephews, who grew up with me like brothers. Where in the world is there such a wise ruler?”

The Emperor spoke as coldly and heartlessly as his expression.

“Ancient histories contain many wise rulers. The one thing those wise rulers most often did upon ascending the throne, especially in the early years of their reign, was to exile or eliminate their direct siblings who could threaten their position. Some emperors might increase the authority of the imperial family and show their own generosity by inflicting humiliating punishments on their blood relatives but sparing their lives, but most eliminate them by death. Do you miss your family?”

Yeon-oh’s question was completely unexpected by Seonjae. The man’s expression contorted.