GMLS Ch 37

Saying he has no need for a sword that does not move as he wishes. To think I would hear such words. No matter how I interpret it, it’s a statement casting me out, leaving me feeling empty and bewildered, yet there is nowhere to vent my grievances.

More than anything, if it had been the past, I would have pleaded, my hands and feet begging, asking what His Majesty meant, that it was all my fault, and to please just let me stay by his side, but now the situation has changed. A part of me thought, ‘This is for the best.’

The situation that forced such thoughts was endlessly resentful. If I were to plunge a sword into the body of the already-dead 3rd Prince, would this wretched feeling in my heart subside? Yihwa smiled sorrowfully.

Seeing that smile, Muryun flinched. Just as a gut feeling told him something was wrong, Yihwa spoke.

“I understand Your Majesty’s will.”

Having made his decision, Yihwa instantly collected his heart. What was once a frail heart turned into a solid fortress wall. ‘Indeed, I am truly Yeo Yullyeong’s son,’ Yihwa mocked himself.

“I, your subject, Yeo Yihwa, will obey the august will of His Majesty and step down from the position of Captain of the Guard.”

Two of the Miryeonggun agents actually fell from the rafters. The eunuch was just as astonished. He wondered if this man dared to test the courtship techniques of the common marketplace on the Emperor. That’s how unbelievable the current situation was.

But no matter how bewildered they were, could they be more bewildered than the Emperor? Muryun learned for the first time then that when a person is too flustered, their mind goes completely white.

To make matters worse, at this crucial moment, Yihwa, who had become even more dazed than usual, poured oil on the fire.

“Also, with a mind to self-reflect, I intend to leave the capital for a while and go down to a quiet place.”

It meant that resigning was not enough; he would go into exile of his own accord. A string in Muryun’s brain snapped.

“What, what did you just say.”

“The position of Captain of the Guard……”

“Step down? Self-reflect? By whose authority!”

Muryun had been confident that he knew one thing for certain about Yihwa. That Yihwa’s feelings for him were a form of blind devotion based on loyalty.

If he were to point at a stone and say, ‘This is a rice cake, so swallow it,’ Monghyul would say, ‘This is a stone,’ but Yihwa would swallow it first and see what happens. Even if he later found out it was a stone, he was the type to just say, ‘I see.’ That Yihwa, what did he just say to him now?

“Your Majesty?”

The source of the turmoil wore a look of complete incomprehension. Muryun’s stomach turned upside down.

“Tell me the reason.”

Yihwa’s eyes widened in bewilderment. And it wasn’t just Yihwa. Everyone watching the situation sent gazes of disbelief. It was none other than the Emperor who had just said moments ago that he had no need for a sword that does not move as he wishes.

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence flowed. Muryun, oblivious to the atmosphere, growled.

“If you were the type to back down so easily, you wouldn’t have been able to persuade me like that at The North Palace. Or what is it? Were all the words you clung to me and spouted at The North Palace a lie?”

“That is absolutely not true!”

“Then why.”

Yihwa could not answer. How could there be an answer to give?

From Yihwa’s appearance, Muryun knew he was being sincere. The reason didn’t matter. No, of course it mattered, but to Muryun, whose eyes were blinded by rage, only the fact that Yihwa was trying to leave him struck him with intense force.

“Wi Suhyeok, are you there.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Wi Suhyeok, who had been watching the situation from the veranda, appeared like the wind.

“Detain Captain of the Guard Yeo Yihwa in the underground dungeon immediately.”

The moment he heard those words, the first thing that came to Yihwa’s mind was not a question about Muryun’s contradictory behavior, nor was it confusion about the sudden detention. It was the conversation he had with Yeo Yullyeong in front of the stone monument at the summit of Cheontae-baek Mountain.

‘Even Sangseon does not know how a man who has fallen in love will change.’

“Let no one enter or leave until I give a separate order.”

“I accept your command.”

Yihwa realized it belatedly. Yeo Yullyeong’s advice had not been about him, but about Muryun.

‘Ah…….’

The thick fog that had been cast over everything lifted at once. Muryun’s once-blurry heart became as clear to see as pure water. His heart was the same as mine. It was the very same heart.

Yihwa was subdued by the rushing Imperial Guards and dragged away. Throughout the process, he never once lifted his head. Muryun, who had been ready to call off the guards the moment Yihwa said he was wrong, froze just like that.

‘What is this. Why are you saying nothing. Are you serious? Are you really going to renounce the Captain of the Guard position and leave the capital… leave me?’

The heat that had risen to the crown of his head from Yihwa’s statement rapidly cooled. Now, a cold wind like that of the northern snowfields was raging inside Muryun.

When the Emperor, who they thought would stop them, said nothing, the Imperial Guards, who had been watching his reaction, continued to drag Yihwa away. Yihwa’s staggering steps faltered at the edge of the veranda, and he twisted his ankle. His body pitched forward.

Because all their nerves were focused on a potential command from the Emperor that might fly their way, the guards’ reaction was a beat too late. They forcefully pulled up Yihwa, who was crouched in a prostrate position. He was pulled up without resistance.

But what was this. His indifferent, handsome face was completely contorted. He was even crying. Pearl-like tears were falling drop by drop. Seeing him, Wi Suhyeok was aghast, and the Imperial Guards flinched. Unspoken words flew busily between them.

Among the Imperial Guards and the Miryeonggun, at least, there was no one who did not know of the Emperor’s favor toward the Captain of the Guard. This was because those who had personally witnessed the events at the ancestral shrine had discreetly told their colleagues, saying, “keep this to yourself.”

They had lips of wax that would not yield to any torture, but they were lenient and generous when it came to their own lines. ‘As long as the words don’t get outside the Imperial Guards, it’s fine.’ ‘As long as only the Miryeonggun know, it’s fine.’ And so, all of the Emperor’s most confidential military forces came to know about the ‘tale of the Captain of the Guard receiving imperial grace.’

The acting Captain of the Imperial Guard, Wi Suhyeok, widened his eyes threateningly.

‘Are you crazy? Have you lost your minds? Do you know who this is, so why aren’t you doing your job properly?!’

‘My apologies, sir. I will correct myself, sir.’

‘Right. Escort him well to the underground dungeon.’

‘How can we escort him well when the destination is an underground dungeon, sir.’

‘Even within the underground dungeon, the cells near the entrance are quite clean, aren’t they? And escort him a bit more gently, you clueless fools.’

‘To be called clueless by the Captain. I’ve lived my life in vain, sir.’

Wi Suhyeok, twisting his lips into a smile, smacked an Imperial Guard’s butt with the flat of his sword. A thwack sound was heard, and the grips of the guards holding Yihwa’s arms loosened somewhat.

Yihwa was completely unaware of this situation. What his current situation was, or where he was going, was not particularly important. What was important was, why now of all times?

Why was it that the moment he realized his overflowing, wavering, and changed heart, that desperate, solitary heart, was not his alone… Why was it now, when his body would not be able to see even the first snow?

There is no one to resent. All that is left is endless lament. Yihwa could not stop crying even as he entered the dungeon.

There was no cough. His insides felt a little hot, and then something surged up. Yihwa spat what had collected in his mouth onto a piece of cotton cloth. Red blood bloomed on it like plum blossoms. This was the second time he had coughed up blood.

Gazing blankly at the bloodstain, Yihwa placed it into the wooden box on the table. Click. The sound of the fish-shaped lock closing echoed softly through the underground dungeon.

The underground dungeon where Yihwa was imprisoned was notorious among the various prisons in the imperial palace. In particular, it was famous as a place from which no one could emerge alive and well once they entered.

Muryun’s act of imprisoning Yihwa in the underground dungeon was entirely intentional. The ones locked up there were either traitors who had committed high treason or those scheduled to be killed after torture.

Of course, Yihwa was not a traitor. And torture was an utterly preposterous idea. However, Muryun wanted to show Yihwa just how great his anger was. Added to that was a sulkiness and peevishness born from the thought, ‘How dare he say such a thing?’

A place so damp that a chill lingered even in the middle of summer. Listening to the groans of prisoners kept awake at night by the pain of torture there, he would surely come to have some regrets.

That’s what Muryun thought, at least when he was sitting in his chamber in a rage, not even glancing out at the veranda once. Until he heard the report that Yihwa had cried sorrowfully while being dragged to the dungeon.

“What? Why are you reporting this only now?!”

If I had known then, I would have brought that child back before he even crossed the threshold of the underground dungeon!

But Wi Suhyeok’s report did not end there.

“He could not stop crying for a while even after being locked up. I was concerned about dehydration, so I provided him with water and dried rations at my own discretion.”

“That… was well done.”

Within the Wi clan, Wi Suhyeok was considered quick-witted. However, that was only within the Wi clan, and when compared to someone like Wi Junghyuk. His level of wit was not much to boast about in the imperial palace, where keen senses were essential.

And so, a problem arose. Was this man quick-witted or not? By the standards of the palace, examples began to appear that were impossible to judge.

Some would click their tongues at Wi Suhyeok and say that Wi Junghyuk was better. He should just be one or the other, quick-witted or not; because he was both, it was impossible to gauge him.

And now, Wi Suhyeok, being on the ‘not’ side, added a comment he would have been better off not making. It was an action born from a very rational and Captain of the Imperial Guard-like judgment that everything that happened in the underground dungeon must be reported.

“While handing him the water, I discreetly asked if he would retract his resignation from the Captain of the Guard position, but he said no.”

CRASH!

Muryun’s fist slammed down on the desk. The water dropper toppled over, the inkstone overturned, and the memorials submitted by the officials were ruined. He shot up from his seat. While the eunuchs calmly tidied up, Muryun paced back and forth in his chamber with his hands clasped behind his back.

“How is Yihwa’s condition.”

“Not good. Above all, he seemed to be in great mental shock.”

It was understandable. What kind of place was the underground dungeon? Among those who served in the imperial palace, there was no one who did not know of its infamy. Having been dragged to such a place, he might have thought that I had cast him out completely.

Thinking that far, Muryun was belatedly horrified.

‘What if he really misunderstood? Could it be that he cried to the point of exhaustion because he thought I had completely cast him out?’